Page 62 of Deliverance
She took a sip of her wine. "Why have you waited ten years for this?"
I shrugged. "A part of me was hoping someone would kill Frank so we could get out."
"We?"
I smiled, thinking of Erin. "There might be someone going with us to California."
Momma furrowed her brow. "Who?"
"Well, I haven't asked her to go with us, but she wants out too."
"Out too? She works for Frank?"
I blew out a long breath. "She's one of the girls at the penthouse."
She stared at me. "She was kidnapped?"
I nodded slowly. "It's a long story, but yes."
"And why do you want her to go with us? She has to have family here or something, right?"
I swallowed and admitted for the first time, "Because I love her."
"Does she love you?"
"I don't know. We've had some issues in the last ten years—"
"She's been one of the girls for ten years?"
I shook my head. "Kinda. She teaches Saffron's daughter."
"Saffron has a daughter? I never knew she was pregnant."
I blinked. "You know Saffron?"
"I only know of her. She didn't have a baby, and wasn't pregnant when her husband was murdered."
"Maybe she got knocked up by someone else then," I suggested.
Momma shrugged. "Maybe." I finished my bowl of meatballs, and as I stood to put my dish in the dishwasher, she said, "Whatever you decide to do, make sure you're not in any danger."
"I was trained to kill in the dead of night. If I choose to, Frank will never see me coming."
* * *
The day after Frankie came to see Zell the second time, Saffron instructed us to refuse him entry if he ever came by again.
And the day before Zell's eighteenth birthday, he did show up.
The video intercom buzzed as I was covering Marcus for his dinner break. I pressed the button to get the video and realized it was Frankie. I was about to tell him that I couldn't let him up when I heard the sound of Saffron's heels clicking down the stairs.
"Frank Jr. is here," I said to her.
"That little shit." She stormed to the intercom and pressed the button to talk to him. "Mr. Russo. What are you doing here?"
When she called Frankie, "Mr. Russo," I wondered if he knew Saffron was his aunt. I only knew because of the night Saffron had ordered me to take Erin back to the warehouse, and Frank had shown up. My mother had said Saffron wasn't pregnant or had Zell when her husband died. Since that was the case, Frankie hadn’t been born yet either, so I was almost positive he didn't know he was talking to his aunt.
"I came to see Zell."
