Page 76 of Deliverance
"Actually, tell me why my father had you come in the back way."
The men shared a look. I was curious too. Did he suspect we were going against him? "After he got the call from Ricardo, he pulled up the camera feed on his phone. He saw you all talking and knew that you weren't shot," Ivan informed us.
He had access on his phone? I had changed the password to the computer downstairs, but I never suspected he could access them remotely. Maybe that was how he knew to come back tosaveErin that one night. Maybe that was how Saffron reviewed the footage and knew Zell didn't have sex with Frankie that one night. Lucky for me, I'd always covered my tracks immediately. Or maybe Frank just never caught me.
Frankie grunted and pulled his shirt up, revealing the bandages on his chest. "Iwasshot."
"Why didn't he come up with his piece pulled?" I questioned.
"He thought we'd get the upper hand by coming in through the back. I don't think any of us expected that woman to shoot him," Ivan said.
Yeah, that was a shock."Okay." Frankie nodded. "And just so we're clear, you work for me now."
"Yes, sir," the three of them said.
"And Ricardo's my right-hand man, so when I'm not available, he's the one in charge."
So, I wasn't out. But Frankie had set fire to the warehouse and knew all of the women were leaving the penthouse. What did he need from me?
"Yes, sir," they said again as I nodded my understanding.
"Ricardo, call me when you're done."
"Yes, sir," I responded.
Frankie went back into the service elevator after I gave him the code.
"Let's go," I ordered as I got into the van with the guys. I wanted to get this over with one final time so, after ten years, Erin and I could finally be free.
Chapter Twenty-Six
Erin
I couldn't focus on the city as the taxi drove toward Long Island. Just like me, the girls were silent in the car. We had to grab two cabs, Leanne, Carla, and Krissy with me, and Tifarah, Clarissa, and Martin in the other. On our way out through the service elevator, we told Martin what had happened. He eagerly packed a bag.
A few years ago, Martin had told me his story over a cup of coffee. He used to be Madam and her husband's private chef at a house they lived in on the Hudson. When her husband died, she'd asked Martin to be the chef at the penthouse. Little did he know that he would never get to leave again.
He'd started working, and when he’d seen the first kidnapped girl, he had known his fate too. He'd seen too much. He had thought his family and friends would come looking for him, or at least tell the police, but no one had ever come to save him. He'd vanished without a trace.
Just like the rest of us.
Was it all truly over? Did I really see Madam and Frank get shot and die? Everything seemed like a blur, and I didn't know what would happen next because no one was calling the police, given who had killed Madam and Frank. What would we tell our families about where we had been? When would we get to contact them? What about Steven? What about Ember, Candace, and Krystal?
It had been over ten years since I'd last seen Steven. Had he started dating again? Was he married? Had kids? I knew a lot must have changed, but what? And what was in my future? Where would I go? Who would take me in? If Steven was single, I wasn't sure if I could move in with him again. I wanted to go back to my old life, but I knew that wasn't possible. Could I live with Ric given we were in this together, or would I never see him again?
I thought I would be nervous to show up unannounced to the house Ric shared with his mother, but the closer we got to Long Island, the less it worried me. I was finally free—finally feeling the deliverance that I'd sought after for so long.
I rolled down the window to feel the fresh air blow against my face. It didn't matter that it was the middle of January; I welcomed the coldness against my skin. It felt different from the air I only got when we went on the balcony.
I could finally breathe again.
"That feels good," Leanne said, leaning closer to me.
"Yeah." I smiled. "I'm still trying to wrap my head around all of this."
"Me too," Carla agreed.
"What do we do?" Krissy asked as she turned around in the front seat.
