Zell didn't say a word as we walked out of the warehouse and into the cold night. I looked at what she was wearing and shook my head slightly. She was dressed in practically nothing, and I was freezing in my jeans and sweater I was wearing. I’d left my coat behind because I needed to get out of there fast.
I opened the passenger door for Zell and said to the guys, "Get in the back."
They nodded and did as I ordered while I went to the driver's side and climbed in. I hadn't driven in some time, but I knew how and had my driver's license.
"You better shut your mouth," I heard Enrique hiss to Warren as I got in.
I turned in my seat to look at them. "You two know you've fucked up. Just sit back there and shut up. I need to clean up your mess."
"Our mess?" Enrique argued. "She's the one who ran away. How were we supposed to know—"
"It's not about who she is," I hissed. "You fucked with merchandise, and now my father is pissed."
"So, what are you going to do?" Warren asked.
I looked at Zell. "Take her back, and then have you two drop me off at home."
Zell's eyes widened as though she couldn't believe I was saying that—that I was betraying her by doing what my father ordered. I had to let them think that was the plan.
"But first," I continued, "my father needs me to go on a buy from his supplier. Do you have your pieces on you?" I needed to know if they had guns too.
"Yes, of course, but you need us? We've never done a drug run before," Enrique questioned. He was really starting to piss me off.
"You need to fix your mistake. Now, shut the fuck up." I started the engine and looked at Zell again. She wasn't looking at me. She was staring out the passenger side window crying. My heart ached. I wished I could tell her what I was going to do, put her at ease, and prove that everything I'd ever told her was true.
I was saving her.
I drove out of the parking lot and toward the docks. Everyone was quiet, and it gave me time to think. I knew where Zell and I needed to go, at least for the night.
"Look, Frankie," Enrique spoke. "I'm really sorry for touching her. It won't happen again."
"Okay." It definitely wasn't going to happen again.
"So, we're good?"
I chuckled and didn't respond. Instead, I pulled up to the docks. My father did a lot of business down here and not just offing people. It wasn't necessarily suspicious that we were doing a buy here. I parked and cut the engine off. Turning in my seat, I looked at the guys. "While we wait for our contact, tell me again what happened tonight."
Enrique and Warren shared a look, and then Enrique said, "I roughed her up a bit, and then, because I thought she was a whore, I wanted a freebie. It won't happen again."
"You know, you keep telling me that it won't happen again, but something tells me that Zell isn't the only one," I stated.
Enrique's eyes widened, and he held up his hands. "No, I swear."
I grabbed Zell's hand, lacing our fingers so she would look at me. She did briefly but then turned away. She didn't remove her hand. "So, you're telling me that the one night you decide to rape one of your grabs is the same night you randomly pick up Saffron's daughter?"
"Yes." Enrique nodded. "That's exactly what happened."
"Why don't I believe you?"
"Tell him." Enrique nudged Warren. "Tell him this was a one-time thing."
"Actually"—I held up my hand—"let's not talk about this in front of Zell. Let's go." I turned to open my door, and when the guys hesitated, I urged them with a nod of my head. Once they were out, I whispered to Zell, "I need to do something you might not like."
"Kill them?" she asked.
"I have to, but answer me this, was Enrique the only one to touch you?"
"Yes." She nodded. "The other one tried to tell him not to."
"That's good to know."
"You're really going to kill them?"
"It's the way it has to be, princess. This is the life I was given." Though, I had plans to change it. Plans that probably weren't going to happen now that I was going to betray my father and take Zell away from here.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
"It's not your fault, but don't watch, okay?"
She didn't say anything.
"Please, princess. Just don't watch. You've been through too much tonight."
"Okay," she said in a low voice.
I pulled my cell phone and earbuds out of my pocket and opened the music app. It was what I was supposed to do the first time I saw my father kill a man, and I hoped that Zell would be smarter than me and actually listen to the music. "Here. Listen to music and don't look up, okay?"
Zell took the phone from me. "Okay."
I got out of the van and slammed the door. Grabbing the gun from my waistband, I pulled it out and pointed it at Enrique. "Now, you know what happens when you fuck with a Russo."
Both guys held up their arms. "Frankie, come on," Enrique pleaded. "Don't do this."
"I have to."
"No, dude, you don't," he argued.
"Get on your fucking knees," I ordered.
Both guys did, even though it was Enrique I was talking to. "Please," he begged. "I swear this will never happen again."
"You're fucking right this will never happen again." I aimed for his head and pulled the trigger, not hesitating any longer. I had to do this, and not because of my father but because of Zell. No one would touch her and get away with it as long as I was in the picture. I was a Russo, and no one fucked with a Russo.
It felt like forever before Enrique's lifeless body fell over, and I turned to Warren. "I didn't touch her," he pleaded.
I lowered the gun. "I know. Toss his body into the harbor and get the fuck out of here. If I ever see your face again, I won't hesitate to kill you too." I felt as though I didn't need to worry about Warren. I was sparing his life, and honestly, if he went to my father, it wouldn't matter. I would never see Frank Russo again.
I turned and went back to the van. I could hear music playing from the headphones, but Zell's hand was covering her mouth, and I knew she hadn't fully listened just like I hadn't when I was eight. "I told you not to look."
"I heard a loud pop before I picked a song, and it made me look."
At least she didn't see me kill a man. "Don't be scared of me. I'm not going to kill you too."
"I know."
"Do you?" I urged. "You seem scared."
"Are you taking me back?"
"Of course not."
"Then what are we doing?"
I looked out the windshield to see that Warren was tossing Enrique's body into the water as I'd instructed. "We're getting out of town."
"Where are we going?"
I reached for my phone and got the address of the property in the Catskills. It was risky to go to a place that my father owned, but it was several hours away, and he didn't know that I knew about it. I was hoping we could get a few hours of sleep before we kept going.
"Hopefully, far enough away for the rest of the night."
I woke as the van came to a stop. I hadn't realized I'd fallen asleep. When Frankie started to drive out of the city, I closed my eyes, trying to block out what had happened in the back of the van only mere hours before. "Where are we?" I looked around, seeing a small house lit up by the headlights of the van.
"My dad's cabin."
I sucked in a surprised breath. "Is that safe? Can't he find us?"
Frankie turned off the engine. "I switched off my phone, so he can't track us, and he doesn't know I know about this place."
"Really?"
"I've never heard him talk about it before."
"Then how did you find it?"
"Because I'm smarter than my father."
I hoped that was true. I didn't know Mr. Russo, but I felt as though Frankie would know what to do to make everything go away. I wasn't scared of him, even though I more or less saw him kill a guy. If it was someone other than the man who forced me to have sex
with him, then maybe I would feel differently. I actually liked Frankie more because of what he’d done for me.
He was my prince coming to rescue me.
"Stay here while I try to get inside," he stated.
"Okay."
I watched Frankie walk to the front door after getting out of the van and then try to turn the knob as though it would be unlocked. It wasn't. He looked into the window next to the door, and I wondered what the plan was. He'd always talked about a plan before taking me out of the house, and with everything that had happened, I didn't think there was one. I had no clothes besides the ripped dress I was wearing, no toothbrush, nothing to wash the night off of my body, and I was starving.
Frankie stepped away from the window and then walked to my side of the van. Cold air swept into the warm cab and sent goosebumps across my skin as he opened the door. "It's locked up, but I'm just going to kick down the door."
"Can you do that?" I questioned.
He cracked a smile. "We're going to find out. I'd rather not break a window because of how cold it is. I don't want us to freeze to death."
"Me either."
Frankie reached for my hand and helped me slide out of the van. I'd never broken into a place before, but I found it almost comical that I was ending my night by breaking into a house after breaking out of one, though the entire situation wasn't funny, and I was still shaken up about everything.
We walked up the two steps and onto the wood porch. Just as the headlights went off, I heard a bang, and even though I couldn't see, I knew that Frankie had kicked the door open.
And we weren't alone anymore.
A light flicked on, and a woman with long blonde hair like mine held out a knife. I started to shake.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Frankie and I both held up our hands, and Frankie said, "Whoa. Who the fuck are you?"
"I asked you first," she seethed.
"I'm Frankie Russo. Who are you?"
She lowered the knife slowly. "Frankie?"
"Yeah. Who are you?" he asked again.
"I'm …" Her gaze moved to me. "Are you Zell?"
I nodded.
"The fuck?" Frankie breathed. "How do you know who we are?"
"I … I don't think I should say."
"Look, lady. We've had a long night, and you clearly know who we are, so just fucking tell us." Frankie pulled out his gun.
"Does your father know you're here?" I shivered as a gust of wind blew in. "Oh, Zell. Let's close the door and get you warmed up."
"First, you tell us who you are," Frankie ordered.
She looked at me and smiled slightly. "I'm your mother."
I blinked.
I blinked again.
What?
"Her mother?" Frankie echoed.
"Let's close the door and get everyone warmed up, and then I'll tell you what I know."
I looked at Frankie to see if he was okay with this. I wasn't sure what to think. Madam was my mother, and now this woman was telling us something different.
"Are you okay?" Frankie asked, lowering his gun and placing his hands on my shoulders, looking directly into my eyes.
I shrugged because I wasn't sure.
The lady closed the door, sealing us in the warm house. I noticed that the door didn't stay closed until she put a chair in front of it. "I know it's a lot to take in. I've always wondered if this day would come."
"What do you mean?" Frankie asked, looking at her but not releasing his hands from my shoulders.
"I've thought about you for over eighteen years," she said with kind eyes.
"You're really her mother?" Frankie questioned.
"Yes."
"Prove it," Frankie ordered.
"It's a long story. Do you want to get some sleep first?" Her gaze met mine. I was exhausted, but I didn't think I would be able to fall asleep.
Frankie grabbed my hand. I wasn't sure if it was to comfort me or what, but I appreciated it. My head was still spinning. "Zell can sleep, but we need to leave at sunrise."
"Because your father is looking for you?" the lady asked.
"What do you know about my father?"
"I know a lot. Why are you running from him?"
Frankie blew out a breath. "Because tonight was a shit show. I'm hoping he doesn't know where we are, but if he does, we might have an hour on him."
"That doesn't give you much time."
"I'm banking on him not knowing that I know about this place. We don't have anywhere else to go."
"From what I understand, no one knows about this place," she indicated. "Well, except for his driver and some guards a few years ago."
"What's your name?" I asked, butting into their conversation.
She grabbed my free hand, rubbing the back of it in a sweet gesture, and smiled warmly. "Jacqueline, but you can call me Jackie."
I nodded. "Can I take a shower?"
"Yes, of course. Let me get you a clean towel." She went to what I assumed was the bathroom.
"Do you want me to go in there with you?" Frankie asked.
I shook my head. "No. I'll be quick. I just need to wash everything off."
"Okay." He kissed my forehead. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise."
"Can we trust her?" I asked.
"I hope so, or my father will be here sooner than we think."
"I'm scared," I admitted.
He wrapped me in his arms. "I'll protect you, princess. Go take a shower, and I'll find out more."
Jackie came back into the room. "I turned the water on for you. It takes a few minutes to heat up."
"Thank you."
"Do you also need something to wear?" she asked, looking at my torn dress.
"Oh yes, please."
She smiled. "I'll get you something."
"Thank you," I said again, and walked into the bathroom.
I was scared to look in the mirror, afraid of what I would see. My face felt bruised, and I knew there was a cut on my bottom lip because I could taste the copper flavor of blood when I would lick it, so I avoided the mirror. I didn’t have any panties because the man who forced me to have sex ripped them, so I simply stripped off the tattered dress and stepped into the tub under the warm spray.
Tonight was definitely a shit show like Frankie had said.
A pair of pajamas were sitting on the toilet when I stepped out of the shower. Frankie had brought them in and checked on me before leaving to go back out of the room. As I got dressed, I could hear them talking on the other side of the door.
"I can't believe she tried to run away," Jackie stated.
"I know, but somehow—and not necessarily the best outcome—my father's men picked her up."
"Why not the best outcome?"
Frankie paused. "One of the men thought she was one of the whores and took advantage of her."
Jackie sucked in a breath. "He raped her?"
"He did, and he paid for his mistake."
"That explains her appearance."
"Yeah—"
I opened the bathroom door, and they stopped talking.
Jackie stood from the small round table where they were sitting. "I made you a sandwich. It was the fastest I could do."
"Thank you." I sat at the table.
"Like I was saying," Frankie said, "we just left. We had to."
"I understand. I would have too."
"Then why don't you?" he questioned.
She took a deep breath. "It's not that easy."
"It seems pretty easy to me," Frankie stated. "You have no guards here, and it doesn't look like you're chained up."
"That may be the case, but it wasn't always like this. Your father had men guarding me for years."
"What changed?" he asked.
Jackie took another deep breath. "I fell in love with him."
"Of course, you did." Frankie chuckled and rolled his eyes.
"I didn't mean for it to happen."
"How did it?" I questioned.
&
nbsp; "I suppose I should start at the beginning." We nodded for her to continue. "It's a tragic story, but you have the right to know, assuming you don't already."
I shook my head. "I don't know anything about you." I frowned, hoping that wasn't rude.
"Right. Well, I am your mother. When I was eight months pregnant with you, your father and I went out for dessert. He worked for Frank, but I didn't know it at the time. Apparently, Russell was charging more for what he was selling and pocketing the extra cash."
"Aw fuck," Frankie breathed. "That's not good."
My gaze moved to his as I swallowed a bite of the turkey sandwich.
"No, it wasn't. Frank found us and … well, he killed Russell in front of me."
My blue eyes widened. "He … He killed my father?"
She nodded with sadness in her eyes. "He did."
"And he kidnapped you?" Frankie asked.
"Yeah. That was my last night of freedom. He took me to the penthouse, and I was there until I gave birth. Then he brought me here, and I've been here ever since."
"But how did you fall in love with him?" I questioned. I didn't know what it felt like to fall in love with someone, but I didn't think I could ever fall in love with someone who killed my husband, stole my baby, and held me hostage.
"I'm not sure." She shrugged. "It just happened. Once he started trusting me to not leave—because let's be honest, I tried, but there's nowhere for miles—I felt as though he cared for me, and I have no one else."
"So let me get this straight," Frankie said around a mouthful. "He killed your husband, made you give up your baby, and took you to a remote cabin to live for the past eighteen years, and you fell in love with him?"
Frankie was focused more on the role his father played in Jackie's life, but I was still hung up on the fact that she was my mother. While she talked, I stared at her. I thought we looked alike. We had the same color hair and the same nose.
Jackie shrugged again. "When the only person you've seen or talked to for fifteen years shows you love and affection, you're bound to fall in love."'
I knew my father was a horrible man, but I didn't realize that he was holding a woman hostage, and apparently Zell's biological mother at that. Did he get off thinking about how I had chosen Zell that night and went back for more all while he was fucking her real mother? And how did Madam play into all of it? Why would she agree to raise a baby that wasn't hers? Zell being held captive by Saffron and not allowed to live a normal childhood all made sense now. She never wanted anyone to find out. Did anyone else know? Did my mother?
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