After school, Dad took me under his wing, so to speak. We went to the warehouse and took in the merchandise. For the past two weeks, a new woman was brought in each day. Selling drugs was more on the down-low but kidnapping? That shit was out in the open, and people had to report the women missing, which would mean the police were involved, and I didn't necessarily mean NYPD. I had learned that the women who were taken were, a lot of the times, tourists, so that got me thinking. I searched on the internet and found out that there were nearly 90,000 missing people cases open in the US alone. How was that possible? It was no wonder my father got away with his shit. Before there could be an investigation, the women were sold and shipped off without a trace.
To make matters worse, I hadn't seen Zell in almost two weeks. I thought about her all the time, and I had planned to go every Saturday night instead of going to parties like I had in the past, but instead, my father had other plans for me.
We were getting ready for another auction, and I was no closer to figuring out how to stop it or get Zell out of the penthouse. I thought about just walking out of the place with Zell by my side, and I was certain I could do that by pulling my weight, but once my father found out, I would have a lot to explain, and he would take her back. It wasn't as though I had a place for us to hide, and I didn't want to hide her. She had been locked away for far too long, and the poor girl needed sunshine.
Dad was out doing his business—or at his club—Mom was still MIA, and I wanted to see Zell, so I did. This time though, Madam was going to turn the fucking cameras off. She would learn that I was going to be her boss, and I should have the same respect as my father.
I got into the town car that I used and instructed my driver to head to the penthouse. It was only a few blocks away, but before we got there, I had an idea. "Nate, pull up to the corner. I need to run into the store for a minute."
"Yes, sir," Nate replied and pulled the car over to the curb.
As I got out of the back of the car, snow fell from the sky, and I hurried inside the store. It wasn't a place I frequented, but I quickly found what I was looking for, paid for it, and headed back to the warm car. Nate drove me the rest of the way to the penthouse.
"I'll be an hour or so," I stated as I opened the door and slid out. "I'll text you when I'm ready."
"Yes, sir."
I hurried into the lobby of the building, and like the time before, I buzzed up to the penthouse floor to let Madam know I was there. When I’d come with my father the first time, he’d used a key to get up to the penthouse. I'd assumed all clients had one, but once I knew he owned the place, I thought differently. When I’d come alone last time, I’d had to be buzzed up after using a one-way monitor to call up.
I waited a few seconds before the monitor finally turned on. When it did, Madam's face appeared. I'd expected it to be Marcus or another guard like last time. "Mr. Russo. What are you doing here?"
"I came to see Zell."
"I … I'm sorry, she's not available."
I tilted my head to the side slightly and furrowed my brow in confusion. "What do you mean she's not available?"
"She's under the weather."
I wished I could see her face to gauge if she was lying or not. "I don't care. I want to see her."
"I'm sorry—"
"Do I need to call my father?" I asked and pulled my cell phone out of my coat.
"Now, you listen to me—"
"No," I snapped, not caring if the doorman or anyone walking to the other set of elevators could hear me. "You listen to me. One day soon, this will be my operation. I will become your boss. If you don't want to be put out on your ass in the middle of winter, I suggest you let me in. Do I make myself clear?" I waited for her to respond as I replayed what I had said, my tone, and how easily it rolled off my tongue. I'd learned a lot from Frank Russo over the years, and not taking shit was one of them.
"You're … you're taking over?" she stammered.
I smiled wide. "I am."
"Since when?"
Since none of your fucking business, I wanted to say. "Since my father started showing me the ropes."
The front door of the building opened, and I looked over to see a couple enter. They went to another set of elevators that I assumed stopped on other floors in the building. The elevator to get to the penthouse went directly to the thirty-third floor.
"You have two seconds to send the elevator down, or I will be calling my father." I turned the phone toward the screen to show that his contact info was pulled up, and all I needed to do was press a button for it to call him.
She didn't respond, but I heard the elevator start to descend. When it was on the ground floor, I stepped inside and pressed the button to go up. It felt good to be in power, and I realized why my father was the way he was. It was like a high that I never wanted to go away.
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. I half expected Madam to be waiting so she could yell at me, but she wasn't. It was the guard I had seen the time I came with my father. He nodded. "I don't think we've officially met," I stated. "Frankie Russo." I stuck out my hand.
He took it. "Ricardo."
"Not sure if Marcus told you, but I'll be taking over soon for my father. You'll be seeing a lot more of me."
"Yes, sir." He gave a quick nod of approval.
"And"—I turned toward the sitting room—"where is Madam?" I'd completely forgotten what her real name was. When my father called her by it, I wasn't paying attention because my only focus was on the girl with the super long blonde hair. Was is Cinnamon? Basil? Cayenne? I knew it was some sort of spice.
"She's in her room, sir."
So, this was how she treated the new boss. I would remember that. "Okay. If you'll tell Zell that I'm here for her."
"Right away, sir."
He grabbed a phone that was hanging on the wall behind him, and a few moments later said, "Ms. Zell has a visitor." I smiled to myself as I looked around the room. Yeah, she did. "It's Mr. Russo … Junior." He hung up the phone. "She'll be right up, sir."
"Thank you." I nodded and started to walk away but then stopped. "And please tell Madam to turn off the cameras."
"Yes, sir." He grabbed the phone again, and I walked away.
I didn't have to wait long for Zell to walk into the room. She was in the same black dress I'd seen her in before, and this time her hair was up in a ponytail.
"Hi," she greeted.
I smiled and walked toward her. "Hi."
"I didn't think you'd come back."
"I wanted to come sooner, but I had business with my father."
"Oh." She looked down at the floor as though she was embarrassed. "Madam said I can't see you anymore."
I chuckled under my breath. "And yet, here I am."
"Is it okay?" She barely looked up at me.
I reached out my arms to indicate the room. "Do you see her pulling me away?"
"No."
I lifted her chin with my finger and stared into her baby blue eyes. "It's okay. I promise. Are you ready?"
She nodded a little. "Yes."
"Lead the way, princess." Zell smiled slowly and then turned and started for the hall. "Wait." I stopped her by grabbing her arm, a thought occurring to me. I stepped close to Zell and lowered my voice. "Are there cameras in your room?" I didn't trust Madam.
"Yes," she breathed. "There are cameras in every room."
"Do you know where they are?" The cameras that were in the room I had been in the last two times weren't visible.
"Yes. They aren't hidden like the ones in the rooms on this floor."
"Good." I grinned. "Let's go to your room."
"My room?" She sucked in a breath. "Really?"
"I want to see it." I smirked.
"Can we?"
"Oh, princess." I chuckled. "I can do whatever the fuck I want."
"I don't want to get into trouble," Zell whispered.
"You won't."
"Promise?"
I stuck out my
pinky. "Promise. If—what’s her fucking real name again?"
"Saffron," she replied.
"Oh." I snorted. I was way off. "If Saffron gives you a hard time, I want you to tell me. I will deal with her."
"But she's my mother."
"And I'm her boss." Well, I would be soon.
"Does it work like that?"
"It does if she doesn't want to be homeless."
Zell's pretty blue eyes widened. "You can do that?"
I cupped her cheek and repeated, "I can do whatever the fuck I want."
"Okay." She beamed. "It's this way."
She turned and walked to the other end of the hall. I followed her as we went up the back staircase and onto another floor. Her bedroom door was the first one on the left.
"It's small," she stated.
"It's okay."
Zell was right. Her room was tiny. There was only enough room for her twin bed, a nightstand with a small lamp on it, an easel in the corner, and a small rack for her clothes. She didn't have a closet or posters on the walls or anything that I'd seen from girls at school.
The camera was in the corner of the room directed at her bed, so I grabbed a shirt off of Zell's clothing rack and flung it over the camera for good measure.
"I told you it's small."
"That will change soon," I stated, and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Really?"
"I don't have a plan yet, but I will soon." I hoped.
"Tomorrow, I'll be eighteen."
"Yeah?"
She nodded but didn't smile.
"Aren't you excited about that?"
She blew out a breath. "The girls are scared of what Madam will do."
"What do you mean?"
"With—with clients."
I growled deep in my throat at the thought. "She better fucking not."
"How can I stop her?"
I pulled the prepaid cell phone out of my coat pocket and handed it to her. "You call me, and I will be right over."
She took the phone from me. "I've never used one of these before."
"It's easy." I stood and shrugged out of my coat. I grabbed my phone from my jeans and sent a text to the phone number I'd already programmed into it: I like your hair up.
"Now, press this button"—I pointed at the screen—"and you can read … you can read, right?"
She rolled her blue eyes. "Yes, I can read."
I chuckled. "Just making sure."
Zell shoved my shoulder playfully. "Just show me how to use this."
I did, showing her how to text back: I like you naked.
"You didn't say that!" She laughed.
I grinned. "No one will see it. You need to make sure you hide this so Madam doesn't take it away."
"And not use it in front of the cameras."
"Exactly." My princess was learning. "You can text me anytime, and remember to call me if anything happens, and you need me. I just live a few blocks away."
"This makes me so happy." Zell hugged the phone against her chest. "I've never gotten a gift before."
I cupped her cheek and smiled warmly at her. "Once we get you out of here, I'll shower you with gifts."
"I can't wait."
"Now that you're almost eighteen, it will be easier," I stated.
"Really?"
"You'll be an adult. Madam will no longer control you."
She frowned. "Except I'm locked in here and have nowhere to go."
"I know. I'm working on it." I didn't have a place for her to go, but I had money in my bank account, and I could put her up in a hotel until I had a better plan. I wasn't sure what my father would do when he found out, but I was certain Madam would tell him. I would need to go on the run with Zell, and I wasn't ready to do that yet.
"I know. I hope it's soon."
"Me too, princess. Me too."
I helped her hide the phone. It wasn't the best hiding place, but given her small room and lack of items in it, between her mattress and box spring on the side against the wall was the best place. She could also slip her hand in while lying on her side or stomach and hide it from the camera. She would need to do it under the covers, but I had faith that she could make it work.
"You want to make out again?" I asked as we sat on her bed.
"I thought you'd never ask." She grinned.
I didn't hesitate. For the past two weeks, I'd been thinking about her lips. For someone who had never kissed before, she was a damn good kisser. Or maybe I was a fucking awesome teacher.
Zell broke the kiss. "Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"Can we have sex?"
I balked. "What? Are you serious?"
She turned her head and looked at the blank white wall. "The girls have been teaching me things, and I really don't want my first time to be with someone I don't know."
"Fuck, Zell. Just the thought of you with someone else makes me stabby."
"I'm scared," she admitted.
I pulled her into my arms, her head on my shoulder. I hated this shit. Even though we weren't sure if Madam would turn her own daughter into a whore, I had a feeling she would. She was a Madam in a fucking whorehouse, and Zell was just one more girl to bring in money. At the end of the day, everything revolved around money.
Exactly how my father viewed life.
Zell stayed in my arms for several minutes while I thought about what to do. It was my chance to do this for her. I wouldn't want to lose my virginity to someone I didn't know—well, maybe I would have. It was different for a guy. I was sure of it.
"Princess," I whispered, and she rose her head to look into my eyes. "If you want to do this, I will."
"I do. I've been thinking about this for weeks, and I can't imagine having my first time with anyone else."
"Okay." It felt as though we were making a business deal. It sucked. I wanted it to be hot and heavy with Zell before having sex with her, but we didn't have that option. Maybe in the future there would be a time for that, but tonight wasn't that time. It was as though her virginity was a ticking time bomb. "Are you ready?"
She bobbed her head slightly. "As ready as I'll ever be."
I cupped her cheek. "I'll go slow."
"Okay."
We both stood and started to take off our clothes like we had the last time I was with her. "Do you have a condom?" I asked.
Her baby blues widened. "No. They're in the other rooms."
"Fuck," I breathed.
"I can go get one."
"No." I shook my head. "I don't want to chance Madam waiting for us or some shit."
"Are you sure?"
"I'll just pull out." I shrugged. Because Zell was a virgin, I was almost positive she was clean. The only thing I needed to worry about was getting her pregnant, so I would pull out before I came.
"Because I might get pregnant," she said more so to herself than to me.
"Yes."
We climbed into her small bed, and I tried not to stare at her naked body, but she was beautiful. Everything about Zell was perfect and honestly made me hard. I was trying not to show her how much she turned me on because I didn't want her to get scared, but fuck, I didn't need her to do anything except get naked for me to be hard as a rock.
"Are you ready?" I asked again.
She took a deep breath and then whispered, "Yes."
I didn't realize that sex would hurt. From the books I read, and from what the girls had told me, I thought it was supposed to feel good. I'd heard the girls moan through the walls while I cleaned, and I thought they were having a good time. Was it all an act?
"Are you okay?" Frankie asked as he looked down into my eyes.
I nodded. The pain from when he'd first entered me was slowly going away, but it wasn't feeling good like I'd hoped it would. I didn't want to tell him that, though. He was doing me a favor, and I didn't want him to think he was doing something wrong or feel bad for hurting me.
"I can stop if you want."
"No, it's okay."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes, I want the entire experience."
Frankie chuckled a little as he moved inside of me. "Princess, this isn't the normal experience."
"It's not?"
He shook his head. "God, no."
"Then make it the normal one."
He stopped and slid out of me and sat on his heels. "Then you'll need to relax and just feel."
"Just feel?"
"Close your eyes, and don't think about what's happening. Enjoy it."
It was on the tip of my tongue to tell him that it was hurting and that was why I wasn't liking it, but I didn't say anything. I just nodded again.
I closed my eyes like he'd asked me to, and then his hand was between my legs. My eyes shot open. "What are you doing?"
"Shh," he said. "Trust me."
I nodded once more and closed my eyes again. He didn't start to move. Instead, he used his fingers to rub me. I knew what he was doing as I'd recalled the romance books I'd read, and I had to admit that it was starting to feel good.
"Do you like that?" Frankie asked.
"Yes," I breathed because I did like it. It felt a lot different from when he was inside of me.
"Good."
He rubbed me for a while, and I thought I was going to have my first orgasm, but it didn't happen. I didn't feel pleasure race through me like I'd read or my body convulse, and I thought Frankie knew that too because he stopped using his hand and entered me again and started to move inside of me.
"I need to stop," he said after several long moments of him thrusting, my legs around his hips.
"Oh, okay."
"I mean, I'm going to come."
"Oh!" I exclaimed. I was making him feel good like the girls said to do, and that made me happy that he was enjoying himself even if I wasn't that much.
"Do you have a tissue?" he asked as he rolled off of me. "I'll finish on my own."
I shook my head. "I can go get some from the bathroom."
"Yeah, do that."
"Okay." I got out of the bed, slipped the black dress on, and hurried out of my room, closing the door behind me so no one saw Frankie. When I returned, he was on his back, naked, white stuff on his stomach. "Here," I held out my hand with toilet paper.
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