Lock

by Kimberly Knight

  "That's right," Frankie seethed. "I'm your boss. Now, I'm here to take all the girls with me, and we'll be on our way." He pushed the client into the room, and Leanne rushed toward him, pulling him back to the line of girls who were waiting. I gave them a warm smile.

  "I … What?" Ricardo questioned.

  "Look, man, I like you, so don't make this more difficult than it needs to be." Frankie pointed the gun at Ricardo, and he held up his hands.

  "You're not going anywhere!" I turned my head quickly, seeing Madam standing with her own gun. I'd never seen her with a gun before. "I had a hunch you'd show up."

  Frankie moved the gun to point it at Madam instead of Ricardo as he pulled me behind him. My gaze went between the two guns as I peered over his shoulder and then back to Ricardo to see what he would do.

  "Please?" I begged Ricardo. "You know all of this is wrong."

  "Beg all you want, little girl, but he works for me, and he'll do as I say," Madam stated. "And what the hell did you do to your hair?"

  "Wrong," Frankie argued, ignoring the hair question. "He works for the Russos. He will do as I say."

  Madam chuckled. "And what do you think I am?"

  I drew my head back slightly. What did that mean?

  "Excuse me?" Frankie asked.

  Madam gave a sinister laugh again. "Why do you think your father trusts me so much to run his whores? I was married to his twin brother."

  "Yeah, right." Frankie laughed. "My father never told me you were my aunt."

  "'Your uncle died before you were born. There was no reason to tell you."

  Frankie paused for a moment and then said, "Doesn't matter. My father was teaching me everything to take over. Therefore, I am the boss."

  "That was before you took off with my daughter."

  "She's—"

  "I'm not your daughter!" I screamed.

  "What are you talking about, girl?" Madam questioned. "Of course, you're my daughter."

  Frankie chuckled. "Actually, we had a nice morning with Jackie and know all about you taking Zell."

  The girls gasped, some of them covering their mouths in shock.

  "That's right," Frankie continued. "You can't control Zell any longer. Not only is she eighteen, but she's also not yours. Just like none of these girls are legally here."

  "I've had enough of you," Madam stated, and then there was a loud pop.

  I jumped and screamed as did all the girls until Frankie turned, grabbing at his chest as blood seeped through his fingers. He fell to his knees, and so did I, holding him in my arms.

  "You shot him!" I roared with a sob, seeing Ricardo move to stand in front of Erin as though he was protecting her.

  "Of course I shot him. I'm not going to let some kid ruin my business," Madam seethed.

  I reached for Frankie's gun. “Some kid?" I stood and pointed the gun at her, tears rolling down my cheeks. "He's a better person than you'll ever be."

  She snorted. "What? Are you going to shoot me, girl?"

  My hand was shaking as I pointed the gun at her. I didn't know what I was going to do. This wasn't the plan. Frankie wasn't supposed to get shot. We had only wanted to save my friends.

  I looked over at Ricardo and saw that he had his gun out, but it wasn't pointed at anyone. Was he conflicted on what to do? Who to help? He still stood in front of Erin—and only Erin—as though he was her shield.

  "Please?" I begged him. "Help us leave."

  "Oh, please," Madam sassed. "He's not going to help a little girl, especially now that her big bad boyfriend is bleeding out."

  Was Frankie dying? He was groaning as he clenched his chest. I couldn't let him die for nothing. I couldn't let him die, period. He had killed the man who had raped me out of revenge, and now it was my turn to step up and help him. To get retribution for everything Madam had done to me over the years.

  With a shaky hand, and still aiming the gun at Madam, I roared, "And no one will help you!" I pulled the trigger, another pop echoing in the wide space of the main floor. This time, I didn't jump. This time, I was the reason for the gun firing.

  I watched Madam's eyes grow huge with confusion, and then she grabbed her stomach, blood seeping through her fingers. I pulled the trigger and shot her again, the force of the blow causing to jerk Madam back. She fell onto her back, groaning and moaning in anguish. No one went to check on her.

  "Let's go!" Ricardo ordered, waving the girls to come to him as he pressed the button to the elevator, Erin's hand in his.

  "What about Frankie?" I cried and rushed over to him, dropping the gun from my grasp as I knelt down beside him. His eyes were closed, and I didn't know if he was dead or alive. He had stopped groaning in pain or making any noise.

  "I'm a doctor," the client stated, stepping forward. "Let me help." I moved aside, suddenly thankful for this man. "I need something to stop the bleeding. Grab as many towels as you can, and something to sterilize the wound with."

  Krissy and the girls ran off to help. I looked toward Erin, pleading for her to help me. This was Frankie, and if she knew what he had done for me with the man from last night, she wouldn't hesitate to help. "Please?" I begged her. "He saved me."

  Erin looked up at Ricardo. "I can't leave her."

  "Please?" I pleaded to Ricardo. Frankie couldn't die.

  "Okay." Ricardo finally nodded and stepped away from the elevator. "We better hurry in case Frank Sr. comes."

  As I watched the doctor, I was scared. What if Frankie died? Frankie risked his life for me—literally—and I couldn't just leave him. I had no way of getting back to the cabin. I didn't even know where it was. But also, we had told Jackie that we would be back. Would she worry if we didn't show up after a few days? Would Jackie think that something had gone wrong and we were dead? Something had gone wrong, and Frankie was lying on the expensive wood floor bleeding.

  "Is he going to be okay?" I asked for the millionth time.

  "Zell, let's sit down." Erin grabbed my hand and tried to lead me away, but I stopped her.

  "I'm not leaving him."

  "We're just going right over there." She pointed to the couch.

  I shook my head. "No."

  "I think Madam is dead," Leanne stated as she came up to us. I didn't turn to look at Madam. I didn't care about her.

  "What do we do?" Krissy asked.

  "If we call the cops, Zell will be charged with killing her," Carla stated.

  "It was self-defense," Clarissa countered. "We will all say that."

  The buzzer by the elevator buzzed to indicate that there was someone down in the lobby calling up. All the girls, including myself, looked at each other and then at Ricardo to see what he would do.

  "I'll handle it." He walked toward the monitor and pressed a button. "I'm sorry, we're full."

  I looked over his shoulder at the screen. Two women appeared, and it took me a moment, but I recognized one of them. "Wait!" I shouted. "That's Jackie."

  "Who's Jackie?" Clarissa inquired.

  I started for the elevator. "My real mom."

  I heard gasps as I walked up beside Ricardo. He held down a button, and I asked, "Jackie? What are you doing here?"

  "Zell?" It was a one-way monitor, so she could only hear me.

  "Yeah, it's me."

  "What are you doing here?" she questioned back.

  "Uh …" I rubbed the back of my neck as I looked down at Frankie and the doctor, who was using a needle and thread on Frankie's wound. "We … uh, we'll let you up."

  "Zell, do you know the other lady?" Ricardo asked as he pressed another button, causing the elevator to start to go down.

  "No, but that's my mom. She knows why Frankie and I came back to the city. Maybe she can help us."

  "The other lady is Frankie's mom," Ricardo stated.

  "Really?" I had no idea how the two ladies ended up together.

  "Yeah, so how is she with your mom?"

  I shrugged. "I have no idea."

  The elevator dinged, and the doo
rs opened. "What are you doing here?" Jackie asked me as she rushed out toward me.

  "We—"

  "Frankie!" his mom screeched, rushing to where he was lying on the floor still being worked on by the doctor.

  Ricardo grabbed her before she could interrupt the doctor. "He's being helped, Quinn. Let the doctor finish."

  I looked at Jackie for answers. "That's his mom," she said.

  "How is she with you?"

  "You weren't the only ones to pay me a visit."

  "What?"

  "I'll explain later. What happened to Frankie?"

  I pointed to where Madam was still lying on the floor. "Madam shot him."

  "She what?" Frankie's mom questioned and tried to get out of Ricardo's embrace as though she was going to rush over to Madam and kill her again.

  "She's dead, Quinn," Ricardo stated. "Zell got retribution for your boy."

  "You shot her?" Jackie asked me.

  I nodded. "Twice."

  "But why did she shoot Frankie?" Jackie questioned.

  "Because we came here to save my friends, and she didn't like that."

  "What happened with the warehouse and the other girls?"

  I shrugged. "Frankie set the warehouse on fire, but he didn't think he did a good enough job for a decoy, so we came here instead of going to the club."

  "So, the girls were still sold?"

  "I think so."

  The doctor leaned back from Frankie. "Okay, I got the bullet out, and the bleeding is stopped for now. Luckily, it wasn't deep, and this needle and thread worked, but it's probably not going to hold, and he needs antibiotics."

  "Can you prescribe them?" Frankie's mother asked.

  "Yes, I'll call it in to the nearest pharmacy, and I'll start a file that I treated him for the flu."

  "Thank you," Quinn replied.

  "Will he be okay?" I asked.

  "He lost some blood, but I don't think it was a life-threatening amount."

  "Then why does he seem unconscious?" Erin questioned.

  "I think he passed out from the pain," the doctor replied. "We should get him on a bed or something until he wakes up."

  Ricardo moved forward. "Let me help you."

  "Are you okay?" Jackie asked, looking me over while the doctor and Ricardo picked Frankie up and started for the hall. Frankie's mom followed them.

  "I'm fine."

  "I think it just hasn't hit her yet," Erin stated and walked over to us. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Erin, I'm Zell's teacher."

  "Teacher?" Jackie questioned.

  "And one of the girls here," Erin explained.

  "Ah." Jackie shook Erin's hand.

  "She's one of my best friends," I clarified.

  "Aw, Zell, that means a lot." Erin smiled.

  It was true. She had always been the one to look out for me, and the one I would turn to first when I needed help or advice. She was also the one who had been in the house the longest.

  "What are you doing here?" I asked Jackie.

  "Well"—she pointed at Madam's body—"I was coming to confront her."

  "About what?"

  "I wanted to give her a piece of my mind about taking you from me."

  "Before she died, we told her that we knew about you and what she did."

  "You did?" Jackie asked with wide eyes.

  I nodded. "I think that's what made her snap and shoot Frankie."

  "She probably realized she was losing control," Erin stated.

  "And what are we going to do about Saffron?" Frankie's mom asked as she and the two men came into the room. I noticed the doctor's hands were now clean of Frankie's blood.

  Ricardo looked at me, and I shrugged. I didn't know what to do with her. His gaze moved to Erin, and she too shrugged. "I can dump her in the harbor. Wouldn't be my first time."

  Everyone looked at the doctor, and he raised his hands slightly. "Don't look at me. I was never here, so I'll just be on my way. I'll call in the prescription from the taxi. Leanne, I guess this is goodbye."

  "Wow," she breathed and stood. "I guess it is." They hugged.

  "Thank you for what you did for my son," Quinn stated.

  "Not going to lie, he scared the shit out of me when he had a gun to my back and made me let them up with me." He motioned toward me. "But once I saw and heard what was happening, I knew who the good guy was." He started for the elevator. "But again, I was never here."

  Everyone nodded, and the doctor got into the elevator. After the doors closed, I heard it start to go down.

  "Do you think he's telling the truth?" Krissy asked.

  "Dr. Dan is a good guy," Leanne stated. "He has a wife and kids, and I'm sure they have no clue he was coming here."

  "A good guy who cheats on his wife?" Carla questioned.

  "At least he helped Frankie," Leanne said.

  Everyone nodded their agreement.

  "So, are you just going to carry Madam out on the elevator?" Erin asked Ricardo.

  "No, I'll use the service elevator."

  "What service elevator?" Krissy questioned.

  "The one in the kitchen."

  All the girls looked at each other in confusion, and Erin asked, "What elevator in the kitchen?"

  "The one between the chef's room and the pantry."

  "I thought that was a closet," I stated.

  Ricardo shook his head. "Nope. Service elevator."

  "Why are we just learning about that now?" Carla questioned.

  "It's not like you all could have escaped. You need the code to access it," Ricardo clarified.

  "And you know it?" Erin quizzed.

  Ricardo shrugged. "Yeah. I have for years."

  Erin shoved at his chest. "You could have gotten us out of here for years?"

  "It's not that easy," he retorted.

  "And why not?" Leanne cut in.

  "For one, there are cameras, and Mr. Russo would have seen me let you guys escape."

  "You could have given us the code." Krissy crossed her arms over her chest.

  "And when Mr. Russo saw you all leave, who do you think would have been a dead man?"

  Everyone was silent for a moment. Ricardo had a point.

  "So, you chose your life over us?" Carla questioned.

  Ricardo shrugged. "I'm sorry. You all know how dangerous he is." Everyone nodded. "I'm afraid of what he'll do when he learns of all this." Ricardo motioned at Madam and the blood from Frankie that was still on the floor.

  "We need to stop him," Quinn stated. No one expected her to say that about her own husband.

  "And how do you propose we do that?" Erin asked.

  Frankie's mom and Jackie shared a look, and Frankie's mom said, "Well, we already have one plan in play."

  "And what's that?" Ricardo questioned.

  "I put antifreeze in his scotch."

  "Did he drink it?" Clarissa asked.

  The two older women shrugged, and Jackie answered, "We left before he was home."

  "He's at the auction, right?" Frankie's mom asked Ricardo.

  He shrugged. "I think so."

  "It should be over soon." We all turned to see Frankie walk into the room.

  "Frankie!" I rushed to him and wrapped my arms around his neck.

  "Easy there, princess. I was shot."

  "Sorry." I stepped back, and Frankie looked over my shoulder.

  "Mom? What—what are you doing here?"

  "Well"—she blew out a breath—"I came back to kill your father."

  I woke in a strange room.

  When I opened my eyes and finally looked around, I realized it was the room Zell and I had used when we fake-fucked. God, I hated that room. No telling how many sick fucks used it to get their rocks off.

  I groaned as I sat up. My chest was killing me, and I felt lightheaded. I remembered getting shot, the burn as though someone had stuck a cigarette into my skin, but I didn't remember going to sleep or anything after Zell shouted that Saffron had shot me.

  That fucking bitch.


  My ears perked up when I heard yelling coming from down the hall. Standing was easier than sitting up, and I swayed slightly as I caught my balance and then exited the room to see what all the commotion was about. I feared it had something to do with Zell, but when I got out into the hall, I heard Ricardo telling them about a service elevator, and then my mother said she was trying to poison my father. My own mother.

  Zell and my mother rushed to me, Zell reminding me that I had been shot because of how hard she squeezed me, and then my mother announcing that she had come out of hiding so she could kill my father.

  "Yeah, do you really think antifreeze is going to work?" I questioned.

  "It will work if he drinks it," Mom replied.

  "We need to do something else."

  "And what is that?"

  I thought for a moment, bringing Zell against my side. "Well, seeing as this place is a disaster and—is she dead?" I pointed at Saffron.

  All eyes turned to Zell, so I looked at her too. "I shot her after she shot you."

  "You did?"

  She shrugged. "You did it for me."

  I wrapped her in my arms, not caring about the pain that radiated through my entire body when I did it. "Thank you, princess. That means a lot."

  "So, Frankie, what do you suggest we do?" Jackie asked.

  "Oh, right." I let go of Zell, but kept her against my side—she was keeping me upright. "So, seeing as this place is a disaster, why don't you"—I pointed at Ricardo—"call my father and tell him most of the truth."

  "Most of the truth?" he questioned.

  "That Zell and I showed up, and Saffron shot me, but it was you who shot her."

  "You think he'll come rushing over?" Ricardo asked.

  I lifted my free shoulder. "Tell him you don't know what to do with her body, and I'm bleeding out. I'm sure he'll want to be the one to finish me off for betraying him last night."

  "And then what do we do?" Mom asked. "I mean when he arrives."

  "Well, I think once he gets here, he'll realize his time is over. The bitch is dead, his office is hopefully burned to a crisp at the warehouse, and the woman he's been keeping captive at a cabin is here."

  "And what if he pulls his piece?" Ricardo questioned.

  "Then you and I need to be faster."

  "Then maybe I should be the only one in the room," Jackie suggested. "It would throw him off."