"Mrs. Russo, is your husband home?"
"No, he's out of town on business."
"May we come in?"
"Sure." She waved them in.
"Officers," I greeted. I didn't recognize them even though I had seen a few cops that I knew were on my father's payroll. I wasn't sure whether these policemen were or not.
The two officers dressed in suits tipped their heads as they entered. "Sorry to come by at this hour," one of them stated.
"What can we do for you?" Mom questioned.
"Can you call your husband?"
When Ricardo called to tell me that the job was done, he said my father's cell phone was in his suit jacket. They also took cinder blocks and tied his feet to them, same with Madam, to keep them from washing up. Ricardo also told me that the girls and the chef were at his place until we could figure something out.
I looked at my mother, and she said, "Sure. Let me grab my phone."
"I have my phone," I informed them. "But what is this about?"
"There was a fire at his warehouse. We'd like to inform him."
"A fire?" I questioned. "Is it still standing?"
"Yes, but a lot of the inside was burned, including what we believe was his office."
"Oh my," Mom gasped.
"I believe he was renting it out, but I don't know who the tenant is." I pulled my cell phone from my pocket. "Let me try him." I pressed the button to call him. It went straight to voicemail. "Voicemail," I stated, "but I can let him know when we talk or see him. Is there anything you need us to do?"
"Not at this time, but please have him call us as soon as possible." He handed me his business card.
"Will do."
The two officers left, and Mom shut and locked the door. "That was close," she whispered.
"Yeah, it was."
Jackie and Zell came around the corner. "Is everything okay?" Jackie asked.
"Yeah," I confirmed. "It was about the fire."
"Did you do a good job?" Zell questioned.
"No," I snorted. "It's still standing."
"And what are you going to do now?" Mom inquired.
"I'm going to tear that fucker down."
The next day, we went back to the penthouse to clean up the blood. I was still exhausted from everything, and feeling emotional, but I tried to block everything out while we scrubbed the floors.
"Will I be able to see the girls again?" I asked, wiping sweat from my forehead.
"Sure you can, sweetie," Quinn answered.
"Yeah," Frankie agreed. "Ricardo said the girls are trying to get in contact with their families, but they're still in town."
"I wonder how they are all processing everything."
"I'm sure the best they can just like you," Jackie replied.
"And you?" Frankie asked her.
She shrugged. "I feel lost, but I'm sure in a few weeks, I'll start getting my bearings."
Quinn reached over and patted Jackie's hand as they scrubbed the spot where Madam died. "You can stay at the apartment as long as you'd like."
"Thank you."
"What's going to happen with this place?" I asked.
Frankie looked at Quinn. "I'm sure we'll sell it. I don't think any of us want to live here."
We all shook our heads.
Frankie continued, "I'm thinking we tear the warehouse down, sell the property if we can, sell this place, and sell the club. That should get us a lot of money to live on for a while, don't you think, Mom?"
"Well, I'm not going to run any of the places, so yeah."
"And also"—Frankie rubbed the back of his neck—"I'm going to California in the fall."
All of us looked at him with wide eyes, and my mouth dropped open. "You're what?" Quinn questioned.
He shrugged. "I got into UCLA."
"And you're just now telling me?" Quinn got to her feet and started to pace.
Frankie got to his as he responded, "I didn't think you'd care, and I wanted away from Dad."
"Of course, I would have cared. You're my son. Were you just going to disappear?"
He nodded. "I've been saving my money, and yes, I was just going to leave. Start a new life three thousand miles away or whatever, and be happy."
"And now?" I asked.
"Now, I think we should all go. We sell everything, buy some houses in LA, and start over. No one will know who the Russos are."
"I've always wanted to see the beach," I admitted.
"Then come with me, princess."
I grinned at him. "Not like I have anywhere else to go."
"The weather is nicer in the winter there," Quinn stated.
"Like I said, I think we should all go. Start a new life and be done with all of this." Frankie waved his hand around.
"Not like I have anywhere else to go," Jackie said, mimicking what I'd said.
"Then it's settled," Frankie stated.
We all nodded and started to scrub the floor again. "What about your family?" I asked Jackie, remembering my conversation with Frankie about seeing a picture of my father.
Jackie shrugged. "It's been eighteen years. I don't know where anyone is or remember phone numbers."
"You can look them up on Facebook or Insta," Frankie stated.
"What's that?"
Frankie pulled his phone from his pocket. "Just the best way to find long lost friends and family—or stalk people."
I wasn't able to scrub the floors as long as everyone else did. After thirty minutes, I kept getting tired and out of breath. It was weird.
"I'm sure it's just the last few days catching up to you." Jackie handed me a glass of water as I sat on the couch in the sitting room.
"Or she's pregnant." Quinn laughed at her own joke.
"Are you?" Jackie questioned.
I furrowed my brow and looked at Frankie. "I don't think so."
"I … you know …" He glanced at his mom quickly and then back to me. "Pulled out."
Quinn and Jackie shared a look, and Jackie said, "We'll get you a pregnancy test."
"What? Why?" I questioned.
"Because pulling out isn't foolproof," Quinn stated, "especially when you're eighteen and Fertile Myrtle."
"Who's Myrtle?" I asked.
The ladies laughed, and Jackie said, "It's just a figure of speech for someone who gets pregnant the first time they have sex or when you can get pregnant easily. Like"—she waved her hand toward Frankie—"with the pull-out method."
"Should I be worried?"
Frankie rushed to me and crouched beside me. "No, princess. I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?"
He stuck out his pinky. "Promise."
One Year Later
The California sun shined across my face as I sat on our deck overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Our twins, Russell and Rae, were napping, and both grandmas were sitting outside with me to get some fresh air while Frankie was in class.
After we had cleaned the penthouse, I took a pregnancy test, but it was negative. We determined I was exhausted from everything that had occurred, but when my period didn't come, and I was still tired a lot of the time, I took another test, and that one was positive.
Jackie and Quinn were with us every step of the way, through every doctor appointment, and then when I gave birth. I didn't think I could have done it without them. I went from being a sheltered girl with little knowledge of the real world to becoming a mother of two. But my prince had come to my tower and rescued me, and I woke up each morning with his arms around me, keeping me safe.
In the year since we’d taken our lives back from Frank Russo, Jackie and Quinn had bonded, and when we moved to California in late July, Jackie moved into a condo Quinn bought because neither one wanted to live alone. Frankie and Quinn weren't able to sell everything as they had hoped because it was all in Frank's name, and there was no body or death certificate to show he wasn't alive. Quinn opened a missing person's case, but to date, nothing had been discovered regarding Frank Sr. She filed for divorce, and after a bunch o
f legal steps I didn't understand, it was granted.
She and Frankie rented out the penthouse to some bigwig Wall Street person, tore down the warehouse and left it as an empty lot, and closed the club because neither of them wanted to run a nightclub. Quinn still had access to the bank accounts, and they found out that the apartment was solely in her name, so she sold it and ended up with enough money to buy a house for us and the condo for herself.
The girls and Martin all returned to their homes. It was complicated, but Ricardo knew of a house that was vacant and in Madam's name. It was her house that she'd shared with Frank's brother, but after he died, Madam had moved into the penthouse, leaving her home empty. Frankie and Ricardo staged it to look like the girls and Martin were held there. They came up with a story that some men came to the house, started a fight with Madam and Frank, gunshots were fired, and then silence. The girls and Martin were able to escape after they heard nothing for several hours. Frankie knew the story was iffy since Madam’s and Frank’s bodies weren’t there, but in the end, the cops believed it. The girls and I stayed in contact on Facebook. There was something going on with Erin and Ricardo, but I had yet to hear anything except they might be moving to California together.
"Why don't you go lie down? We'll get the twins if they wake up," Quinn suggested.
"Are you sure?"
"Honey, that's why we're here," Jackie stated. "Go get some rest."
"Okay, thank you."
I went to the room I shared with Frankie. It was three times the size of the room I'd spent most of my life in. It was crazy to me how so much had changed in a little over a year. I was no longer focused on the fact that I had killed Madam or that I had been raped—though the memories still weighed on me at times. I tried to think positively, reminding myself that my future wasn't going to be in a one-window room, cleaning sex rooms. My life was my kids, Frankie, Jackie, and Quinn.
My family.
My real family.
Jackie found her sister on Facebook, and we had a reunion with her side of the family. Since the girls had told the cops the cover-up story, Jackie and I stuck with that too. We didn't go into a lot of detail, and no one asked a lot of questions. I figured everyone was just relieved we were alive. I had thought I had Jackie's blue eyes, but when I finally saw a photo of Russell, my father, I knew I got them from him.
I wasn't sure how long I was asleep, but I woke to the bed dipping and arms being wrapped around me from behind. "What time is it?"
"Almost four. I didn't mean to wake you," Frankie whispered.
I turned and faced him. "It's okay. I should check on the babies."
"Babies are fine. Nanna and Grams are taking good care of them."
"I'm sure they're hungry," I said, meaning the babies.
"They were drinking bottles when I got home ten minutes ago. They're fine."
"Okay." I snuggled closer, closing my eyes and breathing him in.
"In fact, I was thinking that we should have a date night tonight."
My eyes popped open. "A date night?"
Frankie grinned. "Yeah, let me take my girl out. It's Friday night."
"What about the babies?"
"They're in good hands."
"What did you have in mind?"
"It's a surprise."
Frankie drove us down the Pacific Coast Highway, but wouldn't tell me where we were going. We hadn't spent a lot of time together exploring the LA area since we'd moved to Malibu nine months ago. We spent more time on the beach outside of our house than in the car. Having my feet in the sand made me happy, made me feel free.
I no longer had the lock around me, keeping me in my tower.
Frankie pulled the car into a parking garage and cut the engine. "Ready?"
"I think so."
"Then come on. We have a lot to do." He opened his door.
I furrowed my brow and hurried to get out of the car to follow him. "A lot to do?"
"It's a surprise, princess." He took my hand and led me out of the garage and down the sidewalk. It didn't take me long to realize where we were—or at least what we were doing.
"Is that a Ferris wheel?" I pointed, looking up into the sky. I'd never seen one in person before.
"It is."
"What is this place?" I asked as we walked onto a boardwalk.
"It's the Santa Monica Pier."
"And what do we do here?"
Frankie wrapped his arm across my shoulder and kissed the side of my head. "Play games, eat fried food, be kids."
"Be kids?"
"You didn't get to be one, princess, so we're not leaving until you at least feel like a kid for a short period of time."
"How does that work?"
"Well, first, we're going to get a corn dog followed by a funnel cake, and then we're going to ride all the rides until you either puke or feel as though you're going to."
"What?" I laughed. "I don't want to throw up."
"Then you better hope you have a stomach of steel because we're doing it all."
Frankie took my hand, and we started to jog toward a stand for food. We ate corn dogs, devoured a funnel cake, and drank sodas until I couldn't eat another bite. Then we rode ride after ride after ride. We laughed, we screamed with excitement, and we had fun until the sun set and everything was lit up by multicolored lights. I couldn’t remember the last time I'd had fun like we were experiencing—if ever. It was one of the best nights of my life, especially when I got my first taste of cotton candy.
"Oh my gosh, this stuff is so yummy!"
"It's almost as sweet as you." Frankie kissed my lips. He tasted like sugar.
He took my hand again and led me to the Ferris wheel. "Ready to see all of this from up in the sky?"
I nodded. "Yes."
We got into one of the pods and started to go up. It took several minutes until we were at the top, and I could see a panoramic view of the California coast. It was breathtaking.
"Princess?" I looked over to the other side of the pod, noticing Frankie was down on one knee. "I have a question for you."
"Okay?" I arched a brow.
He pulled a square diamond solitaire ring from the pocket of his shorts. "The night we first met, I didn't realize how important it would be to choose you, but it was the best decision I've ever made. It changed both of our lives, and now I can't imagine mine without you in it. You're the mother of my children, my best friend, my princess, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you marry me?"
"Yes!" I answered as I flung myself into his arms, causing the pod of the Ferris wheel to swing slightly.
I was Frankie's princess, and he was my prince. Together we would have our happily ever after.
Epilogue
Two Months Later
It was a warm spring day on the Hudson River. The sun glistened against the waves created by the boats and cruise ships coming and going through the harbor. At one time, people dumped their sewage into the water, or dead bodies like Frank Russo and his men had.
It was ironic that Frank, himself, had also been dumped into the harbor and left to rot as he had done to so many men over the years. The difference was, his son had instructed his men to tie his father down with cinder blocks so he would never be found. Ricardo Montoya had overseen those men, making sure they did as they were told, but he should have been more specific and instructed them to use chains to tie Frank and Saffron down.
Over the last fourteen months, the ropes had started to decompose, and with another push from a wave by a boat, Frank Russo's mutilated body broke free from the stone blocks and started its journey toward the shore.
The end for now …
Ricardo and Erin are getting their story in Deliverance. For information on the release and other important Knight news, please subscribe to Kimberly's newsletter so you don't miss out.
Acknowledgments
I feel as though my acknowledgements are always the same because I have my tribe that help me with each book. So, Mr. Knight,
my editor, Jennifer Roberts-Hall, Laura Hull, Leanne Tuley, Kerri Mirabella, Stacy Nickleson, Kristin Jones, Melissa Mendoza, and Veronica Escamilla, thank you so much for all the time you helped invest in this story to make it what it is today. I appreciate each of you.
To Dee Garcia and N. Isabelle Blanco: Thank you for thinking of me to be a part of this collection. Writing the retelling of Rapunzel was so much fun.
To my Steamy Knights: Thank you for your continued love and support. You all rock. I love how I can share my personal life with you as well as all things Knight news!
To all the bloggers and authors who participated in my cover reveal, release day blitz, review tour, and release day party: thank you! I can’t tell you how much I appreciate each and every one of you who are willing to help me spread the word about my books. Without you, I wouldn’t be living my dream.
And finally, to my readers: Thank you for believing in me and taking a chance on my books again and again. Without you guys, I wouldn’t still be writing and bringing you all the stories that captivate my brain on a daily basis.
Books By Kimberly Knight
Club 24 Series – Romantic Suspense
Perfect Together – The Club 24 Series Box Set
Halo Series – Contemporary Romance
Saddles & Racks Series – Romantic Suspense
By Invitation Only – Erotic Romance Standalone
Sensation Fantasies – Erotic Romance Novellas
Dangerously Intertwined Series – Romantic Suspense
Burn Falls – Paranormal Romance Standalone
And more …
About the Author
Kimberly Knight is a USA Today Bestselling author who lives in the mountains near a lake in California with her loving husband, who is a great research assistant. Kimberly writes in a variety of genres including romantic suspense, contemporary romance, erotic romance, and paranormal romance. Her books will make you laugh, cry, swoon, and fall in love before she throws you curve balls you never see coming.
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