Page 37 of Deliverance

"But I would have preferred you didn't see what happened."

"It's my job."

"I know," she sighed.

"Are you doing okay?"

She hesitated for a moment. "I am now. Took a few days and lots of girl talk."

"I want to say that it won't happen again, but we both know it probably will."

Erin swallowed. "I know. I still think you should go to the FBI."

"What if they find no evidence?"

"No evidence? Eight kidnapped women are living in the penthouse."

"Are you telling me that you'd tell the feds you were kidnapped if they came knocking?"

"Yes," she didn't hesitate.

"Even if I went to the FBI, they would need to perform an investigation. That would probably take a long time, if not years. What if Frank got word? He wouldn't hesitate to kill me. And I'm not innocent in all of this. I might not have killed someone, but I've disposed of bodies. It wouldn’t be good for me either."

She thought about what I had said. "You're right."

"I know this fucking sucks, Erin, but one day, we will get out."

"Fuck, Ric!" Bobby shouted into my earpiece. "Dani's trying to escape!"

"What do you mean trying to escape?" I barked back, pressing the button for the microphone.

"She hit me over the head with a plate and took my keycard. She's in the elevator going down now."

"We've got to go. Zell!" I called.

"Ric—" Erin started to say, but Marcus was there to get Zell. The four of us needed to get across the street before Dani got out of the building, but I knew what Erin was going to say. That this was the time.

It wasn't the time.

Marcus scooped up Zell, and the three of us started to run while he carried her. Once we were at the crosswalk, I darted through the traffic, leaving Erin and Zell with Marcus. Just as I got to the main door of the building, Dani crashed into me.

"You shouldn't have done that."

* * *

I knew what happened to girls who tried to run.

They were sent back to the warehouse.

After I left the warehouse, I stopped at a bookstore that caught my eye. Clients brought the other women items on occasion, and since Erin had only been with Frank, she never got anything. I wanted to get Erin something that would keep her mind off of everything. I didn't know what types of books she liked, but the clerk at the bookstore said that a book with a grey tie on the cover was popular and everyone was ordering it. There was supposed to be a sequel in a month or so, so I placed an order.

The morning after the book came in, I did my usual routine at the penthouse. I got there at seven, worked out, showered, and then went down to the kitchen to have breakfast with Erin and Zell.

Erin grinned when she saw me walk into the room. "Morning."

"Morning," I replied and walked to the coffee pot. I nodded hello to Martin, who—like always—was making Saffron's breakfast. One day I needed to find out his story. Was he kidnapped too? Maybe he was a friend or family, but why wasn't he allowed to leave either?

"Morning, Ricardo!" Zell beamed. "I got the toy in the cereal again."