Page 59 of Deliverance

"I'm not."

"No boy comes to a whorehouse only to kiss."

"Frankie did!"

"Frankie? You call him Frankie?"

"Yes," Zell whispered. I could barely hear her.

"It's Mr. Russo, not Frankie," Madam spat.

"But he said—"

"Don't talk back to me, young lady. You do as I say."

"Yes, ma'am. Is that all?"

"For now."

Zell ran to her room and closed the door. Ric and I waited until we could no longer hear Madam's heels before we spoke.

"Maybe he isn't a punk like I thought," Ric admitted.

I shrugged. "Yeah, but do you really think he came back because he likes her like a girlfriend?"

"I don't know. If he comes back again and they don't have sex, then yes."

"Unless they have sex because they're teenagers with hormones," I countered.

"True, but something just seems off."

"I think it's because it's Frank's son."

"That may be, but it's not like he's going to help her escape. What is he going to do? Keep coming back, knowing she's locked up?"

"He told her he'd get her out," I stated.

Ric drew his head back slightly. "Seriously?"

I shrugged. "That's what Zell said, but you know as well as I do that if Frank found out, shit would hit the fan."

"He wouldn't kill his own son or Madam's daughter."

"No," I agreed, shaking my head. "But Zell is already forbidden to go outside. I can only imagine things would get worse."

"Like what?"

"Zell would probably become one of the girls."

Chapter Twenty-Three

Ric

I cut into my momma's famous meatballs and stuck a bite into my mouth. The meaty goodness was better than the burger I had with Erin, but I still enjoyed hearing Erin moan around a bite of the cheeseburger with bacon. I'd eat burgers with her anytime I could. If things had stayed the same between us, I would have brought her more than just burgers over the years. I would have continued giving her gifts to let her know that I cared. Everything I'd done was to keep her safe because I cared about her more than she knew.

"Slow down. You're going to choke," Momma stated.

I grinned. "It's just really good."