Page 89 of Deliverance

"What are you doing?"

"Going to get the gun Frank gave me." Ironically, I'd never needed to use it.

"Wait." She stood and came closer. "If I shoot him with that gun, won't it get traced back to you or even Frank?"

I chuckled. "You think Frank has legal firearms?"

"No, but what would we tell the police? The gun isn't registered to either of us."

Momma had a point. "Then the only other option is you need to come with me."

"I don't want to impose."

"And I don't want you murdered." If Uncle Marco came back, it would be for one reason only, and it wasn't to make amends.

"I don't want that either. You can drop me off at a mall or something."

"Okay," I agreed. "Let me finish making my coffee, and then I'm ready to go."

* * *

I dropped Momma off at a mall. She was going to have lunch, catch a movie, and if I wasn't ready to pick her up when the movie was over, she was going to do a little shopping too. It put me at ease knowing she wasn't at home where Uncle Marco could stop by. I knew we needed to head to California before either Momma or I killed him.

The GPS lead me to Erin's parent's home. I parked at the curb, grabbed my winter coat because it was snowing, and walked up the walkway to the front door of the blue, two-story house. I knocked, and a few seconds later, an older man answered. I stuck out my hand. "I'm Ricardo Montoya. Is Erin home, sir?"

He took my hand. "Gideon Moreland. She's upstairs in her room but told me you'd be coming by."

"Yes. I was coming to see how she was doing."

He stepped aside so I could enter. "Better than I thought she'd be doing."

"That's good." I wished I could tell him it was because we had a friendship inside the penthouse, and I wasn't going to let anyone harm her anymore—though sleeping with Frank Russo a few times a month was bad enough. Sadly, I had to pretend I hadn't seen her in over ten years.

"Erin said you two met at a nightclub?"

"Yes." I nodded. "That was so long ago."

"I know," he breathed. "We're so happy to have her back. I can't imagine what she went through."

I knew everything she went through. It could have been worse, but I wasn't going to tell him that. "I can't wait to see her."

"Right." He chuckled. "Erin! Ricardo is here."

A lady appeared from the back of the house, wiping her hands on a dishtowel. "I thought I heard Gideon talking to someone. I'm Laura." She stuck out her hand, and I took it.

"Ricardo."

Footsteps fell on the wooden steps, and I had a moment when I thought it was going to be Saffron. I'd heard her heels walking up and down the stairs for ten years, and the sound would forever haunt me. I shook my head to clear the nightmare, and when Erin's face came into view, I grinned like a lovesick fool.

"Hi," she said as she smiled back.

"Hi," I replied and moved to wrap her in my arms.

"We'll let you two catch up," Laura said.

"Want to go for a walk?" Erin asked.

"It's snowing outside," I pointed out.