Frankie stepped away from the window and then walked to my side of the van. Cold air swept into the warm cab and sent goosebumps across my skin as he opened the door. "It's locked up, but I'm just going to kick down the door."
"Can you do that?" I questioned.
He cracked a smile. "We're going to find out. I'd rather not break a window because of how cold it is. I don't want us to freeze to death."
"Me either."
Frankie reached for my hand and helped me slide out of the van. I'd never broken into a place before, but I found it almost comical that I was ending my night by breaking into a house after breaking out of one, though the entire situation wasn't funny, and I was still shaken up about everything.
We walked up the two steps and onto the wood porch. Just as the headlights went off, I heard a bang, and even though I couldn't see, I knew that Frankie had kicked the door open.
And we weren't alone anymore.
A light flicked on, and a woman with long blonde hair like mine held out a knife. I started to shake.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Frankie and I both held up our hands, and Frankie said, "Whoa. Who the fuck are you?"
"I asked you first," she seethed.
"I'm Frankie Russo. Who are you?"
She lowered the knife slowly. "Frankie?"
"Yeah. Who are you?" he asked again.
"I'm …" Her gaze moved to me. "Are you Zell?"
I nodded.
"The fuck?" Frankie breathed. "How do you know who we are?"
"I … I don't think I should say."
"Look, lady. We've had a long night, and you clearly know who we are, so just fucking tell us." Frankie pulled out his gun.
"Does your father know you're here?" I shivered as a gust of wind blew in. "Oh, Zell. Let's close the door and get you warmed up."
"First, you tell us who you are," Frankie ordered.
She looked at me and smiled slightly. "I'm your mother."
I blinked.
I blinked again.
What?
"Her mother?" Frankie echoed.
"Let's close the door and get everyone warmed up, and then I'll tell you what I know."
I looked at Frankie to see if he was okay with this. I wasn't sure what to think. Madam was my mother, and now this woman was telling us something different.
"Are you okay?" Frankie asked, lowering his gun and placing his hands on my shoulders, looking directly into my eyes.
I shrugged because I wasn't sure.
The lady closed the door, sealing us in the warm house. I noticed that the door didn't stay closed until she put a chair in front of it. "I know it's a lot to take in. I've always wondered if this day would come."
"What do you mean?" Frankie asked, looking at her but not releasing his hands from my shoulders.
"I've thought about you for over eighteen years," she said with kind eyes.
"You're really her mother?" Frankie questioned.
"Yes."
"Prove it," Frankie ordered.
"It's a long story. Do you want to get some sleep first?" Her gaze met mine. I was exhausted, but I didn't think I would be able to fall asleep.
Frankie grabbed my hand. I wasn't sure if it was to comfort me or what, but I appreciated it. My head was still spinning. "Zell can sleep, but we need to leave at sunrise."
"Because your father is looking for you?" the lady asked.
"What do you know about my father?"
"I know a lot. Why are you running from him?"
Frankie blew out a breath. "Because tonight was a shit show. I'm hoping he doesn't know where we are, but if he does, we might have an hour on him."
"That doesn't give you much time."
"I'm banking on him not knowing that I know about this place. We don't have anywhere else to go."
"From what I understand, no one knows about this place," she indicated. "Well, except for his driver and some guards a few years ago."
"What's your name?" I asked, butting into their conversation.
She grabbed my free hand, rubbing the back of it in a sweet gesture, and smiled warmly. "Jacqueline, but you can call me Jackie."
I nodded. "Can I take a shower?"
"Yes, of course. Let me get you a clean towel." She went to what I assumed was the bathroom.
"Do you want me to go in there with you?" Frankie asked.
I shook my head. "No. I'll be quick. I just need to wash everything off."
"Okay." He kissed my forehead. "Everything is going to be okay. I promise."
"Can we trust her?" I asked.
"I hope so, or my father will be here sooner than we think."
"I'm scared," I admitted.
He wrapped me in his arms. "I'll protect you, princess. Go take a shower, and I'll find out more."
Jackie came back into the room. "I turned the water on for you. It takes a few minutes to heat up."
"Thank you."
"Do you also need something to wear?" she asked, looking at my torn dress.
"Oh yes, please."
She smiled. "I'll get you something."
"Thank you," I said again, and walked into the bathroom.
I was scared to look in the mirror, afraid of what I would see. My face felt bruised, and I knew there was a cut on my bottom lip because I could taste the copper flavor of blood when I would lick it, so I avoided the mirror. I didn’t have any panties because the man who forced me to have sex ripped them, so I simply stripped off the tattered dress and stepped into the tub under the warm spray.
Tonight was definitely a shit show like Frankie had said.
A pair of pajamas were sitting on the toilet when I stepped out of the shower. Frankie had brought them in and checked on me before leaving to go back out of the room. As I got dressed, I could hear them talking on the other side of the door.
"I can't believe she tried to run away," Jackie stated.
"I know, but somehow—and not necessarily the best outcome—my father's men picked her up."
"Why not the best outcome?"
Frankie paused. "One of the men thought she was one of the whores and took advantage of her."
Jackie sucked in a breath. "He raped her?"
"He did, and he paid for his mistake."
"That explains her appearance."
"Yeah—"
I opened the bathroom door, and they stopped talking.
Jackie stood from the small round table where they were sitting. "I made you a sandwich. It was the fastest I could do."
"Thank you." I sat at the table.
"Like I was saying," Frankie said, "we just left. We had to."
"I understand. I would have too."
"Then why don't you?" he questioned.
She took a deep breath. "It's not that easy."
"It seems pretty easy to me," Frankie stated. "You have no guards here, and it doesn't look like you're chained up."
"That may be the case, but it wasn't always like this. Your father had men guarding me for years."