"Is he going to be okay?" I asked for the millionth time.
"Zell, let's sit down." Erin grabbed my hand and tried to lead me away, but I stopped her.
"I'm not leaving him."
"We're just going right over there." She pointed to the couch.
I shook my head. "No."
"I think Madam is dead," Leanne stated as she came up to us. I didn't turn to look at Madam. I didn't care about her.
"What do we do?" Krissy asked.
"If we call the cops, Zell will be charged with killing her," Carla stated.
"It was self-defense," Clarissa countered. "We will all say that."
The buzzer by the elevator buzzed to indicate that there was someone down in the lobby calling up. All the girls, including myself, looked at each other and then at Ricardo to see what he would do.
"I'll handle it." He walked toward the monitor and pressed a button. "I'm sorry, we're full."
I looked over his shoulder at the screen. Two women appeared, and it took me a moment, but I recognized one of them. "Wait!" I shouted. "That's Jackie."
"Who's Jackie?" Clarissa inquired.
I started for the elevator. "My real mom."
I heard gasps as I walked up beside Ricardo. He held down a button, and I asked, "Jackie? What are you doing here?"
"Zell?" It was a one-way monitor, so she could only hear me.
"Yeah, it's me."
"What are you doing here?" she questioned back.
"Uh …" I rubbed the back of my neck as I looked down at Frankie and the doctor, who was using a needle and thread on Frankie's wound. "We … uh, we'll let you up."
"Zell, do you know the other lady?" Ricardo asked as he pressed another button, causing the elevator to start to go down.
"No, but that's my mom. She knows why Frankie and I came back to the city. Maybe she can help us."
"The other lady is Frankie's mom," Ricardo stated.
"Really?" I had no idea how the two ladies ended up together.
"Yeah, so how is she with your mom?"
I shrugged. "I have no idea."
The elevator dinged, and the doors opened. "What are you doing here?" Jackie asked me as she rushed out toward me.
"We—"
"Frankie!" his mom screeched, rushing to where he was lying on the floor still being worked on by the doctor.
Ricardo grabbed her before she could interrupt the doctor. "He's being helped, Quinn. Let the doctor finish."
I looked at Jackie for answers. "That's his mom," she said.
"How is she with you?"
"You weren't the only ones to pay me a visit."
"What?"
"I'll explain later. What happened to Frankie?"
I pointed to where Madam was still lying on the floor. "Madam shot him."
"She what?" Frankie's mom questioned and tried to get out of Ricardo's embrace as though she was going to rush over to Madam and kill her again.
"She's dead, Quinn," Ricardo stated. "Zell got retribution for your boy."
"You shot her?" Jackie asked me.
I nodded. "Twice."
"But why did she shoot Frankie?" Jackie questioned.
"Because we came here to save my friends, and she didn't like that."
"What happened with the warehouse and the other girls?"
I shrugged. "Frankie set the warehouse on fire, but he didn't think he did a good enough job for a decoy, so we came here instead of going to the club."
"So, the girls were still sold?"
"I think so."
The doctor leaned back from Frankie. "Okay, I got the bullet out, and the bleeding is stopped for now. Luckily, it wasn't deep, and this needle and thread worked, but it's probably not going to hold, and he needs antibiotics."
"Can you prescribe them?" Frankie's mother asked.
"Yes, I'll call it in to the nearest pharmacy, and I'll start a file that I treated him for the flu."
"Thank you," Quinn replied.
"Will he be okay?" I asked.
"He lost some blood, but I don't think it was a life-threatening amount."
"Then why does he seem unconscious?" Erin questioned.
"I think he passed out from the pain," the doctor replied. "We should get him on a bed or something until he wakes up."
Ricardo moved forward. "Let me help you."
"Are you okay?" Jackie asked, looking me over while the doctor and Ricardo picked Frankie up and started for the hall. Frankie's mom followed them.
"I'm fine."
"I think it just hasn't hit her yet," Erin stated and walked over to us. She stuck out her hand. "I'm Erin, I'm Zell's teacher."
"Teacher?" Jackie questioned.
"And one of the girls here," Erin explained.
"Ah." Jackie shook Erin's hand.
"She's one of my best friends," I clarified.
"Aw, Zell, that means a lot." Erin smiled.
It was true. She had always been the one to look out for me, and the one I would turn to first when I needed help or advice. She was also the one who had been in the house the longest.
"What are you doing here?" I asked Jackie.
"Well"—she pointed at Madam's body—"I was coming to confront her."
"About what?"
"I wanted to give her a piece of my mind about taking you from me."
"Before she died, we told her that we knew about you and what she did."
"You did?" Jackie asked with wide eyes.
I nodded. "I think that's what made her snap and shoot Frankie."
"She probably realized she was losing control," Erin stated.
"And what are we going to do about Saffron?" Frankie's mom asked as she and the two men came into the room. I noticed the doctor's hands were now clean of Frankie's blood.
Ricardo looked at me, and I shrugged. I didn't know what to do with her. His gaze moved to Erin, and she too shrugged. "I can dump her in the harbor. Wouldn't be my first time."
Everyone looked at the doctor, and he raised his hands slightly. "Don't look at me. I was never here, so I'll just be on my way. I'll call in the prescription from the taxi. Leanne, I guess this is goodbye."
"Wow," she breathed and stood. "I guess it is." They hugged.
"Thank you for what you did for my son," Quinn stated.
"Not going to lie, he scared the shit out of me when he had a gun to my back and made me let them up with me." He motioned toward me. "But once I saw and heard what was happening, I knew who the good guy was." He started for the elevator. "But again, I was never here."
Everyone nodded, and the doctor got into the elevator. After the doors closed, I heard it start to go down.
"Do you think he's telling the truth?" Krissy asked.
"Dr. Dan is a good guy," Leanne stated. "He has a wife and kids, and I'm sure they have no clue he was coming here."
"A good guy who cheats on his wife?" Carla questioned.