Would that be my saving grace? Did Frankie do that on purpose? But the cameras …
Madam stopped in the doorway, and I swallowed, waiting for her wrath. Waiting for her to tell me that she knew what really happened behind the closed door of the room. She placed her hand on her hips and stared at me. "Don't forget the room you used."
I blinked. What? Why wasn't she angry? She had to know that nothing happened. Unless she hadn't seen the tape yet. Was that possible? "Yes, ma'am," I replied, and returned to stripping the bed, hoping that would be the end of the conversation.
Madam didn't walk away, and I felt her stare on me for a few moments. Was she looking to see if I was different in some way? Did losing your virginity do that? Would I act differently if I had slept with Frankie? Finally, she walked away.
The clicking of her heels grew softer with each step. I usually relaxed when she left a room, but this time, I didn’t. It was only a matter of time before she found out the truth.
If she didn't already know.
When I was done cleaning, I went upstairs to Erin's room. All the girls were waiting.
"How are you feeling?" Erin asked.
Krissy reached out her hands. "I got you some aspirin and water."
"I drew you a bath," Tifarah stated.
I looked at the camera in the corner of Erin's room. "Madam wasn't mad."
Erin furrowed her brow. "Why would she be mad?"
I lowered my voice, hoping the camera wouldn't pick up what I was going to say. "Because she's going to know we didn't have sex."
"You didn't?" Carla asked.
I shook my head. "No, he didn't want to."
"Why are you whispering?" Clarissa questioned.
"Because of the cameras."
"They don't have audio," Tifarah stated.
"They don't?"
She shook her head. "No, just video."
"Oh." My voice returned to normal. "Well, I don't understand why she isn't mad since I didn't have sex with Frankie."
"She won't find out," Clarissa advised.
Everyone turned toward her, and Erin asked, "What do you mean?"
"Mr. Russo reminded her to shut off the cameras before he went in with me."
"And did she?" Leanne questioned.
Clarissa shrugged. "I don't know for sure, but you know if Mr. Russo ever found out, he would be pissed."
"Why?" I asked. "Who are they?"
The girls all looked at each other, and then Erin said, "We aren't one hundred percent sure, but Mr. Russo and Madam are close. He supplies the muscle and also brings in clients."
"The muscle?" I questioned.
Erin shrugged slightly. "You know, Tyler, Ricardo, Marcus, and the others who have been here over the years." She was referring to the guards.
"Oh," I breathed. "How does he find those guys?"
"That's the million-dollar question, Zell," Leanne stated. "We don't know where anyone comes from."
I'd read books with bad people in them: drug dealers, mob bosses, motorcycle clubs that murder people. Sometimes I would like those characters, but other times, I hated them. Reading those stories led me to believe that Madam was right when she told me I couldn't go anywhere except to feed the ducks because the city was dangerous.
"Are they bad people?" I wondered.
"You mean Mr. Russo and his son?" Carla asked. I nodded. "We'd never seen or met his son before, but we're all almost positive Mr. Russo is a bad guy."
"Why?" I whispered. I was shocked. Frankie seemed like a good guy. I didn't know Mr. Russo, of course, but it scared me to think that the girls had to sleep with murderers and drug dealers.
Erin motioned for me to sit on the edge of her bed. I did, and she grabbed my hand. "Zell, there is so much you don't know. Do you think we all do this because we want to?"
I looked around the room at each of my friends. I knew some of their histories. Erin had been a teacher, and Leanne was a pharmacy technician. Tifarah had styled hair, Carla was a waitress, Clarissa worked at a clothing store, and Krissy used to be an assistant to a dentist, though not the one who had come to the penthouse to fix my teeth. And me … Had I been born here? From what I remembered, I'd always lived at the penthouse.
"You don't?" I knew there was a life outside of the house, but I had thought that the girls had come on their own.
All of them snorted with laughter. "I don't think anyone chooses this life," Krissy stated.
"Then why are you here?" I questioned.
Before anyone could respond, the sound of Madam's heels clicked down the hallway from the end where the main stairs were. Everyone scattered, going back to their own rooms, including me. Or at least I tried.
"Zell!" Madam yelled.
I stopped in my tracks, my back going straight, and then I turned to face her. "Yes, ma'am?"
"I came to check on you." I tried to show no emotion, but I was shocked, completely taken aback. She was checking on me? "How are you feeling?"
"I'm …" I hesitated because I wondered if I should continue the lie that Frankie had started. Clarissa had said that the cameras were off. Should I tell Madam the truth?
Madam didn't let me make up my mind. "Your first time can be painful. Was Frankie kind?"
I smiled. It was a real one because Frankie was kind, and I couldn't wait to see him again. "Yes, he was so nice to me."
"Good."
I had so many more questions, but I was scared to ask Madam. For once, she wasn't yelling or angry, and I didn't want to upset her. It was also clear that she had turned off the cameras like Mr. Russo had told her to. I thought Madam ran things, but in light of this, I wasn't so sure. Mr. Russo obviously had some sort of control over her.
"Get some rest. Everything returns to normal in the morning," she ordered.
I nodded and hurried to my room.
Chapter Seven
Twenty Years Ago
Frank Russo and his younger brother Dominic—younger by only two minutes—thought nothing could stop their reign in New York City. Their father, Giovanni, had started the Russo Empire before he died of lung cancer, and Frank and Dominic had followed in his footsteps. Frank ran the drugs, and Dominic ran the whores. Everyone knew not to mess with the Russo brothers unless they wanted a bullet between the eyes and their body to wash up in the harbor.
Ironically, a bullet had found a resting place between Dominic's eyes one fateful night.
Nothing the Russos did was legal except Frank's new nightclub, which was merely a front for his drug business. Dominic found the girls to fund his business the old fashioned way. A woman would walk the city alone, letting her guard down. One of Dominic's men would lure the unsuspecting woman to a dark alley, or a waiting car, or any other place where they could get the upper hand. Then they would take the lady to a warehouse where she would be prepped by Dominic's wife, Saffron. She would come in and tell the women they were Russo property now. They would be groomed physically and mentally, and told that if they didn't follow orders, they would be killed. And they would never see their family and friends again.