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“Do you think she’ll be able to step into that role?”
“She’s a smart girl. Cultured and a fast learner.”
“What about the men that work for you? Didn’t they go to the Café too?”
David didn’t answer and Mark turned to see him rubbing his face. “I didn’t think about that.” He shook his head and looked at Emily, his brows knit together. “I just want to help.”
“You have. So much. She’s a different person than the one I spent time with in DC.” Mark wondered if she’d still be interested in him once they got back home. After all, she didn’t have to stay in DC now that Geoffrey was dead. She could go anywhere. Do anything.
Then again, once this season was over, he’d be on tour again. If she had a steady job... How would that work?
Fifty-Seven
Emily stoodon the sidewalk in front of Café Milan, staring at the charred ruins of the source of so much torment in her life. Though smoke no longer rose from the ashes, she could still smell the burned wood. The formerly red brick was blackened and the side wall had collapsed. The glass had shattered, some of it had even melted. Through the front opening where the large windows had been, she could see a table in the corner, blackened but still standing.
Geoffrey was dead.
Her father and Rafael were in jail.
She was free.
For the first time in her life, she was free.
She didn’t know what to do.
Mark took her hand, intertwining his fingers with hers. “You okay?”
She glanced up into his handsome face and looked back at the Café. “I think so. You said your friends were able to rescue some of the girls?”
Mark’s lips pressed together. “Chase and his guys managed to get a few from the basement the next day. They’re still in the hospital. The others...” He shook his head. “That place was a metal tomb. It’s a miracle any of them survived.”
Emily shuddered at the idea of being locked in a metal room and... She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about that. Chase had rounded up all the other girls that worked at the Café and found a rescue shelter that specialized in working with abused girls and women. They would be well taken care of and taught skills that could be used to make an honest living in the future.
“Thank you.” She squeezed Mark’s hand.
“Chase did all the hard work.”
“He wouldn’t have known anything about it if you hadn’t called him.” She smiled up at him. “And you saved me.”
“You didn’t want me to, remember?”
Emily smiled. “I’m glad you ignored me.”
Mark released her hand and pulled her into a hug. “Me too.”
They’d arrived back in DC earlier that morning and Emily had needed to see for herself that the Café was truly gone.
“You wanna go get your stuff from the condo?” Mark asked.
She nodded. “I don’t have a lot, but there are a few things I’d like to have.”
Mark turned and hailed a cab. Emily was about to protest, but the twinge in her stomach when she turned reminded her she was still recovering from what happened at the cabin. It had only been a few days, but it felt like a lifetime ago.
Emily gave the driver her address and a few minutes later, the cab stopped in front of the geometric glass building.
“Geoffrey had you living here?” Mark asked, looking up and studying the modern building.
Emily nodded. “All the Section One girls did.” She gasped and slapped her hand over her mouth. “Oh, Mark. There’s another girl. Locked in Geoffrey’s condo. We have to—”
