"We heard from some of the people here that the kid had AIDS," Vincent said wanting to know for sure.

"Yeah, he did," she said, gulping.

"How'd a kid that young get it?" Vincent pressed, wanting to hear it from Maggie.

"I imagine from when he was a small boy. There were so many men..." Maggie's voice trailed off.

"Holy shit. What da fuck is wrong wit' these rotten bastards? If I ever run into one of those mudder fuckers, they'll be sorry," Vincent exclaimed, forgetting about Maggie's feelings.

Maggie gave him a weak smile. "I don't doubt it, Vincent. But it won't bring Seth back to me."

"You're so insensitive, Vin. I mean, the girl just lost her kid, and you're talkin' 'bout the perverted dick bags that did this to him," Tony scolded.

"Ah, I don't mean nothin' by it, little Maggie. It just boils my blood, is all I'm tryin' to tell ya," Vincent said with remorse.

Maggie put her hand over Vincent's. "It's OK. I understand. It's not like I haven't given those assholes a lot of thought over the past weeks. I just figure someday they'll get everything they deserve."

Then she changed the subject. "So do you two know where Emma is? Since she was taken out of here by the police, we haven't heard anything from her," Maggie said.

"Nah, all we know is that Emma ain't comin' back for a while," Tony said.

"How long?" Maggie asked.

Tony fidgeted with the cigarette lighter sitting on the bar in front of him. "Don't know for sure. We ain't heard too much 'bout what's goin' on," he lied.

"OK, well if you see her, tell her that I would love to talk to her. Emma always seemed to relate to the things I've been through. I miss talking to her. I envy her strength. She doesn't take shit from anyone. I could use her 'fuck 'em all' attitude right about now," Maggie told them.

Tony and Vincent nodded, thinking about Emma. She was a straight shooter, all right. Emma would cut someone to their knees sooner than look at them.

"We'll tell her ya were askin' for her if we see her," Tony promised.

Tony reached up on the bar and grabbed a cocktail napkin. Then he gestured to the bartender for a pen. He scribbled something on the napkin and handed it to Maggie.

"We just came by to see how you're doin'. We don't get back here much, so if ya need anythin', ya just give us a ring," Tony said with a protective edge in his voice.

Maggie's eyes welled up. "Thank you. If anything comes up, I promise I'll call you."

As Tony and Vincent left Doubles, Maggie followed them to the door with her eyes. She put the cocktail napkin into the cup of her bra, recalling what Emma had told her: if there ever comes a day when you can't handle Rock, then you need to talk to Tony and Vincent. I don't know if they can help you, but if there was ever a chance for someone to go up against that piece of stank dog shit, it's the two of them.

For some reason that Maggie didn't understand, having their phone number made her feel as if she had a tiny bit of control. But that was nothing compared to the feeling of empowerment she'd have in the weeks to come.

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Seven.

"Is there anything else we're missing, Maggie? Are there any other people who work for Rock who could come back to bite us in the ass?" Colby asked with a sense of urgency.

It had only been ten days since Seth's funeral, but Colby and his agency were ready to move on Rock's businesses. Maggie was feeding into Colby's energy of eliminating Rock and his pimps and thugs once and for all. Now, more than ever, she wanted her freedom. Maggie wanted to begin her life anew, to make good on the promises she'd made to Seth.

"No, no one else I can think of. Just make sure Juju doesn't get busted. She knows what's going down, and I don't want the police to arrest her for dealing. You'll keep her out of trouble, right?" Maggie asked.

"Yeah, I have that covered. There's always 'special circumstances' we take into account. Juju wouldn't normally be one of those circumstances, but I told the agency you wouldn't talk unless she walked away from this whole thing clean. They gave me their word," Colby said.

Maggie nodded. "Maybe, when this is all over, we can go on a real date?"

Colby eyes turned mischievous. "Well now, Ms. Maggie. Aren't you getting ballsy all of a sudden, asking me out on a date."

A genuine smile broke across Maggie's face for the first time since Seth died. "Yeah, I guess I am. I've lost too much time with all of this bullshit-all of my childhood thrown away and then my teenage years. I'm working on saving my twenties."

Maggie grew serious. "I went to the free clinic in Center City. I got tested for HIV about a week before Seth died."

"Oh. Did you get the results?" Colby asked, her sudden somberness making his skin prickly.

"Yeah, I'm clean. I'm happy, but how is it that Seth could have gotten HIV in the few years he was exposed, and I can go all this time and not get it?" Maggie wondered aloud.

"You said they made the men use condoms, right?" Colby said.

"Right. But we didn't always use condoms for oral sex. Those bastards, including Rock, have been playing Russian roulette with my life, with all of our lives. I see things so differently now. I wish it didn't take Seth dying for me to stop being scared about what they'd do to me if I rebelled. What they're doing to me and the others is worse than death. I don't think they could make us suffer more. It's time for all of this craziness to stop. I'm taking my life back," Maggie stated with more courage than she actually felt.

Maggie wanted to have a life, and more than anything, she wanted to be away from Rock. But a seed of fear lay like a brick in the pit of her belly. She wasn't sure she'd know how to live normally. She may be book learned, but her daily life had revolved around sex.

Colby watched as she clenched her teeth tightly. "What is it? What's worrying you? Rock will stay in prison for a long time; you don't have to worry."

"I'm not worried about Rock. When this is all over, I don't really know how to start my life. I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do," Maggie confided.

"Don't worry, Maggie. You're a smart girl, and you'll have time to figure things out," Colby soothed, feeling her angst.

Less than a week later, Colby met Maggie in the lap dance room at Doubles. The two had been careful to use the seats farthest from other dancers and clients ever since Montana overheard them talking shortly after Maggie started working at the club. They sat side by side. Colby had never looked more serious.

"What is it?" Maggie asked.

"Everything will happen one week from today. They're going to take out all of Rock's houses," Colby said.

"Houses?" Maggie asked.

"Yes, we've been able to identify eight houses within a twenty-mile radius where Rock keeps girls," Colby whispered.

"By 'keeps girls' you mean prostitutes, right?" Maggie asked.

Colby nodded.

"Why didn't I know this?" Maggie pondered aloud.

"We followed some of the men you told us about. We discovered that some were johns, but others were really working for Rock. Three of those people you identified led us to these other houses. The information you gave us is going to free a lot of young women, Maggie," Colby said.

Maggie nodded, but she was stunned by the knowledge that Rock had prostitution businesses all over the city. No wonder he was so powerful, she finally realized. Drugs, prostitution, porn...his empire was bigger than she'd known. Rock was a user of people, and his only goals were to make money and keep his pig of a wife happy. Maggie smiled, knowing that his days were numbered. She hoped that in prison, he'd get butt fucked every day for the rest of his life.

"OK, so this is good, right? You're happy. All the work we've done together is about to pay off," Colby reminded her.

"Yeah, I'm definitely happy," Maggie said, and then she paused. "I need to take care of Joey. That means I have to get her away from Thelma before this all happens."

Colby scratched his forehead. "I was going to arrange for child protective services to be there when we raid Rock's home."

Maggie shook her head. "No. She'll just be placed into another system. Her mother is useless. I'm going to talk to Joey tomorrow. I have an idea." She looked up at Colby. "An idea I don't want to share with you right now," she said firmly.

"S-sure," Colby stuttered, a little hurt that Maggie wouldn't share the secret.

Early the next morning, Maggie and Juju met Joey on her way to school. She ran to them, as she did every morning. But they noticed that she was trying not to put weight on her right leg. When she was close enough to them, they saw a fresh black eye.

"Did that bitch do this to you?" Juju asked.

Joey nodded with such bravery that Maggie pulled her over to the curb and sat down.

"Things are going to get better real soon," Maggie promised.

Maggie needed to be certain about Joey's mom.

"Remember when we met and you told me your mom traded you for drugs and beer?" Maggie started.

"Yeah, why?" Joey responded.

"Is that really what happened? Or were you trying to protect your family?" Maggie asked. She knew all too well how sex traffickers operated. They made sure the kids were always afraid to run by threatening to kill them and their families.

"Yeah. I hate her guts!" Joey exclaimed. The young girl's face turned bright red, anger welling up inside of her at the thought of her mother betraying her.

"I hate her guts, too," Juju interjected, getting angry with a woman she'd never met.

"Why are you askin' me that now?" Joey said.

"I just wanted to be sure because if a day came when you could go back to her, well, I just wanted to be sure, that's all," Maggie said, not wanting to divulge any information that could put Joey in danger.

Later that morning, Maggie made the phone call and held her breath, waiting for someone to pick up the phone.

"Hello?"

"It's Maggie."

"Hi, Maggie. How are you?"

"Juliet, I need your help," Maggie said with hope.

Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Eight.

On the night of the big bust, Armando drove Maggie to Double Visions for her shift. Everything was set. She walked into the bar and found Colby.

"Let's go," Maggie said.

They left through the back door of the bar and raced back to Kensington. Colby dropped Maggie off near her apartment. She slipped into her building quickly and took the steps two at a time. Juju was waiting for her by the door. Maggie rushed into the apartment.

"You ready?" Maggie asked.

Juju held out her hands for Maggie's inspection. She wore large, ugly rings on each of her fingers.

"I'll take that as a yes," Maggie stated, her excitement building.

The two girls took back streets and alleys to get to Rock's house. They sat low in the grass behind the shed. Maggie looked at the watch Colby had lent to her.

"We've got twenty minutes," Maggie whispered.

The girls sat in silence. Their adrenaline was flowing. Maggie prayed that things would happen just as they had planned. At exactly 11:00 p.m., Maggie and Juju rose. They walked to the back door of Rock's house quickly, and Maggie fidgeted while Juju picked the lock. Once inside the house, they could hear the noise of the television coming from the living room. Maggie and Juju locked eyes. With a nod of their heads, the two girls stormed into the living room where Thelma was sprawled on the sofa, cigarette in hand, gazing at the television.

Thelma looked up, startled by the sudden activity around her.

"Who you motherfuckers think ya are, comin' into my house uninvited," Thelma growled.

"We're the bitches that came to watch you suffer!" Juju snarled.

Before Thelma could haul her body from the sofa, Juju landed the first kick into the woman's chest. Thelma fell back against the cushions, and Juju proceeded to slam punches into her face. As Maggie ran for the stairs to find Joey, she heard the sound of Thelma's nose breaking. A smile broke across Maggie's face.

Within five minutes, the girls were running out of the back door with Joey. Juju had left Thelma unconscious on the sofa. She wanted to beat Thelma until she was dead, but something Maggie said made her stop.

"That's enough. We have to get out of here. She'll get what's coming to her in prison," Maggie reminded her in a giddy voice.

The three of them ran as fast as their legs could move. They cut through a block of backyards and down a dark alley to an isolated street. They fled toward a parked car with its engine running.

"There they are," Maggie said, gasping for breath and pointing down the street.

When they got to waiting car, Juliet jumped out. She immediately took Joey by the hand, but the child resisted. Maggie knelt down next to Joey.

"Juliet and Ron are going to take care of you for a couple of days. Just until I can come and get you. But we have to hurry," Maggie said.

Joey's eyes filled with tears. "How do I know you'll come for me?"

"Because I told you I will. Now go with the Freys. They're going to keep you safe," Maggie commanded. Then she gave Joey a quick hug, stood, and planted a kiss on Juliet's cheek. "Guard her with your life," Maggie said.