Page 35 of The Perfect Lie
“Settle down, Patton. I won’t even consider his request, but who's to say we can’t trick him by using one of our other warehouses? I’m sure Salko’s and McCall’s conversation at the parking garage had something to do with this email. McCall probably even suggested it. There’s no way in hell I would put Reyna or the other women in danger.”
I never told Crosby McCall about this specific location. He only knew about the old warehouse that we operated from. Five years ago, when we began looking into Gwen’s death, I told Crosby aboutThe Societyand the location of the warehouse where we set up our operation. Since then, I began questioning his integrity and decided to move our operation to a different location. It was the best move I made. As far as McCall knew, we still operated out of the old warehouse. The security was still activated, and other than the computers and the server room, everything was still operational.
“So, you want to use the old warehouse. It’s going to take some work, but I think we can make it look like we never moved.”
“How long do you need?” God, I hoped it wouldn’t take too long.
“A week should do.” Patton scratched his bald head. It was something he did whenever he was stressed.
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I said. “You better start working harder on that list. We are going to need the additional manpower in case this meeting goes upside down.”
I hit reply and responded to Salko’s email. Before I hit send, I had Patton use his magic to ensure the email appeared to have been sent from the old warehouse. Salko was going to be in for a surprise. He would be lucky if he left the warehouse alive.
~24~
Reyna
After cleaning the breakfast dishes, all of us girls headed into the living area since all of the guys were downstairs working. It was hard to believe that come next week, I would finally be back in school attending classes, even if they were online. I couldn’t wait to, at the very least, have something to fill my days with. It would be my last year at GSU, and I had no idea what I would do once I graduated. I wanted to start my own business, but even that was up in the air. It seemed lately I had no desire to do anything. Before Davian and I met, I saw myself owning a start-up company that helped new businesses interview and hire potential employees. Once upon a time, I envied what the McCall Agency did for corporations, but knowing what might be going on at the agency made me second guess how I wanted to put my business degree to good use. The last thing I wanted was for Crosby McCall to gloat about his influence on my career path.
“Isn’t that right, Reyna?” I heard Kenzi emphasize, catching only part of the conversation.
“I’m sorry. What did you say?”
“I said that a summer wedding would be better since there are more venues to choose from.” Kenzi twisted her body toward me and cocked her head. “Are you okay? You seemed to have drifted somewhere else.”
“I’m good. I was just thinking that I only have this year of college left, and I’m not even sure what I’m going to do once I graduate.” It was the truth, but I didn’t dare mention the fact that I just days ago learned about Crosby McCall.
“I don’t think you have to worry about that. With Davian’s support and the fact that you are marrying a billionaire, you can do whatever you want.” Was Kenzi serious? I couldn’t believe the words that came from my best friend's mouth.
“Kenzi… getting married to Davian doesn’t mean I want him to fork over the money to fund my business venture, whatever that may be. I need to know that I can do this myself.”
“I didn’t mean anything by it, Reyna,” Kenzi reached over and took hold of my hand. “I just meant that he could help you start up your business since he’s a businessman himself.”
Placing my hand over hers, the last thing I wanted was to have any friction between us. Kenzi meant well, but sometimes, her words come across the wrong way. “It’s okay. Anyway, I think summer is the perfect time of year to have a wedding. I think July would be great.”
Clapping her hands together, Kenzi almost jumped off the couch just to dance around the living room. Kenzi must have gotten one of her crazy ideas because she stopped mid-step and place her hands on her hips. Her look became very serious. “If you want a July wedding, we don’t have much time. We need colors and flowers, a venue, invitations. There is so much to do.”
“Maybe Davian and I will just elope.” I joked, knowing it would set her off.
“Don’t you dare.” Daggers came my way. Kenzi was pissed.
Holding my hands up in surrender, I said, “Okay, okay. God forbid I deprive you of planning a full-blown wedding.”
Everyone, including me, focused on Kenzi’s expression, and within moments we busted out laughing. When our bout of laughter finally ended, Kenzi looked at me seriously. “Reyna, I want to plan your wedding. I really want to do this for you.”
How could I turn my best friend down? She lived for planning events. I remember how excited she was to plan my twenty-first birthday. Thankfully, she hadn’t brought that up. My birthday was over a month ago, and in all reality, it seemed silly to have a party now. “Okay, but don’t plan anything without telling me first.”
“I’d like to help.” Helga stood and took a seat beside me.
“Me, too.” Mika chimed in.
“You guys are great friends. I don’t know what I would do without you. Group hug.” The girls were on me in an instant, and I couldn’t be happier even though I had a hard time breathing. My wedding was going to be unforgettable.
The girls and I spent most of the morning talking about the wedding until we switched the subject to our predicament of basically being on lockdown. What we all wouldn’t give for a girls’ night out. Thinking about everything I learned over the past few days made me realize that the only people in my life that I could trust were Davian, Kenzi, Helga, and Mika, and of course, the men ofThe Society.I wanted to trust my mom, but I was hesitant to do that. I didn’t know her. As a matter of fact, I wasn’t even sure where she was. Last I knew, she was being held by the authorities somewhere on the Cayman Islands. I bet if I asked Davian, he would know, and if he didn’t, he could have Patton do his magic and find out.
“You girls look like you are getting into trouble.” Davian walked up behind me. Placing his hands on either side of my cheeks, he planted a tender kiss on my lips. “Do you have a moment, princess? I need to talk to you.” His voice was barely above a whisper, and I knew his question was meant to be only for me.
Standing up, I stepped over Kenzi’s legs, which were propped up on the glass coffee table. When I had cleared the couch, Davian took hold of my hand and led me downstairs. I thought for sure that all he wanted was a booty call, but I was wrong. He must have found something that he wanted me to know about. Last night during our discussion, he promised that he wouldn’t keep secrets from me. We were going to be married, and being truthful with each other was a must.
