Page 22 of The Perfect Kiss
Davian did as I asked and backed up the take a couple of seconds. When he could see what I was referring to, he stopped the tape. “I think we can blow this up.”
Davian pointed the mouse over the car's mirror and drew a perfect square around the area we needed to be blown up. He brought up the zoom feature and homed in on the highlighted area. When he set the zoom at two hundred percent, there was no doubt that it was Delilah who had gotten inside the car.
“That’s Delilah, Davian,” I said, excited yet angry. “Can we see who the driver is or maybe get a plate number?”
Davian began to laugh, and I had no idea what was so funny. “I think you’ve been watching too many crime movies.”
“That’s not funny. And besides, I’ve been around you long enough to know what the process is.” It was true. With all the software Davian had at the warehouse, he could find a needle in a haystack. Well, maybe not that, but close.
∞
When we finished looking through all the footage, it was lunchtime. We came up empty-handed on the driver since the reflection only showed only part of his face. Davian was, however, able to get the plate number off of the sedan. He didn’t have the software necessary to run the plates, so he made a copy of the footage. We decided to head to the warehouse after grabbing a bite to eat.
On our way up to the parking garage, we ran into Samantha. Running into her twice in one day was almost too much. “Mr. Cross. Reyna. I was just about to find you. I have some documents that need your signature.”
I hadn’t noticed that Samantha was carrying a stack of papers until she held them out. Davian took them from her hand. “We were just heading out. I’ll sign them on the way.”
Samantha slipped inside the elevator and stood silent while Davian used the elevator wall to sign the documents. By the time we reached the parking garage, he had them all signed and back to Samantha. Allowing me to exit the elevator first, he turned to Samantha and said, “If anything comes up, you know how to reach me.”
“Where will you be? In case anyone should ask, that is.”
“Just call me, Samantha,” Davian reiterated forcefully
Maybe it was my feeling toward Samantha, but there was something about her that I didn’t trust. It was more than the fact that she hated me or that she was attracted to Davian. I wasn’t sure if I should tell him or keep my thoughts about her to myself.
~18~
Davian
I underestimated Reyna’s strength. I attributed it to her wanting to know the truth about Delilah and her part in trafficking women. In my world, things like this happen all the time. There were times thatThe Societyand I couldn’t save the women from being sold, but the ones we had saved were thankful. Most of what we did was illegal, but we had an agreement with the authorities. With that agreement, they stayed out of our way, and we stayed out of theirs. It was a win-win situation for everyone.
When I pulled inside the warehouse, Kenzi and the girls were standing in a row, ready to greet us. Before I turned off the engine, Reyna had her seatbelt undone and the passenger door open. For the first time in a long time, I saw her eyes sparkle with joy. Hopefully, soon, things would get back to normal so Reyna could spend real time with the girls and do whatever it was that girls did.
Leaving Reyna with the girls so they could catch up, I headed toward the computer room with the flash drive in hand. It was a long shot that Patton would be able to get a facial recognition with what little we could catch of the driver’s face, but it was worth shot at this point. A shot worth taking, especially if it turned out to be Crosby McCall.
I took a seat next to Patton and handed him the flash drive. He plugged it into the USB port and brought up the drive. I had saved the camera footage in several files, but there was only one that interested me. “Open the file ‘front left mirror.’ This file is the only one I am concerned about. If it’s McCall behind the wheel, then it proves that Delilah lied to us, and she and Crosby are working together.”
The look on Patton’s face wasn’t very promising, and after he scratched his bald head, I was afraid finding out who was behind the wheel would be pointless. Changing his position, Patton moved closer to the table and began pounding his fingers against the keys. He was in the zone. Using his magic fingers, he brought up several apps and began copying and pasting different views of the file with the driver. Pushing from the table, he crossed his arms at his chest. “Now we wait. If it picks up any facial similarities, it will stop.”
We concentrated on the screen as millions of photos of men flashed before us. The minutes that ticked by seemed like hours. Staring at the screen was making me nauseous, and I had to step away. “If anything pops up, let me know. I need a break.”
Patting Patton lightly on the shoulder, I stepped away from the monitor and went to check on Reyna. I knew she was in good company, but I wanted to fill her in on what we had, or rather had not, found.
When I reached the top of the stairs, I could hear laughter coming from the living room. Reyna’s laughter filled my heart with delight. I was glad to hear that she was having so much fun. I loved spending time with Reyna, and as much as I didn’t want to share her, I wanted her happy. Kenzi and the other girls had done that for her. The kind of relationship they had was something I would never take away from her.
I stood at the top of the stairs for a bit longer until it felt like I was eavesdropping on them. Other than the kitchen, which would still be eavesdropping, the only place to go was the bedroom. It wasn’t an ideal place, but at least when I closed the door, I wouldn’t be able to hear them.
Turning toward the kitchen, I headed down the hallway that separated the living room from the bedrooms. When I got to the archway that gave a perfect view of the living room, I held my breath and prayed that the girls were so consumed with each other’s company that they wouldn’t see me.
The girls were still carrying on and giggling, so I was safe, or so I thought. The minute I turned the knob to the bedroom, Reyna’s voice sounded behind me. “Davian, is everything okay?”
I turned to face her—a concerned expression painted her beautiful face. “I’m fine, princess. It sounded like you and the girls were having fun, and I didn’t want to disturb you.”
Reyna walked toward me, stopping inches from where I stood. “We are having a wonderful time. Kenzi tried to cook a romantic dinner for Axe and ended up burning it. He had to go to the Pizza Barn and pick up a pizza, so their first date wasn’t a complete flop.”
“When did they start dating?” I felt like I was out of touch with everything, having been consumed with Reyna’s safety.
“Before Crosby kidnapped me. I think they are perfect for each other. Don’t you?”
