∞
I didn’t know where Crosby was taking me. What I did know was it wouldn’t be the home I lived in for five years. We headed south out of Atlanta. I kept watching the clock on the dash to at the very least know how far away from the city he would take me. I wasn’t sure when or if I would have the chance to escape, especially being trapped between Crosby and a man I learned was named Hugo. I didn’t know the name of the man driving or the man sitting next to him, so I called them Tweedledee and Tweedledum, but only to myself.
Anger instead of fear filled my thoughts as we pulled off the interstate onto a state highway heading west. The night offered nothing to help me figure out where Crosby was taking me. All I knew was that Atlanta was getting further and further away, and I saw the populated subdivisions less and less the longer we drove. God, how I wished I knew where the hell we were going.
The only way to find out was to take a shot in the dark that Crosby would tell me. “Where are you taking me?”
“Ha-ha,” Crosby snickered like it was the stupidest question he had ever heard. “Why would you think I would tell you where we are going?”
“Oh… I don’t know. Maybe because once upon a time, you actually cared about what happened to me.”
Crosby’s smile brought an immediate softening to his features. I thought for sure my words had impacted him, but then it disappeared. “Don’t confuse my feelings for you, dear Reyna. Everything thing I have done has been out of necessity.”
“I hate you.” Like a knife through my heart, nothing could stop the tears from falling. The man I spent five years of my life with was a stranger. He wasn’t the same man who promised he would always take care of me—who paid for my education or made sure I had nice things. For him, it was only a necessity.
~3~
Reyna
An hour later, Hugo forced me through the front door of the cabin as I tried to resist his grip on my arm. He was much stronger than me, and it was times like these that I wished I was a man instead of a woman. What gave men the right to bullyrag women like they were ignorant beings who deserved no respect? If I thought I could get away with it, I would have punched Hugo in the nose.
When he finally released me, I stepped away from him, rubbing the tender area of my arm where I knew a bruise from his grip would appear. As I looked around the room, there was nothing that would indicate that this cabin belonged to Crosby. It was nicely decorated with modern furniture, nothing like what I would expect to see in a cabin. Rustic-themed furnishings was what I had expected this place to look like, but there was nothing rustic about it. If it hadn’t been for the fact that it was deep inside a wooded area, no one would have described the large house as a cabin.
“There is someone you need to meet.” Crosby turned to the stairs leading to a second floor.
Setting my sights to the top of the stairs, a tall, slender woman with long blonde hair appeared. I would recognize Gwen McCall anywhere. I stared long enough at the picture of her and Davian announcing their engagement. And just like the picture, her eyes caught my attention. I had never seen eyes so green.
My eyes never left her as she walked down the steps. She knew everyone in the room was watching her, taking in her beauty. With every step she took, I felt my stomach churn. I didn’t know this woman, but I hated her. Mostly because of what Davian and she shared. The way she looked at me reminded me how threatened I felt by that fact. There was no doubt that she was beautiful, but behind those eyes was hatred, a hatred pointed toward me.
Gwen stopped a few feet in front of me without saying a word. She didn’t have to. Maybe I read her wrong. She raised her hand and placed it on my cheek. Her bottom lip trembled as though she couldn’t believe I was standing in front of her. I knew she was my sister, but did she know I was hers? In a way, I felt bad for her. Removing her hand from my cheek, I squeezed it lightly. “I’m Reyna, your sister.”
Her gaze darted to Crosby, standing a few feet behind me. “Is it true? Is this woman my sister?”
“Yes, but only your adoptive sister.” Gwen’s question knocked Crosby off guard. What did he expect? Certainly, he had to know that I knew about Gwen. “It has always been my intention to bring you two together.
My anger was building by the second. Crosby was a snake, just like his brother Rui. Based on how Gwen looked at him, she had no idea of Crosby’s true colors, or Rui’s, for that matter. All she knew was that Rui Salko saved her, and Crosby adopted her. I wanted so badly to tell her everything I knew, but I couldn’t, at least not in front of Crosby. I wasn’t even sure I could trust her not to turn around and tell Crosby everything I know. That would not be good for her or me.
Gwen returned the same look of disbelief I had given her. There was no way in hell that Crosby ever had the intention of bringing us together. The only reason we were standing in the same room was that he had a plan for us, plain and simple.
The sound of Crosby’s cell broke our silent acknowledgment. Whatever the person on the other side of the call told him caused him to turn and walk away from us. Even though I couldn’t see his face, he was affected by the call. His shoulders hunched forward, and his head fell forward. Crosby remained silent, and there was no way to tell what was said.
It wasn’t long until the call ended. Crosby’s hand that held his cell phone fell to his side. As he turned to face me, his eyes were dark and laced with fury, something I hadn’t seen before. He was ready to kill. Crosby’s strides toward me were calculated and purposeful. I was in his sight, the target of his wrath. For every step he took toward me, I stepped back. The way he came at me made me nervous.
Crosby stood inches from me when his cell rang again, saving me from whatever thoughts were running through his demented mind. Raising his hand, he swiped the screen in disgust. “You’re a dead man, Cross. You will never see Reyna again. You fucking killed my brother.”
I felt like I was the victim of a bad dream and all I wanted to do was wake up. Rui Salko was dead, and as much as I didn’t want him dead, I was glad that he was no longer a threat. Davian’s actions, although justified, made things worse for me. Gwen must have felt his anger as well. She stepped in between us and said, “You have a brother? Why hadn’t you ever told me I had an uncle? Why would you keep this from me?”
Before Crosby could answer her, I could no longer hold back what I knew. “Rui Salko is your uncle. The man who kidnapped me. He would have sold me to the highest bidder if Davian hadn’t saved me.”
I would have told Gwen everything, but my words were halted with a sharp slap to my cheek. “You’re lying.” Gwen released my hand and moved away from me. Her hands clenched into tight fists, showcasing her anger at my confession. “Tell me that she is lying, Dad.”
I looked at Crosby, certain that he would tell Gwen the truth, but I was wrong. “Reyna is sadly mistaken. It’s true that Rui is my brother, but he never kidnapped her or anyone for that matter. You, yourself, know what kind of man my brother was.”
“How could this be? Oh, God. All this time I was with my uncle. We shared so much together. Unspeakable things.” Gwen fell to the floor, sobbing uncontrollably.
“Gwen,” Crosby began to lower his body to the floor. “There is no way you could have known. Even though he was my brother, he wasn’t your blood relative. So, you have nothing to be ashamed of.”
Crosby was right. Gwen was adopted and not Crosby’s blood daughter. The thought of Rui being an uncle made my stomach churn. I, too, had done some unspeakable things with Rui. “I think I’m going to be sick.”