Page 11 of The Perfect Escape
A Ford Escape was parked in front of her double-wide trailer, which told us that Margaret was home. We walked up the wooden steps, which announced our arrival as they creaked like they desperately needed replacing. Before my knuckles met the aluminum screen door, Margaret pulled open the door. “What the hell do you want?”
Pulling her cell from my pocket, I held it up, offering it back to her. “Tell me where your brother is.”
In a matter of seconds, Margaret swung the screen door open and grabbed her cell from my grip. I had no use for it since I had entered her brother’s number on my phone, and Axe was already tracking it from the warehouse. If Margaret made a move, we would know. As long as she did nothing stupid like turn her phone off, we would know exactly where she went.
“I don’t know where my brother is.” Her eyes shifted between us, scrutinizing our presence.
“I think you do. If you don’t let us know where your brother is, you’re putting Louise and him in danger.” I knew mentioning Louise would get a response out of her.
“If you know about Louise, then you have already talked to Brax. You might as well come inside.” The offer was strange, but she stepped out of the way to allow us to enter.
The smell of cigarettes still lingered in the air, which reminded me why I never indulged in the addictive habit. Patton and I remained standing close to the door while Margaret took a seat on the couch where a freshly lit cigarette was smoldering in a ceramic ashtray. Meeting us with her gaze, she took a long drag from the cigarette. “Brax was here about an hour ago. He said he had to leave the house in Gainesville. He said it was no longer safe.”
“Did he tell you where they were going?” I asked, hoping that he told her where he was headed.
“Not the exact location. Only that they were heading back to Chicago. Brax said he had more connections there, and it would be safer there instead of in Georgia.”
“Someone paid them a visit in Gainesville. They were looking for something. Do you know who?”
“Brax told me two men, large builds, driving a white van, were waiting outside the house. He got suspicious, so they grabbed what they could and left through the back door.” Margaret inhaled another long drag from her cigarette, holding it between her index and middle finger. “Brax thought it might have been Salko’s men.”
With the information Margaret shared, going back to Chicago seemed like the only option we had to find Louise and Brax. As we headed out the door, I paused and turned to face Margaret. “If you hear from your brother, call me. I’ve programmed my number in your phone.”
My hand was on the handle of the screen when Margaret’s voice cracked behind me. “You’re Davian Cross?”
As I turned to face her, her focus was on her cell. “I am.”
When she lifted her head, an insolent expression washed over her face. “I heard about what happened to your fiancée. Such a shame.”
If I hadn’t known better, I would have thought she might have had something to do with Gwen’s death. There wasn’t a single ounce of compassion behind her heartless eyes. “What do you know about her death?”
“Nothing. Just what was in the papers.”
Margaret was lying. “What happened to Gwen was withheld from the papers. How could you possibly know what happened to her?”
The only information publicized was her funeral’s date and time, which was in small print and didn’t stand out in the newspaper. Margaret’s eyes clouded over as she stomped out her cigarette. “Don’t be naïve, Mr. Cross. Now get out of my house.”
A confrontation was senseless. She was our only tie to Brax Curtis. “Call me if you hear from your brother.”
The information Margaret shared was questionable, and it was plain as day on Patton’s face as he put the key in the ignition. “I think Margaret Curtis knows more than she is letting on.”
“I have to agree with you, which is why we will keep tabs on her.” I wasn’t about to let her out of my sight.Keep your enemies closer.
Patton chose to go back to the warehouse to see what information he could find on Giles Curtis and his sister Margaret. I was beyond exhausted when Patton dropped me off at The Regency. Shortly after midnight, I got to my quiet penthouse after having a drink in the hotel bar. I had spent all of my time at the warehouse after Salko had taken Reyna since staying at the penthouse wasn’t the same. I missed her like hell, and each day that passed, I feared it would bring me closer to losing her forever.
The smell of Margaret’s ratty doublewide lingered between the fibers of my $3000 suit, and as tired as I was, I had to get rid of the stench that was clinging to my skin. Even though the hot blast of water washed away the stench, it did nothing to relieve the ache inside my gut. Reyna was my life, and without her here, I was nothing. The thought of never feeling her body next to mine, or the softness of her skin beneath my hands, ripped my heart in two. I had to find her. I had to get her back. I loved her.
I loved Reyna.
My beautiful Reyna.
∞
Since Salko took Reyna, my ability to sleep was nonexistent. Almost four fucking weeks had passed with nothing. When I got my hands on that son-of-a-bitch, he would be a dead man. Grunting in frustration, I pushed from the couch and headed to my study. After Patton dropped me off last night, I remained here, trying to clear my head with no interruptions. If Patton needed me to go to the warehouse, he would let me know. With nothing to go on, I booted up my computer and stared at the monitor. The time was approaching 5:00 p.m., and I had no clue what I was looking for, but I had to do something. I lowered my eyes to my desk and Salko’s folder met my gaze. I had gone through the information at least a hundred times, hoping there was something there I might have missed. After picking up the folder, my phone vibrated on my desk. It was shortly after 5:00 p.m., and my tension tripled when I flipped over my cell and saw Kenzi’s number displayed across the screen.
Swiping the phone icon, I put the phone to my ear. “Kenzi, is everything okay?”
“Davian, oh, God. It’s Reyna. She called me.”
