Page 16 of The Perfect Escape
“Yes, I know Reyna, but not as McCall. She goes by Reyna Salko now.” The young woman’s eyes filled with fear as she continued. “You must get her away from Mr. Salko before he gives her to the other man.”
The thought had crossed my mind that this woman might have been delusional. But I couldn’t take the chance that we were talking about the same Reyna. “What is your name?”
“My name is Helga,” she answered hesitantly.
“Helga, can you tell me where Reyna is?” I could see this woman had been through a lot, and I needed her to feel that she could trust me. “I’m Davian, by the way.”
Nodding, she looked toward the door before moving her gaze back to me. “There is a place at the end of the garden behind the mansion. It is hidden behind the hedge. It is the only place I knew where Mr. Salko wouldn’t find her.”
A cry for help could be heard ahead of me. I looked over to Patton, standing near me. “Check the guards for keys.”
When Patton returned, I knew he came back empty-handed. I wanted nothing more than to release these women and children, but they were in no imminent danger with the two guards tied up. Reyna, on the other hand, was a different story.
Placing my hand over her fingers still wrapped around the bars, I smiled and gave her the reassurance she needed. “We are going to come back for all of you. Will you be all right?”
Helga nodded her head. Regret stared back at me, and the guilt soared through my veins as I stood and walked away. I promised them that I would return and, in doing so, meant they would be safe. Before heading out the door, I pulled Marcus and Patton back. “Stay with them until the authorities arrive. I need to know that they will be safe.”
“You got it.” Patton placed his hand on my shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze. “Go find Reyna.”
“That’s my plan.” I returned the sentiment by placing my hand on his shoulder and giving him a gentle pat.
Axe and I left of the compound and headed to Salko’s mansion. If Reyna was there as Helga said, we would find her. There was no word from Calvin or Giles Curtis, which I hoped was a good indication that Reyna was still safely hidden behind the hedge that Helga had spoken about, and Salko hadn’t found her yet.
There was no plan in place on how we were going to enter the property without being seen. Whatever means necessary, one way or another, we would gain access and bring Reyna to safety.
“Davian, did you hear what I said?” Patton asked. Thoughts of Reyna’s safety filled my mind, and I hadn’t heard one word he said.
“Sorry. What did you say?” I cleared my thoughts and looked over to Patton.
“I know you’re concerned about Reyna, but we need to be smart and figure out a way to get her out of there without Salko knowing. You aren’t going to like this, but Giles Curtis is our best bet. He knows the grounds better than any of us and is our best chance of finding Reyna.” He was right. I hated having Curtis involved more than he was. I didn’t trust him, but he was our best bet.
“Call Curtis. Let him know we are on our way to the mansion.” I prayed I wasn’t making the biggest mistake of my life. One thing that was working with us was the time of day. Soon it would be dark, which would give us an advantage when entering the property.
~11~
Reyna
For three hours, I stared at the walls of the shelter, waiting for Helga to return. I worried Rui didn’t believe the story she told him. If I didn’t do something, I would go insane. Pushing from the bed, I walked over to the door and pulled it open. According to Helga, no one knew of the shelter, so there was no reason for me to go down the long tunnel.
Pressing my hand against the wall, I contemplated turning on my cell to give me some light since I was walking blindly. The last time I looked, I had fifty percent battery life left. I didn’t want to chance losing more power when booting up.
Maybe leaving now was a bad idea. If I waited two more hours, it would be dark. As I turned to head back to the shelter, a sliver of light came through the door leading to the garden. My heart skipped a beat, and I couldn’t will my feet to move. Was it Helga who opened the door, or was it someone else?
Move, Reyna.
Slowly, step back.
All I could see was a beam of light bouncing off the walls as I held my breath, utterly afraid that whoever was approaching would hear me breathe. Due to how slowly I was backing away the figure was getting closer to me. I was in trouble, and even if I made it to the shelter, they would catch me.
“There’s someone or something in front of us. I can’t make it out.” I heard the voice say. It wasn’t Helga’s nor Rui’s, but it was a man.
“Reyna, are you there?”
Davian!
“Yes, I’m here,” I cried as I pushed from the wall and headed toward the light.
Strong arms wrapped around my body. My legs gave out, and I crumbled inside the warmth of Davian’s arms. “You found me.” My tears welled. I was finally safe.
