Page 28 of The Perfect Escape
I didn’t give him a chance to explain before I ripped into him. “What the fuck are you doing in George Town, and how the fuck did you know we were here?”
Scrapping his hands over his bald head, he looked to the sky for an answer. “I’m in trouble, which means so are Louise and Reyna.”
“That still doesn’t answer how you found us.” When it came to Giles Curtis, I couldn’t care less that he was in trouble. My only concern was finding out how he knew we were here.
“Your island getaway isn’t exactly a secret, even though you might think it is. Salko found out about this place five years ago. I don’t think you realize just how long he has been watching your every move.”
Fuck, fuck, fuck.I wasn’t sure if Curtis was lying to save his skin or if I just made the biggest mistake of my life by bringing Reyna here. “You may have just made the stupidest move of your life. If Salko knows of this place and is watching me as you say, then he will also be watching you. Do you realize that you have just put us all in danger?”
“I had no choice.” There was regret in his eyes, and even though I didn’t trust him, I could see he was being upfront with me.
“Everyone has a choice. It’s a matter of making the right one.” I was one to talk. More than anyone, I had made my share of bad choices. “Are you going to tell me what the fuck is going on to put Reyna and Louise in danger?”
Curtis hesitated for a moment before taking a seat on one of the lounge chairs facing the pool. “I don’t know where to begin.”
“The beginning is a good fucking place.” Sarcastic or not, I wanted to know everything. I was over these damn surprises.
~20~
Reyna
My mom and I just stared at each other, unable to say a word. My emotions in losing her took over, and before I knew what was happening, my arms wrapped around her, and I pulled her into a tight hug. Nothing felt so right. Even when Crosby and Delilah hugged me for the first time, it was nothing compared to the comfort I felt with my mom.
Holding me away from her body so she could look at me, I was staring back at the eyes that matched my own. “Do you know how long I have waited for this moment?”
“All this time, I thought you were dead. Why didn’t you ever come and get me?” A dozen different emotions ran through my head. Anger, sadness, confusion, to name a few.
“Come, let’s sit. I will tell you everything.” My mom took my hand and led me to the couch, while the man I presumed was my father was still outside talking with Davian.
Before my mom began her explanation, there was one question I needed to know. “Were you married to Rui Salko?”
Tears filled her eyes as she looked up to the ceiling for strength. “Rui Salko is a very powerful man… one you don’t want to make angry. He had documentation to show that we were. I guess it was his way to control what happened to me.”
“Like he did to me. He said we were married too. He even had a marriage certificate to prove it. When I told him it couldn’t be real, he said it was legal.” I hated admitting my marriage to her, but given the kind of man Rui Salko was, my mom’s marriage to him was no picnic.
“I’m sorry for everything you had to go through. I wish I could have stopped it.” Remorse swept over my mom’s expression, flooding her eyes with regret.
“I have another question for you,” I hesitated, trying to find the right words. “Why did you leave me? Was I such an inconvenience that you felt your only way out was to fake your own death?”
Placing her hand over mine, she squeezed it lightly. She looked past me toward the ocean, like she couldn’t deal with my reaction once she spilled the truth. “By now, you probably know that my real name isn’t Louise Braxton and is Anya Salko. Years before you were even born, Rui Salko arranged for my transportation to the United States. In order to keep my residency and not get deported back to Russia, he gained documentation to show our marriage. I thought it was because he truly cared for me. I thought wrong. At first, it wasn’t so bad being his wife, but then the abuse started. Faking my death was the only way I could get out from under his wrath. Your father…” she paused a moment, diverting her eyes to the patio where my father was now sitting on the lounge chair. “He worked for Rui and witnessed what Rui had done to me. The abuse, the torture, everything. If it hadn’t been for your father, I wouldn’t have lasted as long as I did with Rui. We created a bond, a trust, and along the way we fell in love. Your father came up with a plan to escape. Rui was away on business, and he left your father in charge. The timing was right, so we flew to the States and made a home. Of course, your father couldn’t stay without Rui getting suspicious. Your father continued to work for Rui while still protecting our secret. After three years in hiding, I got pregnant. I tried to let your father know, but there was no way to reach him. One day your father contacted me. By then, you were four. As much as he wanted to be with us, he thought it would be better to stay away. It was too risky to continue seeing each other. Rui was getting close in finding out where I was and what your father did, so we had to put our original plan into place.”
“Is that when you changed your name?” I asked, wanting to confirm what I already knew.
“In a way, yes. At first, I changed my name to Louise Murphy, or rather your father did. Once you were born, I changed it to Louise Braxton. We couldn’t officially get married or use your father’s name, so we use your father’s middle name, Braxton. Giles Braxton Curtis is your father, Reyna. I used your grandmother’s middle name and your father’s.”
Reaching for the locket around my neck, she held it in her hand. “You know your father took that picture of us before we planned my death. The locket was supposed to throw off the authorities. He placed it near the burning car so they would find it. I’m glad you have it.”
Placing my hand over hers, emotions filled my eyes with tears. “Why couldn’t we be together as a family? You faked your death. Rui assumed you were dead. There would have been no reason for him to come looking for you or for me.”
“Because, as much as it killed me to leave you, it would have killed me more if Rui found us and took you away from me. Your aunt, Margaret Curtis, was our lifeline to you. She made sure you remained safe. When you got adopted by the McCalls, your father and I were scared for your safety. We had to make sure you would still be safe. We wanted to stop the adoption. The only way to do that was to come out of hiding. But we were too late. We’ve been keeping tabs on you since.”
“Still, not once did you try to get in touch with me. Why now? Why didn’t you just stay away?” I pulled my hand away from my mom’s and stood. My fists tightened, angry that she hadn’t tried to get in touch with me until now.
“As much as it pained me not to reach out to you, you were happy. Crosby and Delilah McCall seemed like good people. We knew you would be safe with them. Or so we thought. I died when your father told me that Rui had taken you. We had to find you and get you back. It was by chance that Davian found us.”
My head was spinning. All I could think about was the time spent in and out of foster homes. There were so many of them. It made perfect sense why I was shuffled around so much. It was to keep me safe. Other than being adopted by the McCalls, there was no interest in me from any family. It had to be because of Margaret Curtis. She never mistreated me, but she was never happy either, hence the “Mrs. Crabby-pants” name that I gave her so many years ago. I wasn’t sure if I could look at her during family get-togethers, knowing what I called her.
Worrying about my new-found aunt wasn’t as important as finding out if my mom was bought and sold, just like Helga, and how I would have been if it wasn’t for Davian finding me. “Did you know about Helga and the things Rui did to her and the other women? Did you know about the place where he held all those women and children?”
