Page 29 of The Perfect Escape
Before my mom could answer my question, the sound of the glass door sliding open grabbed both of our attention. Davian’s eyes were on me, while my father’s were on my mom. The way Davian looked at me matched the way my father looked at my mom. Whatever happened between Davian and him seemed to have followed them inside.
The tension in the room softened when Davian walked over to me and took hold of my hand, giving it a light squeeze. “Your father and mother will be staying here for a while until we can come up with other arrangements.”
I should have been happy, but I was afraid that it would only make each of our lives uncomfortable. On the other hand, I could find out more about the seventeen years I lost without them. “I need a break. If you don’t mind, I think I am going to lie down before dinner.”
“Is everything okay, princess?” Davian’s question was directed at me, but his eyes were on my mother.
“I’m fine. I just need to absorb everything. I’m a little overwhelmed.” Being overwhelmed was an understatement. So many emotions were running through my head. I didn’t know what to feel except confused and exhausted.
Kissing me on the top of the head, Davian whispered, “I’ll go with you.”
Confusion was pasted on my mother’s face, while my father’s displayed something much different—possibly concern or, better yet, regret. I could honestly say that I had no guilt over leaving them alone in the study. The weight that was just dumped on me should have clued them on how I would react.
When Davian and I reached the master bedroom, I wasn’t sure if I wanted to cry or scream. I wished I could understand why my mom did what she did. Collapsing on the bed, I brought my knees to my chest and took a fetal position. I felt the bed dip, and soon Davin’s arms were around me, pulling my body close to his. “I’m sorry that you had to see your mom and dad this way. I was hoping to prepare you better so it wouldn’t have been such a blow.”
Grabbing his hand and holding it in mine, I clung to him like he was my security blanket. “Why does everything have to be so messed up? First missing my period and now my mom rising from the dead.”
Davian pulled his hand from mine away from my grasp and moved off the bed without a word. Rolling over onto my back, I met his piercing eyes. His brows came together in a straight line, and his jaw muscles flexed. I was no stranger to the way he was looking at me. Guilt added to the emotions I was trying to deal with, but nothing could make me feel worse than I already did when he turned and walked to the door.
Swinging the door open with a vengeance, he stopped and, without looking back, said, “I’m not ready to be a fucking dad, Reyna.”
Rather than giving me the chance to tell him about the test, he was out the door. I wasn’t sure how long I stared at the door when another emotion kicked in, and the tears fell. He had every right to be angry. I was angry at myself for not telling him in the first place that I was without my pills for over three weeks. Wiping away the tears, I pushed from the bed and headed to the bathroom to see if, by some miracle, I could pull myself together. For once, I needed to take control of my life. Davian, my mom, and my father were done playing with my emotions.
~21~
Davian
The minute I closed the door to the master, I could have kicked myself for being such an ass. Reyna didn’t deserve the reaction I gave or the words that followed. There was no other woman I wanted to share a child with. The long walk on the beach brought me to that realization. My life would be nothing without her. I barely survived three weeks without her.
It was getting dark, and the tide would soon rise. I walked at least two miles up the beach, and given the position of the sun, I should arrive back at the villa just in time for dinner. I should never have left. Reyna was my world, and it was time I put my big pants on instead of running away every time there was a conflict. It was irresponsible and selfish.
Walking at a faster pace, I hurried up the coast. Figuring out a way to ask for Reyna’s forgiveness was the only thing running through my mind as I picked up my pace. When the villa was in sight, I ignored the fact that I was now running.
Bypassing the patio doors that led to the living room, I rounded the pool and headed to the glass doors to the master bedroom where I had left Reyna. My efforts were useless as I pulled the door, only to find it locked. Scanning the room before knocking on the door, I found the room empty. Reyna might have been in the en suite, but something inside told me she wasn’t.
Sprinting to the other side of the patio, I swung open the double patio doors leading to the living room. The cold air from the air conditioner hit me, coating my heated skin. The only sound came from the five-bladed fan above me. Something seemed off. I was gone for an hour at most, and the villa was uncharacteristically quiet. Attempting to get some sort of response, I yelled, “Hello. Where is everyone?”
When I was greeted with silence, an uneasy feeling took over.This can’t be happening again.Pulling my cell from my pants pocket, I dialed Patton and waited for him to answer. “Patton, where the hell is everyone? I’m at the villa, and no one is here.”
“We have a situation. Giles and Louise were about to take Reyna off the premises. Kian and Darius stopped them when they got to the gate. We are on our way back now.”
“Fuck.” I should have learned the first time not to leave Reyna alone. “Don’t let Curtis or Louise out of your sight. Whether or not they like it, they are going to be leaving the island as soon as we can make arrangements.”
“I don’t plan on it. See you in a few.”
Patton was fuming. Probably more than I. He trusted Curtis about as much as I did. I wasn’t sure how much Louise had to do with this, but I had to believe she was only looking out for Reyna. Nonetheless, this situation could have turned out badly had Patton not been there to stop them from leaving.
As I waited for Patton to bring Reyna back to the villa, Kian and Darius secured Giles and Louise in the guest house. Pacing the length of the living room, something shiny caught my eye on the rug near the sectional couch. At first, I thought it might have been a piece of glass, but when I got closer, I saw it was the heart-shaped locket Reyna always wore around her neck. I found it odd that it was on the floor. There was only one instance I could remember that she hadn’t worn it. It was the night I took her out to dinner. The same night I learned about Salko and his sudden arrival in Atlanta.
Picking up the locket from the floor, I held it between my fingers as I worked to get it open. I knew what was beneath the diamond-shaped heart, but for some reason, I felt compelled to look at the small photo. As I stared at Reyna and Louise, the resemblance even then was remarkable. Call it instinct or even curiosity—either way, I pulled the photo out. Something was keeping me from sliding it from the locket. I headed to the kitchen to see what I could use to pry the small photo from the locket. I should have left it alone, but I was on a mission.
After pulling open all the drawers, I finally stumbled upon a pair of tweezers. When I was successful at dislodging the photo from its confines, I found that a small piece of paper, folded in fourths, kept the photo from moving. At first, I thought it was there to hold the picture in place, but as I unfolded the paper, I found a series of numbers written on the back. Whatever these numbers were, they were important enough to hide behind the photo.
Just then, the front door opened, and I could hear Patton and Reyna talking. Quickly I put the photo back in its place, holding it in place with a small piece of a sticky note I had come across in one of the other drawers. Closing the locket until it clicked, I fisted in my hand and stuffed it, along with the written numbers, in my front pocket before Reyna would question me about what I was doing. There was no reason for her to worry about what I found. I’d bet my life she wasn’t aware of anything hidden behind the photo, especially since she looked at the picture more times than I could count.
Greeting Patton and Reyna in the entryway, Reyna’s arms wrapped around my shoulders. “What the hell happened, Patton?” I asked, holding Reyna in my arms as I looked over to the door where he was standing.
“I’m really not sure. I was in the kitchen, working on some leads, when I happened to gaze out the window to see Giles leading Reyna toward the gate by the arm. I immediately called Kian to stop them.” Patton’s body language and the rise in his voice showed it upset him.
