Page 32 of The Perfect Escape
“No. Please don’t hurt me. I promise never to disobey you.”
Reyna’s arms were fighting against me.God, did she think I was Salko?It was only a dream. I kept telling myself. “Reyna, princess. Please open your eyes.” I called out, over and over, pleading for her to wake up.
Wrapping my arms around her, I held her tightly against my chest. Her fight against me decreased, and her body began to relax. Reyna’s eyes slowly fluttered open. As she looked around the room, she rubbed her face and realized it was only a bad dream.
I twisted her body to face me and said, “You had a bad dream, princess.” I placed my hand on her cheek and looked into her eyes. “Do you remember what it was about?”
A tear slid down her cheek, and when I wiped it away, she twisted from my hold and moved to the edge of the bed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
I reached out to pull her back, but she managed to get away. As much as I wanted to go after her, something inside told me to let her go. When the time was right, she would tell me everything about what happened.
∞
It was a sleepless night, and the last person I expected to see in the kitchen was my father. As far as I knew, he was spending the day hashing out details on the new resort with the contractors. Before I acknowledged his presence, I walked over to the coffee pot and poured myself a cup. Reyna’s nightmare had caused me a restless sleep. The thought of what took place in Salko’s mansion and the measure of torture he put her through consumed my night instead of rest.
Taking a seat next to my father, sitting at the kitchen island, I took a sip of coffee. “I thought you would be tied up with resort matters today.”
“It seems like more important matters needed my attention.” His remark, although sarcastic, managed to make his point. “What the hell were you thinking, leaving Reyna with that idiot of a father of hers? He’s unstable, but more than that, he can’t be trusted.”
“Don’t you think I know that? I fucked up. Believe me, it won’t happen again. I have Kian and Darius keeping an eye on them in the guest house until I can figure out what to do with them.” I paused for a moment, remembering the note I found in Reyna’s locket. “There’s something else…”
I pushed my chair back from the center island and hurried back to the bedroom. My father’s voice hit the back of my head with concern. “What’s going on?”
Twisting my head, I shot back, “I’ll be right back. I need to get something from the bedroom.”
When I entered the bedroom, Reyna was still sound asleep. I didn’t blame her. The night was filled with her tossing and turning. It was close to dawn before she finally settled.
I watched her for a moment, thoroughly amazed by her beauty. Tearing my eyes away, I bent down and picked my pants from the floor where they were still laying. I reached inside the front pocket and pulled out the note with the numbers written on them.
With one last look over to Reyna, I quietly left the room so I wouldn’t wake her. Once I was through the door, I slowly pulled it shut. As I headed back to the kitchen, I glanced down at the note and looked at the numbers. The numbers could have meant anything. There were too many to be phone numbers. Maybe they were account numbers or a code. Whatever the twenty numbers meant, I was certain that Patton could figure it out.
My father was still sitting at the center island when I returned to the kitchen. Pulling out the chair next to him, I handed him the small piece of paper with the numbers on it. “What do you make of these numbers?”
I took a sip of my coffee, which was now lukewarm, and watched my father focus on the note. Rubbing his chin with his fingers, he handed the piece of paper back to me. “I’m not sure. It could be anything. Where did you get this, or do I even want to know?”
“I found it behind the picture in Reyna’s locket.”
“Maybe you need to ask Reyna what they mean?” My father’s suggestion would have been my first option, but Reyna knew nothing about it. If anything, Giles Curtis was the one to ask.
“I’m pretty sure Reyna wasn’t aware it was inside her locket. I think Curtis is the person to give us the answers we need, but first, I want to see what Patton can find out.”
My father looked skeptical about my decision. “What are you thinking, son?”
“If we can find out what the numbers mean, then I believe we will have the upper hand.” It was only an assumption that Curtis knew about the note in the locket, but my gut told me differently. I was pretty sure he placed it there, but I had to be one hundred percent certain that he did. The only way to do that was to find out where the numbers would lead.
Pressing his hands against the granite countertop, my father rose from his chair, giving me a firm squeeze on the shoulder. “Whatever you find out, I trust you will let me know.”
“You’ll be the first.” Every move I made, my father knew, either from me or by using his resources.
Soon Reyna would wake up, and I still needed to speak to Patton. Downing the rest of my cold coffee, I headed out of the main house and to the guest house where he was keeping our guests entertained.
The fresh salt air enveloped me as I walked down the patio to the walkway that led to the guest house. Everything that happened yesterday was a blurred mess. Not only did I learn Reyna could be pregnant, I also had information Curtis shared with me. There was no doubt in my mind that Curtis was a threat to Reyna’s safety, especially after he admitted to double-crossing Salko. Either he was really stupid or madly in love with Louise. Given the circumstances, I would have done whatever it took to keep Reyna safe. But taking Salko’s diamonds because he got them as a trade for Louise, it would never happen, not by me. Curtis had balls. I’ll give him that. So, in his defense, love can make a man do crazy things. Still, it was stupid, and like a target plastered on our foreheads. Curtis might have just put us all in danger of Salko finding us.
With the recent revelations over the last twenty-four hours, it would be suicide for Reyna and me to remain on the island. Damn, if I didn’t have to wait until after her appointment with the island doctor, we would be out of here.
Reaching the guest house’s front door, I pushed open the door to find Patton, Curtis, and Louise sitting around the dining room table, with Kian serving breakfast. The sight didn’t sit well with me since no one should have to cater to them, or at least Curtis.
Meeting Kian’s stare, he greeted me with a nod. “I can grab another plate if you’re hungry.”
