Page 8 of The Perfect Escape
If I wanted to get out of here, I had to stay on his good side. I didn’t know how long it would be until Rui made a move to consummate our fake marriage, but I felt like my time was running out. The bright side to this madness was that I gained his trust by doing exactly what he asked, which included calling him “darling” when I addressed him. It appeared I was doing more right than wrong, trying hard to avoid his wrath. The only thing that kept me going was Davian. It seemed like a lifetime ago that we were together. Thoughts of Davian were the only things that gave me the strength to survive until rescued.
After breakfast, Rui went to his study while I cleaned up the breakfast dishes. Once again, I made more than we could eat and ended up putting the leftovers down the disposal. I tried to get the portions correct, but I found it challenging to cook for two people. Dinner portions were the easiest to prepare. They were mostly composed of one meat and two vegetables, per Rui’s request. And, of course, his insistence on having a salad.
When I placed the last plate in the dishwasher, I filled the soap dispenser with detergent and turned it on. After I wiped down the last of the counters, there was plenty of time before Rui would need me, so I headed out the back door to enjoy the garden. I took in the beautiful morning and walked down the brick path toward the garden. There was a slight chill in the air, and soon the leaves on the trees would turn colors. Of all the seasons, Fall was my favorite. Hopefully, before the leaves fell, Davian and I would be together to enjoy them, along with the Thanksgiving holiday. These were the thoughts that kept me strong. I had to remain positive. At the very least, I should be thankful that Rui trusted me enough to allow me to wander around the grounds.
Other than the birds carrying on an exclusive conversation with each other, the garden was quiet. Walking in the garden was the only escape I had, even if it was for a short time.How could a man so evil create a garden so beautiful and comforting?There was no way he could. Just then, the thought of Anya Salko came to mind. If she was as Helga described her, I had a feeling she had something to do with creating such a beautiful garden.
Lost in my thoughts, I reached the bench where I usually sat to admire the small pond bordered by impatiens flowers in an assortment of colors. There was a fountain that sprayed up in the shape of an umbrella in the middle of the pond. The sound of the water was so soothing, and I felt like I could enter a different place—a place where only Davian and I existed. Closing my eyes, I allowed the sound of the water to take me back to him.
“I love you, my sweet Reyna. I will forever worship you.”
Davian’s hand reached for mine. His touch was gentle as he brought my hand to his lips. Never once did he pull his eyes from mine. His lips were on mine, and I melted into his warmth. As though I weighed nothing at all, he scooped me into his arms and placed me on the soft grass. He hovered above me for a moment before placing his mouth over mine.
There was no one else, just us together, just as we belonged. Caressing my cheek, Davian looked down at me, and his eyes said more than I could comprehend. The tenderness was overwhelming. This wasn’t how it was supposed to be. I belonged to him. We belonged together.
The chance of never seeing Davian again tore me apart. My heart hurt, and I couldn’t stop the tears from falling. I swore I wouldn’t shed another tear for Rui Salko, but I was afraid that this would be my life. I would rather die than live under his control.
I needed to stop and have faith. Davian wouldn’t leave me here. He knew what kind of man Rui Salko was. Shaking the negative thoughts away, I noticed something along the six-foot hedge I hadn’t seen before. It was shiny. Pushing to my feet, I walked over to the tall shrubs. I moved the branches out of the way the best that I could, but the hedge was too thick to make out what it was. If only I had something to trim the branches. Shears would be great to have right now. Determined, I continued to move the branches, knowing my arms were getting scraped.
When I finally could see between the leaves, a gate appeared on the other side. I thought it was strange that a gate would be hidden behind the hedge. The area I had cleared was too small for me to squeeze through. As much as I wanted to find out what was behind the gate, I needed to head back to the house. I spent far too long in the garden, and soon Rui would demand his lunch. Tomorrow, I would come back better prepared. Maybe I found my escape.
∞
When I returned to the house, I found Rui in one of his moods. Something must have happened while I was gone to cause him to be so angry. Thankfully, I wasn’t the person taking the brunt of his anger. One of Rui’s staff left his study with his head hung low. I didn’t know what had taken place, but I knew Rui’s temper all too well and felt sorry for the young man. The best thing for me was to avoid him, head to the kitchen, and attempt to make him a lunch he would never forget.
Despite a perfect lunch displayed on the serving tray that I spent the better of an hour preparing, I was snubbed when I reached his office. “You shouldn’t have wasted your time, Reyna. After the day I’ve had, I need to get out of here.”
I didn’t dare ask if I should save it for later. Instead, I nodded my head and left his study with the tray. I hadn’t made it to the kitchen when I heard the door slam behind me. He was gone, and my chance to get the cell phone from the accent table had finally come. I hurried to the kitchen and placed the tray of food on the counter.
As I pulled the drawer open, I held my breath. My eyes fell on the small flip phone and the charger. My lungs deflated as I let out the breath I held in. Grabbing the phone as quickly as I could, I ran up the stairs and entered my room. Now that I had the phone, I had no idea what to do with it. I had to charge it, but where? I couldn’t risk Rui or one of his staff finding it. I looked around the room. There had to be an outlet near the bed since a lamp sat on the nightstand. Closing the bedroom door, I walked over to the bed and searched for the outlet.
The outlet was just behind the headboard and was hard to access. Once I plugged the charger in the outlet, I pulled the cord down the headboard near the bed frame and hid the wire behind the bed. Unless someone was looking for it, it wasn’t visible. Plugging the phone into the charger, I flipped the phone open to make sure it was charging. The battery symbol read only 2%, but as the bar began moving up and down, I knew it was charging. Before I slid it between the upper and lower mattress near the head of the bed, I brought the phone to life and placed it on silent. I only prayed that it would charge quickly, and I could call Kenzi before Rui got home.
Before I could head downstairs, I needed a few moments to calm down. My heart was racing, and I needed to slow it down. I took a lungful of air, in and out, until I could feel my heart beating regularly.I did it. I was one step closer to getting out of this place.
With my composure intact, I opened the door to my room. Two stone-cold eyes met mine. I was speechless, but knew I had to remain calm. “You scared me, darling. Did you decide to have lunch? Would you like me to warm it for you?”
“I have something much more important to deal with than lunch. Where is it, Reyna?”
My chest tightened, and I knew he had caught me. Playing dumb, I took a step closer to where he was still standing in the doorway. “Where is what, darling?”
Rui’s eyes remained on mine as he pulled his cell from his pocket. His teeth clenched as he used his index finger to punch numbers on the keyboard. Fear rippled through my body, the hope of ever getting out of here sinking out of sight like quicksand. All I could do was wait and pray that the flip phone I hid between the mattresses would remain silent.
Rui placed his cell to his ear, but only his footsteps sounded as he stormed through the bathroom door. Waiting for a moment, he turned to face me; his expression conveyed the fury inside him. It only took him two steps to be close enough to take hold of my arm. “I will only ask once, Reyna, where is the fucking phone?”
Only two choices were running through my mind. Lie or tell the truth. The phone didn’t ring, so either the silent mode I put it on worked or it hadn’t charged enough. Either way, I knew he would punish me. So, I lied. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. What phone? You took the only phone I had back in Atlanta.”
Rui took his hand from my arm, but only to use it to strike me across the face. Dots flickered before my eyes as I tried my best to remain standing. My efforts failed, and I couldn’t keep myself from falling. The pain radiating down my cheek was the worst yet.
Unable to move, I watched with one eye opened as Rui move through the room, dialing the number over and over. If he continued, it was only in a matter of time until he found it. Never had he been so angry, but I had to remain quiet. That phone was my only way out of here.
After several more tries, Rui finally gave up and slipped his cell inside his suit coat. The breath I had been holding drained from my lungs when he walked to the door and pulled it shut. If I lingered in the bedroom much longer, he would know I was hiding something from him. I waited this long; I could wait a while longer to call Kenzi. Pushing to my feet, I refrained from going to the bathroom to examine the damage he had done to my cheek. Placing my hand on the doorknob, I pulled it open. Rui was gone, but not from the house, I was sure of it. I got lucky this time, but next time I might not. I had to get out of here before he killed me.
~6~
Reyna
Shortly after my altercation with Rui, he left again. I couldn’t keep the cell phone hidden forever. If anything, he was persistent, and eventually, he would find it. Thankfully, when Rui left the house, I was downstairs to divert any suspicions he might have had about the phone.
