Page 9 of The Perfect Escape
Waiting a few moments, I looked out the window to see Rui’s car in the distance. When I could no longer see his car, I hurried to clean the kitchen before going back upstairs. The lunch that I had prepared for him ended up in the trash.
When I reached my room, I looked out the window again to make sure he wasn’t on his way back. I couldn’t risk him coming back before I could make a call to Kenzi.
Pulling the phone from between the two mattresses, I flipped it open to find that I had plenty of battery life to make a quick call. I dialed Kenzi’s number while keeping my eyes on the road leading from the mansion.
“Hello,” Kenzi answered hesitantly.
“Kenzi, I only have a few minutes. I am somewhere in Toronto, Ontario, in the country. Rui Salko took me.” My eyes were on the road as I spoke.
“Oh my God, Reyna, are you okay? We have been so worried about you. Davian has been going nuts trying to find you.” Worry was in her voice, and I wished I could reassure her I was okay when, in reality, I was far from it.
“I’m okay.” I lied. “Please tell Davian where I am and that I am okay. Please don’t call me back. I can’t risk getting caught with this phone. I have to go. I will try to call again.”
“Wait.”
There was so much more I wanted to say, but instead, I ended the call before I got caught. I might not get another chance to call her back, but hopefully, the information I gave her was enough for Davian and his men to find me. I made sure the ringer was off before I tucked the phone back between the mattresses. The emotional turmoil building finally let loose, and the tears fell one right after the other. So many emotions gathered inside my head.Fear. Excitement. Hope.With every one of them, I was confident that Davian would find me and rescue me from this horrible nightmare.
A knock at the door pulled me from my unpreventable breakdown. Wiping away the remaining tears from my face, I stood and walked to the door. When I pulled it open, Helga was standing on the other side. Her shoulders were drawn together, and her expression was slack. As I got closer, I saw the redness in her eyes, which confirmed that she had been crying.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, placing my hand on her shoulder.
Helga moved her head back and forth, and tears fell down her cheeks. Pulling her inside my room, I took a quick scan of the hallway before closing the door. As we sat on the bed, I could tell that she needed to get whatever upset her off her chest. “What has you so upset, Helga? Whatever it is, it can’t be so bad that we can’t figure something out together.”
“Oh, Mrs. Salko. It is something no one can fix.” Helga’s tears were real and her voice cracked with emotion.
“Tell me what it is. Maybe I can help.”
Sucking in a breath, Helga’s eyes met mine. “I’m afraid you won’t ever return. Mr. Salko has made arrangements for you and him to leave.” Heartbreak and helplessness filled her eyes as she continued to sob.
“What arrangements?”
“After Anya…” Helga hesitated, correcting herself. “I mean, Mrs. Salko. After Mrs. Salko died, there have been other women brought to the mansion by Mr. Salko. At first, I thought it was to replace the loss of Mrs. Salko, but when Mr. Salko commanded me to prepare them for the arrangements he had made, the women never returned to the mansion.”
“How many women, Helga? How long have you been here?” My mind was spinning with the realization of what Helga was implying.
“I was only thirteen when I came to live with Mr. Salko. The first two years weren’t too bad, but then when I turned fifteen, things changed. He expected more of me. He had needs, desires.”
I could feel the breakfast from hours ago make its way up my throat. It didn’t take a genius to know what Helga was talking about. Rui used her for his sexual needs. Her being here wasn’t of her own free will. Just like me, he took her. “Helga, did Mr. Salko kidnap you?”
“No, no. Mrs. Salko. Mr. Salko saved me. He offered to provide me a place to sleep. He gave me food. He made sure I had nice clothes. As long as I did as he asked, he would take care of me.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I knew human trafficking was out there, but never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would be faced with it. “Helga, how old are you?”
“I think I am twenty-nine. I haven’t celebrated a birthday since coming here.”
If she was right, that would make her eight years older than me. For sixteen years, she had endured that monster. Unable to hold down the bile that was creeping up my throat, I pushed from the bed and hurried to the bathroom. I held my hand over my mouth until I was safely kneeling before the toilet. The contents of my stomach filled the porcelain bowl. The sight of Helga being mauled and molested by Rui contaminated my mind—the picture of a young woman screaming for her life playing over and over.
A gentle hand came down on my back. “Mrs. Salko, are you okay?”
Using the back of my hand, I rubbed it across my mouth and pushed to my feet. Helga watched me without saying a word as I turned the faucet on and brought a hand full of water to my mouth. Swishing the water against my teeth a few times, I spit it in the sink. There wasn’t anything I could say to Helga. I only stared back at her through the reflection of the mirror.
Removing a hand towel from the counter, I wiped my mouth before facing her. “I’m sorry for everything he has done to you.” I began. “Helga, haven’t you ever tried to escape?”
Lowering her head, she said, “Where would I go?”
I felt like I could trust her, but not enough to tell her that help was on the way. She didn’t deserve what Rui had done to her, but I felt like her loyalty was to him. Raising her chin, I met her eyes. “Is this what you were trying to tell me?”
“We need to hurry.” Helga avoided my question. “Mr. Salko left to meet with one of them. He will be back soon. I need to help you prepare.”
