Page 13 of The Perfect Escape
I scrolled down to the bottom of the document using the mouse pad until my eyes stopped on the witness’ signature and relationship. There was no doubt that the signature belonged to Rui Salko. Besides his name, the word ‘husband’ was executed as the relationship. But, more importantly, was the address written below his name. It was in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Bingo.Patton might have just found where Salko was holding Reyna.
My top priority was getting Reyna back. Dealing with Giles Curtis and Louise Braxton, and the fact that they lied, would need to wait. I hated being surprised, and it seemed as though with every bit of new information, more lies were being revealed. Un-fucking-believable.
Spinning Patton’s laptop back towards him, I shook my head with disbelief. “I want everything you can find on Anya Salko. There has to be information on when she and Salko were married. Find out if they had children together, who their relatives are. I want to know the names of all the men working for that son-of-a-bitch and whatever else he might be into besides smuggling, trafficking, and extortion.”
Patton’s fingers began working against the keyboard as Marcus, Calvin, and Axe followed suit. With the four of them searching the dark web for information, I was confident that all the information on Salko would be found before we landed in Toronto.
Jeannie walked into the conference room with a pot of coffee and five cups. Not only did I lack sleep, but the other guys did too. Setting the tray in the center of the table, Jeannie looked over to us with a smile. “Is there anything else I can get you guys?”
In unison, we all looked over to Jeannie. “No, thank you.”
Jeannie was part of the Cross family, just like the rest of the guys. Even though she didn’t serve, she was a survivor and had seen things no one should ever have to see—another victim of Rui Salko’s unthinkable punishment tactics—like the women before her. Soon, his days of torturing women and children would be over, and so help me God, if he caused Reyna any harm, I would make sure he would die in the worst kind of hell possible.
Even with my growing concern for Reyna, I heard the dual Rolls-Royce engines of the jet came to life, which matched my cell’s vibration on the conference table. Knowing there was only a brief window to answer the incoming call, I picked it off the table to find the caller unknown. I hesitated to answer the call, but remembered that Reyna called Kenzi from an unknown restricted number, and Patton found a way to forward this number from Kenzi’s phone to mine. The timing couldn’t have been any worse, but there was no way I was going to ignore this call. “Reyna.”
“Davian?” My heart ripped into a thousand pieces when I heard her say my name.
“It’s me, princess. We are on our way to Canada. We know where you are.”
I wanted to hear sounds of joy from her lips, but only remorse echoed against my ear. “I’m so sorry I didn’t listen to you. Rui Salko is a monster. He’s not my father, Davian.”
Even though my men were a few feet away, I felt alone and helpless. Knowing what Reyna was going through, regret took over, knowing I couldn’t take her in my arms and make the pain go away. Until we touched down in Toronto, there wasn’t a damn thing I could do for her other than give her hope. “Hang in there, princess. Just a little longer. Can you do that for me?”
“Hurry, Davian. Rui is taking me somewhere, and I’m afraid I’ll never…”
The line went dead, and as much as I wanted to call her back, I couldn’t risk her getting caught communicating with me. She was alone and scared, and based on her last comment my time was running out.Damn.If only we knew where Salko was taking her.
Not wasting any more time, I searched my contacts for Giles Curtis. He was my only hope in finding out where Salko would take Reyna. As the phone rang, my eyes fell to Patton, who was diligently typing on his keyboard. “Find out if there are any other properties that Salko owns in Canada. Reyna said he was taking her somewhere before the line went dead.”
Patton heard my concern and said, “On it.”
I wasn’t sure what I was hoping for as I continued to stare at my phone. We were an hour away from touching down in Toronto and still clueless as to where Salko planned on taking Reyna. The thought that he might take her out of Canada had crossed my mind, but Salko wasn’t stupid. Between my father’s connection and mine, if he came back to the States, we would know. The respect we earned coupled with the Cross name carried a reputation that other alliances didn’t dare question, especially if anyone double-crossed the Cross family. No way would Salko return. It would be a death sentence for him and his men.
The sound of dead air came over my phone, which caused me to pull it away from my ear. While I looked at the screen, the seconds continued to tick away. “There is only one reason why you picked up my call without saying a word. Either you’re incapacitated, which I highly doubt. Or you are waiting for me to say something. So, I am going with my second hunch.”
“I’m listening.” His tone suggested that answering my call was nothing more than an inconvenience for him.
“Salko has taken Reyna to Toronto, Ontario, Canada. I need you to be straight with me. Is there any place he might take her other than his country mansion?” I could have mentioned that I knew about Anya Salko, but I thought it best to wait and see if he would be forthcoming.
“If you know about the country home in Toronto, then you know about Anya.” Curtis was right, but now wasn’t the time to discuss why he withheld that piece of information.
“We can talk about Anya Salko and who she is later. Just tell me if there is any other place Salko would take Reyna besides his home in Toronto.”
“Just one.”
~9~
Reyna
Calling Kenzi again was a risk, but I had no choice. I couldn’t chance the possibility of not getting another opportunity to tell her that Rui planned to take me from the mansion. Kenzi was my only hope to get word to Davian. I dialed her number as soon as Helga left my room, but when he answered the phone, a part of me died. If I had only listened to him about staying at the safe haven, then maybe we would be together. Hearing his voice tore my heart in two. Not only had I betrayed his trust by leaving, but I also put myself in danger and possibly everyone else.
When a knock came at the door, I hurried to hide the phone between the mattresses. I knew I only had a short time to talk before Helga would be back to get me. Only she would knock on my door. If it had been Rui, he wouldn’t have been so considerate. And now that she was on the other side of the door, I’d lost my chance to tell Davian what I’ve denied myself since the day I was taken from him. I was in love with him.
Helga took hold of my hand the minute I opened the door. “Hurry. Mr. Salko will be home soon.” Her grasp tightened as she pulled me away from my room toward the stairs.
“Helga, wait. Where are we going?” I asked, coming to a dead stop before we reached the steps.
“I know what is waiting for you when he comes home. I know where he wants to take you, and I can’t let him. I just can’t.” Tears filled her eyes, which were marked with worry. I wasn’t sure why, but I trusted her.
