Page 5 of The Perfect Escape
“Shit.” I was the one raking my hand through my hair. Giles Curtis was smarter than I gave him credit for. I should have known better. He worked for Salko. It looked as though we would be heading to Gainesville after all. “Pack the Explorer. I’m not about to be blindsided again.”
~3~
Reyna
After Rui had finished his breakfast, he spent most of his time in his study. For that, I was thankful. It was nearly 1:00 p.m., and I still hadn’t been able to retrieve the cell I had hidden inside the drawer of the accent table near the stairs. It was my only hope of getting out of here, and I just couldn’t chance getting caught.
As I prepared a light lunch, I tried to think positive thoughts. Davian would never leave me with this man. Once he found out where I was, he would come for me. And since there was no way for him to get in touch with me, I had to reach out to him. Hopefully, Rui would leave on one of his business trips, and I could get to the phone and charge it long enough to call Kenzi. Her number was the only one that I knew by heart. Growing up, I never memorized my home number. I should have done that, but when the McCalls bought me my first cell phone, they entered their names and numbers into the contacts. I never had a reason to memorize it. All I had to do was bring up either ‘Mom’ or ‘Dad’ in my contacts. God, I wished I would have been more aware of the importance.
After I placed the finger sandwiches on a plate and a small bowl of beef barley soup on a serving tray, I carried the tray with Rui’s lunch to the study. The door was wide open, so I entered without knocking. Carefully setting the tray down on the low rectangular table between the two couches, I made my escape before he could yell at me for being late with his lunch or curse me because his soup was too hot or not hot enough.
In a sense, it was a good thing that most of the staff returned to the mansion. I could occupy my time with them instead of thinking about why I was here in the first place. Mostly it kept my mind off of Davian. In another way, it wasn’t so good. There were too many staff members milling around the house to retrieve the cell phone I had taken from Rui’s study. I needed to hang on for a little while longer. Tomorrow was Wednesday, and I knew Rui would go out of town. As long as I remained out of his way, I could avoid his wrath.
Every day since I arrived, I filled my mind with thoughts of Davian and how much I missed his warm touch, the way he held me at night. Thinking about him gave me the strength I needed and a reason to keep fighting. I had to keep my head up. It would be only a matter of time until Davian would come to rescue me from this monster. I was sure of it.
After waiting an hour, I went to the study to remove the lunch tray. I put it off longer than I should have, but only because I wanted to avoid a confrontation with Rui.
When I entered his office, he was sitting in his chair with his back was toward the door. His focus was on the window behind his desk. I wasn’t sure what he was looking at, but I was thankful that it wasn’t me. Quietly, I picked up the tray and turned to head out of the study. When his deep voice echoed off the walls, I stopped my movements. “Do you know what they say about young women who sneak around, Reyna?”
My heart fell into my stomach, and I could feel my hands shaking as I held onto the tray. “I wasn’t intentionally sneaking around, Rui. I just didn’t want to disturb your thoughts.”
When he spun his chair so he was facing me, there was a darkness in his eyes I knew all too well. He pushed from his chair and sauntered over to where I was standing. His breath smelled of alcohol as he leaned in and placed his mouth close to my ear. My body trembled with fear—punishment was soon to follow. “From now on, you will address me when you enter and when you leave. I think ‘darling’ would be appropriate, unless there is another name of endearment you would rather use.”
The bile churning in my throat was making itself known. “Darling” wasn’t the name that crossed my mind, but if it meant I would avoid punishment, I would do as he asked. “Yes, darling. Whatever you say.”
Before I could make my escape, Rui pressed his lips to mine. He really could use some lessons on kissing. Not that it would matter. Just the thought of him touching me made sick.
Without another word, Rui walked back to his desk and took a seat in his chair. He spun his chair around and focused on the window. Waving his hand in the air, he said, “Go. I would like to be left alone with my thoughts.”
His thoughts. Was he kidding? What could he possibly have to think about? Maybe the fact that he was holding me against my will. Perhaps that what he was doing was wrong. Or maybe what his next move would be to control me even further.
Once I rinsed off the plates, I placed them inside the dishwasher. Helga, one of the staff members, entered the kitchen. Evidently, she could tell I was unhappy by the way I was rinsing off the dishes. “You know if you break the dishes, you will make Mr. Salko furious.”
“Let him be angry. I don’t care.” My anger boiled over and spilled onto her. Her body became small, and she turned to leave the kitchen with her head lowered. “Wait, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell at you.”
Helga stopped and turned around. “I know. Mr. Salko brings out the worst in people.” Helga smiled, and it was nice to see, even if for a short while.
“Please, sit and chat with me.” I wasn’t really close to any of the staff, but Helga was closer to me than the others. She helped me become a better cook and never judged me when I did something wrong. Maybe she could become a friend. It was clear that she had also seen Rui’s temper.
“Only for a moment,” she agreed, taking a seat at the kitchen table.
Pulling out the chair next to her, I placed my hands on the table. “Can you tell me how long you have been working for Mr. Salko?”
“I’ve been under his employment for a while.” She paused for a moment, her hands now settling under the table on her lap. “It’s so nice to have another Mrs. Salko in the house. It has been a long time.”
“Rui was married before? What happened to her?” I wasn’t sure why it surprised me. It seemed logical that he was.
“She died suddenly. About sixteen years ago. She was so kind and beautiful. You remind me of her. You two could have been sisters.”
“How did she die?”
“Mr. Salko never spoke of it, but from what I gather, she went quickly.” Helga’s voice cracked, her emotions getting the best of her.
“It is sad when someone is taken so quickly because of a terminal illness,” I said, feeling her pain.
“Oh, no, Mrs. Salko. Anya didn’t die from an illness. She was in a car accident.”
My head was spinning. There were so many things wrong with this conversation. Anya Salko was Rui’s wife’s name, the same name that appeared on my fake passport. She died in a car accident, just like my mom had. And even stranger yet, Helga mentioned that we could have been sisters. This conversation made me more interested in Anya Salko. “Can you tell me more about the previous Mrs. Salko?”
