Page 6 of The Perfect Escape
“I could talk about her all day, but unfortunately, I have work to do. Mr. Salko doesn’t like his staff to get lazy. Maybe when I finish my duties, we will have a chance to chat more.”
Helga stood from her chair and left the kitchen, leaving me to my thoughts. Questions were whirling around in my head like a tornado. The day Rui took me, he admitted having a relationship with my mother, but he never mentioned them being married. Anya and my mom had to be two different people. They had to be, especially since Lorenzo stated that my mom hated him. There was no way my mom would ever marry Rui. He was a monster. Why didn’t I look more closely at the passport that Rui showed me? The picture could have been of my mom and not me.
After my conversation with Helga, the remainder of the day was a complete blur. I still had an hour before I needed to head back downstairs to cook Rui dinner. Helga must have been busy with her own duties since I didn’t see her after our conversation. The cell phone I had taken from Rui’s study was still in the drawer, and if I didn’t get it soon, someone would find it. I wasn’t sure if it was even still there. Surely if it wasn’t and someone had found it, I would have heard about it from Rui. The best chance of getting it would be when Rui had gone to bed. Besides kissing me, Rui had made no other advances toward me. I was confident that he would sleep in his room and never come to mine. Until I could call Kenzi, I needed to remain patient.
Pushing from my bed, I headed down the steps to prepare dinner for Rui. Earlier I had taken two lamb chops from the freezer to thaw. Helga showed me a great lamb recipe and informed me it was Rui’s favorite. I didn’t really care that it was, but the last thing I wanted was to get punished for cooking him something he wouldn’t consider worth eating.
When I reached the bottom of the steps, I could hear Rui yelling in Russian. Whoever he was talking to had pissed him off. I was glad that it wasn’t me, but then again, it meant his anger would be taken out on me. All the more reason to avoid him. As I walked past his study to the kitchen, my name slipped from his mouth. “Reyna.”
Just the sound of my name off his tongue made my skin crawl. Clenching my fists, I turned on my heels and walked into his study. I remembered what he had said earlier. Using all the strength I had, I said, “Yes, darling.”
I could have puked right then and then. The same cold eyes that I had been victim to since he brought me here were on me. “It seems that you have been putting your nose where it doesn’t belong.”
The conversation I had with Helga.Crap!Somehow, he found out about it. I had to think of something fast. “If you are referring to the conversation I had with Helga, then yes, I inquired about you. But you have to understand, darling. It was only so I could do more to please you. I was trying to find out what you like and what you don’t.”
Placing my hand on his cheek, I did the one thing I thought I would never do. I stood on my toes and placed my lips on his.God, forgive me.
~4~
Davian
Patton and I pulled up to the old house where Reyna used to live. From what we had learned, the house hadn’t been lived in for sixteen years. It was evident that someone was taking care of the upkeep. The lawn was green, and the shrubs were perfectly manicured. The house was also very well maintained. Someone owned the house, or at the very least, was taking care of it.
As we got out of the SUV, Patton and I looked at each other, noticing a blue truck parked across the street in front of the house. Patton pulled his phone from his back pocket and took a picture of the license plate. The truck parked across the street might be just that, or it could be there for a reason. Wouldn’t it be ironic if it belonged to Giles Curtis?
The house looked quiet, and there was no sign that anyone was around when we walked up the six steps to the house. I continued to look around, wondering why this place was so important to keep up. There wasn’t anything special about it. Just like the other homes in the neighborhood, the house was old, with a porch that extended the length of the front of the house. An old wooden swing hung on one side of the porch with a rocker a few feet away. I could picture Reyna sitting on the swing playing dolls or Louise reading her book.
Patton reached the front door first and cupped his hands against the side window next to the door. “I don’t see any movement inside.”
We were at the right place. It was the address that Curtis had given me. There was no doorbell, so I tapped my fist against the door. We were almost ready to give up and head to the back of the house when the door opened. A bald man, about six feet tall with a large build, stood before us. He looked familiar, and I knew it was Giles Curtis. He was five years older, but hadn’t changed. My eyes fell to his waist, and I could see he wasn’t packing. “Why don’t you two come in? We have a lot to discuss.”
Curtis stepped to the side and allowed us to enter. As I looked around, the home appeared updated. It looked lived in and very well kept. Curtis closed the door behind us and said, “We can talk in the living room.”
The way things were going was far from what I expected. I had prepared myself for an altercation. Patton and I took a seat on the couch, while Curtis took a seat on the chair across from us.
The scene before me was making me uncomfortable. Curtis was too calm. “I don’t know what your game is, Curtis, but I want some answers.”
“Please call me Brax. I’ll tell you everything I know.”
I was just about to lay into him when an older woman appeared in the doorway. I couldn’t take my eyes off her. She seemed familiar to me. Then it hit me. If I hadn’t known better, she could have been the woman in the photo that Reyna carried around her neck. But Louise Braxton died sixteen years ago, so it wasn’t possible. It had to be a sister or a cousin.
“Hey, Brax, do you want me to bring in some tea or anything else to drink?” she said in a soft voice.
“No, thank you,” I said before he could answer. “Have we met?”
She looked over to Brax, waiting for some kind of approval before she answered my question. “It’s okay, Lou. Why don’t you join us? This conversation includes you.”
My head was spinning. What the hell was going on? The authorities proved that Louise Braxton died when her car went over the cliff on Suches Loop. No one could fake dental records. It was the only thing left of her remains that confirmed her identity. As I watched Louise take a seat next to Brax, I couldn’t help but notice how her movements were so much like Reyna’s. It must have been my imagination, but everything about her reminded me of Reyna. Her hair, her eyes, her petite frame. Everything.
It was driving me crazy. I needed answers. “Are you Louise Braxton?”
Once again, she looked to Brax for approval. When he nodded his head, she looked at me. “I am. Can you tell me about my daughter?”
Fuck!What the hell was I supposed to say to that? “Before I answer your question, how the fuck is this even possible? The authorities confirmed your death.”
“Maybe if I start from the beginning,” Curtis interjected. “It will answer a lot of your questions. I hope you don’t have immediate plans. This could take a while.”
“By all means.” Sarcasm wasn’t my thing, but I was growing more impatient by the minute.
