Escaping to the CEO

Chapter 4

Eric POV

"Hey Eric?"

"What can I do for you today, Anna?"

"So I got a letter from my cousin. Thought you might be interested?"

Anastasia Boyton is Cassandra's spunky cousin who was disowned shortly after refusing to marry the man that her family had chosen for her. She was beaten almost to death. Luckily, Michael found her and helped get her to me in Vermont. She has become the top lawyer for my company, which I am so grateful for.

She laid the letter on my desk and sat down. She ran her hand through her short silvery purple hair. She recently decided to shave the sides and leave the top longer. I sent a photo to Michael, who in return sent the gift of the dog rolling its tongue out and hearts floating out of his eyes. I picked the letter up and started looking it over.

Dear Anaya,

I am so sorry to hear about the passing of your beloved dog. Putting him down must have been so hard. I know he meant the world to you. I only wish I was there to help you during your greatest time of need.

Everything between Joe and me is just as it was before! I take care of everything around our home while he's off at work. He's been working very long hours, sometimes not returning until late. Sadly, this also means that he refused to help around the house.

His family reunion is coming up in two weeks. Maybe we'll find time to visit with you while we're there.

I hope and pray all is well with you. And that you find some peace during this time of absolute need.

Cass

I looked at Anna. I needed a bit more of an explanation since I knew she didn't own a dog nor did she just put on down. I raised an eyebrow at her.

"OK, so I know to you this seems like a weird letter. A few years ago, we came up with some code words and phrases if either of us were ever in trouble. Like you see here where she says putting him down means the beating has gotten worse, that Joe is hurting her again like his own punching back. She's afraid that he's going to kill her one of these days. Help is obvious, she needs help. The fact is that she has used it twice well, she needs it as soon as we can get her out. Her explaining that everything is as it was before means not only is he beating her, but he's also raping her. My guess is he's trying to impregnate her again. Now here, where she says she works long hours, it means we can get her out any time of the day. I would prefer to get her out as soon as that dickwad leaves though. Then he'll be at work all day. We can change her appearance and get her a passport to get her out without anyone knowing any better. And hopefully he'll be too busy to notice that she's gone. And then here where she mentions the family reunion, she must have known that something was going to happen and wanted to be gone before then. We have only 3 days to get her out, Eric. 3 days."

"How on earth did you two figure all this out as kids? This is incredible."

"When we were kids, we always knew that, coming from a rich, well-off family, that we would be sold to a future husband. I was smart and refused. She was always a good girl and wanted to do as daddy said. So we decided to come up with basic phrases that would look innocent enough to other people if the letter got intercepted, but we would know immediately that something was going on. That one of us was in danger and needed to be rescued, and instead of calling, this must mean that Joe has a very tight leash on her.

I opened up my laptop as she was finishing talking to me, and booked the next flight out to Texas.

"Go home, get your passport, pack what you need. I'll pick you up at five. My private jet leaves at 6. Grab something for the CD too.

"I think I'll have something that will suit her."

As she ran out of my office, I watched her hop into her Yellow Volkswagon Bug with the flower rims and the bee sitting onto her antenna and speed off. I walked out to my assistant Margie.

"Margie, please cancel all my meetings for the rest of this week. Something urgent has come up. I'll be heading to Texas for a couple of days."

"Yes sir."

I went home and packed a few items. I also grabbed my sweatshirt that I had worn earlier and packed it into my duffle bag. I grabbed my passport and some extra cash. I wanted to use my cards only when necessary. I called Tommy.

"Hey brother, what can I do for you?"

"I need a car. I'll be landing at Austin Airport tomorrow morning, maybe around 3 or 4? I need something that can't be traced back to me."

"Consider it done. What else can I do for you?"

"Joe. I need you to keep him so busy tomorrow. Make him come in early, and pull a very, very late night. Long enough that we can get in and get out before he knows that the CD is missing?"

"You're kidnapping her? Bout f*****g time bro."

"Sorta. She sent a letter asking for help. Anna and I are coming down on a rescue mission."

"s**t. He's beating her again?"

"And raping. I need to rescue her. I can't keep watching her go through this. I need to protect her and make her safe again."

"Alright bro. A car will be waiting for you at the Austin airport. Malloy will text you a location once he's parked it. Keys will be in the glove box. Joe has a big case anyway, so it'll be easy to keep him till the early hours. What time does your flight leave Austin?"

"We'll be on the twenty-two-hundred-hour flight."

"Alright, ten pm sounds good. We'll be ready for you."

I finished grabbing what I needed and headed out the door. It was four. I was going to be early to Anna's, but I wasn't going to rest till the CD was in my arms once again. Anna was also ready. She ran and hopped into my car and I headed toward the airport. My plane was sitting on the tarmac. My pilot knows I like leaving early, especially when I texted him that I needed to get to Texas. Texas only allows certain planes into their airspace, so private jets are suspicious and thoroughly background checked. Luckily, I have done business several times before in Texas, so I placed a call to the traffic controller and let them know I was coming for business.

We landed at the Austin airport around four am. A text came through from Malloy with a picture of where the car was. It's a nondescript black car. It looks like it's anywhere from a Ford Fusion to a Toyota Corolla. It was very basic, just what I needed. A second text from Tommy came through.

'Joe will be coming to work around 7 this morning. He lives thirty minutes away from the office.'

I thumbed up the text and hopped in. we went to the hotel that Tommy had booked with his name, the room key and number. The card was also in the glove box with a note that said go get your girl, which brought a smirk to my face. She's my girl. No one is going to take her away from me again.

We went up to the suite. Anna took one side, I took the other. She laid out everything she was going to need to help with her CD. Hair dye, scissors, a new passport, a white tank top, over a large sweatshirt that said UVM across and large jeans. By five am, we headed to the address that was on the envelope.

I watched the quiet mansion of a house on the corner slowly start lighting up. The hallway and then the living room. I watched as a figure was limping past the double French doors. Her shoulders were slouched, and she was moving very slowly. She stopped and looked out the door. She pushed them open and started walking away. I watched as she busied herself around the kitchen making breakfast and coffee. Anna whispered next to me.

"I can't believe how broken she looks. We need to save her like now."

"No, we have to wait. Tommy said Joe has a very long day today. "We grab her as soon as Joe leaves, bring her back to the hotel, change her appearance and get the f**k out of here."

Joe walked in and grabbed her from behind, trying to hold her lovingly. She flinched and he saw and felt that. Turned her around and punched her so hard that she fell to the ground. I almost jumped out of the car to run in to beat him to the bloody pulp he deserved to become. Anna Stopped me.

"Remember the plan. It's almost 630. Once he's gone, we get her."

We keep having to stop the other from jumping to save her right now. I watched as Joe finished kicking her in the chest. He walked off toward another part of the house. The garage door opened, and a Maybach pulled out. We ducked low as the car drove by. Once the sound of his engine was off in the distance, Anna took off out of the car.

Anna ran toward the open doors and straight to CD. She was now sitting up with a towel to her face. They met face to face. CD's arms wrapped around Anna. I watched as they talked for a few minutes, then Anna ran upstairs. A few minutes later she came back down with a duffle bag. She bent down and helped the CD stand up. I pulled into the driveway as close as I could get, and then I opened the back door, laying down the sweatshirt I had worn yesterday on one of the seats so she could rest her head on it.

I popped open the trunk once she was inside the car and lying down. Her eyes were swollen a bit so she couldn't see who was helping her out. I put her bag into the trunk and hopped back into the driver's seat. I drove carefully back to the hotel. The less suspicion I rose the better. I pulled into the basement parking garage and helped CD sit up right. I pulled the sweatshirt out and put it over her. Then the hood that was overly large I tucked over her face so no one would see who it was. I picked her up, her arms going around my neck, and she tilted her face to my neck.

That's my girl.

We went up to the hotel suite. No one got in the elevator with us. I carried her to Anna's room and laid her on the bed. Anna shushed me out, and I went to my side of the room. I took a hot shower. I needed to relax. I got my girl back. She's here in this room. She's almost free. Almost back to safety. I leaned my head in my hand in the shower and just let the water roll over me. I need to get some rest before we leave tonight. I hate how far between the flights are here. They only fly out twice a day at ten am and ten pm, and they come in at three pm and three am. It's so annoying.

I laid down on the bed in my boxers, trying to close my eyes. All I could picture was CD looking broken. Sleep did not come easily for me. I got up and dressed at around four-thirty. Finally, around five, I knocked on Anna's door. The CD looked completely different. The swelling was down a lot around her face. She had a short haircut that is now platinum blonde. Anna held up her passport. Arina Boyton.

"Meet my little sister Arina."

Anna giggled as she said that. I asked them if they were ready for an early dinner, then we could head to the airport. My jaw was still a bit dropped as I spoke because she was absolutely beautiful.

We found a table at the hotel restaurant and as we were ordering, a man in uniform came up behind CD and Anna.

"Excuse me?"