But she would obey her Master. She didn’t want to anger Devin and worked hard to keep that from happening.
“Anna.”
She looked up to see Isaak standing by the stairs with a sad smile on his face. He looked somehow grayer since Alex’s funeral. Older, and...sadder.
“Hello, Isaak,” she said stiffly.
He walked up to her and hugged her tightly. “We didn’t know what to think when you disappeared from the...service,” he said. “I kept hoping you’d come back.”
“I’m only here because Devin wants me dancing again.” She lifted her chin in defiance of the emotions threatening to bubble up inside her.
Isaak looked at her sympathetically. “I’ll take you any way I can get you. Come. Let me introduce you to Julie.”
She assumed Julie was the instructor for the class.
“Julie,” Isaak said when she walked into the small studio. “This is Anna. Anna, this is Julie.”
Julie gave her a warm smile, but Anna greeted her new instructor stiffly. She wasn’t here to make friends. She was here because Devin thought she needed to dance again.
“You can stand wherever you’d be most comfortable.”
Anna went to stand in the corner. She recognized many of the dancers from when she was in these classes before. A few of them tried to engage her in conversation, but Anna ignored them. She wanted nothing to do with them. Or anyone for that matter.
Class began. She was stiff, but soon limbered up and felt at home again. By the end of class, she remembered why she loved dancing so much.
She took the bus home—it was public transport until Ian finished trading off her car—took a shower, turned on the TV and went to bed.
*****
The next afternoon Ian came to see her and handed her a black plastic square with buttons on it. “For your new car.”
Anna followed him out to the parking garage and showed her a little blue car. “A Prius?”
Ian nodded. “It’s a hybrid and really popular right now. Brand new too. I put the extra money into your account.”
Anna grinned. It was cute. “Thanks Ian. I like it.” She glanced at him. “Do you need a ride back to the Manor?”
“Nah. I had this delivered here. My car’s outside.”
“Oh. Okay.”
He hugged her. “I need to get back. The Manor’s a lot lonelier without you there.”
She gave him a smile. “You can come visit anytime.”
“I might do that. Oh, Devin said you need to get a cell phone.” He handed her a piece of paper. “Mine and his phone numbers. Call him when you get it.”
“I guess I know what I’m doing this afternoon.”
Ian left a few minutes later and Anna went back to her apartment to get her purse.
She looked in her wallet. Her credit cards were still valid, but the idea of using them made her uncomfortable. She had some money in her old account now. She could live on that.
She stared at her driver’s license. Anna Lee Kunze Herzogin von Hesse. She’d forgotten she had a new name. Ian had signed all the paperwork for her apartment because Devin was paying for it.
She and Alex hadn’t even been married three months before he died. She’d received the news on their three month anniversary. Should she change her name back to Perkins? Was that even possible?
Anna sighed and put her cards away. She didn’t want to think about it right now. Right now she had to find a cell phone.
Chapter Three
Anna had dance class Monday through Thursday because that’s when the studio offered the adult classes. Most students didn’t go every day, but Devin wanted her to. So she did.
After a few weeks, her life settled into a routine. A rather boring routine, but Anna was fine with it. Isaak offered her tickets to see Swan Lake, but Anna didn’t want to go. He also offered her the phone numbers from some of her old friends, including Aaron, Jenna and Travis, but she didn’t want to see any of them.
One Friday morning there was a knock at the door of her apartment. She knew it was Friday because she’d had her fourth class of the week the previous night. She couldn’t imagine who would be knocking on her door. Only two people knew where she lived, Ian and Devin. Neither of them came over on Fridays because they needed to get things ready for the Gathering.
She sighed and stood, turning down the TV with the remote. She liked it loud because it kept her concentrating on it rather than other, more depressing subjects. She made her way slowly to the door. Maybe whoever it was would be gone by the time she got there.
She took a deep breath and opened the door, then gasped when she saw who it was.
“Wilhelm?” She stared at him for a long time. “What are you doing here?”
The last time he’d come to visit, she ignored him. Well, she did that most of the time when he came. Either she was too high, or it was too painful to look at him.
“Hello, Liebling,” he said with an affectionate smile. “I came to wish you happy birthday.”
“Birthday?” Anna frowned. What day was it? She didn’t pay any attention past the actual days of the week so that she knew if she needed to be at the studio or not. What was worth celebrating about her birthday anyways? The day Devin claimed her for his own, setting her on a path of misery?
“Ja. Your birthday is Sunday, correct?”
Anna shrugged. “If you say so.”
Wilhelm looked sad. “Anna, what has happened to you?”
She jutted out her chin. “You really need to ask that question?”
He sighed. “May I come in?”
Anna looked past him and saw it was raining and windy. She stepped back and allowed him to enter. “How’d you find me?”
Wilhelm gave a tiny smile as she closed the door. “Your new car. I received notification that the Mercedes had been sold and got your new address through the title of your new car. A Prius, correct?”
“I didn’t want to keep the Mercedes,” she mumbled, looking at the floor.
“That is fine, Anna. I just want you to be happy.”
She shrugged. “It’s a car. Ian found it for me.”
Wilhelm looked around her sparsely furnished apartment. She had a couch, a coffee table, a TV and a stand for the TV. The room was bare of any personal touches. But it was clean. Devin made sure she kept it clean.
Her bowl of cereal was still on the table, half eaten. She never seemed to be able to finish a bowl of cereal. But she tried, because if she didn’t try, Devin would be upset.
“You can sit if you want,” she said, motioning to the couch. It wasn’t pretty; it was an odd shade of teal, but it was comfortable. She had managed to not use the credit cards from either Devin or Wilhelm so far.
Wilhelm removed his coat and looked around for a place to put it. Anna took it from him and hung it in the closet. He looked so out of place standing there. He belonged in fancy hotels and huge castle-like houses, not her crappy little apartment.
“You know, Anna, the house is still yours. You are welcome to live there.”
Anna shook her head. “I don’t want to go anywhere near that place,” she said without thinking.
“Why?” he asked gently.
“I don’t want to be reminded of...him.” She didn’t like to say his name aloud.
“Anna, you two were very happy together. Why do you want to forget him?”
So many reasons. “I just don’t want to think about him. And....” Anna hesitated. “...he’s not the man I thought he was.”
Wilhelm truly looked shocked. “What are you talking about, Anna? He never pretended to be anything other than who he was.”
Anna told him about the video Devin had shown her. Wilhelm’s face paled as she spoke.
He put his hand on hers. “Anna, I know my son. And I know Devin. I am certain that what you saw was not the truth. Alex would never do such a thing.”
“How do you know? People don’t imagine that Jack would do the things he does. People lead double l
ives all the time.”
“True natures are revealed in time. And there are always signs. I do not believe that Alex would hurt little girls like that. It is not possible.”
Anna sighed. She didn’t want to argue; it took too much energy. She knew what she saw, but if Wilhelm didn’t want to believe it, then that wasn’t her problem.
There was an awkward silence. Maybe he would realize how fruitless it was to visit and leave quickly.
“Kurt came with me. He would like to see you.”
“Oh?” She stared at her cereal bowl, resolutely ignoring the leap of her heart in her chest.
“He is back at the hotel. I thought it might go better if it was just me surprising you, instead of both of us.” He looked at her half eaten bowl of cereal. “Would you like to go to lunch?”
She looked at her watch. It was time to eat again. She wasn’t ever hungry, so she just decided on times to eat and ate then. To keep Devin happy.
“Sure,” she said without enthusiasm. “Let me get dressed.” She was still in her pajamas.
She put on jeans and a sweater and boots and went back out to the living room. Wilhelm was dressed in his usual dress slacks. Well, if he didn’t like what she was wearing, he didn’t have to go anywhere with her.
He smiled at her. “Ready?”
She shrugged and went to the closet to get their coats.
*****
Wilhelm told her about the happenings of the family on the way to the hotel. Liesl had gotten married as planned, though the celebration had been much subdued. Greta was engaged and the wedding was in two months.
“I would love it if you could come, Anna. We all would. We missed you at Liesl’s.”
Anna didn’t respond. She vaguely remembered him asking if she’d go to Liesl’s wedding and her laughing and saying no. She wouldn’t go to Greta’s wedding either. She had no desire to go to Germany ever again.
He reached over and took her hand. “Liebling, you are still part of our family. We love you and miss you.”
“Why won’t you just let me go, Wilhelm?” she asked with a sigh.
“Because you are family. There is nothing to let go of. The moment you married Alex, you became a Kunze. Nothing will ever change that.”
“What if I married someone else?”
He paused. “Are you dating someone?” he asked slowly.
Anna snorted. “No. I won't date ever again.” She stopped and thought for a moment. “I don't think Devin would like it if I did. I was just asking out of curiosity.”
“Even if you married someone else, Anna, you would still be part of our family. You can try and disown us,” he chuckled. “But we will never disown you.”
They arrived at the Ritz-Carlton a few minutes later. It wasn’t far from her apartment.
She looked up at the huge white palace in awe. She’d been in her bedroom in the Manor for the past two years and, since she’d “woken,” hadn’t really gone anywhere except the studio and her apartment. Walking in the marble lobby, she was reminded of her house with Alex, albeit this was much larger.
That was a long time ago, she reminded herself, before she’d succumbed to the drugs in her tiny little world. Her safe little world.
Wilhelm took her hand and led her to the elevators. “I spoke to Aaron yesterday and we thought we might take you out for a birthday dinner on Sunday,” Wilhelm said, pushing the call button. “How does that sound?”
Anna looked at her reflection in the brass doors and shrugged. “It’s not necessary, Wilhelm. I don’t see much point in celebrating anything. Especially my birthday.”
The doors opened and they stepped inside.
“I would certainly consider your birthday worth celebrating, Liebling. I am very glad you are here.”
Anna didn’t respond. The doors closed and they were whisked up to the ninth floor.
“Your friends have missed you, Anna,” Wilhelm said as they walked down the hallway a few moments later. “They have been worried about you. We all have. Aaron has kept me posted as best he could, but even he rarely saw you.”
“Aaron?” Anna thought for a moment. “I saw him at the Gathering.” She paused. “Why was he there? He’s not a Brother.” She hadn’t considered that fact when she saw him. She was only annoyed that he kept trying to bother her.
“He is. I brought him in about six months after you disappeared.”
“Why you? He lives here. Wouldn’t it make more sense for him to be with Devin?”
“His father is German. I could do it, and I did. Devin would not have brought him in.”
“He was hanging out with Tommy.”
“Ah, yes. Tommy Pendleton. A good young man.” Wilhelm smiled.
“You know him?”
“I have gotten to know him a bit. He has been concerned about you as well.”
She knew that. Anna suspected he still wanted to be with her, but she had no intention of getting involved with another man. Devin wouldn’t approve and all it would do is make her miserable in the long run, and possibly risk the guy’s life. It wasn’t worth it.
Wilhelm unlocked the door to the hotel room and stepped aside to let her in. She walked into the enormous living room area and stopped when she saw Kurt on the couch. He stood when he saw her and walked across the room to her.
“Hello, Anna.”
She looked up at him. He was different. Older. More mature. Gone was his mischievous smile and glinting eyes. He gave her a genuinely affectionate smile that would have made her melt, if she’d allowed it to. He stood tall and confident with an air not unlike what his father had. And what Alex’d had. An aura of respect and authority.
She couldn’t get her voice to work. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.
Kurt slowly wrapped her in his arms and held her close. She hesitantly slipped her arms around his waist and leaned her head against his chest. He wasn’t Alex; she knew that. But not being Alex was a good thing, she thought bitterly as she remembered what she’d seen on the video in Devin’s dungeon.
Kurt felt right, and for the first time in two years, she allowed her guard down and let someone hold and comfort her. Tears came unbidden a moment later and great sobs wracked her body. He guided her to the couch and held her in his lap, stroking her hair and speaking in soothing tones. She felt like she cried for an hour, and maybe she did. But Kurt held her patiently, letting her cry as long as she needed.
When she had cried herself out, she lay against Kurt’s chest. Wilhelm handed her a tissue and she dried her eyes. She sat up and saw that the front of Kurt’s shirt was very wet.
“I’m sorry I got your shirt wet,” she said softly, dabbing at it with her tissue.
Kurt chuckled. “It is fine, Anna. It is just a shirt.” He stroked her cheek. “I think you needed to cry. That is more important.”
She looked into his kind blue eyes and smiled. “I do feel a little better.”
“Gut,” he said softly, his hand still on her cheek. He looked intently into her eyes. “I am glad you came, Engel,” he said softly. “I have thought about you often.”
“You have?” That surprised her for some reason. Perhaps because of the playboy that he’d always been. She assumed he’d forgotten about her.
He nodded. “When Vati returned from his visits and told me how you were, it broke my heart. When he told me that you had moved out of the Schloss, I wanted to come with him to see you. Derek and Sofie have had a difficult time with the divorce and I have been hesitant to leave them before now. But they are doing much better now.”
“Are you...I mean, is the divorce final?”
Kurt nodded. “It was finalized a few months ago. Gretchen is receiving quite a bit of child support, so she and Otto are well taken care of.”
Anna cringed at Otto’s name. It wasn’t the child’s fault, but it still was unpleasant to think about.
“I am sorry, Anna. I did not mean to bring up unhappy memories.”
Anna shrugged. “I don’t have ma
ny good memories.”
Kurt frowned and looked hurt. “I hope that is untrue, Anna.”
She pressed her lips together. Even the “good” memories hurt. She preferred not to think about them. She tried to stand. “I shouldn’t be here. I should go.”
Kurt held her in his lap. “Please stay, Anna,” he pleaded softly. “Please. I have missed you.”
Anna stopped and looked back at him. The emotion that filled his eyes pained her. He cared for her. A lot. It was written all over his face. Is that why he came to San Francisco? To be with her?
“No,” she whispered, trying to back away. She was as fearful of the emotions that were bubbling up inside her as she was of the emotion she saw in his eyes. “Please don’t, Kurt. I can’t deal with that.”
“Deal with what?” he asked, his voice husky with emotion. As much as she struggled, he held her tight and wouldn’t let her go.
“You. Feeling. Anything.”
Unexpectedly, Kurt leaned forward and kissed her. His lips were gentle, but insistent. His hand tangled in her hair and his tongue probed at her lips. She opened her mouth to receive him and let out a little moan as he invaded both her mouth and her heart. After a moment, she stopped fighting him and instead, leaned in and kissed him back. He nibbled at her lower lip and she gasped softly when he sucked on it. She moved her hand to the side of his face, her fingers tracing his cheekbone to his ear and down to his neck.
He slowly pulled away from her, his lips lingering against hers. He kissed her gently on the lips and gazed into her hooded eyes. “Anna,” he whispered, his feelings for her evident in his eyes. “I love you.”
“K-Kurt...,” she whispered. “I...I can’t. I can’t. It hurts too much.”
He brushed her hair away from her face. “I am not asking you to love me, Anna. I am only asking that you let me love you. I can be patient.” He gave her a sheepish smile. “Well, now I can be. I have learned quite a bit the last few years.”
The Life of Anna, Part 4: Ensnared Page 2