Without a backward glance, Devin strode off the stage. He needed Kaveh.
*****
Anna huddled in the corner of Seth’s room with Aaron’s arms around her. She was terrified. She could feel Devin searching for her, and Alex wasn’t here to protect her.
“Shh, Anna. It’s okay.” Aaron held her tightly and stroked her hair. “It will be okay.”
There was a flash and Sebastian appeared, immediately kneeling in front of them. He lifted Anna’s chin and studied her eyes. “It will be okay, Anna,” he said in a soothing voice and then stood and closed his eyes.
She felt the warmth surround her and she was able to relax. She leaned her head on Aaron’s chest, knowing she was safe. She felt Aaron relax, too.
Sebastian stood like a sentinel in the middle of the room, not moving, but glowing. He would keep Devin from finding her and then Alex would be home tomorrow night and everything would be okay.
Suddenly, Sebastian’s eyes shot open and there was another flash of light. Anna screamed as Kaveh appeared. He was broader than Sebastian, and clearly angry. He snarled to Sebastian in a language she didn’t understand. Sebastian replied in the same language.
Aaron pulled her to his other side as a flaming sword appeared in Kaveh’s hand.
Kaveh swung at Sebastian, who jumped out of the way and a similar sword appeared in his hand as well. Sebastian swung at Kaveh and Kaveh blocked it. The two Immortals moved so quickly it became a blur of light and fire as they fought furiously. The wall blasted open and they moved out into the hallway.
*****
Devin stood outside the building where Kaveh had said Anna was hiding. It was a luxurious private building with a doorman. He couldn’t feel Anna, but trusted that Kaveh wouldn’t steer him wrong. Kaveh had missed Anna as much as he had.
Suddenly he could feel Anna fully and looked back at Tom with a malicious grin. “She’s here. Get me in.”
“Devin, this is a private building with three dozen apartments. How the—”
Devin grabbed his collar. “If you don’t get me into this building, I will have to question your loyalty.”
Tom pressed his lips together and pulled away from Devin. “My loyalty? After all we’ve gone through?”
Devin was losing his patience. “Then get me inside.”
*****
Anna winced at the sounds coming from the hallway. Something shattered and she jumped. A sound like a wall being blasted open made her jump and then it was quiet. After a moment, there was still no sound and she looked at Aaron. His eyes were wide as he looked at her.
They crept to the door and peeked out. The hallway was a mess and the Immortals were gone.
“Where’d they go?” Aaron whispered. “And will they be back?”
Anna shivered. “I don’t know.”
A chill ran through Anna and she stared at the mess. “Devin...,” she whispered and looked at Aaron. “He’s here.”
They stared at each other, unmoving, until Aaron suddenly grabbed her hand and began pulling on her rings.
“What are you doing?”
“If he sees you wearing your wedding rings, he’ll know Alex is alive. He can’t find out yet. Alex needs the element of surprise.”
With tears in her eyes, she pulled her rings off and handed them to Aaron. He was right. If she was going back to Devin, he couldn’t find out that Alex was alive.
“C’mon. The less he sees of the apartment, the better.” Aaron dragged her out to the living room.
Anna was shaking so badly she couldn’t move herself. The darkness that surrounded her was suffocating. She didn’t want to go back to Devin. She wanted to stay with Alex. They had a plan. This wasn’t part of the plan.
“I’m scared,” she whispered as she sat, curled up next to Aaron on the couch.
“Alex will get you back, Anna. Stay strong.” He turned her to face him and she saw tears in his eyes. “You are so strong, Anna. Don’t forget that. Don’t let him tell you differently.”
Tears streamed down her face. “Tell Alex I love him.”
Aaron nodded.
They heard a knock on the door, but neither got up to answer it.
The knock became a pound and then it sounded like someone was kicking the door. Anna jumped with each sound. Finally, there was a crash, and Anna whimpered. Aaron grabbed her face and kissed her passionately.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Devin kicked in the door after several attempts and stalked into the luxurious apartment. He walked into what had to be the living room and saw Anna on the couch. Kissing...Aaron? He thought Aaron was gay.
“Anna.”
The couple froze and he saw Anna shaking. Good. She should be terrified. He would torture her for leaving him.
She turned and looked at him, terror filling her eyes, and Devin smiled. “Stupid girl, Anna. Stupid, stupid, stupid.” He walked towards her slowly, glaring at her and making her shrink away. He grabbed her by her hair and she shrieked as he pulled her over the back of the couch and onto the floor.
Aaron reached for her, but Devin pushed him away. “You will pay for hiding her, you fucking twat.”
“No, Devin, please.” Anna whimpered. “He wasn’t hiding me. Th-this is my place. I didn’t like Paris so I came back. Aaron didn’t know anything about me running away.”
Devin twisted his hand in her hair and she shrieked again. “Please don’t hurt him,” she begged.
She didn’t want him hurt? Oh, he would hurt him. He released her hair and reached for Aaron.
*****
“Aaron.”
Aaron groaned and rolled to his side, coughing. He saw splatters of blood on the floor and realized he was coughing up blood. Fuck. Devin had started punching him as soon as Anna hit the floor. The last thing he remembered was hearing Tom tell Devin that he would deal with him and to get Anna out of there.
He opened his eyes and saw Tom crouching down next to him.
“Anna?” Aaron whispered.
Tom pressed his lips together and shook his head. “Devin took her. But he won’t kill her. He would have killed you.”
“You let him take her?”
“I didn’t have a choice, Aaron. Devin’s defeat depends on him not knowing about me or Alex.”
“He’ll hurt her.”
Tom sighed. “I know, and that thought kills me. But he won’t do anything until the funerals are over. He wouldn’t want her to look bad in front of the other Elders. He’ll wait until he’s home.”
“You can’t let him take her home!”
“I won't be able to speak to Wilhelm or Vlad until after the funerals are over. I don’t know if they’ll find out about Anna before then.”
“I’ll call Alex and tell him.”
“No, Aaron. You can’t. We have to stick with the plan. Alex has to kill Oscar in the morning. If you call and tell him...he’ll lose it. I can’t let that happen.”
“Fuck the plan, Tom. You can't let him have Anna for that long. He’ll get his powers back.”
Tom shook his head. “We’ll modify the timeline, but we have to get rid of Tyler, or Tyler becomes Elder when Devin is removed. Tyler’s no better than Devin.”
“So call Alex and tell him to take out Tyler.”
“The jobs were given to Alex by myself, Vlad and Wilhelm. One of us alone can’t modify it and as I said, I won’t be able to speak to them until after Devin’s gone. Devin will be on the lookout for anything suspicious.” He helped Aaron to his feet. “Let me get you to a hospital. I told Devin I would deal with you. I’ll check you in under a different name. Once you’re released, you need to stay out of sight. You need to pretend you’re dead until Devin’s back in San Francisco.”
*****
Alex opened the door to the seedy motel room he and his team were staying in. They could pay cash here, no questions asked, and wandering in and out at odd times of the day and night wasn’t questioned either.
He smiled to himself. Oscar was dead. One mo
re person to attend to in just a few more weeks and then Anna would be safe. He sighed in relief as he put his bag down and walked farther into the room.
“Where’s Sebastian?” he asked, looking around. Sebastian was supposed to stay here with Greg. Seth and Tony had returned from their secondary lookout points. Greg was here, but no Sebastian.
Greg gave him a look that brought chills to his body. “He left suddenly yesterday afternoon. Just disappeared.”
Alex dug in his bag for his phone and impatiently waited as it powered on. Damn smartphones took forever to start up. There were no new messages so he called Anna. She would be in rehearsal and likely wouldn’t pick up.
“Pack up, we’re leaving ASAP,” he said to his men as Anna’s phone rang. It went to voicemail. “Anna, Schatzi. Please call me as soon as you get this. I will be home in less than two hours. Please. Call me.” He couldn’t hide the panic in his voice.
They were packed and on their way to the airport within twenty minutes. Alex called every person he could think of. Unfortunately, they were all in rehearsals. Simon!
He punched his phone a little harder than he should have, but sighed in relief when Simon answered. “Simon! Have you...have you heard anything about Anna?”
“No.... Should I have?”
“Sebastian left suddenly yesterday and hasn’t returned. Everyone is in rehearsals and no one is picking up. I don’t know if Anna is all right.”
“Do you want me to go over to the theater?”
Alex thought for a moment. He wanted to see for himself that Anna was all right. “Do you have time?”
“I can make time.”
“Call your father first. See if he has heard anything. He’s in the country, right?”
“Yes. He arrived yesterday.”
“Call and let me know what you find out.”
“Will do.”
Alex laid his phone on his knee and closed his eyes. Anna had to be all right. She just had to be.
*****
Anna stared at Devin from across the room as he talked and joked with Tom, Tommy and Tyler. Somehow knowing that Tom and Tommy were on her side was comforting, even though they couldn’t even give a hint that they were. Devin and Tyler both had been merciless to her last night. If Devin had brought his syringe, he would have used it on her, but thankfully he hadn’t.
As it was, she had bruises on her torso and hips, but nothing that would be seen at the funeral or Gathering on Sunday. She would not be participating as an Elder-Mistress at the Gathering, which was fine with her. She had no desire to spend time with those women. Especially Irina.
She had flown with the three men to Boston this morning. Devin had looked a little shaken when the news was sent out that Oscar had been killed. Anna carefully kept her expression guarded. Devin couldn’t suspect she knew anything about what was going on.
So far, she’d managed to keep her spirits up. She constantly twisted the wedding ring on her right hand, thankful for once that Devin made her wear it all these years. Now it didn’t cause pain, but assured her that Alex wasn’t far away and that he would rescue her. He was probably still in town and would be busting through the door any minute.
He had to be. She didn’t know how long she would survive with Devin once he got her back in San Francisco.
*****
Alex ran through the back door of the theater, not acknowledging the guard, but walking as quickly as he could to the stage. Simon had called him back a little while ago, telling him that his father hadn’t heard anything. The drive from the airport had been torture and he’d gone straight to the theater.
He burst onto the stage and looked around, desperately searching the faces for his beloved wife. She wasn’t there. The music had stopped and everyone turned and looked at him. The sadness in their eyes did nothing for the knot in his stomach.
His eyes met Hugo’s. “Anna?” he whispered, walking towards the dancer.
Hugo swallowed and his eyes filled with grief. “She’s...Aaron said that that man, Devin, was here.”
Alex’s jaw trembled and the rest of him followed. He stared into the brown eyes of the man who loved Anna almost as much as he did. “This isn’t some sick idea of a joke?” he whispered in German. He couldn’t think straight.
Hugo’s brow twitched as he shook his head.
Alex looked around. “Where’s Aaron?”
“I heard he was in the hospital. He got beat up pretty bad.”
Alex’s grief doubled. “Where?”
Hugo gave him the name of the hospital and Alex thanked him and shakily turned and walked off the stage.
*****
Alex couldn’t call any of the Elders to find out what was going on. Not with the possibility that Devin could be near anyone he would call. He had to wait to be called. In the meantime, he went to the hospital and visited Aaron.
Cameron was sitting next to Aaron’s bed, holding his hand when Alex walked in. Cameron’s face was full of worry.
“Alex!” he exclaimed. “Oh, thank God!” The smaller man rushed over and hugged him around the waist.
Alex looked down at him for a moment before hugging him back. It was obvious how much Cameron cared for Aaron. He couldn’t begrudge the guy some affection.
“What happened?” Alex asked, walking over to Aaron. His face was covered in bruises and he had a tube coming out of his mouth. He looked to be sleeping.
“I don’t know exactly. He was conscious when he arrived, but has been sleeping since. He’s got some pretty bad internal injuries.” Cameron sat back down and took Aaron’s hand. “Tom Pendleton brought him in.”
Alex sensed his men entering the room and they stopped and stared at Aaron. Cameron looked up with wide eyes. Alex realized they probably looked rather intimidating. They hadn’t stopped to shower and were in their black outfits still. Shit. He hoped he hadn’t tipped anyone off at the theater as to what he had been doing.
“You have my number?” he asked Cameron.
Cameron shook his head. Alex grabbed a piece of paper from the table next to Aaron and scribbled his number on it. “Call me the moment he’s awake. I have to go find out what’s going on.”
Cameron nodded, tears in his eyes.
*****
Alex and his men cursed as they saw the mess in the condo.
“What would do this?” Seth asked, crouching down and looking at the damaged wall of his room. “It’s not an explosion.”
Alex looked around. Seth was right. There were no signs of fire or anything that would normally accompany a scene like this.
Alex blew out a breath when he saw dance bags in the far corner. He walked over and realized with sadness that they were Aaron and Anna’s bags. Why had they come into this room? Anna’s phone showed his missed calls, as did Aaron’s. He looked through their call history and saw an unknown number from Thursday afternoon on Aaron’s phone. He tossed it to Greg. “See if you can find out who called Aaron.”
Greg nodded and walked away. Alex looked around and saw a slash in the wall and on the bed. “Fire?” he muttered to himself.
If Anna had been here and Sebastian had disappeared, the logical conclusion was that Sebastian had come here to protect her. But why would Sebastian have left? He wouldn’t have left Anna unprotected unless there had been another threat besides Devin. Who could that have been?
He would have to wait until Aaron woke up.
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Anna watched nervously as Devin greeted the American Elders and their sons that evening. With three Elders recently assassinated, there were three new men she hadn’t met. Chad Diaz was Connor’s second oldest son. Jonathan Reece was Marcus’ second oldest son, though he had an older sister between him and Joel. Anna could tell who Noah, Oscar’s younger son, was the moment he walked in: his eyes were wide with nervousness and filled with grief.
Brandon was the first newly arrived Elder to spot Anna sitting in the corner. He was clearly surprised and stumbled slightly, causi
ng his son, Ethan, to run into him. Ethan had apparently just received his piercings at the last Gathering.
Brandon recovered quickly and smiled smugly at Devin. “You found her?” Brandon had helped in her escape.
Devin motioned for Anna to come to him and she quickly crossed the room and stood next to Devin with her head down. “Yes, she hid in Paris for a while and then returned to New York.” Devin stroked her hair and then pulled it, bringing her head up. “A pleasant treat for the evening, I think?”
Brandon stroked her cheek. “I would have to agree.”
Anna gave him a small smile.
Devin had the American leaders in his room for dinner, and so he could get to know Noah. Anna wondered if the new Elders were as cruel as their fathers and brothers.
*****
Alex walked into Aaron’s hospital room for the second time that day. Cameron had finally called him after dinner and Alex and his men had rushed over to see him.
Aaron gave him a weak smile as he walked in and Alex’s heart squeezed to see the pain in his friend’s eyes. He was relieved to see the tube had been removed from his mouth. “Aaron,” he said in a soft voice. Cameron moved so that Alex could sit down. “How are you feeling?”
“Oh, been better,” came Aaron’s raspy voice. “You?”
Alex pressed his lips together. “I’m so sorry, Aaron,” he said after the lump in his throat subsided a bit. “Who did this?”
“Devin. Had no idea that guy was so strong.”
Alex’s jaw clenched and he heard the guys behind him mumbling. “Why?”
“He thinks I had something to do with Anna’s disappearance. Wasn’t wrong. Tom saved my life, but Devin got away with Anna. There wasn’t anything else to do.”
The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged Page 43