The Life of Anna, Part 2: Entwined (30 page)

“Anna's calling. I'll call her back later.”

The phone immediately started vibrating again, and Devin pushed the screen to stop it. He pulled the whip up and cracked it at Alex a few more times.

Alex could see Devin's phone light up again. Devin growled and pushed the screen to silence it again. It lit up again within seconds.

“Something's wrong, Devin,” he said in a hoarse voice. “You know she's not that persistent.”

Devin looked back at his phone after refusing the call, but it didn't ring again. “Maybe not.” He smirked.

Alex knew something was wrong. He could feel it in his bones. A movement caught his eye in the corner and he saw Ian looking at his phone. He looked up at Devin.

“It's Anna.”

Devin threw the whip down and stalked over to Ian and grabbed the phone. “Anna, if I don’t answer—”

Even in the dim light, Alex could see Devin's face pale. He walked back over to Alex and held the phone up to his ear.

“Anna?” he said in his hoarse voice.

“Alex, thank God.” It was Aaron.

“Aaron, what—”

“There's something wrong with Anna. She's screaming and rolling around on the bed like she's in massive pain, but there's nothing around that's hurting her. She's getting red lines on her chest and—” Aaron's voice broke. “Alex, I don’t know what the hell is going on. She's in so much pain.”

“Where are you?” Alex had a suspicion of what was going on.

“Her apartment. Where are you?”

“At the Manor. Just...keep her still and try to comfort her. I'll be there,” he glared at Devin, who nodded and motioned to Ian, “as soon as I can. Keep her from hurting herself.”

He nodded at Devin, who took the phone away. Ian unlocked the chains at his ankles and wrists.

“How fast can you get to her place?” Alex asked.

“As fast as Ian can drive. Ian,” Devin turned to Ian. “Get the car out front. I'll get Alex up there.”

Ian ran out of the room and Devin looked at Alex, the question in his eyes.

“Did you know pain transferred as well?” Alex asked.

“I never read anything like that. I never even read about each of us not being able to kill each other.”

“I'm not certain that's what's going on, but Aaron said she was getting red lines on her chest.” He looked at his own chest and gritted his teeth. “If I didn’t think I'd hurt Anna in the process, I'd crush every bone in your body. Where are my clothes?”

Devin pointed to a pile in the corner and Alex shrugged into his clothes, his skin on fire every second. But that's not what mattered. What mattered was getting to Anna.

“Is there an antidote?” he asked Devin.

He shook his head. “Never thought about the need for one.”

Alex sighed and opened the door. They walked out the door, Alex wincing with every step. “How long does it last?”

“It depends on the person. For you, it'll probably wear off soon. It only lasted an hour on Ian.”

Alex looked at Devin. “You tested it on Ian?”

Devin shrugged. “Had to test it on someone your size.”

Un-fucking-believable.
“What about on someone Anna's size?”

Devin winced. “Couple of hours, maybe. I don’t know. Maybe it will wear off as yours wears off.”

They were out to the SUV a few minutes later and Ian tore around the driveway and was on the freeway within a few minutes.

Aaron paced naked in Anna's room. She'd stopped screaming and was quiet now. The welts had deepened and reddened, but they didn’t seem to be bothering her at the moment. Where the hell was Alex?

They'd been making love when she screamed out suddenly. Aaron was terrified that he'd done something to her and jumped away from her. She started shaking and saying that her skin hurt. He tried to rub her arm, but she cried out that it hurt. A while later her body started convulsing as if she were being hit, but he knew it wasn't true. He was scared and had no idea what was going on. The only thing he could think to do was call Alex. He called him about fifteen times and there was no answer.

He sat next to Anna, staring at her and not knowing what to do. He was afraid to touch her.

“Anna, I can't get a hold of Alex. He's not answering.”

“Devin,” she moaned. “...was going to see Devin,” she whispered, and then screamed in pain again.

He found her phone and found Devin's number and started calling. He didn't answer, but it went to voice mail quicker, making him think the call was being ignored, which meant someone was seeing his calls. He redialed over and over again. But no one would answer.

He yelled in frustration. “Hon, I'm so sorry. He's not answering either. I don’t know what to do....” Maybe Wilhelm would know.

“Ian...,” she whispered.

Okay. He didn’t know who Ian was, but there was a number for an Ian in her phone. It rang...and rang...and then someone picked up.

He didn't even wait to listen to the voice. “There's something wrong with Anna. She's screaming and in pain. I need to talk to Alex.”

Relief filled his body when he finally heard Alex's voice and told him what was going on. Now Aaron just had to wait for him to get there.

Aaron looked down and realized he was naked, so he grabbed his jeans to put them on.

Anna moaned on the bed. He was afraid to touch her.

“Anna, hon...,” he said soothingly. He tentatively reached out to smooth her hair and she cried out at his touch. “I'm sorry, hon. God!” he growled. He hated feeling helpless.

They had been together since she’d called him yesterday morning when she got home. Wednesday night had been the longest night, imagining Devin doing all sorts of horrible things to her. He had been so relieved when she finally called.

She hadn’t wanted to talk about the evening, and he held her while she cried. After a while, she calmed and they just sat on the couch in silence, but he didn’t mind. He was just happy to be able to comfort her.

He looked at Anna on the bed. She was still quiet, though her face contorted in pain every once in a while.

Where the hell was Alex?

“Are you cold? Do you want a blanket?” he asked softly. He could see goose bumps on her arms.

She nodded gingerly, then winced.

He went into the other room and took the blanket off the guest bed. He didn't want to risk more pain by moving her around on her bed.

He began to cover her gently, when she started crying again. “No, no! It hurts! It has knives.”

Aaron was confused and looked at the blanket to make sure there was nothing on it, then tried again, but she cried out again. He pulled the blanket off her and threw it on the floor, once again helpless as to what to do to help his sweet girlfriend.

At last, someone knocked on the door. Aaron looked at Anna to make sure she was as “okay” as she could be, and then jumped up and ran to the door.

He was surprised to see Devin and another tall man with Alex. And Alex looked like hell warmed over. His face was pale and he looked like he was in an incredible amount of pain.

“What happened to you?” Aaron asked, as concerned for his friend as he was for Anna.

Alex shook his head. “I'll be all right. Where's Anna?”

“In her bed,” he answered, and Alex pushed past him with a groan and limped quickly to Anna's room.

Aaron turned to give a dirty look at Devin. He'd never met the man, but knew who he was and didn't like him.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

Devin looked at him like he was a peon. “You must be the new boyfriend?”

Aaron narrowed his eyes. “Yes, I'm Anna's boyfriend. You must be the one who had her abused for the last four years of her life.”

Devin's jaw clenched. “Watch yourself, Aaron. You don't want to cross me.” He pushed past Aaron and followed Alex into Anna's room.

Aaron looked at the other man. He was almost as big and tall as Alex. “Who are you?”

The man walked in and gently closed the door behind him. “Ian,” he said, extending his hand. “I'm Devin's assistant. You called my phone.”

Aaron shook the man’s hand and studied him. Though he had an intimidating façade, his eyes showed worry as he glanced in the direction Alex and Devin had disappeared.

Ian looked back at Aaron. “She'll be okay,” he said quietly, then followed Devin.

Aaron walked into Anna's room, where it was getting very crowded. Her room was a decent size, but four large men filled the area quickly.

Alex sat next to Anna, looking at her closely, but not touching her. “Give me your arm, Devin.”

“What?” Devin exclaimed.

“I won't break it, unless she doesn't react.” Alex winced as he reached for Devin's arm. “But we need to know.”

Devin frowned and Alex grabbed hold and began to squeeze. A moment later, Anna began to whimper and held on to her arm. The same arm that Alex was squeezing on Devin. Alex immediately let go and a moment later Anna relaxed, though she still cradled her arm.

“Alex, what the hell is going on?” Aaron asked, stepping forward.

“The pain transfers,” he said to Devin, who nodded with a frown.

He heard Devin curse under his breath.

“Alex...,” Aaron growled. “What the fuck is going on?”

Alex turned to him with sad eyes. “Devin decided to get even with me for telling Anna the truth about her and her family.” Alex glared at Devin, then winced. “He gave me something that makes everything hurt like hell, then used a bullwhip on me.” He lifted his shirt and showed Aaron the welts on his chest.

Aaron quickly walked over to the bed and looked at Anna. The welts matched. Hers were fainter, but they were clearly related. “What the....”

“The pain transfers. We didn't know. We knew we couldn't kill each other. I don't think even Devin would use this on Anna without cause.”

“I wouldn't. It would be counterproductive,” Devin said. He gazed at Anna with sad eyes. “No, I had no intention of using it on her, unless I absolutely had no other option.”

Alex growled. “There are always other options.”

“I didn't develop it for her,” Devin snapped.

“So, will she get better?” Aaron interrupted. He was pissed at both men. Their bickering wasn't helping Anna. “What can we do to help her now?” Anna looked at him and gave him a weak smile. He sat next to her and gazed into her eyes. “You're still hurting?”

She winced and nodded.

“Is it getting any better?”

“I don't feel like I'm getting hit anymore,” she whispered.

Aaron smiled sadly at her. “I wish I could hold you and take it all away.”

She moved her arm, wincing and put her hand next to his. “I want to hold your hand,” she whispered.

“Won't it hurt?”

She grimaced. “It already hurts.”

He took her hand in his and held it as lightly as he could. She smiled weakly and closed her eyes. Her face contorted every so often, but was otherwise still.

Aaron looked up at Alex then Devin, who were both staring at her with remorse.

“There's nothing you can do?” he asked them.

“He doesn't have an antidote,” Alex growled and grimaced.

Aaron realized his friend must be in pain too, if it really was his pain that had transferred to Anna.

Devin looked thoughtful. “I could put her to sleep,” he said reluctantly.

Alex and Aaron both looked at him with bewildered looks.

“You what?” Alex demanded.

Devin sighed. “I can put her to sleep. It wouldn't be the most restful sleep, but it might relieve some of the pain.”

“How can you do that?” Aaron asked.

Devin shrugged. “I can make her do almost anything I want.”

Alex glared at him.

“You told her to sleep and she obeyed you after the ritual. It's like that, but...different.” Devin said. “But I don’t think that would work this time. It's not just a simple obedience thing in this situation. I’m not even certain it would work.” He looked at Alex. “Do you want me to try?”

Alex glanced down at Anna. “It won't hurt her?”

“I don't think so. It shouldn't, but I haven't tried it before.” Devin frowned. “But it's the only thing I can think of.”

“Do it,” Alex said, moving out of the way.

“Don't I get a say in the matter? I'm her boyfriend.” Not that he really wanted to prevent it, he just didn't like the others making decisions without his consideration.

Alex looked at him calmly. “No. I am her Master. Devin is her Master. We decide what's best for her.”

Aaron's jaw dropped and his eyes narrowed. Alex had never spoken to him like that. How dare he! He was the one who encouraged him to ask Anna out, then he pulls the “Master” card on him? He'd never wanted to hit Alex before, but he sure wanted to now.

Devin moved to sit next to Anna. “Anna, Baby,” he said softly.