The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced (43 page)

“What...?” His words caught in his throat as
he looked at Wilhelm’s wet, pale face. “Alex...?” he whispered.

Wilhelm pressed his lips together and nodded.
“He is gone, Aaron,” Wilhelm said in a cracked voice and buried his
face in Anna’s neck.

Aaron sank to his knees and stared at Anna.
There had to be some sort of mistake. He looked up at Devin, who
looked solemn.

But Alex was so...full of life. He couldn’t
be dead. What the hell had he been doing that got him killed?
Questions ran through his head even as the tears began to run down
his cheeks. His best friend was gone.

He glanced back up at Devin. “What about
Seth? And Tony? And the others?”

Devin turned his gaze on Aaron and shook his
head sadly. “I’m sorry.”

Aaron stared at the floor and shook his head
in disbelief. How could this be possible? How could his best friend
be gone? He leaned over and put his forehead on Anna’s trembling
back.

Wilhelm stared at the ground as he sat in the
chair next to Anna’s bed. His son. His oldest son was gone. And his
nephew as well. And Alex’s men. He knew them all. The ache in his
heart was unbearable. The bond between Anna and Alex only prevented
Devin from being involved with Alex’s death; it didn’t mean he
couldn’t be killed on a mission or any other countless ways people
died every day.

If only Sebastian could return to tell him
what happened…but that was unlikely. Mission deaths were not
uncommon. There was no compelling reason for the Immortal to risk
returning to share the story. Alex’s job was dangerous. Two years
ago, another Brotherhood assassin had been killed during a mission.
It was just part of the job.

Alex was the best...but even the most
talented still get killed sometimes. Devin had said he’d tried to
get more information on what happened, but no one seemed to have
heard anything. It wasn’t unreasonable for that to happen. Alex and
the others were good at their jobs. No one would have known they
were there.

Wilhelm was torn, even as his heart was
aching unlike he'd ever felt. He wanted to go home to his family,
but he couldn’t leave Anna here. It had been twenty-four hours
since he’d told her and she hadn’t spoken or moved voluntarily
since. He’d taken her home and given her a bath and tucked her into
bed. She just lay there with her eyes open, staring out into
space.

Leaving her here would make her vulnerable.
Devin had been kind and sympathetic, but Wilhelm didn’t trust him
to put Anna’s needs above his own desires. There was no love lost
between Alex and Devin, and Devin was probably glad about Alex.
Wilhelm hated to think what would happen to Anna when he left.

No, he couldn’t leave Anna here. Who knew
what Devin would do? And now that Alex was...well, Alex’s
“ownership” of Anna had passed to Wilhelm. It wasn’t as strong as
Alex’s, but at least Wilhelm was an Elder. He could match Devin’s
authority, if not override it.

*****

Wilhelm watched with concern as Anna stared
out the window of the plane, grasping Alex’s wedding ring where it
hung from a chain around her neck. She’d refused to let go of it
when he’d given her a bath, so he found a chain so it wouldn’t
continue to cut into her palm from grasping it so tightly.

They were on their way back to Germany.
Wilhelm had made the decision to take Anna home with him and told
Devin to fuck off when he protested. Wilhelm wouldn’t abandon Anna
when she needed him most. It would be difficult having both Ilsa
and Anna dependent on him, but he would manage. Maurice was with
Ilsa now, as were the children. Ilsa was surrounded by loved ones
and was a strong woman. The strongest woman he knew.

Anna...Anna had strength in her, but it had
been so badly beaten down that she didn’t know it was there. But
she would survive. Maybe he should encourage Kurt to look after
her. With Alex gone, Kurt would have to take his place in the
Brotherhood. It wouldn’t be inappropriate for Kurt to take his
brother’s wife, after he divorced Gretchen, which Wilhelm would now
encourage. He didn’t want Gretchen anywhere near the Brotherhood.
Even if Anna wasn’t interested in Kurt, Gretchen was not a good
wife for an Elder. It hadn’t mattered before....

Anna’s position in the family would not
change. If she had been pregnant with Alex’s son, he would have
inherited and become Elder after Kurt. Wilhelm had an option to
provide Anna with children, if she wanted. Maybe it would help her
in her grief.... But now was not the time to ask. She wasn’t
functioning enough to make that sort of decision. She was barely
functioning at all. He had to command her to eat and drink.

A memorial service would be held on Sunday
for Alex and his men. Wilhelm had told Aaron and Isaak that he
would fly over anyone who wanted to come. Many of the dancers had
indicated their interest. That was good. Anna would be surrounded
by her friends. But he couldn’t leave her vulnerable in San
Francisco. Not until she was able to take care of herself.

Lili, the stewardess, walked quietly up to
where Wilhelm sat. “Herzog, lunch is ready.”

“Thank you, Lili. We’ll be there
shortly.”

She curtsied and walked away.

Wilhelm put his hand on Anna’s arm. He’d
learned quickly that he had to physically get her attention before
talking to her. She was so lost in her own little world, she heard
nothing going on around her. If the plane fell from the sky, he
doubted she would notice.

“Liebling?” he said softly.

She blinked, but didn’t turn to him.

“Let’s go eat.” He took her hand and she
followed him meekly to the dining room.

When their plates were set before them,
Wilhelm touched Anna’s hand. “Anna. Eat.”

She blinked and picked up her fork. He hated
commanding her, but it was the only way to get her to take care of
herself. She was unable to do anything on her own. Losing a baby or
husband was terrible enough, but losing both within two weeks had
pushed her over the edge.

She ate half of her food and Wilhelm was
satisfied. It was more than she’d eaten this morning.

*****

The jet landed several hours later in a rainy
Frankfurt. It taxied to the hangar and he saw the limo waiting for
them. When the jet door opened, Lili handed him an umbrella and he
took Anna’s elbow to lead her down the stairs. The door to the limo
opened and a distraught Ilsa got out and ran to him.

“Wilhelm!” she exclaimed, burying her face in
his shoulder.

Anna felt the cold rain on her head and
looked up. It was only for a second and then another umbrella
sheltered her. It took her a moment to focus on the face in front
of her. For a split second, she thought it was Alex, but no. It was
Kurt.

She looked to her side and saw Wilhelm and
Ilsa embracing and weeping together. Another reminder that she was
alone. Wilhelm had a family to comfort. Why did he bring her back
here? She could have been left alone in San Francisco. She wanted
to be alone. She didn’t want to be around people.

“Hello, Anna,” Kurt said softly.

She looked up at him, but didn’t say
anything. She didn’t smile. She looked back at the ground.

“Kurt, bring Anna to the car,” Wilhelm said,
guiding Ilsa back to the limo.

“
Kommen Sie, Engel,
” Kurt said
gently, and put his arm on her back to lead her to the limo. He let
her in first and then closed the umbrella and handed it to the
driver.

“Anna,” Ilsa said, reaching for her hand.

Anna stared at the floor and didn’t say
anything, but didn’t pull away from Ilsa. She liked Ilsa. Ilsa had
given birth to the man Anna loved.

Memories of her last morning with Alex
threatened to surface, but Anna pushed them away. She didn’t want
to cry, she didn’t want to think. She didn’t want to feel. Her
numbness was her cocoon.

She vaguely felt the limo begin to drive
away.

Kurt, Wilhelm and Ilsa talked around her, but
Anna didn’t listen. Instead, she stared out the window.

Too soon, they were driving up the familiar
drive to Alex’s family home. A huge lump filled her throat as the
memories threatened to overwhelm her. Her eyes burned with tears
that she didn’t want to release. Her hands shook as she grasped
Alex’s ring hanging from her neck. Why had Wilhelm brought her back
here?

They walked into the entryway a few minutes
later. Wilhelm was instantly engulfed in the embraces of his
daughters. Anna stood to one side and stared at the floor.

Ilsa came up to her. “I’ve had Alex’s room
readied for you. If you’d like to freshen up, we’ll have dinner
soon.”

Anna nodded absently and walked to the
stairs. Greta grabbed her and hugged her before she made it
there.

“Oh, Anna,” Greta said, hugging her tightly.
“Please, Anna. If you need to talk or anything, come find me?”

Anna nodded absently again and walked up the
two flights of stairs to her bedroom. She walked through the door
and stared at the bed where she and Alex had made love. The bed
where she had first seen Alex years ago.

She couldn’t sleep there.

She walked to the closet, picked out one of
Alex’s sweaters and put it on, then curled up on the rug next to
the fire crackling in the fireplace. Bathed in its warmth, she
instantly fell into the oblivion of sleep.

*****

Wilhelm went to get Anna for dinner. He
knocked on the door and walked in, knowing she wouldn’t answer. His
heart stopped when he saw the empty bed. Where had she gone?

He looked around the room and saw her curled
in a ball next to the fireplace, wearing one of Alex’s
sweaters.

Maybe putting her in this room hadn’t been a
good idea, but he didn’t want her to think that because Alex was
dead her position in the family had changed.

He sighed. He felt helpless to comfort her.
Her grief went beyond anything he could fully comprehend.

His heart was a constant source of pain since
he found out about Alex and the others. He loved his son so much,
and he had been so proud of the man he’d turned into. Wilhelm
couldn’t deny that there had been moments when he’d doubted, but
Alex had pulled through his immaturity to become a wonderful
man.

Wilhelm blinked back the tears that
threatened to fall. He needed to be strong for his family. There
were things to be done and if Wilhelm lost it, his family would
too. No, he needed to stay in control. For their sake.

Alex had made Anna so happy and vice versa.
Watching the two of them together was the most beautiful thing he’d
ever seen. Anna in love was a beautiful sight. She had changed from
the scared, beaten down girl he’d first seen in the Hall of Devin’s
Manor into a beautiful confident woman who knew her place in the
world. Her dancing had been entrancing when he’d watched
La
Bayadere
. It had been beauty in motion.

And now....

Her life was just one tragedy after another.
How much more could she take?

“Anna?” he said softly. She didn’t lift her
head and he walked over to kneel next to her. He brushed her hair
back from her face. “Anna. It’s time for dinner.”

She got up without speaking. Her hair was a
mess and she wore jeans with Alex’s sweater hanging down past her
knees.

Wilhelm took her into the bathroom and
brushed her hair, and then went into the closet to find something
for her to wear. He returned with a long sweater dress and helped
her into it. He stroked her cheek and found her skin cold, so he
went back to the closet and returned with a sweater and slippers,
put them on her and then led her downstairs to dinner.

*****

Dinner was subdued. Even Derek and Sofie were
quiet. They knew their Uncle Alex wasn’t coming home anymore.

Gretchen sat quietly, feeding Otto some sort
of mush. She had calmed down dramatically the last few months,
which had surprised Wilhelm quite a bit. He needed to speak to Kurt
about her, though. Well, he needed to speak to Kurt about many
things.

Anna sat next to Wilhelm in Alex’s place and
stared at Otto. Wilhelm had forgotten about the whole fiasco from
their wedding day. Perhaps it wasn’t wise to have him at the
table.

Maurice sat at the other end of the table,
next to Ilsa. Wilhelm had invited him to stay so that Wilhelm could
tend to Anna and Ilsa wouldn’t feel neglected. Ilsa and Maurice
spoke softly together. A twinge of jealousy twisted his stomach.
Maurice clearly adored Ilsa and Ilsa was very fond of him. Wilhelm
was glad Maurice was here for her, but he couldn’t deny the tiny
bit of jealousy.

Ilsa and Wilhelm had talked before he arrived
home and they had both decided that making sure Anna was okay
needed to be Wilhelm’s priority. Ilsa would be all right. She was
surrounded by loving family. Anna needed someone she could count on
and the most logical person was Wilhelm, especially since he was
her Master now.

Maybe Wilhelm should take Anna to his bed
tonight. He’d gotten used to sleeping with her and rather enjoyed
it. He didn’t want her sleeping alone and for some reason didn’t
like the idea of Kurt sleeping with her. At least not until he was
accepted into the Brotherhood.

Yes. He would keep Anna with him. Maybe with
his attention she would feel comfortable enough to start talking
again. It worried him that she wouldn’t speak.

*****

“Anna, would you feel more comfortable
staying with me in my room?” Wilhelm asked her after dinner.

She had gone with him to his study so he
could finish a few things before bed. He’d said he needed to get in
touch with the world Elders. There was a special Gathering when
Elders or Sons died.

Anna looked at him with questioning eyes.
What would Ilsa do?

“Ilsa is staying with Maurice. I realize that
you might not be comfortable staying in the other room.”