The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (10 page)

Very angry.

“Get off me!” she screamed.

Anna pulled at the bindings that held her in
place with all her strength and then screeched in fury when she
couldn’t get free. Jack froze and looked down at her. She’d never
seen fear in his eyes before.

“You will not take me back to Devin!” she
growled and a white-hot rage consumed her.

A knock sounded on Aaron’s dressing room
door.

“Come in,” he called.

Hugo opened the door and poked his head
inside. “Have you heard from Katrina?”

Surprised, Aaron shook his head. “I thought
you guys were going out tonight.”

Hugo nodded. “We are. She said she’d come
backstage at intermission and she didn’t, and I haven’t seen her
since the show ended.”

Aaron knew how much Anna had been looking
forward to going out with Hugo tonight. She’d been anticipating
staying the night with him for the first time since they’d started
dating. It pained Aaron to, once again, see Anna happy with someone
besides himself, but Hugo was good for her. He treated her like the
princess she was without the baggage of her past.

Aaron glanced at his watch as nerves filled
his stomach. The show had ended twenty minutes ago. Something was
wrong. “Where was she supposed to meet you?”

“Back here. In my dressing room.”

Aaron rubbed his neck, not knowing what he
should do. He couldn't risk Hugo finding out about Anna’s past.
“Did you call her?”

Hugo made a face. “Of course. Several times,
but it goes to voice mail.”

Aaron picked up his phone and dialed. It rang
several times and then went to voice mail.

Stefanie walked past his door. She wasn’t
dancing tonight, but she was here. Maybe she’d been in the
audience. “Stef!” he called, pushing past Hugo. “Did you happen to
see Katrina out in the audience tonight?”

Stefanie frowned. Aaron knew she wasn’t very
fond of Anna, but when she glanced at Hugo with a hesitant
expression, it made his heart rate triple. “Stef, please. Did you
see her?”

She rolled her eyes and nodded. “I saw her
get up and walk away with some older guy who was holding her
hand.”

Alarm filled Aaron’s veins with ice. “What
did he look like?” Maybe it was Wilhelm?

“A little taller than Katrina, with dark
brown hair and a goatee.”

Aaron rubbed his face. “He wasn’t very tall?”
Devin was definitely tall.

Stef shook her head. “I mean, he wasn’t
short, but it wasn’t like ‘wow, that guy is tall’.”

Aaron felt the blood rush from his face as a
suspicion came to him.

“Aaron, what’s wrong?” Hugo said softly. “Do
you know who she left with?”

“Fuck!”
Jack
. Aaron spun around and
went back into his room, calling Tom with one hand and pulling his
shoes on with the other.

“Hey, Aaron—” Tom began.

“Anna’s gone. I think she may have been taken
by Jack.”

“Jack? How is that possible? I didn’t know he
was here.”

“Can you track her phone?”

“Um, yeah. Give me a few minutes and I’ll
call you back.”

Aaron went back out to the hallway. “When did
she leave?” he asked Stef.

“Before the performance started.”

“Security cameras!” he exclaimed and then ran
down the hallway with Hugo behind him.

Anna heard a faint buzzing sound and she
jumped. Her body ached and her head throbbed. She opened her eyes
and sat up. Where was she? It looked...like a hotel room? But it
was a mess, like there had been a fight. She looked down to see
herself covered in bruises and cuts and blood.

Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as she
looked around.
Jack
. She had come here with Jack. But
where was he? He wouldn’t have left her alone.

She heard the buzzing sound again and
realized it was her phone. She stood on shaky legs to retrieve her
purse from across the room and pulled out her phone.

She looked at the screen. “Aaron?” she asked
weakly, sitting down on the bed.

“Anna! Where are you?” he sounded out of
breath.

“I-I don't know.” She started crying. She was
so afraid.

“Hon. Take a deep breath and look around. Is
Jack there?”

“I don't know,” she whispered. She looked
around. “It’s a hotel.” She looked behind her. The headboard was
broken in pieces and the bed was a mess. Glasses were broken on the
floor and it looked like there was even a crack in the window. She
walked to the table that had been overturned. “Mandarin?” she read,
looking at the cover of a binder that had fallen on the floor.

She heard him repeat it to someone. “What
room, hon? Look on the back of the door.”

She walked across the room and saw a diagram
of the hotel floor. “Thirty-oh-six” she read and turned to go back
and she saw feet in the bathroom. She stepped inside and saw Jack
lying on the floor in a pool of blood. “Oh, God, Aaron! I think
Jack’s dead.”

“I think Jack’s dead,” came the words over
Aaron’s phone. He had been running down the sidewalk and he stopped
mid-step. Hugo ran into him from behind.

“Dead?” Aaron repeated.

“There’s blood...oh, God, Aaron. What
happened?” The panic in Anna’s voice frightened him more than
anything else.

“Anna, are you okay?” He started jogging
again

“I don’t know,” she whispered.

“Okay. Just...wait, Anna. We’re almost
there.”

“Okay.” Her voice was so tiny he could barely
hear her.

Hugo caught up to him. “Who’s Anna? I thought
we were trying to find Katrina?”

Aaron realized his mistake and looked up
apologetically. “I’m sorry, man. I’ll try and explain later. Yes,
we’re going to Katrina. She’s at the Mandarin.” He swerved around a
group of people.

“Is she okay?”

Aaron shook his head. “I don't know. Will you
call her? I need to call someone.” He put the phone back up to his
mouth when Hugo nodded. “Anna, Hugo’s gonna call you and stay on
the line with you until we get there.”

“Okay.”

Aaron nodded to Hugo, who called Anna. Aaron
hung up and called Tom to let him know he’d gotten a hold of her
and her room number.

Anna’s phone beeped. It was Hugo.

“Hugo?” she said in a tiny voice.

“Katrina? Oh, hon, are you okay?”

“I don't know.” She stared at Jack’s body,
unable to move. Blood seeped from a gash in his head, and scratches
and bruises covered his body. His head rested in an unnatural
position. “I don't know what happened,” she whispered.

Hugo didn’t say anything, but by his
breathing it sounded like he was walking very fast.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Tonight was
supposed to be their night together. She should have fought Jack
harder. Then she would be in Hugo’s arms right now instead of naked
and bloody in a hotel room with her guardian. She fell to her knees
and started sobbing. “I’m so sorry, Hugo,” she sobbed.

“Katrina, why are you sorry? What
happened?”

Anna felt too ashamed to tell him that she’d
had sex with her guardian. Hugo would never see her the same way
and their relationship would be over.

“Katrina?”

Anna didn’t answer and hung up the phone. Her
nerves tingled as she got up and looked for her clothing. They’d
fallen to the floor and her dress was wrinkled, but she put it on
anyway.

Her body ached. What had happened to Jack?
How did he end up dead? She only remembered him fucking her and
getting angry.

She was zipping up her dress when someone
pounded on the door. “Anna!”

Anna walked slowly to the door and opened it.
Immediately, she was in Hugo’s arms. “God, Katrina. Are you okay?”
She could sense him looking around. “What happened?” He held her at
arm’s length and looked her up and down. “What happened?” he
repeated in a softer tone.

Anna didn’t answer. Instead she looked at
Aaron. “He found me,” she whimpered.

Aaron nodded. “Tom’s on his way. Where is
he?”

Anna tilted her head to the bathroom. Both
men looked and jumped. Aaron stepped into the bathroom and looked
down at Jack. “Pretty sure he’s dead. But I’m not touching
him.”

“Did someone come in with you two?” Aaron
asked.

“I don’t know. I don’t remember anyone.
He....” Anna tried to pull away from Hugo but he held her tight.
She looked up at him with tears in her eyes. “You should just let
me go now, Hugo.”

Hugo shook his head. “Who is he?”

“My guardian.”

“Your guardian?” he exclaimed.

“He’s been abusing her since she was twelve,
Hugo,” Aaron said. “She didn’t come here voluntarily.”

“Oh, Katrina,” Hugo said softly, pulling her
back into his arms. He kissed the top of her head and petted her
hair.

There were voices in the hall and Tom and
Tommy appeared in the doorway seconds later. “Holy shit,” Tommy
exclaimed. “What happened?”

Tom walked over to Jack’s body and put his
hand on his neck. “He’s dead.” He looked up at Anna leaning against
Hugo with her head on his chest. “Does Devin know?”

Anna shook her head. “Jack said he...he
wanted to have fun with me before he called him.”

Tom exhaled and stood up. “I’ve never been so
thankful for his perversion.” Tom looked at Hugo. “Who are
you?”

“Hugo. Katrina’s...boyfriend.”

Anna looked up at him with wide eyes.
“Really?”

He stroked her cheek. “After what I had
planned for tonight, I certainly hope so.”

“He’s a dancer and choreographer with the
City Ballet,” Aaron added.

“Oh! Hugo Sintzenich! I know you, though
we’ve never officially met. I’m Tom Pendleton.” Tom extended his
hand.

Hugo’s eyebrow raised as he shook Tom’s hand.
“You’re Tom Pendleton? You know him?” He looked at Aaron, clearly
surprised.

Aaron shrugged. “It’s a really long
story.”

“One that doesn’t need to be told right now,”
Tom said. “I got another room to take her to.” He pulled a card out
of his pocket. “Next door.” He handed the card to Hugo. “Can you
stay with her while I look around?”

“Of course,” Hugo said, taking the card from
Tom. He kept his arm around Anna and led her next door. He sat her
on the bed and held her close. “Did he rape you, Katrina?”

Anna didn’t know how to answer that. “I
suppose some would qualify it as that.”

Hugo stiffened. “Did you want to come here
with him?”

“No. I never wanted to see him again. I
wanted to see you dance.” Anna clasped her hands in her lap. “You
don’t have to stay with me if you don’t want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to, Kittycat?” He lifted
her chin to look her in the eye. “I was so worried about you. I
still am. Please trust me.”

Anna bit her lip. “I don’t know what I can
tell you. I’ll have to ask Tom.”

“Is your guardian the relationship that you
didn’t want to talk about before?”

“He’s part of it.”

“Katrina’s not your real name, is it?”

Anna shook her head slowly. “They changed it
so I couldn’t be found.”

“It’s Anna, right?”

She smiled. She liked the sound of her real
name on his lips. “Yes.”

“It suits you. Though I think your other name
does too. Whoever picked it out did a good job.”

The door opened and the others came in. Tommy
sat down next to Anna. “Are you okay?” he asked, taking her
hand.

She hadn’t seen or heard from him since the
night he’d left her after having sex with her. She pulled her hand
away and watched as first hurt, then sorrow filled his eyes.

Tom leaned on the dresser across from where
she was sitting on the bed, arms loosely crossed over his chest.
“Tell me what happened,” he said in a gentle voice.

She glanced at Hugo and then back at Tom and
told him what happened, up to the point where she got angry and
didn’t remember anymore. “The next thing I knew I was lying on the
ground and my phone was buzzing at me.” Tears spilled down her
cheeks and Hugo handed her a tissue. He hadn’t moved the whole time
she spoke, even when she talked about having sex with Jack.

“Anna, do you remember getting angry any
other time and not remembering what happened after?”

“Yes,” she said softly.

“Was it after Devin...er, you lost the baby?
A few months ago?”

She looked up at Tom, thankful he didn’t say
what had really happened, and nodded. “Do you know what happened
then?”

He gave her a wry smile. “You were defending
yourself. Anna, sweetie, I think
you
killed Jack.”

“What?” she exclaimed, looking around wildly.
“I couldn’t have done that. He’s so much stronger than me.”

“There is a part of you that is very strong
and is starting to emerge when you need to defend yourself. It took
Ian and two other men to subdue you when it happened before.”

Anna remembered Ian talking about it and the
bruise on his cheek. She was saddened at his memory. Another death
because of her. She stared at her hands. “What should I do
now?”

“Go home, take a bath and get a good night’s
sleep. I’ll take care of things here and come up with a story for
Devin. I can honestly say he got attacked in his hotel room.”

“You’re not going to call the police?” Hugo
asked incredulously.

Tom gave him a sympathetic look. “This is
beyond the police, Hugo. Involving them would only endanger
Anna...er, Katrina.”

“I know her real name.”

“What else do you know?” Tom asked, his face
inscrutable.

“I know that she was raped by her guardian
tonight and you don’t seem to care much about how she’s going to
deal with it.”

Tom inhaled deeply and looked at the wall
behind them. “I do care that Jack came and got her. Unfortunately
what he did to her was rather...well, I’ve seen her go through much
worse.” He looked back at Hugo. “I know you’re concerned about her
and that's good. She needs that. I am too. There’s just more going
on here than I can explain right now and frankly, it would be
dangerous for me to tell you anymore.” He straightened. “What I can
tell you is, by being here in New York, she is safer than she’s
been in her entire life, and there are many people working to make
that safety a permanent reality for her.”