The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (8 page)

Anna’s heart fell into her stomach. “A few
days ago? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“Because you would have gone home or gotten
in touch with him,” Tom said, standing and walking over to her. “We
can’t let Devin have you back.”

“Is she okay?” she asked, afraid she already
knew the answer.

Tom shook his head. “No. He killed her.”

Anna struggled for breath as she stared at
him. “You let him kill her?” She glowered at Aaron. “I could have
stopped him and you didn’t tell me!”

“If I’d have told you, you would have made
contact with him,” Aaron said quickly, coming close and putting his
hand on her shoulders. “Anna, he would have found you.”

“So what!” she yelled, backing away and
slapping his hands away. “She would still be alive. You should have
let me make the choice. It’s my life!” she shouted.

“No, Anna, it’s not just about protecting
you,” Tom said calmly. “It’s much bigger than you. He’s using you
to take over the country. He’s eroding our democracy. He’s got
control of the president, for God’s sake. Even you should realize
that’s not good.”

Anna turned to walk away but Tom grabbed her
by her shoulders. “He wants control of the country, Anna. If you
return to him, there is nothing we can do to stop him. He will
continue to grow more and more powerful and then he will control
everything. Freedom, what you’re just beginning to taste, will be
gone. Do you want everyone in this country to be Devin’s
slave?”

Anna paused, chest heaving. “That’s what he
wants?”

“Yes, Anna.”

No
. Being Devin’s slave...she
wouldn’t wish that on anyone. She took in a shaky breath and turned
back around to look up at him. “Why didn’t you stop him earlier?”
she asked softly.

“We didn’t realize what he was doing. I never
took his claims that seriously. We thought...we just thought he
knew better. He’s a smart guy and our politicians are pretty dumb.
But when he came back from Vitaly’s funeral, his plans escalated
and we saw he was trying to become Immortal. Yes, we should have
done something earlier. We know that now…should have listened to
the Germans.”

“Can you still stop him?”

“If you stay out of his reach, yes.”

“Okay.” She walked slowly to her room and
closed the door.

Poor Jenna...
poor Matt
! Matt had
lost two loved ones by Devin’s hand now.

Anna closed her eyes and wept.

Anna stared out the window as she lay in her
bed in the dark room. She was angry. Angry at Devin. Angry at Tom
and Aaron for letting this happen. No, it wasn’t really their
fault, but...why did so many people have to die because of her?

She sat up, grief consuming her. She was
half-tempted to call Hugo and ask him to come back, but she didn’t
think that would be appropriate. Instead, she got out of bed and
headed into Aaron’s room. The lights were out; it was after
midnight. But his head turned when she walked in.

“Hey,” she said softly, walking across the
room and stopping by his bed.

He looked up at her and sighed. “I can’t
believe she’s gone.” He pulled aside the blankets and she cuddled
in next to him.

“I can’t believe it either,” she said, tears
running down her cheeks.

“I called Justin. We’re going to fly out
tomorrow for the funeral.”

Anna nodded. “I can’t go, can I?”

“No.”

Anna took in a shaky breath. She hoped that
Devin killed Jenna quickly, like he had with Ben. She was afraid to
ask. She wasn’t sure if she wanted to know.

Hugo rushed over to Anna when she walked into
the studio the next morning. She was calm and trying not to think
about things too deeply. It had been a quiet morning in the
apartment. Aaron stayed home to pack and she fought the anger at
not being able to go with him.

“Is everything okay?” Hugo asked as she
dropped her bag on the ground.

Anna looked up into his concerned eyes. “My
best friend was killed.”

His eyes widened. “Oh my God, Katrina. I’m so
sorry.” He looked around. “Why are you here? You should go home
and...I don’t know...pack to go back to the funeral?”

Anna shook her head. “I can’t go.”

Hugo stared at her and then he exhaled. “Does
it have something to do with that relationship you don’t want to
talk about?”

Anna nodded. She squeezed her eyes shut and
grasped the
barre
tightly, trying to maintain control of
her emotions. Her heart hurt and she didn’t know what to do.

“C’mon,” Hugo said, putting his arm around
her and leading her out of the studio. He paused by the door to
tell Vincent what happened, and then led Anna into his office. He
sat her down on a leather couch along the side wall and put his
arms around her.

His caring warmed her heart and she leaned
her head against his chest as he stroked her arm. “You could have
called me last night,” he said softly, leaning his cheek against
her head. “I would have come back over.”

“I didn’t want to bother you. You looked
kinda upset when Aaron said he needed to talk to me.”

“He had interrupted a really nice kiss. I was
a little irritated with him.”

Anna couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh.
“It was a nice kiss,” she agreed.

“I feel bad now, though. Did he know
her?”

Anna nodded. “She was like a sister to him.”
She leaned her head against his chest. “Have you ever lost anyone?”
she asked softly.

“Yes. My father died when I was fifteen.
That’s when my mother and I moved here.”

“How did you...get over it?”

He chuckled. “I don't know if I ever ‘got
over it.’ I still miss him. I loved my father dearly. He was a good
man.”

“How did he die?”

“Cancer. Mercifully, it went quickly, but it
still was very difficult, watching him die.”

“You got to say goodbye, though, right?”

“Yes. My mother and I were there when he
died.”

“I’ve never gotten to say goodbye to anyone,”
Anna said softly.

“You say that as if you have lost many
people, Katrina.”

She had lost quite a few people in her life.
Her parents, Ben, Alex and his men, hers and Wilhelm’s baby, and
now Jenna. “A few.”

“Are your parents alive?”

“No. They died when I was twelve.” Devin
killed them. She had almost forgotten that he had admitted to
it.

“How did they die?”

“A car accident.”

“I’m so sorry. I can’t imagine the grief you
must have felt to lose both of them at once.”

“I don’t really remember it.” Devin and Jack
had started touching her afterwards, dulling the pain. Had she
actually
ever
mourned for anyone? Mourned like normal
people? Probably not. She wasn’t exactly normal. She used sex to
distract herself from the pain. She looked up at Hugo with wet
eyes. “How do you mourn?”

He stroked her hair and gave her a sad smile.
“It’s different for everyone, Anna. How did you deal with your
husband dying?”

She flushed. “I was doped up for two
years.”

“Oh.” He gave her a gentle smile. “I wouldn’t
recommend that.”

“I don’t want to.”

“Good,” he smiled. “I’d hate to see you on
drugs. You wouldn’t be able to dance and I wouldn’t have you for my
premier.”

She gave him a half smile. “I wouldn’t want
to let you down.”

“I can’t imagine you doing such a thing.”

They sat quietly together for several long
minutes. His presence was comforting and she slowly relaxed into
his arms.

“Do you want to go home?” he asked softly.
“Vincent would understand.”

Anna shook her head. “Dancing...dancing
helps. Helps me feel better.”

He nodded. “I could see that about you.” He
stood and helped her to her feet and then hugged her tight. “I’m
here for you if you need anything.”

“Thanks, Hugo,” she said softly.

They went back to the studio. Class had just
started a few minutes prior and Anna slipped her shoes on and
joined in. Hugo spoke with Vincent for a few minutes then slipped
onto the
barre
behind her. She knew that people had
watched her and Hugo walk back in together and hoped they didn’t
think badly of him.

Aaron was gone when she got home that
evening. He and Justin had flown out earlier that afternoon. She
was sad that they couldn’t tell Jenna’s dad that she was sorry for
what happened. Neither of them could let on that they knew where
she was. Anna understood but the knowledge didn’t make it any
easier.

Hugo promised to keep her company while Aaron
was out of town. He took Anna out to dinner Friday night and then
they went back to Anna’s apartment and watched TV. He’d suggested
going out to the club with the other dancers, or even a movie, but
she wasn’t in the mood to be around a bunch of people.

Anna liked being in Hugo’s embrace on the
couch and snuggled closer to rest her arm on his solid stomach and
her head on his chest. He played with her hair, brushing her neck
every once in a while. She wasn’t sure he was doing it on purpose,
but found herself lifting her chin so he had better access to her
neck.

She heard his heartbeat increase in tempo as
he glided his fingers down her neck from behind her ear to her
collarbone and back up. Anna fisted his t-shirt and swallowed
nervously as he repeated the motion. She wanted him. Wanted him to
touch her, more than just on her neck, but would he think poorly of
her if they did have sex? She was pretty sure he thought of her as
a sweet, innocent girl by the things he said, and how he treated
her. But that’s how she was supposed to appear; she even felt that
way sometimes.

He had no idea she could give him the best
blowjob of his life and she wanted to badly. She wanted to taste
him, to have him in her mouth first and then in her body.

But she liked that he thought of her as
innocent. She supposed she could justify it by thinking about the
fact that ‘Katrina’ hadn’t slept with many people.

His fingers caressed just above her
collarbone at her neck and she sighed and lifted her chin even
more.

“Katrina,” he whispered. She slowly opened
her eyes and saw him gazing down intently at her. He wanted her.
She could feel it.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to
his, sliding her hand up his chest and around his neck. His hand
came up to cup her neck and he deepened the kiss, delving his
tongue into her mouth urgently. He turned his body towards her and
deepened his kiss while caressing the side of her neck.

When he pulled away a few minutes later, they
were both breathing heavily. Anna watched him nervously with wide
eyes as he stroked her cheek, wondering what he was thinking. She
was hesitant to read him. Katrina didn’t read men like Anna
did.

“I should go,” he said in a husky voice.

No!
Her lower jaw trembled. “Did I
do something to upset you?”

He frowned. “Why would you think that?”

“You don’t want to stay.”

Hugo closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
“Kittycat, there is nothing more I would like to do than stay,
but....” He cleared his throat and looked at her sheepishly. “I
don’t want to do something you’ll regret.”

“Regret?”

He studied her. “Katrina, I am very,
very
attracted to you, in case you didn’t know.” He
grinned. “But pushing too fast....” He sighed. “I like you. A lot.
But, I don’t want you to resent me for...moving too fast.”

“Why would I resent you? I’m attracted to
you, too.” She leaned forward to kiss him again, but he moved back.
Tears burned at her eyes and she looked down at her hands.

He lifted her chin. “I like you, Kittycat,”
he said softly and then shook his head gently. “I’m going to be a
gentleman and leave before things go too far.” He kissed her
chastely on the lips and then stood. She could see his erection
straining against his jeans and she licked her lips.

“Hugo,” she said softly, feeling herself
going into seduction mode. She looked up at him for a moment and
then turned away. No, she didn’t want to seduce him. She just
wanted him to stay.

He kissed her on the top of the head. “I’ll
see you in the morning.”

She stared at her hands and heard the
apartment door open and close, and then burst into tears. Part of
her understood why he left, but the other, larger, part of her felt
rejected and lonely.

She looked at her watch. It was
eleven-thirty. She wanted to call Wilhelm. It was, what...nine
hours difference between them? It was early but not too
early...

She got her phone out of her purse and made
the call.

“Anna?” his voice was very gravelly. “What is
wrong?”

“Wilhelm,” she said softly. “I’m sorry to
wake you so early, but I...just wanted to hear your voice.”

“
Liebling
, I do not mind you
calling, but I am much better at conversations that do not occur in
the middle of the night.”

“Middle of the night? Isn’t it six
there?”

Wilhelm paused and then laughed. “Anna, you
are in New York, not San Francisco. It is three in the
morning.”

“Oh, God! Oh, Wilhelm, I’m so sorry! I
forgot.” This night was not improving. “I’ll call you later then.
I’m sorry.”

“
Nein
, Anna. It was important enough
for you to call. Hang on a moment and I will go in the sitting
room.” She heard him speaking in German, assumingly to Ilsa. “All
right,
Liebling,
” he said a few minutes later. “What
happened?”

The tears began to flow and Anna told him
what had happened between Hugo and herself. When she was finished,
he was quiet for a while. She knew he was thinking and respected
his silence.

“It sounds like he is an honorable man, Anna.
He left because he respects you and cares for you. Do you remember
how long it took for Alex to make love to you?”