The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (29 page)

“He wasn’t?” Anna asked, surprised. “Was he
the week before?”

Stef nodded. “Yeah. Boy, were the women
showing off for him. I saw a few of them flash their breasts at
him.”

Anna denied the stab in her heart. No wonder
Simon hadn’t called.

“So, you wanna see if he’s there Saturday?”
Stef asked.

Anna shrugged. “Aren’t there other clubs to
go to?” She didn’t want to see other women vying for his attention.
But she agreed with Stef that she needed to get out.

In the end, Anna and Stef and some other
dancers ended up at the same club as always on Saturday night. Stef
had invited Hugo, but he said he was busy. Anna wondered if he was
busy or just avoiding social situations with her. She didn’t blame
him. It was more painful being separated from him this time than it
had been the first time.

Simon had called Wednesday evening to make
arrangements for Saturday, but Anna told him that she’d already
made plans. When he asked about the following week, she told him
that she didn’t know. He didn’t seem happy about her answer, but
she didn’t know what else to say. She hesitated to do anything.

Anna found herself dressing carefully for the
evening out, but she wasn’t exactly sure why. The denim mini skirt
and white baby-tee were very sexy. Was she trying to make Mr. J.
jealous? Or just trying to make sure she had a good time at the
club? She tried not to think about what Kurt or Wilhelm would do if
he found out what she was doing. They’d probably be furious. But
then again, they hadn’t forbidden her from going out and having
fun.

For some reason, she smiled at the idea of
making Kurt and Wilhelm mad. She knew she’d been forbidden from
being with Hugo. Rebellion bubbled inside her. Fuck Wilhelm. Fuck
Kurt. If these were her last few months of freedom, then she was
going to enjoy them.

They walked into the club and Anna’s eyes
unconsciously went immediately to where the red semi-sheer curtain
hung, shielding Mr. J. from prying eyes. Did he even notice
her?

What did it matter? She could have any man
here if she wanted, and she was determined to have a good time. The
music was loud and the dance floor crowded. A large crowd of women
had gathered in front of the red curtain.

She joined Stef and the other girls on the
floor, but stayed as far away from the curtain as she could. She
drank and laughed and flirted, attracting attention from many of
the men and feeling almost high on the endorphins.

Aaron found her later as she was resting at
their table. While the flirting had been fun for a while, it wasn’t
really doing anything for her tonight. She was beginning to wish
she’d stayed home.

“Come dance with me,” he shouted over the
music, pulling her to the dance floor. He pulled her close and they
began to move with the music. “Why aren’t you doing the Mr. J.
thing?”

“I think he has other interests besides me,”
she answered with a frown. She glanced over to the crowd of women.
Two blondes were kissing and groping each other right in front. He
was surely enjoying the show.

“He asked you out.”

“After not seeing me for three weeks.”

“You were busy too.”

“He went out when I stayed home for Alex’s
birthday and apparently had quite a show.”

“He still asked you out.”

Anna frowned. “No, Simon asks me out. What if
he’s pushing Mr. J. into doing it?”

“Kat, seriously. Do you know how ridiculous
that sounds?”

She was about to retort with a smart comment
when she realized he was right. “I was really stupid, saying no
tonight, wasn’t I?”

Aaron rolled his eyes. “You said it.”

Anna sighed. “I probably blew it.” She
glanced over to the curtain, wishing she could see inside. Mr. J.
had been nothing but kind to her and she was taking her anger at
Wilhelm and Kurt out on him. “I’m an idiot.” In hopes that he was
somehow watching her, she gave him an apologetic look and mouthed
“I’m sorry,” and then turned back to Aaron. “I don’t think I’m much
in the mood to be here.”

“Kat.” Aaron motioned with his head to the
curtained room. “I think he’s been watching you.”

Anna turned and saw Simon standing next to
the room in his customary stance. He tilted his head slightly to
the back of the club where they’d talked outside several times. She
nodded slightly. “I think Simon wants to talk.”

Aaron pushed her away. “Then go. At least
you’ll be getting laid tonight.”

She rolled her eyes and walked away.

“My employer was quite disappointed that you
turned him down for tonight,” Simon said, walking up to her as
silent as usual. Anna glanced up at him and saw a glint of
amusement in his eye.

Anna leaned against the railing in front of
her, hands clasped tightly on the metal bar. “I’ve had a bad week
and...I thought he had lost interest,” she said softly.

“Quite the contrary. He regrets that he was
unable to see you last week. He had business to attend to.” The
glint of amusement showed in his eyes again as he stared out to the
brick building across the alley.

“My friend said that the women were making
quite the impression on him the week before.”

Simon chuckled. “Yes, well, his companions
enjoyed the show. My employer was not impressed. Let’s just put it
that way.”

“He has friends with him?”

“Yes.”

Something about that made her smile. He
wasn’t sitting behind the curtain all alone. “Why doesn’t he come
out in public? Why all the secrecy?” She turned to Simon. “Do his
friends go out?” She tilted her head. “Are they men or women?”

“You are a very curious woman, Miss Katrina.”
He looked at her. “Does it matter if he is with other women?”

Anna felt her cheeks warm. “I don’t know. I
guess not.”

“You are engaged to another man.”

She turned back to the railing and looked at
her hands. “Is he married?”

“Yes.”

“Oh.” An unexpected pang touched her heart.
Why did it matter if he were married or not? It wasn’t as if this
were going anywhere. “Is she a bitch?”

Simon laughed. “Again, does it matter?”

Anna shrugged. “I was just wondering. I’ve
learned that many men don’t like their wives and seek out
companionship elsewhere to keep up appearances.”

“I can only say that it is complicated.”

“Will I ever get to see him?”

“I expect so.”

Anna rolled her eyes at his ambiguous answer.
“Should I stop asking questions?”

“I find them amusing, but I will not reveal
more than I am permitted.”

They didn’t speak for a few minutes. The
music from inside seemed to rattle the bricks behind them.

“Are you willing to meet with him
tonight?”

“He wants to?”

The amusement appeared in his eyes again. “He
was quite pleased when you showed up tonight and hoped you might
have changed your mind.” He smiled. “It’s the only reason he came
out tonight.”

“Really?”

“There are many women in New York, Miss
Katrina, but you are the only one who has his attention.”

Anna thought back to the day after her first
encounter with Mr. J. “Did he see me when I was walking to the
library the day after we...met?”

“You turned and waved to him,” Simon answered
with a smile.

Anna smiled. “I was hoping I wasn’t waving to
a statue.” She froze. “Wait, did he see me the week before
too?”

“Why do you ask?”

“Because the clothes that were in the
room...it was the same outfit I wore that day.” Simon didn’t answer
right away and Anna wondered if she’d asked something wrong. “Was
that an impertinent question?”

“You’re a smart girl, Katrina. Yes, he saw
you. It’s how he knew you liked the library.” He turned and cocked
his head. “I think that’s enough questions for the night, aside
from: Will you meet with him tonight?”

Anna smiled shyly and nodded. “Yes. I’d like
that.”

The next week went so fast, Anna could hardly
believe it. There were only two weeks until opening night, and Anna
was feeling a little worried since she’d missed a week of
rehearsals. She fell into bed each night exhausted and didn’t even
have enough time to read the books on New York that Mr. J. had
picked out for her at the library.

Simon called Monday to make arrangements for
the following Saturday. She liked that he called early in the week.
It made her feel like Mr. J. really wanted her.

Mr. J. came to two rehearsals that week,
sitting in the auditorium in pitch blackness. The girls all primped
before going out on stage and Anna did a little, too. Stef grinned
at her when she saw Anna primping.

Anna spent an amazing Saturday night with Mr.
J. in the Winston Churchill Suite at the Waldorf Astoria. He seemed
tense for some unknown reason, but since all she could do was ask
yes/no questions, it was hard to make sure he was all right.

Monday as she was walking to lunch with Aaron
and Stefanie, Wilhelm called and Anna reluctantly answered. “Hello,
Wilhelm,” she said in an even tone. She was still angry at him but
was trying very hard to be polite.

“Hello,
Liebling
. How are you
doing?”

“Okay. Busy.” She hoped he would take the
hint and keep the call short.

“I can imagine. Did Kurt tell you he is
coming out for the Gala?”

Anna kept herself from sighing. “I haven’t
spoken to him since you two were here.”

“Ah. Well, he will be there.”

“Okay.” She really didn’t care, except that
she’d have to spend time with him and she wasn’t looking forward to
that. “Is that all?”

“
Nein
. There—” Wilhelm paused.
“There was another shooting this morning.”

Anna stopped in the middle of the sidewalk.
“Another one? Who?”

“Joel.”

“Marcus’ son? From Chicago?”

“
Ja
.”

Anna couldn’t say she was sad about the news.
She had no fond feelings for either man. “Was it...the same as last
time?”

“We believe so.”

“Oh, Wilhelm. Why...why is this
happening?”

“Perhaps someone is taking advantage of
Devin’s weakening.”

“Will he come here? Devin, I mean.”

“I do not believe so. If he does, Tom will
get in touch with you. Chicago is far enough away for you to be
safe.”

“Thank you for letting me know, Wilhelm.”

Aaron looked at her curiously as she put her
phone in her pocket. “What happened?”

“Do you know who Marcus is?” she asked,
glancing at Stef and hoping Aaron would understand her
vagueness.

“Chicago?”

Anna nodded. “His son was killed this
morning.”

“Holy shit.” He grinned. “Maybe they’ll take
out Devin and you’ll be free.”

“That’d be nice.”

Devin stared in disbelief at Tom. “You’re
kidding, right?”

Tom shook his head. “I was just a few feet
behind him when it happened.”

Another Elder killed. This time, Marcus. In
the same manner as Chris and Connor.

“What the fuck is going on?” Devin muttered
to himself. “Who is calling hits out on American Elders?”

Devin didn’t want to think about the
possibility that he might be on the list too. But no one would dare
try and kill him. Would they? It hadn’t worked the last time. Would
he be so lucky if it happened again?

He’d borrowed Irina, the Russian Elder
Mistress, at Connor’s funeral and was able to gain some of his
powers back, but didn’t know if he’d be able to do so again. It
wasn’t the same as having it from Anna, but it was enough to help
him. He’d had a firm discussion with the President earlier in the
month.

But even the “recharging” didn’t ease his
mind. He was still mortal.

Anna sat, ill at ease, in the Russian Tea
Room with Aaron, Cameron, and Stefanie on Saturday night. The
elegant décor and atmosphere did nothing to ease the ache in her
heart. She was feeling the loss of Alex keenly at the moment and
wasn’t sure why.

Perhaps it was because of the shooting of
Marcus. What if there was some rogue Brotherhood Assassin out
there, killing off Elders. Would Wilhelm be next? What about Kurt?
What would she do if she lost them? Oh, she was furious at them,
but that didn’t mean she wanted them dead.

“You okay?” Aaron asked.

Anna shrugged. “Missing Alex.”

Aaron gave her a sympathetic look. “Yeah, the
Russian Tea Room might not have been the best choice for him to
pick, but it’s not like he would have any idea what it would mean
to you.”

“I guess I can just focus on Peter.”

“True. At least you have a fond memory of
him.”

“But then it just makes me feel even
lonelier.” She shook her head. “I don’t know if I’ll be very good
company for him tonight.”

“Anna, you go to him for sex. There’s no
relationship, remember?”

It was hard to remember when he seemed to put
so much effort into her nights with him. “His wife must be truly
awful for her not to realize what a great guy he is.”

“Maybe. Maybe he doesn’t try with her.”

“Or maybe he has tried, and she brushed him
off.”

“What woman would brush off romance from her
husband?”

“I might with Kurt,” she said sadly. “I don’t
know if I could ever fully trust him after all this.”

Aaron squeezed her hand. “I’m sorry. It
really sucks that he’s turned into such a jerk.”

Anna shook her head. “The same thing happened
to Tyler when he became a Son. He was a pretty nice guy and then
all of a sudden he turned into a mini-Devin.”

“I can’t imagine Wilhelm allowing Kurt to
treat you that way.”

“But you saw how distant he was when he
visited.”

He nodded his head. “You want me to kick
Kurt’s ass on Thursday?”