The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (57 page)

Cameron nodded, tears in his eyes.

Alex and his men cursed as they saw the mess
in the condo.

“What would do this?” Seth asked, crouching
down and looking at the damaged wall of his room. “It’s not an
explosion.”

Alex looked around. Seth was right. There
were no signs of fire or anything that would normally accompany a
scene like this.

Alex blew out a breath when he saw dance bags
in the far corner. He walked over and realized with sadness that
they were Aaron and Anna’s bags. Why had they come into this room?
Anna’s phone showed his missed calls, as did Aaron’s. He looked
through their call history and saw an unknown number from Thursday
afternoon on Aaron’s phone. He tossed it to Greg. “See if you can
find out who called Aaron.”

Greg nodded and walked away. Alex looked
around and saw a slash in the wall and on the bed. “Fire?” he
muttered to himself.

If Anna had been here and Sebastian had
disappeared, the logical conclusion was that Sebastian had come
here to protect her. But why would Sebastian have left? He wouldn’t
have left Anna unprotected unless there had been another threat
besides Devin. Who could that have been?

He would have to wait until Aaron woke
up.

Anna watched nervously as Devin greeted the
American Elders and their sons that evening. With three Elders
recently assassinated, there were three new men she hadn’t met.
Chad Diaz was Connor’s second oldest son. Jonathan Reece was
Marcus’ second oldest son, though he had an older sister between
him and Joel. Anna could tell who Noah, Oscar’s younger son, was
the moment he walked in: his eyes were wide with nervousness and
filled with grief.

Brandon was the first newly arrived Elder to
spot Anna sitting in the corner. He was clearly surprised and
stumbled slightly, causing his son, Ethan, to run into him. Ethan
had apparently just received his piercings at the last
Gathering.

Brandon recovered quickly and smiled smugly
at Devin. “You found her?” Brandon had helped in her escape.

Devin motioned for Anna to come to him and
she quickly crossed the room and stood next to Devin with her head
down. “Yes, she hid in Paris for a while and then returned to New
York.” Devin stroked her hair and then pulled it, bringing her head
up. “A pleasant treat for the evening, I think?”

Brandon stroked her cheek. “I would have to
agree.”

Anna gave him a small smile.

Devin had the American leaders in his room
for dinner, and so he could get to know Noah. Anna wondered if the
new Elders were as cruel as their fathers and brothers.

Alex walked into Aaron’s hospital room for
the second time that day. Cameron had finally called him after
dinner and Alex and his men had rushed over to see him.

Aaron gave him a weak smile as he walked in
and Alex’s heart squeezed to see the pain in his friend’s eyes. He
was relieved to see the tube had been removed from his mouth.
“Aaron,” he said in a soft voice. Cameron moved so that Alex could
sit down. “How are you feeling?”

“Oh, been better,” came Aaron’s raspy voice.
“You?”

Alex pressed his lips together. “I’m so
sorry, Aaron,” he said after the lump in his throat subsided a bit.
“Who did this?”

“Devin. Had no idea that guy was so
strong.”

Alex’s jaw clenched and he heard the guys
behind him mumbling. “Why?”

“He thinks I had something to do with Anna’s
disappearance. Wasn’t wrong. Tom saved my life, but Devin got away
with Anna. There wasn’t anything else to do.”

“Had you seen Sebastian?”

Aaron nodded. “Kelsey called me and told me
to take Anna to the condo. Sebastian showed up a few minutes later.
Then some big guy appeared and Anna seemed to know who he was. She
screamed when he showed up. He and Sebastian started fighting with
these fire swords that appeared in their hands.” He glanced behind
Alex. “They blasted out your wall, Seth.”

The destroyed wall made more sense now. But
who was the other Immortal? If Anna knew him.... Kaveh maybe? It
was the only thing that made sense.

“There was a bunch of crashing and stuff in
the hallway and then nothing. They’d disappeared.”

So why hadn’t Sebastian returned? He really
could use Seb’s help right now. Alex took a deep breath and blew it
out slowly. What a mess. He couldn’t have not gone to Boston
though. There wasn’t another choice. But was there something that
he could have done to prevent all this? Oh, his poor Anna. He
wished he could call Vati and make sure she was all right. But had
he even seen her?

Aaron told him about Devin’s appearance and
how Devin laid into him. “She told me to tell you she loved you
before he came.”

Alex blinked back the tears that burned his
eyes. He felt so helpless. There was nothing he could do right now.
He couldn’t go back up to Boston until he knew what was going on,
and he needed to talk to his father to find that out. Or Tom, or
Vlad. Someone! Why hadn’t someone called him?

Alex squeezed Aaron’s hand gently. “Thank you
for doing what you could.”

“I hardly did anything. Oh, her wedding rings
are under the couch in the living room. I thought if Devin saw
them, he might suspect you’re around.”

“Good thinking, Aaron.” Grief filled him as
he looked into his best friend’s bruised face. He was hurt because
of him. “I will make him pay for this, Aaron. I promise.”

Aaron was starting to fade. “I know. Hope I
get to watch.”

“If it is humanly possible, I will make sure
you’re there.” He watched as Aaron closed his eyes to sleep, and
sighed in sorrow.

Wilhelm was sitting in his hotel room with
Kurt, eating dinner when they heard a knock on the door. He was
surprised to see Edwin standing there. “You have a moment?” he
asked.

Wilhelm nodded and stepped back, allowing the
Bavarian Elder to enter. Once the door was closed, Edwin made a
motion with his hands, making Wilhelm assume he was putting a
shield over the room. That brought his blood pressure a bit higher
than it had been.

“I received a call from Simon a few minutes
ago. Have you heard from Alex?”

Wilhelm shook his head.

“Anna’s been taken. By Devin.”

Kurt gasped from across the room and Wilhelm
grabbed hold of the wall. “Oh, God. Is she all right?”

“There’s no way to know until tomorrow. We
can’t go barging into Devin’s room. How would we explain that we
knew?”

Wilhelm stumbled over to the couch and sat
down heavily. Kurt’s face was pale and Wilhelm was certain his was
the same.

Edwin sat down across from him. “Is there
anyone you can call to find out?”

Wilhelm shook his head. “If I call Tom, Devin
would know.”

Edwin looked thoughtful. “What about the
Elder with the son that helped? Brandon?”

“I can’t call him.”

“No, but you could call his son.”

Wilhelm gave Edwin a grateful smile. He was
thankful to have a level-headed friend at this moment. He certainly
wasn’t thinking straight. “I should find out if Anna’s all right
before I call Alex. Does he know?”

Edwin nodded. “He called Simon this morning.
I had my phone off all day without realizing it and missed his
calls. My wife was not happy with me either.”

Wilhelm gave him a small smile as he searched
his phone for Travis’ number.

“Hello? Wilhelm?” Travis’ voice was filled
with concern.

“Travis, Devin found Anna. Can you call your
father and find out if he knows anything about it?”

“Oh, no. How did...never mind. I’ll call you
back as soon as I talk to him.”

Wilhelm leaned back and closed his eyes. This
meant that Anna was very close to him; in the very same hotel. But
he couldn’t go to see her. He doubted that Devin would let her out
of his sight over the weekend. If he could get her away from
him...but, no. It would do more harm than good. They had to protect
the knowledge that Alex had escaped at all costs.

Devin wouldn’t kill Anna...though that was a
small comfort, knowing how Devin was. The thought that Devin would
likely torture her brought tears to his eyes. Could he have
prevented this? He should have gone into New York while Alex was
gone. He could have put some protections over her. Or taken her out
of the city, or....

“What will you do?” Edwin asked. He knew of
their plans, but didn’t participate in the actual planning.

Wilhelm shook his head. “I don’t know. We
can’t do anything until the funeral is over. Devin would notice if
we were talking. He likely blames me for her disappearance. I hope
we can accelerate the plans, though. Instead of waiting the month.
Alex will be unable to wait that long, but he will wait for
instructions.”

Edwin nodded. “You have a good son.” He
glanced at Kurt, who had walked outside to the balcony. “You have
two good sons.”

“Thank you. I am very proud of them both.”
How long would it take for Travis to get in touch with his father?
The wait would surely kill him.

“Don’t leave marks on her,” Devin called as
the new, younger Elders took Anna to the side of the room. “She
needs to look healthy Sunday.”

Anna screeched as Noah plowed into her ass
and took hold of her hair. Serves her right. She would likely look
back on tonight with fondness once he got her home to San
Francisco. It was good to see the new Elders took after their
fathers.

Another scream from Anna brought a smile to
Devin’s face as he chatted with his friends. Though the thought
came unbidden as to whose funeral would be next. He shook his head
to push the thought away. He didn’t need to be thinking about that.
He needed to keep his head clear and get Anna back under control.
Then he could work on getting everything else under control.

The most concerning thing was that Kaveh was
nowhere to be found. The other American Immortal that he had
semi-regular contact with, Val, was not as loyal to Devin as he
would like. He wasn’t as interested in Anna as Kaveh was, which
made it difficult to manipulate him, as much as a human could
manipulate an Immortal. Kaveh had been with Devin from the
beginning, and had influenced Val and the other Immortals into
helping him. With Kaveh gone...would Val step in and rape Anna so
that Devin could have their essence?

Brandon’s phone rang, bringing Devin out of
his thoughts. The LA Elder smiled. “Travis.” He stood and walked
out to the balcony.

Devin rolled his eyes. He didn’t understand
why an Elder would be so interested in a bastard son. But Brandon
was soft. He hoped Ethan wasn’t, though it didn’t look hopeful.
Tommy and Ethan were sitting on the other side of the room from
where Anna was being hurt. Tommy winced every time Anna screamed.
He'd always had a soft spot for Anna. Probably always would.
Weakling
.

Alex paced the length of his terrace. It was
the longest straight path in his condo, and there was no damage to
make him wince every time he looked at it.
Poor Anna, poor
Aaron. Poor Anna, poor Aaron.
His heart ached like it was torn
in half for his beloved wife and best friend. He felt impotent in
the face of this waiting, but any other course would mean
disaster.

If he went after Devin now, he risked the
ultimate punishment for going after an Elder without permission.
His claims, his confrontation with Devin would be invalidated
because of his rogue status. The world Elders would question
everything he’d done if he went out on his own. To save Anna in the
long run, he had to stay away from her now.

It was killing him.

His phone rang and Alex ran across the
terrace to answer his father’s ringtone.

“Vati! Anna’s been taken!”

“I know, Alex. I know.”

Alex fell to his knees and began to weep.
“I’ve failed her, Vati. I let her get taken.” The grief was so
excruciating, he wanted to stab his own heart to dull the pain.

“Alex, it’s not your fault. You were doing
what you needed to get done. Devin shouldn’t have been able to
sense her as strongly as he did.” He paused. “I spoke with Travis a
few minutes ago.”

“Travis?” Why would...? “His father?”

“Yes. Brandon was in Devin’s suite with her.
She’s...doing all right.”

“What does that mean?”

“She’s strong, Alex. You know this.”

“That’s not comforting.”

“Devin’s not going to damage her too severely
for the time being, but we both know it's only a matter of
time.”

Alex's fingers tore at his chest, wishing he
could rip his heart out. “Can’t you do something, Vati? Can’t you
take her away from him?”

“I can try, Alex, but I am unlikely to
succeed. She ran away from Devin. Devin has the right to punish
her.”

Alex threw his head back and screamed in
helpless rage, the sound echoing off the neighboring buildings.
Dogs barked in response. The echoes had scarcely died away before
he spoke again.

“You can’t...you can’t let him do that,
Vati.”

“I will try and prevent him from taking her,
but I will be contested. Like it or not, she is a slave. Devin’s
slave. As much as the others find it distasteful, they won’t
contest his right to punish her.”

“Then let me confront him now. Let me come up
and—”

“You must get rid of Tyler first. Otherwise
Anna’s ownership passes to him and you will be no better off than
you are now.”

“Then give me the order,” he growled.

“You know I can’t, Alex. I can't change the
plans without the consensus of Vlad and Tom. We will talk as soon
as we are able, but I cannot give you the order without their
consent.”

“He attacked Aaron, Vati,” Alex said in a low
voice. “Aaron’s in the hospital with massive injuries because Devin
attacked him.”