Page 173 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Anna nodded, not knowing what to say. She looked at her own apartment door wistfully.

“Well, I need to unpack. It was nice to meet you, Anna.” Greg said with a slight bow of the head. “I hope I’ll see you again soon.”

Anna smiled shyly. “It was nice to meet you, too.” She turned and quickly unlocked her apartment and went in, locking the door behind her.

Alex’s phone rang, and he glanced at the screen before picking it up. “Hey, Greg.”

“Hey. I’ve made initial contact.”

Alex sighed in relief. “Any problems?”

“No, though you’re right. She is skittish. I said something about being lucky to have such a pretty neighbor and she backed away.” Greg chuckled. “She’s cute.”

He couldn’t help but agree. “Yes, she’s beautiful.”

“I kept it brief, like you suggested.”

“Good. The less you approach her, I think the less she’ll feel threatened. I don’t want her to be scared of you.”

“It’s not like I make it a habit of going around and scaring women. But I understand.”

“Does she suspect you know me?”

“I don’t think there was an opportunity for her to get much of a read on me. Why do you want to keep it from her?”

Alex sighed. “She’s afraid of me.”

“She’s afraid of you? What’d you do?”

“I don’t know. But that’s what Aaron said. And I don’t want to scare her any more than I apparently already have. She’ll probably be relieved when I tell her I’m leaving in a few weeks.”

“Do you really think that’s wise? I mean, considering all you’ve told me about what’s going on, don’t you think it would be better if you stayed here?”

“In the short term, yes, it would be better. But going back to Frankfurt is the only way I’m going to be able to figure out how to fight Devin. In the long run, staying here will only hurt her further.”

“Do you think you can trust Devin to not hurt her? I mean, I can only do so much as her neighbor.”

“But you can keep an eye on her and get to her quickly if needed. I’ll only be gone for a few months, I hope. And I’ll come out and visit. But Devin needs her healthy. I really don’t think he’ll do anything to hurt her. Too badly.” He sighed. “I hate the idea of her hurting in any way, but I’m going to have to risk it for now. I suppose I should be grateful she’s a strong girl.” Aaron had called and told him what had happened to Anna the previous night. He shuddered to think about what had happened to cause those bruises to still be there the next morning.

“Are Michael and Jesse here yet?” Greg asked.

“They’ll be here tomorrow. I want them out of sight as much as possible. But they’re here if you need backup.”

“What happens if we get called out?”

Alex ran a hand through his hair. “Michael and Jesse have contacts they can bring in temporarily if we’re in the field. But I hope we won’t be. I considered spreading the word to not contact me unless absolutely necessary, but I think that would draw attention from Devin. I don’t want him knowing what I’m doing.”

They hung up a few minutes later.

On Saturday, Alex had reached the decision that he needed to go home for a few months. He’d called his father several times that week, and each time Vati had told him the only way to truly help Anna was to come home and learn more about what Devin was doing.

But Alex was reluctant to leave her. Even if she was afraid of him, he was still in the city and could do... Well, that was the problem. He was limited in what he could do to fight Devin. He just didn’t know enough. So, he had spent the weekend developing a plan so Anna would be watched while he was gone.

His communications man, Greg Sims, had agreed to come into town and move in next door to Anna and keep an eye on her. Of all the men on his team, Alex had a feeling Anna would trust Greg more than any of them. He was quiet and unobtrusive. Alex hoped Anna wouldn’t feel threatened by him. Maybe she would even accept him as a friend.

It was unfortunate that she and Aaron had to break up. It would have been easier for Aaron to help. But as much as he’d harassed Melanie, she wouldn’t budge. Under normal circumstances, he would have agreed with her decision. But this wasn’t normal circumstances and he knew he wasn’t completely rational when it came to Anna.

A knock at the door later that evening made Anna’s stomach clench. Was it Zach returning for another pain session? Had her new neighbor found out what she was? She trembled as she walked to the door and held her breath as she opened it.

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