Page 254 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Alex growled. “You better tell this Zach person to treat Anna with more respect or I will have Greg tear his head off the next time he tries to touch Anna.”

“You can’t do that.”

“I can and I will. You have Red Girls. Have him use them.”

“You can’t tell me what to do.”

Alex gritted his teeth and growled out his words. “If you allow men to go over and hurt Anna like that again, you will start having a tremendous number of unsolved murders in your city. I may not be able to kill you, but I can kill a fuckload of other people you need in your life.”

“You wouldn’t.”

Alex let his tone reflect the hardness he felt. “I would. Having Anna does not mean you have the right to send men over to arbitrarily abuse her.”

Devin was quiet for a long moment, and then he huffed. “Fine. I’ll tell Zach to back off.”

“Good.”

“Anything else?” Devin asked sarcastically.

Alex made him wait for it, then spit out a single word. “No.”

“Good.” Devin hung up.

Alex ran his hands through his hair again and laughed with delight. He’d told Devin off and the Elder had listened. Devin had listened! And now Anna would be... well, not safe, but safer.

He grinned and leaned back over the ancient tome he’d been studying. Just this morning, he’d nearly given up trying to figure out what to do to save Anna. But after that phone call, he knew he was making progress. He couldn’t think of anything much more encouraging than forcing Devin to listen to him.

Chapter 120

“It’s kinda early,” Ben said as he and Anna rode the Sapphire’s elevator up to their floor together on Sunday evening. “Do you want to come to my place for a while? We could watch a movie or something.”

Anna smiled. “Sure.”

The previous evening, Ben had taken her out to dinner. She’d had a great time talking and laughing with him. He’d given her a quick kiss on the cheek before he’d left, after she’d agreed to go to brunch with him the next day. His easygoing demeanor and humor had been a welcome change after a long night at the Manor with Devin.

Anna had enjoyed the small family-owned restaurant he’d taken her to that morning. After they were done eating, they’d strolled along the beach near the Golden Gate Bridge. Anna liked hearing his stories about college and the challenges he faced being a new lawyer at a prestigious law firm.

Ben’s face lit up at her agreement, and they made their way down the hallway to his apartment. He unlocked the door and they walked inside. The living room was in the center of the apartment, flanked by bedrooms on either side. The television was on, and Matt, Ben’s roommate, lounged on the couch with a beer in hand. Anna didn’t notice Greg at first, but when she did, she stiffened. He slouched in a chair holding a beer and exuded an air of nonchalance.

“Hey, I thought you’d have Jenna over,” Ben said.

Matt shrugged and paused the movie. “She had something to do with her dad.”

Anna smiled at Matt, but didn’t look at Greg again. His presence was a painful reminder of Alex’s absence.

Greg stood. “I should get going. I’ve got some stuff to do before I hit the sack.”

Anna frowned. Why was he leaving? He was supposed to keep an eye on her. Or was it Alex’s way of saying he no longer cared enough to protect his property?

“Are you sure?” Matt raised his eyebrows. “The movie’s not over.”

Greg gave Anna an understanding smile, and she looked down at the floor. “Nah. I gotta go. I’ll see ya later. Thanks for the beer.” Anna watched Greg leave, then let out a long sigh of relief.

“Hey, how was your, what, second date?” Matt asked.

Ben grinned at Anna. “Second or third? Does dinner on Thursday count as a date?”

Anna giggled. “I don’t know. Does it?”

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