Page 273 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Monday evening, Anna received a phone call from Tom. “I need you to stay in your apartment starting on Wednesday.”

“What? No, I-I can’t.” Anna had been looking forward to going out and seeing Mr. J, even though she hadn’t heard from Simon yet.

“Anna, Devin is going to be here on Wednesday. You need to stay where I can protect you.”

“Why is he coming here again?” Anna trembled at the thought of Devin being anywhere near her again. He’d just been here last month. Had he found her?

“There is a funeral on Friday in Philadelphia. He’s stopping here on the way. Chris Diaz, Connor’s son, was killed this morning.”

“Connor? The Philadelphia Elder?”

“Yes.”

“What happened?” Anna had no fond feelings for Chris. He was a cruel man, like his father.

“He was killed by a Brotherhood Assassin.”

“Omigosh!” Who would want Chris dead? “Is it... like Alex’s funeral?”

“Yes. Wilhelm said he and Kurt would stop by and see you.”

Anna’s jaw clenched, her anger at the Germans outweighing her fear of Devin finding her. She didn’t want to see them. She sighed. “Will you call Vincent about rehearsals?”

“Of course.”

The next morning, when she arrived at the studio, she gave Hugo an apologetic look. “Did Vincent tell you?” she asked.

Hugo frowned. “Yeah.” He sighed. “I suppose it’s better than you being found, but it sure does make it difficult to get stuff done.”

“I’m so sorry, Hugo. Could we... maybe practice in my apartment?”

He got a mischievous look in his eyes. “Just practice?”

Anna bit her lip. “Hugo . . .”

Hugo smiled. “I’m kidding. When do you have to be holed up?”

“Starting tomorrow.”

“Okay. How about Thursday and Friday?”

Anna nodded. “Sounds good.”

Wednesday and Thursday dragged on and on. Simon called her on Wednesday and told her Mr. J was unavailable this weekend, but assured her that he had plans for her for the following weekend. Part of her was relieved. At least she didn’t have to decline his invitation this time, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Mr. J was losing interest in her.

Hugo came over on Thursday afternoon. They moved the furniture to the side of the room and ran through the parts of his new ballet they could manage in the small space.

“Too bad we can’t go onto the terrace.” Anna wiped her face. “There’s more room out there.” Tom had put the same restrictions on her as before.

“We’ll just do what we can,” Hugo said, sipping his water. He walked over to the stereo. “Ready to try again?”

Anna nodded. She moved into position and they began again. She loved that he asked for suggestions when something wasn’t working quite right and even used some of them. They worked together to make the dance as beautiful as it could be.

“Do you like this pose?” Hugo held her wrists as she extended them behind her back. “Or this one?” He turned her around and put his hands on her waist, holding her close.

Anna’s heart pounded as she stared into his eyes, rapidly darkening with passion. He brought his hand to her cheek and leaned his head toward her. “Hugo...” she whispered, lifting her face to his. She shouldn’t kiss him. She shouldn’t...

His lips brushed against hers for a moment before they captured hers with his own. Anna ran her hands up his damp t-shirt and over his shoulders. His tongue probed her mouth and she moaned softly. His attention was so very welcome and she didn’t know if she could resist him tonight. She didn’t know if she wanted to.

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