Page 239 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Seth was quiet though Alex could hear him breathing. “Okay. I see her. What do you want me to do?”

“Just follow her at a distance. I just—‍” He sighed and swallowed over the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. “I just want to know her again.”

Seth was quiet for a moment. “I know. I’m sorry I got pissed. I’ll let you know everything she does. Do you want pictures?”

Alex grinned. “Yeah.”

Seth was glad he’d kept his beard. He was rusty with his tailing skills, and the last thing they needed now was for Anna to discover they were in town. Not yet anyway. Not until that rat-bastard Devin was weak enough to be pushed off a cliff. Or at least that’s what Seth hoped would happen.

No, to be honest, he wanted to slice that man apart piece by piece, starting with that fucking cock of his. Slice it into pieces. Julienne it like fries. Maybe a meat grinder. Yeah, that might make up for the hell he’d put everyone through for the past five years.

Seth smiled at the image of Devin howling in pain as he shoved his cock through a meat grinder and then realized he was getting too close to Anna. The park wasn’t very crowded and he needed to keep his distance.

She meandered down the pathway through the park, unhurried. Seth couldn’t help but notice her shapely legs and tiny waist. Her figure had filled out in the last few years, and she looked more womanly than ever. Alex was a damn lucky man.

She stopped and inhaled deeply, holding out her arms and smiling up at the trees.She gave a little skip and continued through the park, looking around as if she’d never been there before.

Seth chuckled. Even after all the shit she’d been through, she could still skip through a park like an eight-year-old.

He followed her out of the park and his heart broke when her face fell at the sight of the Plaza Hotel. Whatever troubled her followed her for several blocks, until she wandered into Rockefeller Center. He lost her in the crowd, but finally spotted her inside a restaurant, talking to the bartender.

She hurried outside and nearly ran into him as she pushed open the door. Her eyes locked on his and she gasped. This was not good. He turned and hurried away, but remembered that hurrying made him look guilty and stopped and pulled out his phone, trying to look as nonchalant as possible. He felt her staring at him but, at long last, she walked away.

Seth breathed out a sigh of relief. He really was rusty. Never had someone he was tailing spot him before. Thank God for his beard. And her obvious disbelief that a dead man could have been standing in front of her.

He waited a few minutes and then hurried to catch up to her.

Anna kept walking and walking. She looked into the store windows, but never stopped or went inside.

“Where on earth is she going?” he muttered under his breath. She hadn’t been a normal woman when he’d known her before, and was pleased to see she hadn’t become one. When she finally headed toward the entrance of a building, he laughed out loud. He should have known.

He reached for his phone. Alex would love it.

“Is she okay?” Alex answered in his heavily accented voice, obviously worried. He’d insisted on speaking English to him since arriving back in Frankfurt, so Anna would be able to understand him when the time came. Speaking Russian for five years hadn’t helped him speak English intelligibly.

Seth laughed. “She’s fine. I’m pleased to let you know she has finally reached her destination.”

“It’s been an hour. She’s been walking the whole time? Where did she go?”

The barrage of questions made Seth chuckle. “The Library. The big one on Fifth.”

Silence. Then, “The library?”

“Yup.” He followed up the stairs casually, ignoring the college girls smiling flirtatiously at him. Another time...

Anna stopped at the information desk briefly and then headed to the stairs.

“Seth?”

“Sorry. I’ll follow for longer and let you know what she’s doing.” He ended the call and slid his phone into his pocket. How many stories high was this building?

He finally located her on the third floor, sitting between bookshelves, absorbed in a book. He positioned himself in between some stacks nearby where he could see her, but she couldn’t see him. An older gentleman went directly to where she was and spoke to her. Did she have a secret rendezvous planned with him?

Her eyes sparkled as she laughed and they chatted like old friends for several minutes. The man leaned against the bookshelf as they talked. He wished he could get closer so he could hear what they were saying.

Suddenly, Anna gave him a big smile and hopped to her feet, following him to a back room. Seth narrowed his eyes in suspicion. What was he going to do with her in there? And how did he have access to a locked door?

He spotted a librarian putting books away and approached casually. “Excuse me...” He flashed his most charming smile. Several minutes later, he knew the man’s name was Max and that he was the head librarian. The woman didn’t know Anna, but knew that the closed exhibits could be accessed through that doorway.

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