Page 266 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Aaron growled. “I can’t believe he did that to you. Fucking asshole. She’s so fucking arrogant about it now, too. Whenever you’re not around...” He rolled his eyes. “I want to hit her sometimes.”

“Did he go see her when he came to yell at me?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. Dunno. I can’t believe he’d rather have her over you. I mean, even if he is not liking you for some reason, you’re still really, really good at sex.”

“We can’t have sex until we’re married. It’s not allowed.”

“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.”

Anna shrugged. “It’s The Brotherhood.”

“Well then. Doubly enjoy your time with Euroman. Kurt deserves it.”

Chapter 134

Tuesday morning, Aaron was pulling his slippers on when Hugo sat down next to him. “How’s Katrina holding up?”

Aaron smiled at the talented dancer/ choreographer. Hugo knew her secret and still had it bad for Anna, poor guy. Aaron knew how he felt, which is why he’d given up trying to find another woman like her. Or even halfway like her.

Hugo and Anna danced very well together, so Aaron wasn’t surprised when Hugo chose her for his partner in his new ballet debuting during the upcoming fall season. Again. Jasmine had been his primary partner before Anna showed up, which probably contributed to Jasmine’s dislike of Anna. Aaron was glad Anna got to show that... woman... up, somewhere, though he wasn’t certain that Anna knew Jasmine had been Hugo’s partner. Wasn’t sure if telling her would be helpful or hurtful.

“She’s doing okay. She feels awful about missing rehearsals.”

“I’d rather she be at home and safe rather than here and at risk.” He paused. “Maybe I could stop by tonight and we could practice in the living room there. She might not feel so left out if we did.”

Aaron nodded. “If you want, I’m sure she’d be thrilled. There’s not a ton of room, but we could move the furniture.”

“Sounds great. I’ll call her at lunch.”

Vincent clapped his hands and warm-ups began. Aaron closed his eyes, enjoying the movement of his body as his mind drifted to thoughts of Cameron.

Suddenly, his chest tightened and his heart squeezed as a heavy weight fell over the studio. He grabbed his chest and opened his eyes. The other dancers didn’t seem to notice anything wrong. Was he having a heart attack? The room felt dark, even though sunlight streamed in from the windows as it always did. His stomach churned and he turned to stare at the doorway of the studio.

“What’s wrong?” Hugo whispered.

Aaron slowly shook his head. Something was coming.

Five seconds later, the door slammed open. Tom walked in, eyes searching the room until he locked on Aaron’s. He widened his eyes and gave a quick shake of his head.

Darkness entered the room. “Devin,” Aaron whispered.

The music stopped abruptly and, as one, the dancers all turned toward the door. Devin stood just inside the doorway, an invisible cloud of darkness swirling around him. His eyes were lit with a raging fire. Aaron would have sworn he saw his eyes flash gold as he searched the room. Nate and Justin knew who he was. Vincent, too. But everyone else was clueless that the most powerful man in the country had just walked into their studio. Some of the women even gave him flirtatious smiles.

Idiots.

“Can I help you, Mr. Pendleton?” Vincent asked politely, walking over to the men. “You’re Devin Andersen, correct?”

Devin narrowed his eyes as he turned his head toward the ballet master. “You wanted to take Anna away from me.” He spoke softly, but his tone was ice cold and Aaron shivered, glad he was on the other side of the room.

“I wanted to have one of the best dancers I’d ever seen in my company. It had nothing to do with you.”

“Anything Anna does is my business.” He turned and looked around the room again, then pulled something out of his pocket. “I’m looking for someone.” His voice was loud in the silent room. It echoed against the hard walls and floor and swirled around the dancers. Aaron shivered. He held up a photograph of Anna. “Have you seen this woman?”

The dancers looked at each other, their eyes wide. A few even trembled under Devin’s heavy gaze. Everyone in the room would recognize her, but no one stepped forward and volunteered any information. The only sound was Devin’s leather shoes slowly tapping against the wooden floor as he strolled around the room, holding up the picture and watching everyone’s face as they looked at it. Aaron would have sworn he wasn’t the only one holding his breath.

Hugo walked over and took the picture from him, studying it for a long moment. “She’s pretty.”

“She is. Have you seen her?”

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