Page 122 of The Life of Anna, Tenth Anniversary Edition, Act 2

Alex had been waiting for more than a day to hear from Tom that Anna was awake. They’d finally arrived in the city yesterday morning, and he was certain he was driving his friends crazy. Greg and Tony had gone out to get groceries while Seth stayed with Alex, watching him pace the wooden floor that ran the length of the condo, amused and shaking his head.

“You’re going to wear out the floor before Anna even gets to see it,” Seth said, rolling his eyes.

“Once I know she’s better, I’ll be able to calm down.”

Seth snickered.

Alex glared at him and Seth threw up his hands and disappeared up the stairs to the roof garden.

Alex knew his temper was short these days, though he didn’t lose control like he used to. He was just irritable. The guys were sympathetic, but even they had their limits.

His phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out. It was a text from Tom.

Anna’s awake and all better. I’ll call you later.

Alex grinned at his phone. His move to New York City had worked. Anna was safe. He sighed and walked into the master bedroom to unpack.

About an hour later, Seth called to him from the roof. “Alex! Come here! I think I see Anna.”

Alex’s heart leaped in his chest and he tore down the hallway and up the stairs. Seth had his binoculars at his eyes and was looking down at the street.

“Are you sure?”

“I swear that’s Anna.”

Alex took the binoculars and focused in on where Seth pointed. She was walking toward the park on the sidewalk opposite his building. Her long brown hair hung down her back and glimmered in the morning sunlight. He remembered the silky feel of those sable strands in his fingers. She wore a pink tank top and denim shorts and was eating some sort of pastry.

His heart swelled at seeing his beloved for the first time since that terrible day in San Francisco, when she was holding back her tears as they said goodbye.

“ Schatzi . . .”

She froze and his heart skipped a beat when she looked around, almost as if she’d heard him. He willed her to look up, but she just stood there for a long moment, then shook her head and continued walking down the street.

Alex shoved Seth toward the staircase. “Go. Follow her. See where she’s going.”

“I—?” Seth grunted. “Why?”

“Because I want to know what she’s been doing. What she likes to do. She’s been sick for weeks and she wakes up and goes for a walk? Where does she go?” He glared at his friend. “You still know how to be stealthy, don’t you?”

Seth shot him a dirty look and then ran down the stairs that led to the main floor of the condo. His voice traveled back to Alex. “I’ll call you when I’m downstairs. Keep an eye on her until I catch up.”

“With pleasure.” Alex turned back to watch the beautiful love of his life. He grinned at himself, spying on a girl like a teenage boy with his first crush.

Seth would forgive him for his insistence. He cared about Anna, too. At least he could be near her. Alex couldn’t risk going out. Seth was good at blending into crowds.

She walked across the street and disappeared into the park. His phone rang moments later. “Where is she?”

“Still on the same street, I think.”

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.

Well, at least the guy wasn’t a sleazeball who wanted to hurt Anna. At least it didn’t seem like it. The woman had spoken of Max as if she had the utmost respect for the man. Of course, many respectable men took advantage of younger women. Just look at the Elders .

Seth huffed, trying to decide what to do. Part of him thought he should find a way through that door to make sure Anna was okay, but his gut told him Max was a good guy and there was nothing to worry about.

The question became, then, where would Anna emerge? The building was enormous, and who knew if she would even come back up to this floor? He only knew for certain that she had to leave through the main door, so he headed downstairs to stake out the exit.

About an hour and a half later, Max walked through a side door and made his way to the information desk. Maybe he could learn something from him. Seth meandered toward the information desk.

“Hello.” Max gave him a friendly smile. “How may I help you?”

How best to approach the subject? “I noticed you speaking with a woman upstairs a while ago...” He hesitated. “You seem to know her quite well.”

“Yes.” Max gave him a sideways look and nodded. “You might say that.”

“What can you tell me about her?”

Max’s eyebrow arched and his eyes narrowed. He was protective of her. Good. “Why do you ask?”

Seth grinned. “She’s a beautiful woman.” He gave a little shrug. “I’d like to know more about her.”

The older man studied him for a while. “She’s engaged.”

“I see.” He paused. “Whoever he is must be a very lucky man.”

Max frowned. “I don’t know if he realizes how lucky he is.”

“Why do you say that?”

He sighed. “It’s not my place to spread rumors, but... let’s just say he doesn’t seem to appreciate her the way she should be appreciated.”

“She’s a special girl?”

Max nodded with a fond smile. “Not too many young people spend their days off in the library. But she comes every week, either on Sundays or Mondays. Well, up until a few weeks ago. I thought maybe she’d gone off and gotten married, but she came back.” He smiled. “She’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever seen, and a spectacular dancer.”

“Dancer?” Seth feigned surprise.

“She’s a new ballerina with the city’s ballet company. Made quite a stir in the arts world during the Spring Season. But the company’s on tour now. Not sure why she’s not with them, unless it was her illness that kept her here.”

“What kinds of books does she look at?”

Max smiled. “All sorts, though she stays away from modern fiction. She always looks at the ballet books. Sometimes she’ll go to the classics. Sometimes she’ll stay in non-fiction. I saw her in the German language section a little bit ago.”

“German language?” That was promising.

“Apparently her fiancé is German.”

“Ah.” Back to Kurt. “And she doesn’t seem happy to be engaged?”

“No, not really. When she told me she was engaged, I pointed her in the direction of the wedding books and she just shrugged and asked about something else. That’s not normal.”

“Well, Germans don’t get very romantic about their weddings.”

“That’s a shame. She’d make a beautiful bride.”

Seth nodded thoughtfully. She’d been radiant the day she’d married Alex.

Max eyed him carefully. “She’s got a very pretty rock on her finger. He must be pretty wealthy. Although she doesn’t seem the type to marry for money. Maybe someone could steal her heart away from him.” He gave Seth a pointed look.

“Maybe.” Seth shook his head. “Please don’t tell her I was asking about her.”

“Why not?”

“Because...” He hesitated. “It’s my employer who is interested in her and he’s... shy.” He shrugged internally. It was as good an excuse as any.

“Employer, eh? You seem pretty interested yourself.”

Max was a smart man. “Who could resist someone like her?” Seth smiled. “Thank you for your time.” He turned to leave.

“Is your employer a good man?” Max called as Seth walked away.

Seth turned around with a serious face. “The best man I’ve ever met.”

The older man smiled. “If there’s anything I can do... I’d love to see her happy.”

“Thanks, Max.” He turned and hurried outside. He had a lot to share with Alex.