Page 43 of The Life of Anna, Tenth Anniversary Edition, Act 2

“Alex?”

Alex turned at the unfamiliar voice behind him in Vitaly’s library and frowned. He had precious little time in the vast room to find a book or two to keep him occupied in the tower for the next week. “Peter.”

The younger man nodded and spoke in Russian. “How are you?”

Alex arched a brow and pursed his lips.

“Sorry, that was rude. I wanted to talk to you—?” He paused and lowered his voice, glancing over his shoulder at the guards standing a few feet away. “About Anna.”

Alex’s heart skipped a beat, but he kept his expression impassive. “What about her?”

Peter glanced out the windows at the snow-covered gardens and shrugged. “Want to go for a walk outside?”

Alex frowned again. “It’s freezing out there.” Peter shrugged again, and Alex sighed. “I don’t have a coat. Your grandfather hasn’t let me outside in a very long time.”

Peter turned and waved his hand, and a servant appeared with two heavy winter coats worthy of a Russian winter.

The two men put on the coats, along with provided hats and gloves, and made their way through the castle to the doors that led to the frozen garden in the back. Alex’s armed guards followed at a distance. He could feel their watchful gazes on his back. It had become a familiar feeling. Anywhere he went in the castle, they followed him.

He briefly wondered if Peter’s request was a trick, to get him into trouble somehow, but he shook his head. About a year and a half ago, he’d overheard the burly lead guard telling a newbie that they weren’t allowed to touch Alex. It had taken him a while to figure out why, but when he did, he’d smacked himself for not seeing the obvious earlier: Devin had arranged the whole thing, and of course, anything that was done to him that involved pain, Anna would feel. That’s why the punishments always involved his men, and not himself. There was little comfort in the knowledge, though. The idea of his friends being beaten again because of something he’d done kept him from misbehaving.

Alex and Peter walked to the edge of the garden. Alex shoved his hands into the coat pockets. “What do you want, Peter?”

“I wanted to let you know that Anna is doing well, and that she misses you.”

Alex stared out over the barren white field in the distance. “Oh?”

Peter launched into the story about Devin asking him to go to California to watch Anna, and how his opinion of her had changed as he’d gotten to know her. He was a very good storyteller, and Alex closed his eyes, imagining Anna’s face as he learned about her day-to-day life with Peter. His heart ached when Peter told him about her running away to their old house, but that, in the end, it had seemed cathartic to her.

“I’m not sure if it’s good or bad that she’s accepted it.” Alex turned to the younger man and raised his eyebrows.

“I understand. But she’s less...” Peter pressed his lips together. “She’s functioning better. She’s more at peace.”

Alex nodded. As terrible a thought it was that Anna might move on, he really only wanted the best for her. Who knew if he would ever escape from this place? He didn’t want Anna living the rest of her life barely functioning because of his “death.” No. He wanted her to be happy. “Thank you.”

“She’s an amazing woman.”

Alex turned and studied the younger man. “You’ve fallen for her, haven’t you?”

Peter shrugged. “How could I not?”

“Will you marry her?”

He shook his head. “Devin would never allow it. Besides...” He held up his right hand to show a ring of three colored bands. “Dariya and I got married a few months ago.”

Alex’s brows shot up. “And you’re still with Anna?”

Peter nodded.

“Dariya’s okay with that?”

He shrugged. “She understands the ways of The Brotherhood.”

Alex nodded. “It’s not an easy life.”

“It’s not.”

They were quiet for a few minutes, and Alex began to wonder why they didn’t go back inside. Was there something else going on? “I understand Aaron is leaving San Francisco.” He glanced at Peter.

Peter gave a tight smile. “He’s going to New York.”

Why wasn’t he surprised that Alex knew? “Do you know why?”

“I do.”

Alex waited for him to say more, but he didn’t expand. “Can you tell me?”

“No.”

Alex frowned but didn’t press him.

Peter tilted his head. “If you ever got free, I hope you know that Anna would accept you back into her life in a heartbeat.”

“Ever got free?” Alex snorted. “Not as long as your grandfather is alive.”

“He is an old man, Alex. Old men die.”