The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (59 page)

“What is it that you want?” Shaw asked,
looking back at Devin and Wilhelm.

“I want my sl— I want Anna back,” Devin
snapped. “She ran away in March and I just found her a few days
ago.”

“I would like time with Anna as well,”
Wilhelm countered. “And I would like assurance that Anna will not
be tortured within an inch of her life.”

Shaw looked around and sighed. “This needs to
be discussed somewhere more private. Anna, stay with Devin, since
he brought you. Those of us with Mistresses will discuss the
situation after the funeral and make a decision.” He gave Devin a
firm look. “Do not begin your discipline until then.”

Devin did everything he could to remain calm.
How dare that British son-of-a-bitch interfere and tell him what to
do! And in his own country, no less. But Devin knew he didn’t yet
have the power to do anything different. Damn Anna for running
away!

“I won't take the pleasure of...discipline
until I return home.” He pulled Anna away from Wilhelm, almost
satisfied by the old man's look of despair.

“You have embarrassed me, bitch,” Devin
whispered as he pulled Anna through the crowd and toward the
cathedral. “You will pay for that.” He grinned as she shuddered
next to him. He had discovered some interesting new uses of the
pain juice while she was gone and was looking forward to trying
them on her.

For now, he just had to get her home and to
do that without much fuss, he had to behave himself. He took a deep
breath. He could stay in control for a few more hours. As soon as
the funeral Gathering was over, he would be in his jet and heading
back to San Francisco. Once he got Anna back to the Manor, he could
lose control to his heart’s delight.

Wilhelm watched as Devin dragged Anna away,
and then looked back at Shaw as the crowd dispersed. “You realize
that if you let her go home with him, he will torture her.”

“As distasteful as it is, Wilhelm, she is his
slave,” Shaw said sadly. “Yes, she is your Mistress as well as his,
but his claim of ownership is stronger. No one likes it, but it is
what it is. If we decide that he may take her home, we will put
limits on what he may do to her, but—”

“You think he will listen?” Wilhelm spat,
disgusted at the man’s naiveté. “He performed the
forbidden
ritual to make her that way, and you think he
will listen if you say ‘do not hurt her too much’?” He shook his
head. “Give her to me, I will make sure she is safe,” he said,
desperation evident in his voice. “You have no idea the things he
will do to her.”

Shaw lifted his chin. “We will discuss it
later, Wilhelm, and let you know our decision. He would be foolish
to ignore our decision. His powers have faded and he knows it.”

“So you’ll give her back to him so he can get
them back?”

“His Immortal pawn, Kaveh, has been banished.
It won’t happen.”

Wilhelm sucked in a breath. “He has?” Was it
really possible?

Shaw nodded.

Despite knowing that Anna would likely be
staying with Devin, Wilhelm sighed in relief. At least there was
one less thing they needed to worry about.

Alex was in Aaron’s hospital room Sunday
evening when his phone rang. “Vati? Is Anna all right?”

Alex looked at Aaron, who sat up at his
words.

“She is...for now. I heard from Shaw Wilson
that Kaveh has been banished.”

Alex sighed in relief. That was good news.
“What about Anna?” His father hesitated, which made Alex tense
again. “Vati?”

“The Elders who are Masters of the Mistresses
met this afternoon to discuss the situation. Devin and I acted
inappropriately at the funeral, and called attention to the
situation.”

An unexpected smile appeared on Alex’s lips
at the idea of Vati acting “inappropriately.” He couldn’t imagine
what had happened.

“I pleaded with them to let me take Anna
because of what Devin would do to her, but they ignored me. She
will return to San Francisco with him tomorrow with the
instructions that he is not to discipline her more than is
appropriate.”

Alex’s blood boiled. “They really expect
Devin to listen to them?”

“I protested with the same sentiment, Alex. I
am to return and take her home with me in three weeks. As I told
you, Alex, the Elders, as much as they detest the idea, acknowledge
that she is his slave, and that he has a right to deal with
her.”

Alex slumped into the chair by the window.
His poor Anna. He felt his heart break at the thought of the
torture that Devin would surely put her through.

“The good thing is that Devin will be
returning directly to San Francisco, not stopping in New York.
Tomorrow Vlad, Tom and I will be able to discuss changing your
assignment.”

Alex let out a slow breath. That was good
news, he supposed.

“How quickly can you be ready to go?” Wilhelm
asked.

Alex had hardly been able to sleep or think
or do anything except despair about Anna. “A few days. I’ve had
problems concentrating.”

“I understand, son. Speak with your men and
prepare. I will call you tomorrow.”

“Thank you, Vati.”

Alex put his phone back in his pocket and
repeated to Aaron what he had learned from his father.

“You should go, Alex,” Aaron said with a
nod.

“I don’t want to leave you alone.”

Aaron waved his hand. “My parents are
bringing me dinner. I’ll be fine. You need to go figure out how to
kill Tyler.”

Anna stared out the jet window as San
Francisco came into view, the familiar Bay Bridge stretched over
the sparkling waters of the bay. How had she ended up back here?
Why had she run away? It was all so pointless.

Three weeks. She told herself she only had to
last three weeks, and then Wilhelm would come get her. Could she
last that long?

She closed her eyes, remembering what felt
like her sentencing.

The Elder-Mistresses looked at her with
disdain as they sat at the feet of their Masters. Anna sat between
Wilhelm and Devin. She tried to lean towards Wilhelm, but Devin
pulled her back to the center by her hair.

“You ran away from your Master,
Mistress,” Shaw said from the middle of the row. “As an
Elder-Mistress and as a slave, you should have known better. Why
did you do it?”

Anna had stared at him for a long moment,
unable to come up with an answer, besides the obvious one of
Devin’s abuse. But surely they already knew about that. If they
didn’t and she brought it up, Devin would be angry. “I-I don’t
know,” she whispered after a moment of silence, and hung her
head.

She could feel the condemnation emanating
from around the room. If word got out that slaves could run away
without consequences there would be chaos. She would surely be made
an example of what happened to disobedient slaves.

“As repulsive as we find your methods,
Devin, we cannot deny your right to discipline your slave,” Shaw
said. “But we would remind you that she is an Elder-Mistress and
should be treated accordingly.”

Tears burned Anna’s eyes at the Elder’s
words.

“You may have her for three
weeks, and then she will be turned over to Wilhelm. You have
abused her for long enough. He will keep her for as long as he can
without harm coming to her, and then he will return her for another
three weeks.”

“You can’t take her away from me, she is
mine,” Devin protested. “Even the Immortals acknowledge that. The
simple fact that she must be returned to me proves that
point.”

“You abuse her, Devin,” Wilhelm snapped.
“She is a person, not a punching bag. No wonder she ran away from
you.”

“Wilhelm, that’s enough,” Shaw said. “She
did wrong, she will pay the price and then you will have her back.”
He turned to Devin. “If you demonstrate respect befitting an
Elder-Mistress, we will reconsider our decision. The Immortals are
already unhappy with us. We will not risk losing our Mistresses
because you cannot control yourself, Devin.”

And so she was in Devin’s jet, clinging to
the armrests as the jet dropped to the runway. The Manor wasn’t far
from the airport, which meant there was little time before the pain
began.

“Anna, did you know that the nerve-juice can
be injected directly into the clit?” Tyler asked with a nasty grin.
“I understand it’s incredibly painful. More so than injecting it
into your neck.”

Anna’s face paled and she looked at Devin,
who nodded.

“We’ve been experimenting with the
expectation of your eventual return. Wilhelm will get you back in
three weeks, but you probably won’t know it until a few days later.
I intend for you to be in excruciating pain the entire three
weeks.”

“I can’t find him!” Alex told his father,
anguish squeezing his heart. “He’s never out where I can get a shot
at him.”

He had been in San Francisco for a week and
had not been able to get a clear shot of Tyler. He couldn’t even
find him for the first few days. Seth had finally figured out that
he’d been in the Manor the entire time. When he finally emerged, he
stayed in his car until he was sheltered by the garage of his
apartment building. The curtains were kept drawn over the windows
in his apartment. At work, he’d moved into an office whose window
had no vantage point that Alex could reach.

“I’m half tempted to get a handgun and
approach him on foot.”

“Alex, you can’t do that.”

Alex sighed and ran his hands through his
hair. “I know, Vati.”

“Devin must be trying to keep Tyler out of
the assassin’s scope.”

“Devin’s not stupid. I’m sure he’s figured
out the pattern.”

“Don’t snap at me, Alex. I know you’re upset.
If nothing else, when I go get Anna, we can relax a bit.”

“I can’t let her endure three weeks of
torture, Vati! Every day is killing me. Seth says she isn’t even in
her room. He’s keeping her in the dungeon.” Alex was dangerously
close to whining, but he was getting desperate. What made the whole
thing worse was that Anna had no reason to hope for things to get
better until his father picked her up. Vati had wiped her memories
of Alex. She still believed him dead.

“Tyler’s an arrogant man. He will expose
himself soon. Don’t get upset, or you’ll miss your chance.”

“Mr. Andersen?”

Devin pressed the intercom button on his
office phone. “Yes, Maddy?”

“The Chief of Police is here to see you.”

Devin’s heart skipped a beat at his
secretary’s words.
It’s nothing
, he told himself.

It was his first day back in the office in
two weeks. It had gotten to the point that Anna wasn’t any fun to
torture anymore. She no longer responded to anything he did. He
supposed a day away wouldn’t hurt. Besides, he had work to catch up
on. He would let her sleep today and then return tonight when she
had healed sufficiently to know what was going on around her
again.

Every joint in her body had been dislocated.
Her pussy was so swollen from electricity and beatings he couldn’t
get his cock inside her anymore. Same with her ass. Her breasts
were black with bruises, as well as most of the rest of her body.
Devin took as much of her essence as he could and still keep her
conscious, which severely limited her healing abilities. Wilhelm
would have a helluva time getting her back in shape.

When he left her last night, she was manacled
in the dungeon, lying in a pool of her own blood. The manacles were
in case she started to rage, but Devin doubted she had the energy
to do so.

Devin took a deep breath. “Send him in.”

Devin stared at the door, praying that his
old friend was just here for advice or a casual conversation. He’d
been keeping Tyler sheltered in case he was the next target. He
could not let anything happen to his son.

The look on the police chief’s face sent
chills through Devin’s body as he realized his greatest fear had
just come to pass. He gripped the edge of his desk and began to
shake, and his voice cracked when he tried to speak. “Tyler?”

“I’m sorry, Mr. Andersen....” The police
chief continued speaking, but Devin’s ears were ringing so loudly
he couldn’t hear anything the man said.

Flashes of Tyler growing up flitted across
his mind. The toddler literally trying to walk in his father's
shoes. Winning football games, prom king with the best-looking girl
in school. Graduating college with his degree. Demonstrating that
his father's strength had passed to him, accepting the mantle of
Elder Son and all the responsibilities that entailed.

Devin recalled the first day Tyler came to
work in the office next to his. His son. His pride and the
beneficiary of
everything
he'd worked for. His only
son—his one weakness—was gone.

His legacy, ended.

He looked up at the Chief. “How?” Maybe it
had just been a car accident. After all, today was Thursday. The
other Sons had been shot on Mondays....

“I told you, sir. Two shots. One to the groin
and the other straight through his head.”

“Two shots?” Devin asked, shaken out of his
dreamlike state. “Two?” The others had only been single shots,
straight through the head. “His dick?” What the hell was that
about?

“Yes sir, a pretty...impressive shot, if you
think about it.”

That made it sound personal. The assassin
wouldn’t do that on his own; the Elder who was doing this was
making it personal.
Wilhelm.
But why would Wilhelm take
out the other Elders? No, that didn’t make sense. Who the hell was
behind all this?

“Sir? I need you to come down to the morgue
to identify the body.”

Devin stared at his desk, his teeth clenched
together to stop them from chattering.