Chapter 109

A knock sounded on Aaron’s dressing room door after the last curtain call.

“Come in,” he called.

Hugo opened the door and poked his head inside. “Have you heard from Katrina?”

Aaron shook his head, frowning. “I thought you guys were going out tonight.”

Hugo nodded. “We are. She said she’d come backstage at intermission but didn’t. I haven’t seen her at all.”

Aaron knew how much Anna had been looking forward to going out with Hugo tonight. She’d been anticipating staying the night with him for the first time since they’d started dating. It pained Aaron to, once again, see Anna happy with someone besides himself, but Hugo was good for her. He treated her like the princess she was without the baggage of knowing about her past.

Aaron glanced at his watch and his heart dropped. The show had ended twenty minutes ago. Something was wrong. “Where was she supposed to meet you?”

“Back here. In my dressing room.”

Aaron rubbed his neck, not knowing what he should do. He couldn’t risk Hugo finding out about Anna’s past. “Did you call her?”

Hugo made a face. “Of course. Several times, but it goes to voicemail.”

Aaron picked up his phone and dialed. It rang several times and then went to voicemail.

Stefanie walked past his door. She hadn’t performed, but she was here. Maybe she’d been in the audience. “Stef!” He jumped to his feet and pushed past Hugo. “Did you happen to see Katrina out in the audience tonight?”

Stefanie frowned. Aaron knew she wasn’t very fond of Anna, but when she glanced at Hugo with a hesitant expression, it made his heart rate triple. “Stef, please. Did you see her?”

She huffed and rolled her eyes. “I saw her get up and walk away with some older guy who was holding her hand.”

Alarm filled Aaron’s veins with ice, but he blew out a slow breath. Maybe it was Wilhelm? “What did he look like?”

“A little taller than Katrina, with dark brown hair and a goatee.”

Aaron rubbed his face. That wasn’t Wilhelm. “He wasn’t very tall?” Devin was definitely tall.

Stef shook her head. “I mean, he wasn’t short, but it wasn’t like, ‘wow, that guy is tall.’”

“Shit.” The blood rushed from his face as he realized who had taken Anna.

“Aaron, what’s wrong?” Hugo said softly. “Do you know who she left with?”

Jack . Aaron spun around and sprinted back to his phone, calling Tom with one hand and pulling his shoes on with the other.

“Hey, Aaron?—?”

“Anna’s missing. I think Jack might have taken her.”

“Jack? How is that possible? I didn’t know he was here.”

“Can you track her phone?”

“Um, yeah. Give me a few minutes and I’ll call you back.”

Aaron went back out to the hallway and stared hard at Stefani. “When did she leave?”

“Before the performance started.”

“Security cameras!” he exclaimed and then ran down the hallway with Hugo right behind him.

A faint buzzing made Anna groan and open her eyes. Her body ached and her head throbbed. She sat up from lying on the carpeted floor. Where was she? It looked like... a hotel room? But it was a mess, like there had been a fight. Bruises, cuts, and blood covered her body.

Her heart pounded as she looked around. Jack . She’d come here with Jack. But where was he? He wouldn’t have left her alone.

And what had happened to the room? Had they been attacked? The idea of Jack being attacked sounded rather nice, but why didn’t she remember any of it?

The buzzing sounded again and she realized it was her phone. She crawled across the room to her purse and pulled it out. She stared at it for a moment before tapping the screen. “Aaron?”

“Anna! Where are you?” He sounded out of breath.

She stared at the floor, trying to understand what he was asking. Her mind wouldn’t work properly. It felt fuzzy and slow. “I-I don’t know.”

“Hon. Take a deep breath and look around. Is Jack there?”

“I don’t know,” she whispered. She sucked in a shaky breath and stood. The room spun for a moment, but when it cleared, she took another look around. “It’s a hotel.” The headboard was smashed into pieces and the bed was a mess. Broken glass littered the floor, and it looked like there was even a crack in the window. She carefully walked to the table that had been overturned and found a binder with a name and logo embossed on the front. “Mandarin?”

She heard him repeat it to someone. “What room? Look at the back of the door.”

She walked across the room and saw a diagram of the hotel floor. “Thirty-oh-six,” she read and turned to go back, but froze at the sight of bare feet in the bathroom doorway. She leaned in and gasped at the sight of Jack lying on the floor in a pool of blood. “Oh, God! I think Jack’s dead.”

Aaron froze on the crowded sidewalk at Anna’s words. Hugo ran into him from behind. “Dead?”

“There’s blood... oh, God, Aaron. What happened?” Her voice squeaked as she asked and he knew he had to get to her as quickly as humanly possible. The hotel was only a few blocks away.

“Anna, are you okay?” He started jogging again.

“I don’t know . . .”

“Okay. Just . . . wait, Anna. We’re almost there.”

“Okay...” Her voice was so tiny he could barely hear her.

Hugo caught up to him. “Who’s Anna? I thought we were trying to find Katrina?”

Aaron realized his mistake and looked up apologetically. “I’m sorry, man. I’ll try and explain later. Yes, we’re going to Katrina. She’s at the Mandarin.” He swerved around a group of people.

“Is she okay?”

“I honestly don’t know. Will you call her? I need to call someone.” He put the phone back up to his ear when Hugo nodded. “Anna, Hugo’s gonna call you and stay on the line with you until we get there.”

“Okay . . .”

Aaron nodded to Hugo. Aaron ended his call with her and called Tom to let him know he’d spoken to Anna and the information he’d gotten from her.

Anna’s phone beeped. It was Hugo.

“Hugo?” she said in a tiny voice.

“Katrina? Are you okay?”

“I don’t know.” She stared at Jack’s body, unable to look away. A deep bloody gash was on the side of his head, and scratches and bruises covered his naked body. His head was cocked in an unnatural position. “I don’t know what happened...”

Hugo didn’t say anything, but by his breathing, it sounded like he was walking very fast.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered. Tonight was supposed to be their night together. She should have fought Jack harder. Then she would be in Hugo’s arms right now instead of naked and bloody in a strange hotel room with her horrible guardian. She fell to her knees and started sobbing. “I’m so sorry, Hugo...”

“Why are you sorry? What happened?”

Anna was too ashamed to admit she’d had sex with her guardian. Hugo would never see her the same way and their relationship would be over.

“Katrina?”

Her hand shook as she pulled the phone away and ended the call. Her whole body tingled as if every nerve were in overdrive. She found her dress and pulled it on, her skin screaming in protest at the silky material. She sat down on the bed and stared at the circular patterns in the carpet.

Her body ached. The cuts stung as her dress moved against them. What had happened to Jack? How did he end up dead? She only remembered hurting as he forced himself into her body and then getting angry.

Someone pounded on the door. “Anna?”

Anna walked to the door without thinking, feeling dazed, and opened it. Immediately, she was enveloped in Hugo’s embrace. “Are you okay?” She could sense him looking around. “What happened?” He held her at arm’s length and looked her up and down. “What happened?” he repeated in a softer tone.

Anna didn’t answer. Instead, she looked at Aaron. “He found me.”

Aaron nodded. “Tom’s on his way. Where is he?”

Anna tilted her head toward the bathroom. Both men looked and jumped at the sight of the broken, naked body. Aaron stepped into the bathroom and looked down at Jack. “Pretty sure he’s dead. But I’m not touching him.” He looked back at Anna. “Did someone come in with you two?”

“I don’t know. I don’t remember anyone. He—?” Anna tried to pull away from Hugo, but he held her tight. She looked up at him, tears in her eyes. “You should just let me go now, Hugo.”

Hugo shook his head. “Who is he?”

“My guardian.”

“Your guardian?”

“He’s been abusing her since she was twelve,” Aaron said. “She didn’t come here voluntarily.”

“Oh, Katrina...” Hugo pulled her back into his arms. He kissed the top of her head and petted her hair.

There were voices in the hall, and Tom and Tommy hurried inside seconds later. “Holy shit,” Tommy exclaimed. “What happened?”

Tom walked over to Jack’s body and put his fingers on his neck. “He’s dead.” He looked up at Anna. “Does Devin know?”

Anna shook her head. “Jack said he—?” She swallowed. “That he wanted to have fun with me before he called.”

Tom exhaled and stood. “I’ve never been so thankful for his perversion.” Tom raised his brows at Hugo. “Who are you?”

“Hugo. Katrina’s . . . boyfriend.”

Anna blinked and looked up at him. “Really?”

He stroked her cheek. “After what I had planned for tonight, I certainly hope so.”

Aaron nodded. “He’s a dancer and choreographer with the City Ballet.”

“Oh! Hugo Sintzenich! I know you, though we’ve never officially met. I’m Tom Pendleton.” Tom extended his hand.

Hugo’s eyebrow raised as he shook Tom’s hand. “You’re Tom Pendleton?” He looked at Aaron. “You know him?”

Aaron shrugged. “It’s a really long story.”

“One that doesn’t need to be told right now,” Tom said. “I got another room to take her to.” He pulled a card out of his pocket. “Next door.” He handed the card to Hugo. “Can you stay with her while I look around?”

“Of course.” Hugo took the keycard from Tom. He kept his arm around Anna and led her next door. He sat her on the bed and held her close. “Did he rape you, Katrina?”

Anna didn’t know how to answer that. “I suppose some would qualify it as that.”

Hugo stiffened. “Did you want to come here with him?”

“No. I never wanted to see him again. I wanted to see you dance.” Anna clasped her hands in her lap. “You don’t have to stay with me if you don’t want to.”

“Why wouldn’t I want to, Kittycat?” He lifted her chin to look her in the eye. “I was so worried about you. I still am. Please trust me.”

Anna bit her lip. “I don’t know what I can tell you. I’ll have to ask Tom.”

“Is your guardian the relationship that you didn’t want to talk about before?”

“He’s part of it.”

“Katrina’s not your real name, is it?”

Anna shook her head slowly. “They changed it so I couldn’t be found.”

“It’s Anna, right?”

She smiled. She liked the sound of her real name on his lips. “Yes.”

“It suits you. Though I think your other name does too. Whoever picked it out did a good job.”

The door opened and the others came in. Tommy sat down next to Anna. “Are you okay?” He took her hand.

She hadn’t seen or heard from him since he’d left after having sex with her. She pulled her hand away and watched as first hurt, then sorrow, filled his eyes.

Tom leaned on the dresser across from where she was sitting on the bed, arms loosely crossed over his chest. “Tell me what happened,” he said in a gentle voice.

She glanced at Hugo and then back at Tom, and told him what happened, up to the point where she got angry and didn’t remember anymore. “The next thing I knew, I was lying on the floor and my phone was buzzing.” Tears spilled down her cheeks and Hugo handed her a tissue. He hadn’t moved the whole time she spoke, even when she talked about having sex with Jack.

“Anna, do you remember getting angry any other time and not remembering what happened after?”

She winced. “Yes.”

“Was it after Devin—er, you lost the baby? A few months ago?”

She looked up at Tom, thankful he didn’t say aloud what had really happened, and nodded. “Do you know what happened then?”

He gave her a wry smile. “You were defending yourself. Anna, sweetie, I think you killed Jack.”

“What?” She shook her head wildly. “I couldn’t have done that. He’s so much stronger than me.”

“There is a part of you that is very strong, and it’s starting to emerge when you need to defend yourself. It took Ian and two other men to subdue you when it happened before.”

Anna remembered Ian talking about it and the bruise on his cheek. Her heart twisted at his memory. Another death because of her. She stared at her hands. “What do I do now?”

“Go home, take a bath, and get a good night’s sleep. I’ll take care of things here and come up with a story for Devin. I can honestly say he got attacked in his hotel room.”

“You’re not going to call the police?” Hugo asked incredulously.

Tom gave him a sympathetic look. “This is beyond the police, Hugo. Involving them would only endanger An—er, Katrina.”

He frowned. “I know her real name.”

“What else do you know?” Tom asked, his face inscrutable.

“I know that she was raped by her guardian tonight and you don’t seem to care much about how she’s going to deal with it.”

Tom took a long breath and looked at the wall behind them. “I do care that Jack found her. Unfortunately, what he did to her was rather... Well, I’ve seen her go through much worse.” He looked back at Hugo. “I know you’re concerned about her, and that’s good. She needs that. I am too. There’s just more going on here than I can explain right now and frankly, it would be dangerous for me to share any more with you.” He straightened. “What I can tell you is, by being here in New York, she is safer than she’s been in her entire life, and there are many people working to make that safety a permanent reality for her.”

Hugo looked at him for a long moment and then nodded. “Please tell me if there is anything I can do.”

Tom smiled at Anna and then looked at Hugo. “You’re doing it. Please continue to call her Katrina. If her name gets out, I don’t know how long I’ll be able to protect her.” He crouched down and looked Anna in the eye. “You can tell him what you’re comfortable with about your personal experiences, but keep names out of it, okay?”

Anna nodded. “He knows a little about Alex.”

Tom looked surprised and pleased, then took her hand, rubbing her empty ring finger. “You took your wedding ring off.” He looked approvingly at Hugo. “You’re obviously doing many things right, Hugo. Take her home, get her cleaned up, and put her to bed.” He kissed Anna on the cheek and stood. “Are you healing again?”

“I don’t know. I haven’t been injured in a while.”

“That’s good.” He chuckled. “A good problem to have. Don’t worry about this, Anna. Devin won’t find out you’re here.”

“Thank you, Tom.” She stood and Hugo put his arm gently around her. She looked down. “My shoes are in the other room.”

“I’ll get ‘em.” Aaron hurried out of the room and returned a few minutes later.

Hugo cleared his throat. “Do I, uh, need to be concerned about... defending myself?”

Tom’s eyes lit with amusement. “Are you planning on raping her or dragging her back to people who want to hurt her?”

“Absolutely not!”

“Then you have nothing to worry about. She’s not the Hulk where she’ll turn into a monster if she gets angry. She’s just finally learned to defend herself.”

“Are there many people who want to hurt her?” Hugo asked.

Tom frowned. “Unfortunately, yes. But there are many who want to help her too.” He smiled encouragingly. “Take her home. She’ll be alright.”

Anna put her shoes on and glanced at Tom. “Thank you, Tom.”

Tom nodded. “Anytime, Anna. It’s the least I can do.”