Chapter 93

Aaron restlessly paced inside Penn Station on Tuesday evening, stopping every few minutes to check the arrivals screen. Anna and Justin’s train was supposed to arrive over two hours earlier, and although this train was notorious for being late, Aaron’s anxiety grew with each passing minute. And there was no way to get in touch with them. They’d left their phones in California.

He hadn’t seen or spoken to Anna in nine months. Their goodbye had been passionate and he couldn’t stop himself from wondering if things might get going between the two of them again. She was a free woman now. No obligations to The Brotherhood, other than staying out of Devin’s sight. What would she do with herself?

The overhead speaker blared and he was pretty sure he heard the train number he’d been waiting for. God, he hoped so! He didn’t know if he could stand waiting any longer.

He turned and headed back to the waiting area and, sure enough, he saw the arrival notification for the Number 48 train. A wave of relief wash over him and he scanned the crowd, his eyes eagerly searching for the sweet face of the woman who still held his heart after all these years.

Justin’s tall, thin frame was easy to spot as he walked toward him. But where was Anna? Panic surged within him as he locked eyes with Justin. A grin spread across Justin’s face before he leaned down to address the small figure wearing a hat beside him. The hat lifted and Anna’s green eyes appeared, darting around the room. Aaron’s heart took a nosedive when her eyes met his. A wide smile spread across her face as she exchanged words with Justin, who nodded in response.

The next thing Aaron knew, Anna was in his arms, hugging him tighter than he’d ever been hugged before. Heaven . “Aaron!”

Aaron reluctantly detangled himself from Anna’s embrace, and Justin and Aaron shook hands.

“What’s with the hat?” Aaron tapped the brim and grinned down at Anna.

Justin looked up at the numerous TVs hanging on the station’s walls. “She’s all over the news as a missing person.”

Aaron frowned. “She is?” Shit, that wasn’t good. But he watched the news and he hadn’t seen anything. “Where did you see that?”

“Chicago,” Anna said, looking up at him with anxious eyes.

Aaron’s heart raced as he gazed into her eyes. Oh, he just wanted to lean down and kiss her, but she looked away before he could decide whether or not he should.

“C’mon, let’s get going,” Aaron said with a heavy sigh as he took Anna’s backpack from her. He would take them to the Ritz, where Wilhelm was staying. Tomorrow, he would introduce her to her new life.

They went outside and he flagged down a taxi.

Anna pressed her nose to the window of the taxi, staring at the tall buildings as far as the eye could see. “Where are we going?” Aaron had told the cab driver, but she had been overwhelmed with her surroundings and hadn’t paid attention.

“The Ritz. Wilhelm is there.”

Anna sighed with a smile. Wilhelm. “Is Kurt with him?”

Aaron shook his head. “He couldn’t risk bringing Kurt.”

“Why?”

Aaron glanced at the cabbie. “Traveling difficulties.”

“Oh.”

She sat between Aaron and Justin. Both men wanted her attention and she wanted to give it to them both. Justin had risked his life by bringing her out here and they’d connected on the train. Aaron... Aaron was Aaron. Her best friend and first love. She intertwined her fingers with both and smiled at each of them.

They arrived at the hotel and Aaron led them up to the Royal Suite and knocked on the door.

A few moments later, Wilhelm opened the door and smiled at her, his blue eyes full of tenderness. “ Mein Liebling .”

He opened his arms and she rushed into his embrace, sighing as he held her tight.

Wilhelm stepped back without letting go of Anna and motioned to Aaron and Justin. “Come in, please.”

Justin and Aaron stepped inside and Aaron closed the door behind him.

Justin let out a whistle as he looked around. “Wow,” he muttered under his breath.

Anna buried her head in Wilhelm’s chest. “You’re here...”

“Of course, Liebling ,” he murmured, stroking her hair. “I wanted to be here when you arrived.”

Anna looked up and saw his eyes were wet. She reached up and stroked his cheek. “Why are you sad, Wilhelm?”

He shook his head. “I should have done this years ago. I should have kept you in Deutschland and never let you return to him.”

“You know you couldn’t have done this alone,” Aaron said in a soft voice. “How many Elders did it take to get her out?”

Wilhelm chuckled. “Several.” He smiled and looked at Justin. “Thank you, Justin, for bringing her.”

“You’re welcome, sir.”

Wilhelm led them into the living room and sat down with Anna on the couch. She curled up next to him and rested her head on his chest. Aaron and Justin took seats on opposite sides of the couch.

“Are you hungry?” Wilhelm asked, looking at Justin and Anna.

Anna nodded and glanced at Justin, who nodded as well. “There wasn’t dinner on the train,” she said.

Wilhelm reached beside him on the table and handed Anna a binder with a picture of the hotel on the front. “Let me know what you want and we will order it.”

After the dinner orders were placed, Justin told Wilhelm and Aaron about the trip.

“There weren’t any issues, except for Anna showing up on the news in Chicago as a missing person.” He shook his head. “I don’t get it.”

“Tom is most likely preventing the story from airing here,” Wilhelm said. “Anna’s face plastered all over the city’s televisions would not be good.”

Justin’s brows shot up. “He can do that?”

Wilhelm nodded and smiled, almost sheepishly. “Part of being an Elder and running a city.” He kissed the top of Anna’s head. “Would any of you like something to drink?” He motioned to a wet bar in the corner. “Please, help yourselves. I would get it for you, but...” He beamed down at Anna. “I do not think she will let me up.”

Anna shook her head. She tightened her arms around his waist and snuggled closer. “ Nein ,” she whispered.

Wilhelm’s eyes widened. “I like it when you speak German. It is very sexy.”

“That’s about all I remember.”

He looked down at her intently and stroked her cheek with his thumb. “I have missed you so much, Liebling ,” he whispered. He slid his hand around the back of her head and captured her lips with his as Aaron and Justin stood and made their way to the wet bar.

Justin stared at Wilhelm kissing Anna from the other side of the room by the wet bar. Aaron followed. He pulled a beer out of the fridge and held it up to Aaron. “Want one?”

Aaron took it, and Justin grabbed another one for himself. He glanced over at the couch where Wilhelm had his fists in Anna’s hair and his tongue in her mouth. “How old is he?”

“In his fifties, I think.”

Wilhelm was a handsome man, with short, white-blond hair neatly parted to the side and sporting a well-groomed mustache. He wore an expensive-looking dress shirt and slacks. Justin wondered if his mustache tickled Anna as she kissed him. “She really likes older guys, doesn’t she?”

Aaron frowned. “I hope you’re not including Devin in ‘guys she likes.’” Aaron shrugged. “But yes, she’s primarily been with older men. That’s who the Elders are.”

Wilhelm pulled away from Anna and twirled a lock of her dark hair around his finger, speaking intimately with her. She gazed at him with so much adoration, Justin didn’t know whether to be jealous or nauseous.

Aaron patted Justin’s shoulder. “He’s her Master. If she had to choose between any of us here, she’d choose him. It’s her duty.”

Justin grimaced. “I thought she was supposed to be free now.”

“Freedom’s relative for her. Devin’s still her Master, even though she’s run away. Wilhelm’s still her Master, too. Just because she ran away doesn’t mean she’s not a slave anymore.” Aaron gave Justin a sympathetic look. “Believe me, man, I know how you’re feeling. But Wilhelm’s only gonna be here for a few days to get her settled. Then he’ll go back to Germany. To his wife.”

“He’s married too?”

“They all are. It’s actually a requirement at a certain age. You get used to The Brotherhood stuff the longer you’re around it. Everyone fucks everyone.” Aaron grinned. “I wouldn’t be surprised if she knows your dad.”

Justin swallowed. He knew Aaron had said it to lighten the mood, but the thought of Anna sleeping with his father made him sick. Maybe a future with her wasn’t as good an idea as he’d thought. It wasn’t her fault, but still... He took a long swig of his beer and glanced at Aaron. “You’re okay with all this?”

Aaron shrugged. “It’s the way it’s always been with her. When we were dating, I had to deal with it. Then she married my best friend.” He shrugged again. “Guess I’m just used to it.”

Justin shook his head. “I don’t know if I could share her.”

Aaron’s smile held a tinge of sadness. “It’s hard. I think, now that she’s here, she won’t have her duties anymore, and she might be able to have a normal relationship with a man. But Wilhelm will always be in her life.” He looked at Wilhelm thoughtfully. “Although I think if Anna found someone she really wanted to be with, he’d back off and take the father role again. He’s not pushy. He just adores her.”

“That’s obvious.” Justin watched the older man trace his fingers over her collarbone. Anna closed her eyes and parted her lips with a sigh. “Who wouldn’t?”

After a relaxing dinner, Anna and Wilhelm said good night to Justin and headed to Wilhelm’s bedroom. Justin was staying in the second bedroom of the suite.

“Why isn’t Kurt here?” Anna asked.

“An Immortal transported me here. They can only do that with Elders.” Wilhelm glanced down at her. “He is very sad that he could not be here, but sends his love.” He took her into his arms. “Did you learn what your new name is?”

Anna couldn’t stop the grin from appearing on her face as she nodded. “Justin said you picked it out.”

“ Ja ,” he smiled. “Kurt picked the last name. I picked the first name.”

“Katrina Engel,” she said softly and gazed up at him. “It makes me feel like I belong to you.”

He swept her hair back from her face. “You belong to me.” He brushed his lips against hers. “Always.” He slowly pulled her shirt off and stroked her bare back. “I have missed you...”