Chapter Four
"Have a seat Robert," Police Chief Guy Lewis stated. Anna was already in the room, tucking her hair behind her ear; a nervous habit that he alone knew about.
"I feel like I've just been called to the principal's office," Robert quips.
"Why's that Scorpio…were you a bad boy," she asks.
He arches a brow at her and gives her the unspoken answer she craves. Not nearly as bad as I am with you.
Guy clears his throat and pushes an envelope across the desk. "Can we get back to the reason we are here," he questions.
"What's this," Robert asks, skeptically?
"Open it. I think it will speak for itself. "
"Is that why I'm here," Anna wonders aloud.
"It involves you," Guy acknowledges.
Anna watched as Robert's jaw clenched and the color drained from his face.
"Robert, what is it?"
"Where did you get these," he demanded.
"So you don't deny that these are real?"
"Robert," she pleaded, as she put a hand on his shoulder. "Please let me see."
He runs his fingers through his hair just after Anna rips the envelope out of his hand.
"Oh God," she gasps. "Who would…who would do this," she demands, her bottom lip now trembling.
"I don't know Luv," he soothes, pulling her into his arms. "Do we Guy?"
"We don't know anything yet. I only brought it to your attention to prepare you. Someone is clearly blackmailing the police department…or more likely…you. What do you want to do about it?"
"I don't see many options here Guy…I'm going to have to resign."
"Robert, No," Anna cries. "That's just going to raise more questions. I mean what are you going to tell Kate?"
"I think I have to tell her the truth Anna. What we've been doing…What we feel…It's not fair to her."
"Do you want me to burn the pictures," Guy asks.
"I don't want you to do anything to risk your career…not for me. I deserve it but not you. "
He picks up the envelope and storms out of his own office, shutting the door behind him. Anna just stares at Guy.
"Answer me one thing Anna…The baby you are carrying…"
"Yes," she answers.
He knows it is as close as he will get to a confirmation.
"Can I ask you why? You were married Anna. Why would you risk all that? Did your husband ever know before he died?"
She takes a deep breath as she faces him. She knows she does not owe him an explanation but for Robert, she feels she needs to protect his reputation.
"We didn't plan it okay. When that hurricane struck, we ended up trapped together. He protected me with his body. "
"Anna…"
"At first it wasn't sexual Guy. We hid out in the bathtub with pillows. He covered my body with his so he would take the brunt of the damage. When it was over, we pulled ourselves out of the tub to discover that there was no way out. Even the windows were not opening due to the excessive damage from the outside. We were both drenched and freezing so we tried to keep each other warm…it just kind of turned into something else."
"So why didn't you just tell the truth then?"
"We kept saying it would never happen again…and we meant that. I mean why uproot our lives because of something that happened when we thought we were dying…"
"But it did keep happening didn't it?"
"Every time it rained…If you want to hate someone Guy then hate me. I was the one who first showed up at his door during the first storm after. I was scared and I did not feel like I could go to Duke because he did not understand what I had been through like Robert. I needed to feel alive."
"And you couldn't get that from Duke…"
"Robert was the only one who could ever awaken that part of me…He thrilled me in a way that no other man ever came close to. Please do not let Robert's flaws cause you to lose respect for him. He is not a perfect man but he is a good one. His only crime lies in his love for me. Are you really going to punish a man for giving in to his weaknesses? Believe me; it cannot compete with how he punishes himself every day."
"Scorpio," Robert answers on the first ring.
"Where are you Scorpio? I am worried about you. "
"Anna, I have to know who took those pictures…what if there are more. I cannot leave this to chance. I am going to talk to Sean."
"Are you going to tell him everything?"
"I don't see any other way, do you?"
There is silence on the line before she asks, "Are you really going to tell Kate?"
"Can we deal with one crisis at a time Annie?"
"Is that what I am Robert? Am I a crisis to you?"
"That's not what I meant Luv…Haven't I proven how much you mean to me in the last three years?"
"I'm not even sure what this is Robert…I know that we can't seem to keep our hands off each other but…Is that all I am to you?"
"I told you I love you didn't I?"
An uncomfortable silence falls between them again and he asks her if she is okay.
"Maybe I'm tired of being your secret," she says. "Of wondering if one day we can finally be together openly. I am sorry Robert. I am so incredibly sorry for hurting you. I know that you love me, but can you forgive me enough to trust me with your heart? At some point, you have to make that decision. You have to trust that I love you as much as you love me. If you can't then we don't stand a chance."
The line goes dead and Robert looks between Sean's office and his car. Does she want him to come after her? Should he?