Hey guys, sorry this is a day late. My birthday was Friday which meant I got no work done over the weekend. Here it is though, I hope you all enjoy!
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Even after our loud fights and even louder make up sex, Christian and I were still awkward around each other. We were both walking on eggshells around the other, afraid to trip a wire and have something blow up.
I hated it. I hated that I was suddenly uncomfortable around the one person in the world with whom I could find solace.
I missed my husband.
When we left my office that evening, we went straight home, both too preoccupied to continue working. If the kids noticed anything off about us, they didn't say anything for which I was thankful.
We ate dinner as a family and Christian and I even managed to engage in conversation with our kids. We were playing our parts well.
After dinner Christian helped Phoebe with her homework and while I curled up with Ella to read. To the casual observer, it would appear that nothing out of the ordinary was going on in the Grey household.
That evening I crawled into bed thoroughly exhausted. After my emotional whiplash plus the angry sex filled hours in my office with Christian, I was ready to crash.
A beep from my bedside table alerted me to a text and I groaned, flipping on my side to reach for my phone. I read the text, frowned, and read it again to make sure I'd read it right.
Ana,
I'm sorry it's so late. I was wondering if you were free for lunch tomorrow?
-Kat
I stared at my phone for a few minutes before replying, telling her I could meet her tomorrow. We set up a time and place before saying goodnight. I tossed my phone back on my bedside table and stared at it, still confused. She had asked me not to mention anything to Christian because he seemed to be angry at her right now and she didn't want him to be angrier. I tried to understand her logic, but with Christian it never worked that way. Keeping things hidden always pissed him off more.
Still, when my husband came into our room and started getting ready for bed, I couldn't bring myself to tell him.
So instead when he turned off the lights and crawled into bed, I flipped over so that I wasn't facing him. If he could see my face, he'd know something was going on.
Just like the night before, he came up behind me, spooning me and hugging my waist tightly. The silence was thick between us, and when neither of us had anything to say, it grew thicker.
After a long while I wondered silently if Christian had fallen asleep. I was about to sneak out of the bed when Christian's arms squeezed me.
"I love you Ana." He whispered. Christian had never let a night pass where he didn't tell me. It was the last thing he said to me everyday, even when we were fighting or when he was traveling. He'd always be sure to let me know that he loved me.
The sentiment of his words caught up to me and I tried to stay silent as tears leaked from my eyes.
As if he knew they were there, Christian hugged me to him tighter and buried his face in my hair, rubbing his hand over my stomach in small soothing circles.
"I love you too Christian." I whispered into the dark.
My husband's body sagged in relief the tiniest amount before he sighed and kissed my shoulder through my hair. No more was said that night and I silently wondered if this was a conflict we'd be able to get through unscathed.
...
I fidgeted with my hair as I stared at myself in the mirror. I was nervous this morning.
Christian walked into the bathroom behind me and stared at me in the mirror.
"Why are you nervous?" He asked stepping up to the counter and pilling out his shaving cream. I stared at him with wide eyes a moment, before forcing myself to relax.
"Just an important meeting today." I said trying to make my voice sound light. Christian frowned at me.
"Since when do you get nervous at those?" He asked lathering his face. I shrugged.
"All the time."
I had to look away from him so he couldn't see my lie. I was almost certain though he heard it in my voice. I left the bathroom before I could break under his gaze. I wasn't sure why I was keeping my meeting with his sister a secret, maybe I just wanted to avoid another monumental fight.
Slipping on my heels, I made my way to the kitchen where Gail was cooking breakfast.
"Good morning Ana." She said smiling at me. I gave her a pathetic smile.
"Morning Gail." I said taking the tea she offered to me and declining the food. I was too nervous to eat anything.
"The children all left early for school this morning." Gail said when I started looking around for my kids. I looked back at her and nodded.
"Okay very good. I should be heading to work myself." I said glancing at my slim wrist watch. I finished off my tea and thanked Gail before grabbing my purse and making my way to the front door. Christian intercepted me before I could reach it. He was shirtless and wearing only amazing grey dress pants that sat on his hips perfectly. He was watching me with heavy gray eyes and I shifted under his gaze. "I'm headed to work. The kids are at school." I said gripping the strap of my purse tightly. Christian nodded and took a step toward me. I bit my lip in response and his eyes darted to the movement.
"You look beautiful Ana. Have a good day." He whispered looking back up at my eyes. Tears threatened me and I blinked hard to keep them at bay.
"Thank you Christian. You too." I whispered. He stepped forward and took my face in his hands, kissing my lightly. The kiss was so gentle, so sweet that it sparked an inferno in me, a craving for more, for all of him. It was a teasing kiss, though I was sure he hadn't meant it to be.
"I love you Ana." He whispered pulling away from me. I almost sobbed when his hands left my face. I wanted to curl around him and soak in him; his warmth, his smell, his touch. I wanted him all.
"I love you too Christian." I whispered before escaping out the front door.
I had Sawyer drive me to work, feeling too emotional to focus on the roads this morning.
I worked in complete solitude that morning, only allowing Hannah and Sawyer into my office so that I could at least attempt to focus enough to get work done. I made little headway which frustrated me, and before I knew it, I was running late for lunch. I groaned and shot up from my desk, grabbing my purse and rushing out of my office.
"Hannah I'm off to lunch! I'll be in an hour!" I called over my shoulder. She nodded at my departure and I ran through the office to the elevator. I glanced at my watch. I had told Sawyer I'd need to leave at 11:30 so he should be downstairs with the car ready.
I rushed through the lobby and sure enough there was the black SUV, waiting for me. I ran to it and climbed in the back breathing a large sigh of relief.
"I'm so sorry I'm running late Luke. Time got away from me." I said leaning back against the seat and sighing.
"It's so good to see you too Mrs. Grey."
My heart froze and my blood ran cold. My eyes flew open and I hissed when I saw Damian Black sitting in the back seat of the SUV next to me. Immediately I reached for the handle of the door but it was locked. I turned to the drive and realized it wasn't Luke. It was a man I'd never seen before.
"What are you doing Black?" I hissed.
"We're going to have a little chat." He said smiling maliciously at me.
"You're kidnapping me!" I growled.
"Oh my dear Anastasia. It was you who got into my car." He said shaking his head at me. I felt my heart go into overdrive and I reached for my cell phone when I realized I'd left it on my desk. No, no, no! This could not be happening!
"Let me out of this car Damian." I demanded. He smiled at me and pulled from his suit pocket a needle. It was in me so fast I didn't have time to react and I struggled for a moment as I felt the drugs seep into my body.
"Back in my hayday I could have handled a little thing like you. But you see, I'm getting old and frankly, I'm not in the mood to fight with you, especially when I have plans to use my energy for something more, rewarding." He said smiling at me again. I wanted to throw up. My vision was getting blurry and my heart rate had picked up. I struggled to stay awake, stay alert, but I couldn't. My limbs were growing heavy and my breathing slowed. My last conscious thought was of my husband and how no one would know where I was. I was completely alone with this madman.
-Christian-
"I don't fucking care about excuses. I wanted this done two days ago!" I roared over the phone. The pathetic man on the other end babbled his apologies. "If it is not on my desk in one hour you and your team can consider ourselves fired." I snapped, slamming the phone down on my desk.
Another fucking day of fucking useless people.
My intercom beeped and Andrea's voice interrupted my fuming.
"Mr. Grey your son's school is on the line." She said. I stared at the intercom in confusion. Why would they call me? They always called Ana if there was anything going on. I sighed and picked up the phone, not bothering to thank Andrea.
"Hello." I said curtly.
"Mr. Grey, this is Headmaster Clausen. I'm calling about your son Theodore." The old man huffed over the phone.
"What is it? Is he alright?" I asked sitting up straighter.
"Well Mr. Grey, it seems he's been in a fight. We're going to need you and your wife to come down to the school. "
I stared blankly ahead. Teddy? A fight? He wasn't a fighter.
"Yes of course. Have you called my wife?" I asked standing from my desk.
"We've tried to reach her but haven't been successful." He explained. I nodded and pulled out my cell phone texting Taylor that I'd need the car as soon as possible.
"Right I'll head down there right away." I said before hanging up. I strode out of my office barely pausing to tell Andrea I was leaving.
Taylor met me downstairs with the car and I nodded to him in both greeting and thanks as he took off from the curb and headed to Teddy's school.
I called Ana's cell and after ringing several times it went to voicemail. I frowned and hung up, calling her office.
"Good afternoon Grey Publishing, Mrs. Grey's office how may I help you?" Hannah asked.
"Good afternoon Hannah, is Ana there?" I asked trying to stay cordial. I actually quite liked Hannah. She was one of Ana's closest friends and she wasn't annoying or fake.
"Hello Mr. Grey, no she is not in, she went out to lunch." She explained. "She should be back within twenty minutes or so. Should I have her call you?"
"Yes Hannah that would be wonderful. Please tell her that Teddy got into a fight and we're needed at his school." I said ready to hang up.
"Very good sir, I'll pass on the message. Have a good afternoon."
I hung up and sighed. It always worried me when I couldn't get ahold of Ana.
I decided to give Sawyer a call.
"Sir." He answered.
"Sawyer. Where are you and Ana?" I asked. He paused.
"We're at the office." He said slowly. I frowned.
"Is she there with you?" I asked.
"No sir, I got a text from her telling me she decided to stay in for lunch. I can go check on her if you'd like?" He offered.
"Do that." I growled growing anxious.
Sawyer was quite a moment before he spoke. "She's not in here. Hannah said she left almost an hour ago." He whispered. I felt my heart stop.
"Where the hell is she?" I snapped.
"I'll check the rest of security." Sawyer supplied. I nodded noticing we were at the school.
"Call me the instant you know anything." I snarled. I hung up the phone and stormed out of the barely parked car.
Sweeping inside I went straight to the headmaster's office where Teddy was sitting waiting for me.
"Mr. Grey thank you for coming." Headmaster Clausen said standing to shake my hand. I nodded looking at Teddy. "Please have a sit. Will your wife be joining us?" He asked. I shook my head, unable to speak yet. "Very well. As I mentioned on the phone, Theodore got into a fight this afternoon." He said glancing at my son. "Now because this is the first time we've ever had any sort of trouble from Theodore, we're prepared to let this pass without it going on his record. We know that he's planning on attending Harvard next fall and we wouldn't want anything to blemish his otherwise perfect record. However, we are going to insist on his attendance in afterschool tutoring for the remainder of his year." He said looking back at me.
"That sounds reasonable." I said finally, looking over at Teddy. He nodded in agreement.
"Very good Mr. Grey. Thank you for making the trip down. Teddy will be allowed to stay to finish his classes for the day but I want to stress how important it is that today's events are not a repeating occurrence." He said sternly. Teddy nodded.
"Yes sir." He said firmly. Headmaster Clausen nodded and stood reaching over to shake our hands.
"Thank you for your understanding." I said looking once more at my son. The old man nodded.
"He's a good young man, today he just made a bad decision. We've all done that." He said clapping Teddy on the shoulder. We both gave him weak smiles before I led my son from the office. The door shut behind him and I turned to look at him.
"You got into a fight?" I asked.
"Yes sir." He said looking straight at me.
"Was it over a girl?"
He shook his head.
"Defending family?" I asked.
He nodded yes. I nodded in response.
"Okay."
The secretary stared at me wide eyed as if expecting me to say something more. Sighing I turned to him. "Don't do it again." My meaning was clear and Teddy nodded understanding. Don't get caught again.
I understood the need to protect family, and I wasn't above physical violence to do it. I knew my son was like me in more than one way. Who was I to tell him off for doing the exact same thing I would have done?
"Get back to class and keep looking out for your sisters. I'll see you tonight." I said quietly. He nodded and with one last glance at each other, we parted ways. My phone started ringing as I left the school and I looked down at the caller ID.
"Sawyer." I said in greeting.
"Sir we were able to pull up some video footage of Mrs. Grey leaving. She got into a black SUV. We've got plate numbers and we're running them now." He told me. I growled.
"Who the hell was she meeting?" I demanded uselessly.
"She didn't say sir." Sawyer said quietly. I felt a sharp pain in my scalp and realized I was pulling at my hair.
"Find my wife!" I demanded hanging up the phone call. I looked to Taylor who was watching me closely. "Ana is missing."