Zander tossed and turned in his bed despite the light from the lamp on his dresser beaming bright. He couldn't decide if he was safer with his door cracked open with practically every light on in the living room or closed with every light on in his bedroom. He opted to keep the door cracked so he could hear anyone wondering around the apartment.
He heard the front door open with a sound of the doorknob jiggling. He closed his eyes tight and remembered that same lump in his stomach that he felt living in a house with a family where he was almost certain he didn't belong. Zander squeezed his eyes so tight that he could barely hear the footsteps creeping to his door. He gripped his hands in fists.
Zander could smell her perfume lingering over him. He felt a touch on his hands forcing him to release them from their balled fists. The covers were drawn up tighter to his body almost ready to break into shivers again. He rolled over to his side not sure who was tucking him in but feeling confident that she wouldn't hurt him.
Anna touched Zander's head once more and went over to turn out his light. "I can't believe you still sleep with all the lights on. I'm here now."
Zander relaxed his body hearing her accent and thanking God that she'd finally made it home. Falling asleep at night and living alone was always such an ordeal. He never wanted to admit to Anna why he preferred to live with a roommate, but he knew that she understood.
Alexis walked around the stables of Wyndemere thinking of the one person that she knew would understand everything she was going through. "Stefan, I wish you were here. You could answer so many questions without me needing to ask."
She pulled one of Stefan's prized swords from the wall and ran her finger across the blade.
"When is the duel?"
Lorenzo ducked as the sword made it's way across the top of his head. Alexis turned swiftly and almost decapitated him with the blade.
"You should never sneak up on me that way. I might be inclined to kill you."
"You've already committed murder Alexis. No need to stockpile victims. Who should I place my bet on? You or Anna?"
Alexis placed the point of the sword in Lorenzo's chest almost piercing his skin.
"Careful Lexi."
"What's the prize if I win Alcazar?"
"Depends on what you fancy?"
Alexis kept the sword on Lorenzo but she eased her pressure. "I fancy you to leave my daughter alone."
Lorenzo knocked the sword from Alexis' hands tossing it across the stables. He looked at his hand and noticed a bleeding cut across the back.
"Good job." Alexis sat down on a bale of hay.
Lorenzo took a seat next to her and tried not to feel the pain of his cut starting to smart.
"You'll never beat Anna if you don't keep your eyes on your enemy. She knows many different forms of martial arts. I care about Sam by the way."
"You're going to really need to explain the word care. Like care for a dog or care for a child or care for a girlfriend?"
Lorenzo smiled at Alexis. "How about good old-fashioned caring for a friend? But you don't understand that do you?"
Zander shot up in his bed and watched movement outside his window. "Anna." He continued to watch the trees sway with the wind.
Anna walked into his bedroom and handed him a warm mug. "Still having trouble sleeping?"
"I thought I saw something moving outside."
"Me too. I think it's just the wind. Go back to sleep. I'll check with the agent on duty."
Zander held up his mug. "Thanks for this Anna."
She left his room and closed his door.
Pebbles knocked against his balcony glass door and someone started to appear from the tree. Zander put down his mug and raced to open his door. He didn't know how to react. The first thing he thought to do was call her name.
"Emily?"
Lorenzo stood up. "Brenda gave me some good advice."
Alexis looked up at him. "Brenda's here?"
"She was. I saw her off to London."
"How come you're so nice to her after she rejected your brother?"
"Alexis, Brenda didn't kill my brother. She just sent him on his merry way."
"And he blew up a warehouse with my sister in it. I call that at least heartache."
"What happened to your sister was unfortunate. What happened to my brother was deliberate and with malice. I'm trying to find a small part of my heart that really gives a damn that you live or die. Maybe I'd hate to see your daughters have to mourn your lack of an existence."
"Is this the advice Brenda gave you? When did she become a cold bastard?"
Zander rubbed his eyes to see if she really was standing on his balcony hoping to be allowed in. "Emily?"
Emily gathered her coat around her and tried to stay warm from the wind practically blowing through her body. "Hi Zander. You don't have to let me in. I just needed to see if it was really you."
He looked down and almost pulled up his inner mean streak and sent her on her way. But he couldn't. Her body shivered so similar to his when he took what he thought were his last breaths before he was tossed onto a stretcher and carted off to the morgue.
"It's probably not a good idea for you to come in. But I'll at least let you go out the front door." He turned away from her not believing for a minute what he said. He had savored the moment that he could end things with her on his terms.
He left his balcony door open and opened his bedroom door to usher her out. She followed him into the living room.
"Do you have a moment to talk?" She asked.
"I'd like to know how you found me?"
"Robin had dinner with Nik and me at Wyndemere. She said you were here."
"Does Nik know?"
"No. He had left for the stables. Alexis came to get the girls so it was just Robin and me. I'm glad you're getting a second chance."
"Actually it's my last chance. And I'm not going to blow it Emily. I'm getting too old."
"I heard that you're in love with Sam?"
Zander sat down and played with his fingers. "Yea. What of it?" He looked up at her.
"I just want your happiness."
"I've been dead and this is all you can say to me. You take me for granted Emily. Don't think just because I'm here that erases everything that you've done. I tried to be there for you when you had cancer. You pushed me away. I wouldn't have problem with that if you didn't go to Nik behind my back. You basically said I wasn't good enough."
"I hope you get the chance to get to know Cam. He's wonderful. Liz is a great mom. I like Sam. I hope she and Alexis find as much happiness together as I have with Monica. I wish you well."
Emily noticed the door but she waited for a moment for his response. He continued to play with his fingers and forget she was even there. She walked to the door and grabbed the knob still hoping for something from him. He said nothing. So she left.
"Alexis?" Nik noticed Alexis sitting against a bale of hay with her head back and her eyes shut.
"Yes."
"You ok? Molly and Kristina are beat and ready to go home."
Nik reached out his hand to her and helped pull her up from the ground.
"Thank you Nik for humoring the girls for the past couple of days."
"I know you wanted this time with Sam. How is that?"
"Well, we won't win the mother and daughter of the year award."
Nik looked around and noticed Sheba settled in the corner of the stable. "Was a stranger here earlier? I heard Sheba crying."
Alexis stretched her arms and tried to look occupied with her tired state. "I don't know. Maybe. I was here."
Nik looked skeptical. "Well if you and the girls are too tired, you should stay."
"No Nik. I appreciate you worrying about me, but I'm going home."
Anna strolled along the docks and buttoned her coat. She looked through the gleam of the floodlights and saw Lorenzo coming in her direction. She threw her head back. "Dear God stop stalking me!"
Lorenzo held up his hand covered in a bandage. "I thought maybe you'd appreciate this."
Anna looked at her own hand still bandaged. "Oh. What happened?"
"Alexis decided to use me as practice for your duel."
Anna held up her bandaged hand. "That won't be happening anytime soon."
"You don't need me Anna. You've got Zander. So maybe we should call this whole thing quits."
"What whole thing?! You keep coming after me! Are you just trying to tell yourself you don't want anything to do with the WSB? Is that what this is?"
Lorenzo stared at her.
"Lo. Did you hear what I asked?"
He snapped out his trance. "I did hear. I just want all of my problems eliminated. And you happen to be one of them."
"Did you just threaten to kill me Lorenzo?"
Lorenzo's heart started to race from his body. He tried to recover and figure a way out of the mess of a conversation. "I just mean my feelings for you…I mean concerning how I feel about you investigating me for no damn reason."
Anna closed her eyes for a minute and quickly opened them. "I'm very confused Alcazar. Very. I'm going home."
Anna walked away from him. Sam approached him from the stairs.
"Hey Lorenzo."
"Yes. You heard everything."
Sam nodded. "Uh huh. Can I recommend you to a good therapist?"
Lorenzo tightened his lips. "Why?"
"You don't want Anna Devane killed for business purposes. You're just afraid to love her."