Chapter 13
"We will get to know each other, Ana..."
"...Intimately", the man was soft spoken, but Ana had seen what he could do. Or rather what he could get another person to do. Kissaki's sacrifice had been brutal and messy. The blood splatter from his severed finger was on Ana's shirt, and the digit itself had been left in front of her, challenging her, taunting her even, to try and cross the man. He had not batted an eyelid during the entire event. Kissaki could have cut his entire hand off in front of him and he would have just sat there and watched as if one were watching the slicing of a salad.
"Anastasia Steele... oh pardon me... it should be Anastasia Grey," he said with a smirk, "Married to Christian Grey, the famous and wealthy businessman who owns Grey Enterprises Holdings... you probably know by now that we will not need a ransom for you."
Ana kept eye contact with the man, she could not let him see how afraid she was. Buck up, Grey, you can do this. "It doesn't take a genius to figure that out..." she said, "but I'm sure you must be very proud of your sinister plan."
The man laughed, as if her sarcasm amused him. Maybe it did. It was probably one of the few things keeping her alive right now. He got up from his chair, and came to stand behind her. Ana shivered with revulsion as he put his hands on her shoulders, slowly rubbing them. No! She shook herself to get his hands off her.
"He did say you were a feisty one...", he said almost to himself. He leaned in closer to Ana.
"It's all well and good for you to be brave when you're surrounded by your posse", he whispered into her ear, "What will you do now Anastasia? You're all alone...", he nuzzled her, still speaking in the softest of voices. "No one is coming to save you, not Christian...", he kissed her neck, "...not your silly bodyguard...", another kiss, "...not your stepfather...", his breath against her ear, "...not even those silly bimbos you call your assistants...". His hands were caressing her throat, "you're well and truly alone...", they tightened around her throat slowly. Ana lost her air supply. "No one will even hear you scream... What will you do?", he let go of her with a rough shove and came back around the table to face her.
"I-I.. I d-don't know what you're talking about... W-What do you even want with me?"
"With you.. nothing really... you... you're just an empty vessel for the knowledge I need... I just want to know you, that's all... I want to know you intimately Anastasia... Your hopes, your desires, your dreams, I want what you shared with Christian Grey, I want all of it... I want your past... and I want... his future..."
"Y-you want me to tell you about Christian...", the realization hit her like a brick. "You need me to tell you about our life together... the things you wouldn't know from the newspapers."
"Very smart, Mrs. Grey. Except that it's not the newspapers. Let's just say the organisation I work for, is capable of finding out a lot with very little. They're very interested in ensuring the continued prosperity of Anastasia Grey and the Grey name, it is essential to the success of our plan you see."
"No... this plan that you have... it won't work... I won't let it", she sounded braver than she felt, "I'm not telling you anything... Christian... h-he's going to figure it out... he will... you won't be able to fool him for long... whoever s-she is... she won't be able to fool him... he'll know it's not me... h-he will... and then... well then you just wait...", Ana turned her face up and looked the man straight in the eyes. It was as if saying the words had illuminated it for her. Christian may have been broken if he thought she was dead, may have been despondent then delirious on finding whoever replaced her, he may even have believed that it was her... for now. "Nothing can be faked forever... whoever she is... you better hope that she has a good hiding place... Christian willsee the truth... and when he does... there's no place on earth she or any of you will be safe. That I promise you."
"You would be wise to cooperate Mrs Grey", it was a threat.
"No, I won't... I won't betray Christian... not ever..."
The man turned towards Tattoohead.
"Tanto... Bring him", he ordered.
Tanto disappeared for a minute and returned with Taylor.
"Are you still sure of your decision, Ana?" He drew a knife across Taylor's arm. The blood spurt was immediate.
"No! No... stop... I'll tell you... please just don't hurt him!"
Somewhere on the other side of the continent, Christian Grey woke up to a nightmare. A nightmare of Ana, handcuffed to a table, and a man rubbing her shoulders. He looked over to where she was fast asleep. She hadn't moved, it was unusual for her not to wake when he had nightmares.
This one had been different. Usually his nightmares were about him, him losing Ana, him and his mother. No, this one, this one had been strange, more intense. This time he'd dreamed of Ana, alone and scared, she'd called for him. He tried to reach her in the dream but he couldn't. He kept running towards her but the distance never diminished. He was tied to a string, no matter what he did, how hard he tried he couldn't cut those damn strings. And they kept pulling him back, pulling him away from Ana, further and further away... until all he could hear were the fading echoes of her screams.