Chapter Fourteen
After three days of pure bliss in Miami, Ana became home sick. She was missing Seattle, Kate, hell even her parents. The time away from the threats had done her and Christian a lot of good and they were both ready to take on the psychotic bastard as Christian called the head on. The late flight meant that the pair could sleep and be ready for work in the morning, as much as Christian didn't like it, Ana would be heading to her new accommodation with Kate.
She couldn't hide away forever.
"Where are we going?" Ana asks as her mind realizes that they're heading for Escala
"Home, you'll soon see" Christian replies with a smirk, Ana was not amused she just wanted to get home but Christian was going to make a simple journey home a much longer one.
Ana stayed silent watching the buildings pass in a blur as Taylor hurried the journey home, they were nearing Escala and Ana sighed in frustration. Christian saw the turn in Ana's mood and gave in.
"Okay fine, you're staying at one of the apartments in Escala. It's the least I can do since I'm to blame for your apartment being targeted" Christian admitted, Ana turned to face him and immediately moved closer. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed his cheek hugging him tight, Ana couldn't help but think about how lucky she was to have a man who cared about her and would do anything for her.
"Oh thank you Christian. Kate and I will repay you, we promise" Ana says as she grins, her mood had certainly lifted.
Once they both arrive as Escala, Taylor pulls up out front and Christian immediately tends to Ana's bags whilst Ana thanks Taylor. They head for the elevator and punch in a code that would take Ana and Christian to her new apartment. The elevator doors opened to a small lobby, the walls white with a single door in the centre of the opposite wall. Ana was excited to see what was on the other side of the door. She opened it up and found Kate sitting in the kitchen area with Elliot beside her; they were smiling whilst engaging in a quiet conversation.
Kate turned to see her best friend in the threshold of their new apartment, she hadn't seen her for over a week and she was glad that she was okay.
"Steele!" Kate jumps up and sprints for Ana, she wraps her arms around her, hugging tight. She had missed her best friend.
"Kavanagh, I've missed you" Ana whispers as she drops her bag on the floor and returns the hug.
"Me too, hey moneybags do you think I could steal my best friend today for a well deserved catch up?" Kate looks to Christian and he sighs and nods, Kate grins and turns her attention back to Elliot.
Ana grabs Christian's hand and drags him through the apartment; she wanted to see which bedroom was hers. After making their way through Kate's bedroom, the spare bedroom and the bathroom they finally reach Ana's bedroom. The room was the same natural hues along with the rest of the apartment except it housed Ana's uninjured belongings, she was happy to see the small jewellery box she had inherited from her fathers mother. She had cherished the cherry wood piece since she first realised it was hers. Even though it was out of place with the rest of the room she didn't care, she wanted it close to her. Ana moved to the jewellery box and found each piece of jewellery she owned still safe inside.
"I can have Gail come and sort your clothes in the closet if you like" Christian suggests pointing to the five boxes of clothes piled by a white door, Ana shakes her head turns to Christian.
"I'd like to do it myself; it will give me a chance to clear some things out" Ana replies and Christian nods understanding. He looks at his watch and his eyes widen, he realises he is late for work.
"I have to get going; there are some things we need to discuss regarding your office and stuff I'll come see you later. Sawyer will be with you today so no trouble" Christian kisses Ana softly on the lips and pulls away before she can return the favour Ana pouts before biting her lip as she winks at Christian.
"Okay, I'll see you later" Ana bats her eye lashes and watches as Christian leaves the room. She would have to get used to being a few floors below him, once Christian is out of sight Ana sighs and heads out of the bedroom. She notices Elliot's absence and Kate's grin, she sure was happy.
"Kavanagh how about we bond over a session of unpacking my clothes?" Ana suggests, Kate nods and then looks to Sawyer.
"Luke, I know you haven't slept yet so if you'd like to get an hour's shut eye you can use the guest bedroom. Kate and I will be unpacking my belongings" she watches as Sawyer ponders this, he hesitantly nods and Ana decides to show him to the guest bedroom with Kate trailing behind holding a tray with two teas and pancakes and bacon.
"I'll set an alarm for two hours time, if anything happens wake me" Sawyer says as Ana opens the door to the guest room, she nods and watches as he uncomfortably takes off his suit jacket and climbs into bed.
"I'll even leave the door open, we'll be right over there" Ana points to her room and Sawyer smiles, he knew Ana wouldn't pull a trick on him not after the recent events.
Kate and Ana enter her bedroom and set the tray down on the dressing table; Ana instantly picks up the mugs of tea and sips the liquid.
"Just what I needed, lets eat this and get down to business. We have a lot to catch up on" Ana says as she picks up one of the plates and begins to rip the pancakes apart
"Indeed we do, it's been an interesting month Steele" Kate replies as she takes a bite of bacon, Ana smirks and nods knowingly. Their life really had changed since the Coping Together Gala a month ago.
"So are you and Elliot a thing?" Ana asks with curiosity, the pair really looked cute together and she wanted to see her best friend happy after so many heart breaks.
"I guess so, I really like him and I think he likes me too. We've been together the whole time you've been away, what about you and moneybags?" Kate admits as she continues picking at her breakfast, Ana grins knowing that Kate really did have feelings for Elliot Grey.
"I'm not sure; we're both new to the relationship thing" Ana says quietly, she realised how much of a beginner she was in the world of dating; she had no idea what she and Christian were really doing.
"Aw, Steele you two are perfect for each other" Kate stands and places the empty plate onto the tray, Ana follows and they head for the pile of boxes in the corner of the room. Ana opens a door situated on the left side of the room and is met with two long metal rails, she smiled at the closet and began pushing the boxes into the small closet.
The pair began to sort through the clothes, piling unwanted clothes on the bed and hanging the clothes Ana wanted to keep in their designated areas. They were working hard at making sure the clothes were all in the right places when Ana suddenly jumped on Kate in a fit of giggles.
"Steele what the fuck are you playing at?" Kate asks unimpressed with Ana as she pushes her away, Ana rolls her eyes and sits on the floor watching Kate hang the last few dresses.
"I'm bored, we've hardly talked and we still have a lot to discuss" Ana state, Kate sits on the floor and stares at Ana with a small smile.
"So tell me what happened the night you put out" Kate says as she leans in a little waiting for the story.
"We were on a plane to Miami when Christian showed me to the bedroom for a few hours sleep, it just sort of happened" Ana whispers a little shy as she remembers her first time with Christian, it would forever remain in her memory.
"You lost your virginity and joined the mile high club? Wow Steele, Moneybags really got lucky" Kate laughs and winks at Ana
"No I got lucky, Kate. He's great" Ana comments as she continues to remember the night again, it just wouldn't leave her thoughts.
"You're thinking about it now aren't you" Kate says as she watches Ana smile as she stares into nothing.
"Fuck off Kate"
"You are aren't you!" Kate's eyes widen and she stands up pulls Ana up with her.
"You dirty girl Ana, come on lets leave this closet before you lock yourself in there" Kate teases as she picks up the tray leaving Ana and the pile of unwanted clothes behind.
Ana tosses the clothes into one of many boxes and follows Kate into the kitchen. Sawyer sat at the kitchen counter with his phone glued to his hand whilst Kate headed for the refrigerator, she carried a jug of fresh orange juice in her hand and set it on the counter before pouring three glasses of orange juice.
"Thanks Kate" Ana says before taking a sip "now that we've caught up and unpacked I think I'm going to get an hours work in before lunch, shall we head out?" Ana looks to Sawyer waiting for his approval; his face is blank whilst he taps away on his phone.
"We can head out for lunch, when will you be ready for Miss Steele?" Sawyer asks with his phone in hand, waiting for an answer.
"Half past one, it will give me time to shower and change too" Ana replies, she looks to Kate and she smiles knowing that Ana hates when she makes her wait.
"Okay, got it. I'll be in the office" Sawyer announces as he pushes himself off of his chair and heads into what Ana assumed was the office.
Ana headed off into her bedroom again intent on getting an hour alone, she didn't need to work in fact she just wanted to sleep but Kate had asked for this day to be their day and she couldn't be selfish. Ana headed into the en-suite and decided to take a bath, she wanted to try out her new bathroom and she would start with the tub that centred the room. Ana poured a large dose of Jasmine scent into the water as the hot water filled the tub; she then stripped down naked and stepped into the hot water.
She leaned back and rested her head on the side; it was big enough for at least three people in here maybe even four. Ana wasn't into luxury but she could sure get used to the bath tub, after a half hour of relaxing Ana stepped out of the bath and wrapped herself in a towel before heading back to her room. Ana decided on a pair of skinny jeans and black sheer blouse complete with a pair of black heels, she laid the clothes on the bed and got to work on drying her hair.
Two hours later and Ana was ready to go, she pulled on a leather jacket and left her bedroom with her bag in hand. Sawyer and Kate stood waiting in the kitchen in silence; Ana could see that the pair hadn't spoken by the awkward atmosphere that filled the room.
"You look nice, where are we going?" Kate asks with a grin as she looks over Ana's outfit.
"I was thinking some junk food, then if it's okay with you both. I'd like to go to GEH" Ana says with a smirk, she was feeling a good cheese burger and large fries.
"Sure, well lets get going then I'm starving" Kate licks her lips as she pushes the button to call the elevator.
Sawyer heads through the drive thru of McDonalds, ordering two quarter pounders with cheese and two large fries. Ana opts for a strawberry milkshake where as Kate decides on diet coke. Once they receive their food they immediately tuck in, not wasting another second.
"I haven't had greasy food in so long" Kate murmurs as she rudely chews on her burger, Ana giggles and nods
"I wish I could say the same thing" Kate grins and Ana sips on her milkshake as Sawyer heads for GEH.
"I'll see you later, okay?" Ana says as she jumps out of the car with her milkshake in hand, she leaves her best friend and security detail behind as she made her way into GEH.
Ana was met by Taylor who stood at reception patiently with his arms crossed over his chest; Ana gave him a smile and followed him to the elevator. Taylor taps in a code and they're taken to the 20th floor where they are both met with the sound of Christian yelling.
"I want Vivian Blanc's head on a platter!" Ana's eyes widen at the sight in front of her, an angry Christian screaming orders at Barney and an unrecognizable man.
"Welch, Barney this needs to be done quickly or I will do it myself" Christian yells again, he turns his head to see Ana and Taylor in the doorway looking at him with confusion.
"Oh, baby I'll explain what's going on just give me a few minutes" Christian says quietly, Taylor leaves Ana at the door and follows Christian out of the office to be briefed. She sighs and heads into the office taking a seat on the couch.
After ten minutes Christian re-appears with a blank expression, he takes a seat beside Ana and stares into her eyes. He could see that she was anxious for answers. "We know who's doing this to us, who burnt down your apartment. It seems Elena Lincoln has acquired some right hand men to do her dirty work, one of them being Vivian. I had Elena and Vivian tracked and now we're ten steps ahead, their constant communication is worrying and now that we know exactly what they're doing we can calculate their moves" Christian takes a deep breath as he takes Ana's hand, she squeezes and smile.
"It'll be fine, we'll sort this it won't go on any longer" Ana states as she leans in closer to Christian.
With new information coming to light Ana had an iron grip on the situation, even with the minimal information being given to her she knew that Elena was a threat and she wouldn't allow this bitch to take her reputation was down the drain along with her new friends. As much as Christian would hate it, she wanted to take her head on and she would do it when she got the chance.
Sorry! These last few days have been busy and it's about to get much worse, I've been able to sit down for a few hours today to get this chapter written and I really didn't want to leave you hanging any longer so i thought I'd post it straight away.
I'm unsure as to when the next chapter will be out but I have the next few chapters planned so I can try and get a head start on them with this free time I have.
Let me know what you guys thought, I'll try and reply to reviews if I have the time!