As the morning light crept into the room, Christian gazed at Ana who was sound asleep next to him, her head resting on his chest. Thoughts of the day before filled his mind. Ana had found Patricia dead and ran away after lashing out at him. Christian understood Ana's pain and wished he could take it all away. Instead of the previous day's events scaring him away, they made him want her even more. After deciding to take the day off from work and spend it with Ana, Christian turned the alarm off, but was unable to fall back asleep.
"Christian.", Ana whispered as she slowly opened her eyes.
"I'm right here baby.", he answered, moving a piece of hair from her face. Ana looked up at him and gave him a small smile.
"Hi."
"Hi yourself. How did you sleep?" He knew she had tossed and turned for a long period before finally succumbing to exhaustion.
"When I finally fell asleep, I slept ok. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Patricia laying at the bottom of the stairs.", she said through tears.
"I'm sorry. She was a big part of your life and will be missed. I swear to you that I will get answers about what happened."
"She's with Carl now. If there is a bright spot in all of this, it's that. They were soul mates and are together once again. I'm just tired of losing people I care about. If anything were to happen to.." Christian put his finger to her mouth because he knew what she was going to say.
"I'm not going anywhere. You and I are going to grow old together Ana. You're stuck with me."
After having breakfast, Welch arrived to meet with Christian to discuss Hyde. Ana tried to keep her mind occupied by looking over some manuscripts she had brought home, but it was a lost cause. She decided getting out for awhile might be good for her. Christian was still meeting with Welch, but she knew she needed to tell him she was heading out.
"Christian.", she said after slowly opening the study door. Both he and Welch smiled at her as she stood in the doorway. "I want to get out for a bit, maybe go to the bookstore or something." He knew she needed to be protected, but he didn't want her to feel like a prisoner either.
"Only if Sawyer goes with you.", he said in a stern voice. "Take your phone with you."
"Got it. See you later. I love you."
Ana and Sawyer headed to a small bookstore where she picked up several books that she had wanted to read. Sawyer shook his head in laughter at the sight of all the books.
"Why do I have a feeling that you read a lot?", he chuckled.
"It's an escape for me. I've always loved for books. I think I want some coffee. Come on.", she motioned to a Starbucks across the street. Once they received their order, Ana chose a table outside. "So, it was kind of awkward seeing you and Kate kissing that night."
"Yeah, and I'm sorry about that. I feel guilty about it. My girlfriend,Brooke, meant the world to me, and I was devastated when she broke up with me."
"Sorry."
"I had commitment issues, and she got fed up with it. That night after Kate and I kissed, I realized I only want Brooke, no one else. I went to her and begged for forgiveness, and she took me back."
"That's great!"
While Ana and Sawyer continued finished their coffee, Christian was reeling from his meeting with Welch. It was discovered that both men had been in the same foster home in Detroit. He looked over the file that Welch had given him before being interrupted by his phone.
"Hello.", Christian answered, not recognizing the number.
"Christian Grey, how are you?", Jack asked.
"Hyde, what the fuck do you want?"
"Is that anyway to talk to an old friend? I'm sure you know now that we spent time together in Detroit."
"Yes. I know that you. Is that why you're doing all of this?"
"What do you mean?"
"You're behind J&R Corporation, and you tried to sabotage my deal. More importantly, you killed Patricia.", Christian said through gritted teeth.
"How do you know I killed her? She could have fallen down the stairs on her own.", Jack teased. "Ok, you got me. She was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. As for your deal that was just foreplay. I have my eyes on a bigger prize, one that I'm looking at as we speak. She seems to be having a lively conversation with that idiot you have guarding her. Are you sure nothing is going on between them?" A panicked Christian stood up from his chair and went looking for Taylor as he kept Jack on the phone.
"If you go near her, I will fucking kill you.", Christian hissed.
"Relax, I'm just admiring her from afar at the moment, but she will be mine soon. Mark my words. Until then, bye."
"Taylor, we need to find Ana and Sawyer, now!" Taylor nodded as he and Christian raced to the elevator. Christian pulled his phone out to call Ana and find out where she was.
"Hey.", she answered.
"Ana, where are you?"
"We just got in the car, about to head home. Why?" She could hear anxiety in Christian's voice and knew it probably was because of Hyde.
"Hyde was watching you. Baby, I need you to get home now, ok?" As he and Taylor prepared to step off the elevator into the garage, a loud explosion muffled the area. The impact of it knocked Christian and Taylor down.
"Christian!", Ana shouted after hearing the loud noise. "Christian!" She gripped the seat as her heart began to sink. Sawyer looked at her through the rearview mirror in confusion.
"What's going on?", he asked.
"I don't know. We were talking and there was a loud noise. Step on it!" Sawyer drove as fast as he could to get to Escala. What they would find when they arrived was unknown. As they came closer to their destination, Ana could see police cars arriving. She didn't give Sawyer a chance to fully stop before she jumped out. "Christian!"
"Miss, you can't be here.", a police officer advised her.
"My fiance is in there. I have to get to him. Please." She fell to her knees in tears as Sawyer talked to the officer. "He said he wouldn't leave me.", she sobbed.
"I'm here baby. I'm here.", Christian said as he pulled her up.
"You're ok?" She ran her hands over his body to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Christian was alive.
"I'm ok. There was a bomb or something in one of the cars. The force from it knocked us down, but we're fine." Ana could see Taylor behind them as he held Gail in his arms. "I told you that you're stuck with me.", he smiled.
"Jack Hyde did this, didn't he?"
"Yeah. That bastard is going to pay. I'll make sure of it."
"We'll make sure of it."
