AN: This is still Madison's friend. I just want to clarify something. A guest reviewer thought maybe my system was set to the Chinese dialect. And that was what was causing all my problems. I guess I should have thought of a different way to explain it. When I say that it unreadable like it's written in Chinese. What I mean is it's unreadable because there's just line after line of computer code. It's not actually Chinese writing.
After this there may not be new updates for several days. Yesterday morning my elderly father who has dementia. Fell on his face. He broke his nose and got a mild concussion. He of course went to the emergency room. Where they were so overrun with COVID-19 patients. That he spent the whole time he was at the emergency room on a gurney in the hallway. When he left the ER yesterday night it was our understanding that they were not going to do surgery on his broken nose. We got a very unexpected call this afternoon. And tomorrow morning he will be having surgery to fix his broken nose. So I will be busy over the next several days taking care of him. But I promise I have not forgotten you. Hopefully by next week I will be back to a more regular update schedule.
I would like to thank everyone that left birthday wishes for me in the reviews. It meant a great deal to me. I truly appreciate it.
Chpt. 11 CPOV
"Dinner was delicious, thank you Ana," I place my dish in the sink where she is rinsing the pans she cooked with.
"Thank you, I'm glad you liked it," she has the slightest hint of pink on her cheeks at my compliment.
"Gail should be home later this week," I recall the text message she sent me earlier.
"Her sister must be doing better, that's wonderful," she agrees.
"I'm sure you'll be glad to not have to cook so much once she's back."
"I like cooking," she shrugs. "Besides it gave me something to do."
Fuck, I hadn't thought about that. She's been cooped up in the apartment for nearly two weeks now rarely leaving except twice and even then it was with reluctance.
"I'm sure Gail wouldn't turn down a little help if you still wanted to cook sometimes," I suggest.
"Really?" her face lights up as if I just handed her a check for a million dollars.
"I know I wouldn't complain if it meant you continued to make those brownies that you made the other night," I smirk.
"I can definitely do that," she agrees. "Maybe I'll talk to Gail when she gets back."
I stand there stupidly watching her load the dishwasher; it's been three days since I kissed her and all I can think about is doing it again. We still meet every night on the balcony, some nights she's out there first and others I am. Some nights we talk and some nights we say nothing at all; although I haven't asked I have a feeling it has to do with how intense her nightmare was as to whether or not Ana feels like talking at all. She seems to slowly be starting to feel more comfortable in the penthouse; she doesn't jump at every noise as often.
"Sir?" Taylor comes into the kitchen from his office.
"Yes?"
"Mrs. Lincoln is requesting to come up-"
"Elena's here?"
"Yes sir, should I turn her away or allow the front desk to buzz her up?"
"Fuck," I run my hands through my hair. She's the last fucking person I want here. "Let them know to send her up. Ana-"
"I'll take Teddy and go into the apartment," she quickly dries her hands and closes the half loaded dishwasher.
"I'm sorry to ask-"
"No, it's better this way. The less people who see me here the better," she ducks her head and hurries over to where Teddy is sitting in some new contraption that Taylor bought the other day to keep him busy. She quickly takes him into the apartment and I grab the toy thing following her in with it.
"I'm sorry-"
"Don't," she interrupts again. "It's fine. You don't have to apologize to me, this is your home."
As soon as I hear the ding of the elevator, I close the apartment door leaving Ana and Teddy secure in there. I hate that it feels like I'm hiding her away even though that's exactly what I'm doing and what I need to be doing. Elena has big fucking mouth and I wouldn't trust her worth shit, especially not when it comes to Ana and Teddy.
"Elena," I greet as she heads towards me.
"Christian, dear," she air kisses my cheeks.
"Let's go to my office."
I nod at Taylor as I lead Elena to my office, closing the door behind her when enters. I wish I could say I'm surprised to see her here, but I have a feeling I know what it's about. I haven't been returning her phone calls, or anyone else's, for a few weeks. She called Andrea requesting an appointment, but I had Andrea schedule her in for sometime in a couple of months which Andrea said that Elena let known she wasn't happy about.
"Where's your housekeeper? Shouldn't she be offering us something?" Elena asks.
"Mrs. Jones is out of town due to a family emergency."
"Oh, how have you been managing? Good help is always so hard to find-"
"Mrs. Jones arranged for the agency to send someone to cover for her," I lie.
"Thank goodness."
"What are you doing here Elena?" I cut to the chase.
I want to get her out of here as soon as possible; I hate that Ana and Teddy are cooped up in the apartment. I've grown used to seeing Teddy in the kitchen when she cooks or when we eat breakfast and I realized when I had to send them back to the apartment that I like seeing them both in my space.
"Christian!" Elena hisses quickly pulling me from that sudden realization. A realization I have no idea what to do with.
"Sorry, there's an upcoming acquisition that GEH is focused on that's on my mind," I lie again.
"I was asking why you haven't contacted Leila in the last two weeks?"
"I just told you, I've been busy."
"That's never stopped you before," she points out. "In fact, if anything when you're busy is when you tend to call more frequent."
"Well not this time," I grit out.
"You're obviously stressed dear, why don't you let me call Leila and have her meet you? I'm sure she can be there in…say an hour?"
"No," my response is immediate, surprising not only Elena but myself as well. "I've got a call with China in less than an hour."
"She can be available later I'm sure. Maybe tomorrow evening?"
"Elena, I will contact Leila when I need her services," I say firmly.
"What's really going on Christian? It's been more than two weeks since you've called on Leila. If she's no longer meeting your needs, I can find someone else."
"That won't be necessary. I've been busy, that's all."
"The only other time you've gone more than two weeks without seeing one of the girls is when you were out of the country closing that deal last year," she reminds me. "But for the last two weeks you've been in Seattle, so that's not the reason."
I make a mental note to have Taylor look into how she knows I haven't traveled for business in the last couple of weeks. She's right that I haven't but there's only a few people who know my schedule that closely and I know Andrea wouldn't have disclosed it to her.
"Elena, as I said I've been busy; there's a lot going on right now."
"I wouldn't wait much longer, Leila isn't the type to sit around and wait. Not when I have others who could use her services."
"If she's not satisfied with our current arrangement she's free to cancel it at any time. She's well aware of that."
"I'm sure-"
"If that's all Elena, I need to prepare for my call with China," I cut her off done with this conversation.
"Oh, of course Christian."
"And in the future, contact Andrea to schedule a time to meet with me at GEH."
"I tried," she wines. "Andrea said you didn't have anything available for close to four weeks. I couldn't be expected to wait that long, could I? Important matters like this shouldn't need to wait-"
"Elena," I sigh. "This was not an important matter and yes it could have waited. In the future, schedule a time to meet with me through Andrea."
"Very well Christian," she reluctantly agrees. "I will say though it's obvious that you need a good fuck to release some of that tension."
"And I will say again, I've been busy but it's also really none of your concern. If Leila is unhappy with our arrangement she can speak with me about it. I don't expect to have this conversation with you again."
"I'll expect to hear from you when you're ready."
Always needing to have the last word, I walk past Elena and open the door to my office dismissing her. She seems surprised by my action, although I can't understand why given that I've made it clear that this meeting was coming to an end. I walk her out to the elevator, calling it for her when suddenly we hear Teddy screech happily from the apartment. I immediately wonder what he's discovered that made him suddenly screech like that.
"Christian…was that a…child?"
"Oh yes," I roll my eyes trying to look annoyed. "Taylor's nephew is visiting for the weekend-"
"Shouldn't he be at a hotel rather than…here?" she glances around as if the penthouse was the last place where any child should be. Until two weeks ago I probably would have looked around the penthouse the same way Elena is right now, but now….now whenever I look at the kitchen I see the spot where Ana usually has him set up while she cooks. She hasn't brought him into the other rooms often, and even then only when he's in the carrier, but I can picture his toy thing sitting in the middle of the great room….
"The family is staying at the hotel of course," I lie again. "However they stopped by after dinner as they had plans with Taylor. He was getting ready to leave when the front desk notified us that you were requesting to come up."
"Oh…next time they should just meet him out rather than have them come into your home."
"Technically the apartment is Taylor's home, but nonetheless they'll be leaving shortly. I believe they're flying out tomorrow so it won't matter."
"Good, they shouldn't disrupt your life like that."
Ding
"Good night Elena."
"Christian."
I sigh as soon as the elevator doors close, never more thankful than in that moment that she left. I immediately head into the kitchen and knock on the apartment door even though I know Taylor would be aware that Elena has left. There's really no reason for Ana to come back into the apartment given that the kitchen is nearly cleaned up from dinner and it could easily wait until tomorrow morning.
"Sir?" Taylor answers the door.
"I wanted to let you know that Elena left."
"Yes sir."
"If Ana needed to….come out, she can. Elena won't be returning."
"I'll let her know that, she's giving Teddy a bath right now."
"Oh."
"Did you hear him earlier?"
"Yes, I told Elena your nephew and his family were visiting from out of state for the weekend and that you were about to leave to go to dinner before they head back to their hotel for the night."
"We tried to keep him quiet, I was hoping that you wouldn't have heard him but we had a feeling you did. That's why Ana rushed him into the bathtub."
"He sounded happy…what was he doing?"
"Ana had him on the floor in here when she was doing the dishes; she put a few toys on the floor including this ball thing. Apparently if you hit it just the right way it'll make a sound and start vibrating across the floor. Rather than scaring him, he thought it was the funniest thing….sir."
"We didn't hear him after that so I guess the bath worked."
"Yes sir. In the future, we'll keep him out of the kitchen when you have guests. We didn't think he would be that loud."
"If I wasn't escorting Elena out I doubt we would have heard it."
"Yes sir."
"Oh, Taylor…Elena seemed to know that I've been in Seattle for the last two weeks. I want to know how she knew that."
"Yes sir, I'll speak with Welch and Barney tomorrow morning about it."
"I doubt she knows anyone who could break through our firewall at GEH, but I want to make sure neither her nor Leila are getting too close with any of my staff. Andrea and Roz wouldn't speak to either of them, but I can't say the same for the others."
"I'll have Barney go through the incoming calls to GEH, it could be that one of them are calling your office daily and are being told that you're in the building."
"I want to make sure that she doesn't have eyes on GEH or Escala."
"Even if she were watching either building, she wouldn't be able to physically see you get in and out of the vehicles since both entrances are secure and the SUVs have tinted windows. The most she would see if our vehicles coming and going, if she were watching either building."
"Get someone on her Taylor. I don't trust her and with Ana and Teddy here, we don't need anyone trying to watch my comings and goings and inadvertently catching Ana coming or leaving."
"Of course not, I'll get right on it, sir."
I return to my office, settle in and spend the next few hours working on an upcoming acquisition that I've had my eye on for a couple of years now. I don't see Ana before I head to bed; I find myself disappointed even though I know I'll be seeing her in a couple of hours on the balcony. I wasn't lying when I told her I look forward to our nights out there, even if means we both end up with broken sleep every night. I like that Ana doesn't pressure me to talk about my nightmares; she's only once asked about them but hasn't brought it up again. I hate like hell knowing that she's reliving what happened to her every night and that there's not a damn thing I can do about it. I wish she would agree to talk with Flynn, to see if that would help her at least sleep a little better at night but I understand her reluctance. Her focus is on nothing but keeping Teddy safe which means trusting as few people as possible.
Flashback ** Trigger warning **
"I don't want any more…please," Mommy says.
"Yes but without it you're an uptight bitch," the mean man screams.
"I already took some before you came, please…no more."
"Don't fucking lie to me!"
SLAP
I push myself further under my bed; I try to get closer to the wall but there's no more space. I cover my face with my blankie, hoping the mean man won't come and look for me again. My chest still hurts from when he found me last time. I wish Mommy would stop letting him in. I wish Mommy would take us to live somewhere else…somewhere he couldn't find us. I wish someone would come and take the mean man away so he would leave Mommy alone.
"You didn't take shit before I got here! Your eyes are dead giveaway!"
SLAP
"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!"
"Are you going to be a good girl and take this or am I going to have to go find that little shit of yours? I wouldn't mind seeing how this would affect him. In fact, I might be able to find a few guys who would just love to see-"
"I'll take it, don't touch him! Give it to me."
"I knew you'd eventually see things my way."
"I'll do whatever you want, just don't touch him. Promise me you won't hurt him."
"Sure I promise; now take this like the good little slut you are."
He's lying! He always lies! He tells Mommy that he won't hurt me, but then he does. He'll find me; he always finds me. I wish my room was bigger and had more hiding spots. Wherever I hide he finds me. I can't hide from him. He always finds me.
"Little shit…where are you?" he pushes my door open hard. I close my eyes, hoping he won't find me.
"I know you're in here; you should know by now you can't hide from me. Oh! Who do we have here? Did you bring a friend for me to play with?"
A friend? What is he talking about? There's no one my room; just me and my blankie.
"Christian! Please…help Christian! Don't let him hurt me Christian!"
ANA!
End flashback ** End trigger warning **
I wake up, the sheets tangled around me, searching the room half expecting to find him in here. I need to find Ana; I need to make sure that he didn't get to her even if part of me knows it was only a dream. I toss on a pair of pants and a shirt before rushing out of the room, still breathless from the nightmare. As soon as I see the balcony doors open I head towards them, not bothering to stop for the bourbon that I normally bring out there for us. I don't think I've ever been as relieved as I was the moment I saw Ana standing at the balcony. Without thinking I walk towards her, needing to be know that she's safe and that he didn't get to her. I need to know that she's really here and that it was just a nightmare.
"Ana," she jumps and I watch her body tense at my voice immediately turning around so she's facing me.
"You're here," I reach down and take her hand in mine, immediately reassured just from the touch of her skin.
"Where else would I be?" she giggles I sound I don't hear nearly enough of.
"I…."
FUCK….what am I supposed to say? I thought the sick fucking pimp that got my mom hooked on drugs when I was little had found her in the shitty apartment we lived in back then? That he found her and was going to hurt her like he did me? That she was begging for my help but I was too busy hiding under my bed to protect her?
"Rough one?" she asks when I don't immediately respond.
"Yeah," is about all I can manage.
"Sit, I'll grab the drinks."
"I can-"
"Let me."
I simply nod and watch as she walks back into the apartment, relieved that she was out here even though part of me knew she would be here. Although, I hate to admit I'm not sure what I would have done if she wasn't out here. Would I have barged into Taylor's quarters and found her? Would I have waited to see if she did show up? Fuck…my mind is always so fucked up after a nightmare I probably would have freaked out thinking he had her.
"Here," she's back in front of me before I can realize it.
"Thanks," I mumble before taking a large gulp of the amber colored liquid.
Several minutes pass by with neither of us saying anything and like every night it's not an uncomfortable silence. The ice shakes in my empty glass as I just hold it, trying to rid myself of the fucked up memories that were triggered by the nightmare. Unlike other nights, now it's a combination of what happened when I was younger and with fear of somehow the same thing happening to Ana. Even though I know that the fucking pimp will never be able to find me and would have no reason to, it doesn't stop the images of Ana being in that shitty apartment and having him threaten her.
"Let go," Ana whispers and I look down to see her taking the glass that I was nearly crushing in my hand. I ease my grip so she can take the glass; she puts both of them on the small corner table. She takes my hands in hers and steps closer to me until our bodies are almost touching. I can feel the uncertainty in her actions but I can't bring myself to stop her either. Then she does what I least expect her to do.
She rests her head on my chest; I'm too stunned by her actions to even think. I force down the urge to push her away and instead I slowly let go of her hands and place mine on her lower back. She tenses at my touch but doesn't push me away either. Her hands grip my arms tightly as she slowly lets out the breath I hadn't realized she was holding. The fact that we're both fighting the urge to push one another way, tells me just how fucked up we both are right now. Yet, touching her is reassuring. I don't know how, but I think she knew I needed this.
"Okay?" she whispers.
"Yeah."
A few minutes later, Ana pulls back, giving me a shy smile before heading over to the lounge chair she always sits in when we're out here. I follow and take the seat next to her. Several more minutes pass by without either of us saying anything.
"Have you heard from your dad recently?" I ask, breaking the silence.
"Two days ago he called," she sighs. "He's hiding out with a buddy of his but that's all I know. He says he has someone looking into him but I doubt he'll find what your guys have been able to find so far."
"Welsh and Barney will find everything and anything that he's trying to hide."
"I hope so."
"They will," I promise her. "They won't stop until they find what they need to turn over to the FBI so he can be out of your lives for good."
"I don't know that he'll ever be out of our lives for good," she admits in a whisper.
"He will," I argue. "They'll find enough evidence to send his ass away for a long time for what he did to Kate and to you and Teddy."
"I don't know that I'll ever be able to stop looking over my shoulder," she says. "Even if by some miracle he ends up behind bars, I'll always worry that he could use one of his connections to find us and come after us. My dad said it was possible that Teddy and I would have to get new identities and even leave the country just to get away from him."
"It won't come to that Ana," I promise. "His connections are going to dry up real fast when he has no money to pay him."
"But his dad would still have money; he could pay for…."
"He could, but he won't. And if he tries, we just cut off daddy's access to money too."
"Christian! You can't do that."
"I can and if it comes down to it, I will," I vow. "But I don't think it will. Men like him are all about money; he's not going to continue to give his son money if his son's in jail."
"You're more confident than I am."
"Everything I've read about him suggests he wants to keep his money," I explain. "He doesn't donate to charities even though he has more money than he knows what to do with. Although he bought Junior a condo and a car, he didn't give him an allowance and in fact made him get a job so the team had to pay him."
"But he throws money at his son's problems to hide them."
"You're right, but think about why he wants to hide the problems," I say. "If Junior's problems come out then the media will be all over both of them. The team isn't going to want all the negative publicity around them. No team is going to want their owner to be associated with someone who beats his girlfriend and tries to kidnap his own child."
"He would lose his job," she realizes.
"Exactly. He paid off Junior's problems to keep his own name clean so he could keep his job and thus the money coming in. If Junior is behind bars, there's no reason for Daddy to keep sweeping his problems under the rug."
"So you think this could all end if he ends up in jail?"
"I think we'd be smart to keep an eye on him, monitor his phone records and visitors but I don't think you would have to change your identity and leave the country."
"I hope you're right," she admits. "I hope one day we can put this entire mess behind us. That one day I'll be able to leave the apartment with Teddy and not have to constantly worry that someone is following us. That one day I might even be able to go to work and put Teddy in a day care without worrying about letting him out of my sight."
"I'm sure you'll still worry," I chuckle. "But when the day comes it won't be because you think junior will find you."
"I hope you're right."
Besides, you'll both have CPOs with you to ensure that no one is following either of you. Even though I'm trying to convince Ana that once the bastard is behind bars that she'll be able to relax, it doesn't mean that I'm going to relax security for them.