Chapter Nine

In that frozen second between when her angry words flew from her mouth and when they hit their mark, Holly knew she had pushed him too far. His eyes turned black with a deadness she had not seen before, his rage like daggers to the heart. She took a step back from him and he smashed his hand into the wall, his knuckles white from clenching his fist too tight.

He never fought her with his fists but she knew by the look in his eyes that if he ever thought about it, it was now. His face was flushed red, and she could see the sweat behind his neck as he tried to wipe it away.

"Robert," she started but he cut her off at the knees with a flash of cold fury. It was the kind of lethal focus that she imagined he used on the criminals he dealt with on a daily basis. Where there had once been love was now emptiness.

"How Dare you," he shouted. "How dare you insinuate that Anna would ever leave me willingly…do you not grasp the concept that the man in question is a known sociopath who has killed more times than you ever want to know. My wife was held captive by this monster for seven years…God only knows what he did to her…Do not stand there and insult my intelligence by insulting her character…I will not stand for it…not even by you."

"So I am just supposed to keep my mouth shut…is that it?"

"If you open your mouth about any of this, it could get Anna killed…and if that happens, there will be no corner in hell you can hide to protect you from the consequences. That's not a threat…It's a promise."

"Go to hell Robert…"

"Already there."

She did not look at him then; she simply went into the bedroom and came out with a suitcase.

"Are you going to go running back to your crime family now…."

"Now who's hitting below the belt."

A heavy silence filled the air and finally Holly turned to him. "You want to play house with your precious Anna…go right ahead. I don't care anymore."

"Holly…"

"Save it Robert. It is clear to me that either you do not know what you want or you are simply trying too hard to fake it. You were not defending Anna's honor as a man who has a past with her…you were defending her as a man who is still hopelessly in love with her. You want her Robert. You need to deal with that or it is going to cause a lot more problems than what happened here tonight. We both know that something died between us. I don't think there is any way we will ever be the same again."

Robert says nothing so Holly takes a tentative step towards him. "I am leaving town for a few days. I cannot be around you right now. "
He does not ask her to stay; He knows deep down that Holly is right. What happened here tonight was proof.

"Robert," a soft voice calls. He turns around and sees Anna standing in front of him in her nightgown.

"Why didn't you ask her to stay," she asks.

"You heard all that," he questions. "I'm sorry Luv. I didn't mean to scare you."

"I didn't say you scared me…you could never scare me Robert."

"Are you sure about that? I scare me sometimes."

She takes a step further and picks up his hand. "You're bleeding Robert. Let me clean that up for you."

"Annie…"

"Please…I couldn't stand it if something happened to you because of me…"

She leads him to the couch and goes into the other room for some antiseptic and some gauze. He looks into her eyes as she cleans up his wound and places the gauze on his knuckle. He could always ward off the pain by looking at her.

"All better now," she asks.

"All better," he answers. "You are good at that Luv. You make me better."

"Robert."

"I mean it Annie. How do you always know what I need?"

Because I love you, she thinks.

He caresses her cheek as she closes her eyes. Please do not turn away Robert. It would kill me if you did.

"I love you Annie. Please do not hate me for loving you."

His lips are warm on her own and she cannot help but notice that it feels different this time…There was something tender in the way he held her that was unlike the last time. Was it too much to hope that he was choosing her this time?

"I could never hate you…not for one second. I love you too much. You know that right. Please tell me that you know that I would never leave you by choice."

"I know that as well as I know how to breathe."

She buries her head in the crook of his neck, and he kisses her own. He does not fully understand the effect that she has on him but he knows that tonight, all he can think about is how much he needs her. How horrible he feels for what transpired between him and Holly.

"You never would have hurt Holly Robert," Anna states, as if reading his mind. "I know you. You are a wonderful man. You make women feel so cherished."

"Not tonight I didn't."

"Shhhh," she whispered, her lips now hot on his neck. "Let me take care of you tonight…let me remind you how wonderful you are."

She kisses his cheek and he looks into her soulful brown eyes. He would never have the willpower to say no to her…not tonight.

I gave you my soul. I gave you everything I had.

Those words still rang true. Except this time when he thought of them, they were in a much kinder way. So much had happened in those seven years she had been away…one of them being that he found out the truth. He had never been able to let her go…maybe he never would.