Apov

Apparently Christian forgot to mention that his birthday is coming up. Luckily a little birdie named Kate told me. I don't have much to spend on a gift, but I know he would like anything I get for him. I could just see him getting excited of the littlest thing. However, I don't even know what to get him. Hopefully Kate can take me shopping so Christian doesn't know that I'm shopping for him. I'm sure he would try to stop me from spending any of my money on him if he knew and would give me his own money to spend. He thinks he's cleaver, sneaking money into my pockets, but I know it's his. I save it and use it towards everyday items we need at home.

Everything is perfect, my life is perfect. It's so relaxing, letting my guard down. I know I shouldn't let it down completely, and I don't, but it's easy to forget about my old life when I have Christian and Teddy.

Teddy is playing with Ava today at Kate's house because Christian wants to hang out with his brother while I'm at work. He said they were going to lift weights with Taylor and then go for a hike. I still shiver when I hear Taylor's name, any person of authority really. I like it just Christian, Teddy and I, but I love when Christian and I have alone time too. Hopefully Kate will keep Teddy long enough for Christian and I to have some alone time after I'm home from work.

Christian just dropped me off at the restaurant, we kissed each other for way too long and not enough before I finally walk inside.

I'm making sure the waitress station is fully stocked, just like I always do when I come in, when Lilly, the hostess approaches me.

"Hey, Ana," She smiles at me. "You're quite popular today."

"What do you mean?"

"Some guy called here earlier looking for you, and then a few minutes after that, another guy walked in asking about you. I'm not sure if it was the same guy or not, but I know it wasn't Christian."

"What?" I'm stunned by her comment, looking around the restaurant to see if anyone stands out.

What guy would call here looking for me? What guy would come here looking for me? I don't know or talk to anyone in town except the Greys and Lilly knows them.

"The guy who stopped in asking about you," She starts to explain. "I told him you weren't on the schedule until lunch. He said he'd come back when you're available. He talked a little weird so I don't think he was from around here."

Oh. My. God. No. Boyce? He found me? No!

"Ana, are you okay?" Lilly asks me. "You look really pale."

"I- No. I don't feel well." And I really don't.

I run to the bathroom and make it inside a stall just in time to puke my guts out into the toilet.

I'm shaking so badly, I have to lean against the sink as I rinse my mouth out.

"Ana?" Lilly cautiously enters the bathroom. "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, I'll be okay." I hope.

"Are you sure?"

"No." I whisper with tears in my eyes.

"Do you have the flu or something?"

"No." If only it were that easy.

Lilly looks like she just figured out what's going on, though whatever conclusion she just came up with, I know she's wrong.

"Are you pregnant?" She asks in shock.

"No." I assure her. "I'm just not feeling well. I really need to go. I have to leave."

"I'll ask one of the girls from the morning shift if they can cover for you." She gently rubs my arm. "Feel better soon. And maybe... take a pregnancy test. You never know. Contraception isn't 100% effective."

I nod and leave through the back employee entrance.

So I'm not seen, I hide behind the huge dumpster and pull the cell phone out of my pocket to call Christian. I need him! I can't risk it.

It rings twice before it's sent to voicemail. Why isn't he answering?! He always answers my calls. He would never send them to voicemail!

"Christian!" I panic, leaving a voice message. "Oh god, Christian. I think he found me. He's here, he came to the restaurant. I don't know what to do. I need you. I don't want to leave you and Teddy but he's here. Christian, please. Help me." My tears are falling so fast now and I can't stop shaking. I feel as if I'm going to be sick again. "I can't stay here. I'm leaving the restaurant, he's going to come back and you're not answering your phone. I don't know what to do. Your place is too far for me to walk without being seen so I'm going to mine. Please meet me there, please. I need you."

I hang up and try to call him again, but he doesn't answer. I contemplate calling Kate but she has Teddy and I don't want him mixed up in this mess or getting hurt.

My place is only a twenty minute walk from the restaurant, but if I run it wont take me that long to get there.

Taking a deep breath and trying not to puke again, I finally get up off the ground and venture out towards the parking lot.

I try to avoid the roadways as much as I can while I rush to my cottage.

I'm almost to the gravel road when I hear a car reeve up behind me.

I quickly turn around, nearly falling to the ground in panic. But as soon as I recognize the symbol for the black Audi SUV that I know is Christian's, I'm instantly relieved.

"Christian!" I shout as soon as he jumps out of the SUV. He must've heard my message.

I rush to him, but the cold glare on his face stops me in my tracks. He's never looked at me like that before.

"Christian?"

Cpov

I've just pulled up at Taylor's house. He has an amazing in home gym that Elliot and I like to use when he has a day off. It's nice to have workout buddies now that I no longer use Claude, and when I lift I need someone to spot me. After we workout, we're going to head out for hike until Ana gets off work.

I was surprised when I told Gail and Taylor that I was moving and would no longer need their services that they followed me here. I never saw them as friends the five years they worked for me before Teddy arrived, only employees, but now they are like part of the family. Taylor had the qualifications to be a deputy and just last year was promoted to sheriff. It's nice to be able to still see them now that I consider them friends.

I walk into the house, Taylor knows I'm coming so the door is left open for me.

As I make my way to Taylor's in-home gym, I can hear Elliot and Taylor talking.

"What do you know about her?" I hear Taylor ask Elliot. "She seems to shy away whenever I come in the restaurant."

I stop before going inside the room when I realize they are talking about Ana. I stay out of sight so I can listen without them knowing I'm here.

"Not much," Elliot grunts, obviously lifting weights while he's talking. "She's pretty quiet, only talks to Christian, Teddy and Kate, and Kate wont tell me shit. All Kate will say is that she came here for a fresh start, whatever that means. Not even mom or Mia can get her to open up. "

"I'm not sure how much I trust her."

This has me on high alert.

Taylor has been my CPO for many years, he's had gut instincts before and he was always proved to be right. Elena for example. He never told me a damn thing to my face because I was his employer and he was my employee, I would've fired his ass. He had no say in who I had in my life, and turned a blind eye to all the submissives I've had in the past, with the exception of checking their background checks that Welch sent over. But I heard him talking to Gail about Elena one night. He said the same exact words; I'm not sure how much I trust her. Back then, I knew the reason he had that reaction and that it was true, he shouldn't trust her. Elena was a pedophile, though Taylor didn't know that, but he didn't like the vibe she gave off. She could manipulate and fool just about anyone, except for Taylor.

"Why's that?" Elliot asks, still grunting. I can just tell he's lifting more than he should. I'm not sure why, Kate's not here and he usually only does that shit to impress her.

"She comes out of nowhere and the only person she's comfortable with is your brother? Well know billionaire, CEO of GEH, Christian Grey. I'm not buying it."

"So why don't you do a background check on her," Elliot suggests. "Ya know, like the good ol' days when you were his security."

"I already have."

Shit!

"And what'd you find out."

I quickly make myself known by walking into the room to stop their conversation.

I already know what he found, I had Welch ran a background check on Anastasia Rose Steele. But I also know that Ana doesn't want anyone to know her past, especially my family. She doesn't want them to judge her or our relationship. I've told her that her past has nothing to do with anything, but she insists nobody know.

I get that he worries, and even though he's no longer my CPO he can't just switch it off. That's why when he and Gail moved here, he decided to work with the police. There was no need for security and he has skills to be so much more. But he really has nothing to worry about where Ana is concerned, I know all about her past.

"Hey, bro!" Elliot is the first to see me. He's on the bench, lifting more than he should while Taylor spots him.

As soon as Taylor sees me, his face is impassive but I can see the guilt in his eyes. He knows I heard them talking. I'm not upset by anything he has said, he is only doing what he has done in the past; looking out for me. I'll have to talk with Ana later tonight, letting her know that Taylor ran the same background check on Anastasia Steele. After I talk with her, I can let Taylor know what happened.

"Grey, could you spot your brother for me?" Taylor asks me. "He thinks he's king shit, lifting this much and I need to grab my phone incase Gail calls. I left it in my office."

I know this is just a way for him to get out of the way until I've cooled down. I would normally go thermonuclear if someone, no matter their intentions, was in my business. Taylor is no longer my CPO so my business is mine alone. However, I'm not upset and no way do I want to spot Elliot. I don't want my nuts in his face and the only face I want near my balls is Ana's.

"I'll grab it," I offer, knowing he'll want a minute.

"Grey-" Taylor hesitates, obviously not wanting me in his office. Probably because Anastasia's background check is in there.

"I know." I say to him, hinting that I do, in fact, know about Ana.

I don't want to talk about this with Elliot around so I shift my eyes towards my brother and back to Taylor. I shake my head once, letting Taylor know that I don't want Elliot to know.

Taylor nods and goes back to spotting my brother, who is oblivious to our silent exchange.

That's the nice thing about Taylor and I, we can communicate without words, we've done this many times before.

I leave them then go to Taylor's home office.

Taylor is usually a pretty organized guy so it doesn't take long for me to find his phone sitting right on top of his desk. Sure enough, Anastasia's background check is under his phone.

I've seen it before, and I'll have a talk with him about it after I tell Ana he knows, so ignore it.

As I'm about to leave the room, his fax machine goes off and the paper being printed catches my eye, because it has a photo of Ana on it and it is definitely NOT a background check of Dakota nor Anastasia.

Is this what Taylor found about her? Is this why he doesn't trust her?

After it's finished printing, I snatch the paper out of the tray to examine it further.

Not being able to believe what I'm looking at, I cover my mouth and rub my hand over it.

This can't be true, it can't be. I don't believe it. Yet here the paper is, in my hands, the black ink telling me it is.

She lied to me! She fucking lied and I believed her bullshit! I let her around my son, for fuck's sake!

Speak of the devil. My phone goes off and it's her. I ignore it, not wanting to speak with her about this over the phone.

I have to go, I have to confront her about this.

Since I'll need the paper as proof, I fold it in half and put it in my back pocket. Before I leave the room, grab Taylor's phone so I can bring it to him.

I storm back to where Taylor and Elliot are so I can give Taylor his phone before I leave.

"You alright, Grey?" Taylor asks me. He's known me for years and knows when something isn't right.

"Fine." I hand over his phone. "But I have to go."

"You just got here, bro." Elliot complains. He has finally finished lifting his ridiculous amount of weights and has moved on to another machine.

"I know, but I have to deal with something important."

"Grey," Taylor calls to me before I can leave. "I didn't mean anything by it." He says of what I overheard.

I just nod and leave, not in the mood to talk to them. I need to see Ana.

Without another word, I walk out, marching towards my SUV.

I make it to the restaurant in record time.

I don't see Ana around so she must be in the back, but before I can make it back there to check, Lilly tells me Ana already left.

"What do you mean, she left?" I growl so I don't snap at the poor girl.

"She wasn't feeling well." I think Lilly is a fucking sadist because she gives me the creepiest fucking smile when she tells me this.

Why the fuck would she be smiling about someone being ill?

Ana was feeling fine this morning, does she leave work early everyday and then come back before I pick her up? She stopped working doubles since staying with me, who knows, maybe she stopped working all together since I'm paying for everything.

You wanted her to stop working, Grey, my subconscious reminds me, she was the one to insist she continue working.

Yeah, to play the part so I wouldn't suspect anything.

I leave the restaurant, heading back to my SUV.

I sit in the parking lot, contemplating where she could go. She doesn't have a car so wherever she went would have to be within walking distance from the restaurant. The only place I can think of is my house, but I doubt she'd walk there. She's supposed to be 'working', she wouldn't want me to know she's been skipping out. Not to mention, it's quite the distance from the restaurant, she wouldn't be back in time.

The only other place I can think of is her run-down shack. I'll try there first, if she's not there and I can't find her, I'll call her.

As I'm driving toward her piece of shit shack, I see her running.

Laughing, I shake my head at her. Why are you running, Anastasia?

I speed up to catch her. She turns around looking scared, so she should be.

I hop out and march toward her.

"Christian!" She acts relieved, I'm sure she's going to come up with some excuse as to why she's not at work, but then sees that I'm not pleased.

"Christian?"

"What the fuck is this?" I ask her getting right to it, taking out the paper I got from Taylor's office.

"I don't- I don't know."

She's looks upset and, to her credit, she doesn't look well as Lilly said.

"You don't know?" I don't believe her in the slightest so I begin to tell her what the flyer is, "It's a special bulletin for a person of interest. It says you are a suspect for murder, first degree."

She reaches for the paper in question so I hand it to her.

Her face pales as she reads the words WANTED FOR MURDER at the top with her picture in the center and the name Dakota Fox written in bold letters at the bottom.

"Where did you get this?"

I roll my eyes and scoff at her.

"Taylor's office. He knows you're not Anastasia Steele."

"What?"

"What is this, Ana? Who did you kill?"

"Christian." She shakes her head at me. "It's not what you think."

"Why don't you tell me what I'm supposed to think then, because I see your picture on a wanted sign saying you're a suspect for murder."

"You can't believe this."

"Why can't I?" It's an official wanted flyer from the fucking police department in Detroit. At least she wasn't lying about everything she told, she's from Detroit and her name is Dakota.

"It's not real, I can explain."

"Explain?" I laugh. "Explain how a police department in Detroit is issuing a nationwide manhunt for you? You think that just happens by accident?"

"Boyce did this." She sounds desperate for me to believe her lie.

"He can't have the police issue a murder warrant because his wife went missing, you're insulting my intelligence, you'd have to actually commit the crime. A missing person's report, I could see. But murder?"

"He did this, Christian, you have to believe me. I don't know why he sent this and not a missing person's report, I'm not in his fucked up mind, I don't know why he does the things he does." She looks around wildly, up and down the street. "And he's here, he's looking for me, he's going to find me."

"Yeah," I laugh again. "I bet 'Boyce' is here looking for you."

She's making it up, only saying he's here because she knows that I know. There's no way anyone could find her here unless she told them she's here. If he knew she was here, why would he send out a wanted flyer instead of actually approaching her. If this was fake, it'd be easily explained away, and it wouldn't have made it passed the Detroit police department to be sent out. There are procedures in place that he would have to bypass and getting passed that is difficult. He'd be arrested, it's not worth the risk.

"You lied to me," I accuse her. "You said your husband abused you so you ran away."

"He did abuse me! He hit me all the time."

"Yet you jump at the chance for me to spank you and rough sex." I correct her.

She gasps, knowing I'm right.

This is Elena all over again. Nothing but lies and manipulation to get me to do what she wants. I can't believe I fell for this shit again, no wonder Taylor doesn't trust her. How can I be so fucking blind?!

"You were lying about having an abusive husband to cover the fact that you were hiding something much bigger, like murdering a man. That's why you were running back to your shack, isn't it? What, did you find out a warrant was issued so you thought you'd leave without saying anything before I found out? Who did you kill?"

"I didn't kill anybody!" She shouts at me. "As awful as it sounds, I admit I wish I did. After everything he did to me, all the makeup I had to wear to cover the bruises, the dark sunglasses I had to wear when he'd give me a black eye, the scarfs I had to wear to hide his hand prints around my throat, the cardigans I had to wear during warm months, all the trips to the hospital because I 'fell'... the list goes on and on. I wish everyday that I had killed him that night, maybe then I wouldn't be scared out of my mind that he'll find me and finish the job, but when I left he was still alive!"

"Bullshit!" I call. "How'd you leave if he was still alive?"

"He was passed out drunk when I left, that's how I was able to get away from him! I told you that! I told you everything!"

"I trusted you!" I shout louder, ignoring her excuses. "I let you into my life! I let you around my son! What am I supposed to tell him?!"

She opens her mouth to spew more lies, but I interrupt her before she can say anything.

"How am I supposed to believe anything you say?"

"Christian, you can't do this to me, not now. Please." She begs, on the verge of tears. "I need you, Christian, I need you."

In her last ditch effort to get me to believe her bullshit, she starts crying. It almost works, I want to wrap my arms around her and tell her everything will be okay. But the truth is staring at me in the face. She's wanted for murder. I can't have this or her around Teddy, I have to think of him, so I slip back into my Dom persona that I abandoned long ago.

"Don't start with the fucking water works now."

"He's going to find me." She continues to cry. "Please!"

I can't look at her any longer, my Dom persona isn't as strong as I remembered him to be. He's weak and he's slipping.

"Then you'd better leave." I'm able to sound more Dominant when I'm not looking at her but I sound more cold then I intended.

"What?" She gasps in disbelief.

"You better go." I repeat, pointing to the paper that is still in her hand as I back away from her. "You better go before Taylor sees that."

I turn around without a backwards glance and walk to my SUV.

"Christian?" She gasps again, this time it sounds strangled, like she can't believe what I just did. Well I can't believe what she did either so we're even.

I try not to look at her or in her direction once I'm back in my SUV, though I do see she's fallen to the ground now. She has both of her hands in her hair, holding her head. Her whole body is shaking from crying. I have to hold myself back from taking her in my arms and comforting her. She fucking lied to me. Bullshit the police would send out fake wanted posters if it wasn't real just because her husband was looking for her. He can't do that shit, he's a fucking writer.

I put the SUV in reverse and back away from her. The only girl I've ever wanted more from.

She finally gets up off the ground and takes off running in the direction of her shack.

I did the right thing, I tell myself, I gave her a chance to leave without being arrested.

Then why does this hurt so much? Why does it feel wrong to let her go? Why do I want to go after her?

"Fuck!" I shout and hit my steering wheel hard.