Chapter 12

Taylor hung up the phone and headed to where Christian stood with Adam and a blonde woman he had been introduced to as Savannah and her husband, Damien, and a brunette he hadn't been introduced to. The blonde one was talking calmly to his boss while the dark-haired beauty was eyeing the area. She was in intelligence, Taylor thought of as her eyes narrowed when she caught him taking her measure. He fought back a laugh at her reaction as the Hispanic man said something to Adam and then kissed the cheek of the blonde and headed into the building.

"Anything?" Adam asked as he approached causing Savannah to say something to Christian as she carefully grasped his shoulder. "I spoke to Christian's father, and he told me who to get the POA from. He said Christian and I are named as her proxies."

"See, it's the same as the other paperwork I saw," Savannah told Christian gently. "You'll be able to take care of her."

"I left her alone. I let her get hurt," Christian said shrugging the woman's hand off his arm. "He hurt her because of me."

"He hurt her because he could," Adam argued.

"And my sister and sister-in-law? Why'd he kidnap them nine years ago?" he snapped.

"You tell us," Adam shot back.

"He wanted what I had.
He wanted my life.
Thought that my parents should've taken him because the bastard was in the same foster home as me when they were waiting for the clearance to take me.
He almost killed my sister-in-law… we didn't know she was pregnant at the time… she almost lost my nephew. You know what she did, though? She and my brother decided to name him for me because I put up the manpower and money to find her and my sister, like I wouldn't do that?" he laughed harshly. "I lost Ana because it was when her father was first hurt.
I didn't tell her why I left for over 24 hours.
Didn't fight her when Kate talked her into leaving that time…" he shook his head: "I always thought our time would come, but the bastard stole it from me again!"

"Ana's still here. You can still have time with her," Adam told him.

"You don't understand…"

"Grey, Karla's my second wife. I buried the first one. She found out she had Cancer while I was serving overseas and didn't let them tell me till it was almost too late- so don't tell me about not understanding!"

"It's not the same…"

"So, when my biological father decided to try to kidnap Mari- when he took me and he tortured me, was that all my fault?" Savi put out in a soothing, if tense, voice.
Christian's head whipped up and around to her, his mouth opened and closed, but he couldn't get a response out: "If you don't think I should blame myself, then why should you blame yourself for the actions of a man you had no control over?" she pointed out.

"I'm always very strict when it comes to security concerning the ones I love.
I should have walked her out.
Not let her come to her car alone.
Sent Taylor to get the rental and stayed with her…"

"And then that bastard would have attacked you in front of her and possibly her as well," Adam pointed out. "I could just as soon take the blame as well.
This is my club. I—we—pride ourselves of the safety of its members and a woman under our protection was attacked in the parking lot."

"Because I lead him here!"

Taylor exhaled: "we don't know that, Sir. We don't know why we weren't informed when he made parole or when he got to CO."

"Taylor…"

"Ms. Steele worked for him at SIP. That was before the attack on Mani and Mia. He could've changed his plan of attack when she left. If you remember, Sawyer reported more than once that he didn't like the way that Hyde treated her or spoke to her, but she would attempt to gloss over it."

"I'd forgotten," Christian sighed as he ran a tired hand down his face. "That doesn't make me feel any better, if we hadn't have been together…"

"She could've been another piece of his video collection because she wouldn't have had Sawyer there or Roach watching their interactions closely," Taylor pointed out evenly.

"Whatever the case, playing what ifs isn't going to change the present.
They've taken Ana to the hospital.
You two have her power of attorney. We need to get there to make sure that she gets the treatment we need, and so she knows that she has someone there for her, she will won't she?" Savannah cut in.

Christian nodded: "If she still wants me…"

"You got yourself arrested and you expect me to get you out of it? Are you out of what little is left of that ever hating mind of yours?" she demanded as she leaned back in her office chair, her manicured nails tapping out a cadence on the gleaming desk top.

"You told me she had waited for me," Hyde bit out. "I went to get her back!"

"Actually, I told you she waited for someone, you assumed that meant she had waited for you," she paused for dramatic effect: "How you could think that mouse was waiting for you is beyond me. She went crying onto another man's shoulder to get away from your cunning grasp.
In the meantime, I will not go out on a further limb to try to get you out of some mess you placed yourself in because you couldn't keep your libido and temper in check."

"We had a deal…"

"Oh, but I held up my part of it," she countered. "I got you out on an early release, Hyde.
I got you within her orbit.
I arranged for you to be in NY and then CO.
I did all you asked of me- you didn't keep up your end of the bargain."

"Listen here you b!tch! I covered for you for these last nine years. I never told anyone about the fact that you were the mastermind behind the kidnappings…"

"Another screw up on your part," she chided.

"I will have my revenge… on all of you," Hyde shot back as she disconnected the call, feed up with his demands. After a couple minutes of careful contemplation, she reached across her desk for her diary of contacts for instances like this. Quickly, she scanned through, stopping at a name as a smirk crossed her enhanced lips. "Ahh, yes, this one will do nicely," she said as she picked up her phone and called in an old marker that would put an end to the problem that was Jack Hyde… now she'd only have to come up with a way to rid her own orbit of the insipid Anastasia Steele.