Chapter 25

Eva looked up at hearing her name being called as she entered her office building. Slowing her steps she looked across the lobby and to the blonde man coming towards her. With a quick hand gesture, she let security know that she would be ok. "Doing your sister's dirty work now, Ethan?" she asked.

Ethan had the good graces to look embarrassed at her assumption, but only shrugged in response: "I just had an early breakfast with my parents and thought I'd let one of Ana's friends know that she had been attacked last night."

"WHAT?!" Eva screeched then grabbed his arm and pulled him towards the seating area he had come from. "Explain and fast."

"I don't know a lot. Kate found out somehow that Ana was attacked last night. She left with Ana's to go out to CO. I don't know much more than that," he admitted as he put up his hands in a defensive pose as Gideon came striding off the elevator and towards them.

"How the hell did Kate find out?" Eva asked. "I know that Ana didn't call her."

"Yeah. And I doubt the friends she's staying with did either," Ethan told her as Gideon came to a stop behind Eva. "Look, I'll see what I can find out, but it's not going to be much. You can probably find out more… there's also someone that you should call for her… He's not going to take a call from me, but maybe from one of you or Wrenn…"

"Who?" Gideon asked.

"Christian Grey. He and Ana were together years ago and I think they've remained friends- I'm not really sure, she hardly ever talks about him but I think one of the main reasons they broke up was my sister's interference. Also, I know Ana wouldn't want Carla to have a say in her treatment; Christian's CPO was the one who helped her when Ray was in the accident, she would probably turn to one or both of them now- well along with you guys," he said hastily.

Gideon nodded: "I'll see if either myself or Alex can contact him, but I can't make promises."

"Then see if you can contact his father. Maybe he can come up with something- again they're not going to take a call from me."

"All right."

"Thank you for letting us know," Eva said simply as Ethan nodded and then walked off. "A little strange don't you think?" she asked as she looked back at her fiancé.

Gideon stroked his cheek as he looked down at her: "definitely something to look into. I'll have Angus call Taylor. If he and Grey already made contact they know and Grey won't want to let her be alone."

"And if not?"

"Then I guess he'll get his answer as to where to find her."

Eva nodded, then frowned: "you don't think this could be connected to the threats that Jenn told me about, do you?"

"I'll call Alex and have him and Tank look into it. We'll also make sure that Agnus, Tank, and Taylor take it into account. Now, come, I don't want to be standing here with so many questions about security hanging over our heads."

"You're right," she sighed as they headed towards the elevator: "why can't anything ever be simple for any of us?"

"I wish I knew," he sighed as they got in and he pressed the button for her floor: "lunch today?"

"Of course…"

Monroe and Phillips sat down in two chairs alongside the bed as Christian settled next to Ana on the hospital bed, Flynn sat on the windowsill and Carrick took the remaining chair on the other side of the bed. Once they were all settled, Monroe looked up from his notes and at Ana and Christian: "first we have a couple of questions about your relationship… you said you dated years ago?"

"Ten," Christian confirmed.

"And how long have you two been back together?"

"It's what we were going to talk about before I was attacked," Ana admitted.

"So you two aren't in a relationship?" Phillips asked confused.

"I can assure you we are," Christian said tensely. "We had part of that discussion this morning."

"So after ten years you just decided to pick up where you left off?"

"To continue from, not pick up from, we've both changed."

"And one discussion makes you decide to go back with someone you broke up with?" Phillips directed to Ana.

"It isn't like we haven't been in touch over the last ten years.
We talked at least once a month and e-mail or text once a week," she explained.

"Even when involved with other people?" Monroe wondered.

"There hasn't been that many. And yes," Ana admitted. "We always said that at the least we would remain friends…. Look, I was 22 when I met Christian and a week or so shy of graduating college. We dated and we were very serious. I think how serious we became and how quickly we got there scared me. You have to understand, I'm not the most secure person in the world.
I know I'm not a beauty…"

"Ana…" Christian sighed.

"Shush," she said to him. "I know what you say, but I also know what I see in the mirror.
My mother just divorced husband number five and has probably set her eyes on number six, that didn't exactly give me a good picture of happy ever after and longevity in marital bliss.
My constant was my step-father, Ray- I actually moved in with him as a teenager because my mother preferred number three to me- and yes there's trauma there and I'd prefer not to get into it.
What it did was leave me with insecurities that people fed into-it's taken me this long to get to a place where I'm listening to me and not to them, even though I thought that was what I was doing when I left Christian ten years ago!"

"The person who worked your insecurities wouldn't be the former friend you mentioned earlier today?" Phillips asked.

"it would."

"What about you, Grey? You feel the same?" he asked.

Christian exhaled as he clenched and unclenched a fist, his other hand going to Ana's for reassurance: "I always believed it would come back to the two of us. I was only ever in one other healthy long term relationship. It lasted about a year—give or take. People were starting to expect announcement, but we both knew it would be more out of convenience and what other people thought was what was best for us if we stayed together than out of love."

"She agree with your assessment?" Monroe wondered.

"You can ask her yourself, she was the red head by the door."

"She came with your parents to meet your ex? Doesn't sound like she'd agree. More like she's scooping out the competition."

"Nula is best friends with my sister-in-law and the two of them do PR for GEH."

"So why is she here and not your sister-in-law?"

Christian fought the urge to roll his eyes: "I get along better with Nula than Mani. Besides, she was who Hyde kidnapped with my sister ten years ago."

"According to reports at the time you weren't as available as some would have liked," Phillips said tightly. "Why did it take you over 24 hours to get to your family to help with the recovery of your sister and sister-in-law?"

"Sister and brother's girlfriend—at the time," Christian corrected. "And I was involved in something out of town. I had been in contact with my head of security and second in command and they were handling things, when I had to go back to Seattle I did."

"And you were where?"

"In Portland with me," Ana said, clinging to his arm. "My father had been in a car accident. He was on a fishing trip with friends and a drink driver t-boned the car he was riding in. I couldn't get there fast enough and Taylor handled things for me; Christian went as additional support."

"Your father can…"

"He's never woken up," Ana spit out.

"I'm sorry," Phillips said embarrassed as Carrick leaned forward: "as soon as he had spoken to Ana, Taylor called me to get paperwork drawn up for him to be able to make medical decisions for Ray Steele in Ana's stead. I made the decision to hold off on letting Christian know how bad things were. When the FBI and PD couldn't do anymore Welch and I told Christian over the phone and he flew back to Seattle."

"You supported this?" Monroe wondered.

"I would've if I had known- Christian never told me why he left that night. By the time he came back Kate was there and had convinced me that it was better to leave and go back to NY- with Ray. She made me believe that she and her family would cover whatever costs insurance didn't. I only just found out they didn't."

"Grey did."

"Yes."

"How did she convince you?" Phillips wondered. Ana shifted uncomfortably on the bed and looked down at her hands. "Ms. Steele?"

"I had a jacket of Christian's that he had let me wear one night- or maybe he left it at the apartment- I don't really remember how it got there or stayed but she found some papers in it and said if I didn't go back to NY she'd use it to destroy Christian's reputation."

"She what?! Ana you had to have known that you were more important than…." Christian started to protest. "It was the contract with the revisions I wrote, Christian," she interrupted him. "I couldn't let that get out- I know how you felt about your parents…" she gasped and covered her mouth.

"I learned about my son's former lifestyle from his own mouth years ago, Ana," Carrick said as Phillips and Monroe shared a look.

"What type of contract was this?" Monroe wondered as Christian cursed under his breathe. "I didn't do relationships until Ana. I have had only a handful since," he started to explain and paused as he leaned down and kissed her forehead. "I was introduced to BDSM when I was 15. That relationship, if you can call it that, lasted five years. After that I had contracted relationships until Ana.
I knew she wouldn't sign a contract- I suppose I wanted to scare her off…. Prove that I wasn't good enough to be with someone like her. She made addendums to the contract but we never had a contractual relationship. It was always more with her."

"Most 15 year olds don't know about that type of life," Monroe commented.

"The woman who brought me into the lifestyle was a friend of my mother's. Her age…"

"She was in her early to mid-forties when she started to groom my son, and no, his mother and I didn't know at the time. I only found out a few years ago and my wife is still unaware of it and we'd prefer it to stay that way," Carrick interrupted.

"We'll try to keep it from getting out," Monroe reassured.

"Were other people aware of your… lifestyle choice?" Phillips asked.

"Flynn, my former submissive, Taylor, and my housekeeper, Gail Jones. The only people who know anything about it since are my father and brother," Christian told him.

"Ms. Steele?"

"She wasn't…" Christian started to protest.

"I've alluded to it to a few friends…"

"The owners of the club you were at when you were attacked?" Phillips asked.

"Does that really matter?" Carrick asked.

"It's an alternate life style club, Mr. Grey."

"What?" Carrick asked surprised.

"I was only helping with inventory because they were shorthanded," Ana said.

"A 'collar' was in your belongings here."

Ana swallowed as Christian's jaw tensed and he started to clench and unclench his hand: "Adam asked me to wear it in case any club members were there before I left. It was to show that I was under his and the other owners protection."

"You must not have been too happy about that, Grey. Your woman collared by other men?"

"I have never collared anyone; and again, Ana was never my submissive. She was, and is again, my girlfriend. Did it throw me that she was wearing a collar? Yes. But I was also thrown that she was there at all," Christian answered.

"Why were you there?" Monroe asked.

"A mutual friend knew I was looking for Ana. He said that I might find answers there."

"The guys were helping me to start over out here," Ana admitted.

"How did you meet them?'

"Marc- on of the owner's- has a younger brother that I had met via business. He needed a- his words- mother approval worthy date for Marc and Angie's engagement party. I met them then and hit it off with the wives/girlfriends of the owners and management.
I decided I wanted out of NY and away from my former friend, Kate, and they helped me come up with a plan. Other friends did as well.
I flew out here last week, sublet Angie's place, and started to put my life in place."

"Without telling Grey."

"I had something to prove to myself."

"How many people knew where you were?" Phillips asked.

"Ummm… aside from the guys at the club? Eva, Gideon, Jen, Alex, Blackwell, Tank, and Lisa… oh, and a business associate of Gideon and Alex's… I've never met him but I'm doing some work for his wife and he flew me out here on his plane."

"So six, maybe seven people?"

"I guess so."

"And no one told you that Hyde was out of jail?" Phillips asked Christian and Carrick.

"No one, contrary to the judge's orders at sentencing. In fact it was very quiet- almost too quiet somehow. Someone I know on the bench should've heard and passed on the information- which has been sealed," Carrick told them.

"So how the hell did Hyde know where to find you? Especially if you didn't fly commercial?"