ANNA

 

I didn’t know what time it was when my phone started ringing. I just knew that it was too late for me to answer it. But telemarketers and spam phone calls didn’t usually come at this hour.

I sighed as I looked at the number. It was Jackie at the shelter.

My heart immediately sank because I knew something was wrong.

She only gave me a few lines. Just enough to let me know that I needed to be there.

I was wide awake as I drove through the empty streets. My hands gripped the steering wheel tight. My heart thumped inside of my chest.

“Come on, come on…”

I muttered to myself as I was forced to stop at a red light. When it turned green, I slammed my foot on the gas. I didn’t have to get close to see that something was wrong.

The blue and red lights of police cruisers flashed up and down the block. Fire trucks were gathered around the entrance to the shelter.

No…

It was like being in a nightmare. Some bad dream that I couldn’t wake myself up from. I closed my eyes and shook my head but when I looked back at the shelter, the image of it was still there.

I got as close as I could and parked along the curb.

The front windows of the place were smashed. Shattered glass lined the sidewalks. The police were taking photos and questioning some of the residents. EMTs tended to some of the injuries they’d sustained.

“Ryan!”

I immediately recognized one of the men sitting on the curb. A cut along his forehead dripped with blood as one of the paramedics wiped it away.

“Ryan, are you all right?”

I rushed up and took a seat down next to him. Despite his injury, Ryan looked up at me with a smile.

“Miss Roberts. It’s so good to see you tonight.”

“What’s going on? What happened?”

“Those men from the other day. They came back. They didn’t seem too happy. I tried to do what I could but I wasn’t much of a match for them.”

“Ryan… Why would you go and do something like that?”

“I’ve been through a lot worse, Miss Roberts. Don’t you worry about me.”

“The others?”

“They’re all right. They’re some tough cookies. It’ll take more than a few punks to take us out.”

I managed to work a smile onto my face. I put a hand on Ryan’s arm then stood up to see the rest of the damage that had been done.

The police didn’t give me any problems after I told them I worked at the shelter. My heart broke when I saw just what kind of damage had been done.

The tables and chairs were scattered on the floors. Windows were smashed. The paint chipping on the walls didn’t seem like that big of a deal now that there were giant holes all over the place. It looked like someone had taken a sledgehammer and swung in every direction.

“Anna!”

Jackie rushed up to me. I wrapped my arms around her and sighed a deep breath of relief.

“Are you okay?” I asked.

“I’m fine. They smashed the doors down and just started doing… all of this. I locked myself in the office and called the police as quickly as I could.”

“You did the right thing.”

“It was them. Those men who came here the last time.”

“They were looking for me…”

Jackie shook her head.

“They weren’t looking for you. They didn’t say a word. They just came here to cause a ruckus with no explanation.”

Why?

I looked around the shelter, still in disbelief at what had happened.

“Why would they do something like that?” Jackie said. “These people haven’t done any harm to anybody. They’re just minding their own business.”

“I don’t know,” I said. “But I’ll get to the bottom of this. The cops are here. They’ll take care of everything.”

“I should probably get started on cleaning everything up.”

I laughed softly at the older woman.

“You’ve had a long night,” I said, shaking my head. “Maybe you should get some rest.”

“I can’t rest. I’ll be tossing and turning all night. This place is home to a lot of people. I might as well get started now.”

I put a hand on her arm to try and reassure her. She smiled at me then walked over to some of the residents that were trying to deal with what had just happened.

I stepped out of the shelter to look at all of the cops outside. Detectives were on the scene, collecting evidence and taking witness statements.

My eyes caught the woman I’d seen one too many times before. Agent Lieberman eyeballed me and walked over to me. She put her hands on her waist as she observed the scene.

“Miss Roberts.”

“I wasn’t here,” I replied. “I was at home. I was sleeping when it happened.”

“It’s a good thing you were. There’s no telling what they would’ve done if you were here.”

“It doesn’t matter what happens to me. These people matter. This is their home.”

“I can assure you that the people responsible will be dealt with.”

“Okay—”

“As soon as I get my hands on the Triads.”

I blinked my eyes, not sure I’d heard her correctly.

“What was that?” I said.

Lieberman clenched her jaw as she stared at me.

“I’m here in Ivory to fix a big problem,” she said.

“And what happened here isn’t a big problem?”

“It’s not a priority.”

“You know the Corps are responsible for this. You have all the evidence in the world to lock them up.”

“It doesn’t work like that.”

I shook my head, trying to wrap my head around what she was saying. I would’ve thought she was joking if it wasn’t for the serious look on her face.

“Listen,” she said. “I’m having some trouble.”

“You’re having trouble?”

“The three guys we locked up didn’t squeal. And now they’re out on bail awaiting trial.”

“You know who’s responsible. So why aren’t you putting a warrant out for their arrest?”

“Because this is bigger than the shelter. The Corps aren’t gonna squeal on the Triads.”

“What are you saying? You’re just gonna let them go?”

“For now. If the Corps keep this up, they’ll eventually get their hands on the Triads. Then I’ll be there to lock both of them up.”

I looked into her eyes and saw that she was serious.

“You’re just gonna sit back and do nothing?” I said. “You let those men abduct me and didn’t do anything about it. Now the shelter was attacked and you’re just gonna let these men run loose when you know who’s responsible.”

Lieberman clenched her jaw and locked her eyes on me. She gave me that cold glare she always had as she took a step toward me.

“You don’t seem to be hearing me correctly, so I’m gonna make this clear to you,” she said. “Ivory has bigger problems. I’m not doing anything to jeopardize a chance at fixing them. If the Corps have to run rampant to lead me to them, then I’ll let them do it. If the Corps have to kidnap you and rape you, then I’ll let them do it.”

My eyes widened in disbelief. My mouth hung half-open as I tried to find the right words to say.

“You’re crazy,” I said as I shook my head.

“I’m not crazy, Miss Roberts. I just see the bigger picture. I’m willing to do what it takes to deal with the biggest threat Ivory is facing. Don’t take it personally.”

I looked down at the ground. I sighed a deep breath knowing that I wouldn’t be able to reason with her. Nobody could reason with a woman like Lieberman. This was the kind of woman she truly was.

“The Corps will lead me to the Triads,” she said. “If the Reapers or any of the others MCs won’t do it, the Corps will. They’re my best lead.”

“A shelter was just destroyed. Innocent people were hurt—”

“I’m trying to stop more innocent people from being hurt.”

It was so absurd that all I could do was smile. I started laughing as if it was some way to deal with the situation.

“This is your town, Miss Roberts. I know what kind of person you are. If you really care about the people of Ivory, you’ll understand.”

“I understand. I understand that I need to do something.”

Her eyes narrowed at me.

“I know exactly what you’re thinking,” she said. “Don’t even think about it—”

“It’s too late. If you won’t do anything about it, I will.”

“Miss Roberts—”

I spun around and walked toward my car. She kept calling out to me but I ignored her.

I got inside of my car and headed back down the street. I pulled my phone out and frantically dialed on it.

“Come on…” I muttered.

I held the phone up to my ear, desperately waiting for a response. It felt like an eternity before I finally got it.

“Anna?”

“I…”

I hesitated for a moment. If I did this, there was no turning back. I knew I didn’t have a choice either way though.

“Anna, what is it?”

“I need to see you again.”