ANNA

 

One week later…

 

Things in Ivory had settled down. I was so relaxed that I could turn all my attention to getting the shelter back into the shape it originally was. The damage the Corps had done wouldn’t be fixed in a day or a week. The shelter and the people needed me every day and I was more than willing to be there for them.

“Things are looking better.”

Ryan looked around the dining hall with a smile on his face. He stuffed his mouth with some of his lunch like nothing was out of the ordinary.

“Better,” I sighed. “Still not good. The place already needed some new paint. Now we’re gonna have to do something to patch those holes in the walls.”

“The holes in the walls are a good thing.”

“They are?”

“Those are the spots you don’t have to put new paint on.”

I chuckled softly at him. Ryan always had a way of looking at the bright side of things.

“You’re in a good mood,” I said.

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve got good food in my stomach. I’ve got a roof over my head to protect me from the sun. And I’ve got some beautiful company.”

“Flattery will get you nowhere, Mister Ryan.”

“It’s not flattery if I mean it, Miss Roberts.”

He chewed on his food and winked. I burst into laughter. Even in a beat-up dining room, he kept going.

“Look around,” he said.

“What?”

“Look at all of the people here.”

I looked at the other tables. All of the residents of the shelter were conversing with one another, enjoying their meals like it was any other day.

“Think about all of the things they’ve been through. Think about how old they are and what they’ve seen. I know you’re down about what happened that night but for these people, it’s just another bump in the road. They’ve been through worse and guess what? They’re still here. I’m still here. We’ll find a way. That’s just how the people in Ivory are.”

“Yeah,” I sighed with a nod. “I guess that’s one way of putting it.”

“That’s the only way of putting it. I hate to see you so down. You keep chugging along and I’m sure you’ll get this place looking brand new.”

“I know. Sometimes it feels a little hopeless.”

“Well, from my point of view, you’ve either got two options. You can either feel down in the dumps and force yourself to get up out of bed. You can sit across from me and think about what’s wrong with everything.”

“That doesn’t sound good. What’s my other option?”

“You can enjoy my company just like I’m enjoying yours. Just like we’ve always done, Miss Roberts.”

I closed my eyes and smiled. I regained my focus and realized what Ryan was getting at. I guess it made sense that I found some hope in what was supposed to be one of the dreariest places in town.

“You’re right,” I sighed. “Now that I think of it, your company is one of my favorite things about coming here.”

“Good. Now let me reminisce about a time when I was your age. I’m sure you’ll enjoy this story…”

I shifted my eyes to the entrance of the dining hall. I noticed a woman walk in and stand there.

Is that…

I squinted to make sure I was seeing her right.

Agent Lieberman had her hands on her hips as she observed the crowd. I knew something was up because there was no reason for her to be here.

“Just a second, Ryan. I’ll be right back.”

“Don’t be too long now. I might forget what I was thinking about.”

I made a beeline right toward Lieberman. She greeted me with a confident smirk.

“Miss Roberts—”

“What the hell are you doing here?”

The smirk left her face as quickly as it appeared.

“I need to talk to you,” she said.

“There’s nothing for us to talk about.”

“I can assure you, you want to talk to me.”

I clenched my jaw and sighed through my nose. I knew it was the only way to get rid of her.

“Outside.”

I walked with Lieberman out of the shelter and stood in front of the entrance. She put her hands in her pockets and stared out into the street.

“How is the shelter?” she asked.

“You said you wanted to talk to me, don’t waste my time talking about something I know you don’t care about.”

She looked down her nose at me.

“All right,” she said, nodding. “I wanted to talk to you about the Corps.”

“What about them?”

“They haven’t stopped by, have they? They haven’t spoken to you or any of the residents?”

“No.”

“No messages. No letters. No texts. No emails. No threats of violence.”

“If you want to go inside and ask the residents if any strange, ex-military men in fatigues have been talking to them, be my guest. It’ll probably be a waste of time though.”

“And how would you know that?”

She narrowed her gaze. I had nothing to hide though.

“The residents are in a good mood,” I said. “If there was something wrong, I’m sure they’d tell me. Even if they didn’t tell me, then they would be in a bad mood. And the only time anybody in the shelter is in a bad mood is when you show up.”

She pursed her lips. She was probably thinking of something clever to say to try and get me to give her some information that I didn’t have.

“I thought you’d be interested in hearing about the Corps,” she said. “After all, they are the ones who attacked the shelter.”

“I’m only interested in making sure they don’t do it again.”

“They won’t. Abigail and the two men who abducted you missed their court appearance. Apparently, they should not have been let out on bail. It’s as if they just… disappeared.”

“They’re wanted criminals. If they showed up to court, they would’ve been convicted.”

“Perhaps. I have another theory though. I don’t think they skipped town. Men like the Corps don’t just run away. I think they were dealt with.”

Lieberman stared at me, her eyes unblinking.

“What do you think, Miss Roberts? Do you think it’s possible that something happened to the Corps?”

“How long have you been in Ivory?” I asked.

“I’ve been in here for more than a year now.”

“Then you should know by now that, in this town, anything is possible.”

She took a step toward me and crossed her arms.

“I only want what’s best for this town—”

“I already know that’s not true. You gave me up. You gave the shelter up. All because you’re so desperate to get your hands on some Chinese Triads. I’ve lived here for most of my life and I’ve never seen an Asian gangster before. So you can’t tell me you want what’s best for this town when you’re willing to sacrifice everything else for something that doesn’t even exist.”

I stared at her and sighed through my nose. I could never get through to a woman like Lieberman. That ice-cold stare of hers was like looking at someone that wasn’t even human.

I swallowed and held my ground despite how intimidating she might have seemed. Before she could question me any further, I heard the rumbling of an engine next to me. I looked to the side and saw Jon on his bike next to the curb.

He walked over to me and Lieberman shifted her eyes toward him.

“What’s going on?” Jon said. “Everything all right, Anna?”

“Everything is fine. Agent Lieberman here was just updating me on the Corps.”

“The Corps? You find those assholes yet?”

“No, as a matter of fact, I haven’t,” Lieberman said. “As I was just telling your friend here, it seems as if they’ve disappeared.”

“Disappeared,” Jon said with a nod. “A kidnapper. A vandal. A potential rapist. It’s a shame they won’t get their justice.”

“Yes,” Lieberman said. “It is a shame.”

Jon stared at her with a smirk on his face. Lieberman didn’t even try hiding her disdain.

“You have a good day, Miss Roberts.”

She got back into her car. I watched her drive down the road and disappear into the distance.

I sighed a deep breath of relief.

“It’s all right,” Jon said as he put a hand on my shoulder. “You don’t have anything to worry about.”

“I know. You don’t need to say anything. I… I don’t need to hear it.”

The details of whatever Jon did were his business. The only thing I needed was to have him by my side like he was now.

I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him close for a kiss.

“What are you doing here?” I asked.

“Well… It’s been some time. Have you talked to Jackie?”

“…She’s not enthusiastic about it but she’s open to it. I told her the Corps aren’t a threat anymore. If anything, having the Black Reapers around just means the shelter will have more protection now that we’re prepared.”

“Just give her some time. She’ll come around.”

“Why don’t you come inside? There’s someone I want you to meet.”

“There is?”

“His name’s Ryan. He has stories about Ivory. He even knows all about the older MCs from back in the day.”

“Is that right? That sounds like my kind of guy.”

“I’m sure he’ll enjoy having a Reaper to talk to.”