Page 110 of When He Fights
His Ana.His sweet, determined, willing-to-fight-to-the-death Ana.She held his heart in the palm of her delicate hand.
ChapterTwenty-Four
“You can go backto New York.”
Ana nodded.
“You can go back to being Anastasia Patrick again.Playing with the Philharmonic,” Grayson told her as he stood near the desk in the small, unassuming office at the Gulfport police station.
But she winced.“I doubt they held my spot.”For two years?Highly unlikely.“Pretty sure I’ve long since been replaced.”
Grayson leaned his hip against the side of the desk.“You can go back home, Ana.Big city, bright lights.Get back to all the performances that I know you enjoyed before.You don’t have to hide anymore.You can go back into the spotlight.”He folded his arms over his chest.“We were able to trace Logan’s steps, thanks to the cooperation we received from Turner Mitchell and Kyle Sanchez.”
She knew those two men had been chatting a ton with the Feds.Turner had been desperate for a deal.Both he and Kyle had also been pissed that they’d nearly been murdered.So they’d turned and were feeding as much evidence as they could to Grayson and his team.
“A ton of lawyers from Kyle Sanchez’s New York firm are now in custody.They are the ones who paid the psych transport guards to look the other way long enough for Logan to escape.The lawyers helped him to get down here.Hell, they even helped uncover your new identity and location for him.Logan had a ton of cash sitting in an offshore account, and he was happy to throw money their way.”
Probably cash he’d earned for his mob hits.
“For the right price, those New York lawyers were willing to do whatever he wanted.”Gray sent her a hard smile.“Now they can do whatevertheywant in prison.Because that’s where they are going to be for years.”
She pressed her palms to the tops of her jean-clad legs.“I’m not going to have to look over my shoulder any longer?”
“You are safe.The threats to you have been eliminated.Like I said, you can go home.”
Because all the bad guys who’d worked for Logan in that law office had been arrested.Because Logan wasn’t a threat.Because New York was supposed to be safe for her again.All wonderful things to know.But Ana exhaled slowly.Then she smiled at him.“This is home.”
Grayson blinked.
“I like the sound of the water crashing into the shore.I like working with my music therapy clients.I like sitting on the porch and seeing the glow of the moon reflected on the water.”She rolled back her shoulders and stopped pressing her palms to her jeans.“This is my home, and I don’t want to go back.I just want to go forward.”
“Forward.”A pause.“With Kane.”
“You knew I loved him two years ago.”
“Yes.”No fake denials from Grayson.
“Did you know that he loved me back then?”
“I suspected that he did.With Kane, it can be hard to tell, but…when he asked that you have his house—then I knew.He was trying to give you everything that he had, even when he didn’t think he could be in that home with you.”
Her heart ached.She’d come to this meeting alone.Finishing up paperwork.Giving final statements.Doing the whole tying-up-loose-ends routine.
Logan was dead.They’d called his time of death as soon as the ambulance had arrived at the hospital, but she was pretty sure he’d died when the bullets had been fired at her home.Ana knew that ballistic tests had been performed.Three bullets had been pulled out of him.All three had gone into his heart.
Which one hit first?
She knew.
Zuri was doing better.Still jittery.Still having nightmares.A week had passed, so it was early days.Emerson had been talking with Zuri a lot.Helping.
Ana hated to think of her friend trapped in the darkness of a trunk.Terrified that she might be killed any moment.Shehatedthat her own past had brought such horror to Zuri’s life.
But Zuri was safe.She was strong.
A survivor.
We both are.
