Vulnerable

Robert.

“You’re better than me, man.” Andres said. He was my closest friend so he knew everything about Anna and I. “If that was my wife, I wouldn’t allow her around those sneaky rich bastards.”

“I trust Anna. She wouldn’t dare do something to disgrace me.” I said. “Besides we need the money.”

“Is it worth it? To lose a woman like Anna because of money? Man, you’re delusional. Anna is very sweet, lovely and innocent. Those men wish they could get hold of a woman like Anna.”

“I’m not going to lose her,” I said. Deep down I knew I was just trying to convince myself.

Ever since that billionaire showed up, claiming Anna was his ex-wife, I’d started to get worried. The only thing that helped me was that he seemed to hate her. Whatever Anna had done to that man, it wasn’t pretty.

“Have you thought of the fact that Reid might be there?”

“Yes but he dislikes her.”

“What if she regains her memory?”

The question stopped me short. I used to worry about it when I first met Anna but she didn’t remember anything for years, so I stopped thinking about it.

“I’m not really worried about that,” I said. “She hasn’t regained it in three years. That’s not about to happen anytime soon. Doctor Smith said it might never happen.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure. Now that she is hanging around someone from her past, old memories could easily be triggered.”

Now that was a point that made sense. And to think I had not even thought about it. Reid was not harmless, he was a big threat and I needed to do something about him before things got out of hand.

I stared at Andres, my eyes widening. “Call Jackie and find out if Reid is at that the party.”

Andres nodded and quickly pulled out his phone to call his cousin who was also serving at that party. I watched his face closely as they spoke. As his expression hardened, my worries grew.

“Fvck. He’s there.”

I shot out of the chair and stood up. “Where are your car keys? We have to go there right now.”

As we were hurrying out of his house, a woman was sashaying up the sidewalk. Brenda. I smiled when I saw her beautiful face. When she got closer, she hugged me but I pushed her away immediately, before furtively looking around to see if anyone had seen us.

“How many times have I told you not to hug me in public?” I asked her.

She frowned and gave me sad puppy dog eyes. Those eyes never failed to weaken me at the knees.

“I’m sorry sweetie,” I said. “You know it’s not good for us to be seen like that yet. I’ll need to first divorce Anna before we go public.”

She pouted. “Okay. I’ll forgive you this time but I hate it when you yell at me.”

I glanced at Andres who had his “I told you so” look. He had warned me not to have an affair with a very young woman. He said older ones were better because they understood the game.

“Okay, I’m going to take care of some things. You can wait for us in the house. “

Andres tossed her the keys and she smiled suggestively at me. “Okay. I’ll be waiting.”

My c*ck hardened immediately at the thought of a fun time with Brenda. I couldn’t wait to get back to Andres’ place and enjoy the goodies.

“See you soon, baby.”

Leaving Brenda, we got into the car.

“Hurry up,” I told Andres. “Any second is a chance for them to reunite.”

I was not about to lose my sweet Anna to that useless ex-husband of hers. Neither was I about to lose her to the Fetterman family. The nerve of that old man, thinking he could manipulate her into joining his family. Thankfully, Anna was not a greedy person.

There were so many arrogant rich people in the room. Some gave me dirty looks as I scanned the area, having managed to sneak past security by using the exit as an entrance. I couldn’t see Anna’s head among the servers. I nearly fell over when I saw Reid Bennett carrying a woman in server's uniform. I did a double take.

I rushed over quickly and was even more shocked to see that her body was limp and her face extremely pale.

He was holding her as if she belonged to him, walking away from everyone.

“What the hell are you doing?” I shouted as I got closer to him.

Reid stopped and turned. “She collapsed. I’m helping.”

“Get your hands off my wife.”

When Andres came next to me, I reached over and pulled Anna into my arms before passing her over to Andres.

“She needs a doctor.” Reid said, stepping forward.

“She has one,” I snapped at him. Who did he think he was? Her guardian? “She doesn’t need your help.”

Two security men arrived before he could reply.

“Get this man out of here,” Reid said calmly, pointing at me. Typical rich boy, thinking the world belonged to him.

One of the guards grabbed my arm and I let him led me out of the hall. Andres followed closely. Andres laid Anna in the backseat, making sure her head was supported. I joined her and Andres went to the front to drive us home. He helped me carry her inside to lay her on the bed before leaving.

Anna looked so beautiful, so peaceful and vulnerable. She needed protection, even if I had to protect her from herself.

“I won’t let them take you,” I whispered, leaning over to kiss her forehead. “And my daughter.”

While she slept, I packed most of her things. And Emmy’s. When she started stirring, I realized it might become a problem.

Rushing to the kitchen, I reached into the cabinet and took out a vial I’d stashed in a corner. My hands trembled as I drew a small dose, enough to keep her asleep for a few hours.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured, brushing her hair back before pressing the syringe into her arm. “You’ll understand one day.”