“Where is she now?” Richard asked.
“Therapy, just talking with someone.”
“She doesn’t remember anything,” Blake said.
“Doesn’t matter. She still has feelings, and nightmares. We’re not allowed to rush her to remember what happened.” Lewis glanced down at his watch. “I better go and pick her up.”
Richard watched Lewis leave, seeing a change within the brother.
“He’s found her, and it hasn’t done him any good,” Jackson said.
“No. She’s a shell of the woman he knew.” Richard turned to Russ. “I’m going to go and see Anna.”
“Sure.”
Richard left the main clubhouse and walked toward Russ’s room. He gave a little knock and waited for Anna to call out for him to enter.
Opening the door, he found Anna curled up on the bed, crying.
“I’m so sorry,” he said.
He couldn’t do tears. It was his one weakness with women, tears. They scared him.
“You don’t need to say sorry. You’re always glib like that.” She wiped underneath her eyes, sniffling some more. “I’m being stupid.”
“You’re not stupid at all.” He moved, taking a seat on the bed. “I was being insensitive.”
“Lewis said you were being a pussy tonight. What did he mean by that?”
“Fucker shouldn’t have said anything.”
Anna laughed. “It’s not very nice, is it, when people start to invade your privacy?”
“Is this payback?” Richard asked.
“No. I was just wondering what made you say the stuff that you’ve actually said. You’re glib, but you’re not cruel.”
Richard sighed. “I had sex with my PA.”
“Temperance?”
“Yeah, how do you know her name?”
“I called a few times to leave messages for you. Russ asked me to.”
“I had no idea.” He’d always assumed that Russ had called directly.
“I’m always helping out where I can. I don’t like to feel like a waste of space. I have to do something.”
“You’ve got to rest now.”
“Yeah, Russ, he’s been freaking out a little. I had a little bleeding, and the doctor recommended that I rest and abstain from having sex. Russ hasn’t touched me since.”
“Everything is okay though, right?”
“Yeah, everything is okay. How are you dealing with crossing that line with your PA?”
“I’m handling it okay. I’m more worried about her.”
“I don’t understand.”
Richard told her what had happened, including the incident with her friend.
“You’re not jealous though?”
“No. I’m not jealous. I’m intrigued.”
“Intrigued how?”
“Let’s just say there is something I’ve wanted, and with Temperance and Jay, there’s a possibility I could have it.”
“And Temperance just walked away?”
“Pretty much. She doesn’t know how I’m feeling about this though. Jay can help me to have what I want.”
“She may not have feelings for him.”
Richard snorted. “They’re best friends.”
“So?”
“He was her first.”
“So?”
“You’re not helping me, Anna.”
She chuckled. “What I’m trying to say is besides the obvious, that women are complicated, and not all of us stay hung up on those facts. We can have friends that are men without having any sexual desire for them. I consider you a friend, and I don’t want to sleep with you.”
“Charming.”
“Come on, you don’t want to sleep with me.”
“Very true. You’re tainted by your love of Russ.” He was doing everything he could to make her smile. Richard had seen the pain in her eyes, and the fear of what was happening to her. He liked Anna. She was strong. The BBMC had been there when she needed them most. Anna’s friend had been taken, and trying to save her, she’d gotten taken as well. During her time being captured, Anna was beaten, starved, locked in an animal cage, and witnessed her best friend dying.
He had a lot of respect for her, and for how she had handled what she’d gone through. Not many would have been able to bounce back from that.
“You could share her, you know?”
“What?” he asked. He was a little taken back seeing as that was what he wanted to do. Richard had no intention of Anna knowing that, though.
“Share her. Share Temperance.”
Richard laughed. “You’re really going to offer me advice on sharing. I bet you couldn’t share Russ.”
“First, I’m not an idiot. I know you like to share your women, Richard. Secondly, this is not about me and Russ. We’re not into that. You are. Thirdly, you weren’t jealous of Tempe’s friend, and we both know what you meant about there being a new possibility with him.”