Chapter Two
Anxious for More
Anna looked around after she had dropped off Kevin. No sign of her stalker friend. A smile came to her lips as she started down the dirty walled hall.
She hadn’t intended to go so far last night, but she was glad she had. The quiet guy with the hat and the calm unflackable demeanor had intrigued her from the start. He hadn’t been so calm last night though. She’d rattled the cage he put around himself pretty hard.
It had been so fun! Fun that is up until the moment he had told her what he did for a living. She shivered as she felt the extra weight of her purse from the pistol contained inside.
He took people’s lives and yet he was trying to save hers, what an odd combination. What are you doing Anna?
That was a hard question to answer, but right now she really hoped her quiet admirer would be back at the bar tonight. She’d said he was her boyfriend, but that was really up to him to decide. She just hoped she hadn’t scared him off.
It had been nice having someone to walk her back to her apartment in the night. She hadn’t had to fear that every shifting shadow was some possible assailant. He would be mad with her when he found out she’d spent the taxi money elsewhere.
In a way it was nice to have someone mad at her. It meant at least someone cared whether she lived or died. She’d given up on her faith when the hits had just kept on coming. The stranger’s charity was the first bright spot in her life in a long time.
She swallowed down her apprehension as she stepped out onto the street. Her walk to work wasn’t much safer in the daylight then it was at night. Someone whistled and she cringed inwardly and hurried on.
“Hey you, miss, stop!”
She glanced toward the voice and saw a taxi driver with his head stuck out a window. Unsure of what was going on she diverted slightly and stepped out toward the cab.
The taxi driver had a picture in his hand, “Yep, you’re the broad. Get in.”
Anna her face cautious asked, “You were told to come pick me up?”
“Yep. Been paid to bring you back too.”
Anna straightened up. How had he known?
“This man, did he have a hat?”
“Sure did. Now I don’t know about you miss, but I don’t like staying around this neighborhood anymore than I have to.”
Anna nodded and got in and sat still in the back seat as the driver pulled away from the curb. He looked in the rear view mirror at her, “Names Bill miss, guess we’ll be seeing a lot of each other.”
“How much is he paying you to do this?” Anna asked in a small voice.
“Enough lady and then some! Take it from me sister you need to latch on to this one and not let go!”
The rest of the drive was quiet and Bill dropped her off at the curb in front of the bar. He rolled his window down and handed her a card.
“You can reach me with this number day or night and I’ll be here.”
“I don’t have a phone.” Anna mumbled out embarrassed.
“He said you might not. Told me to give you this. Chargers in the bag.” Bill handed her a sleek looking phone and then handed out a small bag.
Numbly, Anna took both, thanking the taxi driver and entered the bar. Her eyes drifted through the vacant bar to land on the corner seat on her side of the bar. Why? Why was he doing all this? All she’d done was talk to him! She looked heavenward for a second. Maybe she’d given up on faith to soon.
The afternoon passed and the evening wore on. Her boyfriend was a no show and her frustration with his absence was mounting. She wanted to thank him. Play around with his shyness and see his eyes light up in shock when she surprised him.
She must have polished the corner area of the bar where he sat half a dozen times now. She had to face the bitter truth. He wasn’t coming. At least not tonight anyway, maybe tomorrow night would be different.
“Hey Anna!”
It was Jim and he was holding something out to her. It was a manila envelope.
“This came for you in the mail today. I forgot to give it to you earlier.”
Anna took it and glanced at Jim. “Could you cover for me for a while?”
He nodded and Anna slipped into the back room and out the alleyway door. It was cold, but she didn’t notice as she opened the manila envelope eagerly. The first thing she saw was the money. Several thousand dollars of it!
There was a piece of paper too, which she pulled out and opened. “Anna, please use the taxi! If Bill’s a jerk I can arrange for someone else to take over till I get back. I’ll be gone for several days. I look forward to admiring you again soon. P.S. You don’t have to hide your boy from me. Sincerely, your boyfriend.”
Anna’s lips began to quiver and then a sob escaped as tears tracked down her face to wet the paper clutched in her hands. She slid down to a squat with her back against the brick wall of the bar as she reread the short letter, which was far longer in the depth of its meaning.
She folded it up and put it back in with the money. She’d told him that she wasn’t the kind of girl that gave sexual favors for money last night at her door, but the truth was that she had been on the verge of becoming one of those girls.
She just couldn’t make it! Despite all of her sacrifices and how hard she tried she just couldn’t earn enough money. She could have had a payout and been on easy street, but Kevin and all the others just like him deserved more and she was determined to see that they got justice.
She’d been on the verge of selling her body and losing pieces of her soul, and then last night had happened. Her gentleman killer by day and stalker by night was turning out to be a blessing in disguise.
Her hands folded together over the manila envelope and she started to pray. She prayed that this upswing in her life would continue as well as for the safety of her boyfriend wherever he was.