Mule

Chapter Nine: Reunion

Ana leaned against the wall next to Connor while they waited for Derek to sign his discharge papers. She hadn't called Officer Daniels yet, but she would save that for later. She hadn't slept at all and kept one eye on her window, waiting for something to appear. Her father had a tree in the backyard, and the breeze casted shadows against her walls. It didn't help to lay with her back to the window. When she did so, she could feel eyes on her.

"There you go, Mr. Mueller," the receptionist said. "Hopefully we don't see you back here."

"Same. Thank you for your help."

He turned around and Ana smiled. Since her big blow-up the day before, they silently agreed not to talk about it. From now on, she would let Derek talk at his own pace and just let him relax. Her father had left earlier to clean the house though Ana had already dusted everything in the middle of the night. Connor helped him haul one of the twin beds from storage, and Ana would sleep there so Derek could have the queen.

"Ready to go?" Connor asked.

"Oh, yes. I'm ready to rejoin society," Derek said in a teasing tone.

Ana moved away from the wall, and as they headed for the elevator, Derek took her hand. She flinched at first but didn't try to jerk away. For all she knew, in his mind, they were still together. She had yet to tell him about her live-in boyfriend or his kids. Basically, Derek knew as little about her life as she did his.

They got down to the car, and Ana let go of his hand to get in the back seat. She wanted him to have shot-gun, and she wanted to shut her eyes for a bit. She hadn't gotten her usual seven hours, and she hated her schedule being out of wack. It was bad enough she had to deal with a stalker.

"You look like shit, Bells," Connor said as they left the parking lot. "You need to lay off the heroin."

"Up yours, ugly." She rubbed her eyes. "Hey, guys, there's something you should know."

Connor gasped. "Am I going to be an uncle?"

"Shut up, this is serious!" She tapped her fingers on the window. "I think I have a stalker."

Derek turned and looked at her. "You're kidding me?"

"No. This guy keeps messing with me. He followed me from home, and he's been leaving those roses." She hesitated then said. "Last night . . . I wasn't ignoring your calls. He showed up at the park."

"Christ, Bells, what the hell?" Connor said. "Why didn't you say something last night?"

"Because. Derek just got back, and I didn't want to take the attention off him."

Derek groaned. "Ana, you could have been killed or worse! Are you sure he didn't do anything to you?"

Her heart lurched. "No, he didn't. I mean . . . I think I would know. All he did was take off my shoe and put a rose in it."

"Okay, Connor take us to the police station. We can tell your dad we're running errands. "

Her brother changed routes and did as Derek asked. She was relieved to get this all out and grateful she had her brother and Mule to lean on. She wasn't sure who would want to stalk her or felt she was interesting enough to screw with, but it had to stop.

She relaxed a bit once they passed the library and she saw the fence that surrounded the station. She'd been here more times than she could count. She even spent a night in holding for being intoxicated in public as well as draining her savings to bail her dumbass twin again and again. For a while, her and her brother became popular in town, and not in a good way.

They walked inside and took a left through the doors. Though she liked having two knights sans shining armor, she decided she could file the report herself.