Fifty Shades Darker (book 5) novel Chapter 63

“Why don’t you just call her? Tell her you want to talk to her?”

“Anastasia, she’s unstable, and she may be armed,” I stress, irritated.

“So we just run?”

“For now, yes.”

“Supposing she tries to shoot Taylor?”

Jesus. I hope she doesn’t.

“Taylor knows and understands guns. He’ll be quicker with a gun than she is.” I hope.

“Ray was in the army. He taught me to shoot.”

“You, with a gun?” I scoff. I’m shocked. I loathe guns.

“Yes.” She sounds offended. “I can shoot, Mr. Grey, so you’d better beware. It’s not just crazy ex-subs you need to worry about.”

“I’ll bear that in mind, Miss Steele.”

Taylor comes down the stairs and we join him in the foyer. He gives Ana a carry-on suitcase and her Chucks. She hugs him, taking him and me by surprise.

“Be careful,” she says.

“Yes, Miss Steele,” Taylor replies, embarrassed yet pleased by her concern and her spontaneous affection. I give him a look and he adjusts his tie.

“Let me know where I’m going.”

Taylor takes out his wallet and passes me his credit card. “You might want to use this when you get there.”

Whoa. He’s really taking this seriously. “Good thinking.”

Ryan joins us. “Sawyer and Reynolds found nothing,” he tells Taylor.

“Accompany Mr. Grey and Miss Steele to the garage,” Taylor says.

The three of us enter the elevator, where Ana has a chance to pull on her Chucks. She looks a little comical in my jacket and sweatpants. But as cute as she looks, I can’t find the funny in our situation; the fact is I’ve placed her in harm’s way.

Ana blanches when she sees her car in the garage. It’s a mess—the windshield is shattered and the bodywork is covered in dents and cheap white paint. My blood boils at the sight, but for Ana’s sake I control my rage. I usher her quickly into the R8. She’s staring straight ahead when I climb into the car beside her, and I know it’s because she can’t bear to look at her car.

“A replacement will arrive on Monday,” I assure her, hoping that might make her feel better. I start the engine and put on my seatbelt.

“How could she have known it was my car?”

I sigh. This is not going to go down well. “She had an Audi A3. I buy one for all my submissives. It’s one of the safest cars in its class.”

“So, not so much a graduation present, then,” she says quietly.