For the Love of Anna (The Town of Pearl 1)

Chapter 1

Anna exited the commuter bus. She’d had a long, hard day at the restaurant and couldn’t wait to get home to soak her feet. She glanced at her watch as she walked down Main Street and 5th. It was one o’clock in the morning. He shouldn’t be home yet, or if he were, he was probably out cold in a drunken stupor. Anna sighed in annoyance, then cringed. She needed to be more careful. If she made the mistake of talking back to her old man then he would surely lash out at her again. Hank Parker was a big, mean man, and when he was drunk, he was out of control.

Anna was petite, and one shove from a man her father’s size would do serious damage.

She instantly thought about last week and how she refused to give him more money for liquor. She was tired. She had worked a month of double shifts getting four hours of sleep a night just so she could pay the rent and food bills. Her dad never paid the landlord. He just pocketed the money and went out drinking. She shook her head at the thought. It made her so damn angry because she was the one working her ass off to support them. Meanwhile, he didn’t do shit!

She released an exasperated sigh as the anger dissipated. What good would it do her to get upset all over again? Haven’t I learned my lesson about talking back to my old man? Flashbacks of that fight entered her mind. She would always remember every hit and every painful word her father inflicted upon her. She wiped a stray tear from her eye, demanding no more to follow. But the memory of the last fight fought its way to her mind. His face, his slurred speech, and the way he looked at her as if she was the most disgusting and terrible daughter alive, sent chills through her body.

When she accused him of taking the money for drinking, he backhanded her across the cheek and sent her flying into the wall. She was dazed for a few seconds, or at least it felt like that, and when she opened her eyes, her dad was consoling her.

Does he love me? She knew alcoholism was a disease, one that takes over a person, even those with the kindest hearts. When she thought about it, her father had never been kind. Drunk or sober, he hit her.

She gulped so hard it hurt her throat. She should listen to her best friend Stacy and just leave. Stacy offered a place to stay out in Texas, but Anna didn’t want her pity, and she knew her dad needed her. He hadn’t worked in over three years, and her paychecks paid the rent and the groceries.

She promised Momma.

Her vision blurred as the tears stung her eyes. Anna focused on getting home and sleeping as long as she possibly could.

* * * *

Their crappy apartment complex was just around the corner. Anna had paid the landlord yesterday, so she didn’t have to use the back entrance to avoid seeing him.

Thoughts of a hot bath filled her head as she entered the front door. There was no security, hardly any working lights, and the place reeked of garbage.

As she ascended the stairs, her stomach began to quiver. She was frightened of her father, and the anticipation of his state if he was home was getting the best of her.

Quit worrying and move faster, she told herself as she reached the third floor.

Anna reached her door and placed the key in the lock. It had been left unlocked, and she cursed her dad under her breath. When would he learn to stop drinking and gambling and just be her father? She was tired of being the responsible one, and she was only twenty-three.

As she entered the apartment, she closed the door and threw her purse onto the couch.

“We’ve been waiting for you, little Parker.”

Anna screamed and jumped backward at the deep voice. Two strange men in suits stood in front of her.

Instinct kicked in, and she bolted for the door.

Large, solid hands wrapped around her waist and easily lifted her off her feet and back in front of the other man. She didn’t recognize either of them.

“Let me go!” she screamed, and the man holding her covered her mouth with his hand. He held her like a rag doll. It was useless to fight him, and she knew it. Both of them were mean and ugly, standing at over six feet tall.

She kicked and squirmed until he pressed his body against hers, holding her still.

“Quit fighting, little Parker.”

She calmed down and waited to hear what they wanted.

“Good girl,” he whispered next to her ear. The smell of liquor and cigarette smoke made her cringe in disgust. The other man moved closer.

He had a shadow of a beard and dark eyes, but it was the evil within them that showed perfectly, causing her to tremble in fear.

“We’re not going to hurt you,” he whispered before gliding his thumb across her bottom lip. She noticed the square, shiny ring covered in many small diamonds on his pinky finger. That had to have cost a fortune.

“Yet,” whispered the man behind her, holding her closer, he was practically crushing her ribs.

“Where’s your old man?”

“I…I don’t know.” She shook with fear at the way the man in front of her stared at her body. The man behind her squeezed her tighter.

“Please, you’re hurting me,” she whimpered as he chuckled behind her. His hot breath burned against her hair.

“I’m only going to ask you this once. Now be a good girl and tell us where your father is?”

“I don’t know. I swear I don’t know.”

He stared at her as if contemplating whether he believed her or not.

She prayed he did. She prayed that they wouldn’t touch her or hurt her.

“He owes us thirty thousand plus interest. He’s way behind in his payments, and time is up.”

Anna swallowed the lump in her throat. She instantly thought about the time two weeks ago when she found her father beaten, bloody, and drunk by the front door. She figured he drank too much and had a fight in a bar somewhere. Boy, had she been wrong. She was sick and tired of living this life and having nothing.

“I’m afraid if he doesn’t show up, we’re going to have to leave him a message. Unfortunately for you, it’s going to be a very clear and precise message that he can understand.” He rubbed the ring against her cheekbone. Not enough to cut her skin, but the threat was apparent.

“I swear I don’t know what you are talking about. I work all day and night and give him the money for the rent and the food shopping. I didn’t know he borrowed money. I swear,” she yelled, and he grabbed her face so tight she felt pain in her jaw. She squealed as his fingers dug deeper into her cheeks.

“It’s a shame that my partner here has to mess up this pretty little face, sweetheart.” He shoved her face to the side, but his eyes remained on her.

“She’s got quite the body, too,” the guy holding her whispered, then grabbed a handful of her backside.

Anna screamed and tried to pull away, and he hurt her when he grabbed her rear. She clawed at the man behind her and kicked the man in front of her. Screaming, she attempted to run but was hit in the shoulder blade from behind.

“Bitch!” She heard one of them yell. Then she felt pain as the man

who had been holding her backhanded her across the mouth. Strike after strike, she attempted to defend herself, rolling to the floor in a fetal position.