Chapter 50

Landon looked at his watch as he got out of the building. He had used about forty five minutes of his break. He figured he had enough time to stop for a coffee and make an important call.

After getting his coffee, he called Veronica, Ana's mother. The woman picked on the third ring and her melodious voice, almost like Ana's own made Landon's chest to clench.

"Hello? Landon?" Veronica asked as she picked. She knew Landon. He had been Ana's friend for long while and she was still holding out on the hope that Ana was going to come to her senses and let Landon wife her up.

"Yeah Veronica. How are you?" He asked politely.

"I'm very good and you Landon?" she asked then without giving him time to answer, continued to her next question. "Why are you calling me? I mean, you rarely do," she said and Landon started guiltily.

"I'm really sorry Veronica. I've just been really stressed out," he said with a sigh.

"I hope that daughter of mine is not the one causing your stress," Veronica said in a tone that irked Landon. She always liked to assume that Ana was a rebellious and bad child. Which was the complete opposite. Ana had tried so hard to please this woman that she had almost lost herself in the process.

"No it's not Ana," Landon said in a tone that gave the impression that Ana was nothing but sunshine and rainbows. Which was not the case, but her mother always exaggerated shit.

"Oh," Veronica said, a bit miffed. She had expected Landon to agree with her, forgetting that the boy had feelings for her.

"Why then did you call me?" she asked, her voice getting robbed of that gentle quality it had when she had answered the call.

"It's not something I can talk to you about on the phone. I was wondering if you could spare a couple of minutes tomorrow. It's really urgent," he added when he felt her hesitation.

"Um, okay. Just let me know the time," Veronica said, a big confused. No doubt the gears in her brain were flying at one million per hour.

"Okay thank you Veronica. Have a nice day." Landon knew it was rude, but he didn't wait for her response. Just hung up. The woman was a stressful one to deal with. And he understood why Ana always sounded winded out after an encounter with her mother.

The next person he would call was Jack Knight. But that was going to have to wait. Landon knew Knight was about as worried he was concerning Ana. But he couldn't bring himself to care that much.

The man had hurt Ana. And in Landon's opinion, Ana deserved better. And he wasn't trying to be cocky or anything, but yes, he did think he was better. If only Ana gave him the chance to love her the way he wanted to love her, he would never hurt her. He would cherish her and treat her like the pearl she was.

But he couldn't do a damn thing about it. She had made her choice. And in as much as it hurt him, he had to accept it.

***

The next day, Landon called Jack. It was a Friday, which was generally his off day. Once a month that is. He told Knight to meet him at Ana's apartment.

Soon enough, the man was there. It was like he had taken a jet or something. Landon admired his dedication even though it irked him to a certain extent.

"Knight," he said when the man got in. It appeared the dislike was shared. No no. It did not "appear". The dislike was shared. Both of knew it.

"Geralds," Jack replied, walking towards him. They made no move to greet each other further than that. Those single words spoken had taken great efforts for both parties.

"So, what did you find out?" Jack asked, looking at Landon with a raised brow.

They were so different and standing there, facing each other, their differences were only reinforced. Jack was leaner than Landon, with dark hair and obvious charm, one that he didn't hesitate to use.

Landon on the other had, was all sinew and muscles. And his bronde hair and dark eyes, his charm was less obvious. But nobody could argue with the fact that both of them were insanely attractive men, who could even have been friends if Ana hadn't been in the picture.

"Adams, Ana's boss proposed for me– us to look at the surveillance cameras. According to him, Ana asked for permission on Tuesday and he hadn't seen her since then," Landon explained.

Jack looked at him thoughtfully. It was like the gears in his mind were turning. "What about the girl who took it upon herself to torture Ana at the office? Did you question her?" he asked and Landon frowned.

"I– no I didn't see the need," he answered making Jack raise a brow.

"You didn't see the need? At this point, nobody is exempted," Jack said frantically.

"Did you talk to your mother?" Landon asked as a jab, spitting out the last word. Jack's face turned red.

"As a matter of fact, yes I did. And I– dammit," Jack said, then he turned away as if to compose himself. Landon frowned curiously.

Jack faced him again and said, "I know my mother is behind all this and she told me where Ana is."

"Where is she?" Landon asked urgently.

"At an old warehouse of ours," Jack replied. It appeared he was fighting with his emotions.

Landon looked at him with an emotion that was not quite pity but not quite anything else. It had to be hard. Finding out that your mother was a monster. And not only was she cruel, she was also after the woman you loved and who was also carrying your baby.

For the first time in his life, Landon almost thanked the stars that his mother had abandoned him at birth. If this was how mother's behaved then he didn't want one. He was okay the way he was.

"Where is it found?" he found himself asking. He couldn't comfort Jack. And he was pretty sure that if he tried, he was going to lose a couple of limbs.

"I'll drive," Jack said shortly. They walked out of the apartment and went to the elevator. Both of them were silent through out the ride.

It wasn't that they didn't have anything to say. On the contrary. There was a lot of shit they would love to say to each other. But it was probably not the right moment.

"Why did you tell me you couldn't find Ana, when you bloody well knew who I was asking about?" Jack asked, curiously. His tone wasn't angry. It was just confused.

"Why do you just assume I knew who you were asking about?" Landon asked, looking at Jack intently.

"Stop playing the fool Geralds. With my description, there was no doubt about who i was. You knew who I was from the moment I described that night and Ana. No coincidence is that accurate," Jack said with an eye roll.

"Yes I knew who you were. But you can't blame me. I love Ana. And in my mind, both of you meeting would be a bad thing. You can't blame me," Landon said quietly.

"I probably would have done the same thing," Jack admitted. Landon was startled. But he took the offered olive branch with a small chuckle.

"Dammit, this has been the worst week in my life. I find out my mother is a criminal and the woman I love, and who is also carrying my baby, is nowhere to be found. All because of my mother," Jack said suddenly.

Landon was silent for a while. He didn't know what exactly to say. Then he cleared his throat and said, "well you do have the shittiest luck."

The remark was so candid and devoid of pity that Jack burst into laughter. That was the last thing he had expected Landon to say.

He was used to take sympathy or even pity. But not honesty. Never honesty. It was refreshing.

"Why do we hate each other so much again?" Jack asked thoughtfully.

"Because we love the same woman," was Landon's dry response. Jack nodded his head solemnly, almost like they were talking about signing a contract or something.

"But she had chosen you and there's nothing I can do about that. And at risk of sounding like I actually like you, you are not so bad," Landon offered grudgingly, and Jack's eyebrows flew up.

This was the highest level of respect he could have reached regarding Landon. For him to speak so honestly. Jack recognized something in Landon that was also in him. Both of them were proud men and for the detective to say something like that showed he really meant it.

"You are not so bad yourself Geralds," Jack said and the two men smiled at each other.