The Cuckoo Bird: Say The War Had Never Happened...

Chapter Seventeen

'She's doing what?' growled Mathias, his grip on the telephone tight.

'She sat with some random guy in the cinema, and now they're in Vertuschen.'

Mathias gripped his hair taught in his hand, twisting it to a point of pain. Anna knew he had shares in that club. He'd told her about it on their first date. Was she trying to make his head explode?

Kurt cleared his throat, the noise strange through the receiver. 'She knew who I was too. I reckon Müller told her.'

'Why the fuck is he there?'

'How should I know? It was that friend Karl, Müller and Anna. Then she invited that random guy over. Flashed me a grin, then hasn't looked at me since.'

Mathias' entire body went still. That little minx had done it deliberately. It hadn't sounded like Anna to give into the attentions of some random man. If she knew who Kurt was, then she knew he would tell Mathias what she was up to.

She was goading him.

Did she want him to come and get her? Or was she just trying to irritate him.

'So what do you want me to do, boss?' asked Kurt.

'Keep following her. If I turn up, you can go.'

'If you turn up?'

'Yes. Phone me again if they leave.'

'Will do.'

The line clicked off. Slamming the receiver down, Mathias slumped in the chair beside the telephone table.

All week he had given Anna space. Well, as much space as he would allow. He didn't like the idea of turning up at her doorstep without his promised gift; he had to have Krause's dismembered hands to give her or it was pointless. Or the creep's cock. But she hadn't wanted to see that anyway so he'd probably stick to the hands.

When she'd returned the necklace, he'd wavered about marching into her office at the museum and spanking her for her insolence. She dared to return his mark? She had no right. Still though, he had managed to restrain himself and simply return a note. 'Mine' was the only word he could think of in his fury. It had cut him deep to see Von Hart show up so casually and hand the necklace back.

Was it so easy for her to forget what they'd shared?

He'd wondered then if he had miscalculated. Maybe Anna really was done with him. That's what had made him launch the typewriter.

But now, knowing these games she was playing? Mathias was certain of the undisputed truth. She wanted him. What was the point in taunting him if she didn't want to be chased.

It was time.

Grabbing his keys and coat, he darted out of the door and didn't look back.

***

Vertuschen was booming, the music loud and lively and the dance floor filled with people taking full advantage of that fact. Several chandeliers were dotted around the space, all hung to different levels. All the booths had royal blue velvet seats, the furniture dark wood with gold accents here and there. The bar itself sat right in the middle. It was an island amidst a sea of opulence. The outside of the circular bar was all mirrored, the top of it hitting the ceiling where glasses of every kind hung from it. 

Just like everything else Mathias touched his hand to, this screamed wealth.

Learning that he held the greatest shares in it had never surprised her. It was one of the most well-known clubs in central Berlin. She was certain they'd only got a table tonight because it was a Thursday. They'd still had to wait in the queue for twenty minutes.