Survivor of a Twisted Fate

Chapter 1

2002-Present Day

Two years had passed since Anna’s high school graduation, and she graduated from the police academy a year ago. She had been labeled as one of the best police officers in Charton, and she loved her job at the little south side substation in the city. She had a small apartment not far from the station above an office building, and it was a quiet neighborhood.

Even though she loved her job and working in the city, she decided it was time to go back home, and her partner and best friend, Paul, agreed. They filled their forms out and put in their transfer to transfer to Glee.

A couple of days later, she pulled up to the station, got out of her car, and walked into the building. She kept her hair in a braid down her back, and some strands that were free framed her face.

Anna had an average, slender, muscular build, and her chest and butt popped out, which caused a lot of unwanted attention from guys, but she learned how to ignore them.

“Simone! Woods! In my office, now,” called the chief, and Anna looked at Paul.

“What did you do?”

They asked each other in unison, laughed, and walked into the chief’s office. He pointed and crossed his arms.

“You two are my best officers, and you both put in a transfer to the Glee County Sheriff’s Department?” he asked, looking at two files on his desk.

“Yes, sir. We would like to go home,” said Anna, sitting in front of the chief’s desk, and the man looked at them.

“You two are my best, and Simone, you single-handedly solved the Martel case. We are going to be sad to see you leave,” he stated, looking at her directly.

She knew that the chief didn’t want them to leave. Good officers were hard to come by.

“You can still leave a spot open, right? If things get too boring out there?” asked Paul eagerly, and she snorted.

He hoped the chief said yes, and the chief looked at him and laughed.

“Of course, there will always be a spot that is open to the both of you here at the station.”

He smiled and gave them a knowing look. Paul and Anna looked at each other and smiled.

“Now, Simone, the Martel Case just closed. I have to have you come back in a couple of days to finish the last of the paperwork.”

“No problem, sir.”

Anna nodded and stood up. The chief waved them off, and they walked out of the office.

“What did you two do?” asked one of the other officers, walking past his desk.

“We are leaving the station,” stated Paul, and the officer looked at them in shock.

“Fired?”

“Transferred,” stated Anna.

“Damn. We are really going to miss you guys,” said another officer walking up.

Anna looked at the female officer approaching and smiled.

“We are going to miss you too,” she said, touching the girl’s shoulder.

They all nodded, and Paul and Anna headed out to the parking lot.

“See you at home,” said Paul.

Anna waved and got in her car. She went to her apartment, packed a few things, loaded her car, and headed back home. She decided to bring her father’s truck back and pack the rest of her stuff.

*****

Annette and Johnathan were in the living room, winding down for the evening, and heard the front door open.

“Hello?” Anna called, and Annette jumped up.

“Anna, honey, is that you?”

Anna set her duffle bags down and looked at her parents.

“It’s me,” she breathed, grinning.

“How long are you staying?” asked Johnathan, setting his newspaper in his lap, and both of her parents looked at her eagerly.

“Permanently!”

Annette and Johnathan exchanged looks and chuckled.

“I transferred back home, and Paul came home, as well,” said Anna, and Annette smiled widely.

“My baby has finally come home,” breathed Johnathan.

Anna shook her head as her mother walked toward her and wrapped her arms around her daughter.

“Welcome home,” she whispered.

“Thanks,” said Anna as the embrace ended.

“Is that all your stuff?” asked her mother, eyeing her duffle bags.

Anna smirked, glanced at the duffle bags, and shook her head.

“No, I am headed back to Charton in the morning. I have some paperwork with the chief to finish, and then I’m moving the rest of my stuff home. Daddy, I’m taking your truck, you can use my car for tomorrow.”

Johnathan only nodded from behind his newspaper. She grabbed her duffle bags and took them upstairs to her room. Her room was always the biggest in the house, plus she had the loft out in the barn. Her fortress of solitude was what her father called it. She took a shower and happily fell asleep. She was glad to be home.

*****

Anna left early in the morning. Her father’s truck was old and took a little longer to get to the city than her speedy little bug. However, her bug was too small to haul furniture and the rest of her things back home. She decided to go to the apartment first and start loading things up, and then she was going to run over to the station.

She was carrying a box when her cell phone rang, and she sighed heavily, setting the box down, and pulled her phone out of her pocket.

“Simone,” she answered.

“Simone, the chief left something here for you. If you could come to pick it up today, that would be great. One signature from you and this envelope for you, and you are done,” said an officer from the station.

“Okay, thank you.”

She hung up the phone and wondered what the envelope was. She loaded a few more boxes and headed over to the police station.

********

“Simone! Good to see you,” said an officer behind the front desk.

“Hi, Melvin,” Anna said with a smile.

The man pulled out a large envelope and a smaller envelope and pulled out a few forms on a clipboard.

“I just need you to sign this, and you are all set,” he said.

He handed her the two envelopes and the clipboard. Quickly, Anna signed the few forms and handed the clipboard back. The larger envelope was her copy of the Martel case, and the smaller envelope had money in it. It had to be over ten thousand dollars. She looked at Melvin in disbelief.

“I…I can’t take this,” she stammered, and he smiled at her.

“That is your bonus from the Martel case. Enjoy it, Anna. You deserve it.”

She thanked him and walked out. She couldn’t believe that her bonus was that large and in cash. She stuffed the envelope in her pocket, went back to her apartment, finished loading her things, and cleaned up the place.

******

She was going to miss her little apartment. She was wearing her dark work pants with boots up to her shins, and she had a knife sheath in her boot, pistols strapped to her thighs, and a black tank top. She grabbed a beer from her fridge, popped the top, and heard someone walking inside. Anna tilted her head and set the bottle on the counter.

“Hello?” a voice called.

It was her apartment manager. Mr. Widson was an elderly man with white hair and almond eyes who shuffled when he walked. Anna adjusted her baseball cap over her braid, walked out into the front room, and smiled when she saw the old man.

“Mr. Windson, it is good to see you.”

“Hello, Anna, I am going to miss you,” he said with a sad smile.

“Me too,” she said with a smile.

“I hate to be a bother, but I left my keys in my truck. Could I show the new building owners your apartment?” he asked, and Anna smiled at him.

“Of course.”

“Great.”

Anna went back to the kitchen, grabbed her beer, and went back to sweeping out the bedroom.

“Now, this is one of the older model apartments. One of my very best tenants is moving out today,” she heard him say and smiled.

“Oh, I am sure you will find another tenant,” she heard a voice say.

Something about the voice was familiar, and she felt tingles on the back of her neck.

“Not like her,” Mr. Windson said.

She smiled again as she swept up the mess in the bedroom. The bathroom was done, so next was the kitchen, living room, and the front room.

“This is the kitchen.”

Anna looked up, and her mouth dropped open and the man who was with her apartment manager seemed to have the same reaction.

“Well, isn’t this a surprise, hello gorgeous,” he said with a charming smile.

“Justin Hardy, well, looks as though some of us never change,” she said with a smirk.

“And some of us do, might I add,” he said, looking her over.

Anna rolled her eyes and wrinkled her nose.

“So is this what you do now? Buy old buildings and help fix them up?” she asked, taking a swig of her beer.

He smiled, shook his head, and sighed as his smile faded. She noticed a hint of sadness in his beautiful green eyes and tilted her head.

“I wanted to help Mr. Windson. He was a friend of my parents. They were going to help him with renovations before they died about a year ago.”

Anna looked at him, and her heart jerked. His parents were good people.

They died? When did that happen? she wondered to herself, and she looked at him with apologetic eyes.

“I’m sorry, Justin,” she said sadly, touching his arm.

He searched her eyes and lightly chuckled. Even though he was a jerk, at times, he was still a human being and was close to his parents.

“Thank you. So, where are you moving to?” he asked.

“Back home, I transferred to be a sheriff out there. Be closer to my parents,” she said, and he smiled at her.

He loved how family-oriented she was and noticed a kindness in her he had never seen before.

“Maybe I will see you around in Glee.”

“Maybe,” she said.

Justin stepped forward, kissed her cheek, looked into her eyes, and saw a smile playing at the corners.

“It was good to see you, Anna.”

“Good to see you too,” she said softly.

He then disappeared with Mr. Windson outside, and she smiled to herself as she finished cleaning her old place. When she was finished, she left the keys on the counter and left to head home.