Page 1 of Truth

Chapter One

Brianna

“I’m so glad I found you. You have no idea what it took for me to find you, baby girl.”

His words echoed in my ears as I stood there staring. He was here. He was really here. I was frozen, unable to move. I needed to get away. Away from him. Away from here.

Red! screamed in my head but refused to come out of my mouth. It was as if I’d suddenly swallowed a mouthful of cotton. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t speak. Fear took over. My chest tightened, making it harder to breathe.

I stumbled backward, still trying to speak, but nothing would come out. I had to get away. Stephan. I needed Stephan.

As I moved farther into the living room, he followed me. He was like a giant, filling the space. I’d always thought Stephan’s place was large, but now it felt very small as John stalked toward me. The panic continued to rise, but I fought it. Breathe. Remember to breathe. Stephan. Think about Stephan.

Oxygen tore through my lungs with every intake of air. I was breathing, but it wasn’t doing its job. It wasn’t calming me. My father had come for me.

Every step I took, he matched and then some. I couldn’t get away. He was bigger, stronger. Why? Why was he here? What did he want with me?

Turning my back on him for the first time, I ran toward the phone. I stumbled over the coffee table on my way and righted myself. I knew he was close, but I had to try. I had to try to call Stephan.

My hands trembled as I picked up the phone. I didn’t get any further than that. Before my fingers could touch the keys, he snatched the phone out of my hands, tossing it to the floor behind him. He was too close.

I stepped back again, trying to get away. He said something, but I couldn’t understand it. His words echoed through my head like the rumble of cars through a tunnel.

He reached out, his fingers grazing my arm as I moved. Again he spoke, and again I couldn’t make out his words. I cringed at his touch, taking another step away from him and bumping into the couch. The collision jarred me from my stupor, and I tried again to utter my safeword.

“R-red. Red!”

Instead of stepping back, leaving, he continued to approach me, his brow furrowed in confusion. I wanted him to leave. Why wouldn’t he just leave?

“Anna, honey. It’s okay. It’s me, your father.”

Shaking my head, I did the only thing I could think to do. I ran toward my bedroom. He was blocking my path to the front door, so my bedroom was my only hope. If I could get inside, shut the door behind me, and lock it—I would be safe.

Unfortunately, a split second after I started running, so did he. I heard his footsteps behind me, gaining. John reached the door almost at the same time I did, and I was trapped. I knew in that moment I wouldn’t be able to get away from him. That the happiness I’d experienced with Stephan was over. John was going to take it away from me, and I was powerless to stop it.

John called my name again, and I whipped my head around to stare at him. Something tugged at my neck, and I reached up to feel Stephan’s collar. I couldn’t give up. I couldn’t. He wouldn’t want that.

Closing my eyes for a moment, I decided to give it one last try and took off toward my bathroom. It was a feeble attempt at best. He’d already proven he could catch me, but I couldn’t give up. Not when there was still a chance.

Once again, he was there almost before I was. His hand lay flat against the door, and I was unable to close it behind me. I ran to the far corner of the room, pressing myself against the wall. He stood there staring at me for a minute before he came closer. Every step he took was measured, as if gauging my reaction.

I wanted to close my eyes, but I didn’t. Instead, I tried yelling my safeword again as loud as I could. He didn’t listen. He didn’t stop his approach.

My cell phone vibrated in my pocket, drawing my attention away from him. I glanced down, taking in a deep breath, hope swelling in my chest. Stephan?

Reaching into my pocket, I struggled to remove the phone. It was my last chance.

I finally wrestled it free of my jeans, but as soon as John realized what I had in my hand, he knocked it away. Tears welled up in my eyes as I heard the clatter of my phone hitting the tile floor on the other side of the room. I was on my own. No one was going to save me this time.

I slid to the floor, and huddled into a ball, accepting my fate. I had begun to hope. I’d begun to be happy. Now it was going to end. John would take me away. He would take me away from Stephan, from my life. Would he take me back to Ian, or would it be someone else this time, someone worse? I reached up and touched my collar. Stephan.

“Anna? Anna, honey, can you hear me? Do you know who I am? I came to get you. I’m sorry it took so long, but I couldn’t find you. I looked everywhere for you, baby. You have no idea how I looked.”

Did I know who he was? Of course, I knew. I also knew what he’d done to me. He’d let Ian have me, and he’d left me there. For ten months. He let that man do things to me. Horrible, horrible things. I didn’t understand why he’d been looking for me. Was it because he’d learned Ian had sold me to Stephan and he didn’t want Stephan to have me? How did he know? Did Ian tell him? Were they friends? The thought sent a shiver down my spine, and I clasped my arms tighter around my legs.

I didn’t want to go back to the life I’d had before with Ian. As a slave, I was nothing. Here it was different. Stephan was different. He was nice to me, made me feel things—good things. I wanted to stay with Stephan. I felt warm and safe and happy here. I didn’t want to go.

My father lowered himself to the floor and began inching toward me. I repeated my safeword over and over again. He continued to ignore it.

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