Page 25 of Need

Stephan

Brianna’s leaving my side with Lily, even for a few minutes, increased my anxiety. I knew now that both Daren and Karl were here. Although I didn’t think either would cause her harm, I was still hoping she did not see them without me by her side.

Logan found me briefly before he was shepherded away, and I was once again left to my own devices. I spent the time scanning the room.

Daren had been easy to find. He and Gina were standing five tables away talking to another couple. There was no sign of Karl. If he was sitting down, however, I wouldn’t have seen him. Too many people were up milling about now that the music was starting.

I glanced down at my watch. They had been gone for ten minutes. It wasn’t long, but for some reason, my worry increased. I positioned myself so that I was constantly watching the entrance they would most likely use.

My back straightened as I saw Lily. I looked behind her for Brianna, but she wasn’t there. Then I caught the look on Lily’s face. Standing, I quickly closed the gap between us.

“Lily, what is it? Where’s Brianna?” I demanded.

“She’s... Stephan, you have to come. Karl...” It was all I let her say before I pushed her aside and almost ran out of the ballroom and into the lobby.

As soon as I arrived in the smaller room, I saw there had been a commotion. Everyone was trying to act normal, but I noticed their eyes continued to glance over to a short hallway to my right. Turning to look in that direction, I saw two figures obscured by a large plant. Only the end of Brianna’s dress confirmed she was behind the greenery. I wasted no more time crossing the space separating us.

What I hadn’t expected to find on the other side of the overshadowing foliage was Cal Ross. The man had been a thorn in my side ever since he’d taken over Ross Builders from his father over a year ago. I leveled a not-so-friendly look at him before turning to Brianna. Her hair had come down a little and there was a large, red mark on her neck. I knelt down next to her.

Hearing the raspy sound of her voice as she confirmed Karl had done this to her made me cringe. Two members of the hotel’s security decided to pick that moment to check on things. They asked if I wanted the police called, but I declined. The last thing we needed were the police involved. I assured them that since Karl was my employee, I’d make sure the situation was handled. Thankfully, they accepted this, used to dealing with matters of discretion, and left us.

I pulled her to me and placed several kisses on the top of her head before turning slightly to face Cal. He was watching me closely. I didn’t care.

As much as I didn’t like Cal Ross, I knew that he must have been the one to come to Brianna’s rescue. She wasn’t acting scared of him, which she would have been if he’d just harmed her. He was acting extremely protective of her. That, I had to admit, I didn’t like very much. Offering my thanks to him for coming to Brianna’s aid, I bit my tongue at his curt reply and only nodded. Cal Ross was the least of my worries right now.

I stood and helped her up. My eyes roamed every inch of her. There were red marks on her arms, but they weren’t bad. The main thing was her neck. It was worse than I’d originally thought. Not only was it red where Karl’s hand had been, but there was a deeper, angrier red mark where he’d obviously pushed her collar into her flesh. I took my index finger and traced the line it had left and felt the anger boiling inside me. Karl would pay.

Lily was standing just behind me, and I asked her to retrieve Brianna’s wrap from our seats. She’d been through more than enough tonight. I was taking her home.

Suddenly, Cal’s hand gripped Brianna’s wrist. He addressed her only. “You live with him, Anna?”

Anna?

A cold feeling ran down my spine. My arms tightened their hold on Brianna. She was mine. Mine until she told me she no longer wanted me. He would not have her.

I only half-heard her answer him as Lily came back with the wrap. All I wanted to do was get us out of there.

As I took the wrap from her hands, Lily told Brianna she’d call her tomorrow. As Lily walked away, my eyes stayed on Ross. No matter my feelings, he’d been there for Brianna tonight when I had not. He’d protected her. I placed the wrap around Brianna’s shoulders and pulled her against my side. Extending my free hand, I offered it to Cal, thanking him again. This time, he reluctantly took my offering.

I moved us to the elevator. The business part of the evening was over and some other couples were leaving as well. Two stood with us waiting for the elevator to reach our floor.

When the light came on above the metal doors, I began to relax. Then someone called my name. Although I wanted to ignore it, I knew it would be impolite to do so. I turned us both around, and saw Daren walk toward us.

Brianna reacted. It was what I’d feared. We had not discussed Daren, or what had happened at the party where he’d seen her. I had no idea what, if anything, had happened between them. It was that unknown that had me wanting to keep them apart tonight. Unfortunately, short of me throwing Brianna over my shoulder and running down the stairs, we were going to have to face whatever demons were lurking there.

My arm tightened around her.

“Stephan, I’m so glad I caught you,” Daren said as he came to a stop in front of us.

“Hello, Daren.” I could feel Brianna’s panic rising, and I wanted to get her out of there as quickly as possible.

My old friend smiled at me. “I’m glad to see you here.” He turned to Brianna and his face fell.

I have no idea what happened concerning him after that. Brianna had all my attention. Her breathing was heavy and unsteady. I could feel her body trembling under my hands. “I’m sorry, Daren, but we’ll have to do this another time.”

Without waiting for his response, I lifted Brianna off her feet and moved us the few yards it took to reach the stairwell. It was the quickest exit, and the one with the least amount of people.

I set Brianna’s feet back on the ground once the door had closed firmly behind us. She fell back against the wall, unable to support her own weight. I grasped her arms to steady her, but that was the least of my concerns. “What number, Brianna?”

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