Page 70 of Need

Without saying a word, I guided Brianna through the coffee shop and out onto the sidewalk. Although the day was warm, her arms stayed wrapped around my middle as she huddled close. I felt Ross behind us, but chose to ignore him. With no idea what happened, I was trying to be rational and not lash out at him, as difficult as that was.

We walked inside my building, and Tom was there waiting for us. “Good afternoon, Mr. Coleman. I put some money in the meter for you. Did you wish for me to have your car taken to the garage?”

I paused. Putting money into the parking meter hadn’t even crossed my mind. “Yes please, Tom. That would be most helpful, and thank you for putting money in the meter for me.”

“You’re welcome, Mr. Coleman,” he said as I continued to move toward the elevator. “I hope you feel better, Miss Reeves.”

Brianna didn’t respond, but I didn’t expect her to. The elevator doors opened, and we stepped inside. Ross followed.

The ride up the elevator was quiet, as was the walk to our condominium. Ross was practically breathing down my neck as I opened the door, led Brianna inside and over to my chair, but thankfully he remained silent. Once she was situated on my lap, her head resting on my shoulder, I spared him a glance. He was watching us with what appeared to be curiosity, rather than the contempt I’d seen on his face in the past.

I didn’t offer him a seat, but he eventually sat down on the couch a few feet away. Brianna was still clinging to me, although she was now picking at the buttons on the front of my shirt, so I knew she was better.

Sending her into another panic was the last thing I wanted to do, so I worked to control the tone of my voice.

“What happened?” I didn’t care which one of them answered me as long as one of them did.

Brianna

“It was my fault,” I whispered.

“No. It was mine.” Cal’s voice echoed through the room, cutting off anything else I was going to say. The force behind it made me curl farther into Stephan, and his arms tightened around me.

“Explain,” Stephan demanded, and I knew he wasn’t talking to me. He’d never spoken to me like that, even when I’d messed up and ignored his calls.

“I was trying to get her to tell me what happened to her, but she wouldn’t. Then you came up. It was a short conversation that ended with her yelling that you saved her and got her out of some horrible place. I knew she was protective of you, I just didn’t think she’d react like that.” I wasn’t looking at Cal, but I heard movement, and the next time he spoke, I could tell he was standing. “You won’t tell me what’s happened to her. She won’t tell me... I’m supposed to be keeping her whereabouts from her father, who I might point out, has contacted me looking for her. Someone needs to give me a reason why I’m lying to an old family friend who, to my knowledge, is desperate to find his missing daughter!”

I cringed. From what Stephan had told me, I’d been pretty sure John was looking for me. Hearing Cal confirm it—that he’d been in touch with him—sent shivers down my spine.

“If Brianna wants you to know what happened to her, she will tell you when she’s ready. Is it too much to ask for you to respect her wishes?” Stephan asked.

“When it puts me in the middle of a situation where I’m clearly missing a huge piece of information, yes, it is too much to ask.”

I didn’t have to look up to know they were both sneering at each other. Cal had never been one to back down when he thought he was right. I couldn’t see Stephan backing down either.

“Sir?” I whispered. Stephan’s eyes left Cal’s and focused on me. “Will you tell him? Please? I don’t think... I don’t think I can without...”

“Are you sure?”

I nodded.

“Okay,” he said, kissing my forehead before turning back to Cal. “I’m going to give you the short version. It will tell you what you need to know. Anything else and you are going to have to wait for her to be ready to tell you. I will warn you now, if you push her again and she’s not ready, you will be answering to me. Are we clear?”

Cal was silent for a long moment. At first, I didn’t think he was going to answer, but finally he said, “All right.”

I felt Stephan nod once before he started talking. “Up until two months ago, Brianna was held captive as a slave by a wealthy man outside of the city. She had many things done to her, and she has a very difficult time trusting anyone, let alone men. And from everything I’ve been able to find so far, it looks as if Jonathan Reeves is involved.”

“You think Sheriff Reeves sold his own daughter into slavery?” Cal asked. I could hear his disbelief.

“Yes, but more importantly, Brianna believes it. He told her a car was coming to pick her up. That same car took her to her new Master.”

Silence filled the room, and my curiosity won out. I glanced up to see Cal standing there with his mouth opening and shutting, but no sound was coming out.

Stephan noticed my change in focus, and brought his lips to my ear. “You okay?”

“Yes.” I nodded. “Is Cal...”

As if hearing his name broke him out of the trance he’d been in, he found his voice again. “Is that true, Anna? You think your dad...”

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