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“What?” he said, his voice rising as he stood again. “You can’t mean that.”

“I do,” I assured him. “Anything you do is going to draw attention. That would not be helpful.” He didn’t seem to like that answer, but I hoped for Brianna’s sake that he’d listen.

He didn’t say much after that, although his mouth opened and shut like a fish several times. After a few minutes, he turned on his heel and left.

I leaned back in my chair, contemplating his visit. I was glad he appeared to be putting his attitude aside in order to protect Brianna, but I still didn’t like him, and I didn’t fully trust him either. I hoped that he kept his promise and didn’t tell Jonathan Reeves how to find his daughter.

Glancing at the clock, I reached for the phone and dialed Oscar. My lawyer needed to know of this new development. I also wanted to find out if his private investigator had dug up any more information.

“Davis and Associates.”

“This is Stephan Coleman. Is Oscar available?”

“Let me check, Mr. Coleman.”

Not five seconds later, the phone clicked and Oscar was on the line. “Good morning, Mr. Coleman.”

“Hello, Oscar. I wanted to see if you’d found out any new information.”

He sighed. “Not much. Mr. Pierce likes to cover his tracks. I found several transactions between him and Mr. Dumas. However, they all look legit, at least on the surface. Dumas appears to be the weaker link, as we’ve found a few holes in his books and we’re exploring them to see if they lead anywhere.”

“What about Jonathan Reeves?”

“Other than some recent Internet searches and an increase in phone calls from both his residences and his office, nothing has changed. I can’t find any evidence of illegal activity other than the gambling I told you about before.”

“Who’s he been calling?”

“Most of the calls have been to fellow law enforcement, some of which are here in Minneapolis. There have also been several calls to Cal Ross. Do you want me to look into him further?”

“Not at the moment, no. I need you to continue looking into Pierce. There has to be something there. No one is involved in human trafficking and leaves no trail. We just have to find it.”

“You do know that you could get pulled into any investigation, given the rather large transaction you made with him recently?”

“I’m aware of that. We’ll deal with it when it becomes necessary.” There was one other thing I wanted to make sure he was aware of before I let him go. “You should also know that Jonathan Reeves is currently in town looking for Brianna. I don’t know where he’s staying, but I’m sure your guy could find out.”

As soon as I hung up with Oscar, I called Tom. All nonresident traffic had to pass by him in order to enter my building. He was very good at denying access, but I needed more than that. If Jonathan Reeves showed up, I wanted to be notified immediately.

After my call to Tom, I walked the short distance to the window that separated my office from the Minneapolis skyline. My office was one of the taller ones in the city, affording me an unobstructed view of the tops of several other buildings. I couldn’t see my condo from here, and for the first time I questioned my choice of residence. Maybe I should have found something closer, within walking distance.

I knew I was being irrational. Brianna was fine. She was safe in my condo. Tom was manning the front desk, and he was notifying security as well, just to be safe. That was his suggestion, not mine. It seemed he was also rather protective of Brianna.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and dialed before I could stop myself.

It rang twice before her voice came across the line. “Hello, Sir,” she whispered, the happiness in her voice coming through the phone.

“Hello, Brianna. How’s your morning so far?”

Brianna

Last night’s shower was nice, until he tried to put his fingers inside me again. I’d felt a tightening in my chest and it was harder to breath. Why did this keep happening, and how did I fix it?

Stephan made sure I knew he wasn’t upset with me for freezing again. I still felt bad. This was something I wanted.

As he’d held me last night in my bed, he’d assured me we’d figure it out and everything would be fine. He’d reminded me of how far we’d already come, and that it was just taking time to get there given what I’d been through, and that was okay. I could tell he was frustrated, even though he tried not to let me see. He was always taking care of me, putting my needs first. Thinking about how much he’d done for me—how he’d cared for me, guided me through my panic—brought a warm feeling like none I’d felt before.

I was happy when he called. It was hard to explain how much I missed him when he was at work, even though he always reminded me he was only a phone call away.

“Go to the window, Brianna. Look out, across the buildings. Do you see the tall one to your right? I’m right on the other side.”

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