Page 117 of Truth

He also made me breakfast this morning. I wanted to help, but he wouldn’t let me. Instead, he had me talk to him while he was cooking. He told me he’s taking me out to dinner tonight. I’m still nervous about it—I don’t like being in strange places or around people I don’t know—but Stephan said it would just be us and the server. I have no idea how he arranged something like that, but I was grateful.

My cell phone rang, dragging my attention away from my journal. I glanced down at the screen and eagerly answered it. He told me I had a delivery downstairs I needed to sign for.

After assuring him I would call him back once I returned to the condo, I grabbed my shoes and keys and then ventured out into the elevator. This was only the third time I’d gone out on my own like this. Both of the previous times, I’d been going to meet Cal.

As soon as I thought his name, I wondered if the delivery was from him. The only people I knew well enough for them to send me something were Cal and Lily. And maybe Jade.

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside. I knew some people found elevators to be stuffy and confining. They didn’t feel that way to me, however, as long as I was alone or with Stephan. Elevators had four walls. An enclosed space. Once inside, the outside world had little effect. I liked that about them.

It didn’t take long to reach the bottom floor, and when the doors opened I could see a man holding a large vase of flowers standing beside Tom. “Thank you for coming down, Miss Reeves. This man here has a delivery of flowers for you, and he insists you are the only one allowed to sign for them.”

I looked at the man. He appeared to be in his early thirties and seemed to grow impatient when I didn’t immediately approach him. “Are you Brianna Reeves?”

“Y-yes.”

He seemed not to notice my anxiety. Or he was ignoring it.

“Look, I just need for you to sign this here, and I’ll be on my way.” The man took a step toward me, and I took a step back.

Thankfully, Tom stepped in front of the man, blocking his path. “Give me that.”

“She needs to sign it.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Tom said, ripping the clipboard out of the man’s hand. “But in case you didn’t realize it, you’re scaring her. Wait here, and I’ll get you your signature. Then you can go.”

The man didn’t look happy, but he remained where he was while Tom brought the clipboard to me. “Sorry about that, Miss Reeves.”

“Thank you.”

Tom smiled. “Anytime.”

I quickly signed my name and handed the clipboard back to Tom. He crossed the room and gave it to the man.

“Thanks for using Twin City Florist.”

Once he was gone, I tentatively walked across the lobby to Tom’s desk, where the flowers were sitting. I picked up the vase and sniffed. The flowers were beautiful. A mix of all different colors and sizes. It reminded me of a field of wild flowers.

Something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I looked toward the front doors. There, striding toward me at a rapid pace, was my father. I dropped the vase and barely registered the sound of it shattering on the tile floor as I turned and ran in the opposite direction.

I heard Tom yelling, but I couldn’t stop. An arm grabbed me from behind, and without thinking, I spun out of its grasp. Then I took off running again.

There was no way I could make it to the elevator and get inside before he caught up to me, so I headed toward the stairs. I reached out to open the door, but it opened on its own. A man appeared. A huge man. The one who’d come to the condo before with Tom to make sure John left.

I gasped, startled by his appearance. Before I could reverse direction, he wrapped his large hands around my upper arms and lifted, placing me behind him. Shocked, I stood immobile, not sure what had just happened or what I should do.

“What—” I heard John utter a second before I watched the fist of the man in front of me collide with John’s face. He fell to the floor.

“That’s for the Taser.”

The big man stepped away from me, and I cringed back against the staircase.

I was about to take off up the stairs when I saw John trying to get up, but the big man pulled him up by his shirt and punched him again. “And that’s for her.”

This time, John didn’t get up.

Tom appeared in the doorway looking flustered. “Are you all right, Miss Reeves?”

I nodded.

---