Page 121 of Truth

Reluctantly, the officer strode away, back toward Jonathan Reeves.

Once he was out of earshot, Oscar turned to face me. “Now what in the hell were you doing talking to him in the first place?”

“You told me to stall.”

Oscar shook his head, looked up at the sky, and mumbled something unintelligible.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Stephan

The next hour about killed me. A female officer showed up ten minutes after Oscar and insisted on talking to Brianna alone. Thankfully, Oscar was allowed to be with her. That was both a blessing and a curse, since I knew he’d watch out for her best interests but also that she’d be scared to death because she didn’t know him. I paced the entire time she was out of my sight.

Michael stayed with me. I had no idea what was going through his mind. Given everything he’d researched and what he’d both heard and seen, he knew more than most.

When the police had finally left the building, and Jonathan Reeves had been driven off in the back of a police cruiser, Oscar approached me with a face that warned me of the serious conversation that was coming. “We need to talk.”

I nodded. “Let’s go upstairs.”

Brianna hesitated in the doorway to the small office off the lobby they’d used to question her about the incident. She looked from me to Oscar, then at the others in the room. To ease her concern, I motioned to her, and just like that, she was running across the room. She circled her arms around my waist, pressing her head against my chest. I cuddled her close and kissed the top of her head.

Once she was calm, I moved us toward the elevator. Oscar and Michael followed.

The doors opened, but as we stepped inside, my attention was once again drawn toward the front of the building as Ross walked through the doors. He spotted us, took in everyone’s stiff posture, and frowned.

I sighed.

He strode straight to us, not bothering to acknowledge Tom or Jesse, who were still back behind the desk after the earlier incident.

“What happened?”

Michael looked at Ross with curiosity. Oscar, while never having met him before in person, knew who he was. I could tell by the expression on his face.

“Get in. We’re going upstairs to talk.” I tightened my hold on Brianna. “John paid Brianna a visit today.”

An angry scowl took over Ross’s face as he stepped inside the elevator.

No one said a word until we were all situated in various places around the living room. I held Brianna in my lap, threading my fingers through her hair, trying to comfort her as best I could with Oscar and Michael—people she didn’t know—in the room with us. A charge of emotion hung in the air as we all stared at each other.

It was Ross who broke the silence. “Is someone going to tell me what happened, or I am supposed to guess?”

Before I could respond, Oscar leveled an even stare at Ross and answered. “From what we’ve been able to piece together so far, it appears Jonathan Reeves had a bouquet of flowers delivered to Brianna. When she came downstairs to sign for them, he rushed into the building and tried to grab her.”

Ross’s gaze fell on Brianna. “He didn’t hurt her, did he?”

It was my turn to answer. “No. Thankfully, Tom and Jesse were there and took him out before he could.”

Ross turned and paced toward the large bank of windows that ran the length of my living room. “I can’t believe this. I thought... I mean... when I told him I’d seen Brianna and that she seemed fine, happy even... I thought he’d back off. Leave her alone. I didn’t think he’d do this.”

“He did.”

“Yes, he did,” Oscar said, bringing everyone’s attention back to him. “Which brings us to our next problem.”

I expected Oscar to elaborate, but he turned to Michael instead. “How much do you know?”

“If you’re asking me if I know how Miss Reeves came to be with Mr. Coleman, then... I know enough.”

“Actually, Oscar, you two need to talk. Michael looked over the bank statements you sent me, and—”

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