Page 5 of Truth

He looked at me, then at Brianna.

“Eyes over here.” He returned his gaze to mine. “Good. Now. Where were we? Oh yes, you were going to explain to me how a father can justify selling his one and only daughter.”

He turned his head again to look at Brianna.

“I said eyes on me,” I snapped. I stalked toward him, and was pleased to see that I had his full attention. “You will keep your focus on me, or I will restrain you in a way to force you to. Your choice.”

He furrowed his brow in concentration. I had no doubt he was gauging how serious I was. If he decided to push back, he’d find out exactly how serious I could be. I had a posture collar upstairs that would solve his wandering eye problem perfectly. It wasn’t something I used often. Actually, I’d gotten it specifically for Tami. She got off on being restrained. The more restrained the better. I may never use it again, but in this situation, it might come in handy.

After a rather lengthy staring contest, Jonathan Reeves slumped back in his seat and said, “I didn’t sell her.”

I looked at him in disbelief. He was honestly going to try to feed me a story. Did he think I was stupid?

“Let me bring you up to speed about what I do know,” I said, allowing him to hear my repulsion. “I know that you had a gambling problem. I also know that you borrowed money from Jean Dumas to pay off your debts. Now my question is what exactly did you promise Dumas in return?”

Reeves pressed his lips tightly together, much like his daughter did when she was nervous. It was the only outward sign of his discomfort. Thankfully I’d learned Brianna’s tells well, and they were useful tools when dealing with her father.

“Cat got your tongue?” I wanted to beat the man to a bloody pulp for what he did to Brianna. Unfortunately, with Brianna in the room, I had to restrain myself. I didn’t think she would react well to such a display of violence.

“You don’t understand.”

His voice was almost pleading, as if begging for sympathy. That wasn’t something he was likely to get from me, not after everything I’d learned from Brianna. Not after seeing her deal with debilitating panic attacks over and over again. There were many people who were responsible, and Jonathan Reeves was one of them.

“Perhaps you’d care to explain it to me, then.”

He stared at me and then jerked, testing the restraints for a second time. His tenacity made me smile. Reeves could test his bindings all he wanted. They would hold. I wasn’t a Shibari expert by any means, but I was proficient in the basics. He wouldn’t be getting free until I allowed it.

“You could loosen these, you know. They’re a little tight.”

“The ropes are fine, and I’m waiting.”

The man was stubborn, I’d give him that. He continued to assess me, trying to look for a way out of the situation he currently found himself in, a weakness. He wouldn’t find one. Jonathan Reeves wasn’t leaving here until he started talking.

Another five minutes passed before he finally slumped back in his chair, resigning himself to the situation. I didn’t say anything, just waited for him to start speaking. He met my gaze, and I could see the disgust in his eyes. I was sure he saw a similar reflection in mine.

“I messed up,” he muttered. I thought the fact that he messed up was a given, but apparently he felt the need to preface whatever he was about to say with that fact.

He paused.

I waited.

“When... when I found out Anna’s mom, Carrie, was sick—dying—I sank into some sort of depression.” He closed his eyes and shook his head. “I should never have gone with Chad, but I did. It was only supposed to be something to take my mind off of things, a distraction.” His voice drifted off, and I knew from experience with Brianna that he was falling into a past memory. Like father like daughter, I supposed.

“He took you gambling.”

Reeves opened his eyes and met my stare. “Yes.” He swallowed. “I couldn’t stop.”

“I know this part,” I said, getting agitated. “What I want to know is at what point did you think it was a good idea to sell your daughter?” My voice rose giving way to my irritation.

“I didn’t!”

I lifted my eyebrows, showing him my doubt at his declaration.

“I didn’t,” he insisted.

Again, his eyes pleaded with me to believe him. I didn’t. I’d done my research on him, too. The man was a cop, yet there was no missing person’s report on Brianna. If he were not to blame for her ten months of hell, why didn’t he do everything within his power to find her?

Eventually, when I didn’t soften my stance, Reeves continued. “I had no idea what Dumas had planned to do. Until that day, I didn’t even know he was aware of Anna.”

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