Page 6 of Truth

“You called her. You told her to get into that car.”

“Yes.” He nodded, seeming stunned that I knew what had transpired that day. “Yes. I called her. He said he wanted her to join us for dinner. That if I didn’t call her, he would make sure he met her on his own. I didn’t have a choice. Anna didn’t know anything about what I’d done. I’d tried to keep her out of it. Tried to keep her safe.”

At that point, I walked away from him. I had to. The man was trying to convince himself, and me, that he was a good father who had been coerced into allowing Brianna to fall into the hands of that sadistic bastard.

I walked across the room to Brianna. She was huddled into a ball in my chair. Bending over, I scooped her up into my arms and sat down. She wrapped her arms around my neck and laid her head on my shoulder. I started to calm down, if only a little. Ignoring the man sitting across the room for the time being, I closed my eyes and breathed in the coconut scent of her hair. Jonathan Reeves still had some explaining to do, but at that moment I needed the love and comfort only Brianna could provide. Reeves wasn’t going anywhere.

Chapter Three

Stephan

I ran my hands over her back, her hips, and halfway down her legs before trailing back up and starting over again. With every inch of her skin I touched, my anger slowly receded. I took a deep breath and opened my eyes.

The first thing I noticed was Brianna. Her eyes were closed, just as mine had been. All the tension I’d felt in her muscles when I’d picked her up and placed her in my lap was gone. She was completely content, relaxed, sitting in my arms. I brushed my lips gently against her forehead. She sighed. If only we could stay like this.

That wasn’t possible, however, and I knew it. I turned my head, resting my cheek on her hair, and glanced over at the man tied to one of my dining room chairs. He was watching us. All the pleading desperation he’d had in his face while he told me his story not ten minutes before was gone. In its place was what looked to be anger and... hatred? I had no idea what he was reading into my interaction with his daughter, but I couldn’t have cared less. Even if she weren’t already a legal adult, he’d lost all say in her life a long time ago.

When he realized I was watching him, the center of his eyebrows angled down, and his chest rose and fell with his exaggerated breathing. I knew he was gearing up to say something, and maybe I should have waylaid it by getting up and walking over to him, but I wasn’t quite ready to let Brianna go.

“How dare you!” He spat out the words between clenched teeth.

Brianna jerked at the sound of his voice. She curled her fingers around my shirt, holding it in a death grip. I ran my fingers through her hair, trying to calm her.

“In case you haven’t noticed, you’re frightening her. If you do, in fact, care for her, even a little, then perhaps you should consider your words and your tone before you speak,” I said with a slight edge of irritation.

The man was testing my patience. While I doubted Reeves had any real fatherly love or compassion for Brianna, I was hoping that, at the very least, the act he was trying to portray of the devoted father who’d been searching desperately for his daughter would carry over. It was worth a try.

To my great surprise, he appeared shocked at my words and lowered his gaze to Brianna. I watched his expression morph into what looked like genuine concern. Either he was a good actor, or he was bad at reading people. I had a hard time believing the latter, considering he was a cop. Being able to read a person was part of the job description, wasn’t it? Then again, I wasn’t all that convinced he was a good cop.

I pulled my attention away from him and focused once again on the woman in my arms. Brianna was still clutching my shirt, but her grip wasn’t as tight as it had been. She had her face pressed against my neck. I could feel every exhale and knew her breathing had slowed. I caressed her cheek several times before tilting her chin up so she was looking at me. Her eyes were so full of trust, and it continued to amaze me how far she’d come in such a short amount of time. She was so strong.

“I need to go talk to your father again, Brianna.”

She shook her head, her eyes pleading with me.

I cupped her face with my hands. “You’ll be fine. I’ll be right over there if you need me. He won’t hurt you,” I whispered.

She didn’t want me to leave—that was plain to see on her face—but she nodded and relaxed her fingers. I leaned closer, caressing my lips against her temple and trailing them down to her ear. “Good girl.”

Standing up, I sat her back down in my chair. I made sure she was okay before walking back across the room to where Reeves was sitting. His hostility was back, but he appeared to be trying to rein it in for Brianna’s sake. I appreciated the effort, but it was too little, too late.

This time when he spoke, it was with less volume and not quite as aggressive. “You’ve brainwashed her,” he accused.

I cocked my head to the side, observing him. Reeves still thought he was running the show. I shook my head and ignored his accusation. What he thought of me was irrelevant.

“Tell me how you know Ian Pierce.”

At the sound of his name, Brianna whimpered. I glanced over to check on her. She was once again huddled into a ball, her knees pulled up tight to her chest. I sighed and turned back to Reeves. The sooner we got this over with, the sooner I could give her the comfort she required from me.

“Who is Ian Pierce?”

Jonathan Reeves appeared confused with my current line of questioning. I wondered if he really didn’t know, or was playing dumb for some ulterior motive.

“He’s a friend of your benefactor, Dumas. You mean to tell me that you have no idea who he is?”

“No,” he said, shaking his head. “I’ve never heard of him. Why would I? Who is he, and what does he have to do with Anna?”

I leaned back against the table casually. It was still taking effort not to pummel Brianna’s father, but he didn’t need to know that. If he knew how angry I was, he might be able to use that against me, and I wasn’t willing to let that happen.

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