Page 31 of Need

“Good,” I smiled, and gave her a pat on her thigh. “Why don’t you go take a shower and get dressed? It will make you feel better.” She arose from my lap, and disappeared into her bedroom.

I waited until I heard the water turn on in her bathroom before going upstairs. Just in case Brianna finished while I was still on the phone, I wanted to be far enough away that she didn’t hear.

My first call was to Jamie. I wanted to make sure all my instructions had been followed, and that everything was in place for Monday morning. She was an efficient assistant, however, I had a very personal interest in this particular set of instructions.

The second was to my lawyer, Oscar. Unfortunately, his man was still looking into some leads on John Reeves and didn’t have anything yet. He said he’d give me a call back as soon as he knew something. I also shared with him the new development that was Cal Ross. My lawyer didn’t seem to like the new addition any more than I did.

Just as I began to hear movement downstairs, my cell phone rang. The caller ID said ‘Cooper’. It was Sunday afternoon. No matter how upset I was with my uncle, I still missed Diane. “Hello?”

“Stephan! I was hoping you’d be here today.”

“Jimmy?”

“Of course it’s Jimmy. Who else would it be?”

“Well,” I said, leaning back in my chair. Something told me this was not going to be a short conversation. “Considering you are calling from my aunt’s house...”

He laughed. “Samantha and I are here having dinner. We thought you’d be here. I’d been hoping we could catch up.”

I sighed. My reasons for not attending Sunday dinner were not something I wished to discuss with Jimmy. I might consider him a friend, but we’d not been close since high school, and even then, our friendship hadn’t come close to what I’d shared with Logan. Jimmy didn’t know half the stuff I’d gotten myself into in those days. “I’d love to catch up. Maybe we can meet for lunch sometime this week. What’s your schedule look like?”

“Yeah, sure. Lunch is good.”

We spoke for a few more minutes before I noticed Brianna at the top of the stairs. She was cautious, not certain if she should disturb me. I reached out, beckoning her to me.

Brianna crossed the room slowly but eagerly. I pulled her into my embrace and took in the scent of her still-damp hair, which now smelled of her coconut shampoo.

“How does Tuesday at noon work for you this week? We could meet at Gino’s?” I asked Jimmy.

“Tuesday’s good.”

“I’ll see you Tuesday then,” I answered quickly, just wanting to get off the phone now that I had her in my lap. The call ended and I wrapped my other arm around her. “How are you feeling?”

“Better?” she answered as if it was a question instead of a statement.

“You don’t sound sure of yourself. Did the shower not help?” She pressed her lips tightly together. “Brianna?” I said in a tone she knew well.

“I started thinking again. I mean, what if John finds me?”

I would not lie to her. “What if he does?” A shiver rippled through her body. I pulled her closer. “I promised you I would not let him take you away if you didn’t want that. Do you not believe me?”

She seemed somewhere between shocked and hurt at my words. “I believe you,” she insisted. “But he’s the sheriff. What if he tries to take you away from me instead? I mean your uncle—”

“I don’t care what my uncle said.” Letting her speak to my uncle alone was becoming one of the worst decisions I’d ever made. “I’m not keeping you here against your will. You may leave at any time you so choose. Your father can’t have me arrested for allowing you to stay here as my guest.” I conveniently left out the fact that he could probably have me arrested for human trafficking since I’d bought her from Ian. Of course, he’d have to prove that, and no one knew what the money was for except for Ian, Brianna, Alex, and me.

She relaxed against me. “I’m glad.”

I kissed her forehead. “So am I.” She looked up at me with those sweet eyes that showed innocence I knew she shouldn’t have given her experiences. “Let’s go to your room so I can take care of your neck.”

She followed me down the stairs to her room where I put some more salve on the bruises that were forming. They seemed to be mainly toward the back where the tips of his fingers had dug into her skin.

When that was done, I put everything away, sat back against her headboard, and pulled her against my side. There was so much to talk about and it had to start somewhere. The outside world kept throwing us curve balls, but it hadn’t been detrimental to the overall progress we had made.

“Have you been writing in your journal?”

She nodded.

“May I?”

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