Need (29 page)

Stephan

By the time Monday morning arrived, I had way too many things on my mind. Saying goodbye to Brianna this morning had been difficult. It still seemed that every time we took two steps forward, there was always something there to push her back.

    We talked about what had happened at the mall, and she told me who the man was. Her body trembled as she clung to me, speaking the words I needed to hear, but desperately didn’t want to. He’d been one of the worst, she’d said, the man who’d left the burns on her breasts. Ian had allowed that. Encouraged it even, from what she’d told me.

Just thinking about it had me flexing my fingers against the steering wheel. I wanted to hurt him and every other man who’d dared touch her without her permission. They had no right. She’d been an innocent seventeen-year-old girl. It just reaffirmed my desire to see Ian get his due, one way or another.

When we took our shower last night, Brianna had begged me to continue with our exploration. I’d had my doubts, but I was finding there was little I could deny her when she looked up at me with those blue eyes of hers.

I’d gone slow, taking her to near release before pushing the boundaries farther. Once again, the moment my fingers reached her opening I could see her panic rising, so I stopped. No matter how much I wanted her, I’d never hurt her like that. She’d apologized profusely, of course, even though it wasn’t her fault. I ended up drying us both off, putting her in her bed, and holding her until she fell asleep.

One thing, however, had continued to get better with our nightly showers. She no longer feared touching me to the point where she seemed almost eager when it came time to wash my body. Her hands were more liberal in their movements, and I noticed her lingering in certain areas. I was thrilled with her newfound confidence, even if it was limited.

When I pulled into my parking spot at The Coleman Foundation, I noticed movement out of the corner of my eye, and immediately went on alert. Given the confrontation yesterday in the mall with one of Brianna’s abusers, Reeves actively looking for Brianna, and Karl’s recent less-than-amicable departure, I wasn’t taking anything for granted.

Out of the shadows, Ross appeared. His face was drawn, and there were bags under his eyes. It didn’t look like he’d gotten much sleep over the weekend. I hadn’t been sure how he’d end up processing the new information he’d received about Brianna. Knowing he wasn’t taking the news of her past well gave me bit of sadistic satisfaction. After having to deal with his blatant immaturity these past months, he was getting a dose of hard reality. Maybe now he wouldn’t be so quick to judge.

I took my time getting out of my car. The wait would do him good. He shifted his weight anxiously as I picked up my briefcase and stepped toward him. “What was it I told you about showing up unannounced?”

“I wanted to talk to you,” he said, ignoring my question.

“I gathered as much since you’re here waiting for me.” He glanced around him, still anxious, and I wondered if there was someone else around. “Are you alone?”

“Yes,” he said. “But . . . maybe your office would be better.” 

I nodded and began walking toward the elevator, knowing he’d follow me.

Jamie greeted us as we stepped off the elevator. “Good morning, Mr. Coleman.”

“Good morning, Jamie. How was your weekend?”

“Too short, sir,” she said, handing me a stack of mail.

“It always is,” I said, absently flipping through the letters. There didn’t seem to be anything important. “Hold my calls for the next hour, and I’m not to be disturbed.”

Once inside my office, Ross couldn’t seem to sit still. I sat watching him for several minutes before asking, “Are you going to say whatever it is that’s on your mind in the near future, or were you planning to take up my entire day?”

He stopped his pacing. “John—Brianna’s father—is here. In Minneapolis.”

I sat up straighter in my seat, but kept my expression blank. This was a new development. “How do you know this?”

“He came to see me. I didn’t tell him anything,” he assured me. “But he asked me if I knew you.”

“He asked about me by name?”

Ross nodded. “He had that picture of you and Brianna from the hospital gala a few weeks ago. He wanted to know if I knew who you were.”

“And what did you tell him?”

Ross walked forward and collapsed in the chair directly across from me. “I couldn’t lie, so I told him I did, but not well.” He glanced down at the floor before looking up to meet my gaze. “He’s going to find her. Even if I don’t say anything, he’s going to find her.”

“I know.”

“You know? That’s all you have to say?” he said, getting agitated. “I still can’t believe he would do that. I can’t believe he would . . . but if you’re right . . .” I wasn’t sure he was still talking to me anymore as his voice took on a faraway quality. After a few minutes, he stilled, but a look somewhere between defeat and confusion settled on his face.

“Thank you for letting me know,” I said. Even though he was not one of my favorite people, he’d just earned some points for putting Brianna’s safety first. “I won’t hide her. She’s been forced into seclusion too much already. I’m trying to get her used to people again, not create more fear.” He looked as if he were about to argue. I raised my hand to stop him. “One way or another, he’s going to find her. I can’t stop that and neither can you.”

“So what do we do?”

I found it rather ironic that the cocky bastard I was used to dealing with was nowhere in sight now. “
You
don’t do anything.”

“What?” he said, his voice rising as he stood again. “You can’t mean that.”

“I do,” I assured him. “Anything you do is going to draw attention. That would not be helpful.” He didn’t seem to like that answer, but I hoped for Brianna’s sake that he’d listen.

He didn’t say much after that, although his mouth opened and shut like a fish several times. After a few minutes, he turned on his heel and left. 

I leaned back in my chair, contemplating his visit. I was glad he appeared to be putting his attitude aside in order to protect Brianna, but I still didn’t like him, and I didn’t fully trust him either. I hoped that he kept his promise and didn’t tell Jonathan Reeves how to find his daughter.

Glancing at the clock, I reached for the phone and dialed Oscar. My lawyer needed to know of this new development. I also wanted to find out if his private investigator had dug up any more information.

“Davis and Associates.”

“This is Stephan Coleman. Is Oscar available?”

“Let me check, Mr. Coleman.”

Not five seconds later, the phone clicked and Oscar was on the line. “Good morning, Mr. Coleman.”

“Hello, Oscar. I wanted to see if you’d found out any new information.”

He sighed. “Not much. Mr. Pierce likes to cover his tracks. I found several transactions between him and Mr. Dumas. However, they all look legit, at least on the surface. Dumas appears to be the weaker link, as we’ve found a few holes in his books and we’re exploring them to see if they lead anywhere.”

“What about Jonathan Reeves?”

“Other than some recent Internet searches and an increase in phone calls from both his residences and his office, nothing has changed. I can’t find any evidence of illegal activity other than the gambling I told you about before.”

“Who’s he been calling?”

“Most of the calls have been to fellow law enforcement, some of which are here in Minneapolis. There have also been several calls to Cal Ross. Do you want me to look into him further?”

“Not at the moment, no. I need you to continue looking into Pierce. There has to be something there. No one is involved in human trafficking and leaves no trail. We just have to find it.”

“You do know that you could get pulled into any investigation, given the rather large transaction you made with him recently?”

“I’m aware of that. We’ll deal with it when it becomes necessary.” There was one other thing I wanted to make sure he was aware of before I let him go. “You should also know that Jonathan Reeves is currently in town looking for Brianna. I don’t know where he’s staying, but I’m sure your guy could find out.”

As soon as I hung up with Oscar, I called Tom. All nonresident traffic had to pass by him in order to enter my building. He was very good at denying access, but I needed more than that. If Jonathan Reeves showed up, I wanted to be notified immediately.

After my call to Tom, I walked the short distance to the window that separated my office from the Minneapolis skyline. My office was one of the taller ones in the city, affording me an unobstructed view of the tops of several other buildings. I couldn’t see my condo from here, and for the first time I questioned my choice of residence. Maybe I should have found something closer, within walking distance.

I knew I was being irrational. Brianna was fine. She was safe in my condo. Tom was manning the front desk, and he was notifying security as well, just to be safe. That was his suggestion, not mine. It seemed he was also rather protective of Brianna.

Reaching into my pocket, I pulled out my phone and dialed before I could stop myself. 

It rang twice before her voice came across the line. “Hello, Sir,” she whispered, the happiness in her voice coming through the phone.

“Hello, Brianna. How’s your morning so far?”

Brianna

Last night’s shower was nice, until he tried to put his fingers inside me again. I’d felt a tightening in my chest and it was harder to breath. Why did this keep happening, and how did I fix it?

Stephan made sure I knew he wasn’t upset with me for freezing again. I still felt bad. This was something I wanted.

As he’d held me last night in my bed, he’d assured me we’d figure it out and everything would be fine. He’d reminded me of how far we’d already come, and that it was just taking time to get there given what I’d been through, and that was okay. I could tell he was frustrated, even though he tried not to let me see. He was always taking care of me, putting my needs first. Thinking about how much he’d done for me—how he’d cared for me, guided me through my panic—brought a warm feeling like none I’d felt before.

I was happy when he called. It was hard to explain how much I missed him when he was at work, even though he always reminded me he was only a phone call away. 

“Go to the window, Brianna. Look out, across the buildings. Do you see the tall one to your right? I’m right on the other side.”

Even though I’d been to his office before, I’d never once thought of where it was physically in relation to where he lived. It was nice knowing. I just wished I could see his building. I could pretend that I could see him, too, and maybe he wouldn’t feel so far away.

He talked to me until finally he said he had a meeting he couldn’t miss. Maybe it was silly, but it made me get that tingly feeling inside knowing he didn’t want to hang up with me either. It was hard to think he might be feeling the same way about me as I did about him. I mean, I was still broken in many ways. What did I really have to offer him? I couldn’t even let him touch me how he wanted to.

I decided to make him a nice meal for dinner. My mom used to spend hours in the kitchen baking with me before she’d gotten sick. John seemed to enjoy my culinary skills, although he didn’t comment much on anything unless it was to tell me I couldn’t do something or go somewhere.

Thinking about my father brought me up short. He’d find me. I knew he would. It might take him days or weeks, but it was inevitable. I just didn’t understand why he’d want to. Did he know I was free now? Is that why he was tracking me down, to make sure I went back to a master that would punish me?

All my kitchen pursuits were forgotten as I slid to the floor clutching my chest. No. Stephan wouldn’t let him take me. He . . . he couldn’t make me leave. He couldn’t . . . Air ripped harshly through my lungs as I tried to catch my breath, but all it did was rush right back out, not giving me the oxygen I needed. Stephan. I needed Stephan.

There was no way I could stand. My legs felt heavy, and not in the good way they did after Stephan touched me. It felt as if there were weights attached to them as I crawled across the floor toward my cell phone.

I was having trouble seeing. Everything was blurred through my tears. Wiping them away did no good. My eyes just filled again with moisture, blocking my sight as quickly as I removed it.

Pain surged in my shoulder as I bumped into the end table beside the couch. I nearly gave up and just let the panic take me. It would be easy to let go and let reality fade around me, but that wasn’t what I really wanted, and I knew he expected more of me, too.

My hand finally found what it was looking for, and I blindly hit the number one on the speed dial. “Brianna?” His voice allowed me to take my first haggard breath. “Tell me what’s wrong, sweetheart?”

“I . . . I need you,” I choked out.

“I’m on my way. You stay on the line with me. Keep talking. Where are you?”

“Home.”

“Where are you at home?” he asked. I could hear him moving around, people passing by him. Then I heard the ding of an elevator, and I knew he really was on his way. He was dropping everything for me . . . again. I should feel guilty about that, but I needed him too much.

“Living room.”

“Are you able to walk?”

“I don’t know. My legs . . . they feel . . . heavy.”

“Okay. Just stay where you are then. I want you to lie back and close your eyes.” I did what he said, feeling the soft plush of the carpet against the back of my head. “Take a deep breath in and hold it.” I tried, but it still felt as if I was gasping. “Now let it out.” A loud gushing sound escaped my lips as I released the breath I’d been trying to hold. “Good. Again. Deep breath in, and hold it. Now release.” With every word, every breath, I felt myself calming, my breathing coming back to normal. “Good girl. Keep breathing. Slow and deep. You’re doing well, Brianna.”

I felt that warmth again at his praise. He kept talking me through my breathing until I heard the door open and him calling my name. “Here,” I said, loud enough that he could hear me.