TRUTH (20 page)

Brianna

I was really getting into my book when the phone rang. The hero, Jack, had just met Ronnie, a sassy waitress. He’d been checking her out, and she’d noticed. She’d just “accidentally” spilled his drink in his lap. I didn’t want to stop reading. I wanted to see what happened next, but I knew I needed to answer the phone. It could be Stephan.
 

“Hello?”

I heard a sigh on the other end of the line and knew immediately it wasn’t Stephan.
 

“Anna.”
 

Cringing back into the couch, I almost threw the phone when my father spoke again. “Don’t hang up. Please. Just hear me out.”

I didn’t know what to do. “What . . .” Closing my eyes, I reached up and held tight to the collar Stephan gave me. “What . . . do you want?”

“I’m sorry I scared you before. I didn’t mean to. I just . . . I needed to get you out of there, away from that man.”

All I could do was shake my head as I curled into a ball in the corner of the couch. A minute ago, I’d been lost in a world of promised romance. Now I was clinging to the only piece of Stephan I had at the moment and trying to not let my fear take over and send me into a spiral of panic.
 

“I’m asking for you to listen to my side of the story. That’s all. Will you do that?”

I didn’t answer, and he must have taken that for a yes.

“After I realized you’d been taken somewhere, I
did
look for you, Anna. I promise you I did. I called in favors with other law enforcement officers I knew across Minnesota. I didn’t file an official missing person’s report on you, but I checked the police wire every day. I looked for anything that might lead me to you, but until last month, there was nothing. Then I had a friend in Minneapolis call saying there was mention of a Brianna Reeves in one of the society pages. It was a long shot, and he didn’t think it could be you, but I checked it out anyway. My heart almost stopped when I saw your picture staring back at me.”

He paused.

“You looked so scared, Anna.”

Somewhere along the way, I’d squeezed my eyes shut. I didn’t want to hear him, but somehow I couldn’t hang up on him either.

“I was served with a restraining order today. It says I can’t come within five hundred feet of you.”

That made me open my eyes, and I was able to take a deep breath for the first time since answering the phone.
 

“Don’t do this, Anna. I’m your father. I love you. I wouldn’t do anything to hurt you. Not intentionally. What happened with Dumas . . . it was a mistake. An accident. No matter what happened, I’m your only family. There’s nothing that can change that.”

The phone fell from my hand, and I rolled over onto my side.
 

A mistake.
 

An accident.

That’s what he called the ten months I’d spent with Ian.
 

A sob ripped from my throat as I cried harder. I didn’t bother to wipe away the tears. They didn’t matter. It was all just . . . a mistake.

I reached in my pocket and retrieved my cell phone. My hands shook as I brought it up to eye level so I could dial Stephan. Just as I was about to push the buttons, however, the phone rang, startling me, and I dropped it.
 

The sound of the phone hitting the floor registered faintly as the blackness crept in. I knew I should fight it, and I tried, but it felt never-ending. The only thing I could hear was John’s voice repeating over and over again that it was all just a mistake, an accident. None of it mattered. Not me. Not what Ian had done. Nothing.
 

Lying there, I heard the phone ringing, but I didn’t move. The only thing keeping me from sinking into total darkness was Stephan. I wanted to be strong for him. It was just so hard.
 

There was a noise in the background, but I didn’t know where it was coming from. I had no idea how long I’d been there. Minutes? Hours? Then a voice.
Stephan
. Was he here, or was I just imagining?

“Oh, Brianna,” said the voice.
 

Arms lifted me up and cradled me.

Instinctively, I laid my head on his shoulder, breathing in the scent of him. Slowly, the blackness began to fade as I let his warmth sink into my bones. He was here. I had no idea how he knew I needed him, but I held on tight, clinging to the light in the sea of darkness that threatened to consume me.

He brushed his lips against my forehead repeatedly, until I was no longer holding on to his shirt as if I would fall off a ledge if I let go. “Can you tell me what happened, love?”

I shook my head. I couldn’t talk about it. Not yet.

Instead of pressing, he wrapped his arms tighter around me. Closing my eyes, all the tension left, and peace took its place.

It was a long time before I was able to speak. I knew Stephan would want answers.
 

“Feeling better?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Who called you?”

I looked up at him. How did he know someone had called me?

“The phone was off the hook when I arrived.” The question must have been clear on my face.

“John.”

His chest vibrated beneath me, and an angry scowl formed on his face.

“I should have told you not to answer the phone today. I should’ve known he’d try to get around the restraining order in any way he could.”

“He said . . .”

“Yes?”

“He said . . . he can’t come within five hundred feet of me.”

Stephan nodded.

“That’s right. And if he does, Brianna, you need to let me know and I’ll have him arrested. Even if you see him across the street or in a store, you need to say something. At five hundred feet, you shouldn’t ever be able to see him. If you can, he’s in violation of the restraining order.”

“Okay.”

“I have to ask you, sweetheart. What did he say that made you so upset? Ross called me saying he’d tried your cell several times and you wouldn’t answer. After trying myself, and you still didn’t pick up, I knew something was wrong. When I got home, you were curled up in a ball on your side, crying and rocking back and forth. I called your name, but you didn’t answer.”

“I thought you were a dream.”

He smiled and kissed the tip of my nose. “Not a dream.”

I smiled back, so glad he was here, and hugged him. “Thank you.”

“Always,” he whispered.

We were silent for a while, just holding each other.
 

“He said . . . he said it was a mistake. An . . . accident.”

I felt Stephan’s hands curl into fists at my back, and I cuddled closer.
 

“He’s an idiot, Brianna. What happened was that he made a very bad decision, and you paid for it.”

“I don’t . . . I don’t want to see him.”

“And you don’t have to. I’m also going to have the main phone routed to my office. Jamie can answer any calls. Lily and Ross have your cell. That way you don’t have to worry about your father calling again like he did today.”

I nodded, playing with the buttons on the front of his dress shirt. He hadn’t bothered to take off his jacket, so I’d pushed the lapels out of my way. I wasn’t sure what it was about buttoning and unbuttoning his shirt that was comforting to me, but it was and he didn’t appear to mind.
 

“Tell me what else you did today,” he prompted.

We sat and talked about what had transpired while he was at work up until the phone call from John, but eventually both of our stomachs began to growl. He kissed my forehead and told me to go change into a pair of my pajamas while he ordered pizza.
 

I did as he asked, but I was a little confused. Since we’d started having sex and I’d been sleeping in his bed, I hadn’t worn pajamas at all. I hadn’t worn anything. Did that mean I wouldn’t be sleeping with him tonight?

When I walked back out into the main room, Stephan had moved the coffee table over to the side, and was laying a blanket out on the floor in front of the couch. “I’m going to go change. Can you get the plates and some drinks for us?”

“Yes, Sir.”

He kissed me as he walked past toward his bedroom, leaving me even more perplexed than I’d been moments before. It didn’t matter, though. I trusted him, so I went to the kitchen to do what he’d asked.

I’d just sat down when Stephan strolled back into the living room in a pair of sleep pants and a T-shirt. It was odd seeing him in pajamas. He normally slept naked, the same as me. Even before, when I’d slept on the floor in his room, he’d worn boxers. I’d never seen these before tonight.

He sat down beside me on the blanket. It was then I realized he had my journal in his hand.
 

When he noticed I’d caught sight of it, he handed it to me, along with a pen. “I want you to write about your day today. You can include as many details as you want, but I want you to concentrate on how those things made you feel. Start with this morning and work your way through. Don’t skip anything.”

I nodded as the phone rang. Our pizza was here, and he stood to go answer the phone and give the front desk permission to allow the deliveryman to come up to our floor.
 

The journal was heavy in my hands as I stared at it. It had been a few days since I’d written anything. Although Stephan had encouraged me to write in my journal, he’d not made it a rule.

Opening the front page, I read over some of the first words I’d written about Stephan. Back then, everything had seemed scary and confusing. Now the things that frightened me were totally different.
 

Stephan returned to sit beside me, this time with a large pizza in his hands. I glanced over at him and then back to my journal.
 

“Eat first. Then you’ll have time to write.”

Laying down my journal beside me, I took the plate he offered and helped myself to some pizza.

Chapter 15

Brianna

We didn’t talk much while we ate our pizza, but we rarely did during dinner. It was a little strange sitting on the floor, picnic fashion, in the middle of the living room, but I wasn’t going to complain. The arrangement meant Stephan was almost constantly touching me in some way. At first, it was just our legs bumping each other as we moved. Then it was arms and hands and lips.
 

He offered me a slice of pizza but refused to give it to me. Instead, he insisted on breaking off a bite and feeding it to me. Once I’d taken the food from his fingers, he smiled and kissed the corner of my mouth. It was something silly, and it made me smile, too.
 

When we’d both had our fill, Stephan put the remaining pizza in the refrigerator and rejoined me on the blanket. To my surprise, he opened his legs and motioned for me to sit between them. The new position made me feel surrounded by him, even more so than I did when we were in his chair. It reminded me a little of when he held my wrists above my head and pressed against me. Knowing he was there, completely surrounding me, protecting me, made me feel safe. I knew he wouldn’t let anything or anyone hurt me.

He picked up my journal from where I’d left it lying on the floor, and handed it to me. Brushing my hair out of the way, he placed a kiss on my shoulder. “Do you remember what I told you I want you to write in your journal?”

“Yes.”
 

“Go ahead. I’m right here.”

Taking a deep breath, I opened my journal.

Since he said not to skip anything, I started at the beginning.
 

I woke up this morning feeling warm. He . . .
 

I paused, feeling unsure.

“Don’t worry about me being here, Brianna. Write how you normally do. You can use my name.”

Stephan had his arm wrapped around me, his hand on my breast. The sun was shining through the window, signaling the start of another day, but I didn’t want to move. I wanted to stay there in bed with him.

He kissed me, and I felt even warmer. But after a couple of minutes, he left the bed to get ready for work. I could already feel the separation. I didn’t want him to leave, even though I knew he had to. I never want him to leave me.