TRUTH (42 page)

I smiled and pointed to one of the stools. “Sit. It’s your birthday. I’m cooking. You can keep me company.”

“Okay.” She looked disappointed, but she sat down.

As I worked to make our breakfast, we talked more about the books we were both reading. I also told her about the restaurant I was taking her to later that evening. It was a pleasant start to the day. Much better than the one previous. With any luck, that meant we could put what had happened on Saturday at Logan and Lily’s behind us and move forward. That was what I was hoping anyway.

I gave her a long kiss good-bye before I left for work, promising to be home by four so we could head to the restaurant. Brianna appeared as reluctant to see me go as I was to leave. Leaving her was not something I wanted to do. If Michael hadn’t promised to have something for me today, I would probably have taken the day off, or at the very least, worked from home. As it was, I needed to be there.

Jamie greeted me as I stepped off the elevator. “Good morning, Mr. Coleman.”

“Morning, Jamie. How was your weekend?”

“Good. How was your flight?”

“It was fine. I’m glad to be back in Minneapolis.”
 

I said hello to a few of the other executives as I grabbed something to drink before going to my office. The day was going to drag until Michael sought me out. The key was to keep busy, so that was exactly what I did. There was plenty of work on my desk. It was all about concentrating.

Thankfully he didn’t make me wait all day. At ten, Jamie buzzed to let me know Michael wanted to see me in his office if I was available. There was no question of that. Although I was eager, I didn’t want to appear too eager. Taking my time, I went into my bathroom, splashed some cold water on my face, and adjusted my already-straight tie.

Deciding I needed a little more encouragement, I sent Brianna a text.
Love you.
 

In less than a minute, my phone dinged with a response.
Love you, too.

Most people would have viewed Brianna as a burden, but I didn’t. She was a phenomenal woman, and I was lucky to have her in my life.

At eight minutes, I couldn’t hold off any longer and made my way down the hall to Michael’s office. I knocked, even though he was expecting me, and he quickly waved me inside. Without prompting, I closed the door behind me and locked it. I didn’t want anyone accidentally walking in on our conversation.

“First, let me say that this needs to be turned over to the FBI. After what I’ve seen, this Ian Pierce has his hand in more things than I could track. There’s evidence of money laundering, as well as some extremely questionable transactions with a handful of men who are known fencers of stolen goods, especially rare artifacts and paintings.”

I loved what I was hearing so far. “How did you find all this out?”

“I’ve been in the finance world for a long time, Mr. Coleman. It’s been my job to go in and clean up companies whose books have been . . . less than honest. I know what I’m looking for, and I’ve made some contacts of my own in law enforcement.”

Did that mean he’d already talked to the police? I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. Yes, I wanted to get the law involved, but not yet. Not until I knew what I was dealing with.

“I noticed something extremely disturbing while I was digging.”
 

He placed the stack of papers in front of me and flipped to the page he wanted. These weren’t the same bank statements I’d given him. What I was looking at had details one would never find on a simple bank statement, including handwritten notes regarding individual transactions.

 
“There’s a name here. Juliet Mullins. I searched every financial database I could to no avail. So then I tried the FBI’s criminal database. Still nothing. Given what I’d already found, that surprised me. I knew there had to be something out there somewhere, so I did a general search of the Internet and found this.”

The paper he handed me next wasn’t a bank statement or any other financial document. It was a missing person flyer. My heart felt like it had descended into my stomach. He’d taken someone else.

“Was she ever found?” The words sounded foreign to my own ears.

“Yes.”

“Where?”

“She was found about fifty miles south of here. A construction crew was breaking ground on a new house and uncovered a body. It was her.”

I stood, unable to sit any longer, and put my hand over my mouth. He’d killed her. I turned to look back down at the paper in my hands, at the picture of a young girl, aged eighteen, with long brown hair, and a face that spoke of innocence.
 

I had to know. “When . . . do they know when she was killed?”

“Her body was found about six months ago, and it was estimated she’d been dead about a year.”

Tears clouded my vision as the reality of the situation sank in for the first time. If I’d not bought Brianna from Ian, she would have most likely suffered the same fate.
 

“Mr. Coleman?”

Looking up at the ceiling, I tried to get a grip on myself. I had to hear what else he had to say. “Go on. What else did you find?”

“Well, sir, I found your name, along with another woman’s name. Brianna Reeves.”

I nodded.

“I have to ask. Are you involved in something illegal? I know you said this man hurt someone you love, but . . . this looks bad from where I’m sitting.”

Before I could answer him, my phone rang. It was Tom, so I knew I had to take it. “Excuse me for a moment. What is it, Tom?”

“Mr. Coleman, there is a delivery here for Miss Reeves that requires a signature.”

That was strange. Although, Ross had said he was going to bring her birthday present over. Maybe he’d gotten busy or something. “What is it?”

“Flowers.”

Ross was sending her flowers? I supposed it wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. “Go ahead and sign for them, and I’ll swing by the desk when I get home to pick them up.”

“I was going to do that, sir, but the man says he was told that only Miss Reeves was allowed to sign for them.”

I could turn the deliveryman away and tell him to come back later, or get his information and go to the shop and pick them up myself, but . . . “You’re sure it’s just flowers, Tom?”

“Yep. Just flowers.”

“Is there a card? Does he know who they’re from?”

I heard him talking to the other man before returning to the phone. “All he knows is that a guy came in early this morning and placed the order.”

Looking over at Michael, I noticed he was watching me a lot closer than he had been. “Tell the man to wait there. I’ll call Brianna. She can come down and sign for the flowers, but Tom . . .”

“I’ll watch over her, Mr. Coleman. You have my word.”

Quickly disconnecting from Tom, I called Brianna.
 

“Hi.”

I could tell she was smiling. “Hello, sweetheart. I’m in a meeting, so I can’t talk long, but I received a phone call from Tom downstairs. It seems you have a delivery that needs to be signed for.”

“A delivery?”

“Yes. Flowers. The man won’t let Tom sign for them, for some reason.”

“Okay.”

“You stay close to Tom, all right? And I want you to call me as soon as you get back upstairs, do you understand?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Good. Call me before then if you need to, Brianna.”

Putting my cell phone back in my pocket, I turned to face Michael again. The look on his face had changed. “I guess I need to rephrase my last question. Did you buy Brianna Reeves from Ian Pierce, Mr. Coleman?”

I supposed there was no denying it. The evidence was right there, staring him in the face. “Yes. I did.”

Chapter 31

Brianna

June 18

Today is my nineteenth birthday.
 

A year ago, I would never have imagined I would be here. I thought for sure I’d be dead. I had no hope.

So much has changed for me. I no longer live in fear, and I’ve fallen in love with a wonderful man. He has done more for me than I can ever repay him for.
 

This morning, he woke me up with kisses and gave me two lovely presents. I hadn’t expected anything. He took me to see my mom yesterday, and that was more than I could have ever hoped for. To some people it may not have meant that much, but it did to me.
 

Since he left this morning, I can’t stop running my hands over the copy of
Jane Eyre
he bought me. It’s perfect and something I will treasure forever. That is one of the reasons I love him. He doesn’t just give because he can but because he wants to, and he takes the time to make it meaningful. With all the other books I’ve been reading lately, I hadn’t even mentioned
Jane Eyre
for over a month, yet he remembered.
 

The laptop was another special treat. I haven’t opened it up, because I’ve been too busy with my new book, but I can’t wait. Hopefully he will be able to show me how to use it. I’ve used a computer before, but only in high school. I’m sure it will come back to me, but I don’t want to do something wrong and break it. I know he works with computers all the time, and I’m sure there are things he can show me.
 

He also made me breakfast this morning. I wanted to help, but he wouldn’t let me. Instead, he had me talk to him while he was cooking. He told me he’s taking me out to dinner tonight. I’m still nervous about it—I don’t like being in strange places or around people I don’t know—but Stephan said it would just be us and the server. I have no idea how he arranged something like that, but I was grateful.
 

My cell phone rang, dragging my attention away from my journal. I glanced down at the screen and eagerly answered it. He told me I had a delivery downstairs I needed to sign for.

After assuring him I would call him back once I returned to the condo, I grabbed my shoes and keys and then ventured out into the elevator. This was only the third time I’d gone out on my own like this. Both of the previous times, I’d been going to meet Cal.
 

As soon as I thought his name, I wondered if the delivery was from him. The only people I knew well enough for them to send me something were Cal and Lily. And maybe Jade.
 

The elevator doors opened, and I stepped inside. I knew some people found elevators to be stuffy and confining. They didn’t feel that way to me, however, as long as I was alone or with Stephan. Elevators had four walls. An enclosed space. Once inside, the outside world had little effect. I liked that about them.

It didn’t take long to reach the bottom floor, and when the doors opened I could see a man holding a large vase of flowers standing beside Tom. “Thank you for coming down, Miss Reeves. This man here has a delivery of flowers for you, and he insists you are the only one allowed to sign for them.”

I looked at the man. He appeared to be in his early thirties and seemed to grow impatient when I didn’t immediately approach him. “Are you Brianna Reeves?”

“Y-yes.”

He seemed not to notice my anxiety. Or he was ignoring it.
 

 
“Look, I just need for you to sign this here, and I’ll be on my way.” The man took a step toward me, and I took a step back.
 

Thankfully, Tom stepped in front of the man, blocking his path. “Give me that.”

“She needs to sign it.”

“I’m well aware of that,” Tom said, ripping the clipboard out of the man’s hand. “But in case you didn’t realize it, you’re scaring her. Wait here, and I’ll get you your signature. Then you can go.”

The man didn’t look happy, but he remained where he was while Tom brought the clipboard to me. “Sorry about that, Miss Reeves.”

“Thank you.”

Tom smiled. “Anytime.”

I quickly signed my name and handed the clipboard back to Tom. He crossed the room and gave it to the man.
 

“Thanks for using Twin City Florist.”
 

Once he was gone, I tentatively walked across the lobby to Tom’s desk, where the flowers were sitting. I picked up the vase and sniffed. The flowers were beautiful. A mix of all different colors and sizes. It reminded me of a field of wild flowers.
 

Something caught my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I looked toward the front doors. There, striding toward me at a rapid pace, was my father. I dropped the vase and barely registered the sound of it shattering on the tile floor as I turned and ran in the opposite direction.
 

I heard Tom yelling, but I couldn’t stop. An arm grabbed me from behind, and without thinking, I spun out of its grasp. Then I took off running again.

There was no way I could make it to the elevator and get inside before he caught up to me, so I headed toward the stairs. I reached out to open the door, but it opened on its own. A man appeared. A huge man. The one who’d come to the condo before with Tom to make sure John left.
 

I gasped, startled by his appearance. Before I could reverse direction, he wrapped his large hands around my upper arms and lifted, placing me behind him. Shocked, I stood immobile, not sure what had just happened or what I should do.