TRUTH (44 page)

Once she was calm, I moved us toward the elevator. Oscar and Michael followed.
 

The doors opened, but as we stepped inside, my attention was once again drawn toward the front of the building as Ross walked through the doors. He spotted us, took in everyone’s stiff posture, and frowned.
 

I sighed.

He strode straight to us, not bothering to acknowledge Tom or Jesse, who were still back behind the desk after the earlier incident.
 

“What happened?”

Michael looked at Ross with curiosity. Oscar, while never having met him before in person, knew who he was. I could tell by the expression on his face.
 

“Get in. We’re going upstairs to talk.” I tightened my hold on Brianna. “John paid Brianna a visit today.”
 

An angry scowl took over Ross’s face as he stepped inside the elevator.
 

No one said a word until we were all situated in various places around the living room. I held Brianna in my lap, threading my fingers through her hair, trying to comfort her as best I could with Oscar and Michael—people she didn’t know—in the room with us. A charge of emotion hung in the air as we all stared at each other.
 

It was Ross who broke the silence. “Is someone going to tell me what happened, or I am supposed to guess?”

Before I could respond, Oscar leveled an even stare at Ross and answered. “From what we’ve been able to piece together so far, it appears Jonathan Reeves had a bouquet of flowers delivered to Brianna. When she came downstairs to sign for them, he rushed into the building and tried to grab her.”

Ross’s gaze fell on Brianna. “He didn’t hurt her, did he?”

It was my turn to answer. “No. Thankfully, Tom and Jesse were there and took him out before he could.”

Ross turned and paced toward the large bank of windows that ran the length of my living room. “I can’t believe this. I thought . . . I mean . . . when I told him I’d seen Brianna and that she seemed fine, happy even . . . I thought he’d back off. Leave her alone. I didn’t think he’d do this.”

“He did.”

“Yes, he did,” Oscar said, bringing everyone’s attention back to him. “Which brings us to our next problem.”
 

I expected Oscar to elaborate, but he turned to Michael instead. “How much do you know?”

“If you’re asking me if I know how Miss Reeves came to be with Mr. Coleman, then . . . I know enough.”

“Actually, Oscar, you two need to talk. Michael looked over the bank statements you sent me, and—”

“What bank statements?” Ross rejoined the group as he took a seat on the couch next to Oscar.

Michael decided to answer him. “Mr. Coleman asked if I would look over some bank statements from a man named Ian Pierce.”
 

Ross’s gaze drifted to mine, and I nodded. “Please tell me you found something to nail that bastard.”

“And then some.”

Oscar leaned forward, clasping his hands together in front of him. “Good. Hopefully it will help.”

“Help with what exactly?” I could tell Ross’s patience was wearing thin.

Instead of answering Ross, however, Oscar focused on me. “You know, I’ve been doing this a long time, Stephan, and I hope that means you trust me.”

“You know I do.”

“That’s good, because I don’t think you’re going to like what I have to say.”

I braced myself as best I could.
 

“Jonathan Reeves strikes me as a person who has nothing to lose,” Oscar said. “From the little I got from the officer questioning Miss Reeves, her father isn’t holding back on what he knows.”

“Which means what exactly?”

“It means that before long, they are going to link you to Ian Pierce. With the information Reeves has regarding his part of things, at the very least your life is going to become difficult. At most, you are looking at the inside of a federal prison.”

I closed my eyes and breathed deep, taking in the scent and feel of the woman in my arms. My concern wasn’t for me. It was for her. “What do we need to do?”

He looked at me, then down at Brianna. “She needs to leave.”

I increased my hold on her. “No.”

“Stephan, it’s the only way. If this gets out, which I don’t foresee a way of preventing, her living here is going to look very bad. She needs to have some distance from you so that it doesn’t look like you’ve coerced her in any way. It needs to appear as if you bought her to help get her out of a horrid situation.”

“I did.”

He nodded and clasped his hands together in front of him. “I know that and you know that, but to an outside observer . . . to a federal prosecutor . . .”

“There has to be another way.”

Oscar looked me in the eye, his expression sad but resolved. “There’s not.”

It was suddenly difficult to swallow.

“She can stay with me.”
 

Everyone’s attention shifted to Ross. “What?” I wasn’t sure if I’d heard him right.

“She can move in with me. That would work, right?” he asked Oscar.

The thought of Brianna leaving me was abhorrent. Her moving in with Ross left me feeling as though my stomach had been ripped from my abdomen.

“You’re an old family friend, so yes, it would look much better if she were living with you. Are you here in the city?”

He shook his head. “Not anymore. That’s one of the reasons I was coming over today. Part of Brianna’s birthday present . . . I wanted to take her to see my new place. I moved in this weekend. It was supposed to be a surprise.”

I was about to open my mouth again when Brianna’s timid voice rose above the others. “I’ll go.”

Brianna

As I clung to Stephan, listening to everyone talk, one thing had become clear. My being here was dangerous for Stephan. Even his lawyer, a man he’d told me time and time again he trusted, had said so. I had to do what was best for the man I loved even if it would nearly kill me to do it. I’d lived through Ian’s torture—I could live with having my heart ripped out as well. At least he’d be safe.

Everyone was staring at me, which made me want to bury my head in Stephan’s neck and hide, but I knew I couldn’t. He’d given me so much. I could do this for him.
 

“Are you sure, Anna?”

Stephan turned me to look at him, holding my chin in his hand. “No.”

“Yes,” I whispered.

“It is the best way,” Oscar insisted.

“No!”

I heard movement behind me, but I couldn’t see. Stephan still held my face immobile. His hand flexed against my hip, and moisture began to pool in his eyes.
 

Cal stood. “I’ll call Jade. She can skip out on her afternoon classes and come over to help you pack.”

Several minutes passed as what I was doing started to sink in. My biggest fear had been his waking up one day and leaving me, and here I was, leaving him. Maybe that should have made it better . . . easier . . . but it didn’t.

“Give us a minute.” Stephan’s voice was commanding, and no one questioned him as each walked past us and followed Oscar up the stairs.
 

Stephan took my face in both of his hands and kissed me until my head was spinning. “Don’t go. We’ll find another way.”

“I have to.”

“No.” This time the word was soft, whispered, without any of the sting from before. He closed his eyes, and I saw a tear slip from beneath his lashes. “I love you.”

As he’d done to me so many times before, I reached up and wiped the moisture from his cheek. “I love you, too.”

We sat, unmoving, for what felt like forever. It was only the sound of the phone ringing that brought us back to reality.
 

Cal came down the stairs as the phone continued to ring. “Jade’s here.”

Stephan nodded but didn’t move.
 

Cal sighed and answered the phone. “Hello? Yeah. She’s expected. Mr. Coleman is busy at the moment. Fine. Hold on.” He walked over to us and handed Stephan the phone. “He says he needs to speak to you.”

Without taking his eyes off me, Stephan took the phone in one hand. “It’s fine, Tom. Send her up.” His voice sounded cold. Dead. So unlike the caring man I knew him to be.
 

He dropped the phone to the ground, not seeming to care what happened to it once it left his hand.
 

Minutes later, the monitor came alive, letting us know we had a visitor. Cal went to open the door since neither Stephan nor I had moved.
 

With Jade’s arrival, I knew I had to go pack my belongings, even it was the last thing I wanted. For the first time, I willingly and knowingly pulled away from Stephan. He let his hands fall limply into his lap as I stood and stepped away, causing my heart to break even more.
 

An arm wrapped around my shoulders, and I looked up to see Jade standing beside me. “Come on. I’ll help you get your things.”

We didn’t talk as we packed everything into the two duffle bags she’d brought with her. I doubted I would have any use for the fancier things, so I left them. The only person I wanted to dress up for was Stephan, so taking them would have been pointless.

When I had everything from my bedroom, I went into Stephan’s to gather what little I had in there. I slowly looked around the room, allowing the memories to come, and then my gaze fell on the bed where we’d slept. The bed where he’d taught me sex could mean more than pain and suffering.
 

I quickly turned away and gathered my things as tears began to fill my vision. I needed to finish before I lost my nerve.
 

Jade met me at the door and helped me put the last of my stuff in the bags. She hugged me and then stepped back as Stephan approached.
 

He placed a hand on each side of my neck, and I felt his collar pressing down into my skin. Leaning down, he brushed his lips across mine so softly I wanted to weep. I knew what I needed to do.
 

Reaching up behind my neck, I went to unclasp the collar and remove it. Stephan’s face fell. This was real, and there was nothing either of us could do to change it. He’d once told me that as long as I wore his collar, I was his and he would protect me. It was now my turn to protect him.
 

His hands wrapped around mine, stopping me.
 

I looked up, not understanding.
 

“No. Keep it.”

“But—”

“Please.”

When he was sure I wasn’t going to continue trying to remove the collar, he ran his finger over the metal ring and then dropped his arms, the weight of them suddenly seeming too much for him. Cal and Jade stood behind me on either side, waiting.
 

Tears sprang to the surface again, and I knew I needed to leave. “Good-bye.”

He raised his free hand and brushed his knuckles over my cheek. “Good-bye, Brianna. Be safe for me. Please.”

I nodded, unable to speak.

“Come on. You can wait in the lobby with Jade while I bring around the car.”

Cal picked up both the bags, and Jade guided me toward the door. I paused just outside and looked back. Stephan stood where I’d left him, his expression one of utter defeat. I wanted more than anything to make it better, but I knew I couldn’t. Staying would only make it worse.
 

“You ready?” Jade asked when I remained motionless.

I pulled my gaze away from Stephan and closed my eyes. “Yes.”

Acknowledgments

I want to thank my beta. She is there to be a cheerleader when I get bogged down, and gives me that extra push when I need it.
 

A special thank you to Mack for his advice on several scenes throughout this book. He let me bounce ideas off him, and gave me several suggestions on how to make the BDSM more accurate and believable.
 

For authors, good editors are invaluable, and mine are no different. I have a team of three editors who not only make the story look good, but they care about these characters as much as I do. Thank you so much for all you do.