TRUTH

by Sherri Hayes

  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 a
re 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.

  “What—” I heard John utter a second before I watched the fist of the man in front of me collide with John’s face. He fell to the floor.

  “That’s for the Taser.”

  The big man stepped away from me, and I cringed back against the staircase.

  I was about to take off up the stairs when I saw John trying to get up, but the big man pulled him up by his shirt and punched him again. “And that’s for her.”

  This time, John didn’t get up.

  Tom appeared in the doorway looking flustered. “Are you all right, Miss Reeves?”

  I nodded.

  He watched me for a few moments and then held out his hand. “I’ve got to call the police. They’ll come take him away since he violated the restraining order. Jesse will make sure he stays put until they get here.”

  I didn’t move.

  “Miss Reeves, I need you to come with me. We need to call the police, and Mr. Coleman.”

  At the mention of Stephan, I refocused on Tom. He held out his hand. I didn’t take it, but I stood and followed him back to his desk.

  He dialed and put the phone to his ear. “Mr. Coleman? Sir, you need to get here as soon as possible. Jonathan Reeves showed up. I’m calling the police now. I thought you should know.”

  Tom paused, and I knew Stephan must have been talking.

  “Yes. She’s right here.”

  There was another long silence.

  “No. She’s fine.”

  Tom handed the phone to me.

  “Brianna?”

  I sobbed. It was the only response I could manage.

  “Sweetheart, I’m on my way. You stay with Tom until I get there.”

  “Okay.”

  Tom took the phone away from me again. “I won’t let her out of my sight.”

  Everything else was a blur. I knew Tom called the police, but I didn’t really remember it, or anything else that happened until I felt Stephan’s hand on my face.

  Stephan

  I sat across from Michael, a man who didn’t know me very well, and tried to figure out how to explain to him how I had come to purchase Brianna. There was no easy way to do it, so I stuck with the simplest version of events I could. “Someone brought to my attention that they thought Ian Pierce was holding a woman against her will. I went to check it out, and from everything I could see, I agreed with them. Brianna didn’t want to be there.”

  Michael didn’t comment or react in any way, other than to let me know he was still listening.

  “If I’d gone to the police, they would have wanted proof. And if Ian had gotten wind of something before the police acted, I didn’t want something to happen to her. So . . . yes, I bought her. I had to.”

  He was quiet for several minutes before breaking eye contact with me. “Mr. Coleman, you do realize human trafficking—which you’ve just admitted to—is a felony, right? You could go to prison for a very long time.”

  I leaned forward, resting my elbows on my knees. “I realize that.”

  Michael opened his mouth to speak, when my phone rang. I took it out of my pocket, thinking it would be Brianna, but it wasn’t. It was the security desk at my building. Tom.

  After speaking to Brianna and verifying that she was unharmed, I disconnected the call and stood. “I’m sorry. I need to go. We’re going to have to continue this another time.”

  “Was that about the girl?”

  I stopped.

  “Her father, the one who’s responsible for her being with Ian Pierce, showed up at my building and tried to kidnap her. Tom has called the police because we have a restraining order against him. I need to get to her.”

  “I’m coming with you.”

  I didn’t have time to argue with him. The police were on their way to my building, and I knew they’d want to question Brianna. She would be scared, and I needed to be there for her. At the very least, if the police had to speak with her, I could make sure it was a female officer. She didn’t need to be traumatized any more than she already had been.

  Michael and I arrived on the scene just as the police car pulled up to the curb. Thankfully, we made it into the building before they could stop us. I would have ignored them in any event.

  Rounding Tom’s desk, I found Brianna curled up in his leather chair. She had her arms wrapped around her knees with her legs pulled up to her chest. In the closet, she’d done the same thing. I’d realized months ago she was trying to make herself as small as possible. She was trying to hide.

  I touched her face, and this time she didn’t cringe away from me. “Brianna. Look at me, love.” She raised her head and met my gaze. “Good girl. Are you all right? Did he hurt you?”

  Brianna hugged me, nearly knocking me off balance. I should have been used to her abrupt reactions by now, but I never seemed to be prepared enough.

  “No. He didn’t hurt me.”

  “Excuse me.” A male police officer loomed over us, and Brianna ducked her head against my shoulder, shielding herself from the officer. “Are you Brianna Reeves, the one who has the restraining order?”

  I shifted our positions slightly so that I could face the officer. “She is. I know you’re going to need her statement, but we’re going to need a female officer. Brianna is not comfortable around men she doesn’t know.”

  He looked me over with curiosity. “And you are?”

  “Stephan Coleman.”

  It took the officer a second before he recognized my name. “You run The Coleman Foundation?”

  “That’s right.”

  He nodded but continued to observe the way I was holding Brianna. I knew he was only doing his job, but I didn’t like it.

  The officer walke
d away, and Michael appeared. “I think you may want to call your lawyer.”

  I looked up at him in confusion. “Why is that?”

  Michael motioned across the room where Jonathan Reeves was now handcuffed and talking to an officer. “He’s telling the cops why he’s here. And he’s telling them about you, and what you have to do with his daughter.”

  He didn’t need to say any more. I reached into my pocket, without losing my hold on Brianna, and retrieved my phone. Oscar was on speed dial, which was good since I could already see the officers looking our way. It wouldn’t be long before they insisted on talking to me.

  “Davis and Associates.”

  “This is Stephan Coleman. I need to speak to Oscar immediately.”

  “I’m sorry, Mr. Coleman. He’s in a meeting.”

  “Get him out of it.”

  She hesitated only a moment before placing me on hold.

  I looked at Michael. “If for some reason I can’t finish this call, I need you to explain to Oscar what’s going on and get him down here.”

  Michael nodded. I knew he was still weighing what I’d told him and whether to believe me or not, but I was glad he seemed to be giving me the benefit of the doubt.

  “Stephan?”

  One of the officers was headed my way. “Oscar, I need you to get down to my building. Now. The police are here, and I have a feeling they may try to arrest me.”

  His curse rang loud and clear through the phone. “Stall. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

  I’d barely disconnected the call when I heard the officer say, “Mr. Coleman, I need to speak with you. Privately.”

  Reluctantly, I separated myself from Brianna. “Stay here with Tom, Brianna. He’ll make sure you’re safe.”

  She nodded and curled back into her ball in the chair.

  I looked to Tom, and he nodded.

  The officer led me to the far corner of the room. I could no longer see Brianna, and that made me nervous, but I had to trust Tom would watch over her until I could get back to her.

  “How do you know Brianna Reeves, Mr. Coleman?”