by Sherri Hayes
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Warning
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Epilogue
Also by Sherri Hayes
About the Author
Acknowledgments
Trust
Finding Anna Book 4
By
Sherri Hayes
First published by The Writer’s Coffee Shop, 2014
Copyright © Sherri Hayes, 2014
The right of Sherri Hayes to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by her under the Copyright Amendment (Moral Rights) Act 2000
This work is copyrighted. All rights are reserved. Apart from any use as permitted under the Copyright Act 1968, no part may be reproduced, copied, scanned, stored in a retrieval system, recorded or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
All characters and events in this book—even those sharing the same name as (or based upon) real people—are entirely fictional. No person, brand or corporation mentioned in this book should be taken to have endorsed this book nor should the events surrounding them be considered in any way factual.
This book is a work of fiction and should be read as such.
The Writer’s Coffee Shop
(Australia) PO Box 447 Cherrybrook NSW 2126
(USA) PO Box 2116 Waxahachie TX 75168
Paperback ISBN- 978-1-61213-222-8
E-book ISBN- 978-1-61213-223-5
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the US Congress Library.
Cover image by: © depositphotos.com / George Mayer
Cover design by: Jennifer McGuire
www.thewriterscoffeeshop.com/shayes
Dedication
I’m dedicating this book to my street team. They share their love for this series almost daily. Thank you all.
This book contains conversations, flashbacks, and various other items regarding abuse that may be disturbing to some readers.
Chapter 1
Cal
If I kept this up, I was going to need to replace the flooring in my living room before the year was out. I stopped my pacing and glanced up at the closed bedroom door, then out the large window that framed my backyard. To say I was worried was an understatement. I wanted to punch something. Or maybe someone was more accurate. Unfortunately, I didn’t know who to focus my anger on at the moment.
The first person to come to mind was Stephan Coleman. He’d made Anna depend on him, need him, and now she was completely lost. She was worse now than that first time I’d seen her. For the last two months, she’d barely left her room. At first, even getting her to eat had been a challenge, but with Jade’s help, we’d gotten her to eat something, even if only a bowl of soup or some toast. She was wasting away in that room without him, and there didn’t appear to be a damn thing I could do about it.
So much had changed about Anna. She was no longer the girl I’d known when I was a kid—when we were both kids. Anna rarely smiled anymore. She was never playful or teasing. I missed that. I missed the girl I used to know.
“Aaaah!” Anna screeched as she tried to run away from the frog I had in my hand. Worms she had no problem with, but for some reason frogs scared her to death. “Stop it, Cal, or I’m going to tell.”
I laughed and continued to chase her down toward the creek. We’d been heading there anyway, but I’d gotten sidetracked when I noticed a frog right off the path.
Our fun came to an abrupt stop when we came to the clearing and realized someone else was already there. Jesse was my age, and for some reason, he’d taken to picking on Anna. My dad said it was because he liked her, but I didn’t like it, and neither did she.
Taking hold of Anna’s arm and pulling her behind me, I stepped forward, protective.
Slamming my fist down on a large wooden beam alongside the window, I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. If only things were as simple now as they had been then. As much as I wanted to blame Coleman, what was going on with Anna wasn’t entirely his fault. No. There was plenty of blame to go around there, starting with her father, John. It was hard for me to believe after knowing him all my life, but there it was.
I’d seen John twice since he’d been arrested after trying to kidnap Anna. Both times he had tried to plead his case to me. He wanted to see Anna, and he wanted my help to make that happen. For some reason, he was still under the delusion that I was on his side. I wasn’t. If there was one thing Coleman and I agreed on, it was that Anna needed to be kept as far away from her father as possible. Jonathan Reeves had done enough damage. He didn’t need the opportunity to do any more.
The door to Brianna’s bedroom opened, and Jade stepped out. She glanced up at me and turned to take the dishes into the kitchen. I noticed they were empty. That was good. At least Brianna had eaten something this morning.
Following her, I stayed off to the side, leaning against the counter. Jade had been great. Better than I could have ever asked her to be. She’d practically moved in since Anna arrived. It wasn’t something we’d ever discussed. Jade had her place, and I had mine. We were both busy, and that worked for both of us. After my first attempt to console Anna, however, her presence had become a necessity. Jade could interact with Anna in a way I couldn’t. Touching Anna in any way was off-limits when it came to me. Every time I tried to hug her or hold her hand, she would cringe away as if I’d touched her with a hot branding iron. It nearly killed me to know she’d been abused and to see how badly it had affected her even in regards to a simple gesture. That didn’t happen with Jade. Anna accepted her comfort, even though she typically remained rigid during the exchange. I wanted to do more for Anna. I just had to figure out how best to help her, and in a way that she would accept.
“I’m worried about her.”
My gaze found Jade’s as she turned to face me. How she put up with all of this boggled my mind, but it made me love her even more. “I am, too. I don’t know how to fix it, though. She won’t let me near her.”
Jade crossed the short distance and wrapped her arms around my waist. I pulled her closer so that her breasts were pressed up against my chest. “She misses him.”
I sighed. “I know.”
This was one of the few places where Jade and I disagreed. She was firmly in Coleman’s corner. I, however, was not, and she knew it.
“Maybe we could—”
“No.” I stepped back and released her. The last thing I wanted was to fight over this again.
“Cal, you don’t understand.”
“What is it I don’t understand, Jade?” Trying to keep my voice down so Anna couldn’t hear it, I moved closer until there were only a few feet between us.
“She loves him.”
“That’s not love. That’s dependence. There’s a difference.”
Jade shook her head. “How can you say that?”
“Easy.” Pointing to the closed bedroom door, I drove my point home. I knew a thing or two about dependence. Feeling like there was no choice. Anna had a choice, and I was going to make sure, one way or another, that she knew it. “Look at her. She can barely function now that he’s not around. I don’t think it gets any clearer than that.”
“You are so stubborn. What is it you have against Stephan that you can’t see that, on top of everything else, Anna is suffering from a broken heart? Maybe it’s different for guys. Maybe you don’t deal with it the same way. But it’s not uncommon for a female to lock herself away from the world for a week and bury herself in a tub of ice cream.”
“A week?” I turned away from her again, marching back to the window, wishing the twisting in my gut would stop. “I could’ve handled a week. She’s been like this since she got here.”
“It’s different.”
I glanced over my shoulder, meeting her gaze. “Of course it is. And it’s his fault.”
She tilted her head back, looking up at the ceiling, and sighed. I got the feeling I’d be sleeping on the couch again after this conversation. “Usually when you break up with someone, it’s because it isn’t working anymore or the other person wronged you. That didn’t happen in this case. She’s intentionally keeping herself away from him in order to protect him. She didn’t stop loving him. He didn’t stop loving her.”
I started to open my mouth to contradict her, but she cut me off.
“I don’t care what you say. I believe he loves her. Why would he go to all that trouble with her if he didn’t?”
“Easy. He wanted a compliant sex toy he could have his way with.”
“Cal Ross. That is one of the most callous things I’ve ever heard you say.”
I hated fighting with Jade, but as she’d said, I was stubborn. The problem was she was just as pigheaded as I was when she thought she was right. “It’s the truth.”
“No. It isn’t. That’s not how it works.”
“How would you know?” I lowered my voice an octave. “He’s screwed up, Jade. The things he likes to do to women . . . I can’t let him do that to Anna. I can’t.”
“And if it’s what she wants?”
“It’s not.”
She took a step toward me. “If it is?”
“Jade . . .”
Before I could say thing more, she was standing directly in front of me, her nose just inches away from mine. “If you want to be Anna’s friend—a true friend—you will want her to be happy.” I opened my mouth to speak, but she placed her hand against my lips, silencing me. “Stephan Coleman makes her happy. You need to accept that and deal with it. Stop thinking about yourself for once and think about Anna. The man she loves is having his life dragged through the mud right now because of her. Think about how you would feel if something happened to me and you couldn’t do anything to stop it or help me.”
She raised her eyebrow, questioning. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, she had a point. If Jade were in trouble and I wasn’t allowed to help her, I would probably slowly drive myself crazy.
Closing my eyes, I nodded, and she removed her hand from over my mouth. “I still don’t like it.”
Jade chuckled and circled her arms around my neck. “No one said you had to like it, but this isn’t about you. It’s about Anna, and right now she needs us—both of us—to be on her side.”
I nodded.
She smiled and brushed her lips across mine in that sensual way she did that drove me insane and made me putty in her hands. I grabbed hold of her ass and pulled her hips against my growing erection.
Jade laughed.
“Not so fast. Emma’s going to be here soon.”
I groaned and let my head fall to Jade’s shoulder. “I forgot.”
Jade reached between us and rubbed her hand up and down my semi-erect cock. “I promise to make it up to you later.”
Closing my eyes, I stopped the movement of her hand. “Not helping.”
This only made her laugh harder. Jade and I had to adjust our sex lives after Anna had moved in with me. Given her history, we didn’t think it would be good for her to see or hear anything of a sexual nature. That meant most of our recent escapades had occurred either as quietly as possible late at night or in my office. We’d snuck away to her apartment a couple of times when we were desperate, but I didn’t like to leave Anna alone more than I had to.
As it was, Jade and I had adjusted our schedules so Anna was only in the house by herself a handful of hours during the week. I started my workday at six in the morning, rather than the eight or eight thirty I used to, so I could be home no later than three. Jade didn’t leave the house until ten or eleven, depending on her class schedule. That meant sometimes she didn’t get back until late. I had to admit it had taken its toll on our relationship, and not just the sexual part of it either. Taking care of Anna meant she was the focus of our lives more often than not.
“What are you thinking about?”
I gave Jade a chaste kiss before stepping back. “I was thinking about how much our lives have changed since Anna moved in, and how much you’ve had to put up with.”
“They have changed, haven’t they?”
I reached in the cabinet for a mug before pouring myself some coffee. “Yes.”
We stared at each other for several minutes, not speaking but saying plenty. Jade stepped closer and reached out to brush her fingers along the back of my hand.
Turning my hand over, I laced our fingers and squeezed. We stayed like that, trapped in the bubble we’d created, until there was a knock on the door.
“I’ll get it. Why don’t you let Anna know Emma’s here.”
Jade nodded.
Once she was inside Anna’s room, I opened the door and invited Emma in. “Morning, Emma.”
“Good morning, Cal. How are you?”
“As well as can be expected at eight thirty on a Saturday morning.”
She stepped inside, tucking her long blond hair behind her ear while adjusting the strap on her briefcase over her shoulder. “You’re used to getting up earlier than this now, aren’t you? I’d expect you to be ready for anything at this point.”
I took a sip of my coffee, shrugged, and closed the front door. “Can I get you some coffee?”
“Yes, please,” she said, walking over to set her briefcase down on the kitchen table.
I could hear her opening her case and the sound of papers being shuffled around as I worked in the kitchen. For her age, Emma was already a prominent attorney. She’d been named as one of the best in Minnesota, which was a huge accomplishment for someone in her early thirties. Anna was lucky to have her. Then again, Anna had Emma because of Stephan and his money. At least he was good for something.
The door to Anna’s room was still closed, but I knew it wouldn’t be for long. There was only one person who was guaranteed these days to get Anna to come out of her room, and that was Emma. Two weeks after Anna moved in, I’d gotten a phone call at my office from Oscar Davis, Coleman’s lawyer. We’d talked for over an hour while he filled me in on what was happening. Apparently Coleman had thought it might go over better coming from Mr. Davis than from him. He was probably right.
Things were getting complicated. The feds were now involved, and they were insisting on going through not only all of Coleman’s personal financials but also those of The Coleman Foundation. A team of lawyers had been brought in, hand selected by Mr. Davis. The media, of course, was all over it given Coleman’s position in the city. It was swiftly becoming a circus.
That was where Emma came into th
e picture. Both Coleman and his lawyer felt Brianna needed to have legal counsel in order to protect herself from whatever fallout there might be. They were going to try to keep her out of it as much as possible, but with her father telling anyone who would listen that Stephan Coleman had kidnapped and brainwashed his daughter, the chances she’d not have to get involved were slim.
It had taken only one meeting between Emma and Anna for them to form a bond, which given Anna’s aversion to people in general was strange. She was a woman, so that helped. There was also the fact that she was there to help Anna in any way she could. Part of that was keeping Anna up to date on all things Stephan Coleman.
I placed Emma’s coffee on the table far enough away from her papers so nothing would get damaged. “Here you go.”
“Thanks.” She took a sip and then placed the mug back down on the table. “How’s Anna doing this morning?”
“She ate. That’s all I know. She hasn’t—”
I was just about to comment on how she hadn’t come out of her room yet, when the door opened and Anna took a step out into the room. She had a faraway look in her eyes, and I could tell she’d been crying. Her demeanor changed instantly, however, when she spotted Emma.
Anna’s steps were measured, as they always seemed to be, as she crossed to where Emma waited at the table. Jade appeared in the doorway but remained unmoving as Anna approached. This was always iffy. Anna had a fight or flight response that always leaned toward flight. If something startled her, she would be across the room faster than seemed humanly possible.
Once she’d taken a seat, we all relaxed some. “Would you like some coffee, Anna?”
She shook her head and focused on Emma. “How . . . how is he?”
I closed my eyes, trying not to let my temper get the best of me, and walked back into the kitchen. Jade joined me and wrapped her arms around my waist, trying to comfort me. It didn’t work, but I appreciated the effort.
