Just Keep Sweet (The Compound Series) by Melissa Brown Read Free Book Online Page A

stupid, stupid woman. Why did you have to push so hard? Why can’t you fall in line?
    He licked his lips and pushed his plate away, sinking both elbows into the table and joining his hands together in a peak, pressing them both to his chin. His smile was loaded with toxic derision as he tilted his head to the side.
    “Oh yes, Holly, dear. I most certainly do.”
     

Chapter 6
     

     
    “You’re obsessing.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes over lunch. I’d checked my phone three times since we’d ordered our food, still waiting on word from Aspen. “Why don’t you just go to the compound?”
    “I can’t. I have to be patient. She’ll call, I know it.”
    “What if she doesn’t? You’ll never stop wondering.”
    She was right. Since my last call from Aspen three weeks ago, I’d worked on four other cases. Three of them were pretty open and shut and didn’t call for too much brain power. The fourth was still open and kept my days busy, but whenever possible my mind wandered to Aspen, to her children and to all the other children whom I assumed were sitting ducks under the influence of the self-proclaimed prophet.
    “You’re too attached,” she said, pouring her dressing over her salad once it arrived. I popped a french fry into my mouth and shrugged her off. “I mean it, Jon. If I didn’t know you better, I’d think you were hung up on this girl.”
    “That’s ridiculous.” I shook my head and reached for the ketchup bottle. I’d hesitated to share the details of the case with Elizabeth knowing she’d see that there was more to my concern than simply being an officer of the law. No. I cared about this one, possibly more than I should. I told myself that if Aspen wasn’t beautiful, headstrong, or stubborn I’d care just as much, but I knew that would be a lie. Elizabeth knew it too. God, I hated she knew me so damn well. “I just want to protect her, that’s all. Going up against a powerful fucker like this is scary. I can’t imagine what’s going through her head, and I just want to be there to help her out.”
    “Sure ya do.” She took a sip of her Diet Coke. “But she’s married.”
    “Yeah, to a guy who doesn’t believe anything she says. What kind of marriage is that?”
    Elizabeth plopped her fork down and pressed her elbows into the table. “Look, I respect the fact that you’re trying to help, I do, but I know you better than you know yourself and there’s definitely more to it. Just admit it and we can move on.”
    My ex-wife demanded honesty in all facets of her life and if you couldn’t be honest, you couldn’t be a part of it. Period.
    “Fine, okay, whatever,” I said before taking a bite of my burger and using my moment of chewing time to ponder what to say in response. I was busted, and there was no sense in avoiding it any longer. “E, I know it’s ridiculous, I do. I’m drawn to her and I can’t help it.”
    She shook her head slowly. “To say you’re from two different worlds would be a gigantic understatement. The Capulets and the Montagues have nothing on this.”
    “E, stop it.” I was getting annoyed.
    “Sorry, it’s just . . . you know it would never work.”
    “Don’t you think I know that? Stop making this into something it’s not.”
    She tilted her head to the side, and I dropped my burger onto the plate. “Jesus, it’s not like I want to date the woman. I just . . . Shit, I don’t know.” I took a sip of my water. “I just want to know she’s okay, that she’s safe. That the fucking prophet won’t leave her on the side of the road.”
    “And if he does? What then? It’s not like you can rough him up, Jon, you’re a police officer, not a Soprano.”
    “What is it with you and fictional characters today? Geez, you’re like a walking Wikipedia entry.”
    She laughed before stabbing a piece of grilled chicken. “Francis likes my endless supply of useless information.”
    “Well, good for Frankincense.” I gave her a cocky grin before