Read Online Sweet Arrest by Jordyn Tracey - Free Book Online Page A

madman, or a cop come to haul her away. She hurried along the hall and struggled with the locks and chain. When she finally got the door opened, he burst through, slammed it shut and drug her into his arms.
    He kissed her lips, her hair and her neck, mumbling, “Are you okay? I called over and over.” She stared up at him. Coming to his senses, he let her go and frowned. “Why didn't you answer?"
    "I got mail."
    "The pictures? Where?"
    When she told him, he marched into the kitchen and picked up the photos to flip through them. His scowl darkened as he sifted. Hugging herself, she said, “Shouldn't you be handling them with your fingers on the edges in case of fingerprints?"
    "You think I'm going to report these?” he snapped. “Hell no!"
    She flinched. “I'm sorry, Connor. I've ruined your life.
    He held up a hand. “A'isha, don't. Just ... don't. I've got to figure out what to do about this. I got the same exact photos, and there's no way anyone can mistake it's you and me.” He jerked his fingers through his hair. “Mine came with a note."
    "A note?” She touched his arm, terrified of asking but needing to know. “What did it say?"
    "It said to drop the investigation on you, otherwise, the chief will get these."
    She perked up. “Well that's kind of a good thing, isn't it? It proves I'm not the one. Your boss may not like that we were lovers, but this shows I'm not the one. You're not obstructing the investigation."
    In disgust, he flung the pictures on the table. “A'isha, don't you get it? The note said to drop the investigation on you— you! —not on Cammie's murder or even on the shop. This only makes you look like an incompetent murderess trying to get the heat off yourself."
    Her jaw went slack. The room spun and tilted while black dots zigzagged before her eyes. “No.” She shook her head. “No, can't be. What did I do to deserve this?” she screamed. “Damn it, I'm not some bad person who went around screwing people over, so karma's back with a vengeance! Why is this happening? Why can't I make my life work? What's wrong with me?"
    She ran about the house, ripping open drawers and searching the contents for who knew what. Dumping over trashcans that had just been filled with trash, she muttered and cried all the way. When she was lifting a vase her grandmother had given her mother years ago to smash it to the floor, Connor's arms came around her, and he removed the heirloom from her trembling fingers.
    "Okay. It's going to be okay, A'isha,” he soothed. “We'll work through this together."
    "No, it's not going to be okay!” She pulled away from him although she was calmer now. “You don't know what this is like. Everything is so hard. I'm not superstitious in the least, but I feel like I'm cursed."
    "I know it—” His cell rang, interrupting what he had been about to say. A'isha spun to the trashcan she had overturned and began clearing it up. At Connor's exclamation, she turned her attention to him, fearing the worse.
    "What is it?” she whispered.
    He sighed. “Carl just learned that Cammie had recently put a deposit on a storefront shop a few doors away from yours. He questioned the landlord who admitted that Cammie mentioned starting her own coffee shop slash bakery."
    "Th-That must be why she resented me, why she hated working for me. I bet she thought she could do so much better, and hated having to answer to an inept shop owner like me. And it ... It gives me a motive."
    A'isha's eyes glazed over. Connor pulled her to her feet and directed her toward the front door. On the way, he snatched up her jacket and purse. Had she not been so devastated, she would have found it comical of him with his triceps bulging and a purse slung over his arm.
    "Where are we going?” she muttered.
    "Out! Away from this place and this situation for a while.” He tightened his hold at her waist. “You need it, and frankly, so do I."
    A'isha didn't get the chance to protest further, that she was not