Free Redeemed Book 2: A Military Stepbrother Romance by Lucy Snow Page B

stock up in advance, that’s what I always say? Say, on that note, where’s your brother?”

    “Stepbrother.”

    “Right, right. Where is he, anyway?”

    “About that…”

    Yeah it wouldn’t go so well from that point on. Ruth would cry, and Dad would console her for a few minutes while the anger boiled up inside him. All that effort, he would stay, all that time and effort trying to help Harrison clean up his life and escape his past, all down the drain.

    My father was really big on dramatic stuff; couldn’t resist. He liked to make mountains out of slight inclines in the ground, but this time I was worried he’d be right.

    Harrison could really screw up his life in the next couple hours. Sure, he’d served his country in the military and gone to war to make sure people were safe - he was a decorated soldier. But the justice system still didn’t take too kindly to soldiers who beat up regular people. Even if those regular people were up to no good.

    If this case kept going beyond today, Harrison could be looking at serious jail time, and after that, who would hire him? He’d have to disclose that he was a convicted felon on every job application, and I had a good feeling that would outweigh anything he could tell a prospective employer about his prior military service.

    And it wasn’t like Harrison was formally out of the military yet - they probably be too thrilled with a soldier being charged or even convicted of a felony while on leave. This was getting worse and worse the more I thought about it. I stared at Harrison, trying to figure out what his game was.

    Did he think that if he said nothing this whole thing would just go away? Did he think they would just let him go with a pat on the back after what he’d done, no matter the circumstances?

    After all his dealings with the police so far, and all his time in the military, did he really know so little about how the whole world worked?

    No one had said anything in a long time. “Do you have anything to say in your defense, Harrison? Anything at all that could help you out, give us a little insight into what happened?”

    Harrison said nothing, his eyes forward, not looking at anything or anyone in particular. Maybe he was inspecting the far wall for hairline cracks or a bad paint job. I couldn’t tell.

    “Because, son, let me tell you…”

    Harrison’s face turned almost purple with rage. “Don’t call me son,” he whispered, if you could call it that. It was a whisper with teeth. Teeth that said don’t go down that road any further, for that way madness lay.

    Officer Stallman held up his hand and waved Harrison off. “Right, right, well, let me just tell you, Harrison,” he emphasized the name, and I exhaled sharply, “you’re not really helping yourself out here.”

    “Yeah, these stonewalling tactics might help overseas,” Officer Jefferson butted in, cutting Stallman off, “but back here in America we prefer it when suspects cooperate.”

    Stallman gripped Jefferson’s shoulder, and I could see it wasn’t a casual hold. Jefferson winced at the force Stallman used. “That was out of line, Jefferson, and you know it.”

    Stallman didn’t let go of Jefferson’s shoulder till he nodded. When Stallman let his hand fall, Jefferson immediately reached up and massaged his shoulder gingerly, his face flushed. Jefferson clearly was not happy that Stallman had embarrassed him in front of us. Still, what he’d said was totally out of line, and I respected Stallman for pointing it out in such a forceful way.

    “Where were we?”

    Still Harrison said nothing, and I didn’t know what to do either. How could I let him stay silent? But what could I say to help? He clearly didn’t want to talk, clearly didn’t want to explain what really happened. I had no idea why.

    “Oh right, the silent treatment. I figured I left that at home,” Stallman joked, trying to lighten the mood. No one responded, and he waved it away again,