“Someday you’ll find someone.”
“I did. I lost him. End of story.”
“It’s never the end of the story.” She put her head on her friend’s shoulder and stared at the sparkling water. “You’re my best friend, David. I’ve never said that because I was scared what it meant. That if I acknowledged how important you are to me that you might leave. I knew in my heart about these fears, but now I can say it. I’m scared that my friends, that everyone I care about, will disappear.”
David put his arm around her shoulders. They sat for several minutes staring at the water, lost in the past. Or maybe the future. But whatever it was, Max felt more at peace now than she had in a long time.
More at peace with herself, but more worried about her future. With Nick. With Marco. With her career. What she did and why she did it.
She had a lot of thinking to do, and taking time off would help.
David kissed the top of her head. “Emma and I will go to Lake Tahoe with you. But you tell Nick.”
She smiled. “Deal.”
About the Author
ALLISON BRENNAN is the New York Times and USA Today bestselling author of more than twenty novels and many short stories. A former consultant in the California State Legislature, she lives in Northern California with her husband, Dan, and their five children. You can sign up for email updates here.
ALSO BY ALLISON BRENNAN
Notorious
Dead Heat
Cold Snap
Stolen
Stalked
Silenced
If I Should Die
Kiss Me, Kill Me
Love Me to Death
Carnal Sin
Original Sin
Cutting Edge
Fatal Secrets
Sudden Death
Playing Dead
Tempting Evil
Killing Fear
Fear No Evil
See No Evil
Speak No Evil
The Kill
The Hunt
The Prey
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Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Acknowledgments
Prologue
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
Chapter Twenty-three
Chapter Twenty-four
Chapter Twenty-five
Chapter Twenty-six
Chapter Twenty-seven
Chapter Twenty-eight
Chapter Twenty-nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-one
Chapter Thirty-two
Chapter Thirty-three
Chapter Thirty-four
Chapter Thirty-five
About the Author
Also by Allison Brennan
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
COMPULSION. Copyright © 2015 by Allison Brennan. All rights reserved. For information, address St. Martin’s Press, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010.
www.minotaurbooks.com
Cover design by Ervin Serrano
Cover photographs: woman by Allan Jenkins/Trevillion Images; streetlights by Getty Images; water drops by Machmarsky/Shutterstock.com
eBooks may be purchased for business or promotional use. For information on bulk purchases, please contact Macmillan Corporate and Premium Sales Department by writing to [email protected].
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Brennan, Allison.
Compulsion / Allison Brennan—First edition.
pages cm. – (Max Revere novels; 2)
ISBN 978-1-250-03502-8 (hardcover)
ISBN 978-1-250-03503-5 (e-book)
1. Women journalists—Fiction. 2. Missing persons—Investigation—Fiction. I. Title.
PS3602.R4495C66 2015
813'.6—dc23
2015002540
e-ISBN 9781250035035
First Edition: April 2015
Compulsion (Max Revere Novels Book 2) Page 40