Twist My Heart by Brooke Taylor (ebook audio reader .txt) 📕

I ruffled Titan’s scruff as he came to my side, then gestured for him to lie down. Scanning him for any signs of trouble, I asked, “Is he okay?”

“Yeah, he’s fine. The windows were fogged up like he’d been agitated. I didn’t see anyone though. Be careful what you tell this new friend and don’t click on any links she sends, okay?”

“Nik, what’s going on? I’m getting scared.” I lifted my eyes from Titan, looking across the table to see Nik cutting into his steak. “How can you eat right now?”

“Easy, it’s delicious.” His eyes locked with mine. “Breathe, baby. Everything is fine. There were a lot of birds in the parking lot. They probably provoked him.”

I took a slow breath, not convinced. True to his words, though, he didn’t look concerned as he tucked into his food. The steak smelled delicious. And the fries were dying to be dunked in the bowl of ranch dressing.

A loud wailing moan ripped from my stomach, causing both Nik and Titan to tilt their heads at me.

“Was that Titan growling or you?”

I grimaced.

Jabbing his fork in the direction of my untouched steak, he commanded me to get after it. “Can’t believe you’re letting those fries get cold. Rookie mistake.” He tsked.

Not wasting time with another scowl, I devoured several heaven-coated fries. As I cut into the steak, I asked, “Is it really okay for Titan to be here?”

Oh man, the ribeye was delicious even without being smothered with ranch dressing.

“I told her he was a working dog I’m training.” He shot a look at Titan, who was lying down but alert…and salivating at my feet. “So be on your best behavior, dog. And for God’s sake, stop drooling. You’re on duty. No table scraps until we’re back at the Jeep.”

Titan grumbled and rested his head on his now slobbery paws.

* * * *

“It was nice, today. Pretending everything would be okay.” Defeat sounded in Thea’s voice.

Nik reached over and squeezed her shoulder. “Everything is okay.” The second lie by omission he’d told her that day.

The sun tucked in behind the jagged mountain vistas as they neared Estes Park. After their early dinner they’d hit a few more stops, both out of necessity and to catch anyone following them before heading back to his house. If Nik had doubted anyone was tracking her before, the device he’d found on the Jeep at the restaurant confirmed it. Without saying a word to Thea, he’d stuck it to the car parked next to his and stayed ever vigilant for anyone following. Nothing. But simply removing the device wasn’t going to stop whoever was keeping track of her. They’d been able to find her in Boulder, and the device hadn’t been there before. He would’ve found it when he handwashed the Jeep.

Thea pulled her legs up, her forearms banding around her shins as she silently stared out at the passing scenery. “You really think Aimee might be a threat?”

Yes.

The redhead had to be involved. In fact, the more Nik thought about it the more he believed she was the woman Dylan had run off at the hotel in Kansas. Her hair wasn’t the right color, but she did have a widow’s peak and bright blue eyes. She might’ve changed her appearance? But why was she following Thea? And why did she look so similar to the DOA woman under Thea’s truck—same bird tattoo, red hair? Who were these people? At first he’d thought they were Feds, but after Thea had told him about the organization, it now seemed like they were from some kind of cult.

Not wanting to alarm Thea, but still thinking it would be best for her to keep her distance, he hedged. “It’s possible.”

“But I approached her. I picked her out.”

“A good con can make it seem that way. Something was off with her, what with all the cultish sisterhood business and everyone having the same tattoo. Dead bird sounds kind of Wiccan or Voodoo… Hey, it’s a good thing we didn’t have sex with her,” he joked to lighten her mood. “We’d probably be drinking chicken blood or sacrificing a cat by now.”

Thea lifted her head to give it a tsk-tsking shake, but he caught the smile she tried to stifle by biting down on her lower lip and tucking her chin between her knees.

“Oh no, you have to share. What’s so funny, Tiggs?”

Her big eyes went innocently up to their corners as she looked at him. “Aren’t you part of a brotherhood? With a tattoo of a dead frog?”

Nik let loose a rumbling laugh. Her cleverness slayed him. “You got me. Secret’s out, I’m in a cult. Does that scare you?”

She turned her head, resting her cheek on her knees. “No, but I am wondering what poor animal I’ll be required to sacrifice when we have sex.”

When. Not if. Yeah, his dick caught it, too. The prick had amazing hearing considering it didn’t have ears. It also had the sudden posture of a well-trained soldier being called to attention.

Unable to pull off her level of innocence, he went for dark and dirty as he trailed a finger down the underside of her arm. “Don’t worry, Tiggs, the only kitty you’ll be sacrificing is the pretty one between your legs.”

Thea’s skin flushed pink as goosebumps chased across her arms. Her body was as responsive to him as his was to her. Every touch scraped his patience thinner. Keeping himself from colliding with her was like being incased in metal and trying to hover a hair’s breadth from a high-powered magnet. The snap, the smack, the forging together imminent.

Her whiskey eyes met his, still all fucking innocence. “I can live with that.”

Thank God Nik was pulling into his drive and not still winding through the mountain passes or he’d have wrecked the Jeep for sure. With a hard swallow, he shifted in his seat. Nearly crashing into the back wall of