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

fuel to her already fiery demeanor, he didn’t want to incur her infamous wrath today. Not when he didn’t have Thea under control yet.

He could already hear Sera’s taunting question, ‘Tell me, love, how did the cursed brat outfox you?’ Her shill, cackling laugh as she gloated about having warned him to stay away from Thea. But avoiding the Feds on multiple fronts, especially the human trafficking task force Thea worked for, was vital for their organization to expand.

The thrilling challenge of getting close to Thea had been too addictive to quit. Until now. Now she stood to threaten everything he and Sera had worked years for.

He muted the phone and tossed it onto the bed. Definitely not the time to speak to Sera.

“Hey!” Aimee griped. “I wanted to talk to her. Tell her about our ceremony. My rise.”

“She can’t talk right now. I’ve booked her an important appearance on Michael Maddox Live tomorrow to promote the Sanctuary and its connection to our organization. She needs to prepare for it.” Besides, Sera had more than likely gotten word about her sister’s death and Clay didn’t want her raining on his parade.

He still couldn’t believe Thea had risked her life to try to help the previous Aimee. It had almost given him the perfect opportunity to snatch her, too. A nice thwack on the back of the head had knocked Thea clean out, but her damn dog had stood guard over her and the tornado had been bearing down. “Once Sera’s finished her interview and we have Thea, then we can share all our news.” Good and bad.

Aimee nodded in agreement, despite being visibly disappointed. Sera spent every day at their camp, grooming the girls who showed the most promise, whereas Clay popped in only a handful of times per year. His arrival, typically marked by special ceremonies and rituals, made him their rock star, not their rock.

“We need to go set up. Then all we have to do is wait for a time when Thea’s alone.”

“Why don’t I just call her? She’ll meet with me.”

Clay grumbled. “Sure. Okay. She’s only been running her ass off for the past couple of days, but let’s call her and invite her for tea.”

“She trusts me.”

“Thea trusts no one. Understand? No one.”

“No, I don’t understand. Any of this. She’s your fiancée—why doesn’t she know anything about Phoenixes or the Ring?”

Clay stilled. “What did you tell her about the Ring?”

“Nothing,” she said too quickly to be the truth. “I gave her the card we hand out to new recruits, that’s all.”

Despite being ready to spit nails, Clay drew in a deep breath and enunciated each word as clearly as he could. “You have no idea how long it took me to get as far with her as I did! No idea. And you have no fucking clue who Thea Gale even is!” He might as well have been screaming it at himself.

“You made her seem crazy. Combative. She was nice. She wanted to be friends. I could see it in her eyes.”

“Thea doesn’t have friends. She’s like her father. A fucking untouchable, unfeeling robot.”

“That’s not true. I mean, sure she was awkward, but… She trusts the guy she was with. She wasn’t untouchable with him.”

Images of Thea hanging herself all over the asshole in the parking lot, smiling at him, touching him rushed back on Clay.

It was all an act. It had to be. Each pathetic ounce of affection had to be mined from her. Pried out. Worked for. He had earned it! Not that guy.

“Get this straight—Thea Gale is playing him and you. She uses people. The second you think she trusts you is the second she fucks your world up good. What do you think she does for the Feds? She cons people. And she’s damn good at it. She spins a pretty gossamer trap. She’s a spider and you think she’s being gracious by letting you walk into her web. Pretends to be a broken little girl like you and she’ll suck you into helping her.”

“I’m not broken anymore! And earlier you said she was like I used to be. Now you’re saying she’s pretending? Which is it?”

Fuck. Clay didn’t even know anymore. “It doesn’t matter. She’s a goddamned savant. She’s dangerous. A pinless grenade waiting to blow. And you think you can hold her in the palm of your hand!” They were the very words Sera had once warned him away from Thea with. But he’d prove Sera wrong. And he’d prove Thea wrong, too—he wasn’t just some mark she could dupe. He was her worst fucking nightmare. One she was never going to wake up from.

“Thea thinks she knows who she’s dealing with, but she has no clue. And neither do you!” He slammed his fist against the table, causing both the drone and Aimee to jump.

Aimee retreated a wobbly step, then another. At her trembling recoil, Clay’s energy surged. She was a fawn in the hardened sights of a hungry wolf.

“I don’t know why you’re so mad at me, but maybe I should…”

She’d been smart to swallow her thought, but Clay cut to the chase for her. “Leave?”

Naturally she was having doubts, thinking of running. The Ring’s gates were always open. The only thing holding her captive, even in this hotel room, was fear. But as Sera had taught him, fear could bind someone far better than any chain or rope.

And for Clay, it was much more enjoyable.

Her wide, frightened eyes baited him. He could smell her terror, taste it like iron pooling thick and warm on his tongue. She had no clue the needs her terror triggered. Needs he’d suppressed for far too long and were now boiling his insides.

Even as Aimee’s distress excited him, he knew better than to let the pulsing adrenaline disrupt his focus.

“You can go anytime, but there’s no going back. All those people who spent days and weeks searching for you, exhausting every resource—what are you going to tell them, Rebecca? It was