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

hunger I fully believed he didn’t merely intend to make good on them, he had to. He and I had history, one I still didn’t understand or remember. But our lives were entwined in such a way that it required one of us to die in order for the other to survive.

While I shared the Thea-he’d-known’s body and was starting to learn who she was, I wasn’t who he really wanted to bleed for him anymore. I knew slap five would be a doozy, but with a smug grin, I said, “You’re never going to have her.”

“I don’t want her!” he bellowed as his face morphed with rage. His fists balled at his sides, but he didn’t deliver another blow. “It was you, Thea.”

“Thea’s gone, Clay. I don’t remember her. I don’t remember you. I don’t remember Amanda. None of it.”

“You’re lying! You’re a fucking liar. Just like you’ve lied to me this whole time.”

“Clay, you’re not listening. The Thea you knew is gone.”

“You’re a clever agent, but I’m not stupid.” He shook off his frustration and resumed the little speech he seemed compelled to give me. “It must’ve been hard for you to stomach working with me, getting close to me, lying to me. Was Mandy really worth it? She was special, but you, Thea…your eyes…they look exactly the same right now. How intently they watched me with your sister, how could I ever forget them? So fucking beautiful, filled with horror and sadness when I dragged her out of the window.”

Clay took Mandy?

He laughed at my horror. “That’s what your rogue investigating was really about, wasn’t it? You should’ve just asked me where she was. I would’ve told you. I would’ve done anything for you. But instead you stumbled on something else, didn’t you? Something you now have die for.”

Desire to find Mandy, to rescue her, rose up fiercely inside me, reminding me of his words back at the car crash. “Where is she?”

“Come with me and see for yourself. She’s been waiting a long time to be with you, Thea.”

Fear flickered through my mind. If he moved me again it would be even harder for Nik to find me. But if Clay could lead me to my sister… “Is she alive?”

* * * *

Nik broke through a stand of trees, skidding to a stop alongside of Titan. The shepherd had lost Thea’s scent on an old mining pass. From the tracks in the rarely used dirt road, a vehicle must’ve picked her up and turned back toward the highway. Nik led the way for a stretch, allowing Titan to slow down and catch his breath. At the slower pace, Nik noticed a slight gimp in Titan’s hind leg. “Come on, pup, let me give you a lift.”

Titan eyed him, growling low as Nik’s hand came around his belly.

Nik retreated, squatting on his boot heels. “What will your momma say if I bring you back limping? Because we’re going to find her, Ti. I promise.”

The dog lowered his head and allowed Nik to heft him over his shoulders. Soon they met up with Coop on the paved road.

“Titan, okay?” he asked as Nik opened the door and set the dog in the back.

“He will be. Sliding down the mountain might’ve been a little much at his age.” Nik rubbed at his own hip. “Mine, too.”

“I thought he was back at your place waiting with Leo?”

“He kind of insisted on coming with me. Glad he did, though, he’s a better tracker. Unfortunately, it didn’t get us very far. I’ve been thinking about where they turned before the crash. There’s a dude ranch and a couple older, less frequented cabin rentals out that way. Perfect places for someone wanting seclusion.”

“Makes sense.”

Nik swung up into the passenger seat. Thea had been here. He could still smell her shampoo. She’d been in this very same seat the last time he’d seen her, confused and hurt as he refused to tell her goodbye.

Refused to tell her he loved her.

“Go!” he bellowed.

Coop whipped the truck around and Nik directed him to the initial ranch. There were at least twenty cabins and this was just the first place on the road. “Any signs of activity?”

“Not really. Want to check the next resort?”

“There are some cabins hidden from the road. Let’s check them out first.”

Sure enough, they drove farther back into the campgrounds and spotted tire tracks in front of one of the remote sites. Retreating, they parked behind another cabin, out of sight. Coop gave Titan a stand-down command and left him to wait in the truck as he took out his rifle and split from Nik.

Somewhere up in the treeline, Coop moved into a position where he could watch through the scope on his rifle, ready to take out any threat. Even in civilian wear, with his bright blue shirt, Nik hadn’t been able to spot where he’d settled in. They didn’t call Coop the Ghost for nothing. And if that sick fuck, Clay, did anything to hurt Thea, he’d learn why they called Nik the Darkness.

Gripping his Sig, Nik approached. The cabin’s curtains were drawn tight, making it impossible to see in. But it also meant whoever was inside couldn’t see out.

Head on a swivel, Nik watched for signs of tripwires while also scanning for possible accomplices, like Aimee. He moved silently and a hell of a lot slower than his pulse dictated. It’d been a long time since Nik had to truly exercise control over his patience.

His heart punched at his chest, eager to get inside the cabin, closer to Thea. She wasn’t a target he had to hit or an asset to extract. And in all of his varied training rotations, the scenario of how to control your shit when the woman who could twist your heart was in danger had never come up.

Barging in blind could not only mean his own life, but also hers. He kept his ear trained toward the dark, squared-off logs and heavy cream