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

“On it!” Coop stated, breaking down the rifle he’d had trained on Clay’s dead body. He stripped of the tourniquet he had banded to his bump stock. Kneeling, he deftly wrapped Aimee’s arm, high up near her armpit. Her face contorted more from him cinching the tourniquet strap than it had from the original cut.

As Coop checked her over for other wounds, I turned back to Nik. His face drawn unrecognizably tight in fear. “I’m just shaken up, promise.”

He scooped me into his lap, his back bracing against the wall as his arms wrapped around me. Coop, who’d gone to the truck for his med kit, returned with Titan. The dog rushed to my side and licked my face with gusto as he curled into me. I snaked an arm out to pull him even closer.

Several minutes passed before I realized Nik hadn’t moved. Tension gripped his body. I tried to alleviate it by joking, “Aren’t you going to check my eyes? Make me count your fingers?”

He squeezed me tighter, as if making sure I was really there. “I thought I’d lost you.”

“I’m here, thanks to Aimee and your knife.”

Coop had laid her out on the bed, seeming to have everything under control. He used his teeth to strip a cap off a needle and injected it as he muttered something about always having to do Nik’s job.

Against my neck, Nik growled, “This isn’t my job. It’s my life. Thea’s my life. Can I hold on to her a little longer?”

“Hold on to her as long as you can.” Coop chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ve got it all covered. Aimee’s stable. Helo is en route. Coleman’s here and will assess the scene…” His eyes quickly scanned the bloody room, stopping briefly on Clay’s body draped awkwardly over the coffee table. “And dispose of the trash. Which one of you killed him?”

“Aimee saved my life.” My eyes met hers and we shared a grim smile.

“No, not Aimee,” she managed to whisper. Her adrenaline had waned, and the loss of blood had caught up to her. “Rebecca.”

Chapter Forty-Four

“Do I even want to know how you boys got a dog smuggled into a hospital?” I asked, shifting more upright in my bed.

Leo pretended to lock his lips and throw away the key as he dropped into the chair in the corner of the private room. The German shepherd in question leaped up, landing more on Nik than me.

Nik grunted. “This is the only time you’ll be sharing the bed with us, dog.”

I elbowed him in the ribs, even though I knew he was all talk. I’d caught enough exchanges between the pair to know Nik was way more of a dog person than he let on.

“Your chariot awaits, Goddess Thea.” We both looked up to see Coop rounding the corner with an empty wheelchair.

“More tests? I thought I was done.”

“You are. Rebecca is awake and asking for you. Thought you’d want to go see her, since she’s all you’ve asked about the last few hours.”

Nik swung out of my bed and shoved Coop away from the handles. “I’ll be driving her from now on.”

Backing off, Coop laughed. “Miss Daisy is all yours.”

Coop’s newest passion in life was teasing Nik about me, while Nik’s was staying as close to me as he possibly could.

“I can walk,” I protested. With all the painkillers they had me on, I was actually doing good. The private room was merely a perk Coop had pulled strings to get while we waited on test results for my original head injury.

“You haven’t been released yet,” Coop stated. “Hospital rules.”

“Yeah? You all are really good at following rules.” I angled my eyes at Titan.

Nik pointed to the wheelchair. “With as few tiger lives as you have left, we’re not taking any chances.”

Both guys glared until I dropped in the chair. I looked over at Leo with wide eyes. “What am I going to do with these crazy boys?”

“Don’t ask me. I’ve known them for years and have yet to be able to tell them no.”

Nik wheeled me out, heading toward the room number Coop had given us.

We’d been regularly appraised of Rebecca’s status. The loss of blood had been severe and she’d been in critical condition, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the second I saw her face, I relaxed. She was still pale. Bruises and swelling were setting in, but there was life in her eyes. Seeing the spark made me realize it’d been missing since I’d met her.

Nik rolled me up alongside her bed. When he didn’t move to leave, I assured him, “I’ll be fine.”

Reluctantly, he excused himself, letting me know he’d be right in the hall if I needed him.

I turned back with a smile. “Aimee.” I slammed my eyes shut, realizing my mistake. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be. I’ve been Savanah for the past year, and Aimee only a couple of days. I didn’t think I’d ever be Rebecca again. Didn’t think I’d ever want to. I still can’t believe how wrong I was about Clay…about all of it. A part of me is still convinced this was all a big misunderstanding. But I know he was evil. Maybe they all were.”

I had no idea what Clay had done to her, but back at the cabin she’d begged Coop to destroy the cell phone he’d started to bag. Against Coleman’s assertion the phone was evidence, Coop had hitched his shoulder and smashed it with his boot heel. Relief had washed over her at the sound of it cracking.

I reached out and held her hand. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Physically, yes. Mentally it might take a while. Thea, I’m so sorry I helped Clay. I believed you’d be taken care of in the Ring, but then Clay’s true colors started showing. I didn’t know he was going to hurt you until it was too late. I didn’t know how to protect you when I couldn’t even protect myself. I wanted to