Page 62 of Twist Me

He turned to Micah and held out his wrists.

“Give me back my bracelets, bitch, and take me home.” Turning to glare at me as the rain pelted his beautiful face. “After all, there’s no such thing as freedom for a monster.

“What is the meaning of this, Detective?”

I teetered on my heel as Quinn spoke of the events leading up to this awkward meeting with Warden Briggs.

“You? A police officer undercover?”

Thanks for the vote of confidence, pendejo.

“Yes, sir,” I said. “I had to keep my identity a secret for the mission. It was imperative I didn’t alert any patients of my position.”

The old white-haired man scrutinized me, eyeing me down with the disapproval of a priest.

“And what of the Masters’s brother—Goliath? Why would an officer of the law run off with an inmate?”

I chose my words carefully.

“Sir, he was part of my investigation, and I had to maintain his loyalty to ensure success in my mission.”

The taste in my mouth was awful. Goliath was always betrayed. Here I was, no better than anyone else.

“Actually, sir,” I said, not able to tarnish his character again merely to save my job. “You are aware of Goliath’s background and his position within this very facility. He noticed that I was not in the asylum and went to look for me.”

I refused to look in the direction where Goliath was standing, guarded with handcuffs. He was awaiting solitary confinement for life with the other demented individuals in the far wing.

“The Reaper,” I said carefully. “Goliath Masters rescued me from the The Reaper.”

The old man studied Goliath and waited for him to speak, but Goliath looked away.

“Detective, can you confirm this?”

Quinn cleared his throat briefly before nodding. “Yes, sir. We have evidence that the attack that killed Jordan Vincent at the lake a few weeks ago showed signs of a struggle and not the victims. We found DNA of Officer Lavita’s hair and skin tissue on the rocks at the crime scene location.”

The warden narrowed his eyes as he looked down at me. Suspicion was written all over his face, but I didn’t back down.

“Warden Briggs, the investigation is not finished, and though it has been through unorthodox methods, Goliath Masters isnow an important part of my cover. I need you to pardon him as well as my alias for the AWOL status.”

The man sat down at his desk, the big chair dwarfing him like the men in the room. I stole a glance at Goliath. His eyes looked confused. Untrusting. Like a dog afraid to eat from someone offering food.

“And how do you propose we do that? The news is all over your star-crossed lovers bullshit, and the amount of calls from the locals I have received about the safety of my facility is a disaster. I can’t just let you both waltz back in here like nothing happened. Am I supposed to say you two just went for a stroll? People will start to question my sanity.”

I pondered that. He had a point, but I couldn’t give up on my investigation. Not after everything, I had to see this through. Goliath and the brothers had told me to take it back. Only after that night did I realize what they meant—take back my control, freedom, and sanity.

“You will grant them a pardon on the call of the Rochester Police Department.” I looked over at Micah. He was having a stare-down with the warden, but would his famous detective status be enough or not?

Sitting in the study,I ignored the whispers surrounding me, the boos, and the rude shit thrown in my direction.The warden definitely hated me, but after Quinn threw the cover-up in his face and the truth would be exposed if he didn’t listen to the pardon order, I was pretty sure he hated him more.

“What did you do to the giant, girl?” Emmy spoke softly. “He’s never been so…small.”

I closed my eyes tightly, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill. I couldn’t think about Goliath, not if I was going to figure out how to clear his name and set him free.

At least Micah had pulled through, and with his few strings, aka threats, and a ton of annoying paperwork, I was back at my job. It wasn’t the same at all, though. The triplets wouldn’t even speak to me. I got a lovely ‘Larry says you’re a traitorous bitch’ from Judas, but that was it.

Goliath had effectively iced me out entirely. I could see him and his brothers shadowing my cell at night, protecting me even in their hatred, but otherwise, they were simply stones of silence.

Why had I bothered even getting him pardoned?

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