Page 44 of Twist Me

Either way, it was a manhunt…But this man didn’t stray from his prey, blizzard or not. So now, I was forced to find out what it meant to be trappedwiththe wolf.

But the question was: would he set me free…or devour me whole?

“I miss my cat,”I blurted wistfully. My fuzzy mammoth could protect me from anything, maybe even myself and these weird feelings I had when Goliath was near. Looking at him now, he practically purred his words back at me, “How funny, because I miss your pussy too.”

Icouldn’t comprehend how entirely pussy whipped I was for a virgin…one I hadn’t even fucked. But yet here I was, going out into the fucking tundra to get her a gift for her fucking birthday.

Why did I do this to myself?

I called Roe a few times, but he ignored me. On the eighteenth time, Judas answered. “What’s a cracking fugitive?”

I rolled my eyes. It was too fucking cold on this ATV sled-looking vehicle to play any games.

“Judes! Where’s Pharaoh,” I said over the roar of the engine and with the snow pounding in my face, making it hard to hear my brother.

“I dunno. Lemme ask Larry.”I knew the answer before it was given.“Larry said, Roe says, ‘Fuck you up your ass with a cactus, my dude.’”

That was deserved, I guess. But still, coming from my youngest brother…it hurt.

“Judes, I’m sorry, man. I didn’t have a choice.”

Judas was quiet on the phone. My damn burner was about out of minutes, but I needed to make these calls in case I died on this dumbass quest to be a gentleman or some shit.

“Life gives you choices. And you can fuck them or squash them. Either gives you lemonade.”Deciphering Judas was a headache, but I took it as if maybe he forgave me.

Either way, he started singing some tune about a duck and grapes, so I said my goodbyes.The next call I made had me feeling even more like someone was about to punch me in the asshole.

“What?” Tal’s unmistakable venom was there, but she answered.

“Hey…I just wanted to say thanks for not stabbing me with one of your scalpels.”

“Annnd….” she prompted, softening a bit when she realized I was groveling like a dog.

“And, for helping my—” I stopped, unsure what the fuck to call Ezello.

She wasn’t a friend.

She was an annoying ass woman who got on my last damned nerves.

But also, she made me feel an inescapable urge to act like some flowery, noble knight. She reminded me of my past. It was partly why I hated her, but maybe she wasn’t all bad. What would my encounters with her have been like had I met her before my life went to hell? When Iwasthe knight in shining armor, or rather, when I had a cushy life and no real reason to fuck it up.

“How’s she doing?”

My sister’s voice drew me from my thoughts, and I shook my head from the snow flurries collecting in my damn eyebrows.At least I was almost there.

“She’s on the mend from your skills. She’d probably be dead without ya.”

She snorted. “Yep. Very dead. You still need to keep an eye on her head, though.”

Had she hit her head? She looked like she’d lost a battle with a blender, so I guessed she could have. Either way, she would be gone if not for Tal.

“So…” I needed this band-aid ripped off my balls already. “I’m sorry, Taliah. I don’t know why you ratted out Roe, but your beef is with him. Not me.”

She considered my words for a minute. It was probably the one and only time in my life that I apologized, and the words felt weird in my mouth.

But, she did the last thing I’d expected: laugh.

“That waswhat you all have thought? No bro. I didn’t rat on anyone. Pharaoh called the police onhimselfafter killing Ariah. I wasn’t even at the house until a neighbor called me saying Xenia was about to be taken to CPS.”

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