Page 6 of Twist Me

“Oh…wow.” I felt a look of genuine shock cover my face. “Okay, yeah, I would say that would give you a one-way ticket into the asylum.”

Flipping through more papers, I continued to read aloud. “Birdie Bard. Accused of pouring bleach into a patient’s mouth in fear of disease. Reportedly suffers from severe hypochondria and mysophobia.”

I looked up from the paper. “So, she’s a germaphobe?”

The detective studied the table thoughtfully before he spoke. “Basically, everyone in Hospital Twelve has one or more things that have classified them as insane, but a lot of them, from my understanding, are fairly ‘normal.’ Each patient there just had something in them that caused them to snap. The woman you just spoke of was a nurse before she flipped a switch from fearful germaphobe to a murderer who killed her patients.”

I thought about that for a few moments. “So, you are saying the difference between these murderers and the individuals in prison is that they murdered people based on fear and not because of malicious intent?”

Micah nodded. “Most of them. There are some, including your persona, who are legitimately unhinged individuals. They are a particular type of sadist and genuinely enjoy the victim’s death when it is filled with pain. Many sadists are housed at Hospital Twelve. That’s why it’s essential for you to learn the difference between the people who are sick versus the people who are just master manipulators.”

I flipped to another sheet, and icy eyes met my stare, causing my heart to thump in my ears.

“Goliath Masters,” he said, leaning back in his chair and blowing out a breath. “That one is as twisted as they come.”

I studied the paper and ran my fingertips over the lines of his crooked, sadistic smile, his dark, slicked-back hair, and all the tattoos covering his body. He even had ink above his brow that read, ‘Twist Me Baby.’ He looked unhinged, but there was a dangerous beauty to him I couldn’t ignore. On paper, he seemed to be the most fractured of his brothers.

“Algolagnia—the intense need to give and receive pain, especially during sexual acts.” I shivered at the unblinking gaze of his eyes. It was like he was staring into my soul.

It actually made me sad to think that these people were all hurting in some way.The detective seemed to read my thoughts and spoke up, spreading the files across the table.

“Make no mistake though, Ezello. These people are extremely dangerous, and you’re essentially walking right into the lion’s den in just a week.” He began to shake his head as if he was saying no. “If I’m being honest, I don’t know if you’re ready.”

That hurt. Everyone always doubted me. The minute I was picked for this assignment, it began to feel more like I was playing a stupid game. I had skeptics eyeing my back constantly, making my anger bubble silently beneath my skin. The feel of it created a menacing hum in my blood. This was such a foreign feeling for me, but I’d had enough of ‘no one trusting me’ to follow through on my undercover assignment. Why did they choose me if I was doomed to fail?

Shoving my feelings away, I plowed forward with the conversation. “Okay, what about the one known as The Reaper? What do we have on this suspect?”

Quinn shuffled through the papers on the table and stopped when the smallest file with the least amount of writing was found. Six patients. All were killed by a knife wound to the throat. It was curved to create a sadistic smile. The code name for this killer was The Reaper because there had been zero findings of anything but the victim they left behind. Any trace of who may have been the killer had been wiped clean like it never existed, almost as if this individual was a spirit sent for death and nothing else.

While I was studying the files, a beautiful female inmate serving as our waitress walked over to us and interrupted my briefing. Her commercial smile was irritating.I gritted my teeth and watched the two supermodels flirt with each other. I didn’t think Quinn did so intentionally. He seemed like he was more ofthe kind of guy to hook a woman without even knowing he’d cast a line. Finally, she annoyingly sauntered away.

I looked back over the files. The triplets snagged my gaze when I roved over their folders.

Schizophrenia, erotomania, algolagnia-type hallucinations, stalking, and pain…what a bunch—but they looked human enough. It would take a fool to see their faces and not recognize the haunting beauty each one had. I think the fact that each one was a little broken made me slightly attracted to them.

It was an annoying quality to want to fix every broken toy, but that was who I was. It was why I became a cop in the first place. It was a job where I had a chance to help fix the world and rehabilitate the cruel. Looking at these men, I realized what a challenge that would be, but maybe…just maybe, not impossible.

“And for you, dear?”

Startled, I looked up and met the fake smile of the woman as she slid a burger and fries in front of Quinn. She must have been asking me what I wanted to order when she floated by while I was reviewing the files, but I couldn’t answer her. I had been too distracted and didn’t look over the menu. Besides, I doubted there was a vegan option here that didn’t taste like cardboard.

“I’ll have a side salad with vinaigrette,” I said, sliding the unused menu toward her hand.

She clicked her tongue, stared me down, and then looked at Quinn.

“Do you hang out with your sister often, hun?”

I snorted, but Micah looked like someone slapped him. His calm demeanor quickly soured, and he curtly shook his head. I didn’t think the dumb bimbo noticed his shift as she didn’t move her annoying little butt out of the way.

Micah seemed…pained? Maybe he had more in common with the people in these files than he let on. Had something possibly happened to a female that was a part of his life?Either way, he was clearly uncomfortable. Even though he had challenged my ability to do my job, I hated seeing anyone in pain.

Stealing my breath, I stood up abruptly, bopping the pad and pen from the girl’s hand. She jolted backward and squeaked in surprise. Stepping closer to her, she leaned down, and I put my boot firmly on her tiny notepad.

Meeting her pretty blue eyes, I said, “I’m not his sister,hun.” The inmate swallowed at hearing her pet name for Quinn thrown back at her. “And if you don’t walk your flirty little ass back to the kitchen to peel some potatoes, I am going to take this plastic knife, chop off all that perfect blonde hair, and choke you with it.”

There wasn’t much of a response except for the glass-shattering wail before she ran off, knocking the burger off the table my handler wanted so badly.I looked down at my feet, snatching it off the ground. When I returned to the table, I ignored the detective’s eyes as I dropped the disgusting meat before him.

“Respectfully, detective. You don’t know what I’m capable of.”

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