Page 49 of Twisted

Jaeger tensed, and her eyes flashed up to his.

“Hold up, baby doll. Ya ain’t goin’ with me.”

It only took a second, but that once angelic face turned hard and cold in an instant.

“The hell I ain’t!” She blurted. Jaeger’s jaw twitched.

“Mais—”

“No,” she seethed, shaking with her mounting fury as she poked a finger in his direction. “You listen here, and you listen good. I may trust ya now. I may want whatever the fuck this messed up situation is, and I am woman enough to admit that. But I’ll be damned if a man ever tells me what I can and cannot do again. Ya hear me, Jaeger?”

She was seething, her chest rising and falling, and the patter of rain began to sing on the tin roof, the storm outside beginning to match the one within her soul. He wanted to correct her, to bend her to his will and make her scream in pain before he gave her pleasure. But he remembered that party. He remembered that fierceness in her eyes, how he could see even then she had a spine of steel. He even remembered desiring that trait in all his women, for he needed someone who could match him in that manner. Her steely gaze had flickered and died by the time he’d found her again, but here it was, and though he wanted to be upset, he couldn’t be.

After a short nod, he spoke, arms crossed as he leaned back against the cool pellet stove.

“Alright, baby doll. I get ya.”

She blinked, surprised, but soon smug, and it made him smirk. He reveled in the fact that he could give her that freedom, that he’d coaxed that stubborn streak back out. He supposed it had been blossoming before he’d found her, but it was now fully fledged and ready to take on the world.

Murdering—righteous justice, in her case—had given the power back to her soul. It was an amazing thing to see, her quiet, steel strength. As much as she was an actress, playing the beautiful little fool, she was just as sharp and lethal as a double-edged sword.

“Give me some time to think on a plan, sound good?”

“How long?” she asked, body tensed in apprehension. He frowned and shrugged a rounded shoulder. He had Rancho to consider, and the hit out on Maisie. He needed to plan for every possible scenario.

“Three days.”

She seemed satisfied as she bobbed her head, lost in thought.

“I need to get my car, call my parents…”

His gut twisted, but he knew she was right; they needed to make her look as innocent as possible. As soon as Jaeger realized that, he also realized that he would be condemning Lindsay to a life behind bars. The decision came easily and rang with a thudding finality through his chest, like a gavel snapping against a block. Lindsay had destroyed Maisie’s face for Randy raping her. Lindsay had put the hit out on Maisie behind Jaeger’s back, knowing full well what she was doing.

After he and his woman found the hard drive, he figured it was high time to meet with Linds again—to give her his own sentencing. If anything else came to light about her involvement in Maisie’s treatment, her time in prison would become much, much more difficult, he would see to that.

Standing, he padded to his room and dug out his personal phone, powering it on before he came back and handed it to a wide eyed, shocked Maisie.

“Gets shitty reception in here, so best go on the porch. Keep it short. You’re stayin’ at a friend’s, then goin’ to a hotel because the stress of the trial is too much.”

Her ruby lips were parted, and her dainty fingers clutched the phone to her chest, but she nodded.

“I…what about my phone? The number will be different.”

“Say it’s one the police gave you for safety. They think Lindsay may be workin’ with others and you’re in the crosshairs.”

Maisie nodded again, averting her eyes. It was closer to the truth than not. An odd notion, Jaeger realized.

“Shit…my ring!” she hissed, eyes popping wide with fear. Jaeger smirked.

“In my safe, baby doll. I’ll be blowin’ it up with my .45 when all’s said and done.”

He wondered if that statement would irk her, if she wanted to sell it or keep it. Some women—even after the abuse suffered—still wanted to cling to what was once good. Unsure of Maisie’s feelings on the matter, he instead made his own opinion quite clear.

But as a small grin lifted her lips, as pink bled across the tops of her cheeks and her eyes shined, he knew she was all for that plan.

“Go on, Mais, ‘fore the storm gets too bad.”

Scrambling to her feet, she hesitated, standing before him, the top of her head just at level with his shoulder. Biting her lip, she clutched his phone with white knuckles, her knees knocking together. Partially due to nerves, partially because he knew he’d fucked her harder these last two days than she’d been in her entire life. It swelled his chest with pride.

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