Page 56 of Twisted

Poor Hunter Jacobson wouldn’t have the balls to humiliate and stalk a girl ever again.

Jaeger

Present Day

The cabin was quiet when he entered. Maybe Maisie was asleep after all she’d been through the past couple of days. She needed it. It was late afternoon, and all her wrongs had been righted in that small span of time by his hands alone. They were almost done with this hurdle, and then they could live out their happily ever after in peace, quiet.

He dropped the containers of Chinese on the counter, muttering nonsense to himself as he caught a whiff of his shirt; prison. It had a distinct, hopeless sort of smell to it. He knew it would be the last time he’d go, though. He had Maisie to think about now, and their future.

Cutting ties with Linds hadn’t been as difficult as he’d thought it would be. She’d raged and cried and pleaded, but he’d heard and seen enough. His woman was a lot of things, but she wasn’t a liar. All of her medical records were proof enough that the story of Lindsay slicing her face had been true. He knew once they found the hard drive that even more horrific proof would potentially be uncovered, but he was prepared for that.

As much as a man in love could be.

“Mais?” he called out, turning to peer over his shoulder down the darkened hall. There she stood, still in his shirt, her dainty fingers pinching the edges of a photo. In her eyes, a storm the magnitude of a hurricane raged. Jaeger turned to her, squaring his shoulders as his brain filled in the gaps of what he could see; it was a photo of himself and Lindsay from high school.

Crossing his arms, he leaned his hip against the counter and waited as she quaked, her pent up rage about to boil over.

“Who the fuck are you, Jaeger?” she whispered through clenched teeth as hot tears spilled over her cheeks. Nodding, he dropped his eyes to his boots, tongue pushing aside his chew. He’d kicked the habit years ago, but the stress Maisie had inadvertently put on his life had crushed his will to abstain.

“I’m Johnathon Jaeger Duke. Lindsay…she’s my sister, Mais, but—”

“Fuck you,” she spat, quivering in her fury, her lips trembling. He hadn’t expected those little words to hit him in the chest with such potency, but they did. He’d known keeping this secret had the potential to blow up in his face, yet he’d still kept it out of fear of this; of Maisie turning her back on him, on her already broken heart being ripped out again by something he couldn’t control.

“You sicken me, you fucking scumbag!” she yelled, tiny fist curling around the photo and effectively crushing it. Jaeger simply nodded, allowing her the chance to hurl her insults at him. He deserved as much.

“I tell ya what that bitch did to me…what Randy—”

Unable to take it anymore, he pushed off the counter and strode across the living room, catching Maisie by the throat, his fingers aligning with the bumps of her spine at the base of her skull. Her stormy, dead eyes raged at him, her scar even more prominent in the hues of a muted sunset.

“I know the truth of it now, Mais. If Randy wasn’t already dead, I’d kill him myself, ya hear me?”

But she was too far gone. Wrenching herself out of his grasp, she gave a cry of rage and shoved against him before she reeled back and slapped him across the face.

“You fuckin’ liar! You’re usin’ me! You’re no better than all of them, youfucker!”

She screamed, pounded her fists against his chest, kicked at his shins with bare toes, but he caught her easily, gathering her up in his arms as he kept his own beast at bay. Her words still stung, for his intentions with her had been murky at best, but after knowing her—after hearing what she’d endured and knowing there was more to come—he’d fallen even harder for the girl and refused to look back. She could hate him all she wanted, but he would never let her go.

The Chinese on the counter cooled, the bags it resided in collecting condensation, the droplets of water racing down the sides. Jaeger had one clock in his cabin, attuned to the wrong time, but it still ticked away the seconds. It was silent other than that obnoxious, constant tick, but in that silence was a heaviness.

Maisie sat curled on the couch with a blank expression, her eyes rimmed in red but otherwise lifeless. She’d fought him tooth and nail in her attempts to get to the door, to flee, but one reminder that this was bear country and she had no transportation had her slumping on the couch in defeat.

She’d seemed to cry herself out, and when he’d grazed her arm to offer her a glass of water, she’d almost succeeded in slapping him again.

If he’d had it his way, she’d be tied up in the bathroom again, but he couldn’t bring himself to further torture her, not now. Things had shifted and changed in his mind. He needed to handle her with caution, as one handles a live grenade. Striding into the living room, he seated himself on the coffee table and commanded her attention. Her lip curled back, her cheeks reddening; she was in defense mode, and he couldn’t blame her. He’d made her fall for him, he could see it in the way her eyes shone with betrayal. His heart thumped heartily at that notion. He’d made his woman fall in love in a matter of days, but he’d broken that in mere seconds.

“I’m only gonna say this once, Maisie Jane, so you listen good,” he began, husky voice dripping in a kind of authority that belied his sinister nature. He could see her subtle reaction to his dominance, the tick of her arteries increasing in her neck as her heart thudded harder, the flush of her cheeks, the spark igniting in her eyes. She was still afraid of him, but in that fear he knew a sort of reverence resided. She craved his authority, his masculinity, because in turn she received the freedom and passion and adoration she’d always needed.

“Lindsay may be my sister, but blood ain’t always thicker than water, baby. I’ve known who ya are for years Maisie. Went around the world fuckin’ shit up, doin’ less than legal things, but you were the only thing on my mind since the night of that damn party. Fuck, even back in high school Marie had me beat the piss out of Hunter Jacobson for stalkin’ you. Never saw your face then but took pleasure in hurtin’ someone who hurt you. It’s always been you for me, Mais, and I don’t say that lightly, got it?”

His pause to catch his breath was filled with her icy glare. He swore that woman’s cold heartedness could cure the world of climate change. But he was up for the challenge of thawing her out.

“I took care of it today. She’s done, Mais, and she knows it.”

There was more heavy silence. Jaeger smoothed his palms together, not one to be nervous in any situation, though this one was fraying him with ease. When she finally shifted, his heart gave a painful lurch.

A sick, twisted smile plastered itself onto her plush, scarred lips, lifting her cheeks in a macabre grin.

“I killed two men without battin’ an eye, Jaeger, and I condemned that bitch to a life of hell. You think I’ll be runnin’ to ya with open arms?”

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