Twist My Heart

by Brooke Taylor

  “You haven’t been released yet,” Coop stated. “Hospital rules.”

  “Yeah? You all are really good at following rules.” I angled my eyes at Titan.

  Nik pointed to the wheelchair. “With as few tiger lives as you have left, we’re not taking any chances.”

  Both guys glared until I dropped in the chair. I looked over at Leo with wide eyes. “What am I going to do with these crazy boys?”

  “Don’t ask me. I’ve known them for years and have yet to be able to tell them no.”

  Nik wheeled me out, heading toward the room number Coop had given us.

  We’d been regularly appraised of Rebecca’s status. The loss of blood had been severe and she’d been in critical condition, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. But the second I saw her face, I relaxed. She was still pale. Bruises and swelling were setting in, but there was life in her eyes. Seeing the spark made me realize it’d been missing since I’d met her.

  Nik rolled me up alongside her bed. When he didn’t move to leave, I assured him, “I’ll be fine.”

  Reluctantly, he excused himself, letting me know he’d be right in the hall if I needed him.

  I turned back with a smile. “Aimee.” I slammed my eyes shut, realizing my mistake. “Sorry.”

  “Don’t be. I’ve been Savanah for the past year, and Aimee only a couple of days. I didn’t think I’d ever be Rebecca again. Didn’t think I’d ever want to. I still can’t believe how wrong I was about Clay…about all of it. A part of me is still convinced this was all a big misunderstanding. But I know he was evil. Maybe they all were.”

  I had no idea what Clay had done to her, but back at the cabin she’d begged Coop to destroy the cell phone he’d started to bag. Against Coleman’s assertion the phone was evidence, Coop had hitched his shoulder and smashed it with his boot heel. Relief had washed over her at the sound of it cracking.

  I reached out and held her hand. “Are you going to be okay?”

  “Physically, yes. Mentally it might take a while. Thea, I’m so sorry I helped Clay. I believed you’d be taken care of in the Ring, but then Clay’s true colors started showing. I didn’t know he was going to hurt you until it was too late. I didn’t know how to protect you when I couldn’t even protect myself. I wanted to get away from him, but feared leaving the Ring with no way to go home. That is, until I watched your video on Michael Maddox. You gave me an idea for how to get out.”

  Coop had briefed us on the whole Rebecca Meade story. But I hadn’t understood why she couldn’t go home until she’d started filling me in on her recruitment into the Ring. By encouraging her to fake her own disappearance, they’d had leverage against her. And they always found ways to get more, Clay especially so. When he admitted to taking money from her father to make sure Rebecca never resurfaced, she’d known she was trapped.

  “Faking my abduction wasn’t right. And I know my father didn’t sell me to Clay, but he sure as hell made certain I belonged to him. I was never going to leave the Ring alive. Never going to confront my father about abusing my sister and me. When I saw your video, the wheels in my head started turning. What if I killed Clay and flipped the story? Missing girl kills the suspected sex trafficker who kidnapped her. I know I brought this on myself and it’s wrong for me to come out like a hero in all of this…”

  I squeezed her hand. “You didn’t bring this on yourself—you were preyed upon. And you are a hero to me.”

  “You’re the hero. You gave me a way to get home. You sacrificed yourself to give me an opportunity to escape, and when I didn’t, you gave me the idea to use the knife. We’re heroes to each other. If you’re all right with it, I talked to Agent Coleman and in return for helping him build a case against the Ring, he’ll go public with Clay and my father being responsible for my disappearance using the payments my father made as proof. We’ll say Clay and I were alone in the cabin when everything went down. You won’t be dragged into any of it and Coleman assures me guys like Nik and Coop prefer to stay out of the press.”

  Coleman had advised me to stay “dead” for a while, at least until he could figure out who else Clay might’ve been working with at the agency. With my amnesia, it wasn’t like I could go back to work anyway. “Whatever you need me to do, Rebecca. I just want you to be at peace with it.”

  “I’ll be at peace after I confront my father and he’s locked away where he belongs. Agent Coleman said there’d likely be a news conference after he’s in custody. The world will finally know who my father really is and that he was the reason my sister was strung out on drugs and killed herself.”

  “I’m so sorry.” I leaned over and hugged her as she let some of her hurt go along with her tears.

  “Losing her, first to the drugs and then to the overdose… I felt so alone. I hated how she’d suffered as I did, but having someone who knew my truth, knew my pain, made it more bearable. Then she was ripped from me and I was so lost. I turned to the Ring. I wanted my sister back and since I couldn’t have her, I found the next best thing.”

  I leaned back out of the hug, looking her in the eyes. “You have me. I’ll be your sister.”

  Half sniffing back tears and half laughing, she said, “I always wanted an ex-Amish sister who says ‘asshole’ too many times.”

  “How about an ex-FBI agent, no longer a fugitive, amnesiac sister who says ‘asshole’ too many times?”

  “Even better.”

  The nurse came in to tell me it was time for Rebecca to get some rest. We hugged again, promising to stay in touch through all the craziness that was sure to follow the press conference. Then Nik wheeled me back to the room and helped me into the hospital bed.

  As soon as I’d gotten comfortable again, the doctor returned. He scanned the room, noting the three warrior men, and wisely kept his mouth shut about the German shepherd curled up at my feet.

  “Everything looks good. You do have a concussion, but nothing serious enough to hold you overnight. I’m going to release you to these guys as long as they promise to keep a close eye on you.”

  “Won’t be an issue.” Leo smirked. “Nik here hasn’t taken his eyes off her even to blink.”

  Coop nodded. “I had to hold him back from getting in the MRI tube with her.”

  My mind flicked back to the MRI machine they’d used to scan my brain. Nik had given the technician his phone with Mr. Foxtrot’s Songs about Whiskey playlist to play in the machine while I had tried to stay as still as possible. When one of the twangy, oldies country songs had come on, the music had wrapped around me and given me the most amazing sense of love. I had been curled up in a white pickup and I felt certain I had been remembering someone very important to me.

  “What about my memories?” I tentatively asked.

  “The amnesia is a bit trickier than the concussion. What, if anything, you remember will depend on your individual brain.”

  “You’re saying my memories may never come back?”

  “There are no guarantees.”

  The guys all eyed me cautiously, probably expecting some tears. Knowing I wasn’t some crazed fugitive had alleviated much of my fear of remembering the recent past. But given how traumatic my childhood had been, I was okay with not having to remember everything, at least for now.

  I smiled and gave Nik’s hand a squeeze. “As long as I don’t forget my new memories, I’m not going to worry about the rest.”

  Nik bent down and kissed my forehead.

  The doctor patted my shin before turning to leave. “I’ll let the nurse get started on your discharge papers and you’ll be free to go.”

  “Thank you for all your help.”

  Coop followed the doctor out, talking to him further in a muffled voice. He was outside for a few minutes before he returned. “Good news—you’re free to travel. We still have a pilot and plane on standby.”

  I sat up and looked at Coop. “Travel where? Aren’t I staying behind?”

  Nik lowered his brows at Coop, his jaw ticking. “You’re com
ing with us.”

  “But Coop’s boss said no.”

  “Zaki would never go for girlfriends or wives on a job.” Coop jammed his hands in his pockets and looked sheepishly down at the floor. “So I told him you were a hooker with a dog.”

  Nik bolted off the bed’s edge, straight for Coop’s throat. Raising his hands in surrender, Coop laughed as Nik backed him against the wall. My finger hovered on the call button for the nurse in case we’d need to admit another patient.

  “Easy, big fella, OZ doesn’t understand the concept of significant others coming on a job. Hookers make perfect sense to him. I was very clear though. As part of your transition to civilian life, you were paying extra for the girlfriend experience, dog included. No one’s going to try to horn in and act inappropriate around Thea or Titan, okay? Besides, it’ll only be the four of us and a minimal crew on the boat.”

  Nik torqued his neck from side to side. “I don’t want anyone thinking the woman I love is a hooker, got it?”

  “It was a joke, but if it got ol’ steel heart to say he’s in love, it was totally worth almost getting killed.”

  “Woman you love?” I asked tentatively.

  Nik turned away from a smirking Coop, his eyes softening as he caught my smile. Coming back to my bedside, he leaned his hip on the edge as Coop and Leo not so subtly slipped out.

  Nik’s finger traced my jaw, hooking under my chin as he lifted it. “I love you, Thea Gale.”

  His lips found mine for a gentle, savoring kiss. As he pulled back, he brushed the tip of his nose with mine. “I know you thought my tattoo was to protect my heart, but I gave myself a steel heart because I didn’t think I even had one anymore. Somehow, you’ve brought it to life, because from the second I saw you it’s done nothing but stop and start, twist and buck. All for you. Only for you.”

  “Nikolas.”

  His low growl simmered with heat. “You know I can’t hold back when you say it like that.”

  I wrapped my arms around him as he slid into the bed alongside me. “Don’t you dare hold back. Not with me. Never with me.”

  His jaw ticked hard. “Doctor’s orders, Tigger. At least for a couple of days.”

  “A couple of days!” I wailed in horror as Nik went in for another tender kiss, deeper than the last. Hearing Titan’s obnoxiously loud grumble growl, we pulled apart to see what his problem was. Watching him collapse on his side with his paw dropped over his eyes had us both cracking up with laughter.

  I turned back for another kiss, pausing only long enough to say, “Of course you have a heart, Nikolas Steele. You have mine.”

  Epilogue

  “Damn, Coop’s employer must really like him,” Nik said as he set me on my feet inside the lavish jet. He’d insisted on carrying me onboard, even though I could’ve easily managed the stairs myself.

  The Gulfstream G650’s lacquered, dark-gray woodwork and dove-gray leather seating looked more like a decadent living room and office than the interior of an airplane. Embossed on every chair back, napkin, towel, and even in the carpet was a logo with the letters—O and Z. The billionaire’s initials.

  I wanted to meet Omar Zaki and thank him personally for loaning Coop all his resources to help a little ol’ Kansas girl out. But seeing the extravagant opulence of the airplane, I breathed a sigh of relief the billionaire was a recluse. If simply being in one of his planes had me feeling completely out of my element, what would being in front of such a great and powerful man be like?

  Titan crested the stairs, barging through the hatch opening past me to bark at the cockpit door. “Titan, no!” I rushed to collect him, embarrassed at how uncouth I must look boarding such a nice plane with my rowdy dog in tow. But it was too late. Still excited by whatever was on the other side of the doorway, he jumped and wheeled, his bushy black and tan tail wagging right into a crystal goblet.

  A squeak leaped up my throat as the gorgeously etched glass, the cost of which I couldn’t even fathom, sailed off the counter. It landed right into the palm of a man who’d just exited the cockpit looking like the love child of James Bond and a Victoria’s Secret Angel. After setting the goblet safely on a higher perch, he mussed the top of Titan’s head as if he were his best pal.

  I stammered out an apology to the gorgeous, well-attired man, but my eyes went wide when I recognized his sapphire ones.

  Coop’s unruly hair had been cut and his scruffy beard shaved, revealing not only a rugged jawline, but a sexy set of deep dimples. The dark navy suit he’d changed into fit him perfectly and the tie set off his eyes like jewels.

  Damn, he cleaned up good. And, unlike the rest of us, he looked right at home with the wealth and elegance surrounding him.

  “Whoa,” Leo exclaimed. “Did you come from a GQ cover shoot or something?”

  Before we could pepper him with questions about the super-hot makeover he’d gotten, he said, “Takeoff is in ten minutes. We’ll only be on the island long enough to grab a bite to eat and swap rides. The boat we’ll be working off of is already in place, saving us about a day’s travel time.”

  “What’s the other ride?” Nik asked. “Helo?”

  “All the birds are in use. We’ll be taking a smaller plane.”

  “A…seaplane?” Leo asked carefully. At the negative shake of Coop’s head, his mouth dropped open. “You mean, we’ll be…?”

  “The boat’s big, but not aircraft carrier big. So, yes, we’ll be parachuting in. Nik will tandem with Thea and I’ll have Titan, so you’re on your own. You’ve jumped before, right?”

  “Alone once and it sure as hell wasn’t onto a boat.”

  Coop chuckled and patted him on the shoulder. “You’ll be fine. You can swim.”

  “Not with sharks!”

  “Little-known fact,” Nik interjected. “Sharks don’t like to eat skydivers…the chutes get stuck between their teeth.”

  “Why does everything with you guys involve jumping out of planes or blowing shit up? Why can’t we take a speedboat out like normal people?”

  “We were supposed to go out with the boat, but Nik here had to go and fall in love. Besides, the faster we get the job done, the more time you’ll have in paradise. Trust me, it will be worth it.”

  I’d only heard a little bit about the island from Leo, whose knowledge stemmed mostly from speculative reports on celebrity entertainment sites. Nondisclosure agreements had to be signed by anyone who’d ever set foot on Marakata Cay. Even Coop remained tight-lipped, only confirming the rumors of it being ‘beyond spectacular’ and a ‘paradise of epic proportions’.

  Coop angled his head at Nik and me. “I’ll see if I can set up a private bungalow for you lovebirds.”

  “Best incentive I’ve ever had to get a job done quickly.” Nik gave me a gentle but flirty squeeze as his teeth raked my earlobe. Despite Nik handling me with kid gloves, I wasn’t sure either of us planned on following the doctor’s orders to wait a few days.

  At a buzzing noise, Coop pulled his phone out, frowning. “Looks like you have a trespasser, Steele.”

  He grabbed up a remote and used it to reveal a giant flat-screen, which he navigated quickly, accessing the internet and the live feed from Nik’s home security system in seconds. There among the stands of pine was a woman. With her tall, heeled boots and stylish black overcoat, she didn’t look like an Estes Park local and she wasn’t some wayward tourist, either.

  “What did you do with the tracking device on Titan’s collar?” Coop turned to Nik, who failed to stifle his laugh.

  “You have your security system and I have mine.”

  As Coop zoomed in, I recognized her sleek, cropped black hair. “That’s the woman from the ID in my purse… Seraphina Westin.”

  The four of us watched as the woman slinked around to the back of the cabin. Coop flipped to the next camera’s feed, following as she rounded the garage. She pulled up quick, jerking to a stop at the sight of two chubby black bear cubs rummaging through Nik’s neighbor’s dumpsters. Wheeling a
way, the lady came face to face with their momma. The large, dark beast did not look pleased with the intrusion. She opened her mouth wide, but without sound we couldn’t hear her warning roar.

  Nik rested his hip on the arm of one of the chairs. “I bet the bear is asking her if she shits in the woods. It’s what the tourists always ask them.”

  Leo laughed. “Well, right now it looks like she’s crapping her pants.”

  “Bears. Real practical, Steele,” Coop grunted.

  Coop flipped back to the first camera as the woman sprinted for her life. She covered the rocky ground to her black SUV in record time. “Dang, she can really fly in those heels!”

  “She’s looking for me, isn’t she?” I asked.

  Nik pulled me in against him as we watched the woman peel out of his drive. “Don’t worry, Tiggs. She can’t follow you to the island.”

  Before I could give it more thought, the pilot ordered us to take our seats. We all settled in with Titan sitting on the floor between Coop’s knees. Nik stroked my arm as I nervously gripped the armrest.

  “I think Thea’s first plane ride calls for a little takeoff toast, boys.” Coop reached into his bag and pulled out a bottle of Jack Daniel’s.

  As we taxied to the runway, the shots got passed around. Nik blocked me from taking one. “Sorry, Tigger. No alcohol with a concussion and painkillers.”

  Leo raised his shot glass first to the guys, then to me, and lastly to the flat-screen still showing Nik’s security footage. “To lions, and tigers, and bears.”

  The plane surged, gaining speed as the guys downed their shots. “To love,” Nik said, drawing me to him for a kiss as the plane thrust forcefully into the air.

  “Oh, my.”

  Want to see more like this?

  Here’s a taster for you to enjoy!

  Anywhere and Always:

  Falling for the Tycoon

  Aurora Russell

  Excerpt

  The sky was a perfect unending blue, clear and brilliant, its beauty rivaled only by the magnificent expanse of bright aqua ocean and baby-powder-fine sand. It had always been Annelise’s dream to see the Caribbean, and she knew she should have been happy. Ecstatic. Wasn’t she still here, even if she was alone? But, instead, she just felt empty. Detached.