Twist My Heart

by Brooke Taylor

  “Is that the sign for anarchy? Do you think this stunt was some kind of social statement the woman was making?” Stan asked, looking befuddled.

  Annoyance flitted over Jane’s perfect features as her co-anchor went off script. “We don’t know, Stan.”

  “I’ve seen it somewhere before. Oh, I bet it’s one of those Avengers symbols, maybe Iron Man?”

  Jane’s expression screamed, ‘Iron Man? I don’t think so, Stan!’ Before she resumed her pleasant, professional demeanor. “What we can tell you is, while she did let several dogs out of their enclosures, they’ve all been accounted for with the exception of a German shepherd brought in on an unconfirmed bite charge. The dog is registered to the woman believed to be on the video. Thea Gale, twenty-five, is considered armed and dangerous at this time.”

  “Wow, Jane. So glad they got all those dogs back in. Hopefully she will be brought in soon as well.”

  “I know, Stan, pretty scary stuff. Speaking of scary stuff…” An image of a dark-haired college student with intense, pale blue eyes popped up on the screen. “Tomorrow marks the one-year anniversary of the disappearance of college student Rebecca Meade. The day after graduating, the smart, beautiful senior with her whole life in front of her seemed to vanish into thin air. Tonight we will return to the University of Kansas for a special report on where things stand in her still unsolved case.”

  Stan nodded. “For the full story, tune in tomorrow for Timeline’s special feature on Rebecca Meade’s disappearance as well as an in-depth probe into the growing number of missing person cases on college campuses. Now let’s go back to Jackie ‘Jump-back’ Johnson for more on last night’s tornado damage.”

  Nik tuned out the newscasters as he settled the bill, tipping Wanda heavily before taking the doggy bag for Titan and a toothpick for himself.

  He slid into the driver’s seat, wrapping his fingers tight around the steering wheel. His molars ground down on the toothpick as Thea Gale, armed and dangerous, climbed in next to him.

  He knew what he should do with her. What he should’ve done immediately. What choice was there, really? Leo and Coop were expecting him. He needed to get back on the road. It had to come to an end sometime. Sucked it had to be like this.

  Chapter Ten

  Nik stared straight ahead as I got into the Jeep. A strange tension filled the vehicle. Had something changed while I was in the bathroom? He seemed different, distant. I didn’t like it. I didn’t like how he could switch from being so warm and safe to this. I didn’t like not knowing what this even was. Mad? Sad? Tired? Tortured?

  Whatever it was, it wasn’t good.

  I curled around the seat, checking on Titan, who was making quick work of his meal. At least he seemed happy. I turned back to Nik. As he gnashed his teeth, the wooden toothpick jutting out between his lips bounced. His gaze remained trained on the diner as he lifted a brow and asked, “Do you want to know your name?”

  I sank into my seat. Here we go again… Back to delving into my battered brain trying to pull her out. I’d hoped he’d given up, especially since we’d connected in the diner. Clearly I’d misjudged his tenacity.

  “Sure, what’s my name?” I asked sarcastically.

  “It’s Thea,” he said, more to the entrance of the diner than to me. “Your name is Thea Gale.”

  “I don’t understand?” He knows my name? Has he known it all along?

  He pulled out his phone and after a few moments of navigating it with his finger, he passed it over to me. I squinted as a shadowed female manhandled the frightened employees, locking them into a dog kennel before she aimed her gun at the camera and the video clip ended in static. “You think this is me? You can hardly see her face.”

  “You were smart to shoot out the camera before it got a good angle on you. But they already had all your info from Titan.”

  “Stop. You don’t know it was me.”

  “A German shepherd. A Glock. The clothing matches what you had on last night. And I’d know your tail anywhere, Tigger.” He looked me in the eye, but I didn’t want to see the dark emotions settling behind those deep-green irises. Short moments ago, they’d drawn me in, but now I knew they’d reject me with the very loathing I felt for myself. I dropped my focus to the piercing wooden tip protruding from his lips as he moved it from one side of his mouth to the other. “It’s you, Thea.”

  The heavy weight of being trapped in the tornado’s debris returned, pressing down on my chest. Just as I’d feared, I had been running from the police. ‘Armed and dangerous.’ So much for pink toes making you a good person… Thea.

  No wonder Nik wouldn’t look at me. I desperately wanted to explain the she in the video was not the me who was here with him now. I was as horrified at her actions as he was. But I also understood she and I were locked in this body together. She was here, tucked deep inside of me, and I detested her for it.

  Unfortunately, there was only one thing to do.

  “You turn me in now, right?”

  Nik put the Jeep in gear and pulled out, spraying parking lot gravel as he jammed down on the accelerator. His jaw ticked hard, but his expression remained unreadable. We rode in silence as he drove back to the hotel, the only noise besides my sniffling was Titan’s panting. Tears burned raw trails down my cheeks as I tried to work through various scenarios, none of them good.

  * * * *

  Pulling in behind the hotel, Nik backed the Jeep into a parking spot in the middle of the lot—less likely to be monitored by the cameras mounted at either corner of the building’s roofline. “Stay in the car with Titan. I’ll get our stuff.”

  Nik’s pulse quickened as if he were executing a critical mission with his team, but he was alone heading up the back stairs, taking them two at a time. No breaching of the doorway needed, only sliding the key into the slot.

  Just packing my bag. He shoved the blood-soaked hoodie and all of Thea’s other ruined clothes into the paper laundry bags from the closet then into his duffle. He’d dump them somewhere far from here.

  Simply tidying up. He wiped fingerprints from all the surfaces he or Thea had touched.

  The SEAL community had its fair share of blemishes. Arrests for violent behavior, drug use, even sexual assault had rocked their proud tradition. Too many, and one was too many in Nik’s estimation, believed they were above the law. The press salivated for another headline aimed at knocking the Special Forces down and Nik refused to be their next clickbait headline. To be safe, he needed to erase his connections to Thea and fast. Even if it meant yet another favor from his go-to man.

  “Checking out so early, Mr. Steele?” Dylan asked as Nik sauntered through the lobby as casually as he could with a bag stuffed full of evidence slung over his shoulder.

  “Yeah. I’m going to pay with cash, but I need another favor,” Nick said tightly.

  “Of course, sir, let me finish typing this in.”

  Nik’s anxiety ramped full throttle as Dylan’s manicured fingers skillfully tapped away on the keyboard.

  “There seems to be something wrong with our system, Mr. Steele. I don’t even show you stayed at the Siesta Inns and Suites last night.” Dylan hitched his shoulder and turned his palms toward the ceiling as his lips quirked in a whatcha gonna do? fashion.

  “Looks like you don’t owe us anything after all.”

  How did he know?

  What did he know?

  Nik blinked, struck speechless. He pulled his wallet out, prepared to hand over every last bill, but Dylan shook his head and put his hand up. “You never stayed here, no need to pay for anything. Like I informed the witch with the broomstick up her butt a few minutes ago, we have a stringent No Dogs policy at the Siesta Inns and Suites. No one with a dog stayed here last night or any other night.”

  “A woman was asking if anyone stayed here with a dog? What did she look like?”

  “Dark hair pulled back in a tight bun. Awesome widow’s peak. Kinda reminded me of one of those Alaskan dogs—evil-looking but w
ith pretty ice-blue eyes. Tattoo on her forearm of a phoenix.” Dylan caught the look of sudden recognition as Nik’s memory flashed to the DOA under Tigger’s truck and incorrectly surmised, “Let me guess, your girlfriend or wife?”

  “Did you see which way she went?”

  “I suggested she check the motels east of here and, poof, off she flew.”

  Nik held his hand out to shake Dylan’s, gripping it firmly. “Thanks, dude.”

  “My advice…” Dylan leaned in close to whisper, despite there being no one around. “Dump the witch and marry the bitch.”

  From the flirtatious way Dylan kept hold of Nik’s hand, Nik figured the bitch in question was the brash, no-shits-given homosexual kind. “Appreciate the proposal, man, but I’m not marriage material.”

  Dylan pursed his lips, shot his eyes up to their corners, and huffed. “What would I do with a hetero? The blonde. She has fierce written all over her. Witch better watch her back.”

  Nik chuckled before turning to stride out the back door. “Catch you on the dark side, brother.”

  Halfway down the hall, he heard Dylan call out, “Don’t forget to leave an online review!”

  Nik flashed him a thumbs-up. Don’t worry, buddy, you’ll be getting all the stars. Anyone who could make “broomstick up her butt” sound polite and professional deserved a promotion.

  Outside, the waning night cast the world in a spell of indigo blue. Oranges and ambers edged up from the east as the sun started peeking over the horizon. Nik filled his lungs. The crisp morning air was already tinged in exhaust from truckers getting an early start along the busy interstate.

  This was crazy. Turning Thea in was the right thing to do. Yet every time he played the sequence of events through his mind, he couldn’t see himself driving away and leaving her alone with no memory, no defenses.

  Never leave a man behind. How hard had it been drilled into him over the years? How often did the singular, simple rule come into play? No matter the cost or the danger, you never abandoned your team. As irrational as it was, Thea and Titan were now part of his team.

  Maybe holding Thea in the diner had done it. Shit, other than the back-slapping variety he’d regularly given other SEALs or mission personnel, the last time he’d so much as hugged anyone had to have been right before leaving on his first tour of duty over eight years ago. His family had each taken a turn tightly embracing him, so worried he’d get hurt or worse, not come home to them alive. Talk about irony.

  Maybe it was how crazy hot he got every time he looked her way.

  Maybe it was her thank-you smile—the one she tilted her head for as those whiskey eyes drug him into the deep end of an ocean he’d never swam before. And here he’d been so sure he’d swum them all.

  Nik closed the distance to his Jeep, sensing immediately Thea wasn’t in the vehicle. His stomach dropped.

  “Son of a…” he cursed harshly under his breath.

  Of course Tigger had bounced.

  Chapter Eleven

  How far did she think she’d make it in those stupid bedazzled flip-flops? Alone? Titan sure as hell wasn’t subtle either. The woman Dylan had brushed off might still be close. Nik grabbed his keys out of his pocket and quickened his pace, hoping he’d catch Thea before anyone else did.

  As he headed for the driver’s side door, a flash of Thea’s white dress caught his eyes and relief washed through his veins. She was sitting on the curb behind his Jeep, her face buried into the scruff at Titan’s neck.

  “You scared the shit out of me. I thought you had run or someone had gotten to you. You shouldn’t be out of the car.”

  “Please take Titan with you, Nik.” Her tear-filled eyes pleaded him. “They’ll put him down. I know it. I don’t care what happens to me, but they’ll kill Titan. Please, don’t let anyone hurt him.”

  “No one’s going to hurt Titan.”

  “Promise me. Promise me you’ll make sure he’s taken care of.”

  “I promise.” Nik held his hand out. “We gotta go. Wheels up. Now.”

  She was still ugly crying in the backseat with Titan as he pulled onto I-70 and headed back west. “You can’t do this,” she wailed.

  Nik gnashed his teeth, biting the words out. “Don’t worry, Tigger, I’m not turning you in.” He sure as hell wanted to. Lord knows, he should. But fuck if he could make himself actually do it.

  “I know you’re not.”

  “Then why the hell are you still crying?”

  “You have to take me to the police.”

  Nik nearly yanked the Jeep into a ditch as he whipped his head around to glare at her. “All night long you refused to let me take you to a hospital or the police and now you want me to?”

  “You can’t run away with me.”

  “We’re not running away.”

  “You’re sure as hell driving like we are!”

  Nik shifted his foot, easing up on the accelerator. She was right. He was driving like he was on an op—way too aggressively to stay under anyone’s radar. But damn it, fast was the only speed he knew how to go right now. “And it’s not running away. It’s called a tactical withdrawal, if you want to get technical. Look, what’s the big deal? You illegally rescued your own dog from a shelter. I’m sure we can get it sorted out properly with the cops. But that won’t happen if I dump you off at a police station with no memory.”

  “Since we’re getting technical…it was armed robbery and I shot someone, Nik. A kid!”

  “No, you didn’t.” At least not the kid she was talking about. There was still the mystery of the blood on her hoodie.

  “The video… He said—”

  “That little punk is a liar. Gunshot wound.” He snorted. “I can show you more than one example of what a real bullet graze looks like. The kid was embarrassed you pistol-whipped him. Hell, wasn’t even a real pistol whipping, more like a love tap.”

  “Love tap?” Thea glared at him through the rearview like he was insane. “With a gun?”

  Nik lifted his brows and nodded. “Yeah, like to get his attention. You know, knock knock, anybody in there?”

  Thea shook her head like she couldn’t believe anyone would ever do such a thing. Heck, listening to the dipshit talk had made Nik want to smack him upside the head a couple times to get his brain firing right.

  “There’s going to be more, Nik. I know it.”

  You know it? God, she reminded him of Leo and all his omen bullshit. “What do you know?”

  “I know people don’t use guns to get their dog out of the shelter. They pay the fine, right? They get their dog back. So there’s more.”

  Oh. Well that did make sense. “Maybe you didn’t have any money to pay the fine. I don’t know.”

  And I don’t care.

  All he cared about was getting safely back to his house, where he could figure it all out without worrying about some overzealous cop dragging her into custody thanks to a media-hyped dognapping. Fucking media. Always trying to make something out of nothing and nothing out of something.

  “If I needed money, I could’ve pawned the gun.”

  “Maybe the gun isn’t yours.”

  “Exactly.”

  “Maybe it is. Maybe this has nothing to do with money. It was after hours. Maybe you’re not the patient type, Tigger. Wait.” Nick snapped his fingers. “The anchor-lady said Titan was brought in on a bite charge. They probably wouldn’t have given him to even if you paid a fine. You just did what you had to do to save him, to keep him from being euthanized.”

  “I imagine, but there has to be more.”

  “My point is that’s a whole mess of maybes.” God, now he sounded like the old lady back at the gas station in Goodland.

  “And my point is I don’t want you involved!”

  I don’t care.

  “I don’t know what I did or why, but you’re not a part of it. I don’t want you getting in trouble for helping me.”

  “Look, Dylan fixed things at the hotel. I doubt Wanda will be sayin
g anything. No one has to know I’m involved. Let’s get somewhere safe where we can figure it all out.” Sensing she wasn’t convinced, he kept talking. “I’m telling you, Thea, if you don’t have the answers, they will make some up for you. The media have already villainized you. Is that what you want? To be the villain?”

  “Maybe it’s what I deserve. There will be more and it will be worse.”

  “I don’t care.” He’d said it in his head so many times he finally said it aloud. He pulled in a deep breath. “I really don’t, Thea. We have a saying in the Teams, ‘The only easy day is yesterday.’ It means every day has the potential to be harder than all the ones before it, so suck it up and deal. I deal with worse all the damn time. Fuck worse. I’m not scared of worse. I’ve seen evil. Horrible things. Wicked people. I know you’re not one of those people, Thea. Whatever you did, you must’ve had a good reason.”

  “I’m glad one of us believes that,” she muttered. Despite her lack of conviction, her voice had changed pitch to a more submissive tone.

  Nik knew enough about interrogations to accept her resignation without pressing for more. “Try to get some sleep, okay? We have a long drive ahead.”

  “Are you going to wake me up in an hour?”

  He’d forgotten he’d given her the old rules for concussions to gain a little bit of control on the situation. “You haven’t thrown up or had any seizures, your balance is fine, and your eyes aren’t dilated anymore. How’s your headache?”

  “It’s a dull throb, mostly the spot on the back of my head. My ankle hurts more.”

  “Get some sleep. The rest will be good for you.”

  “What about you? You need sleep too.”

  “I slept yesterday.” Which was more than he usually got in a week.

  “You’re sure?”

  Nik nodded at her in the rearview. He was sure he didn’t need sleep, but that was about all he was certain of.