Twisted by Gena Showalter Read Free Book Online Page B

said.
    Commands were not something Riley usually responded to, but he didn’t hesitate to obey, soon thrusting the desired glass in her hand. His concern for Aden was as great as hers.
    â€œLift his head and tilt it back,” she said, and again, Riley jumped to obey.
    She pried Aden’s mouth open and set the pills on his tongue. Then she placed the rim of the glass at his mouth and poured. Just a little, but enough. Without looking away, she reached out and set the remaining water on her nightstand. Or tried to. Her aim was off, and the glass thudded and splashed to the floor. She didn’t care. She closed Aden’s mouth with one hand and worked his throat with the other, until all the pills made their way into his stomach.
    That done, she straightened and peered down at her patient. “Now what?” she whispered, watching for any kind of response…and not seeing one.
    â€œNow,” Riley said, grim, “we wait.”

FOUR
    M ARY A NN G RAY SAT AT THE corner desk in the back of the library, reading countless microfiches—the same thing she’d done every night for a week. Days were beginning to blend together, her temples were throbbing, the muscles in her back were knotted, and there were (probably permanent) marks along her butt and thighs that were a perfect match to the scuffs in the freakishly uncomfortable chair she’d commandeered.
    According to all the “How To” info she’d read for people on the run, she knew developing a routine was bad. Like flashing a neon arrow just above your head. Problem was, this routine was necessary.
    â€œThey close in thirty, you know.”
    She flicked an irritated glance at her companion. AKA the boy she couldn’t ditch no matter what she tried. And she’d tried a lot. Dine and dash. The old “wait here, I’llbe right back.” The classic “what’s that over there?” And even brutal honesty—“just leave me alone, I hate you.”
    â€œSo I’ll finish in thirty,” she said. “Now get lost.”
    â€œLet’s not start that argument again.” Tucker Harbor perched at the edge of her desk, pushing books and newspapers on top of each other and crinkling their precious pages. Just to irritate her, she was sure. “I’m not going anywhere.”
    â€œDo you mind? This stuff is important.”
    â€œYes, I do mind, thanks for asking,” he said, staying put.
    She glared up at him. A mix of blond and brown hair shagged around the boyish face of an angel. Which was one hundred percent false advertising, considering he’d been spawned from a demon. Or would that be spawned from the devil?
    â€œWhen are you going to tell me what you’re looking for?” he asked.
    â€œWhen I stop wanting to rip out your trachea. In other words, never.”
    He shook his head in mock despondency. A hard thing to pull off while he was freaking grinning. “Harsh, Mary Ann. Harsh.” He was so annoying. She’d dated him for months, then dropped him like the used condom he was whenshe found out he’d cheated on her with her best friend Penny. Penny, who was now pregnant with his kid.
    Penny, whom she’d forgiven and still called. As of this morning, her friend was suffering from all-day sickness. Despite that, she’d managed to crawl her way out of bed to check on Mary Ann’s dad.
    Her friend’s words played through her head.
    â€œSweet Jesus, Mary Contrary,” Penny had crackled over the line. “He’s, like, the walking dead. He doesn’t even go to work anymore. He just stays in the house. I peeked in the window last night, and he was just staring at your picture. You know I’m as hard core as a girl can be, but that almost broke me.”
    Me, too, she thought now. Nothing I can do about that, however. I’m saving his life. She’d had him freed from a vengeful fairy’s compulsion to never leave his room