Read Online Twisted by Gena Showalter - Free Book Online Page A

souls that Aden inadvertently sucked inside his head.” Maybe, they thought, hoped.
    â€œYou’re sure? Maybe they died nearby, and their names aren’t there.”
    â€œA possibility, I guess.” One she wouldn’t entertain at the moment. “Through my research, I’ve managed to cross off more than half the names already.”
    â€œThat seems excessive.”
    Not really. “The remaining souls are male, so that automatically eliminated the females.”
    Tucker arched a brow. “Unless they’re transgender souls. I mean, really. Aden seems like the type to host a pink panty party inside his—”
    â€œTucker.”
    â€œWhat? He does . And his friend Shannon is as gay as—”
    â€œ Shut. Up. The males possess the same special abilities now that they possessed when they were alive. I know this because my mother did, too. So I’ve been going through the names, looking for stories about raising the dead, body possession and predicting death. Even the minutest hint.”
    He thought for a moment. “Backtrack a little. Why exactly do you want to identify the souls?”
    â€œBecause they need to remember what their last wish was, and do it. Then, they’ll leave Aden and he’ll be stronger, able to concentrate and defend himself from Vlad.”
    â€œYou really think that will help?”
    â€œWhat is this? Twenty questions? Hell, yes, I do.” She had to. Otherwise her friend’s chances were nil.
    Once again Tucker was blinking down at her. “Mary Ann, you just cussed.”
    â€œ Hell isn’t a cuss word.”
    â€œTo me it is.”
    â€œWhy? Because you’re afraid of spending eternity there?”
    Good humor, gone. “Something like that.”
    He looked so sad, she actually felt bad for her waspishness. “Maybe, by the time this is over, I’ll have earned myself a spot right next to you. We can keep each other company while roasting.”
    He barked out a laugh, as she’d hoped, but that earned them another glare from Hush Girl. He flipped HG off and said to Mary Ann, “You wish I’d spend eternity with you. So, you got any leads?”
    â€œBefore you interrupted me—” she paused, waiting for an apology, but of course he didn’t offer one “—Iwas reading a story about a mortician at the hospital. Dr. Daniel Smart. Apparently he was murdered there. Defense wounds on his arms and legs, as if he’d rolled into a ball to protect himself while someone—” or something “—bit and punched him.”
    â€œGreat story. But what does that have to do with Aden’s souls?”
    â€œOne of them can raise the dead. What if Dr. Smart raised a dead body in the morgue, and it killed him?”
    â€œBut wouldn’t he have raised a dead body before? And if he had, why would he have continued to work there? He would have been in constant danger, and his secret would have gotten out. But it didn’t, which means he didn’t.”
    â€œMaybe he could control the ability.”
    â€œMaybe he couldn’t.”
    â€œI don’t care what you say,” she grumbled, hating that he was right. Again. “This is the best lead I’ve got.”
    â€œOur definition for the word best differs. Still,” Tucker went on blithely, “it’s worth checking out.”
    â€œI know.” How irritating! As if she needed his permission. “That’s next on my To Do list.”
    â€œWhat about his parents?”
    â€œWho, Smart’s?”
    Tucker rolled his eyes. “No, moron. Aden’s.”
    â€œWhat about them?” Their current address was burning a hole in her pocket. Finding them had been first on that To Do list she’d mentioned, in fact, and she’d already crossed it off with shocking ease. A search engine, a (stolen) credit card Tucker had given her, and boom. Results.
    They were still local; the