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

shame of abandoning their son, when they might have been the only people in the world who could truly help him, hadn’t driven them away. Were they happy with their decision? Regretful?
    She’d debated: call Aden and tell him, or not call Aden? In the end, she’d opted for not . For the moment. He had a lot to deal with right now and if she met with the couple first—fine, spied on them—she could make a more informed decision.
    â€œClose up for today,” Tucker said, drawing her back into the conversation, “and let’s find a place to sleep. We’ll head out for…” He paused, waiting.
    â€œSmart’s wife is still here in Tulsa, close to St. Mary’s, the hospital where her husband used to work.” Tulsa, Oklahoma. Which was two hours away from Crossroads, Oklahoma. Two hours away from Riley.
    Not that she’d imagined him driving that stretch of highway a thousand times.
    â€œGood.” Tucker nodded. “Did you read the man’s obituary?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œChecked out his family?”
    â€œAs best as I could.” He’d left the wife behind, but no one else had been mentioned.
    â€œAnd you have an exact address?”
    â€œNo. I thought I’d drive around until a golden ray of sunlight shined down from the heavens and spotlighted the house.”
    â€œSarcasm again. Not your best look.”
    â€œThen stop asking dumb questions.”
    He sighed, the last sane guy in existence. “We’ll drive there in the morning. Does that work for your timetable?” He didn’t give her a chance to respond. He stretched out his hand and waved at her. “Come on.”
    With a sigh of her own, she placed her hand in his. As he stood, he pulled her to her feet. He helped her into her jacket and tugged her out of the microfiche area. Just before they walked into the main library, someone screamed. A girl. Hush Girl, maybe. Fearing the worst, Mary Ann tried to turn around and see what was going on. Tucker threw his arm around her shoulders and forced her attention straight ahead.
    â€œBelieve me. You don’t want to see.”
    No attacking witches or fairies, then. “What did you do?” she whispered fiercely. And she knew he’d done something, the turd.
    â€œLet’s just say the snake under her desk is trying to converse with her,” he replied with another wicked grin.
    Of course.
    They stepped outside, into the moonlight and cold. She tugged the lapels of her jacket closer and glared up at him. “I thought you couldn’t cast illusions when you were so close to me.”
    His grin widened, and all she could see was straight white teeth flashing down at her in the darkness. She looked away before she gave into the urge to slap him. Repeatedly. Cars whizzed along the street in a zoom, zoom rhythm. No one stood on the sidewalk, and there were no insidious shadows lurking nearby. Searching had become a habit.
    â€œWell?” she insisted.
    He leaned down, as if sharing a naughty secret. “Let’s just say my skills are going nuclear.”
    Or her ability to mute was fading, she thought suddenly, and her eyes widened. Oh, please, please, please, let her ability be fading. If she stopped muting powers, she might stop draining energy, too. And if she stopped,she could see Riley again. Could kiss him again. Could finally—please, finally—do more. Without worry.
    â€œOkay, why did that make you so happy?” Tucker asked, suspicious.
    What did he have to be suspicious about? “Nothing.”
    â€œLiar.”
    â€œDemon.”
    He cleared his throat as if fighting a laugh. “That’s not really an insult for me, you know.”
    â€œI know.” She practically skipped along the concrete. Even the thought of safely seeing Riley lightened her mood. “Let’s just enjoy the moment, okay?”
    Tucker had to quicken his step to remain beside her. “What