Page 14 of Twisted Desire

This guy lives in a shit shack. It’s a total dump of a cottage hidden mostly by trees. Half the roof is missing shingles, and the porch looks as if it’s about to fall off the front of the house. Not to mention the smell of mildew, and we’re not even inside yet. Lovely.

“Remind me again why he couldn’t meet us somewhere?” I mutter to Allison.

“Could you try to be a little less judgmental?” she says under her breath as we climb the wooden stairs to the front door, and I suddenly wish I’d opted for joining Derek and Marni’s team in the States.

“Leigh doesn’t leave this place much,” Monica tells us. “Even before he knew of The Experiment, he didn’t do well with people.” She steps past me and knocks on the door.

A few minutes pass before there’s sound on the other side. The door opens, and Leigh shows his face. He hasn’t shaved in a while, but his sandy-brown hair is combed back neatly. He’s got bright-hazel eyes and dark, thick eyelashes I’d kill for.

He offers our group a warm smile, opening the door to invite us inside. “It’s so good to see you, Mon.” He pulls her into a hug, and Allison and I exchange a curious glance. Allison frowns a bit and looks away before following them into the house. My eyes scan her from head to toe, trying to catch her energy, but she’s keeping it hidden. Smart girl.

I step forward, but Nikolai catches my arm.

“Be nice,” he says in my ear.

I scowl. “Iamnice. Now let go.”

His laugh tickles my cheek as he unwraps his fingers from my wrist, promptly pressing his hand against the small of my back to guide me forward. I debate spinning around and breaking his hand but decide against it. That damn hand has brought me too much pleasure to punish it for Nikolai’s annoying-as-fuck behavior.

Leigh leads us into a small den off the entrance and gestures at the faded green furniture after we’ve gotten the introductions over with.

I force a smile. “I’m good with standing.”

Monica and Allison sit on the couch as Leigh lowers himself into the matching green wingback across from them. Nikolai leans against the wall, crossing one leg over the other. The nonchalance of his posture usually irks me, but right now, for some weird-ass reason, it’s comforting. That, and with Kelsey and Seth in the room, our group is pretty much indestructible. Even I wouldn’t take them on.

I allow myself to relax a bit and focus on the conversation happening in front of me.

“We need you to tell us what you know about The Experiment,” Allison says.

Leigh wets his lips. “I’ve been researching them for some time. While I’ve never actually run into anyone I believe to be a member, I know they’ve infiltrated this part of the country. Friends of mine who live farther north have had run-ins with them.”

“And survived?” I cut in.

His gaze swivels to meet mine. “Barely.” His voice is low. “Their goal is to make us human, but they don’t care if they kill us in the process.”

“We should killthem,” Monica says, her voice cracking.

I say, “Maybe,” in the same moment Nikolai says, “Absolutely not.”

“Here we go,” Allison mumbles with a sigh.

Holding back an eye roll, I turn to Nikolai. “Seriously?”

“Do you need a reminder of why we’re here?” he challenges.

Maybe I’m a little trigger-happy today. Whatever. These people deserve to pay for what they’ve done, what they’ve taken from us.

He crosses his arms. “No. The plan was to—”

“I know what the planwas, Sterling. I—”

“I’m sorry,” Leigh rushes to say, “I didn’t mean to cause your group any discomfort or anger. I’m only telling you what I know.”

Monica smiles. It’s one of the few times she’s done so since we met up with her. “It’s okay, Leigh. Was there more?”

He nods. “You should talk to Jackson.”

Recognition flashes across Monica’s face. “Crap, I totally forgot about him. You think he’d help?”

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