Free Twisted by Francine Pascal Page A

shook her head. “Come on. A double latte is the next best thing to surgery.”
    Gaia started to laugh, but it was still a bad idea. It made too many things hurt too much. Maybe sitting and sipping would be the best things for her right now. Besides, if Shadow Man came back, she couldn’t be sure she could defend herself.
    â€œAll right,” Gaia agreed. “Coffee.”
Perfectly Pathetic
    HE WATCHED FROM THE BEST darkness he could find. Sweat poured down from his temples. His back. His underarms. His lungs felt like they’d been roasted over an open flame. Bent at the waist, holding his hands above his knees, he fought for breath. She was good. He had to give her that. But the scene in front of him made his pulse race faster than any sprint ever could.
    She was also down . And she wasn’t getting up. Couldn’t, apparently. Not without help.
    It was all he could do to keep from laughing through his gasps. How pathetic. How perfectly pathetic.
    A skinny girl with tangly red hair was aiding the one . The target. The ultimate trophy.
    His eyes narrowed into slits as his breath started to slow. He could take them both. Two for the price of one. He could practically smell them from here. The fear would smell even better. He licked his lips. He could almost taste it.
    As the girls shuffled off, he straightened his back. There would be no satisfaction in taking her now. Not when she couldn’t even walk on her own. The side dish wasn’t enough to sweeten the deal.
    He wanted a fight.
    He would have what he wanted.
    But there were too many cops around. Too many pissants. There would be no more girls in the park tonight.
    Unless, of course, he dragged one there.

TOM MOORE
    Once , when Gaia was a baby, she was playing in a sandbox in Central Park. It was a sunny day in early spring. I remember because Katia was picking buttercups and tickling Gaia’s chin with them.
    We turned our backs on Gaia for one moment. Just to clean up our picnic before retrieving her and heading for home.
    Suddenly, out of nowhere, a crazed pit bull came charging at Gaia. She was two. Only two. Sweet. Small. Seemingly helpless.
    Before I could blink, the pit bull was bearing down on Gaia and her playmate. With the attack instinct of an animal, my lovely daughter leaped at the wild dog and sank her baby teeth into the dog’s hind leg.
    That was when we knew we had a very special girl on our hands.

mary
    There was a distinct possibility she could like this girl.
Sharing Stories
    GAIA’S ARM WAS FLUNG AROUND THE red-haired girl’s shoulders as they stumbled their way across the winding pathways. The muscles in Gaia’s knee felt like they had been stomped flat, stripped raw, and rubbed in coarse salt.
    They neared the entrance of the park and found a young policeman with an unlikely handlebar mustache standing guard over the end of the pathway. Gaia made an effort to stand up straighter, putting less of her weight on her smaller companion. The last thing she wanted was for the cop to think she was drunk or on some kind of drugs.
    â€œWhat do you two think you’re doing in there ?” the policeman called as they approached.
    â€œJust taking a walk,” the red-haired girl said.
    The cop gave a snort. “You picked a bad place for a walk. Didn’t you hear what happened in the park last night?”
    â€œThey’re only slicing up blonds,” the girl replied. “It’s in all the papers.”
    â€œI wouldn’t be too sure about that.” He paused and looked them over. “Besides, your . . .
friend
is about as blond as they come.”
    There was something about the way he said
friend
that caught Gaia’s ear. Maybe it was because she was so tired, but it took her a moment to put the idea together.Two girls. Walking alone. Arms around each other.
    This guy thought they were lesbians.
    Gaia leaned harder on her companion and smiled. Might as well give him a show.