Twisted

By Ellie King

When Alexa's alcoholic mother's new boyfriend assaults her, she finds herself booted out of the house and on her own. As if drawn towards him like a magnet, she ends up in Los Angeles, the city the arrogant and insufferable Brooks fled to years before.

Now a tightly wound CEO of a multinational company, Brooks Worthington doesn't have time for love, especially not with with somebody like Alexa.

But sometimes life brings you exactly what you need, and not what you want. And sometimes the surprise can be an incredible gift, even if it's given in the worst possible circumstances.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Ellie King
• Release date: Feb 15, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311488053

Book preview

Chapter One

Alexa

Alexa Jane Worthington, get your fucking ass in here, my mother’s drunken voice shot through my headphones and into my ears. I knew she’d started drinking early in the day, she was pretty drunk by the time I’d gotten home from school, but this sounded bad. It wasn’t even dinnertime and she was setting up to berate me for some perceived slight.

I sighed and dropped my iPod on the bed. I walked down the winding marble staircase to where she was standing at the bottom. She was dressed head to toe in Prada, and dripping in diamonds, but she still looked trashy to me.

Yes, mother? I asked quietly when I got to her.

I’m going out. I want you gone by the time I get back. I’ll have a...friend with me, she slurred her words. So she had a date, which meant a night of listening to her having sloppy drunk sex with some young guy going after her fortune.

She’d married my stepfather for his money, and at the age of seventy-one, his heart had given out. She’d only been thirty-five at the time and had become an instant billionaire.

She’d fought my stepbrother tooth and nail to hang onto the entire fortune, but he’d finally won his rightful share to the family money and left three years to start some tech company in Los Angeles. I’d never forgiven him for leaving.

It wasn’t that he was nice to me, he’d always been a complete arrogant asshole, but mom had curbed her drinking while he was still at home. Once he left, things had progressively gone down hill.

I’ll go to my room and stay there, I said, I’ve got a huge History paper due tomorrow anyhow, so I need to concentrate. It was true. I was less than a month away from graduation.

Oh, la da dee, la dee da, she mocked me, Aren’t you fancy with your school work. Still trying to get into a good college?

I already got in, I said, she must have forgotten, Harvard. Remember? You offered to pay for it.

Her face went foggy for a moment, and she brightened and said, Oh yes. My Harvard girl. I can’t believe how big you are now, sweetie. Give mommy a kiss.

I suffered her slobbering drunkenly on my cheek and headed upstairs as soon as I could.

Mom had always been a drinker, but after Reg had died, she’d been out of control. Lately I wondered how she managed to stand up most days. She saw the bottom of a cocktail glass more than she saw her own reflection.

She’d snagged Reg when she was twenty-five. She’d been a waitress at his favourite wing place and they’d flown to Vegas for a quickie wedding. She hadn’t told him about me until we’d shown up, bags backed and hands extended looking for a hand out. Mom had never been too proud to beg.

She hadn’t had to beg with Reg though, he adored her although his ex wives despised her and Brooks barely tolerated the two of us. He spent the entire time we lived together calling me TT, for trailer trash, and making fun of everything from my braniac ways to my boring clothing. I wasn’t slutty enough for his liking, if the rumours at school were true.

I heard mom and her date stumble in some time after three. I put on my headphones, cranked some tunes and pulled the pillow over my head.

Somehow her faked cries of ecstasy still made it through and I huddled in misery under the blankets wondering if I could bunk down in the pool house.

Three days later I came home from school to some guy barely older than me was standing in his underwear in my kitchen. He was hot, model worthy, but had a conniving look in his eyes, like he was assessing you to see what he could take. He was my people, probably trailer trash like me. But I didn’t like him.

You must be Alexa, he smiled and extended his hand, I’m Michael. It looks like I’ll be staying here for a while.

Hey, I replied and hunched over, ignoring his hand. This didn’t seem to phase him and he launched into conversation while I made myself a snack.

I fled to my room and didn’t come down for dinner. I decided I would just fix myself something later, after they’d gone to bed.

Around eight I crept out of my room and heard them fucking loudly. It was odd, he was much louder this time as if he wanted me to hear him. I shuddered and got my sandwich.

He ended up being around all the time, he apparently didn’t work. And now he didn’t have to, as my mom had crowed when I