Page 109 of A Taste like Sin

I try and fail to nod, but my attempt must come across anyway, because she sighs, raking her trembling

hands through her hair.

“Thank God. I was so worried. They had to sedate you, sweetheart.”

“S-Sedate,” I echo in a rasp. The word triggers an avalanche of memories.

Screaming. Crying. A nurse shoving a needle into my arm, her voice resolutely calm.

“You need to calm down, Ms. Thorne.”

What a cruel dare. One I have no hope of obeying.

Because my father was nearly murdered—at least twice. And the man responsible used me to do so.

Even worse? He’s taunted me with the murder weapon all along.

How long?I wonder, closing my eyes again as moisture seeps from them regardless.How long was

he watching? Waiting?

“Where am I?” I ask if only to keep from sinking into the myriad of paranoid suspicions.

“Safe, darling.” Diane smooths her hands along my hair, brushing strands from my face. “A private

sitting room. Here.”

Something cool brushes my lips, urging them to part. When I do, cool liquid drips between them.

Water.

“Any better?” she asks.

I open my eyes again, this time taking in the narrow space surrounding us. Small. White walls and

simplistic furniture. The kind of room dramas and sitcoms have made synonymous with stern doctors

issuing bad news.

“Is he dead?” I whisper. God, I can’t even look at her. My eyes burn, blurring and unfocused. Bile

rises in my throat, blocking any other sound I could make. I can’t stop seeing his face. Those eyes. His

voice.

I love you, Juliana…

“He’s stable,” Diane says, her fingers stilling against my forehead. “Chief Harrison has personally

overseen his case. He will find out who did this.”

But I know who. My lips freeze, refusing to say it out loud. Almost as if that simple denial can

prevent the fact from being final.

“Can I see him? My father?”

“Not yet, darling,” Diane says. Her reddened eyes brim with tears even as she forces a smile. “He’s