I missed my parents.
I wanted to go home.
Father said we’d go back soon.
He promised.
A man leaned over me in a mask and ordered them to hold me still.
He cut—
I choked as the past dissolved.
My muscles went rigid beneath Roger’s exploratory touch—my skin stinging as if I’d been flayed.
Whisper roared, picking up on my stress. Leaping forward, his muscles coiled to pounce.
“Don’t!” Jack-knifing upward, I shoved the doctor away and made eye contact with the livid panther. “I’m fine. It wasn’t him.”
His tail whipped, and for a second, it looked like he’d ignore me but—
“Come here, kitty cat,” Rook cooed softly. “Come on.”
Incredibly, his hackles smoothed and his body uncoiled. With a pitiful chuff, he slinked to her side.
Whispering something to the creature, Rook guided him to the small bench by the door where her rucksack waited. Sitting down, she stayed there for a second before dropping to her knees and pulling Whisper close. “I’ll hold onto the furry protection detail. Just concentrate on what you’re doing. If there’s a wayto get Lucien free from the cuffs and the pacemaker, then do it. But...please make it quick.”
Roger exhaled slowly and moved hesitantly back toward me. I had to admit, he had a good bedside manner. He never moved too fast, always methodical and calm. It granted me a false sense of peace that hecouldhelp me, even though I had no idea how.
“Grab that lamp, will you, Harry?” He pointed at the floor lamp with cream tassels.
Harry went to claim the fixture, dragging it into place directly over my face. Plugging it into a closer socket, he blinded me—drenching my chest with warm light as the vitalsync core glittered like treasure buried in my flesh.
Roger leaned in, close enough that I could feel the heat of his breath, his neck pulsating with every beat of his heart.
I suddenly felt very homicidal.
“What the hellisthis thing?”
I let him study it, my entire body crawling.
“What does it do to you?” Harry asked, joining the investigation.
Balling my hands, I spoke through clenched teeth. “It drugs me.”
“No.” The older doctor shook his head. “No, that’s not possible. It would have to have a storage component and be regularly topped up to drug you. Did they top it up?”
I frowned. “No.”
“Well then. It’s not drugs.”
My mind raced.
What the hell did that mean?
How was Marcus hurting me all these years?
“But it feels as if my system is drenched with poison. Like venom is being injected directly into my nervous system. It knocks me out cold when it gets to a certain level.”
