Free Sins of the Flesh by Caridad Piñeiro Page A

her askance before extracting a small amount of blood from the tube and placing it on aslide. As she plopped on a slip cover, Carmen said, “No need to worry,
amiga
. I won’t spill the beans about this to anyone.”
    “Gracias, amiga
.
”
Liliana watched for a moment, silent as Carmen shifted the slide around and fiddled with some knobs on the microscope. Within just seconds, however, her friend shook her head and shifted away from the eyepiece.
    “I’ve never seen anything like this before. It may take me a day or two to investigate. Find out what could cause this.”
    “I understand. Could I trouble you for a DNA analysis and full tox screen also?”
    Carmen chuckled. “Not asking for too much, are you?”
    Liliana jammed her hands into her pockets, slightly uncomfortable with having to ask, but her own expertise lay in bones and not blood. “If it’s too much—”
    “Just kidding, Liliana. Actually, it’ll be an interesting break from the mundane day-to-day, only…”
    Her friend paused, then rose from her lab stool and rested her hand on Liliana’s forearm. “If you were in trouble, you’d let me know, right?”
    While Mick and his friend might be in their share of hot water, Liliana had no such fears about herself. Except maybe for her issues with Harrison. As her gaze connected with Carmen’s, she realized that was exactly to whom her friend had been referring.
    “Harrison and I—”
    Carmen’s hand snapped up to stop her. “If you don’t want to tell me—”
    “It’s complicated,” she began. “For months now… he’s changed and not in a good way.”
    “Rumor has it he laid into one of the young residents yesterday. Reduced her to tears and then physically pushed her out the door during rounds.”
    Physically pushed?
    At home, what she thought had been a funk had escalated into anger and violence, turning her fiancé into a man Liliana no longer knew. That his behavior was now spilling over into his professional life created even more worry within her. She just shrugged as she wrapped her mind around it, hesitant about providing more fodder for the hospital rumor mill.
    “I’ve been thinking for some time now that it’s time to end our relationship,” she finally replied.
    “Those of us who know you would understand,” Carmen said, but Liliana knew there would be those in the hospital who could not imagine why she would break it off with Harrison.
    For now, however, she had other worries. She gestured to the tube resting on the lab bench and said, “How long do you think—”
    “Couple of hours on the tox screen. DNA analysis will take a few days at least.”
    “Thanks.” With a nod, Liliana turned and walked toward the door of the lab, Carmen in step beside her.
    At the door Liliana paused, glancing at her friend, who said, “If you’re ever in trouble, with anything, you know I’m here for you.”
    Liliana had understood that, which was maybe why she had come to Carmen to help her with the various tests. Nevertheless, it was good to hear her friend reinforce that she had made a wise decision.
    “I know,” she said and hugged the other woman.
    When Carmen released her, Liliana hurried up to the surgical wing. As an orthopedic surgery resident, she had to make rounds with the chief surgeon and other residents later that morning. She generally enjoyed rounds, since they provided an opportunity to become involved in a series of different cases, and she liked meeting the diverse group of patients at the hospital.
    Unfortunately, the surgical wing was also within Harrison’s domain and this morning she dreaded it, last night’s fight still fresh in her brain.
    The bruises glaringly evident on her body.
    She reached the surgical floor and spent an hour preparing for rounds before joining the group of residents already gathering. She braced herself, wondering if any of them would ask about the incident Carmen had mentioned. Liliana walked toward them, aware of how some of