Free Deadly Double by Adrianne Byrd Page A

Ecaterina instructed.
    Josie obeyed and was rewarded by having a thermometer shoved under her tongue.
    “I was supposed to give you a shot a few hours ago,” Ecaterina commented as she looked over a list of some kind.
    “No shot,” Josie mumbled, shaking her head.
    “Oh, I’m sure it’s not going to hurt.” The older woman said. “William said it’s supposed to relax you.” She picked up a small vial.
    Josie kept shaking her head.
    Ecaterina ripped open a small packet and revealed a new hypodermic needle.
    Josie yanked the thermometer out of her mouth. “ No!”
    Ecaterina jumped from the bed and stared into Josie’s combative gaze with incredulity. “Look. I am only trying to help.”
    “I didn’t ask for your help,” Josie snapped, and tossed back the covers. She struggled to get out of bed, but her show of defiance ended when her wobbly legs failed to support her.
    The next thing she knew, she hit the floor with a yelp and a loud thud.
    Once again, Ecaterina came to her aid. “Sweetheart, you’re going to end up killing yourself at this rate.”
    Embarrassed and humiliated, Josie accepted the woman’s offered help and after a few minutes managed to get back into bed. “No shot,” Josie declared stubbornly. “No drugs.”
    “You just took Tylenol,” Ecaterina reminded her. “Come now, William wouldn’t prescribe something that would harm you. But if you don’t want the shot, I’m not going to make you take it.”
    “Who’s William? I don’t know any William.” The moment she said it, she realized it wasn’t true.
    The older woman tsked under her breath and then placed her hand to Josie’s forehead. “What did we do with that thermometer?”
    “I don’t have a fever.”
    “You thought you could stand up, too,” Ecaterina countered. She searched around the bed and found what she was looking for. “Now say ah .”
    Josie relaxed a little bit and did what she was told. A minute later, she discovered she was wrong again. She did have a fever.
    “You’re sicker than you think. Why don’t you reconsider taking that shot?”
    “No.” She inched away from the woman and then rubbed at her head again. When she pulled her hand away, her gaze narrowed on the jagged welt across her wrist.
    Her heartbeat accelerated at the sight of it. Tears welled in her eyes as a memory struggled to surface. Despite her fever, Josie suddenly felt cold and scared, but she couldn’t think of a reason why.
    “Josie?”
    A strange haze swirled around a faded image in Josie’s mind. The next moment, her head exploded with pain. Josie reeled back, and then slumped against the pile of pillows behind her.
    In no time the pain consumed her.
    Ecaterina didn’t know what to make of the young woman’s strange behavior. One minute she seemed fine and in the next seemed to suffer from some type of epileptic fit. Her gaze darted to the small vial and hypodermic needle. Maybe she did need this shot.
    “Make it...stop,” Josie pleaded.
    That was all it took, and Ecaterina gave her the shot. Minutes later, Josie calmed down.
    For the first time, Ecaterina wondered about what type of flu bug this woman had. And what happened to her wrists? Ecaterina frowned, and then covered the woman while she slept.
    Josie, however, dreamed of another pair of blue eyes. A pair that deepened with concern, twinkled with laughter, and glowed with love. She knew those eyes well and had dreamed of them often.
    “William,” she murmured. Warmth radiated throughout her body. As the pain evaporated, she welcomed the memories of an old love…a forbidden love.
    It had been a time of freedom, exhilaration, and self-discovery. She had found the man of her dreams, her soul mate.
    However, her feeling of euphoria soon crashed beneath a tidal wave of heartbreak.
    “Shh. There’s no need for tears.”
    She wanted to cry. She had to cry.
    “Josie, it’s all right. I’m here now.”
    She drew comfort from the man’s gentle voice and quieted