Page 78 of A Taste like Sin
he a suspect?”
“I didn’t mean to insult you,” Chief Harrison says, but his expression doesn’t reveal an ounce of
contrition. His eyes rake over me, lingering near my throat and the pearl hanging there. “I know your
father tended to shelter you. You can’t be blamed for not understanding just how dangerous such a
man may be. Even I am forced to mingle with him on occasion.”
“Because of rumors?” I innocently question.
He smiles. “Tell me. Have you ever heard ofLa Muerte?”
I shake my head. “No, I haven’t.”
“As you wouldn’t. You’re a smart woman, but I doubt you’ve spent much time researching Colombian
gangs. It means the order of the death,” he says. “One of the more dangerous outfits to operate below
the border. In fact, one of its former leaders was rumored to have run something of a cult—killed a
few years ago.”
“Interesting,” I manage to croak.
“Very,” Harrison agrees. “Even more interesting is the fact that some of the rumors state that the Villa
boys are none other than that man’s sons, continuing their legacy so to speak. And if that rumor has
any merit to it at all, you have no idea what such a family may be capable of.”
But maybe he’s wrong. Damien himself alluded to that very possibility:Maybe I’ve lost that ruthless
drive.
“This is all a precaution, Juliana,” Diane insists. “Just in case.”
“I should be going anyway.” Chief Harrison nods toward Diane and extends his hand in my direction.
“I’ll keep in touch, Juliana. I hope to see you at the gala as well.” His grip tightens harder than I
expect as he swiftly shakes my hand and then releases it. “Best of luck.”
I watch him go, rubbing the hand he touched against my pants. It’s throbbing.
“Gala?” I ask, looking back at Diane.
“That’s what I wanted to talk to you about,” she admits, wringing her slim fingers together. “Chief
Harrison offered to stand in, but I think you should. You should represent your father at the annual
Wellington benefit gala.”
The Wellington family has a long history in the city’s political landscape. I think one of them was a
presidential candidate, and several have served as senators or prominent businessmen. The last one
to make a mark is the youngest son of their last influential patriarch: a man more inclined to dole out
