A Kiss of Revenge (Entangled Ignite) by Natalie Damschroder Read Free Book Online Page B

phone.
    “Ms. Templeton, great! Please, come in and sit down.” She motioned to the chair next to the desk. “You’ve read the literature, then?”
    “Yes.” Reese shifted on the squishy chair. “It was a little vague on how it actually works.”
    “It’s based on the premise that when one portion of the brain is damaged, other portions can take on some of those tasks.” She pointed to a cutaway drawing of a brain on a flip chart. Her voice grew more and more animated as she talked. “We’ve always been stymied in our attempts to make this happen, though, probably because of our lack of understanding in how it works. What Dr. Studtgart does is implant a stimulator to create pulses of electricity—just like what travels through your nerves—so other areas of the brain think the damaged area is still working.” She flipped to the next diagram, which showed a red device inside the brain and yellow lightning-bolt shaped symbols, presumably meant to demonstrate the stimulator working.
    “How many surgeries has he done so far?” Reese asked.
    “A few dozen. Ninety percent of the patients have shown some functional improvement. This man—” The doctor fumbled through files and papers until she found a thin binder, then a page with before and after pictures. She held up the book so Reese could see. “He damaged the same area of his brain that your husband did.” She pointed to the first picture, where the man was lying on his side, fists curled into his chest, one of Brian’s frequent positions.
    Brian didn’t injure his brain, someone else did. Anger rose. To douse it, Reese concentrated on the “after” picture. The guy was still in bed, but now he was sitting up and smiling. The smile looked crooked, and his eyes were still vacant, but there was obvious improvement.
    “Is it worth it?” she asked. “I mean, he’ll still never have a normal life, right? Won’t increasing his awareness just make him more affected by the horror of it?”
    “This was the fifth surgery Dr. Studtgart did,” Langstrom said, holding up a finger. “Take a look at the twentieth.”
    By the time Reese left, the doctor had shown her enough data to convince her it was worth investigating. Even with the costs she’d have to pay herself, even with the risks involved, they had to try.
    Even though the nature of the implanted electrical stimulator meant Reese might never again be able to go near her husband.
    There were tests to be done, evaluations and planning, so there was time before she knew if the surgery was even possible, never mind what would come after. But it still set a ticking clock on her activities. If Brian woke up, if he remembered her and what had happened, she didn’t want to have to tell him there’d been no justice for them.
    She used the drive home to refocus on the job. Griff’s lack of progress frustrated her, even though she hadn’t really given him much time yet. She wanted to break into the Alpine Nirvana house immediately, certain, despite logic, that as soon as she did, she’d know her enemy’s name. But she tamped down her eagerness. Taking advantage of opportunity was one thing; going off half-cocked would put her in jail.
    Since starting this quest, she’d set certain rules. Never break into homes more frequently than once a week, usually a lot further apart. Never ignore Griff’s advice…unless it was “don’t do it.” “Do your homework,” however, was as basic as it got. She needed to scope out the area, the house, decide on a plan of action.
    Jogging on her injured knee was a bad idea, and Andrew had probably increased patrols in The Charms because of the Snakewell break-in. So she’d have to wait, she decided, pulling into her driveway. In a few days, she could start her own patrols.
    In the meantime, she’d mow her damn lawn.
    …
    The biggest obstacle she saw in getting into the Alpine house was the Rottweiler. Three nights later, after her knee had recovered, she started