“Now,” our captor said in an underwater voice, “if you tell the truth, you’ll feel pleasure.” He leaned down and licked up my neck over the puncture wound. “But if you lie, you will suffer.” His teeth sank into the tender skin below my ear.
My limbs were weighed down and useless. My head lolled to the side, and I was panting from fear and pain. Inside, the potion ricocheted around my insides like lightning.
Across from me, sweat coated Morales’s face and his cheeks were flushed. His biceps strained as he fought magic’s claws. His wide eyes met mine. The lack of hope I saw in those dark irises worried me. Normally he was the one to crack a joke to ease the tension. But now he looked like a man who’d run out of options.
I swallowed hard against the bile surging in my throat. Until I took my last breath, I’d never believe there were no more options.
“Now.” Dionysus stepped back and tapped a finger on his full lips. “Who wants to share first?”
Morales and I looked at each other across the space. I could feel my secrets crowding on the back of my tongue like tiny daggers. Morales looked as worried as I felt, so I assumed he was experiencing the same urges. That being the case, neither of us said a word, worried we’d spill our secrets without any further prompting.
“No one wants to volunteer?” Dionysus said. “Well, I guess we’ll have to just do this the old-fashioned way.”
From inside his toga, he held up my anniversary token necklace. A shock passed through me. I hadn’t noticed it was missing. “Arcane Anonymous, huh? Bet that means you have lots of juicy secrets, Detective Prospero.”
I didn’t rise to the bait. Instead I zeroed in on the necklace, which, in addition to the token still bore the tiny vial Baba had given me.
“Ohh, you look mad,” he said in a taunting tone. “Do you want it back?”
Until that moment, I hadn’t appreciated how precious both items were. And now they were in the hands of a man who’d likely kill me in the immediate future. But I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of having something to hold over me. “I couldn’t care less.”
He raised a single brow in challenge. Then, without a word, he tossed the necklace over the back of the boat.
I clenched my teeth and promised myself that no matter what this asshole threw at me, I would fight him with every last ounce of strength in my body. Unfortunately, with the truth potion surging through me like a high-speed train, my strength was quickly waning.
“Where was I?” Dionysus said, tapping his lips. “Oh yes, a coin flip. Shayla, my dear, would you do the honors?”
The priestess pulled a coin from the pocket of her skintight jeans. “Heads or tails?” she asked Morales.
“Fuck you.”
“Tails it is, then,” she said on a giggle. She tossed the coin into the air with a graceful flick of her wrist.
In what seemed like slow motion, it flipped end-over-end. In my head, I willed the coin to land on tails. It’s not that I wanted Morales to suffer, but he was the last guy I wanted to admit my secrets in front of. If we survived this, I was worried he’d go straight to Gardner and it would be game over for my career.
Shayla snatched the quarter from the air and slapped it on the back of her right hand. She waited just long enough for the suspense to become agonizing. Her narrowed eyes ping-ponged back and forth between Morales and me. A bead of sweat rolled down Morales’s temple. His jaw was rock-hard and his eyes were focused on that fist like it was a time bomb.
Finally, Dionysus went to join her. She lifted her hand to allow him to peek.
“Oh my,” he whispered. Stealing glances at both of us, he chuckled. “We have a winner, kids.”
He moved toward me with deliberate slowness. When he stood directly in front of me, he leaned down into my face.
“Tell me, Kate, what’s your secret?” he whispered. He ran a finger down my cheek. “Won’t it be such a relief not to carry the burden alone?”
He was the snake in the garden and I suddenly felt as naked as Eve. “I can’t.” My eyes shot toward Morales. His expression was grave, and I saw sadness and pity in his eyes. Like he knew before this was all over he’d know things about me neither of us was ready for him to know. Like he knew this would change everything—if we survived.
Words gathered at the back of my tongue, like eager lemmings ready to dive off the cliff. I ground my teeth together to keep the truth inside.
“I can see you fighting it,” he said. “Means the secrets are extra juicy.”
The longer I resisted, the more excruciating the effort. My heart struggled to keep up with the rising blood pressure. My temples pounded, my stomach churned, my tongue swelled. I squeezed my eyes and focused on trying to ride out the pain.
“Oh yes, I can see this will be a good one. What is it, Kate? Did you fuck someone you shouldn’t have? Or no—you’re a cop. Cops have the best secrets. Some kind of crime you covered up, maybe? A secret addiction?”
I tried to keep my eyes shut, I really did. But the instant he mentioned a cover-up and addiction, my eyes popped open.
“Ah ha!” he said, laughing. “Hit a nerve there, did I, love?” He caressed my cheek. His palm was hot and sweaty and made revulsion creep across my skin.
“I’m not hiding anything,” I gritted from between clenched teeth. Pain was a boot heel to my gut. Doubling over, I struggled not to vomit.
His face pressed close to mine, those blazing eyes like twin flames in my pain-dimmed vision. “Your secrets will kill you,” he whispered. “Literally.”
I looked up quickly, hoping he was the one lying now. He pulled back a little, but smiled. “Didn’t I mention that part?” He shrugged. “The more you resist telling the truth, the more the potion will attack your vital organs. Tell one too many lies and—” He slashed a hand across his throat.
I glanced at Morales. His normally olive complexion was now bone-white except for the blood streaking down his cheek.
“All right,” I said, panting. “I’ll tell you a secret.”
Dionysus’s eyes widened like a kid given free rein at an ice cream shop. He leaned forward so he wouldn’t miss one sweet drop.
I licked my dry lips and swallowed before speaking. My breaths were coming in short bursts as I fought the pain and adrenaline. “I haven’t had sex in eighteen months.”
“Ha!” Shayla laughed. “That’s a shocker.”