Page 46 of The Taste of Deceit

“Were you scared to tell me?”

I let out a quiet laugh.

“Terrified.”

She raises an eyebrow.

“Really?”

“I thought you’d leave.”

“I almost did.”

“I know.”

She runs her fingers lazily on top of the water.

“When you came home the other night bloody.” She looks at me. “What happened?”

I stare at the water for a long moment.

“We’ve been looking for Sal for a long time. Every lead we’ve had has gone nowhere.”

She waits.

“A few nights ago, someone finally gave us a name.”

“Did they know where he was?”

“They knew where he’d been. They just weren’t interested in telling us.”

I hold her gaze.

“Mikey decided they needed a reason to cooperate.”

“And?”

I keep my eyes on hers, the water still warm between us.

“Mikey had him brought in. The guy tried to play dumb at first, said he didn’t know shit. So Mikey had us zip-tie his hands behind his back and string him up from a ceiling beam.”

Sarah stays quiet, watching me.

“Mikey started with questions. He kept lying. I took a baseball bat to his knees. Both of them. He screamed, but he still wouldn’t talk. So I broke his fingers.”

I pause, running my thumb along the edge of the tub.

“When that didn’t work, I cut him. He was bleeding pretty bad by then. I asked again. The guy finally cracked.”

I meet her eyes again.

“We left him alive. Barely. Figured if word got around what happens when you protect Sal, it might help the next time we needed answers.”

Chapter 15

Sarah

Ihold Luca’s gaze across the bathtub. His dark eyes search mine.