Page 100 of The Verdict

Silence descended over the room while Ty worked. While my past—my history with the Cosmos Gang—had come to an end,finally,for the rest of them, their search for Ivans had only come to a resting point. Like reaching a landing in the middle of a staircase. They’d gained ground but hadn’t reached the end of the work.

“Even if we get a name, we have nothing on him,” Dare said with low frustration, and no one disagreed.

I was the only one who could connect him to the Cosmos Gang, and even if I made the claim, I had no physical proof thatRaul Iglesiashad been working with the thieves and whatever circumstantial evidence that Saba had gathered before he was killed was long gone. Beyond that, there was even less to connect Raul Iglesias to Ray Ivans; Ty had checked Les’s flash drive again, but it was too corrupted to find a file from almost a decade ago.

“He’s here—he’s back for a reason. And without his gang surrounding him, I’m sure whatever his plans are will have to change and that will give us time to figure out who he is and what those plans are,” Harm said and then came over to me.“Thank you, Merritt.”

“Oh, I don’t—” I broke off and let my chin dip. “I wish there was more I coulddo.”

“You’ve done more than we could’ve hoped.” The leader of their crew looked at me warmly and slid his gaze to Rhys.

Maybe I hadn’t completely solved their case, but I’d helped him, and that bond of brotherhood was far more important than any search for vengeance.

Family first.

We left Ty and Dare in the office to continue the search, but instead of leading me back down the hall, Rhys pulled me toward the garage.

“Let’s go for a ride.”

Suddenly, I couldn’t think of anything else I’d rather do.

He guided me to his bike and then handed me his jacket. I smiled when the soft leather touched my fingers. “You don’t want to wear it?”

He gave me a wolfish grin. “It looks better on you,” he said and straddled the bike. “Now, get on, my little thief.”

I slid my arms into the sleeves as the bike’s engine belted out a comforting roar like a lion protecting its pride. I slid onto the seat behind Rhys and wrapped my arms around his middle, holding tight as we started to move.

Faster and faster. Down the drive until we reached the main road. The wind whipped, cold and fresh, over my hands, my head tucked against Rhys’s back, my eyes on the blue ocean.

He pulled off the road and brought us to a stop on a secluded overlook. Killing the engine, he lowered the kickstand and turned on the seat so he could look at me.

“How do you feel?” Worry marred his beautiful face.

I lost myself in the depths of his eyes, and suddenly, my past seemed like a thousand miles away. All the loss and frustration and deception and hiding… I couldn’t see it because I could only see him.

“Real,” I said softly. “I feel real.”Like I’d been in a slumberuntil I met him—until I couldn’t pretend to be anyone or anything except who I was.

He reached up and unclasped my helmet, letting it drop to the ground so he could cup my face and bring it closer to his. “Merritt…”

“And yours,” I added just before his lips reached mine. “I feel yours.”

His soft groan made my heart flutter. “I love you, my little thief.”

I smiled. “I love you, too, my motorcycle man.”

His mouth claimed mine, and the truth was I might’ve been a thief, but he was the one who’d stolen my heart.

Epilogue

Rhys

Two months later…

I peered into the garage, listening first before bothering to look, but the room was as silent as a tomb.Not here.

I let the door shut, knowing there was only one other place I’d find Dare. I didn’t bother to knock on Ty’s office door because if Dare wanted to be left alone, he should’ve picked a more private room.

Inside, the lights were off, and I would’ve missed him, sitting behind the desk as still as a statue with those damn headphones on, but this wasn’t the first time I’d found him like this.

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