Page 101 of The Verdict

“What do you need?”

“I came to check on you,” I said and let the door close behind me, shutting almost all the light out of theroom.

Maybe it would be easier for Dare to face his demons in the darkness.

“I’m fine. Working?—”

“You’re always cooped up in here working,” I said before he could cover his ears with the headphones again. “Let me—let Ty—let someonetake over for a little.”

“I can handle it.”

Bullshit.

“Dammit, Dare, if this is about me and Merritt?—”

“Jesus Christ, it’s not?—”

“No?”

Tense silence stretched over several seconds before he let out a heavy exhale. “I’m happy for you, Rhys. Honest to God.”

He didn’t have to swear; I believed him. Ever since Merritt risked her life to save mine, his whole opinion of and demeanor around her changed.

“Then what is it?” I moved closer to the desk, guilt eating away at my stomach.

“I want you to be happy. And Harm…”

“But you wanted to be happy, too,” I said low, realizing what ate at him.

We’d come back from the war guilt-ridden from Ryan and betrayed, and for so long, club business and vengeance for Rob had sustained us. But then Harm met Daria. And then I’d found Merritt. One by one, it was no longer just about the Vigilantes or revenge, but for Dare, it always would be.

“No.” He shook off the idea with a scoff. “I mean, I am happy. I have enough.”

I tipped forward and rested my hands on the desk. “You can want more,” I told him. “She already took enough from you, Dare, you don’t have to let her?—”

“Don’t,” he warned. “Just… don’t.”

I straightened with a deep inhale, hoping he just neededmore time. At one point, I hadn’t thought love was in my cards either, but then again, my heart hadn’t been completely shattered like his, the pieces then used to destroy people he cared about.

“You should take a break.”

“I will when we find him.”

Ivans. Saturn. Iglesias.Whatever the hell his name was now…we’d searched for weeks. Even with the help of Talon and the guys at Armorous Tactical, we still didn’t have any idea what alias Ivans was using or why he was back. Maybe when we found that alias, we’d find more answers, but Dare had made it his personal mission to uncover the name, forsaking everything else.

A distraction. Something I easily recognized now.

Knock. Knock.“Rhys?”

Light bled into the room as Merritt opened the door, her face flushed.

“What’s wrong?” I was in front of her in an instant, my hands on her shoulders.

“Nothing, I—” She looked over at Dare. “Something came for you.” She went over and held out an envelope. “Sorry, I grabbed a bunch of envelopes from the mail, and this was stuck between them.”

I knew what envelopes she was talking about—all her records from Spain that Inspector Saba had hidden. Her academy records. Her graduation from GEI training. And a letter from the current chief of police, thanking her for everything she’d done and risked to bring the Cosmos Gang to justice.

Dare took the envelope with a muttered thanks.

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