Page 25 of The Verdict

A groan ripped from his chest, and he pushed himself back. In an instant, all the warmth and shelter of him evaporated, leaving in its place the cold reality of who I was and how I’d gotten here.Invisible and alone.

“You need to rest,” he declared, dragging those miraculous fingers through his own hair. “Shower. Rest. I’ll come back with food, and if you need anything, I’m the next door down?—”

“And clothes?”

His eyes ripped over me like twin flame throwers.

I notched my chin. “I only have these.”

He clenched his jaw so hard I thought the next sound from his mouth would be the snap of it cracking. “I’ll find something.”

“Okay.” I swallowed down the last weak swell to ask him inside. I was attracted to him.Real.I wanted nothing more than to rip his clothes off and let him fuck me the way his stare said he wanted to.Real.But it would only be a distraction—a dangerous one. For the both of us.

I didn’t have to know toknowthat Les had altered Jupiter’s appearance. That a faceless ghost from my past was hunting me and out for blood.And the diamond.

And I was already lying to the man who’d risked everything to save me…twice.He deserved better than to have sex with me and become salt in the wound when he realized I was only here for answers and information—only here until I knew enough to create a plan to secure my freedom. My future. And then I would be gone.

Chapter Five

Rhys

Can I borrow some of your clothes?I fired off the text to Rob and grabbed some sandwich meat from the fridge.

Her reply buzzed a second later.

Sure, but I don’t think your ass or your ego will fit in my pants.

I let out a snort and shook my head, tapping back a middle finger emoji and a thank you; she knew the clothes weren’t for me, but she didn’t bother to ask questions. The rest of the guys would’ve probed, but Rob… there was only ever one thing on her mind, and it was admirable. And heartbreaking.

I layered cheese, turkey, and mayo onto the sliced bread and folded the sandwich into a paper towel. My plan was to grab some of Rob’s clothes from her cabin and drop everything off at the guest cabin before it got too late.And before I was too tempted to finish the kiss I’d almost started.

By then, Harm and Dare would be back, and I’d have this case—this murder—to distract me.

I needed distractions. Distractions were how I thrived. Distractions were how I survived.

Rob’s cabin was at the very end of the hall, the door closest to Harm’s. I tapped in the code and let myself in. Unlike the guest cabin or Harm’s that immediately opened to a staircase, the rest of the doors led instead to secondary hallways that allowed our cabins to sprawl out farther into the property and bury them in the belly of the woods, away from sight and away from each other.

Rob’s cabin was the farthest.Like she was.Lost in the world of her vengeance. Especially lately.

I walked the hall that was another football field in length, and then took the stairs to her cabin. The door opened to the distinct, musty chill of an unused space.

There was only a single framed photograph on the coffee table. Her and her parents. Like her, the rest of her cabin had been stripped of everything else—everything personal—except this.

I strode to the bedroom at the farthest end of the cabin, the back wall covered in tall windows with sweeping views of the surrounding forest. In the closet, I found stacks of black yoga pants and white tees. Filling my arms with a few pairs of each, I tried not to think about how long this meant Merritt might be a guest here.How long I’d have to perfect the art of resisting her.

But I couldn’t help myself, and those thoughts filled the space all the way back to the guest cabin. I breathed deep, preparing for a kind of battle I hadn’t been trained in.Restraint.I let myself in, taking the stairs two at a time before knocking.

“Merritt?” I called when she didn’t answer and pounded again. The door opened directly into the bedroom, and the lastthing I needed was to walk in on her partially clothed, but when she didn’t answer… “I’m coming in.”

A surge of irrational protectiveness pushed me through the door, and I came to a quick halt when I saw the pile of her clothes on the floor, my heart ricocheting against the front of my chest.

“Shit,” I muttered against the rustle of the shower tattooing the soft silence.

I didn’t know what was worse: walking in on her partially clothed or knowing she was just a few paces away, completely naked. Lust crawled through my veins like the hunger of addiction, devouring me on the inside with the urge for just one more hit of her.

This was better, I told myself. Better that she was in the shower—out of arm’s reach—while I brought this stuff over. Better because I could drop it off and leave without having to talk to her—be close to her again.The woman my fantasies had made their poster child.All I had to do was leave the stuff and get out. Simple.But with every step, it felt more likeMission: Impossible.

I set the clothes on the edge of the bed.Only the sandwich left.Unfortunately, the kitchen was at the other end of the short hall—the bathroom directly between the two spaces with its door cracked open.

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