Page 30 of The Verdict

“You don’t seem panicked,” I said and watched pink wash her cheeks.

“In the last three days, I’ve watched a man get stabbed. Been chased by a killer. Been hunted by the police. Accused on live television of murder. And then been… taken to a motorcycle garage that’s not a motorcycle garage.” Her eyes flared with something like anger before her final show of bravado. “Panicking isn’t going to help me now.”

I folded my arms. “You’re safe here.”

“Am I?”

I flinched. “Why wouldn’t you be?”

“You said you’re ex-military and you work with the police, but you’re hiding me from them. So, whatever you do here can’t be completely… above board.”

My jaw locked. She wasn’t wrong, but this—what we did—wasn’t any of her business.

“So, you want me to turn you in to prove I’m a good guy?”

“No, that’s not what I meant.” She blanched. “I just want to know who you are, how you know so much about criminals, and why you’re not working with the police in this case.”

“That’s a lot of questions.”

She took another bite, chewing slowly, before she answered, “Well, maybe if I’d asked more questions before, I wouldn’t be wanted for murder.”

“Like what?” I probed, narrowing my gaze. “What would you have asked?”

Her eyes widened for a second. “Aside from what was I thinking?” She shook her head, the ends of her short hair brushing her shoulders as she let out a soft laugh. “I would’ve asked more about his work. His patients. Why he traveled so much for surgeries.”

Because his clients were wanted criminals here in the US.

“No,” she said with a long sigh. “I wouldn’t have askedanything because I didn’t want to encourage him. I enjoyed helping his son, and I didn’t want to jeopardize Max’s progress by refusing to tutor him. But I didn’t want to lead Les on either.”

“So, you continued to tutor him?”

Her chin bobbed slowly. “Les was on the board at the school, so I was afraid if I stopped tutoring Max, I’d risk any possible permanent teaching position.”

“You think he would’ve done that?”

“No.” She bit down on her bottom lip, guilt leaching into her face. “But I also didn’t think he would’ve worked with criminals.”

“And looking back, there was nothing that gave you any concern? Any clue?”

Her throat bobbed. “Is this my formal interrogation?”

My gaze hooked on hers. “I wouldn’t call it formal.”

“I understand.” Her tongue swiped over her lips, and then she shook her head without hesitation. “No. There was no indication that I can recall. He hardly talked about his work or patients—whoever they were. We only talked about Max and the school. Personal things, never his profession.”

My focus clung to her like a laser, tracing every twitch and flinch and catch, determined to prove myself right.That she was completely innocent.

“And the holiday party?”

“A mistake,” she admitted with a grimace. “He invited me, and I felt like I should accept. He seemed nice. It seemed nice, but I knew it was a mistake from the moment I got there. And by the end of the night…”

My body tensed so harshly, it was impossible for her not to stop and notice. Her eyes turned to molten amber, in them the memories of that night preserved for eternity in a golden lust.

I’d replayed that evening over and over again. Thousands oftimes in a span of weeks. I’d picked apart every look, every brush, every word we’d spoken at the party, and then every touch and sigh and plea afterward.After I’d killed Lorenz.I tried to pinpoint the moment I’d missed—the moment when I should’ve known she was going to run—but I couldn’t find it. And now, it was everything I wanted to know.

A hundred other questions with a hundred more useful answers, but suddenly this was the only thing I could think about.

“Why’d you run?” I met her stare, demanding the truth. “Why’d you disappear the night of the party, Merritt?”

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