Page 37 of The Verdict

Jupiter.

“Who?” I held my breath.If they knew about Jupiter—knew his name…Hope flew high in my chest like a balloon, and the string slipped through my grasp before I could tether it tight.

Rhys rounded the desk, his eyes locked to mine like twin blue drills burying deep into my mind, searching for the inky black truth buried under miles of solid lies.

“What are you doing here?” he demanded roughly, the heat of his breath warm on my cheek.

“Looking for answers.”Real.I swallowed over the lump in my throat. “I need to know what’s going on—what you’ve found. I know you’re trying to protect me—spare me. But… I’m going crazy, not knowing,” I said softly, and then let myself beg, “Please, Rhys.”

His big body shuddered, and for an instant, I wondered if this was the hurt Darius had warned me about inflicting.

“Who was Alvaro Lorenz protecting? The man who killed Dr. Wheaton?” I probed, my voice hardly above a whisper.

Give me a name.

Tell me who Jupiter and Mercury are. Tell me and I’ll go; tell me and I’ll protect you this time.

“Another doctor—Ray Ivans,” he said low, and my hope popped as quickly and violently as a punctured balloon. “He was responsible for the deaths of a friend’s parents almost a decade ago and then disappeared before any charges could be brought.”

“That’s why you were at the hotel that night,” I murmured.Justice for all.

I should’ve held his gaze, but I couldn’t. The thought that they might know Jupiter’s identity had flung me so high with hope that the crash was crippling.I was no closer to being free.

“Merritt…” His fingers touched under my chin, lifting my head back up.

“Please…” I repeated. “Tell me how close I am to not being a wanted woman.”

The muscle in his jaw fired, and instantly, the veneer of caution and distrust fell against the shot of desire.Wanted woman.His gaze scoured mine, hot and hungry. His head dipped lower, the warmth of his breath chasing every chill from my body.

My lips parted, anticipating the kiss I’d been ready for—waiting for days for. A tempting mistake. A desirable weakness.But also something real—the only thing real.When he kissed me—claimed me—I wasn’t a criminal or a traitor. I wasn’t afugitive. I wasn’t a Spanish teacher or a murder suspect. I was just Merritt, and I was all his.

“Rhys…” I reached up and curled my hands into his shirt, drawing myself even closer, until our breaths mingled and our lips pulsed with the sensation of almost touching.

But then there was a jarring slam of a door in the hall, and the moment evaporated like a flame thrown over by a blanket.

“Shit,” Rhys muttered, remaining unmoving for a second before he finally pulled himself away. He dragged a hand through his hair and cleared his throat loudly.“We’re still looking for where Wheaton kept his client list—his criminal client list.”

“Client list?”

His chin dipped. “He had a flash drive filled with records for all his criminal patients. Insurance in case one of them ever wanted to come after him.”

Dios mío.

“If we find that list, we find those who most likely want to kill him, and if you can identify the man in his house…”

Mercury. Except Mercury didn’t look different. Mercury wasn’t his client. Jupiter was.

And there was my answer. The drive would lead me to Jupiter.The drive would give me leverage.

Rhys stared at me like he could see the way my heart galloped in my chest. “Merritt…”

“Then you can give the information to the police,” I said thickly, though my innocence was no longer my concern.What did it matter if I was innocent if I wasn’t free?

“Did you ever see Wheaton with a drive? Or see any at his house?”

My eyes bulged, memories stumbling over themselves to reach the forefront of my mind.

“We’ve checked his office and home twice. Two apartmentrentals he had in the city. Another unfinished business office. He set up separate corporations for almost all of his business ventures, so we’re having to sort through them all one by one and confirm his property holdings.”

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