Page 38 of The Verdict

That was what was taking them so much time. I listened while I picked apart each detail in the images like they were pieces of a puzzle.

“He has to keep the information somewhere—somewhere safe. Somewhere that it would’ve been available for leverage if he’d needed.” He paused and asked again, “Did Wheaton ever say anything to you—mention any other property he owned or liked to go to?”

Properties. Houses.Think, Merritt.Home. School. Office.

I gritted my teeth and forced an exhale. If only I’d encouraged him more—consented toa few dates here and there. Maybe then I’d know something…

“No.” My voice cracked. “I don’t remember anything else.”

“Vacation spots? A boat? Plane?” I shook my head at each suggestion. “What about his son? We already checked the school.”

“Max?” I started to shake my head when a thought—a buried fragment of a conversation—tore free. I sucked in a breath, and for a second, I was prepared to tell Rhys. A single second before Mercury’s murderous smile appeared in my mind. He’d killed Les to get to me, and he’d do the same to Rhys.And I could let that happen.

“No, he never said anything.”Fake.

The lie burned my tongue as hot as the memory that burst into my mind.

One time, I’d asked Max to do an exercise that involved describing his favorite place in Spanish—a place that involved sun and sand and a house by the Pacific Ocean right down the road from “the best ice cream in the world” at theInside Scoop.At the time, I hadn’t thought much of it—a memory of happier times when his mother was still alive at a place that had belonged to her.But now… it had to be there. At the beach house he’d described.

“Merritt…”

“Sorry.” I blinked rapidly. “Just thinking about what Max is going through.”

“He’s safe with relatives down in San Diego.”

Good.My chin bobbed loosely.

“He loved Les so much—tried so hard to impress him—” I broke off and shook my head. “First, to lose his mother when he was so young, and now, his father…”

“We’ll find whoever did this, I promise.”

“If only that could turn back time.” I lifted my gaze, finding his and dropping straight into the deep end of those steely blues.I would find out who did this—and, in the process, lose him.“The worst is living every day wishing for more time with someone you cared about—someone you lost.”

I tensed, shocked that the words had managed to slip out. Warning sirens and alarms rang off in my head, and I scrambled to rebuild my walls, fast and thick. My limbo had come to an end. I’d come in here searching for answers, and I’d found them—and that meant having to let go of Rhys. A man who wasn’t mine to begin with.

“Merritt…” With one touch of his hand on my cheek, my walls came crumbling down. “Losing people is part of life…”

The stroke of his thumb brushed pure electricity onto my skin. It was what I needed to do—what I was going to do—but, Dios mío,I didn’t expect the idea of it to hurt so much. But finding that flash drive—finding Jupiter—was the only way to end this and protect him.

And he’d never know it. All Rhys would know was the pile of lies I’d leave him with.

“And what if you lose them before they get a chance to see—to know all of you?” I whispered.

His jaw tightened as his thumb caught a very real tear as it leaked down my cheek. “I think anyone who cares about you instinctively knows the whole truth—feels it without being told.”

His voice oozed heat through the very marrow of my bones, and I shivered, fresh pain wounding my chest. I wanted to believe him. I wishedI could.But if Rhys knew I was the kind of criminal his vigilante motorcycle club hunted—no matter what my reasons were—he’d never look at me the way he did now.

But that was the price I paid for invisibility—for his safety—and the good opinion of the most honorable man I’d ever met.

To tell him the truth made me a criminal, and to keep it from him made me a liar.

“I wish that were true.” With a deep breath, I put some space between us and tucked my hair back behind my ears. “So, what now? What’s next?”

It took him a second to switch gears.

“We brought in some reinforcements to help go through Wheaton’s business holdings. Another day, and we’ll know if there are any other properties to search.”

One more day.My heart thudded hard against the front of my chest. I’d have to leave tomorrow, and that left me with only tonight.

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