Page 49 of The Verdict

He liked violent, sloppy deaths.

Psychopath.

“Or maybe I just have you fooled… like I did before,” I said smoothly, itching to reach out and yank the flash drive from the computer, but I didn’t move; I didn’t want him to know what I was looking at—what I knew.

“You never had me fooled, Merritt.” His lip curled, and I shivered as cold spread over my skin.

Of course, he knew my real name, but hearing it…

“You had Wheaton fooled though,” he went on, taking slow, measured steps deeper into the room, a predator enjoying the cornering of his prey. “You should’ve seen his surprise when I told him who you were—whatyou were.”

My stomach turned. Les was a criminal who’d deserved justice, but he didn’t deserve murder. Especially not because of something I’d done.

But those kinds of things didn’t matter to men like Mercury.

“Take me to Jupiter.” I swallowed back Jupiter’s real name. I didn’t want Mercury to have any idea what I’d found out.

Mercury clicked his tongue. “For what? You know Jupiter doesn’t like loose ends… or traitors.”

“You know what he does like?” I said, lifting my chin. “Diamonds.”

One pointed brow lifted, a slow smirk spreading over his face. “Really?”

“Take me to him.” My heart pounded, and I fisted my hands at my sides. There was no getting out of the roomwithout going through him. So, I moved around the desk. I could handle a fight—it would happen regardless.

“Where’s the fun in that? We haven’t had time to get reacquainted.”

I tensed but forced my voice to remain steady. “Take me to him or we can getreacquaintedthe same way Mars and I did at the hotel.”

His smile fell. Mercury didn’t just want to win—he wanted to dominate. He didn’t want me to turn myself over easily; he wanted me to fight.He wanted to punish.

“That was a mistake, Venus,” he drawled lazily, moving forward until he stood right in front of me, and then snarled low. “Not your first one either.” His hand shot up and wrapped around my throat, cutting off my oxygen with a painful hold. “But I’dloveto have you fight me. God, I’d love it.”

I gasped, my body stiffening in shock for a second before I fought back. I twisted to the side and clawed at his grip with one hand as I pulled my other back and then let it fly, pain blooming in my knuckles as they connected with the side of his face.

Mercury released me with a muffled curse, stumbling a half step.

“Fuck you,” I gasped, my chest heaving for air.

I caught my breath as he looked up, smiling even as his split lip bled down his chin.

“Beautiful.” He swiped the blood with his thumb, his eyes glinting with pleasure when he saw it.

I lifted my arms defensively, and he laughed like I was some kid trying to pick a fight. His other hand pulled out a knife from his pocket, the edge of the long, curved blade catching a stream of sunlight.

Shit.

“Let’s play, Venus.” His smile broadened. “I’ve been waiting for this for a long time.”

With a cry, I threw another punch. He deflected it, and then landed his fist into my side. Pain punched through my gut, but I ignored it. He swung again, and I ducked and returned a jab. Over and over, we traded hits. Around us, the desk, the shelves, the books—anything and everything became collateral damage in our fight.

I blocked out every shot of pain—the pain in my forearm when it blocked one of his strikes, the pain when he rammed into me, and my hips slammed into the corner of the desk. Instinct and training had me block it all out, my only focus on his knife and my escape.

I grunted and spun around the front of the desk. Just a little farther and then I could make a break for the door. I let out a cry and threw my weight behind another punch. He ducked to the side and whipped his blade across my arm, the sharp edge slicing through my flesh as I fell into the bookshelf.

I cried out, fire burning through my arm as I grabbed the spine of a book and whipped around.“If you kill me, he’ll never get what he wants,” I warned, wielding the book as my weapon.

He stared at the blood on my shirt, his eyes sparkling with perverted delight.

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