Page 66 of The Verdict

“How fucking bold do you have to be to continue to use your real name when there are people—authorities looking for you?” Dare growled.

“I guess his new face must be that good.” And that different from the one he’d been born with—the one everyone knew; it must give Ivans the sickest kind of satisfaction that he could hide in plain sight. A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

“Ivans and the Cosmos Gang—what’s left of them—are linked together,” Ty said, retrieving the iPad.

“So, we have to keep her,” I croaked, knowing it wasn’t even a question.Hatingthat it wasn’t even a question.

“Yeah.”

And that meant I had to find a way to keep my hands off her.

Chapter Fourteen

Merritt

Ididn’t know that I’d ever been as good a liar as Rhys Garrick.

From the moment I’d explained my ties to the Cosmos Gang, he’d put on a mask as strong as the one he’d worn that first night in the hotel. But instead of one that smiled and seduced, that danced with glib charm, this one was silent. Stony. It barely allowed a word to pass through its barrier.

It would’ve been easy to believe it stemmed from hate if the truth about the way he cared didn’t bleed into every look. Every touch. If he wasn’t always the one I shared a meal with or the one who meticulously checked over my injury each night. The tenderness. The concern. It didn’t matter how much gruff he tried to coat it in, his actions spoke louder… and I wished I could ignore them.

Another four days had passed, and I wished they’d gone by in the same sedative-induced stupor as the first four, then I wouldn’t have the painful clarity of every moment with theman who’d saved my life twice. The only man I’d ever wanted… and wanted to trust.

The one man who’d never forgive me.

I knew I’d hurt him. I knew he didn’t deserve it. And I knew I should give him the whole truth. But neither did he deserve to be dragged into my dangerous past. This was my mess to clean up, and in spite of what I let him think, I cared too much about him to drown him deeper into this.

“Do you want to go for a walk?”

Daria stopped next to the couch where I sat reading, her long hair braided over one shoulder, always an image of effortless elegance. Meanwhile, I was sporting the same black leggings, a fresh white tee, and my favorite accessory—the chic ankle monitor secured to my leg.

“Am I allowed?” I lifted my chin and then slid my gaze out the front windows, the colors of dusk draping across the sky.

I was glad when Daria was here. Glad for the break. Glad to see someone who—surprisingly—never looked at me like a prisoner. Or a liar.

“It’s too nice a day to be inside. I won’t tell if you won’t.”

“Okay.” I wasn’t going anywhere, and Daria was probably the only one who believed that.Again, my own fault.

In a few minutes, we were outside the cabin, surrounded by woods and quiet. Rhys’s cabin was the next door down the hall, but with the lengthy passage between that first door and the stairs… I struggled to picture just how far his cabin must be from mine.If he was there at all.It was amazing how the dense foliage managed to obscure not only the other cabins dotting the woods but also the massive garage that guarded the entrance to the compound.

“How are you feeling?” Daria asked after several minutes in comfortable silence.

“Better,” I said. My gait was stronger today.The first couple of times I’d even just walked from the bed to the bathroom had been an effort in strength. Between the loss of blood, my injury, and my meager appetite, my body had felt like it wanted to cave in on itself.

“Rhys mentioned they removed your stitches this morning. That’s a good sign.”

I nodded. Rorik’s exam earlier had consisted of removing the sutures and replacing them with a seal of superglue along the ruddy seam of skin. He’d left with an extra warning to take it easy; if something opened back up, I’d be back in stitches.

“Yeah, it is.” I wished it wasn’t the only good sign. I wanted to know what would happen once I was healed. Would Rhys let me go? He had to. I’d given him enough of the truth to want to get rid of me. To not trust me. To not make my problem his own.

“Good.” She nodded. “Your color looks better today.”

“Are they worried I’ll be well enough to escape soon?” I teased, the gentle strain on my side with each step noting that wasn’t a possibility.At least not with a high chance of success.

Without the rush of adrenaline pumping through my system or the steady dose of meds obscuring the discomfort, it was painfully obvious my wound was still too fragile to attempt much of anything, let alone going up for a second round with Jupiter and Mercury.

Morte and Ramos.I still struggled to think of them with real names.

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