Page 67 of The Verdict

“I don’t know what they’re worried about, and I don’t care.” The lilt of her French accent grew thicker when she was provoked. “I know what it’s like to be… a guest.”

“You mean a prisoner?” My eyes flicked to her. Dark hair. Pale skin. High cheekbones. She was classically beautiful. And clever. And kind. I’d ascertained all threequalities the first night I’d met her.A night when I imagined a world where we could’ve been friends.

“After my mother died, I was constantly kept under guard. First, by my father’s men, and then by Harmon.”

I hummed, recalling the few details I’d learned about their forbidden romance. “You were never the guilty one.”

She stopped and looked at me. “Are you?”

My jaw went slack for a second before I snapped it shut. “I’m a thief.” There was no way she knew the truth.

“Yes, part of the Cosmos Gang, I’ve heard.”

“Have they found… the man who stabbed me?” I hesitated to ask too many questions, but I had to know, and Rhys certainly wasn’t going to tell me.

“Not yet, but Harm says soon.”

I swallowed over the lump in my throat. “He’s dangerous.” As though it wasn’t obvious from the previously gaping hole in my side.

“So are they.”

A hint of a smile toyed with the side of my lips. She was right, but Mercury…

“The man who attacked me, I knew him as Mercury. He was always… my least favorite.” I didn’t know what the point of sharing with her was—if there needed to be a point. But I’d never talked to anyone about what I’d gone through, and for some reason, I wanted someone to know, even if it made no difference in the end.

“Did you know them for very long?”

“No. Less than a year.” I treaded closer to the deep end of the truth. “I was a new addition to the crew.”

“How did you get involved?”

I rolled my bottom lip through my teeth. I’d lived for almost a year walking a tightrope of untruth, but it felt so much harder to do that now.

“Mutual friend introduced us at some club. He’d fenced a few things for me before, and when he heard a spot opened up on their crew, he offered me an introduction.”

“What were they like?” she wondered, her interest genuine. “I only ask because I didn’t realize my own father was a criminal for a long time. I guess you just think they’ll be so obvious in their villainy, but sometimes…”

“They’re not.”I crossed my arms as a shiver worked its way through me. “Mars mostly kept to himself. He was the lookout. The operational planner. The getaway driver. Neptune… Neptune was a sweetheart. He always seemed too… innocent to be involved.” I’d never forget his warm smile or the way he’d bring in coffee every morning like he was walking into a desk job rather than the home base for a jewel heist. “Saturn was older. Thoughtful. Tempered. He kept us all in line when Jupiter wasn’t there.”

“Where was he during the heist?”

I turned my head. “He wasn’t there. Jupiter killed him the week before. They had an argument.”

“Why do you look sad?”

I shivered, not realizing what I’d given away.My guilt.“I liked Saturn. He was… respectful. We would play chess sometimes while we waited. While the others drank and fooled around.”

“What else?”

I bit into my cheek. “He saved me once. From Mercury.” And Jupiter had killed him. Just like Mercury had killed Les.Because of me.

“Your least favorite…”

“He was the most… psychotic. Jupiter at least was rational. A little paranoid and brutal, but rational the way he led. Mercury…” I peeled my hand away from where it covered the bandage over my wound. “If Rhys hadn’t shown up, he would’ve cut me into pieces. Raped me. He’s… insane.”

“Why?”

The million-dollar question: what made you turn to a life of crime?But to tell her that would be to share that I hadn’t. So, instead, I slowed my pace, letting my answer weave together carefully on the tip of my tongue. “I was… promised something that I couldn’t turn down.”

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