Page 21 of The Verdict

My tongue dragged over my lip. “Then who are you?”

“The man who’s going to protect you until we find Wheaton’s killer.” His declaration hit like a gauntlet thrown between us.

I inhaled sharply.We.I pulled my bottom lip between my teeth, letting the idea steep into my mind. I’d planned on hunting down Jupiter myself—making some sort of deal with the devil for my freedom. But that plan went to shit the moment Mercury carved up Wheaton like a Sunday roast and the cops pinned the murder on me.

Finding Jupiter on my own was hard enough, but to do it with a public target on my back… My chest tightened. Ten minutes ago, I hadn’t had a choice. It was either track down Jupiter and end this or be on the run forever.But now… Now, I had the choice to trust him.

At least a little bit.

“Real or fake?” I searched his face for something to betray him—something to keep me away.

But I found nothing. Nothing but clear blue eyes and the only man who believed me innocent.In spite of everything.And if I ran from him now…

His gaze lowered to my mouth for a moment, heat branding my lips, and then he replied, “Rhys.”

My brows pulled tight and then lifted with understanding. He wasn’t real or fake—hisname was Rhys.

“Rhys.” I tested the sound on my tongue, the syllable slipping through the smallest vulnerability in my armor and piercing the same spot on his.

“We need to get out of here.”

“Where—”

“I have somewhere safe—somewhere they won’t look for you,” he promised low and then backed toward the door. “I’ll send someone else to go through Wheaton’s things for information.”

Send someone…“Who are you?” I repeated hesitantly.

He wasn’t a cop, he wasn’t law enforcement, but he acted like he was. Behaved like a soldier of justice. A protector.

“Someone you can trust.” His chin dipped, a lock of hair falling onto his forehead. “Unlike Wheaton.”

I tensed. “What?”

“Wheaton was a criminal—worked with criminals,” he said, and my blood turned to ice.

Since the night of the party, I’d assumed Jupiter was there for me—that he’d been hunting me all these years to get what was his.It never occurred to me that they were in San Francisco for another reason… and had encountered me by chance.

My shock was so great, it must’ve slipped through my expression because Rhys continued, his voice lowering. “So either you can trust me to keep you safe, or you can trust the police to look no further than the circumstantial facts in front of them.”

And arrest me for murder.

But Les…If he was a criminal, was that how he knew Jupiter? My mind worked furiously for answers it would neverfind—not without the help of the man standing in front of me. And what other option did I have? Refusal at this point would be a sure sign of guilt.

“Okay.” I rounded the desk, the charge of attraction between us tattooing a blanket of goose bumps over my skin.

I needed answers.I needed him.

“This way.”I followed him to the back of the house, the two of us slipping out the way we’d come. He threw his arm around my shoulder as we walked down the street, and it took a second to realize it was for show—for my protection.It was hard for anyone to recognize my face when it was pulled so close to his.

And then there was his motorcycle. A big, silver beast parked on the next block. It was cold outside, but he didn’t hesitate when he took off his leather jacket and held it for me to wear.To keep me safe.

It was warm and heavy and consuming. It fit him well, but on me, it was nothing but a reminder of just how large he was. Built. Imposing.

The bike thundered to life like a bull snarling to charge, and I climbed onto the seat behind him, the warmth of his body seeping straight to my bones in spite of the cold.

“Hang on,” he ordered, and my arms clutched him tight.

It was a dangerous game, wanting the man who offered me answers, but not as dangerous as him trusting a woman who could never tell him the truth.

---