Page 65 of The Verdict

“Why kill one of his own crew if the police are in on it?”

“For a bigger cut of the take? Because it was Ramos’s plan all along? Because he had a different endgame than the rest knew about?” Dare threw out ideas.

“Maybe the others didn’t know he’d bargained with the police,” Ty offered. “Or he didn’t want them to know, so he killed Morte.”

A low noise bubbled up from my throat, my mind grinding through layers of exhaustion and anger and ache in search of the truth.

“If a policeman was in on it, then Ramos couldn’t just walk away. How would the policeman explain that? How would they explain that they surprised the gang but apprehended no one?” I shook my head. “No. The younger Morte was a sacrifice for the story. The police got credit for unmasking one member of the notorious gang, and Ramos gets away.” More often than not, what was written in the news had less to do with the truththan it did with making people believe what you wanted them to.

“I can look into the report. See who got to the scene first—who took credit for the shooting.”

“Do you think Sergio knows?” Dare drummed his fingers on the counter. “He can’t, right? Working with a man who killed his brother?”

We all shared a similar look—none of us would be able to do such a thing.

“Do you think this is why Ramos wants her dead?” Ty spoke, a frown creasing his face. “She’s the only one who knows he’s not just a thief; he’s a murderer.”

“Fuck.”

“So, what do we do with her?” I ground out, needing someone else to offer a rational idea because the only thing I could think was to keep her chained to a bed—my bed—for eternity where I could punish her… and myself.Fuck. No.“Turn her in?”

Ty jerked his head in my direction. “What?”

“We have the drive. She’s being framed for murder, and if Sergio Morte really did kill Wheaton, then she can tell that to the police. She has his name now—their names. Let them hunt for the international fugitives.”

“You want to give her over to the police? Now?” Why Dare stared at me the way he did was beyond me; he should be thrilled by my ruthlessness.

“We only wanted the drive to find Ivans, and now, we have it. Let the police and CIA and Europol deal with the rest of this shit?—”

“We can’t turn her in.” Ty’s voice interrupted like the fall of a gavel.

“Why not?” I wanted her gone. Out of my sight.Out of mylife.She was a deceptive, dangerous distraction. And this was the only way I could think to not want her.

Dare’s fingers stilled, and when he shared a look with Ty, I knew I was missing something.

“What is it? What did you learn?” I’d been with Merritt all day. Just like yesterday and the day before it. I’d sat, slept, and eaten from the corner of the bedroom, watching over her like some guardian jailer, too afraid the second I looked away, I’d lose her.

Everything they’d uncovered about the drive and the gang and the case had come to me in fragments. Small pieces of information shared when someone brought me food or when Rorik came to check on his patient.

Ty exhaled slowly and brought up something on his iPad before handing it to me.

“The apartment. I thought it was odd that Morte’s name was on the lease even though it was listed in Ramos’s file on the drive.”

“And?” I tried to scan the information quickly.

“Dex pulled the lease for me. The apartment wasn’t originally leased to Morte, only sublet.”

I found the segment of the document that broke out the sublease to Morte. “From Cosmos Holdings.” I looked up at Ty, my brow creased.

“Which would be Ramos…” Dare said what I was thinking.

“No.” Ty reached over and flicked to the next document. Articles of incorporation for Cosmos Holdings.

I scrolled all the way to the bottom, feeling a chill ripple down my skin along with it. “Fuck.”

Dare grabbed the tablet, instantly finding the signature on it. “Ivans?”

Air punched from my lungs. “Ivans owns Cosmos Holdings?”

---