Page 94 of The Darkest Note

* * *

Jinx: No good deed goes unpunished. Since The Kings were kind enough to bestow their royal presence on kids from the southside, here’s my gift to you. You’ll find your buddy Sol here. Location attached. But be careful. Not every caged bird can be freed.

CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO

DUTCH

The quiet is stifling when we storm into the lobby of Holy Oaks Training Facility.

Finn looked it up on the way here. It describes itself as boot camp lite—somewhere between a military training camp and a psychology center for troubled teens.

I’ve been sick to my stomach since I learned this was where Sol’s family stuck him after he got kicked out of Redwood Prep. Far away from his family and friends, he’s probably been suffocating back here.

“Can I help you?” A man with a buzz cut, dull eyes, and thin lips stares us down from behind a receptionist desk.

“We’re here to see Solomon Pierce,” Zane says calmly. Finn and I decided to let him do the talking.

I’m too on edge to fake pleasantries and Finn always jumps to the point, no matter where he is. Since sweet-talking women and authority figures is Zane’s cup of tea, we’re keeping our mouth shut.

Buzzcut glances at me and then at Finn. “Visiting hours are over.”

“You see,” Zane leans against the desk, “we drove all this way to visit our dear friend.”

He points to a sign. “Make an appointment and come back tomorrow.”

I curve my fingers into fists. There’s three of us and one of him. If we get him out of the way, we can go storming the facilities looking for Sol.

Finn stretches his hand in front of my fist. His eyes flash on me and seem to be saying ‘calm down’.

How the hell am I supposed to calm down?

Sol is in here because of me. He’s been here for damn near two months without any contact from us at all.

After taking the rap like that, we shouldn’t have left on tour. We should have made a better effort to keep in touch. Then maybe none of this would have happened.

Zane clears his throat and lowers his voice. “Mr…” He glances at the guy’s nametag, “Dusty, Sol is like our brother. I’m sure he’s mentioned us. We were all a part of a band together. The Kings.”

“Ah, you were the punks who got him in trouble and then ran out on him.”

I stalk forward.

Finn grabs my arm and locks me in place.

Zane laughs tightly, but I can tell that even he’s starting to lose patience. “Things got out of hand and we haven’t been able to get in touch with Sol for a while. Since you’re aware of our situation, I’m sure you can make a little exception for us to work things out.”

“Since I’m aware of the situation,” he rises to his full height, “I won’t be approving any visits from the lot of you. When Sol is released, he can choose to contact you, but we will not be facilitating it.”

“But—”

“Leave. Now.” He folds his arms over his chest.

Zane walks back to us, his lips tight.

I lean in. “We can take him.”

“Getting arrested won’t lead us to Sol faster,” Zane answers.

Damn. When Zane is the voice of reason, I know I’ve officially lost my mind.

---