Page 155 of The Forbidden Note

Finn says nothing as he joins us, but there’s so much menace in his eyes that I know Dutch is going to hear about this later.

Rick falls in beside me. “Need some help with that?”

“I’m good,” I say.

He takes up the rear, glancing around every so often. From the way he’s carefully surveilling the area, I can tell he’s taking this seriously.

“Why did Dutch ask you to join us?”

“I’m the lookout,” he says. “And also an official part of the security crew. If there’s a problem,” he brings a separate walkie out of his pocket, “I’ll hear about it first and alert you guys.”

Huh.

I shoot Dutch a look. I should have known my twin would have a backup plan. He’s meticulous in everything, and it seemed weird that he was letting me take the lead.

“Nice set of brothers you got,” Rick mumbles to me as we get closer to the basement. “I didn’t like your twin at first, but after seeing the way he takes care of Cadey, I accepted it. A lot of punks out here think love is just sex and feeling good, but I know Dutch would die for her.”

“He would.”

Rick peers at me. “Never seen a group of brothers who’d actually die for each other though. Makes me wish I was a better brother to Cadey.”

My eyes shift to Grey then.

She’s not looking back. Her steps are determined and she’s staring straight ahead like she’s going to war.

“No time like the present to be better to someone you care about.”

“Yeah,” Rick says, “No time like the present.”

* * *

Breaking the lock for the door is easy, but no one is eager to walk inside. Redwood’s basement is a creepy, dungeon-like room with exposed bricks, a leaking faucet and pipes that rattle.

It’s hard to believe Grey spent so much time alone down here.

The woman is either fearless or extremely motivated.

“Leave the heavy lifting to the guys,” I tell Cadey and Grey. “You two sort out what needs to be transported.”

“Who says we can’t lift boxes like you two?” Cadey argues back.

“Listen to him,” Dutch glowers.

She glares right back at him, but I don’t see her picking up any of the boxes after the instruction.

Grey goes straight toward the back of the room. “I already went through these.” She points to a row. “From here to here.”

“On it,” I say, walking toward her and pushing up my sleeve.

She backs away from me, heading to the other side of the room.

I stand there, confused.

The woman is giving me freaking whiplash. One minute she’s grinding on me like we’re two animals in heat. The next she’s pulling back, acting ice cold and keeping her distance.

But she’s not fooling anyone.

Grey already dropped way more than her defenses with me.

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