Page 118 of The Forbidden Note

Inside, anticipation makes my body throb.

“We arenotkissing later,” I say firmly.

He just smirks at me and downs his scotch.

Sol walks into the room. “When are Dutch and Finn getting here?”

“Should be any minute now.” Zane checks his phone.

I hear car doors slamming.

A moment later, Dutch, Finn and Cadence walk into the treehouse. The seniors grab beer from the fridge and sit in a pile on the ground.

Cadence motions to me. “Sit here, Miss Jamieson.”

I want to tell her she can call me Grey, but I think I need the reminder that I’m the teacher and these are still my students. Honestly, it doesn’t feel that way. Outside of Redwood and in their regular street clothes, these boys feel like a dangerous gang that I would cross the street to avoid.

“Why exactly did you bring me here?” I ask, my eyes jumping from one Cross brother to the next.

“We’re here to make a deal,” Zane says, looking at me with those startlingly blue eyes of his. They look more green than blue here in the treehouse, full of threats and dark intentions.

Dutch stares me down, watching every flicker of emotions on my face.

I give nothing away. “What kind of deal?”

“We know why you’re at Redwood,” Finn says.

“We know about Sloane,” Sol adds.

I stiffen.

“Don’t worry. We’re not going to tell.” Zane flashes a smirk at me that feels more dangerous than comforting. “Ifyou help us with one thing.”

“What?”

“Get your mom to divorce our dad.”

I laugh.

No one joins me.

Zane leans forward on his bean bag as if it’s a throne made of gold. “We’ve got a time limit. Two weeks.”

My mind churns through this new information. The Cross brothers have wealth, connections, and fame. They own everything, even Redwood—why do they want my mom to leave?

I lift my chin. “Even if you threaten to kill me, I won’t do anything that hurts my mother.”

“Who said we wanted to hurt your mother?” Zane asks.

Finn frowns as if he’s offended I would even say that.

Dutch adds, “Trust me. It’s better for her if she’s far, far away from him.”

“Jarod Cross is a very dangerous man.” Cadence touches my arm. “We think he had something to do with my mom’s death.”

Panic strikes a chord in my heart. “W-why would he do that?”

“Because dad is a sick, twisted psychopath,” Zane says bitterly.

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