Page 126 of The Forbidden Note

Zane’s smile is a hard slash across his face, and it frightens me a bit to know there’s so much darkness lurking inside him. “Have you been keeping tabs on Miss Jamieson too?”

“I only heard that you almost got her fired.”

Zane stiffens.

“What?” Mom’s jaw drops. “Gracie, I didn’t know it was so serious.”

“It isn’t, mom,” I say nervously.

“What’s going on at Redwood?” Mom insists.

“There are some truly abhorrent theories going around, Mar. The kind of torrid things I could never repeat.” Our eyes meet over his glass of wine. Jarod Cross smiles and, somehow, it’s scarier than Zane’s chilling smirk. “Things that could get other, less connected people in a lot of trouble.”

I feel Zane going into fight mode beside me and quickly press a hand into his upper thigh.

Dutch laughs darkly. “You pay a lot of attention to gossip, dad. Are you sure you’re not Jinx?”

Finn’s jaw muscles clench, but he remains quiet.

Zane leans back cockily, but all his muscles are tense. “Dad, you should know better than to listen to rumors. Remember what people were saying about you when you were dating that Peruvian model. What was her name again? Petra? Dishi? I can’t remember. You change them so often. But I do remember she could barely talk English. Except for that one word. Sugar… daddy? Was it? Oh, wait, that’s two words…”

Jarod slams the butt of his knife into the table.

The china rattles and clinks.

Mom and I are the only ones who shrink back.

Calmly, as if he didn’t almost impale the table, Jarod smiles. “You’re mistaken.” He picks up mom’s hand and gives it a squeeze. “I don’t need to go looking for anyone else now that I’ve found her.”

Mom looks like her heart is melting to the floor.

Dutch draws his chair back, face darker than a storm. “I think I’ve been here long enough. Let’s not do this again.”

“Dutch, wait…” Mom reaches out as if she’s thinking of physically restraining him.

Finn draws his chair back too.

When Zane gets up to leave the table, I’m stunned to realize that he’s holding my hand and dragging me up too. I quickly shake him off before mom can see.

The brothers drag me across the room.

“This is my last warning,” Jarod says to the boys’ retreating backs.

They all stop and turn.

“Don’t make any more trouble for me.” My step-father’s voice bristles with a threat. “It would hurt me to have to punish you, but I will.” He picks up his knife again and cuts into his steak. “Gladly.”

Dutch’s nostrils flare.

Finn’s expression is carefully neutral.

“And Zane…” Jarod Cross quietly wipes the sides of his mouth. “Think hard and carefully before you act. The more impulsive you are, the more you drag everyone around you down. Especially the people you want to protect.”

Zane’s fingers curl into fists.

Jarod glances at me. “Miss Jamieson, let me know if you have any more trouble at Redwood. I’ve heard things are getting dangerous over there, and I would hate for something to happen to you.”

Zane flies forward before I can blink. He grabs Jarod Cross by the collar and drags him out of his seat.

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