Page 130 of The Forbidden Note

“Aren’t you scared?”

“Scared?” I ask.

“Our car almost ran off a mountain just like this.”

“Exactly why I’m here.” A deep, dark sense of satisfaction fills my chest. “To remind myself I’m not afraid of anything.”

Grey’s look changes a bit, almost like she’s scared of me.

Can’t say I blame her.

I’m not sure if I came out of the womb this thirsty for adrenaline or if being in dad’s world twisted me, warped me into this version of myself.

“Does it calm you?”

I don’t bother looking back. “What?”

“Chasing death.”

I snort. “When did I do that?”

“The motorcycle.” Her shoes scrape loose rocks as she draws closer. “Sitting on the edge of a scary cliff with no harness or anything.”

“I’ve never gotten hurt.”

“That’s because you want to.” She sighs. “The people who don’t want to get hurt are the ones who bruise the most. The ones chasing the hurt… death runs from them.”

“Sometimes, it catches up.”

“But not tonight.” I hear her voice closer now.

Turning, I see her hand extended to me.

I move my gaze from her hand to her face. “You’ve been touching me a lot tonight.”

“You’ve been worrying me a lot tonight.”

I smirk. “It’s getting hard to believe you hate me.”

Her tongue darts out to wet her lips. “Don’t overthink it. Just get away from the edge.”

I stare at her, deadly serious. “If I take that hand, I’m not letting it go.”

“Zane…”

“I won’t let go, Grey. So pull your hand back if you can’t handle that.”

Her chest heaves and she returns her hand to her side.

I feel a flash of disappointment, but it’s not like I didn’t expect it.

Behind me, more loose stones start shuffling. To my surprise, I feel Grey ease herself down beside me. She does it a lot more carefully and clumsily than I would have, but she eventually settles on the ground.

Her eyes peer over the edge and her face blanches. “That’s… not terrifying.”

I laugh, feeling light as hell. “Don’t look if it scares you.”

“This isn’t like the coffin. Looking or not looking won’t stop me from feeling scared.”

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