Page 176 of The Forbidden Note

He groans again. “Where am I?”

“In the hospital,” Sol says.

“Thehellwere you thinking fighting Hall without us?” Dutch growls. “If Rick hadn’t heard you on that walkie—”

“Did you get the boxes?” Zane mumbles.

Dutch freezes. “What?”

“The boxes… Grey… secret room…”

His eyes flutter closed.

He’s out again.

As one, The Kings turn and look at me.

My heart quivers. I can’t stand the weight of their gazes.

“I’m… going to get some water.” I stalk outside on wobbly legs. Alone in the hallway, I wilt to the floor and cover my face with my hands.

I was supposed to bring justice to Sloane.

And in the process, I dreamt of bringing Redwood Prep down.

The Kings are the very faces of that despicable school.

They’re everything I claimed to hate.

Rich. Powerful. Bullies.

But now that I’ve made progress with the investigation and humiliated Harris on stage, it doesn’t feel like a win. It feels like I’m ruining my life and the lives of everyone around me in my best friend’s name.

CHAPTERFORTY-THREE

ZANE

I go in and out of consciousness. The meds are strong and knock me out most of the time, but whenever I come to, the room feels more and more tense.

Sol looks like he’s about to go on a murder spree.

Finn’s face is a cold blank mask, yet I can feel the rage thrumming beneath it.

Dutch hasn’t looked this vengeful since we were kids. The twist of his lips, the clench of his jaw—it’s all telling. He’s normally better at hiding his emotions.

Marriage made him soft.

Or maybe I really look that pathetic.

“You’re crowding me,” I complain. “What time is it?”

“Time for you to be asleep,” Sol says.

Finn slouches in the chair beside Sol and thumbs through a book.

Are so many visitors even allowed in here?

The moment the thought hits, I dispense it. Rules don’t apply to us. Dutch and Finn must have worked it out so that no one questioned why five people are stuffed into my room for the night.

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