Page 48 of The Forbidden Note

Finn roughly drops his bass in the stand.

I shoot to my feet. “You gotta be freaking kidding me.”

Dutch slips out of his guitar strap and sets the electric away. “Don’t overreact. Like I said. It’s just a thought.” He takes out his phone. “I have to pick up Vi from her after-school class. Text me the details for the funeral. I’ll let Cadey know.”

I grit my teeth, saying nothing.

Dutch stalks out of the garage.

In the silence, I glance at Finn. He stares me down with those dark brown eyes that seem to see everything. I swear, my brother is creepily stoic. It’s near impossible to tell what he’s thinking in a given moment.

“Am I the only one who thinks that Dutch leaving means dad wins?” I say.

Finn folds his arms over his chest. “He’s got a valid point. There’s no way to keep Cadey and Vi safe if he stays.”

“And you think dad can’t hurt them if they’re overseas?” I scoff. “He’s safer with us.”

“That decision is up to Dutch.”

My eyebrows tighten like angry slashes over my eyes. “Now is not the time to be such a freakingFinn. Dutch just talked about moving away from our city. Did you hear that? If he goes, everything changes. Our band. Our lives. Us.”

He juts his chin at me. “Maybe some change will be good for us all.”

I watch my brother leave the garage, as emotionless and cold as a freaking pillar.

Emotions bubble in my chest.

I can’t contain them. Not like Finn.

Stomping over to the fridge, I rip the door open and yank out a beer. Cracking the lid, I guzzle the contents and grab for another.

My world is descending into havoc and I have no control, no way to stop it.

I need to get out of my head tonight.

Grabbing my phone, I dial a number and a girl’s purring voice picks up.

I grab my motorcycle keys, growling, “Meet me at the ridge. Make sure your clothes are off when I get there.”

* * *

Jinx: Mirror, Mirror, on the wall, who’s the deadliest of them all?

Snare King was spotted outside a funeral parlor after school today. Check out the photo his fans uploaded online. Inquiring minds want to know, is he buying his own coffin or someone else’s?

Until the next post, keep your enemies close and your secrets even closer.

- Jinx

CHAPTERELEVEN

ZANE

The motorcycle almost topples over from my powerful thrusts. Tonight’s distraction is noisy. Which I typically like. Yet, in the moment, I find her annoying.

She grips the handlebars, holding on for dear life and screaming loud enough to scare a flock of birds. The sound of beating wings rolls over the wilderness, but it’s drowned out by the chaos of skin slapping skin.

My grunts and her moans mingle together. A crude, animalistic song rolling across a vast expanse that seems to go on forever.

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