Page 163 of The Silent Note

“And now I really regret it,” she mumbles.

I laugh and turn in my seat, smiling at the sunset sky and the skyscrapers blurring outside my window. Grace Jamieson Cross is really freaking lucky that my wrist is in bad shape or I’d waste no time throwing her in the backseat again.

“Finn is calling,” Grey announces.

The car is automatically linked to my phone via bluetooth and my brother’s name is filling the dashboard.

“Hey, Finn,” Grey says.

“We got it.” Finn’s voice is crisp and clear over the speakers. “We have the evidence.”

I snap to attention.

Grey’s eyes widen. Tires squeal on the road as she floors it.

“We’ll be there in twenty minutes.”

We make it in fifteen, and I’m pretty sure Dutch will be receiving a very nice note from the city with a parking ticket.

“Hurry.” Grey motions to me, almost shoving me into the elevator when we get to the hotel.

The guests inside give us weird looks. I want to make a joke about my wife’s eagerness to start our honeymoon, but I think better of it. This is a big moment for Grey and I don’t want to spoil it for her.

We race down to the conference room. Grey is a little ahead of me. I try to keep up, but the jostling movement hurts my wrist and I end up lagging behind. She gets to the door first but doesn’t immediately burst in. Instead, she waits for me to catch up before she puts her hand on the knob.

I stop her. “Wait, we’re forgetting something.”

“What?” she asks impatiently.

“This.” I tip her chin up and kiss her lips. Pulling back quickly, I nod. “Okay. Now we can go.”

Her eyes narrow, but a smile flirts with her lips as she pushes the door open.

Cadence and Dutch are already there.

Sol is too, although he seems massively disinterested. His booted feet are up on the table and his head is on his chest as he dozes.

“Finally.” Cadence springs to her feet and reaches out to Grey.

I round the table to approach Dutch. “How’d you get here so fast?”

“We were at Rick’s,” Dutch says.

I nod, remembering that Cadence left Viola with her older brother to keep her away from the dangers here.

Grey beams at Finn and, if he wasn’t my brother, I’d probably want to punch him for getting her to smile like that.

“Looks like the risk paid off, Finn.”

Finn nods stiffly.

“What did they find on the flash drive?” Cadence asks eagerly.

The two girls sit together. I have no idea how they got so close, but anyone would think they were sisters. And, in a sense, they are family now.

I lean forward.

Dutch taps Sol on the shoulder.

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