Page 112 of The Silent Note

“Everyone knows The Kings are after me. No one’s answering my calls.”

“Didn’t your parents leave you money in case of an emergency?”

“They froze my cards after those thugs stole my identity and ran through two hundred grand. I can’t even afford a bus ticket.”

Reluctantly, I reach into my purse. “I think I have five dollars in here.”

“Just five dollars?”

I freeze and look at him.

Theodore Hall stares me right in the eyes and says with a straight face, “I need sixteen grand so I can charter a private jet and get out of here.”

“Do I look like I have sixteen grand?”

“Zane does.”

I don’t bother dignifying that with a response. Zane might be rich, but his money is his own.

Grumpily, I rummage through my purse until I find another five-dollar bill. “Here.”

He snatches it and holds it up. “What can I buy with this?”

“A bus ticket home or to the police.”

“I can’t call the cops.”

I briefly wonder if his fear of the cops has less to do with the stalker’s threat and more to do with the thugs he hired that night. One of the waitresses at mom’s diner used to say ‘if you play stupid games, you win stupid prizes’.

“If you won’t go to the authorities, then there’s nothing more I can do for you.”

“But there is.”

“Theodore, I can’t do more than?—”

“Itoldyou.” His eyes flash with annoyance and I see the boy who sneered at me in Redwood Prep. “This is The Kings’ fault. Youhave totell them to stop. They’ll listen to you.”

I sense that he’s at the end of his rope and nod. “Okay. I’ll talk to them.”

Hall looks hopeful, but he’s grasping at straws. If The Kings really are behind this, I don’t know if my words will do any good.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

GREY

I linger in the park after Hall scurries away, feeling a little like a rebellious teenager who ran away from home.

Taking a seat at a bench, I check my phone and note all the missed calls from Zane.

I check my messages next.

My eyes bulge when I see a 100 texts came in.

ZANE: Answer the phone, Grey.

ZANE: Dammit, at least let me explain.

ZANE: If you don’t answer, in three minutes, I’m driving over to your mom and telling her everything.

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