Page 177 of The Silent Note

“Babe, I’ll be home soon!” Zane yells from what sounds like a far distance.

And then the line goes dead.

I chuckle and reach for my cup—which is now filled with an awful can of coffee from the mini-fridge. On my sketch pad, I have a ton of notes on the Japanese yakuza and their affiliates.

A cool gust of wind blows through my window and I look over my shoulder, noticing the curtains rattling. Huh. Since when did I open that?

Shrugging it off, I return my attention to the laptop.

A softpfftsound jars me from my reverie.

My head whips up and I look around again.

The night is dark outside my window. From this vantage point, I can see the tops of several other tall buildings. Something glints in the far distance, but it’s gone in a blink. I’m pretty sure it’s just a billboard or something.

Swinging my chair back around, I delve deep into a world I never knew before. One filled with gangsters, mob bosses and death.

And somewhere in that criminal underbelly, is the one who ordered my best friend’s murder.

Chapter Forty-Seven

ZANE

The elevator isn’t moving fast enough.

I know I should have run up the stairs instead of standing in this metal box that’s creaking upward at the speed of a snail.

Finally, the doors open.

The moment I step out, my brother grabs my arm and jerks me back. “We need to talk.”

“AfterI see Grey.”

“It won’t take long,” Dutch grinds out. He juts his chin at Finn who’s been silent since we came back from the house.

“I’llcheck on Grey,” Cadey offers. “I want to know what progress she made with the video anyway.”

“We’ll walk you there,” Dutch says.

We trail Cadey to the suite. The guard outside greets us with a nod and assures us that there’s been no one in or out of the room since he’s been stationed there.

“We’ll be right back,” Dutch tells Cadey.

“Yeah, yeah. Go have your secret bro-meeting. You’ll tell me all about it later anyway. I don’t know why you bother with the secrecy.”

Dutch’s lips twitch at her fiery tone.

Watching his face soften around her, I’m really freaking glad that he got his head out of his butt crack and admitted he was in love.

After Cadence slips into Grey’s room, I hear them both squeal in that distinctly female way that girls do when they’re excited to see someone.

We were only gone for a few hours. Why are they acting like it’s been years since they’ve met?

Dutch’s room is a few doors down. We head there and he closes the door behind us.

Without Cadence, Dutch lets the full breadth of his scowl free. “Finn, what the hell was going on between you and dad tonight?”

Finn’s eyes flash, but his lips are as locked as a Fort Knox prison.

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