Page 26 of The Silent Note

But he’s already walking away.

“Zane!”

“Oh and come up with an excuse for your mom,” he adds.

“How am I supposed to do that? Zane,whereare we going?”

He stops and turns slightly so I can see the hewn angle of his profile. “That little bed in your hospital room can’t handle all the things I’m going to do to you, tiger.”

Heat lashes my chest like a whip.

I’m so stunned I can’t even speak.

Zane laughs at me, that silver tongue of his flashing as he licks his lips and then disappears from sight.

Chapter Seven

ZANE

I can’t shrug out of that tuxedo jacket fast enough. Finn throws me the duffel bag from Dutch’s trunk and I rake through the contents until I find my t-shirt and motorcycle jacket.

“That went better than expected,” Sol mumbles, standing in nothing but his dress slacks and sneakers. I can see everything from his waist up. The bruises from our fight with Hall are still visible on his back and side.

Dutch grunts and I interpret it asI agree.

Finn is reading on a bench, resting his back against a nurse’s locker with the name tag ‘STACY’. I think she’s the one we flirted with to get access to this room. Or I could be wrong. I never was the type to remember names. Now that I’m married, I don’t need to remember any other name but one.

“You all highly underestimate my charm,” I say, unbuttoning the rest of my shirt.

“No,” Dutch says, “we underestimated how badly Miss Jamieson wants to solve her friend’s murder.”

I wad up my shirt and throw it at him.

Dutch catches it in his two hands. His wedding ring glints in the light. Mine does the same.

Huh. Never thought I’d get married, but it’s weird how right that ring feels on my finger.

“At least I got invited tothiswedding,” Sol mumbles, giving Dutch the side eye.

My twin shrugs.

Sol tenses up in response.

I laugh, stepping between them. One day, Dutch and Sol are going to duke it out. But not here. Not on my wedding day.

“A wedding doesn’t mean all our problems are magically solved. We still have to find the guy who tried to kill Grey in the cliffs. He’s out there and now that she declared war on The Grateful Project, whoever started that program will be even more eager to shut her up.”

“Don’t forget about dad.”

“How could I?” I roll my eyes at my twin. Dad and I have unfinished business. I need to repay him for manipulating Grey and dragging me away so I couldn’t protect her in time.

Dutch shrugs his shirt on and looks at me with his golden eyes. “Have you heard anything from him?”

“Why would I?”

“You’re the one he keeps taking for a drive.”

I scowl, well aware that the reason dad keeps cornering me is because he thinks I’m the family screw up and the weakest link.

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