Page 7 of The Silent Note

He purses his lips, as if something in my tone amuses him.

“What?” I snap.

“I’m glad you still have your fight, tiger.” He looks me over as if he likes what he sees. Impossible. My hair hasn’t been combed for days now and it’s nothing but frizz and knots scooped into the best bun that mom could pull together. My face is totally free of makeup and I have dark circles thanks to my insomnia.

I swallow hard, turning my head slightly away from him.

“You should leave before my mom gets back.” I want to sound stern, harsh, but instead the instruction escapes on a shaky whisper.

Zane laughs at me.

The monster.

The evil, heartless jerk.

Rather than leave, he lurches forward. Placing one hand on the wall next to the heart monitor, he leans in so close his nose almost touches mine.

“Are you worried about me?”

“Mom despises you. I don’t know what she’ll do if she sees us together, and I’m trying not to get myself killed.”

The smile withers from a cocky smirk to a thin line of… violent anger. It’s so foreign to see on his face that I lean back a little.

No,no. Not Zane.

Jarod Cross has that inferno inside him.

Dutch is the same.

I’ve seen flashes of it in Finn too, although he does a much better job of hiding it than anyone other than his father.

But Zane’s always been the brother who leaned more on his charm and attractiveness than his ruthlessness. Always the one with the jokes. The wild child. The rebel. The wise-cracking, smart-aleck.

Seeing him unleash that dark side now is disarming.

“Z-Zane,” I stammer, my heart pounding.

“No one is ever touching you again,” he says, eyes hard as flint.

And I shiver.

This is not the Zane I can keep at arm’s length.

This Zane…

… is a six foot four monster of a boy, made to look even more terrifying by shoulders that expand far enough for his dark angel wings to thrust out.

This Zane damaged the last shred of human decency he had.

And I know that whatever comes next shouldn’t involve me.

More buzzing erupts from his cell phone.

Zane wipes the frightening expression from his face and smiles again, but I can’t unsee the darkness. Or maybe he’s no longer skilled in hiding behind his playboy persona.

“We really have to go, tiger.”

“I already told you. I’m not?—”

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