The Forbidden Note (Redwood Kings Book 4)

Security is not supposed to be down here, which makes this guy’s appearance extremely suspicious. My fingers tighten around the trolley as the tension between my brothers, Sol and me ramps up.

I glance at my best friend, noting the eerie half smile creeping behind his mask. He meets my eyes, an eager tilt to his chin.

Let me handle him.

Knowing Sol, he’ll probably set the guy on fire and then shove his body in a closet.

I shake my head slightly.

Glancing over, I meet Dutch’s gaze.

His chin juts down at Cadence.

I hear his message loud and clear. He’s not going to take the front on this. Above all, his priority is keeping his wife safe, not pulling us out of trouble.

I get it.

Doesn’t bother me.

But I’m still on edge.

We made every preparation so the hallways were clear at this specific time. Finn blocked the security cameras. Sol told the watchmen to look the other way and gave them a little something for the trouble.

This bozo in the black ‘SECURITY’ T-shirt isn’t a part of the plan.

The guard gets closer.

I motion to Finn. My brother’s blank expression sends a chill down my spine.

I saw what Finn could do the day we got into a fight with those jocks. I want to handle this my way, but if I can’t, it’s going to get messy. And I want Finn to contain that mess.

I jut a finger at the guard.

Finn nods.

It’s decided.

I trust Finn to contain his rage a lot better than Sol.

Pushing my trolley a little faster than the rest, I walk up to the guard.

His eyes narrow when he sees me.

“Hey, man.” I smirk. My teeth flashes behind the mask. “Beautiful night, huh?”

In the dark, the guard’s massive shoulders tighten and his hand unconsciously drops to his gun.

He’s a trigger happy one.

“Who are you? And what are you doing down here?” Bushy eyebrows wrench together. His voice is a deep, over-the-top bass.

“We’re just moving some equipment,” I say, gesturing to the trolley.

“Moving it where? The dance is in that direction.” He points up.

“We’re taking the back entrance.” My voice has a clip of laughter.

“There’s no back entrance that I know of.”

I take a step toward him, and his fingers tighten on the butt of his gun.

Smile in place, I stop. “We’re not doing anything wrong. I promise. But we’re trying to be discreet here. I’ll make it worth your while if you look the other way.”

“Are you trying to bribe me right now?”

Guess that didn’t work.

“Enough, kid. You and your friends need to come with me.”

I remain in place.

The guard’s expression shifts into a dark glower.

I feel my brothers tensing up behind me.

“This is a restricted area,” he warns, planting a hand on my shoulder. He starts to steer me around. “We’ll take this to the principal. Find out if you really do have permission to be down here.”

My mind trips to Plan B.

Screw talking our way out of this.

It’s time to take care of the problem.

I meet Finn’s gaze and watch for his nod. Without a word, I slam the security guard’s hand off my shoulder and throw a fast punch. He barely manages to dodge it.

Finn launches toward him. I’m smiling when I see my brother blur past me. I don’t have a doubt in my mind that Finn will do what needs to be done.

Once we take him down, the girls can go ahead with Dutch. I’ll stay back and restrain him. The cloth on the trolley will do nicely. I’ll use that to tie him up. Maybe lock him in a closet where…

Finn raises his hand to strike, and the guard pulls out his gun.

My brother freezes, every muscle in his body locking up. For the first time in my life, I notice his eyes hold something other than boredom.

The gun changes everything.

And suddenly, we no longer have the upper hand.

In my mind is a revolving chorus of, ‘damn, damn, damn’.

Things just got freaking real.

Behind me, Dutch and Sol step in front of Cadence.

Grey is trembling, her face drained of color. I try to shift away so I’m blocking her from view, but the guard takes my movement as a threat and swings the gun to me.

Spittle flies from his mouth when he hisses, “Don’t move!”

Finn grunts and the gun wavers his way.

“Both of you stay where you are or I swear I’m going to shoot!”

Panic spurts through me, but I hide it from my voice. “Relax, man.”

The guard grumbles into the walkie at his shoulder. “I have a group of six down here. Dressed like servers with theatre masks on. No clearance.”

My fingers clench into fists. It’s over now that more guards have been alerted.

We’ll have to abandon mission.

I turn my head slightly to the side and meet Dutch’s eyes.

“Get them out of here,” I hiss.

But my brother doesn’t move.

I twist my head urgently, “Dutch, get them—”

In my peripheral, I see the guard’s eyes widen at my sudden burst of movement. He pulls the trigger.

Sol springs forward.

So does Finn.

My brother gets in front of me first, covering me with his body and sheltering me from the blast.

It all happens so fast.

The gun.

The guard.

The bullet.

Finn stumbles into me, arms flailing over my shoulders.

Horror screams like ice through my veins.

I grab Finn, holding him up.

Panic rattles my voice. “Finn? Dammit! Finn, are you okay?”

The guard speaks into his walkie again. “Someone was shot. We’re going to need a medic.”

I hear feedback as if the person with the matching walkie is close to us.

A moment later, Dutch presses a button and I hear his voice coming from the guard’s walkie, “Rick, stop messing around.”

The hell?

Why is Dutch’s voice coming from the security guard’s walkie?

Sol gives Dutch a scathing look. “What the hell, man?”

Dutch just looks smug.

Finn groans.

“Finn?” I whisper urgently.

My brother straightens slowly and presses big hands over his chest. I skim my eyes across his white shirt, expecting to see blood stains gushing over the fabric.

There are none. Come to think of it, I didn’t hear the thwip of a bullet either. I just assumed Finn was hit when he tripped into me.

“I lost my balance when I jumped,” Finn explains, looking equally shocked to be alive. “Aren’t bullets supposed to hurt?”

Grey steps forward. Her face is hidden behind a mask, but I can feel her confusion because it’s a mirror of my own.

“Finn, are you okay?”

“For the last time, what the hell is going on?” Sol yells, his head whipping back and forth.

The security guard does a chin up greeting. “I’m Rick.”

“He’s my brother,” Cadey says, rolling her eyes.

I hear at least three jaws hitting the ground.

“You’re…” I point at Dutch. “This is your brother-in-law?”

Dutch shrugs again.

Grey chokes out a laugh. “I can’t believe this. I was about to have a heart attack!”

Sol shakes his head slowly.

Finn looks annoyed.

I scowl. “Really, Dutch? You knew all the while that he was one of us?”

My twin smirks. “At least now we know that every member of the band would take a bullet for you.”

I’ve never known my brother to be mischievous. This had to have been Cadey’s idea.

My eyes dart to my sister-in-law.

She’s grinning wide.

Yup.

Cadey planned this.

Rick motions to his chest. “I’m a security guard by trade, but Cadey asked me to help out. She doesn’t ask me for things often.” He and Cadey share a loaded look that tells me there’s a lot he’s leaving unsaid. “And I can’t always help. This is the least I could do.”

“And the gun?” I frown, giving the weapon a hateful stare.

Rick pulls the trigger again and I flinch.

“It’s just for show. Do you think we’d walk around a high school dance with loaded weapons? If someone’s kid actually gets shot, that’s a PR nightmare and a jail sentence. They don’t pay us enough for that.”

“I can’t believe this,” Sol mutters, straightening to his full height.

“I did a good job, didn’t I?” Rick gives his sister a meaningful look. “We’re square?”

“We’re square,” Cadey agrees.

“That’s enough joking around. We have things to do,” Dutch says, pushing his trolley forward.

Cadey and Grey file behind him.

Finn says nothing as he joins us, but there’s so much menace in his eyes that I know Dutch is going to hear about this later.

Rick falls in beside me. “Need some help with that?”

“I’m good,” I say.

He takes up the rear, glancing around every so often. From the way he’s carefully surveilling the area, I can tell he’s taking this seriously.

“Why did Dutch ask you to join us?”

“I’m the lookout,” he says. “And also an official part of the security crew. If there’s a problem,” he brings a separate walkie out of his pocket, “I’ll hear about it first and alert you guys.”

Huh.

I shoot Dutch a look. I should have known my twin would have a backup plan. He’s meticulous in everything, and it seemed weird that he was letting me take the lead.

“Nice set of brothers you got,” Rick mumbles to me as we get closer to the basement. “I didn’t like your twin at first, but after seeing the way he takes care of Cadey, I accepted it. A lot of punks out here think love is just sex and feeling good, but I know Dutch would die for her.”

“He would.”

Rick peers at me. “Never seen a group of brothers who’d actually die for each other though. Makes me wish I was a better brother to Cadey.”

My eyes shift to Grey then.

She’s not looking back. Her steps are determined and she’s staring straight ahead like she’s going to war.

“No time like the present to be better to someone you care about.”

“Yeah,” Rick says, “No time like the present.”

Breaking the lock for the door is easy, but no one is eager to walk inside. Redwood’s basement is a creepy, dungeon-like room with exposed bricks, a leaking faucet and pipes that rattle.

It’s hard to believe Grey spent so much time alone down here.

The woman is either fearless or extremely motivated.

“Leave the heavy lifting to the guys,” I tell Cadey and Grey. “You two sort out what needs to be transported.”

“Who says we can’t lift boxes like you two?” Cadey argues back.

“Listen to him,” Dutch glowers.

She glares right back at him, but I don’t see her picking up any of the boxes after the instruction.

Grey goes straight toward the back of the room. “I already went through these.” She points to a row. “From here to here.”

“On it,” I say, walking toward her and pushing up my sleeve.

She backs away from me, heading to the other side of the room.

I stand there, confused.

The woman is giving me freaking whiplash. One minute she’s grinding on me like we’re two animals in heat. The next she’s pulling back, acting ice cold and keeping her distance.

But she’s not fooling anyone.

Grey already dropped way more than her defenses with me.

The lingerie in my pocket is proof. She might have given up on us before we’ve even begun, but I’m just getting started.

We work hard and fast, but there are way too many boxes.

Footsteps thump down the stairs.

I go tense until I see Rick appear.

“I’m hearing some chatter on the feed, guys. They’re about to do rounds.”

“Of shots?” I ask with a smirk.

Dutch scowls at me, but at least Cadey gives me a pity snort.

This is why she’s the more likable half of that couple.

“I think he means something else,” Finn says darkly.

Grey sighs. “It’s Redwood Prep administrative policy. Teachers and guards do a buddy system team-up. They go around checking every classroom and making sure students aren’t doing anything…wrong.”

Our eyes meet across the room.

I smirk and pat the side of my pocket. Totally unashamed.

Her eyes dart away.

Dutch frowns at Rick. “So we hide out until the sweep is over?”

Rick scratches his chin nervously. “There’s no official ending point. Even if we stay down here until they clear this floor, they’ll be paying attention to the exit points. It’s going to be hard to explain why you’re roaming with these trolleys, even if you’re wearing the waiting staff outfits.”

“These masks cover most of our faces,” Sol says, tapping the plastic he shoved to the top of his head. “They won’t recognize us anyway.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure.” Rick’s eyes jump from me to Finn, Dutch, and Sol. “You four kind of stand out, even with your faces covered.”

“We won’t take much longer,” I say.

“We’re almost finished in here,” Cadey agrees.

Behind her, Sol shows a thumbs up. “I’m almost finished too.”

“Someone keep the lighter away from him until we’ve cleared this room,” I mumble.

Sol flips me off.

Grey lifts a giant box of documents. Papers fly off the top.

My eyes widen and I rush over to her. Yanking the box away, I shove it on the trolley.

“I told you not to lift the heavy things,” I scold.

“I’m fine.”

My gaze darkens. “Pick up one of those heavy boxes again and see what happens.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Baby, it’s whatever you want it to be.”

Her lips tighten. “Stop hovering, Zane. I can do this much.”

I know she can. That’s not the freaking problem. I just can’t afford for this woman to break a single fingernail. The protective urge I feel for Grey is as violent as the one I feel for my brothers and Sol. I’d die for them. I’d kill for them. But with Grey, those emotions are… I don’t know. More glittery. More pointed. More explosive.

It’s almost foreign to have a girl in my head like this.

“Show me another box,” I grumble.

Behind me, I feel Dutch, Finn, and Cadey observing us.

“Are those two married as well?” I hear Rick ask Cadey.

“They might as well be,” she responds.

A heavy thump of another box hitting the trolley resounds.

Finn grunts. “I’m done.”

“Wait.” Grey pushes past me and points to a stack of boxes by the wall. “Those too.”

“I’m out of space,” Finn says.

“Me and Dutch too,” Cadey admits.

“Can’t we leave those extra boxes?” Sol grumbles.

Grey plants her hands on her hips. “No. They all have to go.”

“Guys,” Rick has his walkie to his ear and he gives us a worried look, “they’re about to start sweeping.”

“We need to move,” Dutch’s voice booms.

Sol checks his phone and then glances at us. “Time’s up.”

“I need those boxes,” Grey insists. “We don’t know which one has the evidence we’re looking for. And there’s no coming back after Sol does his part.”

Sol grins a little too wide. “She’s right.”

“I say we cut our losses,” Dutch growls.

I purse my lips. There are way too many boxes down here. We underestimated how many trolleys we’d need to get them out discretely.

Cadey places a hand on Dutch’s arm, her wedding ring glinting. “Is there really no way?”

Dutch shakes his head ‘no’.

Grey wilts.

I get an idea. “No, we’ll do this.”

Hope fills Grey’s eyes and I know I’ll do anything to keep her looking at me like that. Like I matter. Like I make her life better. Like I’m not just a screw-up, but someone who can be respected.

“Grey, open the boxes and take out the files inside. Finn, unload the boxes on your trolley.”

Finn gives me a confused look.

I stalk to the boxes and help Grey unload the documents. Then I carry them over to Finn’s trolley.

“Open up.”

“They’re full to the brim, Zane,” Finn argues.

“Just do it,” I snap.

His jaw clenches, but he sticks his knife through the slit and opens the folds. I tape the sides together so the box has a couple more inches of height and then I dump the documents inside. Some of them slip off. I take the ones that do and open up another box, dumping them too.

“That’s not going to work,” Finn points out.

“It’ll have to work for now,” I respond.

Cadey hurries over to help with unloading the files while Dutch, Finn, Sol and I work to top them off on all the other boxes. We secure the overwhelmed mounds with tape. Hopefully, it holds when we’re on the move.

“Hey,” Rick’s face has a fine sheen of sweat, “you need to move out. Now. The sweep’s already started.”

I exchange a look with my brothers.

Our plan to sneak out of Redwood undetected just got ten times more complicated.

Jinx: What Mask Are You Wearing Tonight?

They say there are three things that can’t be hidden—coughing, poverty, and love. The Snare King certainly couldn’t hide his feelings. Even with a mask on, he was only looking at one person all night.

And his mysterious Cinderella? Well, I have some ideas on who she might be.

Will we get a face reveal before the clock strikes midnight?

I sure hope so.

But be careful, Cinderella. When you peel off that mask, you might take some skin with it.

Until the next post, keep your enemies close and your secrets even closer.

– Jinx