The Forbidden Note (Redwood Kings Book 4)

“The hell is wrong with you?” I bark at Sol.

Flames dance in his eyes.

It’s insidious.

Ghostly.

For a second, my best friend looks like a creature that climbed out of hell.

“The plan was to set small fires and trigger the smoke alarms. Not blow freaking rockets in the sky.”

“They’re not rockets. They’re timer-set M0-18s—”

My throat tightens. “They’re freaking bombs?”

“You’re just angry because you’re missing the show.”

“I’m angry because you’re going to get us caught.”

“What’s going on outside is even better than these jokes.” Sol eases his way around the metal containers. Inside the buckets, orange and yellow flames crackle, chewing at old newspapers and trash. The smell is atrocious.

I wave at the thick smoke that’s already starting to sting my eyes.

Freaking Sol.

Grey wanted these flames contained.

It was a perfect plan.

Until Sol unilaterally decided to kick it up a notch.

“What are you waiting for?” He jerks his chin at the door, orange light reflecting on his creepy mask.

I start to move when I notice a weird crack in the wall.

Am I seeing things?

Sparks hiss from the fire.

Red flames.

Dangerous heat.

But it also provides light.

Something’s there.

My body gravitates to the crack, pulled by a curiosity I can’t shake. Earlier, we were so focused on getting the boxes out as fast as possible that we weren’t looking around for more. Now that there’s enough light in here to roast a pig, there’s no mistaking the strange groove in the wall.

I change directions and jog over. My hand skates against the seam and I exhale when I press in and feel it give. “Hey, help me move this cabinet. I think something’s back here.”

Sol goes tense. “What are you doing? We need to move.”

“Come on.”

He hesitates for only a second and then runs over to me. With his help, I move the shelving aside and swing the door open.

There’s a small closet with two boxes stacked on top of each other.

“It’s a secret compartment,” I mutter, my eyes widening.

“Whoa.”

A walkie talkie croaks.

I whirl around, thinking someone is down here with us.

“Your pocket,” Sol reminds me.

I lift the walkie to my ear.

Rick’s voice crackles in a mix of static and chaos. “Zane, you’re clear of the basement, right?”

I glance at Sol. “Not yet.”

“What?” Rick curses. “Security just checked the tapes and saw the camera blockers. They’re trying to get the cameras back up. My boss is sending a team down there. They’re moving in like the freaking SWAT.”

Dammit.

I shove one of the boxes at Sol and hug the other one under my arm. “Let’s get the hell out of here.”

Our sneakers thump on the stairs as we scramble to the landing. Security guards turn the bend and spot us. Their shouts of alarm light a fire inside me.

“Move it!” I yell, shoving Sol in the back.

We take off into a hallway and throw the emergency door open. The lights flicker as we tear down the staircase.

A door above slams open.

“They’re down here!” someone yells.

I glance over my shoulder, hissing in annoyance when I see the guards take chase.

“They’re splitting up,” Sol grunts.

I breathe hard. “They’re going to try and cut us off.”

“Maybe we should hide out in the practice room?” His voice is breathless and slightly shaking. “They won’t have the key.”

“But we’ll be trapped and they’ll know it’s us,” I answer back.

“We have to do something!” Sol hisses.

I watch him with alarm.

“I can’t go back, Zane. I’m never going back.”

I meet his eyes and see the distress there. He’s thinking about that night when he took the fall for us.

The night everything went to hell.

I won’t let that happen a second time.

My mind whirs.

I think fast.

These guards are new to Redwood. They don’t know the school like we do.

I tug on Sol’s shirt. “This way.”

We throw the door open and cut into the fourth floor, right above the science labs. There’s an extra room where kids stow away to smoke pot in between classes. It used to be a storage place for dangerous chemicals, but after an accident, they moved the chemical chest to another location.

I crawl into the narrow space.

Sol follows me.

We’re breathing hard and nervous as hell. It’s pitch black. The boxes dig into my stomach painfully. The smell of dust mixes with the fragrance of pot leaves and a telling chemical burn.

“Where’d they go?”

“Check the cameras!”

“I think it was this way.”

Footsteps pound in the opposite direction.

I grab the walkie. “Rick.”

He answers. “Where are you guys?”

“We need you to sneak into the security room and disable the cameras.”

“What?”

“Just do it! You’ve got three minutes.”

I cut the walkie in the middle of his spray of expletives.

In the darkness, I feel Sol looking at me.

“What?” I grumble.

“You think I’m crazy too, don’t you?”

I run a hand over my face. “I think you’re even more reckless than I am. And that’s saying something.”

He snorts out a laugh.

I bristle. “I don’t go around setting fires.”

“No. You just grind on our Lit teacher in front of everyone and then screw her in a classroom.”

I stand to attention. “Did you see—”

“No, I didn’t.” His voice sounds disgusted. “Unlike you, I don’t fantasize about my teachers being naked.” Sol digs his fingers into the box. “But anyone who saw you two dancing knew what was going to happen next.”

I squeeze my eyes shut and let out a breath.

“You like her that much?”

“Screw you, Sol.”

“You plan to marry her?”

I stiffen.

“Date her? Ask her to be your girlfriend?” His voice is taunting. “You can’t, can you? What do you plan to do with her? Keep dragging her into classrooms after dark and bending her over tables? Then what?”

“Shut up.”

“She’s going to be your private little whore while you date girls your age?”

“You got a death wish?” I growl.

“Stop treating me like I’m fragile. I’m not the only one with issues.”

“Why are you trying to start a fight?”

“Why do you keep looking at me like I’m broken?”

“We’re all broken, Sol.” I make a sound of annoyance. “Every single one of us. But you cracked in a way we could see.”

I feel him glaring at me. “And you’re screwing your step-sister.”

“You’re such a prick,” I mutter.

“You’re such a bastard,” he answers.

For a moment, there’s silence.

Then we both chuckle.

“This is freaking insanity,” Sol mumbles.

“You think they’re still looking for us?”

“Definitely.”

My phone buzzes.

I work it out of my pocket and check.

Dutch: Where the hell are you?

Finn: Why aren’t you guys out yet?

Sol’s phone vibrates too.

He’s probably getting the same panic messages.

I text Dutch back.

We’re fine. Just making a quick stop. We’ll meet you at home. Get Grey and Cadey out of here.

Dutch answers back.

Don’t do anything stupid.

The walkie shrieks.

All I hear is the sound of someone screaming at Rick for tripping on a power cord.

“I think that’s our cue,” I mumble.

Sol nods.

I push the door and it creaks.

There’s no one in sight.

We hurry to the exits, racing into the shadows and hiding in classrooms every time we see security.

It feels like forever, but we finally make it outside. Sol and I keep running until we get to the dark, abandoned gas station parking lot. Our catering van was parked here earlier. It’s gone now. Dutch must have taken the girls home.

Beneath my mask, I’m drenched in sweat.

Victory tastes like salt and weed.

“I hope these boxes were worth the effort.” Sol drops his on the ground. It has two sweaty palm imprints on the side. “That was insane.”

I glance up at the sky. “The fireworks are over.”

A smirk curls his lips. “I bet someone will upload a few videos to Jinx’s app.”

“You sound like you’re actually excited about that.”

He shrugs.

I peer through the trees.

From here, we can spot the school’s back steps. My eyes catch on the staircase where I caught Hall trying to drag Grey away.

There aren’t any cameras back there.

Which is why he probably thought he could get away with that crap.

“Come on.” I wrench my mask off and wipe my sweat with the sleeve of my shirt. “I’ll take you home.”

“I’m not riding behind you on your bike,” Sol grunts.

“Fine. Walk home then.”

Sol grumbles under his breath but starts walking with me.

We’re halfway to my bike when a black van appears out of nowhere. It screams to a stop on the curb and a bunch of thugs in suits pour out and surround us. My first thought is that dad sent someone to teach us a lesson, but that goes out the window when I see Hall.

He’s leading the pack and he’s got a murderous glint in his eyes.

“I’ve been looking all over for you, Cross. Nice of you to finally show.”