The Forbidden Note (Redwood Kings Book 4)

Vi comes home from the sleepover at her best friend’s house, so we clear up the boxes and try to act as normal as possible for her.

Thankfully, normal for us is leaving the girls to their own devices.

Vi is harassing Grey to feature in her makeup channel again.

I’m glad when I hear Grey agree.

One thing that became clear to me when we were sorting through the boxes is how much this investigation has taken over her life. She needs a break.

I retreat to the kitchen and try to open a bottle of beer. With one arm, it’s damn near impossible to unscrew the cap. I’m thinking of getting a knife and hacking a hole into the cover when someone roughly jerks the bottle from me. I meet Dutch’s angry eyes and watch as he tosses the beer and replaces it with water.

“You shouldn’t be drinking with your meds.”

“Whatever,” I murmur.

Finn and Sol enter the kitchen next.

Finn is without a book for once and he’s not reading on his phone either. Sol stares at me in that unhinged way he started doing after breaking out of the psych ward. It’s like he’s one traumatic event away from setting the world on fire.

“This is a planned meeting?” I glance from one stern face to the next. “You’re not kicking me out of the band, are you?”

No one laughs.

They rarely do.

Well, Sol used to.

Before he went full Joker on me.

“What’s up?” I ask nervously, taking a sip.

“Did you notice anything weird about those invoices we found today?” Dutch starts.

“No. Should I have?”

“They were duds,” Finn says quietly.

My eyebrows climb.

“None of the numbers line up with the student IDs from six years ago. The receipts check out for real events the school was hosting. In other words, we didn’t find anything shady in them.”

I set my water on the counter. The smile is gone now.

No one speaks, but the quiet in the kitchen is damning.

I swing my head around to face Dutch. Looking into his dark eyes, I read everything I don’t want to know.

“This is a dead end, Zane. It’s impossible to take anything from those boxes except for the evidence on Harris’s corruption.”

My heart sinks and I almost feel dizzy.

“You want to abandon Grey’s investigation.”

“We have bigger things to worry about,” Dutch says. His voice drops low. “Like Hall.”

“The guy’s about to pack his bags and head outta town,” Sol says.

“How do you know that?”

“I followed him,” Sol answers brazenly.

My eyes narrow.

He lifts both hands. “I didn’t do anything to him. I just watched. Saw him packing his suitcases and driving out to his lake house. The guy knows he screwed up and he’s spooked as hell.”

“It’s not just Hall,” Dutch grumbles, setting a hand on the counter and leaning over. “If dad really is running for governor, that means we’re in deeper crap than I thought. He’s not going to let up when so much power is on the line.”

“Dad is never getting that governor seat.” I lift my chin, the darkest grin on my face. “And I’m going to make Hall bleed for what he did to me. That’s not a question.”

“No, you aren’t going to do anything,” Dutch says.

I stand straight and go toe-to-toe with my brother. “Want to bet?”

Finn comes to stand between us. He doesn’t have to say anything, but we know he’ll kick our butts if he wants to.

We both back down.

Sol laughs. “Nah, let them go at it. They need to get it out of their system.”

My nostrils flare and I try hard not to show my disappointment. “Why’d you make that kind of decision without me?”

Finn’s expression is carefully blank. “Dutch is concerned about Cadey. He doesn’t want to bring a baby into a situation where dad has an even tighter grip on us. We need to focus on what’s important.”

“And who I want to protect isn’t important?” I hiss.

Dutch folds his arms over his chest. “We know you like Miss Jamieson, but…”

“But she’s not my wife so she can go to hell?”

“That’s not what I said.”

“Screw that!”

Dutch’s eyes flash. “Are you really serious about her this time, Zane? Because I remember you were messing with other women even after that night you guys hooked up.”

“And you weren’t banging Christa and Paris while you were trying to get with Cadey?” I snap. “So should I assume you weren’t serious about her then?”

A muscle in his jaw bunches.

Finn’s eyes slice through me and then Dutch. “Enough. We shouldn’t be turning on each other.”

“No, let them…”

Before Sol can get the rest of his words out, Finn gives him an evil eye.

One corner of Sol’s lips arches higher than the other, but he shuts his mouth.

“Something has to give. I’m not saying we don’t help Miss Jamieson out if she calls on us,” Finn assures me. “And I’m not saying we won’t be there for her. She’s important to you, so she’s important to us. It is what it is. But we can’t go any further with her. Diving headfirst into something she hasn’t been able to solve in six years is not the best use of our resources.”

“We had a deal,” I whirl on Finn. Nose to nose, I confront him. “We promised we’d help her.”

“No, we promised we’d get those boxes for her. And we did.” Sol gestures to the living room.

I flip him off. “Shut up, Sol.”

“Am I the only one who cares that Hall jumped us and broke. Your. Freaking. Wrist? That should be the priority right now. Not this crap.”

“Sol is right,” Dutch says, his tone firm. “We’ve got other priorities. Besides, we’ve paid our price. She’s the one who needs to pay hers.” I open my mouth but Dutch cuts me off when he says, “Cadey took a pregnancy test this morning.”

The world stops spinning for a second.

My throat closes up. “Did it… is she…”

He shakes his head. “She thought she was. Apparently, she took one after our wedding too.”

Sol glances away, his focus on anything but Dutch.

“She was throwing up that day,” Finn mutters.

I remember that day like it’s imprinted in my mind. My twin was getting married. How the hell could I forget? And Cadey looked pale as hell thrown over the toilet like that.

Dutch explains, “We went to the hospital. Asked why we’re having trouble. The doctor says it could be stress.”

My heart jumps to my throat.

“All this crap with dad and Miss Jamieson and The Grateful Project, it’s not good for her. We need calm. We need stability.”

Two things we’ve never been afforded.

Money? Fame? Girls throwing their panties at us? We’ve got a whole lot of that.

But life being incident-less?

Not so much.

I hear what my twin isn’t saying.

Cadey comes first.

She always has.

Always will.

That’s the price of falling in love with someone.

But the damn problem is that Grey comes first for me too.

“Grey is bleeding for this. She’s hurting too.” I meet my brothers’ eyes. Each of them. Even Sol. “I know Hall is a problem. I know it’s dangerous. And I don’t give a damn. I’m not walking away until she’s had her fill of revenge.”

Dutch pulls his lips into his mouth. He looks like he wants to choke me.

Finn’s entire face shuts down. He’s never been great at choosing sides, which is probably why he prefers to stay out of things.

Sol has on the darkest expression I’ve ever seen on a human being. If I didn’t know him so well, I’d probably be scared.

“Are you saying you’re not going after Hall?” Sol asks, teeth gritted.

“I will. Eventually.”

He lets out a snort of laughter.

A long silent moment passes where no one moves or says anything.

Finally, I crush the quiet with my words. “I understand. You protect Cadey and Vi. I’ll protect Grey. I’ll keep you out of it until I really need you.”

Sol grimaces, jerking away as if he can’t stand to look at me anymore. “He’s gone insane over a woman.”

Maybe I have.

Maybe I’m making another reckless, impulsive, stupid decision.

But Grace Jamieson is going to be mine even if it dooms me to death.

Which, now that I’m essentially backing her up alone, it just might.