Chapter 20: The Forbidden Note: Chapter 20

Grey is shining like a freaking angel. Eyes on fire. Brown skin glowing hotter than a supernova. Energy radiating like she has a piece of the sun inside her.

I swear that woman is supernatural.

She glides off in a cloud of sweet perfume, leaving me in Harris’s office. Her absence drains all the light from the room and leaves me in a space that reeks of stale coffee and perspiration.

Harris falls back in his chair. The furniture creaks, accepting his weight. I see him mouthing ‘step-brother’ with a look of annoyance on his face.

I feel a similar confusion.

Grey made my world tilt with that one word.

I can’t believe she let the truth rip. Our family connection is now out in the open. Harris might not say a word, but his receptionist heard everything. The woman with the long nails and perpetually sour expression is a blabbermouth.

Once, I banged a chick in Harris’s office on a dare. The receptionist walked in on us and nearly busted a lung, screaming louder than the chick who was getting her back blown. By the end of the school day, everyone knew about it.

I bet that dare was the first and last time his desk saw any action. Harris walks around like a dork from the sixties, head always bent to the ground, muttering politely, and being practically invisible. Guys like that don’t exactly have girls falling at their feet.

I stuff my hands into my pockets, ready to go. With Grey gone, I no longer have a reason to be in Harris’s office.

“Zane,” he calls.

I face him.

His eyes have this weird sheen, almost like a cornered animal. “You know this isn’t the end, right? It’ll only get worse from here. There’s no way this gets better.”

“What are you talking about?”

“No.” He shakes his head. Dull eyes dart back and forth in a face as pale as paper. “This can’t get out.”

My jaw works in irritation. What the hell?

Suddenly, Harris’s eyes clear and snap to mine. “I don’t care what she is to you—sister, lover, long-lost egg donor. Just keep her in line.”

His words make my shoulders tense. I smile, but it’s not a pretty sight and I see when he flinches.

“Do you even know why she’s here at Redwood? Do you know the implications?” He grabs a napkin and sops the sweat on his face.

“Of course I know.” I lie, standing straight up.

“No, you don’t.” He laughs and it sounds unhinged. “Freaking hell. We’re screwed.”

I roll my eyes, tired of watching this pathetic, sniveling mess. But I only get one step toward the door before I turn back.

“Harris.”

He glances up.

“Today’s incident was a one-off. This is the first and last time you try and get rid of her. Do you understand?”

He trembles. “What is that woman to you?”

“Exactly what she said. She’s family.” I slip my drumstick out and point it at him. “So think twice before you come for our girl.”

Two red stains creep over Harris’s cheeks.

I pass the wide-eyed receptionist, my mind buzzing. There was a strange tension between Grey and Harris earlier. The way he was looking at her—like he couldn’t stand that she was breathing air—it made all the hair on the back of my neck stand.

Tiger, what the hell are you mixed up in?

Harris isn’t the scary type. He’s usually smiling, cracking bad jokes, and looking totally overwhelmed. Every time he takes the mike at a rally, he has to yell ‘silence’ several times before anyone pays attention to him.

He’s a figurehead.

A puppet.

Dangling on the strings of those more powerful than him.

And there are many more powerful than him.

Dad being one of them.

Miller, the chairman of the board, is another.

I’ve never seen Harris as a threat, but I can’t shake the feeling that there’s bad blood between him and Grey.

I’m curious as hell now.

“About time,” a familiar voice says.

I glance up, stopping right outside the door.

Dutch, Sol and Finn are waiting for me in the hallway.

My twin is leaning against the lockers, face dark and features hard. Sol has his eyes trained on me. Finn looks impatient.

“What are you guys doing?” I ask. “Weren’t you in the practice room?”

“We thought you might need backup,” Dutch says.

Sol frowns. “That was rude of you.”

My eyebrows hike.

“Going after Harris without me,” he finishes.

I stalk down the hallway.

The three of them follow.

Finn catches up to me first. “What was that about?”

“Honestly? I’m still trying to figure it out.”

“You ditched practice and ran at a breakneck speed to confront Harris for the hell of it?” Dutch scowls.

“That’s not what I meant,” I snap.

“He had a reason,” Sol says.

“Of course he had a reason. I’m asking if he was successful or not.”

“Grey took care of her own business.”

Finn looks at me. “So they didn’t fire her?”

“No.”

Dutch purses his lips.

Sol smiles.

Finn just looks bored.

“But that’s not for lack of trying. She had to pull the step-brother card.”

Sol whistles low.

Dutch quirks a brow, impressed.

Finn slips a hand in his pocket. “She must have been desperate.”

“Or angry.” I recall the way her eyes singed me when she stormed past.

“It’s over now,” Dutch says. “She explained herself. Everything’s good. That should be the end of that.”

Given Harris’s foreboding words, I don’t think it is.

“Do any of you know why Grey started working at Redwood?” I ask absently.

Dutch gives me a strange look.

Sol shakes his head.

Finn points out, “You could ask her.”

“I’m sure she’ll tell me. Right after she admits she’s in love with me.”

Sol snorts.

I take out my drumsticks, twirling it around my fingers. It usually helps me think, but this time, it’s not doing anything but making me feel more restless.

Dutch jerks his head at the practice room. “Let’s finish our set.”

“Later.” I glance at my watch. “I’m late for class.”

Dutch stops me with a hand on my chest. “You sure that’s a good idea?”

“Why the hell not?” I grunt.

Finn smirks.

Sol tilts his head to the side. “Not being there just confirms you’re guilty.”

I glance at Finn. “What do you think?”

“It’s up to you.” He shrugs. “Of the three of us, you know her the best.”

I glance longingly at Miss Jamieson’s classroom and then turn in the opposite direction.

“I’m in the mood for a beer,” I mumble.

Dutch makes a disbelieving sound.

Finn sighs.

Sol pats me on the back. “Our little boy is growing up.”

I flip him off.

The three of them laugh.

For a moment, it feels like old times.

Before Dutch got himself a wife.

Before Sol tried to off himself.

Before dad went full psycho.

I wish I could stay here, in this moment, laughing with my brothers for an eternity. Or at least for a few more minutes.

But that’s a pipe dream.

Because Harris was right.

Things are about to get so much worse.