Page 182 of The Silent Note

“And still…?” Cadence croaks.

I look up. “And still.”

My path has been set since the night my best friend was found in a body bag. If I have to choose between Sloane and Zane…

… it will always be Sloane.

Chapter Forty-Eight

ZANE

I walk woodenly beside Dutch and stare, unseeing, at the wall while he calls Cadey out of my suite. My mind feels like someone scooped it out and flipped it over.

All the things Finn admitted a few minutes ago…

It tore the floor out from under me.

No, more than that.

It ripped a hole in my entire universe.

I knew my brother had secrets, but I didn’t know they’d be of that magnitude. The truth is still tangling in my mind, growing more and more complicated with every stroke of the clock.

As much as I want to run in and see Grey, I need to compose myself first. She’s probably stressed about the video and I don’t want to worry her more.

Finn swore us to secrecy, but even if he didn’t, I wouldn’t be able to tell her that my brother is the son of a Japanese crime lord. How do I tell her that exposing The Grateful Project exposes Finn?

“Were you crying?” Dutch’s gruff question snaps me out of my daze.

I look at my sister-in-law and notice how red the tip of her nose is.

“No.” Cadence’s eyes dart to me and then to the ground. “Must be allergies.”

Dutch glowers. “Allergies, huh?”

She nods jerkily, on the verge of shedding more tears. My brother’s eyes narrow to slits. From the intense way he’s staring, I half-expect Dutch to pick Cadey up and throw her over his shoulder again.

To my surprise, Dutch captures her hand and pulls her in for a hug.

“It’s okay.” He soothes her hair.

My eyeballs almost drop out of my face. I’ve never seen that big idiot be this gentle withanyone.

“What if it’s not okay?” Cadence sniffs.

Dutch cradles her face. “Then I’ll make it okay.”

She gives him a wobbly smile.

Dutch turns to me and nods.

I nod back and then face my sister-in-law. “Does Grey have these ‘allergies’ too?”

“Grey… acts like she doesn’t. But she has them too, Zane. She really does.”

Concerned that Grey is inside crying, I burst into the hotel room and look around for my wife.

The room is empty.

---