Page 40 of The Silent Note

It was perfect.

At least in my head.

But you know what my honeymoon vision didn’t include?

My brothers staring at us.

Or Cadey standing with her arms crossed and an alarmed look on her face, observing everything.

It didn’t include a white board and Sol grinning maniacally as my wife gives him permission to burn something down. Again.

“Whoa, whoa,” I stand and wave my hands back and forth, “this is a nursing home, not an empty basement. The last time Sol got the green light to start a fire, he went way overboard.”

“I’ll behave this time. Scout’s honor,” Sol says, pressing a hand to his heart.

“The salute for the Boy Scouts is raising your hand like this,” Finn says, like the human Google page that he is.

“Sol has never been in the Boy Scouts, everyone knows this,” Dutch grumbles.

“Maybe he was,” Cadey says. “How do you think he learned to start fires?”

Sol gives my sister-in-law an affectionate look before quickly glancing away. “I bought Girl Scout cookies once. I think that’s close enough.”

Grey chuckles softly.

The sound surprises and pleases me. I thought I’d be hearing different, more animal-like sounds from her tonight but… I can live with laughter. Especially after the crappy day she’s had.

She taps the white board. “The one thing you learn in teaching seminars is to lean on a student’s strengths. Sol has a gift with fire. He should use it for good.”

“See?” Sol lifts his chin. “I have a gift.”

“Let’s not forget the ‘use it for good part’,” Grey says in that teacher-tone of hers.

Sol nods. “Yes, Miss Jamieson.”

Something warm hits my stone-cold heart. She’s definitely the moral compass we never thought we’d need in this crew. It’s affecting us in all kinds of ways.

Case in point, this kidnapping plan.

Grey wants to break out Slavno’s grandmother and make sure the old bag of bones is as comfortable as possible on the run, even if sheisrelated to the man who murdered her best friend.

She stopped us from killing Hall too. I know Sol’s itching to go after the punk for jumping us after the dance and breaking my wrist. But now that we have Grey, there will be changes on how we deal with our enemies. It’s inevitable.

“Let’s go over it again.” Grey smacks her ruler on the whiteboard and I suddenly have an insane desire to use that ruler on her when we’re alone.

I’m imagining her on all fours, promising to be a good girl when I feel all the eyes in the room on me.

Grey frowns. “Zane, are you listening?”

“Huh? Yeah.” I run my fingers through my hair.

She narrows her eyes at me the way she does in class when I zone out staring at her lips. “Please focus.”

“Yeah, Zane. You’re getting an F again if you don’t pay attention,” Sol says.

I flip him the bird.

He laughs.

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