Page 52 of The Silent Note

Total bull.

She wants to be with me as much as a mouse wants to be with a tiger. Just because she’ll enjoy what I’ll do to her body doesn’t mean she’s truly excited about it. Even I know that.

“What’s the big deal about seeing a doctor?” I whisper, tracing a line above her nose.

I bet there’s another reason.

Not that she’d say a word about it.

Getting up, I finish drying my hair with the towel and slide into bed. As quietly as I can, I turn on my side and prop my head up with a hand.

“So much for keeping your end of the deal,” I whisper to her.

She snorts in her sleep.

I snicker. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

Grey wiggles closer to me, all wrapped-up in her blanket-like cocoon, seeking my warmth. Now that her mouth is shut, her face is smooth in sleep, and she’s not using her infuriating teacher-tone on me, she looks way younger than I do.

Is this woman really twenty-four?

She’s as strong-willed as a little kid. And twice as stubborn too.

I’m about to settle in and watch her sleep, but my phone rings. It’s loud enough that Grey starts to stir.

Panicking, I spring out of bed and answer roughly, “What?”

“Zane,” a quiet voice breathes over the line.

I whirl around to stare at Grey. My heart beats fast. “Marian.”

“I…” She hesitates. Wherever she is, there’s a lot of noise in the background. It sounds like old-timey music. “Grey isn’t at the hospital tonight.”

There’s a long pause and I can tell she expects me to fill in the space.

I don’t.

“She’s not… um, this is such a ridiculous question but, she’s not with you, is she?”

Dad’s wife sounds genuinely terrified.

Marian isn’t a bad person and I hate that she’s getting the short end of the stick in all this. But I’m not giving Grey up now that I have her.

Not even her mom is going to stop me.

“Actually, Marian, she?—”

“No, Grey wouldn’t be that foolish,” Marian cuts me off. “She’s a smart girl. She got into Redwood Prep on a scholarship, you know. Worked her butt off all by herself. I didn’t do much. Honestly, I couldn’t do anything for her growing up.”

I rub the back of my neck.

“There’s a lot I need to make up for as a mother. So even if she hates me, even if she loathes the ground I walk on, I’ll always protect her.” She pauses. “Not that I expect you to understand.”

“I do.”

Hate and love is relative. Grey despising me is a small price to pay for keeping her safe. It’s one of the things Marian and I have in common.

“No, I don’t think you do,” Marian says resignedly.

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