Chapter 41

Chapter Forty-One

ZANE

"Wipe that stupid grin off your face," Grey mumbles as she drives.

"Wife."

"Ugh."

"Wifey."

"Zane, those pain pills haven't kicked in yet and even if they have, they shouldn't be making you this loopy. Quit it or you're walking back to the hotel."

"You're the one who said it."

"And now I really regret it," she mumbles.

I laugh and turn in my seat, smiling at the sunset sky and the skyscrapers blurring outside my window. Grace Jamieson Cross is really freaking lucky that my wrist is in bad shape or I'd waste no time throwing her in the backseat again.

"Finn is calling," Grey announces.

The car is automatically linked to my phone via bluetooth and my brother's name is filling the dashboard.

"Hey, Finn," Grey says.

"We got it." Finn's voice is crisp and clear over the speakers. "We have the evidence."

I snap to attention.

Grey's eyes widen. Tires squeal on the road as she floors it.

"We'll be there in twenty minutes."

We make it in fifteen, and I'm pretty sure Dutch will be receiving a very nice note from the city with a parking ticket.

"Hurry." Grey motions to me, almost shoving me into the elevator when we get to the hotel.

The guests inside give us weird looks. I want to make a joke about my wife's eagerness to start our honeymoon, but I think better of it. This is a big moment for Grey and I don't want to spoil it for her.

We race down to the conference room. Grey is a little ahead of me. I try to keep up, but the jostling movement hurts my wrist and I end up lagging behind. She gets to the door first but doesn't immediately burst in. Instead, she waits for me to catch up before she puts her hand on the knob.

I stop her. "Wait, we're forgetting something."

"What?" she asks impatiently.

"This." I tip her chin up and kiss her lips. Pulling back quickly, I nod. "Okay. Now we can go."

Her eyes narrow, but a smile flirts with her lips as she pushes the door open.

Cadence and Dutch are already there.

Sol is too, although he seems massively disinterested. His booted feet are up on the table and his head is on his chest as he dozes.

"Finally." Cadence springs to her feet and reaches out to Grey.

I round the table to approach Dutch. "How'd you get here so fast?"

"We were at Rick's," Dutch says.

I nod, remembering that Cadence left Viola with her older brother to keep her away from the dangers here.

Grey beams at Finn and, if he wasn't my brother, I'd probably want to punch him for getting her to smile like that.

"Looks like the risk paid off, Finn."

Finn nods stiffly.

"What did they find on the flash drive?" Cadence asks eagerly.

The two girls sit together. I have no idea how they got so close, but anyone would think they were sisters. And, in a sense, they are family now.

I lean forward.

Dutch taps Sol on the shoulder.

He wakes up with a snort. "Huh, what? I'm listening."

Finn glances at each of us, and then he looks down and chews on the inside of his cheek. It's so un-Finn-like. He's never hesitated over anything.

Cadence groans. "Finn, don't drag it out."

He sighs and looks up with his usual, emotionless face. "The flash drive had a lot of dirt unrelated to Sloane's case. You can go through it later, Miss Jamieson, but my contact did find something. A video Slavno took that night."

Grey's eyes meet mine across the room.

I nod.

Her nostrils flare slightly and she turns her attention to the projector screen. The lights go dark.

As the video plays, I hear the crunch of boots and the hum of a car engine rolling to a stop. A door slams open and shut.

Slavno's heavy breaths are followed by his gruff voice saying, "She's in the back."

My eyes whip to Grey's. She's leaning forward, back ramrod straight. Marion's story about a younger Grey studying by moonlight wafts to mind. Grey is still burning with that determination. How many years has it been since her friend died? Since she decided to take it upon herself to investigate? After so many years, after all the danger she's faced, she still hasn't given up hope.

"Whoa. You can't just take her. Where's my cut?" Slavno barks.

Slowly, a man comes into the camera's frame. He's tall and lean and dressed in all black. Something about the way he moves scratches at my memory, but the video's too dark and fuzzy to make out details.

A bag thumps to Slavno's feet.

"Take the girl," a heavily accented voice growls.

My eyes shoot up.

I don't realize I'm standing until the lights are on and heavy silence falls.

"That's the video," Finn says quietly.

Behind him, the footage is frozen on the last frame. Slavno didn't record the man's face, but he did catch the inside of his collar. And the very same tattoo I spotted on the delivery driver is on the man in the video.

My eyes slam into Finn's and my brother looks warily back at me.

In the jarring stillness, a phone rings.

Cadence jumps.

Grey looks startled out of a bad dream.

Sol checks his phone. "Not me."

"It's mine." Dutch pulls out his phone. Anger grinding his jaw, he announces. "Dad."

I walk over to Grey as Dutch answers the call. She looked fine from a distance but, up close, she's barely holding on. Her teeth are gritted and her eyes are swollen with unshed tears.

"Hey." I use my uninjured hand to smooth her hair back. "Hey, it's okay."

"She was still alive. She was still alive when Slavno had her."

"It's okay." I pull her into me.

Cadence puts a hand of comfort on Grey's shoulder.

Dutch ends the phone call and speaks quietly to the room. "Dad says he needs to see his sons now."

"Seriously?" I rub my thumb over Grey's shoulder. "Why is he reminding us? We're aware of the appointment."

Dutch turns to Finn. "He's not reminding us about the appointment."

"Then what."

"He said he only wanted to see… his sons." My brother grinds his jaw.

"Dammit, what else did he say? Because that definitely can't be all," Sol barks, shaking his head.

Finn looks down.

The silence is so full and heavy, it's about to gorge on itself.

Dutch looks shaken. Cadence seems to understand something behind his expression because she walks over to him and slips an arm around his waist. The two stare at each other, exchanging a silent message that reminds me of just how freaking connected they are.

"His sons." Dutch lets out a shuddering breath and then curses before adding, "Only… his sons."

"Oh." Sol drops his boots from the table and looks at Finn.

I do too.

Dammit, dad.

I thought it was enough when dad threw Dutch in jail and sent Cadence to Europe.

Thought it was enough when he married Grey's mom, leaving my heart a mangled mess.

I didn't think he could touch Finn.

My rock-solid brother.

The one we all silently turn to and depend on. The one who grounds us all.

Because dammit, Finn Cross is my brother.

I don't care what he looks like on the outside, where he came from, who he was in that foreign land before he knew us. He's my freaking blood.

No one moves at all.

More from shock than anything.

But Finn is the first to become unfrozen.

He stiffly walks over to Grey and sets the flash drive in front of her. "Don't lose this. I didn't save the footage anywhere else."

"Finn…" Grey whispers. Her fingers curl around the flash drive, but her eyes never leave my brother's.

"Wait, Finn." I reach for him.

But Finn turns away from me and stalks out the door. The loud slam echoes in the room long after he's gone.