Chapter 46

Chapter Forty-Six

GREY

Zane calls while I'm knee-deep in research on Japanese criminal organizations. I'm so locked in that I don't hear the phone vibrating the first couple times. It's not until I notice an incessant buzzing sound that I realize I've missed several calls.

"Grace Jamieson Cross?—"

I cut off Zane's scolding. "I didn't hear my phone."

"Is—"

"Everything is fine."

"And—"

"No, I didn't open the door."

"Tell me you're okay." Zane sounds desperate. "I want to hear you say it."

"I'm okay."

"Are the chairs still under your door?"

I look up. "Yup."

"What about your guard?"

I get up and peer outside the peephole. "Still there."

"Good," Zane says.

"And also," I twirl my pen around the way I've seen Zane do to his drumsticks, "who said I was taking your last name?"

"If you don't like Grace Jamieson Cross, Grace Cross has a nice ring to it."

Groans break out in the background.

I hear Dutch growl, "That sounds awful."

Cadence's voice sounds next. "It's because Grace is a one-syllable name and Cross is a one-syllable name, so together it's kind of…"

"Gross," Finn says.

"Screw all of you," Zane yells. "This is a conversation between me and my wife ."

"Ugh."

"Come on!"

"Here we go again."

Their outbursts of disgust make me smile.

"She has a name, you know," Dutch reminds his brother.

"I know her name. It's ‘My Wife'."

There's a sound of a scuffle and then Cadence's voice sounds on the line, "Grey, we're bringing Zane back to the hotel now. We'll be there in about thirty minutes."

"Got it."

She lowers her voice. "The boys are joking around for my sake, but I think the conversation with their father hit them hard. Dutch always gets really moody after a round with his dad. You might want to keep an eye on Zane."

"Hey, gimme my phone back!" Zane protests.

There's more grunts and sounds of a friendly fight.

"Bye, Grey!" Cadence chirps.

"Babe, I'll be home soon!" Zane yells from what sounds like a far distance.

And then the line goes dead.

I chuckle and reach for my cup—which is now filled with an awful can of coffee from the mini-fridge. On my sketch pad, I have a ton of notes on the Japanese yakuza and their affiliates.

A cool gust of wind blows through my window and I look over my shoulder, noticing the curtains rattling. Huh. Since when did I open that?

Shrugging it off, I return my attention to the laptop.

A soft pfft sound jars me from my reverie.

My head whips up and I look around again.

The night is dark outside my window. From this vantage point, I can see the tops of several other tall buildings. Something glints in the far distance, but it's gone in a blink. I'm pretty sure it's just a billboard or something.

Swinging my chair back around, I delve deep into a world I never knew before. One filled with gangsters, mob bosses and death.

And somewhere in that criminal underbelly, is the one who ordered my best friend's murder.