Page 143 of The Ruthless Note

I watch him walk into the building and my pulse quickens. I have a really bad feeling that keeps me staring at his back long after I’m supposed to drive off.

CHAPTERTHIRTY-FIVE

DUTCH

I’m playing on my guitar later that night when my bedroom door flies open and slams against the wall.

Finn charges in, dragging Zane behind him. My twin looks as eager to be here as I was to get a root canal.

“What are you doing in here?” I growl. My brothers generally leave me alone when I’m in my own space.

“It’s been days since dad’s dinner and we haven’t talked about it.”

I glance up in surprise.

“Besides I’ve had enough of his moping.” Finn releases his grip on Zane and peers at us through narrowed eyes. “Let’s deal with the biggest crap first and work our way down.”

Zane holds his head. “Can we cry our guts out and expose our feelings another time? There’s a winged monkey in my brain and I think he’s trying to bore a hole in my skull.”

Zane flops backward on my bed, his limbs dangling off the sides. His face looks especially pale. He’s wearing yesterday’s shirt and he reeks of booze.

“I’m with Zane,” I glance over my shoulder, “minus the monkey thing. I don’t want to do this now.”

Finn doesn’t move an inch. He stands in front of the door like the annoying bastard that he is. “We can't go down this easy.”

“Who said we were going down?” I growl.

Finn juts his chin at Zane. “This guy crawls into bed black out drunk and half-naked every morning.”

“Maybe I like showing off my body,” Zane slurs.

“And you,” Finn points at me, “keep running behind Brahms, playing these stupid games with her rather than being upfront with how you feel.”

I glance away.

Finn shakes his head. “There's only one of dad and three of us. While we’re spinning out, we all look like idiots. You both need to get out of your own damn heads so we can come back at him.”

Zane pouts at me. “Isn’t he, technically, the youngest of us? Why does it feel like he came out of the womb first?”

I grunt. “Maybe he did.”

With the time difference between China and America, it’s possible.

Finn walks over to the mini fridge in my bedroom. We each keep our own booze packed away because our housekeeper, Martina, is mom’s unofficial spy.

My brother takes out a bottle of water and throws it at Zane who catches it between his elbows.

Finn cuts his gaze into me. “You want any?”

I shake my head and wait until he pulls up a chair close to the bed before I speak. “Finn’s right. Dad can’t be allowed to wreak havoc without pushback. It’s why I went to Miller today.”

“Miller?” Zane looks intrigued.

“I got him on our side, but it doesn’t mean much at this point. The problem is that I don’t understand dad’s play. Nothing he’s doing makes sense.”

“How about we start with the obvious?” Zane says bitterly. “He got married again. Except this time, his quickie marriage turned Miss Jamison into my freaking step-sister.”

“You think dad knows?” Finn mumbles, staring out the window at the bay.