Page 21 of The Ruthless Note

“Forget Christa. I’ll give her friend a shot,” Zane says, still looking over his shoulder. “Damn. She looks down for anything.”

Sol laughs. “Her friend doesn’t want you.”

“She doesn’tknowshe wants me,” Zane corrects.

Finn looks thoughtful. “I guess we know who Christa 2.0 will be.”

“What do you mean?”

“According to Jinx—”

Zane groans. “Don’t tell me you subscribed to her rip-off app.”

“Of course I did,” Finn says defensively.

I hold back my chuckle. Finn will never admit it, but he’s a huge fan of Jinx. If she ever outs her identity, he’d be lining up for the meet-and-greet.

“What did Jinx say about her?” Sol asks, genuinely interested. Of the four of us, he’s the one who’s gotten the least hits from the anonymous account.

“Christa left a power void. That chick is the vice-captain and now that Christa’s out of her way, she wants it all. Christa’s friends. Christa’s position on the team.” Finn glances at me. “Christa’s—”

“If you say boyfriend, I’m going to punch you in the throat.”

Zane laughs.

I tune them out. I’m still looking for Brahms, but she’s nowhere in sight. Damn. Where is she? Did I scare her off yesterday?

She was willing to put Christa on blast and call on my father to save her skin, but one little threat from me was enough to cut her at the knees? I’m slightly disappointed. I thought this would be an interesting fight.

We get to the mouth of the hallway.

Something makes my head turn and that’s when I see her.

Brahms.

She’s not wearing her regular uniform today. There’s a bow around the neck of her blouse and her skirt is the normal length, stopping at mid-thigh rather than barely covering her butt cheeks. Her shoes are different too. She’s wearing a pair of scrappy white heels that make her legs look ten times longer.

My body buzzes on sight. I remember wrapping those legs around my waist and sucking on those plump lips. It sends adrenaline spiking straight to my heart.

Brahms glides down the hallway, her head held high. She’s hot as hell and she walks like she knows it.

“You guys are ridiculous,” Finn mumbles. “Both of you.”

I drag my gaze off Brahms and notice why Finn is grumbling. I’m not the only one who’s stopped in his tracks. Zane’s eyes are locked on Miss Jamieson. She’s standing on the opposite end of the hallway, wearing a professional jacket and a short, sexy pencil skirt.

Since we’re standing at the mouth of the corridor, neither Brahms nor Miss Jamieson have noticed us yet. They mingle in the crowd, walking closer and closer.

My body sways toward Brahms, but I don’t move yet. It seems like my intentions are obvious though. When the kids look up and see me, they quickly flatten themselves against the lockers, making a path straight to her.

The chaos alerts Brahms and she glances up.

Her gaze slams into mine. Fear. Guilt. Anger. The emotions flit over her face like bullets firing from a gun.

Tension spreads across my brow. “I’ll be…”

“I’m gonna…”

My words overlap with Zane’s.