Page 73 of The Ruthless Note

Tension thickens in the room.

Zane lets out a nervous laugh. “You and Dutch have very different relationships with Cadence. But whatever, right? It’s bros over hos.”

No one laughs or responds.

Sol’s eyes remain trained on me.

I pick up my guitar and strum a chord. “Let’s get started.”

Zane and Finn exchange a look. My brothers remain where they are, not bothering to advance on their instruments.

Irritated, I snap around. “What’s the holdup?”

“Are you going to pretend the party never happened?” Sol asks pointedly.

“Exactly what happened at the party?” I tip my chin up so he can see how much I don’t care for this line of discussion.

“I offered to take Cadence home after Christa went ballistic. Then you threw her over your shoulder like she was the animal that you’d hunted for dinner.” Sol’s expression turns firm. “What's going on between you and Cadence?”

“Why does it matter to you?” I fire back.

My phone rings, cutting into the tense moment. Giving Sol a warning glare, I answer without checking.

“What?”

“Hi, is this Dutch?”

A voice that sounds unfamiliar and girly fills my ears.

Who the hell is this?

“You got the wrong number,” I growl.

I'm about to hang up when the voice says, “Wait. Wait. I'm Cadence’s sister Vi.”

That gives me pause. I remember Cadence’s little sister from the homecoming dance. She was cute—small, brown hair, big smile. A hell of a lot more cheerful than Cadence.

“You gave me your number that night at the dance and said we could collab on one of my makeup tutorial videos,” Vi says in a rush.

Someone in the background laughs and I realize that she has me on speaker.

I straighten my shoulders. “Yeah, I remember you. How’s it going, Vi?”

The moment my brothers hear my tone softening, their eyes widen and they give me curious looks.

“Do you think we actually believe that?” someone in the background snaps.

“Stop wasting our time.”

“She’s lying.”

“I’m not lying,” Vi defends. “Dutch Cross walked my sister home last Friday. My sister plays in his band sometimes.”

“How do we know that this is Dutch Cross?”

“He’s right here on the phone!” Vi shrieks.

“This must be a trick.”