Chapter 30
Chapter Thirty
J
Kelly is being absolutely ridiculous.
I scoff at the message that just popped up on my phone.
I don’t care how many times you threaten me with your Cheeto-dusted fingers, you bum. Get off your mom’s couch and go be a productive citizen instead of harassing me and my family!
It’s from Shawn’s number, but there’s no way Shawn wrote that. He’s too much of a coward to respond to any of the texts I sent as Jinx.
Oh, Kelly.
I imagine my only friend, bent over her husband’s phone as he sleeps soundly next to her. She’s on a rampage to save her farce of a marriage.
Why? I just don’t get it.
“How do I deal with this?” I turn my phone around and around in my palm.
Kelly needs a divorce. She also needs to file a lawsuit and report Shawn to the police, but I can’t force her to do any of that. And I also can’t do it for her.
It’s so frustrating! I wish I could log into her brain and re-program her mind. I’d download a zip file of “self-respect” and add a software called a “backbone.”
My computer beeps with an incoming notification. I stop playing with my phone and check the screen.
There’s a message box open in the terminal.
Excitement sparks in my veins, chasing away the belligerence I feel on Kelly’s behalf.
Yes!
I found a leak in the encryption.
Digging deeper, I realize it’s more than just a leak.
“Holy crap. It’s a message.”
I drag my chair closer to the monitor and tap to decrypt the message. Unfortunately, I unscramble a bunch of words that mean absolutely nothing to me.
“Piano. Rooftop. Hospital. Ring.” I flop back in my seat, and my computer chair creaks loudly. “What does that mean? Is it a location?”
I search the web for restaurants, hotels, beaches, or cities around the world with names that include “piano,” “rooftop,” “hospital,” and “ring.” The program finds almost a thousand hits, but none with all four names.
Agitated, I yank off my finger compression sleeves and cram them into a drawer.
The one thing I absolutely hate is losing, and it feels like this encryption is kicking my butt every day.
Those kidnappers intentionally left a bread crumb in the middle of the road for me to find, and I can’t even solve that.
Now they’re just taunting me.
I slouch in the chair until the tips of my toes touch the ground and turn around in a circle. I don’t think I’m going in the right direction with the restaurants.
Whoever took Cadence and Grey learned from the last attack I launched on their system. They’re keeping the virtual door sealed like a tomb. No virus, no program, no algorithm, and no AI can break through.
Which means I can’t get in.
But these four words got out.
This can’t be an accident.
Grabbing a notebook and a pen, I write each word down and unscramble it, fighting to make a new word out of the letters. At the two hundredth word, I give up and hand the task over to Henry who finds about the same number of words as I did.
After perusing both lists, I’m on the verge of tearing my hair out.
“Piano. Rooftop. Hospital. Ring. What is it?”
Maybe it’s something related to The Kings?
I call Finn, but he doesn’t answer, so I leave him a message letting him know that I got a lead, and I need his help to decipher it.
The clock in the corner of my monitor reads 11:15pm.
My eyelids are getting heavy, and my head pounds, but I reach for the secret stack of energy drinks that Dr. Kenji would kill me if he knew about.
Popping the tab, I take a big chug while thinking out loud. “Is it cryptographic math? If I translate each letter to the number it represents in Hebrew or Latin…”
Thump.
My head launches up at the noise.
Slam. Thud.
It sounds like doors are crashing open and banging against the walls. Footsteps thunder in the hallway.
I crane my neck to check outside. There’s a thin, glass pane in the center of my door, and it reveals a crowd of people pressing forward.
What’s with the commotion?
Is there a fire?
I jolt to my feet. My eyes cut straight to the drawer where I keep my heart medication. I’d leave everything in this place to burn, but I absolutely cannot leave those pills.
Fast-walking to the drawer, I reach for my grandmother’s Book of Promises while I glance up at the door to check if the fire is close by.
“I love you!” a girl outside screams and then starts weeping loudly.
“The heck?” I bump the drawer closed with my hip and amble to the door.
Now that I’m looking closely, I realize I may have gotten the wrong first impression.
The crowd isn’t fearfully running from a disaster.
The people outside are all wearing smiles, except for a few—who are crying in adoration.
Most have their phones out, and others are waving pens and notepads in the air.
Curious, I press my hand against the door to shove it aside when the door flies open on its own. I stumble back as two tall, imposing figures strut into my hospital room.
“All right. All right now.” Zane Cross flashes the crowd a charming smile that makes at least seven—yes, I counted—girls faint straight to the ground.
“Close the door,” Dutch hisses.
“I’m trying.” Zane grips the handle, his biceps straining. “They’re strong.”
At that moment, the hospital security guards trudge through the crowd. They hold their arms out and use their bodies as a barricade to keep the fans from entering the room.
“Be quiet!” a doctor scolds, waving to get the crowd’s attention. “This is a hospital. People are trying to recuperate. Enough!”
Dutch joins Zane as he grips the handle, and both of them drive the door shut.
“Is there anything we can use to barricade this?” Dutch asks.
I swallow hard. “Th-there’s a lock.” I had it installed when I realized that my health condition meant I was never going to be able to build a life outside of the hospital.
“Convenient,” Zane says.
Dutch flips the lock while Zane pulls the curtains. Outside, the commotion gets fainter and fainter as the security guards drive the crowd away.
I look up, and my watch beeps as adrenaline rushes through me.
Am I dreaming right now?
Although I prefer Finn’s smoldering, near-violent beauty, Dutch and Zane are both extremely stunning. Zane has thick raven hair, a chiseled jawline, and the most intense blue eyes I’ve ever seen. It’s like he stole a piece of the sky when he was born.
He flashes an easy smile at me, making my knees weak.
Dutch has the same face as Zane, except his eyes are a unique amber hue, and he doesn’t smile as much.
The lead singer runs his fingers through his blond hair. “We meet again.”
“At least I’m conscious this time.”
Silence consumes the room.
I’d accept a pity laugh at this point, but both Dutch and Zane watch me as if I’m an alien beamed in from the mothership. I guess they didn’t like the joke?
“Sorry to barge in.” Zane wanders into the room, checking every inch with his eyes. “But I wanted to introduce myself.”
Dutch grunts. “Tell her the truth.”
“Why? Shouldn’t she know everything already?”
My heartbeat thumps.
My watch beeps a warning.
And one phrase whispers through my brain… they know.