Page 81 of Twisted Legacy

“We’ll come back to that later. I’m talking about how much of the cocktail she probably has in her system and how it got there. She’s still out of it, man.”

I scoff. “That’s an easy answer. She had too many blue shots.”

“She didn’t take any blue shots.”

Scanning the room for anything suspicious, I say, “Okay, neither did I. Obviously somebody screwed up by deciding to change the poisoned shot colors without telling people.”

“I’m telling you, man, she didn’t haveanyshots. She had one beer, a cocktail, and a glass of water.”

My head whips around. “What?”

“Somebody dosed her straight up, man. Not by giving her a jello shooter either.”

“You’re right.” Coach Wolfe says as he walks up to us. What the hell is he even doing at this party? It’s not unheard of that faculty patrol the campus during certain events, but a little frat party shouldn’t even be on their radar. Even then, they don’t come to the parties. Finn scans the room. “Where’s Thea?”

“Over by the door with LJ.”

I temporarily ignore the question I have about why he’s here, focusing on what Finn was suggesting. “You’re saying someone put something in her drink?”

Coach Wolfe shakes his head. “I’m saying someone injected her with enough of the cocktail to keep her out of it for hours.”

My blood simmers with that wild accusation. Is he here to start rumors and drama? “You don’t know that. She could have popped a pill.”

“Thea already has a prescription for enough pills that she could mix with booze to give her a high, and she knows better than to do that.” He taps his right shoulder. “I saw the needle mark top deltoid.”

Finn looks around, a murderous look on his face. I ask, “How the fuck would someone be able to prick her with a needle without her knowing?”

“In here, pressed together? A lots of ways. With a ring hiding the liquid concoction. A hand shake or friendly pat on the back, multiple times over and no one would know anything was happening.”

I consider that answer. A hypodermic needle would be noticeable to a random bystander unless multiple people were in on it. But Thea hasn’t been comfortable around crowds. That’s one thing I know about her since her accident. “A ring?”

“Sure. A ring modified with a secret compartment under the jewel.”

I work that answer over in my head. “Like some spy shit?”

Coach Wolfe looks at me like I’m an idiot. “Yes, like some spy shit. Why do you sound so surprised? You’ve gone to school here for three years. What the hell do you think they’re learning over at MISTIC?”

When neither of us answers, he says, “It’s not just military customs and courtesies or how to salute.”

We’ve all interacted with students from MISTIC from time to time. They’re on a separate side of campus, but some of the students are in our classes, and they show up to our parties. Thea could have been dosed before she came here, or it could have been somebody here. There’s no way of knowing what happened.

I continue working over what I do know. If Finn says she didn’t take a shot, I believe him. He watches that girl closely enough to know if there’s lettuce stuck in her teeth. I took a green shot which is apple flavored. I have a memory of Finn mentioning Thea likes apple vodka. I thought it was a weird bit of trivia. But now… if I operate on the assumption that she didn’t do this to herself, that means someone intentionally mixed up the shots to cover their tracks.

“We’re all thinking the same thing, right?” Finn asks.

I scrub my hand through my hair. We probably are, but it’s hard to wrap my mind around. She’s a nobody. “You’re thinking someone targeted her. But why?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” Wolfe gives me his patented glare. “Someone’s trying to take out the newest legacy.”

The look on his face says what remains unsaid. “You think it’s me? I took half an apple shot and got dosed too. But thanks for your concern,Coach.”

“Half a shot?” He snarls. “That little interlude back there only took the edge off of what she’s feeling, but you nutted, and you look all rejuvenated. So spare me the righteous indignation about how you’re a victim, too. This is supposed to be your school. You’re the almightyTrium.Find out who keeps coming after her and fix it.”

I hear the threat in his voice. I pull myself up to my full height and step closer, growling, “Or what?”

“Or I will.”

He stalks over to Thea and walks her and LJ out the door. I hate his attitude. I hate that he thinks he has any right to tell us what to do. But if his theory is correct, we have a big problem. I can’t stand Thea. I don’t understand what she’s doing here, or why or who, even the fuck she really is. But The League says she’s one of us, and we protect our own, which means this attack on her, if it was an attack, is an attack on us.

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