Page 117 of Twisted Legacy

“And maybe you’re full of shit. What am I saying? There is nomaybeabout it. So I’mma ask you again, try answering truthfully this time.”

“Or what?”

The thing with these guys is they think they’re untouchable. That everyone is afraid of them or afraid of losing their jobs. I’m off the clock, we’re in the gym and, as I have to keep reminding people, I’m not technically a teacher. I’m here on contract. I don’t care if the school terminates it.

Instead of answering with my mouth, I drop Thea’s bag. It falls with a heavy thunk. The split second Pax allows his eyes to track the movement is the same second my fist snaps out, connecting with his jaw.

His head snaps to the side, the other two step towards me. “Are we all having this conversation? Or is just one of you the spokesperson for the group?”

“Oh, we’re all having this conversation.” Pax cracks his neck and throws his guard up.

“Good. I’ve been wanting to hash this out since the night I found Thea in a burning coffin.”

Pax goes to lunge for me, but Holden juts his arm out, holding him back. “Wait. We didn’t come here looking for a fight. We are here about Thea, and going to blows won’t get any of us the answers we’re looking for.”

“You sure? Because I think smashing your faces in until one of you spills the truth is the perfect way to get to the bottom of things.”

Pax bites out, “None of us had anything to do with your little girlfriend getting buried in a coffin. We didn’t even see her that night.”

“Then explain the rumor I heard about Holden chasing her through the woods.”

Pax’s face gives nothing away when he says, “It’s a rumor. Nothing else to say.” His head tilts to the right. “Oops, I lied. I do have something else to say. If you ever put your hands on me again, I’ll end you.”

I scoff at his threat, and the lie he just told, since I got my information directly from Thea. They’re so used to being the scariest people in the room that they’re unwilling to consider that there is always a bigger predator out there.

“None of those words explain why you’re here and since none of you are dressed for a workout, get out.”

Finn reaches for Thea’s bag, but I snatch it off the floor, tossing it over my shoulder. “Nah ah, ah. This doesn’t belong to you.”

He says, “We’re taking it back to Thea.”

There’s no way she sent them to retrieve her stuff. Just like there’s no way she left it here on purpose. “If LaReaux wants this bag, she can come get it herself.”

I can feel Holden’s gaze, drilling holes into the side of my face. “Something to add, Mr. Sullivan?”

“I need the log for who swiped in and out of the gym between six this morning and two this afternoon.”

“Why?”

“Because one of those people locked Thea in the Sauna.”

He’s the only one of the three that has any fucking sense. They should let him do the talking more often. “That explains why her bag was in the lost and found, but none of you answered my original question. Where is she now?”

“At the dorms. Resting.”

I chuckle. Just as I think to myself that I gave him too much credit, he says, “No, I don’t believe she’s resting either. She’s probably plotting a very painful retaliation for whoever did it.”

“So lemme guess. The Trium is gonna help her get those answers by covering up and helping the guilty party get away with it?”

Finn says, “We’re not trying to cover for whoever did it. We honestly want to know who keeps messing with our girl.”

My body shakes with the effort it’s taking to not smash my fist into his mouth when he calls her his girl. Thea doesn’t belong to him. She doesn’t belong to anyone. But if she did, if she’s anyone’s anything. She’s mine. These fuckers don’t deserve her. They don’t deserve the taste of her they were given.

Pointing to Pax and Finn, I say, “I warned the two of you about what would happen if she got hurt again.”

Pax is still talking like they’re in control of this conversation. “We don’t take threats or orders from you, or any other teacher on this campus.” He rubs his jaw. “And since you’ve clearly crossed several lines with your behavior concerning students, maybe it’s time to end your employment here.”

I pull out my phone and hold it out to him. “Go on, make your call. You can even use my phone to do it. I stand by everything I’ve ever done at this school with any student and will do it all over again.”

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