Page 128 of Twisted Legacy

“You’re not Theona Laurent?”

“Nope.”

The hostess waves me over and I slide off my seat to meet her across the room. The man grabs my arm, sneering down at me. “Lying to a high council member is a punishable offense.”

Ah. The sour look on his face as if I’m covered in shit all makes sense now. He’s one of them. But I’m not and I don’t care who he is, he’s not gonna get me to answer to a name that isn’t mine.

“Look here, mister. I’m not Laurent’s anything. And my name isn’t Theona Laurent. Your intel is shoddy as shit. If you want an answer, how about finding out who I really am instead of who you want me to be? Then you’ll see I’m the life of the party, able to hold an intelligent conversation.” I glance down at his hand. “Now would be a good idea to let go.”

“I heard you were a disrespectful little bitch.”

“Oh?” I smile at him. “Yeah, that sounds a lot more like me. But you still need to let go.”

A throat clears behind me. “I think the young lady has expressed her displeasure at being touched by you.”

I turn my head left and see future Pax sitting two tables over. He also has that ‘I’m better than you’ vibe going on, but grandpa Pax has a little more oomph with his. I wouldn’t want to get stuck with him on a life raft. He definitely gives off -he’ll kill me to survive- vibes. But he’s at least pretending that he’s not looking at me like I’m a science experiment gone wrong.

The other man slides back up to the bar several seats away from where he was before and I head towards the table that’s waiting for me. As I pass old man Pax, he says, “You’ll have to forgive my colleague’s behavior.”

With a vehement shake of my head, I say, “No, I don’t. He was wrong to put his hands on me and wrong to call me a bitch when I was simply establishing boundaries. I’m not going to make excuses or allowances for it.”

“Indeed. You are correct. Those actions were uncalled for and I assure you they’ll be addressed in our next meeting.”

“No offense, Papa Pax, but your assurances don’t leave me feeling anything but skeptical.”

His brows raise at me calling him Papa Pax, but instead of calling me on it, he says, “And why is that?”

“I don’t know you, so I don’t trust you.”

“But I take it you know my grandson. Do you trust him?”

“I trust him to be an asshole. He’s consistent with that.”

“And what of the other two members of The Trium?”

“They show their asses right along with him, and I trust them to be in lockstep with whatever bullshit they’re getting into.”

He nods, looking pleased about that. “May I ask why you told Randall Collins your name isn’t Theona Laurent? And that you’re not Joshua Laurent’s granddaughter?”

I’m looking down at him, but there’s no power struggle. He’s confident he’s in charge. “You may.”

“Will you answer?”

“Yes.”

He folds his napkin and sets it on the table. “Why did you tell him your name isn’t Theona Laurent?”

“Because it’s not. My name is TheonaLaReaux. It’s the name I’ve had my entire life. And I don’t even use Theona, so I don’t answer to it.”

“And the second question. Why did you say you’re not Joshua Laurent’s granddaughter?”

“Because that would presume a relationship we don’t have. I just met the man a few weeks ago. We’ve spent a grand total of six hours in each other’s company, and never once has he tried to get to knowme,and that includes my name. He’s operating with this image he has in his head, and the hell with the reality of it all.”

“Yes, knowing one’s name is important. What name do you prefer?”

“Thea.”

“I see. Well, Thea. May I call you that?”

---