Page 9 of Twisted Legacy

I want to say,you can help by finding Malcolm Cox, Jr. and making him confess to dragging us into this shit. But I can’t throw Malcolm under the bus without implicating ourselves, and casting The Trium as disloyal. To Malcolm, for admitting he had us do a side job without permission, or to The League, for not holding our brother’s secrets.

“You already have. I had questions about Thea, and you’ve cleared them up as much as you can. Where does the family fall in the council hierarchy?”

“There was a bit of an upheaval following Hailee’s departure. The family hasn’t been active in seventeen years. In fact, the head of the family line doesn’t even live in town anymore. That explains why Moira and Scott were able to bring Thea here without raising any red flags sooner.”

“And all this, with the council’s announcement, was because of complaints?”

“That’s right. I don’t know what’s going on at school, but I haven’t wanted to interfere. The Trium is the ruling authority there. But, I’ll be honest, Finn, all the grumblings… pretty soon the high council is gonna notice. If a Trium has to be micromanaged, that doesn’t say much for any of your futures here.”

“We have it handled, dad.”

“Do you? A student’s in the hospital in serious condition.”

I look away. I was hoping I’d get out of here without having to talk about how much we don’t know about what happened.

“Finn?”

I amend my statement. “I’m gonna handle it.”

“The Dean is saying it’s a sorority prank that got out of hand. It’s lucky that a faculty member was out in the graveyard. A little longer and the girl might’ve run out of air.”

My blood freezes in my veins. Now I have no problem meeting his inquisitive gaze. “Did you say they found her in the graveyard?”

“That’s right. In a coffin, in a freshly dug grave. She must’ve drank too much and passed out, so she didn’t dig out like the other pledges did.”

I stand. My mind’s still a jumble of information and questions regarding Thea’s parentage, but one thing is clear. This was no sorority prank that she volunteered to be a part of, because Thea wasn’t pledging a sorority.

Dad doesn’t need to know that. He also doesn’t need to know that I’m going to get to the bottom of what happened and when I find those responsible, they won’t be climbing out of their graves unassisted, either.

Chapter7

Deacon

I’m staring out the window that overlooks the loading dock of the hospital, but my mind is on the woman hooked up to machines, in the bed behind me. Thea’s been in and out of consciousness for three days. Nobody knows what happened or how many people were involved. Zeus has taken sole responsibility and says it’s a prank that went wrong. I know a beating when I see it, and minus his dick being damn near bit off, he didn’t have nearly enough bruises on him for it to have been a fair fight. The injuries Thea sustained, tells me she was jumped, and as soon as I find out who was involved, I’m gonna make them pay.

Her aunt and uncle are pacing the halls, trying to get answers from the school administration. I’m sure a cover up is already under way. Layla-Jean hasn’t left her side since she showed up at the infirmary. She’s sitting in the chair next to Thea’s bed with bloodshot eyes. She’s been downing coffee and energy drinks, like she’s afraid to fall asleep.

“Breland, you need to head back to campus. I’m sure you have classes tomorrow. You should get some sleep.”

She whips her head up and glares at me. “Thea isn’t going to classes, so neither am I.”

“Thea’s in a hospital bed recovering.”

“Exactly, and I’m gonna stay here until she can walk out of this place. She’s my best friend, and I wasn’t there to protect her. I’m here now.” She narrows her eyes at me. “You’re the one with assholes to train on how to beat up women. You’re the one who should leave.”

Her shoulders slump after that show of strength. I remember Breland from when I’ve subbed for a class or two at the high school. I don’t remember that she ever had a backbone. This has to be Thea’s influence.

“It’s obvious you care a lot about her. But you’ve been here the whole time, sitting in that chair. How do you think she’ll feel if she wakes up and sees you sleep deprived and starved?”

“When she wakes up.”

“Huh?”

“You saidif.Ifis not an option. Theawillwake up.” She stares at her friend like she’s willing her to do that.

“Yes, she will. LaReaux’s too damn stubborn not to.”

Thea’s aunt comes into the room. She startles when she notices me. “Coach, Wolfe. I didn’t know you came back.”

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