Page 179 of Ruthless Legacy

“Do you have the authority to make this offer?”

“I don’t need authority, because you’re volunteering to join up.”

I tilt my head to the side. “Am I though?”

“You sure are.”

“Because you threatened to tell people I come from Nags Creek? Why would I care about that?”

“Oh, that’s not why. It’s because I’ll tell them what you learned to do in Nags Creek. Or what you’ve done here.”

Oh goody. My reputation precedes me. Or one of them does. I wonder which one he’s talking about. “Which is?”

“I heard you stabbed that kid a few weeks back.” He smiles like he’s got me beat.

“If you’re as well versed in my past as you say you are, then you know people like to incriminate me in shit all the time.”

“I know all about you,Tink.You can deny it, but you see, I’m the one who found him, and he had a lot to say.”

He pulls out his phone and plays a video recording of Michael lying on the ground. “Do you know who stabbed you?”

He’s half conscious, but you can hear him say, “Thea. Theona LaReaux.”

“So what’s it gonna be? Fighting, fucking, or are all your little secrets coming to light?”

Finn steps into the room from a connecting door. “That’s a very good question.”

The Skullzs do a double take as he leans against the wall. “Ya’ll don’t mind if I get in on this, right?” He points to the phone. “Play that again.”

“Don’t.” I warn.

“Do!” Finn insists. “I want to make sure I have all the details right before we get to the good part.” He waves the guys at the door closer. “Come closer. You don’t want to miss this.” He turns back to the lead Skullz. “And we should probably figure out who’s going first.”

“I’m first. This is my plan. Then my buddies. You get whatever’s left of her after we’ve had our fun.” To his friends he says, “Close the door. We don’t want any other uninvited guests.”

Finn asks, “Is this the only copy? You know, because we don’t want anyone else coming around and using our leverage against us.”

He gives his friendliest smile. “Trust me, nobody in this school can be trusted. If there’s any chance of someone else finding this, they’ll hold it over her head to get her to turn on us.” He shakes his head and chuckles. “Thea’s one of the most hated people on campus. Almost everyone wants to take her down.”

Finn’s face brightens like he’s just had a great idea. I glare at him when he says, “We should take the fighting part off the table. The fucking gives us even more leverage, and we can record that, too.”

The Skullz member says, “This is the only copy. I’m not stupid enough to risk my plan going to shit.”

Finn points to the phone. “I could tell you were a smart man.”

The recording starts again. I close my eyes, listening to Michael struggle to speak. I’m back in that alley. Back to the conversation we had. Back to realizing he was there on Mayhem Night.

I can say I don’t remember stabbing him because I was hopped up on drugs. I could apologize for my actions, but I’mnotsorry. I open my eyes, letting Finn see exactly how I feel. If Michael was standing here in front of me, I’d do it again.

Finn’s eyes take on a hard glint. He shuffles closer to the lead Skullz, patting him on the back. “It’s party time.” He holds out his hand for the phone. “You’re first, right?”

The Skullz nods, gives Finn his phone, and his hands go to his pants. He takes two steps towards me, his eyes widen, then he’s pitching towards the ground.

The other two stare at him lying on the floor, too stunned to move. Finn shifts his shoulder, and the second guy’s torso is carved up in three quick strokes. The third guy finally moves, running for the door. He’s gifted with a knife to the back, and falls to his knees.

Finn tosses the phone in the air, and hurls his knife at it, pinning it to the wall next to the left side of my head. He walks up to me and says, “Somebody’s been a very bad girl.” Before yanking the knife out of the phone, letting it fall to the floor and crushing it under his heel.

He stoops down, picks up the broken pieces and slips them into his pocket, then walks towards the door like a mini massacre didn’t just happen.

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