Page 33 of Ruthless Legacy

I don’t have concrete answers about whether or not I’m being followed, but I’ll look closer at what the Lady Lions are doing around campus.

* * *

Pax

Having my friends look at me like I’m the enemy sucks. How did we go from trusting each other to this?

I go through my workout, ignoring Thea while she retrieves her phone. When she walks back out, I turn to them and say, “I understand why you both doubt me. I hate it, but I understand. If Thea’s being followed- and I don’t think she is- but if she is, it’s not me, it’s not someone I put up to do it, and it’s not something I support.”

Finn shocks me by saying, “I believe you.”

“You do?”

“It’s like you said. The League is very interested in Thea right now. You’re not stupid enough to target her with so much attention on her.”

“No, I leave the stupid to the two of you.” I didn’t say anything when it happened, but since we’re throwing jabs… “What were you thinking, mauling her in the dining hall like that?”

I realize my mistake the moment the question leaves my mouth. Finn grins at me. “I was wondering when you were gonna bring it up. What were you thinking, standing in front of us?”

“I was thinking we don’t need to deal with anyone gossiping about you trading spit with Thea, anunaligned, while your fiancé cried hysterical tears as you forced her to watch.”

“Eloise is an actress. Those tears were fake. Not that I’d care if they were genuine, and I was happy to help Thea set Eloise off. Forcing her to watch me kiss Thea is nothing compared to the hell my girl went through that night. Wouldn’t you agree?”

He’s got me there, and I’ll be damned if I defend Eloise. I’m already in enough shit behind it. “Yes, of course I do. I just didn’t know that’s what you were doing. If you’re going to be doing shit to piss off Eloise to help Thea get revenge, just warn me first.”

“My kissing her willneverbe about helping her get revenge. The revenge is just a bonus.”

“And what about you, Holden? Why did you jump in?”

“I was protecting my reputation.”

I’m confused about his answer. “What about your reputation?”

“I was keeping up appearances, since everyone assumes I need you and Finn there so I can hook up with girls.”

Finn cracks up laughing, and I roll my eyes at Holden. “Fine, I walked right into that.”

We all settle back into our workouts, and I try to push thoughts of Thea out of my mind. We’ve hooked up with girls over the years, and none of us are shy. Hell, Finn’s basically an exhibitionist. But that was the first time Holden’s ever touched a girl with anyone other than me and Finn present.

He’s doing a lot of things with this girl that he hasn’t before, and that’s why I stood there blocking them from the rest of the dining hall. PDA of any sort from Holden is uncharted territory, and I wanted to protect him from prying eyes.

We finish our workout and ride to our floor in silence. I pause in front of my door, looking across the hall to Room D. Holden asks, “What are you staring at?”

I move over to her door to get a better look at what caught my attention. “Is that scotch tape on her door?”

Finn comes to stand next to me. “It’s a rudimentary security measure. If the tape’s broken, she’ll know someone was in her room.”

Holden looks over at the spot above the elevator where the camera is. “I’ll check the footage and mount another camera.”

Shaking my head, I walk back over to my door. “We don’t need another camera. Nobody’s breaking into her room other than you two, and neither of you usesthisdoor.”

Chapter17

Thea

Iowe LJ answers. I thought she’d forget all about the kissing and the conversation I’ve been trying to avoid having with her, but she hasn’t. Right now, she’s staring at me, waiting for me to spill my guts. Maybe we should’ve done a three-way call, because I’m going to have to tell Sasha, too.

“It’s really not a big deal. Finn and Holden stayed here over Christmas and I ate at their table a few times.”

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