Page 149 of Ruthless Legacy

“Why are you sitting on my car?”

“I’m guarding it. Waiting for you to come back.”

I retrieve my keys from where I keep it inside my phone case. “Guarding it from what? The shadows?” I shoo him away and climb behind the wheel. He opens the passenger door and slides in.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m going with you.”

“I’m going to campus.”

“Okay.”

I point to his car. “Your car is right there.”

“I’ll have Holden or Pax bring me to get it later. Right now I’m with you.”

“Finn, I’m really not in the mood right now. I’ve had a long day.”

“I know you have. I heard about what happened with Pax, and that’s why I can’t leave you alone.”

“Pax sent you to spy on me?”

“No. We were looking for you. When you didn’t show up at the dorm, we got worried that someone had already taken you out of the equation.”

My laugh is dry. Humorless. “Pax, is that upset about our matching that he’s trying to get rid of me already?” I squeeze his hand. “Thanks for coming to protect me. I’m sure it wasn’t easy going against your friend.”

“Pax isn’t trying to hurt you. He’s trying to protect you. The first 48 hours after a match are the most dangerous times for matched pairs, because the decision isn’t final until after that time period elapses. That’s why he told you to come straight back to the dorms.”

“So I have forty-eight hours to get another match? This is good news. What do I need to do?”

He shakes his head. “You can’t request a new match. The forty-eight hours is to see if you survive as his match. If someone eliminates you, his name goes back in the hat.”

“Eliminate? Like, kill me?”

“Incapacitate is a better term. Or get you involved in a scandal that would reflect poorly on Pax.”

I grin, “Well I’ve done that. Twice.”

“Fucking me and Holden doesn’t count.”

“Damn.”

“This is serious, Thea. You’re in danger for the next two days. It’s an unspoken challenge.”

“Pax never explained that, or bothered to ask if I had a ride to the dorms, or something else planned. He pulled off without looking back. Instead of protecting me.” I air quote. “He left me to fend for myself. I’m fine, by the way. My first swim sucked, but at least I didn’t hit my head on a rock when they tossed me over. And I was able to lighten the weight before it dragged me under.”

I start the car, cranking up the heat. I’m still cold from my swims.

Chapter60

Holden

We’ve been out here for hours. We’re all on different sides of the city looking for Thea. Finn found her car in the public school parking lot. It doesn’t tell us where she is, but it confirms she’s probably on foot.

He’s hanging out there in case she comes back. I walked the entire perimeter of the road leading to The Tomb and checked the beach below it. The only thing I found down there was a piece of rope tied to a weight. It’s missing an end cap.

I’m parked on the side of the road, just outside of the range of the jammers, so I can get a signal on my phone. It finally connects and I check the remote feed from my computers. I’m scanning through the footage quickly.

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