Page 160 of Ruthless Legacy

Reggie sneers at me. “You’re fucking all of them? You’re a bigger slut than we thought.”

That was the wrong thing to say. Holden steps forward, but to my utter shock, it’s Pax who slams his fist into Reggie’s face.

The punch was beautiful. Well placed. Precise. Once was more than enough to be effective, but he keeps going. One hand holds Reggie’s shirt, the other tenderizes his too perfect face. I hear bones crunch. It’ll need some repairs. A new nose will give him character.

“Is someone gonna stop him?” I ask. Not because I care about Reggie. I was planning to do a little dental work on him myself. I ask, because I’ve never seen Pax like this before. Neither of them moves, so I do. Damn, I’m about to get blood on this new hoodie.

I jump on Pax’s back, prepared for him to try to fling me off, and he does, until I put his neck in a crossbar. The hold is familiar. It’s the move I do in the gym, so under the rage I think he recognizes it’s me.

Still bending over, he reaches around to grip me by the back of my pants and flips my legs over his shoulders until I’m dangling from his neck, facing him.

His eyes bore into mine. “You trying to save him, Nem?”

“Nope, just wanna make sure you’re not intentionally trying to get out of our workout session tomorrow. I don’t wanna hear I won because you got a boo-boo on your knuckles.”

He hoists me higher, forcing me to wrap my legs around him. My weight supported by his hands under my ass. He nudges Reggie out of the way with a kick.

“If I catch you in this dorm or near her again, my face will be the last one you’ll ever see.” He carries me the rest of the way upstairs. When we get to his room, he drops onto the couch with me still in his lap.

This is weird. Finn and Holden going after a guy makes perfect sense. But Pax? I need to understand what just happened. “Did Reggie owe you money?”

“No.”

“Then why the beat down like an enforcer for a loan shark collecting a debt?”

“He disrespected you, Thea.”

“So do you. All. The. Time. Has a new law been passed? Does that mean I can expect someone to come kick your ass the next time you do it?” I bounce up and down. “Do I get to pick the person who does it?”

Holden and Finn come into the room. Finn pulls me out of Pax’s lap and into his. “You okay, Pet? Reggie won’t bother you anymore. We took care of it.”

Now that I’m in a well lit place, the nerves dissipate and my anger sets in. “I didn’t need you to take care of it. How many times do I have to tell you I can fight my own battles?”

“You can tell us as many times as you want. That doesn’t mean we’ll listen.”

I punch him in the chest. “I need you to listen. I have to handle things on my own, especially now.”

Holden asks, “What do you mean, ‘especially now?’”

“I mean, I’m a prospect. I have to earn my points just like everyone else. I can’t have my neighbors interfering.”

I narrow my eyes at them. “Oh, you guys are good. I’m such an idiot.” I climb off Finn’s lap. “This had nothing to do with me, and everything to do with those points up for grabs.”

I shake my head, disappointed in them. “Well, guess what?” I huff as I stomp towards the door. “I’m not getting naked for you either.”

I slam the door behind me and escape to my room to come up with a new plan to survive the next few days.

Chapter64

Pax

I’m still pissed. As many hits as I got in, it still wasn’t enough. We all heard what Reggie said to Thea about Mayhem Night. She’s trying to move past it and the fucker used it to try to control her.

No matter how much time passes, I’ll never be able to prove just how sorry I am for the role I played in what happened to her. Beating Reggie’s ass was the least of what I could do.

Plus, she’s my companion. Mine to protect above all others. Nobody has any right to put their hands on her without my say so, and unless their name is Holden, Finn or Deacon, Idon’tsay so.

I change into my workout gear and head to the gym. I hear the music pumping through the room before I reach the end of the hallway. I think a part of me knew Thea would be down here too. She’s going through her combinations at the heavy bag. Probably imagining Reggie’s face. Or mine.

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