Page 180 of Ruthless Legacy

He’s humming and breaks into song. “I laid all them busters down, I let my knife explode, now I switching my mind back into party mode.”

I’m gaping at him, trying to wrap my head around the way he flipped between moods. “Come on Pet. You promised me a dance. “

I look down at the mess on the floor. I warned him not to play that recording again. He might have been lying about his phone having the only recording.

I’ll call Sasha and see what she can find out. I step over the body in front of me and follow Finn through the door he used to get into the room, closing it firmly behind me.

It’s been twenty minutes since Finn and I came out of the game room. I’m standing next to LJ near the sofa when the front door opens again. This time, it’s Saint that crosses the threshold. His eyes dart around the room, looking for someone- and when his gaze lands on me- I know he’s found his target.

Someone on the right side of the room calls his name. I turn in the direction of the voice. It’s the Skullz member that’s planted here as a student. He leads one of the other guys with Saint towards the room where Finn and I left the party crashers.

Saint makes his way over to me, shaking his head. “Why is it that whenever there’s a problem with my crew, you’re there?”

I counter with, “Why is your problematic crew wherever I am?”

He’s clearly not in the mood for my witty comebacks. “Your affiliation with the Vegas chapter isn’t an open-ended pass to get in my business, Tink.”

“That logic swings both ways, doesn’t it? We’re at a college party on campus. Why is your crew here?”

We both turn to stare at LJ. Her cheeks pinken when she realizes she just mouthed off to a gang leader. She looks embarrassed, and a little scared, but I couldn’t be prouder.

I nod, and cosign, “What she said.”

Holden and Finn are staring at me from across the room, but I shake my head, letting them know to stay away. I don’t know if Finn mentioned what happened yet. Either way, we don’t need this to get any messier, so I’m trying to deescalate the situation.

Saint looks around the room before answering. “They wanted to see how the other half parties. Kinda lame, if you ask me.”

Once again, the person mouthing off isn’t me. “It’s early. The fun hasn’t started yet, and since they came in acting like a bunch of idiots, they won’t be here when it does.”

Here, here, LJ. She’s on a roll.

Saint looks at my friend again, and says, “You should come with us. I’ll show you what a fun nightreallylooks like.”

She steps a little closer to me. “I’m good where I am.”

“You’d be better where I’m goin’, darlin’.” Looking back at me, he says, “You both would.”

LJ scoffs, “That’s presumptuous of you.”

“That’s an observation. The two of you…this ain’t your scene.”

With her arms folder across her chest, she replies, “I grew up here.”

Saint rakes his eyes over her body. “Doesn’t mean you belong here.” Turning to me, he says, “And you, Tink… I know this kegger and frat boy shit ain’t your vibe.”

“Why’s that? You saying I’m not classy enough?”

He looks around and watches a girl in a short sequined dress walk by. “Cause you and Lady J got too much class.”

Lady J? I shift around to take in the look on her face. She’s in shock. Either at the casually tossed out nickname, or because he said she’s too classy for this place. Shit, I’m shocked too.

Saint’s crew has collected all the bodies. Only one of them needs to be carried out. The other two are limping along, assisted by a Skullz member. I cringe inside when his second in command walks up and says, “Two of them need stitches, but their injuries aren’t life threatening.”

The fate of the third hangs unspoken in the air. He’ll need a lot more work.

Saint’s calm demeanor morphs into something darker. More dangerous. His voice edged with the promise of violence. “Who did it?”

“Did what?”

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