Page 28 of Ruthless Legacy

“The legacy families in this town would disagree. You said no to a league appointment. Loudly. In a restaurant.”

“I wasn’t loud. It’s not my fault if people were eavesdropping, or if Joshua went back and whined about me like a baby.”

I pull her to the side to let the group of guys heading our way pass on our right. “There are only two people I will consider jumping in front of a bullet for and neither one of you bitches is in the bloody bird club.”

When we reach the thrift shop. I wave to the cashier, and say, “And if the Viagra club would’ve taken one second to think about it, they’d have known asking me to even think about protecting the very people on my death list was just giving me the tools to commit homicide and get away with it. So saying no basically ensured the survival of their little clan.” I pause and smirk at her. “You know what? You’re right, I am a bit of a big deal. I’m a hero. A life saver. They should give me a medal.”

“Shh…” She looks around the shop. “They’ve got ears everywhere. You can’t say stuff like that here.”

I shoot her a look.

“Okay, alright. I know you don’t care, but I sort of have to. You’ve met my mother. You know how she is. Being seen in a good light is important to her. You know?”

Her mom’s goal in life seems to be rubbing shoulders with the legacy wives and daughters, hoping to get recruited into the fold. She’s been giving LJ shit about me ever since I said no about this guardian line bullshit. It seems my decision has made me an undesirable associate and a bad influence. Jokes on her. I was a bad influence on LJbeforeall this shit fell at my feet. But I empathize with LJ wanting to be a good daughter to her mother. I don’t have that in my life, but I don’t want to fuck it up in hers, so I switch to a topic she might enjoy. She, not me, because this is torture in a whole new form.

“Have you thought about the Lady Lion’s invitation?”

She purses her lips. “I haven’t. Not really. When they first presented them, I was…”

“Put off?”

“Exactly. After what happened with the Nu’s, I guess the whole thing has me sour on sororities. But then we went to their party, and they seemed nice. To each other, you know? Like they were all friends.”

I nod, because I know what she means. They definitely had a different vibe, and I got a kick out of watching the guys from The Prides catering to the girls.

“It’s a big decision, and after what you’ve been through, it makes sense that you’re hesitant. I know the kind of pressure you’re under from your mom, but you don’t have to do any of that this year. Fall semester will be a whole new opportunity to pledge, if you’re ready.”

“They might rescind their offer, especially since you’re not going to do it.”

“That shouldn’t matter.”

“Come on Thea, they only invited me because of you.”

“No, LJ, they invited youbecause of you. They invitedmeto get back at Eloise and the Nu’s, and now that this legacy stuff is done, I won’t get another invite. You will. Trust me.”

She runs her hands across the clothes on the rack in front of us. “Do you really think we’ll find something in here for the dance?”

I can’t help but smile. This is one dance I’m looking forward to. The football team is hosting a Valentine’s Day dance. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t be interested, but the theme is My Bloody Valentine and I am all the way here for it.

“I think we stand a better chance at finding something that nobody else will be wearing and we’ll save a ton of money.”

She continues rifling through her rack. “I don’t know, Thea. All I see are jeans and old lady clothes.”

“There will be some hidden jewels. Trust the process. Stop overthinking it, and just enjoy looking at the old lady clothes. Imagine what the former owner would have looked like.”

We go aisle by aisle and finally make it to the back of the store. We could have come to this section first, but I wanted LJ to get the full experience. She’s been giggling and laughing, telling me the stories she’s making up for the clothes she comes across. Her chatter comes to an abrupt end. “Oh shit!”

She rushes forward, sliding the dresses along the rack. “These are… wow. Thea! Do you know how much this dress costs retail?”

She holds up a deep red organza dress, with a plunging V-neckline and applique roses all over it. “No, idea.”

“This is a seven thousand dollar dress.”

My lips twists, as I fight back a laugh. “Not here, it’s not. Today you’d pay three ninety-nine.”

She holds up another that looks like a satin wedding dress, which she tells me is three grand retail price. I flip the tag around so she can see it’s five hundred. We continue to go through the racks and she finds a dress I think is perfect for her. Ten minutes later, I do the same. Our next stop is down the street to the tailors to get the dresses altered to fit.

When we exit our fitting, it’s time for lunch. I stop just outside the front door. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I keep LJ behind me as I scan the street for threats.

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