Page 4 of Ruthless Legacy

“She was fun, and didn’t care about any of the bullshit that everyone else does. It wasn’t about me being a Trium, or a high-ranking legacy. It wasn’t about getting close to me, so her father could get close to mine, or any of the shit we deal with. She wasn’t trying to use me.Yes, I liked her. What was so wrong about that?”

“Nothing. Okay? Nothing was wrong. If it would have been anyone else, I wouldn’t have given a shit. I never have before. But we had a job to do, and your feelings were clouding your judgement.”

“The favor for your dad? The one that put us in this shit to begin with? The one we’re still trying to keep The League from learning about?”

He’s got me there. “Yeah, that one.”

Holden, who’s been quiet this whole time, finally says, “Pax is right.”

The knife is now pointed in his direction. “Fuck you Holden!”

“No, Finn. He’s right. We can’t tell your dad because we don’t have proof that Eloise was there.”

“You’re the tech genius. The genius-genius. You just watched the same videos I did. What other proof do you need?”

“She was in the first two videos. But her face never appears on camera during Thea’s attack. Nobody’s face is on camera, and the only reason we can assume Zeus was the guy with the dick injury is because he confessed. But he wasn’t alone, and he’s not the mastermind. He’s the scapegoat.”

“The video is on Eloise’s phone.”

“But it’s not video she recorded. The metadata shows each clip was recorded on a different phone, then sent to Eloise.” Shaking his head he says, “It’s a lot of trouble to go through but it absolves her of breaking the no recording on Mayhem Night rule.Shedidn’t do it. Someone else broke the rules and sent her the videos.”

Sonofabitch. He’s right. That’s exactly the kind of excuse she’d give. Finn must realize it, too.

He nods stiffly. “Fine, but Thea saw the guy with the bandanna. She can tell us who he was and if she saw any other faces that night.”

I hate to deflate what little hope he has. I remind him, “She can’t remember anything about that night.”

I’ve messed up enough. The guys have no reason to trust me right now and they’re gonna hate the next thing I say, but I know it needs to be asked. “We’re not telling Thea about the video, are we?”

Finn’s answer is immediate. “Of course we are.”

Holden is slower to respond. Working it over. “I don’t want to.” Shaking his head, he says. “No.”

Finn’s back to twirling his knife. “And why. The. Fuck. Not?”

Holden ignores the bite in Finn’s voice. “Because it has the potential to upset her and undo all the progress she’s made, and it doesn’t give her any answers. So no, I don’t want to.”

Nodding, I say, “I’m with Holden. I don’t want to either.”

Finn spits out, “Of course you don’t, Pax. You’re trying to cover your ass, because you know the minute she finds out Eloise was involved, she’ll confront her and Eloise will blab about your deal.”

“You think I give a shit about that? I don’t care if Thea’s mad at me. She’s always mad at me. I agree with Holden that the video may trigger her and undo any healing she’s done. It will cause a problem with whatever little three-way relationship you have, since Eloise isn’t just your match. Your paperwork is in negotiation, but everyone knows your families have already agreed. She’s your fiancé. And if Eloise points the finger at me, you and Holden will get lumped up in the fallout, becauseweare The Trium. We’re one. My word is yours and your word is mine!”

The rage on his face briefly dissolves into sadness, but he covers it quickly.

“I don’t want to keep this from her, Pax. I’d rather her be mad at me, and push me away again, but that video has answers. Not many, but some, and maybe seeing it will help her remember the rest. Or maybe it won’t matter. But she should know. Plus, not telling her gives Eloise another advantage and gives her one more thing to use to dig her nails into you and into me.”

Finn gives me a pointed stare. “If you’re with us,with me, you’ll support me on this.”

I hate that he’s doubting me. Doubting my loyalty to him. Is this how it started with the other Triums? One stupid act derailed all their plans? We’re better than them. Better than this. “Fine. If Holden changes his vote, I’ll change mine.”

Finn looks at Holden and says, “I know what I’m asking. I know that the backlash could fall on you, too. But-”

Holden cuts him off. “It’s fine, Finn. We’ll tell her, and if she pushes us away, we’ll just have to force her to want us again.”

He turns back to his computer. “I’ll finish checking to see if anything else is out there, and get to work compiling everything I can into one file.”

Chapter2

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