Page 48 of Ruthless Legacy

“How about we discussyourbehavior? Mine was fine seeing how I was minding my own damn business, Finn.”

She’s not this clueless. She knows what we’re pissed off about. I growl, “Stop with the clueless act. Every time you disobey our orders, you’re making us look bad.”

She scratches her chin. “Hmm. I disagree. I think you’re making yourself look bad.”

I advance towards her. “Why do you keep pushing back against us? After everything we’ve done for you, why can’t you just do what we say?”

She snorts, “Nameone thingyou’ve done for me. Oh, wait I know.” She shoves the neck of her shirt over her shoulder, revealing her scar. “You’re the reason I have this, and had the nerve to pretend not to know who did it.”

She gets up in my face. “Everything isn’t about you and your stupidstatus. I’m just trying to make it through the day. Trying to survive this place. So you wanna do something? Give me a heads up. Is today the day you draw a line in the sand? Will you be calling your hit squad to come put me in my place?” She beats against my chest. “Help a girl out, with a warning. Will they be jumping me again the next time I leave the library after dark?”

I’m taken aback by her accusation, and mini attack. Why is that the first thing she thought of?

“I don’t know who attacked you.”

“Yet.” Finn adds. “We don’t know who attacked you yet. But we’re working on it.”

She shakes her head, her shoulders slumping. “Sure you are. Just like the school looked into it, right? Don’t worry, I know how these things go. You’ll never be able to identify the people in those masks.”

That’s not how this is going to go. Not if Holden has anything to say about it. I’m tired of fighting with this girl. Maybe she’d be willing to compromise. “What if we make it a priority?”

“You expect me to take your word for it?”

Holden says, “We could make you a part of the investigation. Keep you looped in, so you don’t have to wonder if we’re keeping our word.”

She looks over at him and scoffs, “In exchange for what, sex?”

“That’s not part of this negotiation. Let’s stick with what has us all upset today. Your status as a named legacy descendent is no longer temporary, so the behavior we allowed before can no longer be tolerated.”

“You didn’t allow me shit. I make my own choices and act accordingly. Now get to your offer, so I can tell you to fuck off with it.”

He’s unbothered by her response. “You sit at our table like you agreed to during Christmas Break, and assimilate.”

I can see she hates that idea. Her head’s already moving back and forth as she rejects his offer. “Fine, not assimilate.” He assents. “Coexist.”

“And how will I know you’re keeping up your end of the deal?”

He adjusts his glasses. “I’ll share with you what I have so far, and you can start verifying the information for yourself.”

She regards all of us with suspicion. “And all I have to do is sit at the table?”

Her gaze lands on me, as if I’ll be the holdout. I notice she only mentions the seating arrangements, and not the major problem we have with her. So I clarify the terms. “You sit with us and stop pushing back.”

Holden quickly adds, “In public, unless it’s really warranted.” His hand whips out, gripping her by the neck, and jerks her forward. “In private, I want you to resist as much as you want.”

She’s calm in his death grip. Her voice flat and emotionless when she asks, “And what are you offering, Finn?”

He steps behind her, pressing close, pinning her between the two of them. “When we get these assholes, I’ll hold them down while you make them bleed.”

She shivers at his words. “Coxsucker number one?”

I’m not playing this game. She’s going to do it because she has no other choice. Holden meets my gaze, communicating so much with the arch of his pierced brow. It says, be nice. Offer her an olive branch.

I don’t have anything I can promise her. Nothing that they haven’t already said. Maybe that’s the easiest answer. Doubling down on my friends. “Their word is mine and my word is theirs. I’m on board with everything they’ve said.”

“Fine.” she grits out. “We’ll give this a test run.”

Holden cuts me off when I open my mouth to object. Using his thumb to control her face, he turns it toward him and asks, “For how long?”

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