Page 55 of Ruthless Legacy

“What are your thoughts about Todd Chen’s announcement that the promotions are about to happen?”

“I think it’s about damn time. I’m ready. We’re all ready.”

“I know, and you’ve all been so patient. I wish I could say I understand what the holdup was, but other than Malcolm’s other responsibilities taking precedent, I don’t really know.” He smiles at me. “This isn’t the time to slack off. The challenges are just as important now as they’ve always been and the deductions will be greater, leading up to the night you’re promoted.”

“I’m ready.”

As my mother comes closer, he says, “Cocky little shit. No one’s ever really ready, but I’m sure you can handle it.”

As I’m exiting the parking garage, I spot Thea heading across The Circle, away from Vale Tower. She’s walking fast, but I have no problem keeping up with her. When she gets to the gym, she stands outside, staring up at the building. Is she trying to work herself up into going inside? Has she been back to the gym since getting locked in the sauna? I understand if she hasn’t. Or is this hesitancy because of that video? Maybe a combination of both?

Fuck! With everything that’s been going on with the constant change in decisions about her status, and the final preps for our frat’s crossover ceremony, I haven’t really had time to check in with her.

She finally makes up her mind and goes inside. I’m seconds behind her, but I keep to the shadows so I can see what she’s up to. Coach Wolfe’s on the other side of the gym with a group of students. Thea pulls some hand tape out of her backpack, wraps her hands, then goes to the mats in front of the mirrors and starts warming up.

Coach Wolfe comes over and says something to her. He waits a few seconds and when she doesn’t respond; he goes back to his group. Class ends ten minutes later and after a brief trip to his office, he goes over to where she’s shadowboxing in front of the mirror. It sounds like he’s giving her directions, which she’s ignoring.

Instead of letting Thea process or whatever it is that she’s doing, he walks right up to her and swings. She deflects his blow, and he swings again. I’m talking real swings, not pulled punches you’d expect from a teacher trying to teach a student something.

I start towards them. How dare this fucker put his hands on my girl like that. I don’t care if he’s hooked up with her. Nobody else is going to hurt her. My knife is out. As I get closer, I hear him ask, “Is this what you want, sweetness? For me to pull you out of that shit in your head?”

She struggles against his hold without answering, his arms crush her to him. She leans her head forward, then rears back. His head snaps back when the back of her head connects with his lip. He lifts her off the ground, and her foot flicks out and connects with his left knee. I grin. I don’t need to intervene. My girl’s got this. I lean against the wall to watch the show.

I recognize the look on her face. It’s the one she used to get when we were pulling pranks on each other. She’s great at matching energy and she’s going hard. I wanna see how much more blood she draws before Coach Wolfe calls it quits.

* * *

Wolfe

We’re both panting and dripping with sweat, when I finally call time on our impromptu training session. Fighting won’t solve whatever’s got Thea riled up. “Talk to me, LaReaux. What’s got you on edge like this?”

“Nothing. I just needed a workout.”

“I know how you fight when you need a workout, and I know how you fight when you’re fighting against the chaos in your head. This was the latter.”

I swipe my towel down my arms then drape it around my neck, before passing Thea her water bottle. “Talk.”

“I don’t want to talk.”

“That’s exactly why you need to do it. I’m too tired to fight you again.”

“Admitting I’m too much for you to handle, Wolfe?”

“I’ve been teaching all day, and had a training session at five this morning. I’m tired.”

“I thought you had so much stamina.”

“I’m tired and don’t feel like fighting. I still have more than enough energy to fuck the sass out of you.”

Her gaze turns heated. I chuckle and say, “Not gonna happen right now. I have another class. But talk. What’s got you so angry?”

“This legacy shit is starting up again and I’m not sure I can get out of it.”

I suspected this was the problem. I hate that she’s still dealing with this shit. There’s no way to put a positive spin on it, so I tell her the truth. “You can’t. I’m surprised they didn’t push for you to be a guardian line. But since they didn’t, I wouldn’t go out of my way to reject this, too. You’re gonna have to concede this fight.”

“You don’t mean that. You hate these legacies.”

“What I hate is how they treat other people, and how they’re raised to look down their noses at everyone else. But it’s learned behavior. It can be unlearned; they just choose not to.”

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