Page 62 of Ruthless Legacy

We’re on our second drink, after dancing through four songs. My body feels loose as the lingering tension melts away. Physical activity always improves my mood, and dancing adds an extra shot of joy and adrenaline. I smile at LJ, bumping my arm into hers. “Having fun?”

“Yes. Of course. I always have fun dancing with you.”

“Same, girlie. Same.” I look over the dance floor. “Will this be a girl’s only party all night, or will you be taking someone up on their offer to dance?”

“Nobody’s asked me to dance.”

“They will, just as soon as they work up the nerve to approach you.” I point to her glass. “Which will probably be after you finish that drink.”

She sucks down the last few drops, then we’re back out on the floor. Turning, spinning, laughing. I follow LJ’s lead. Guys drift by. Some dance around us. Some dance with us. We’re making another trip to the bar when I see him. His hulking presence against the bar bursts my carefree bubble.

I discreetly check out the rest of the bar. If he’s here, the other one is somewhere close by. I back up, but feel the heat of someone’s body standing behind me. A third guy walks up to us. “You two beautiful ladies have been invited to the VIP area.”

“We’ll pass. Thanks.”

I pull LJ closer to sidestep him, but the space on my right is now blocked. “I’m afraid I have to insist.”

If I were by myself, I’d insist on them kissing my ass, but LJ’s with me, and I won’t put her at risk. Things get real tricky when fights break out in places like these. “Fine. You’d better have the good shit up there to drink.”

“Thea?” LJ whispers, “What’s going on?”

“Their boss is shy. He didn’t have the balls to come down himself. He has a fear of public speaking, so he wants us to come up to VIP so he can tell us how pretty we look.”

The guy in front of me snorts. But I ignore him, continuing to weave my story, to put LJ at ease. I roll my eyes when we bypass the VIP area and head to an office with someone standing guard at the door. He’s on a power trip, as usual.

“Did you steal daddy’s credit card again?” I ask as I push through the door. My feet stall when I see who’s sitting at the desk. I’m too surprised to stop the next words from falling from my lips.

“What the fuck are you doing here?”

Chapter27

Thea

Ishould’ve picked a different club. A fancier one than this. If I wasn’t being so stubborn and avoiding the legacies, I wouldn’t be looking at this man right now.

“You know, Tink, when I told you to call me, I didn’t exactly mean for favors.”

“You never actually specified what to use your number for.” I cast a wary glance at the guy standing over his right shoulder. Of all the people he could’ve brought, he brought the one I dislike the most. “And I didn’t call for a favor. I called to even up our tab. We’re not even though. You still owe me. Now, why are you here?”

“That’s a pretty fucked up greeting for an old friend.”

“We’re not friends, Saint.”

“And yet, I’m here. In person, to check on you, so if this is not the action of a friend, then we’ll call this wiping our slate clean.”

“I didn’t ask you to come here, and any checking up on me you’re doing is because you’re obsessed with me. We both know you didn’t need to make this trip. You could’ve had someone local handle this.” I frown. “Or maybe not. Some of the members aren’t the brightest crayons in the box.”

“You would know.”

I smirk, “Yeah, I would.”

He leans back in the chair, propping his feet up on the desk, crossing them at the ankles. Not giving a shit that he’s dirtying up the papers on the desk. “After your little run-in, I decided a site visit was in order.”

I don’t like the way his eyes keep darting to LJ, so I shift to block her from his line of sight. Saint and I may have had a mutually beneficial relationship, and he’s playing nice, but he’s all savage. He wouldn’t hesitate to rip LJ to shreds just to get me to do whatever he’s obviously about to ask me to do.

He didn’t wish me well when I told him I was getting out of town. In fact, he told me I was stupid from walking away from the business I had going. I told Sasha there was a reason The Inferno Skullz didn’t bitch about the price increase. Him being here just proves I was right.

Saint and I arenotfriends. We’re always walking a tightrope between being cordial and being enemies. I avoided the gangs in Nags Creek for years, then one day I crossed paths with Saint when I was out doing a job. He was some place he shouldn’t have been -talking to someone he shouldn’t have known- and now, I’m one of the few people privy to his secret. That knowledge should have put a bullet in my head. It still might. Maybe that’s why he broughtThe Wallwith him. He’s finally gonna give his favorite soldier the green light to off me.

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