Page 71 of Ruthless Legacy

I take my time and play a few games on my phone. Hopefully Joshua will have moved on by the time I get back.

“Thea?” I turn slowly and do a double take, as the Canyon Falls student who works maintenance at Van’s hotel heads my way. “Kaden? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here with my folks. What about you?”

“My uh, same. I guess.”

He smiles down at me. “Wow. I can’t believe this is the first time I’ve seen you outside of the hotel.”

“Campus is pretty big and we clearly don’t run in the same circles.”

He gestures towards the hall that leads back to the party. “It seems we do run in the same circles. Or at least our parents do. But I guess you’re right. I’m a bit of a gear head.”

“Hey, don’t lump me into this shit. I was dragged here against my will, and have been looking for a way to escape without setting off any alarms.”

“I know the feeling.”

“How’s the school project?”

“Coming along. Almost ready for a test demonstration.”

“Good for you.”

He rocks back on his heels, “Look, I need to head back in there, shake some more hands to make my dad happy. But if you need a place to hide out, there’s a patio off to the right side of the kitchen that might work.”

“Thanks Kaden.”

“No problem.”

I’m making my way there when another set of voices in a heated conversation reaches me. “This is the worst idea I’ve ever heard. Women pledges?”

“I’m sure they have their reasons.”

“I don’t give a shit what their reasons are. It’s wrong. It goes against everything our organization stands for.”

“What’s the worst that can happen?”

The voice scoffs. “Have you even seen the list? Joshua’s granddaughter is one of the names on it. That little hussy’s been making a mockery of us since the moment she came to town.”

Hussy, am I? I don’t know who’s talking or what I did to piss them off, but now I’m wanting to do more of it.

The other guy says, “They’ve sent out several preliminaries, and she hasn’t shown up for any of them. I don’t think you need to worry about her accepting an invitation to join The League.”

Chapter31

Pax

Finn is bouncing off the walls, his eyes darting left and right as we enter the living room of my parent’s home. “Why are you so agitated?”

“Because your father’s hosting this informal session, and my father is away on a business trip. We’ve still got this secret hanging over our heads, so forgive me if I don’t trust being in a room with Malcolm Cox, Jr without backup.”

“Holden and I are here. We’re your backup.”

“We’re your backup Pax. But let’s face it, we’re background noise. We really don’t have any power here.”

I hate that he’s right. I should feel confident my father wouldn’t throw us under the bus, but I don’t. I usually skip the informal sessions, but Finn’s dad drags him along sometimes.

The meeting is called to order, people step forward to make reports, and put items on the list to vote. It’s all very cordial, civil, and less structured than the environment in The Tomb. I’m not even sure why my father and grandfather are here. These are all lower-level issues.

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