Page 88 of Ruthless Legacy

“I guess you and Holden agree with Pax, and think I can’t hack it in your little club, right?”

“That’s not what we think.”

“You’re lying. I heard you talking in the gym, remember?”

“Fine, we discussed it and we have reservations about a few of the selectees, but it’s not because we think you’re incapable of completing the challenges.”

“Then what’s it about?”

“It’s like Pax said. There has never been a female prospect for The Wrens.”

“How is that even possible? There are women in your families. Moira and Hailee didn’t have brothers or sons. So wouldn’t the logical thing be to let them join to keep the family lines intact? What do the women think you do when you’re off on these challenges and meetings?”

“The wives are aware of their husband’s affiliation with the league. We have a lot of joint events, but if league business needs to be discussed, the wives are off doing their own thing. They have their own little coalition, and their own tasks to complete. And even now, before we become full-fledged members, we have companions assigned to help us. But this new initiative where women can become actual members, this is different.”

“And you’ve already established how much you hate different.”

“Hundreds of years of tradition, has been working fine, Pet.”

“The old white dudes in charge of recruitment don’t think so, hence the reason they’re revamping things.”

I smile down at her. “I don’t know what sparked this change in policy. Even if they’ve been considering it for a while, they haven’t said why they’ve pulled the trigger now.”

“I guess. It also doesn’t explain why they tapped me. I’m sure there’s someone who’s been here, one of the future wives, for instance, who would make more sense and be easier to deal with than me.”

“The League collects rare items. You clearly fit that category, especially with the mystery surrounding your birth. They have questions about how your parents kept this secret for so long.”

“They don’t need me as a pledge to get those answers. I know what they know. Absolutely nothing.”

Chapter39

Deacon

Idon’t want to be here, but I couldn’t get out of it. Attending this quarterly conference is one more obligation I have to fulfill because of that stupid deal I made.

The leaders of the security conclave, the people who oversee the guardian families, and their assignments are pissed. The guy on his knees in front of us is being used to make a point. Sucks to be the example of today’s lesson.

“When you went through training and initiation, we had one rule. Don’t touch the merchandise!” A whip whistles through the air after each word before landing on his back.

This is why I’m glad my family is no longer an official guardian line or a part of the security council. Their methods are a little extreme even for me. I believe in discipline and corporal punishment, but I prefer the kind that’s useful. Like, an extreme training evolution that helps the student develop needed skills without leaving any lasting physical or emotional scars.

And this rule -the one about the merchandise- well, I shit all over that one when I met Thea in a bar. Me not knowing anything about her at the time could be excused, but only because they didn’t know who she was either. As for every other time between then and now, and my plans to do it again and again in the future... If I were a guardian, I’d be signing my own death warrant.

The guy on my right whispers to his buddy. “If they drop him, we’ll be down another body.”

His friend responds, “That’ll be the third trainee this month.”

The first guy says, “Fourth, if you count the one who went missing at the beginning of the month.”

“Missing? I thought he was an automatic drop because he failed his initial fitness assessment.”

Someone else joins the conversation and says, “I heard it was his psych test. He was spouting something about men in black SUVs sitting outside his house in the middle of the night.”

The conversation continues around me, even though this isn’t the time or place for this discussion.

“Could there have been? These fucks like to play their mind games. We’re being followed and reported on. That’s how they caught him.”

“I heard they actually checked into it. There weren’t any vehicles outside of his house at any of the times or days mentioned, and the council didn’t have anyone in the area. That’s why we had three training days off. They were investigating his claims, making sure they didn’t have a rogue operator. They decided he was paranoid and a risk, so they booted him.”

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