Page 139 of Heartless Legacy

Bye-bye lust, hello attitude. Not only am I stuck living in a bubble, but I’m not even allowed to go on any Phoenix missions. The gym is the only place I can go other than school. I’ve been coming here, working on rebuilding my strength and stamina. I still hate the treadmill, but my lungs no longer feel like they’re on fire when I run. “I feel fine.”

Wolfe looks up at me. “I’m well aware that you’re good to go on more strenuous activity. These two would like to have a little chat with you.”

I flash them a huge grin. “Awe Wolfe, are you finally admitting Tank’s so badass that it takes two people in the ring to equal one of him? He’ll be happy to hear that.”

Finn purrs, “I’d love to go a few rounds with you. Where do they keep the pudding or jello?” I try to ignore the timber of his voice and the flirting, but after my mini fantasy, all I can think about is letting him lick pudding off of me.

“These two are your escorts to the meeting,” Wolfe says, forcing my attention back to non sexy things.

“Escorts?” So this is league business. I’ve skipped two socials and the last league challenge. I was wondering how long I’d be able to get away with thumbing my nose up at them. “And if I decide I’d rather reschedule or skip this meeting?”

Holden says, “You can’t skip it. You can come now, willingly, or fifty minutes from now unwillingly, and I can promise you won’t like the escorts or the mode of travel waiting for you then.”

The air gets trapped in my lungs, the threat of the league punishing me flings me back to that hellhole. Wolfe shuffles closer, dropping his head to capture my gaze. “It’ll be okay, Thea. I wouldn’t let you go if it wasn’t.” His hand is on mine, his finger sliding from my knuckles to my wrist. It grounds me. My breathing calms as I stare up at him. Wolfe doesn’t just say shit to appease me. He’d never let me go off with these guys if he thought I was in danger.

“Fine.” I let out a shaky breath. “Let’s go, and these travel accommodations better be top-notch.” I grit out, stomping towards the door.

“Oh, they are.” Finn sing-songs behind me. Why the hell is he so chipper? My mood inflates when I see the mode of transportation sitting in the parking lot. I have a choice between Finn’s car and Pax’s bike. I look for the Coxsucker, but Holden says, “He didn’t stay. He took my car.”

“And left this?”

“We got the text this morning to personally escort you to the meeting. He thought this might help if you need to clear your head after the meeting.”

I take the helmet he offers to me without questioning Pax’s motives. If I’m going into the lion’s den, I need to show up like the bad ass lion tamer I am. I climb onto the bike, my lips kicked up on one side as I ask Holden, “You wanna ride bitch?”

Those gray eyes drink me in, heat simmering below the surface. “You know how much I love wrapping my body around you and hanging on tight. But I’m not sure the council will think bending you over the handlebars and fucking you in the parking lot is an acceptable reason for keeping them waiting.” He motions towards the handlebars. “The coordinates are already programmed into the GPS.”

I shove the helmet on to hide the look on my face, and what I’m sure are flushed cheeks. Holden always catches me off guard with his dirty talk. I’m mad at the sexy asshole, but I’m no less affected by his words. He’s still stalking me around town, even though he hasn’t acted on it again. I’m not exactly excited about the idea of him physically accosting me, but I’m 30 percent less scared than I was before.

I press the start button. The bike comes alive, purring between my thighs. The rumbling relaxes me, and without a backward glance at the two in the car, I maneuver out of theparking lot and onto the road. I settle into the ride, my body one with the machine as I lean into the turns and make myself smaller as I pick up speed.

All too soon, my ride is over, and I come to a stop in front of the building designed in neoclassical style architecture. Holden’s car and dozens of others sit empty in the parking lot. I hook the helmet across the handlebars and drop the keys in my pocket as I pass through the pillars at the top of the steps.

“Good Afternoon.” The man standing in the foyer greets us with a smile. “Welcome to our spring humanitarian project. For those who don’t know me, I’m Parker Sullivan. I’m a member of the security council, but I’m also one of the event coordinators for the community outreach program.”

I push forward through the crowd to get a better look. If his father’s anything to go by, Holden’s gonna be such a zaddy when he gets older. His future wife’s gonna be one lucky bitch. My next thought is an irrational one.I hate her.

I give my full attention to what Sexy Sullivan is saying about helping out the less fortunate in the community. “This year, we have teamed up with Edgecliff High School to help beautify the campus. The trucks containing the gardening and painting supplies will meet us there in an hour.” He eyes the crowd. “Any questions?”

Someone has a question. “Why do we have to paint and plant stuff? Wouldn’t donating money be better?”

Mr. Sullivan counters with, “How do you learn to appreciate what you have if you’re never confronted with what you don’t have?”

Someone else snickers. “We appreciated not going to public school just fine.”

Daddy Sullivan is not amused by the comment or the laughs it gets. “In that case, I have a very special challenge for the group.”

Our phones ping and shrieks of outrage come from around the room, amid choruses of, “Is this a joke?”

He says, “Thanks to your fellow prospects’ disdain for community service, your accounts have been frozen. When you step outside, you’ll see your cars are no longer there.” He steps forward, handing out envelopes. “Inside is the cash you will have at your disposal for this week. You are still expected to get to class on time, and attend any social commitments you’ve already made.” He gestures towards the door. “I will see you all at the Edgecliff in forty-five minutes.”

I count the cash in the envelope, ignoring the grumblings and hysterics going on around me. Outside, it’s just as Mr. Sullivan said. The vehicles are gone. There’s no way he didn’t have all this planned out ahead of time. He must’ve known at least one entitled asshole was gonna bitch about having to serve others.

But at least I have my phone. I pull up the address he gave and map the location of the school from where we are. My ride-share app is connected to my Nags Creek bank account, but I won’t cheat the system and use it. Instead, I walk in the direction where GPS says there’s a park. According to the map, there’s a bus stop on the other side of it, and a bus coming in twenty minutes.

Feet slap the ground behind me. “Where are you rushing off to?” Finn asks, catching up to me.

“Didn’t you hear Mr. Sexy Sullivan? We’ve got forty-five minutes to get to the school.”

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