Page 183 of Heartless Legacy

It’s after midnight when I finally make it back to campus. There’s a crowd in front of Vale Tower, so I use the side door and stairs to get to my floor. The hairs raise on the back of my neck as I enter my room. I flick my knife at the extra shadow in the corner. Good thing he ducks, since I didn’t have time to change the trajectory.

“Man, I’ve been calling you all night.” Pax says, flicking on a light. “Where were you?”

“Out.”

“Care to elaborate?”

I go room to room looking for intruders. “No.” I answer as I return to the living room area. What’s he doing in here, in the dark? When did we get back to the point where we let ourselves into each other’s rooms?

“How did you know Holden and I were going to Connecticut?,” I ask.

He gives me a funny look. “I didn’t.”

“So it’s a coincidence you were in Connecticut at the same time we were?”

“What? I wasn’t in Connecticut, Finn. Thea’s guys grabbed me from Palm Springs. I didn’t know where you guys were until we were all tied up in the warehouse.”

“That’s what you told Thea. This is me. You can be honest now.”

“It’s the truth. I didn’t know anything about your little trip.”

I want to believe Pax when he says he didn’t know Holden, and I were in Connecticut, and that he isn’t the reason people know about Thea’s mom having been a patient there. I rip off the bottom of my floor lamp, checking for a listening device. There’s nothing there or attached to the shade.

I don’t know how or when it happened, but my gut is telling me there’s been a security breach in Vale Tower. Every Trium that’s gone to school here knows how to get in and out of this building undetected, and it would be just like Pax’s father to do something despicable like bug us. We never did get to the bottom of why Eloise was sneaking around up here at the beginning of the fall semester.

We need to do another full sweep for listening devices. Until I get the all clear, I won’t be sharing anything else within these walls.

Chapter 103

Thea

Ignaw on my bottom lip as I stare through the peek hole at the guy in the hallway. How did he find me? The doorbell rings again, earning me a questioning look from Wolfe. “You gonna get that?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

Another ring of the bell and a knock spurs me into action. If he keeps this up, the neighbors are gonna come out to investigate the disturbance. I swing the door open, taking a step back, as Finn walks in, dragging a rolling duffle bag behind him. “What’s all this?” I ask, pointing to the luggage.

“My stuff.”

“What kind of stuff? Knife stuff?”

“That, and my clothes, and shoes. The important stuff. I didn’t bring a bunch of towels or linen. I figured you’d already have some and if not, I can just buy new ones.” He looks around the living room. “I’m ready for a new vibe, anyway. I’ll make sure whatever I get matches this motif you already have going on.”

I look to Wolfe for help, but he just shrugs at me and goes back to chopping cucumbers for the salad, leaving me to get to the bottom of things. “Finn, why are you bringing your stuff here?”

“I don’t trust the dorm. I think it’s bugged. Holden says it’s not, but passive transmitters are so sophisticated these days that he might not be picking them up on his sweep, so I’m relocating.”

The dorm is definitely probably bugged. “You’re relocating. Where? Here?” I look at Wolfe again, waiting for him to jump in. “As in moving in? Here?”

“That’s right, Pet. I know you still need your space, so I’m just gonna put everything in one of the spare bedrooms.” He kisses me on the cheek, then walks down the hall to pick a room.

I call out after him, “How do you know I have a spare room? Shit, how did you even know where I live?”

“The same way I know everything else about you. I pay attention.”

“It’s called stalking, Number Three.” When he’s out of earshot I say, “Finley Jefferson Rhodes, the Third just waltzed his ass into what’s supposed to be a secure building and is moving himself in. Somebody downstairs is asleep on the job.”

Wolfe wipes his hands on the bar rag and picks up his phone. “Unauthorized access has been in unit twenty-three.” He pauses, before asking, “On whose authority? Authorization code? Got it.”

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