Page 217 of Heartless Legacy

“How was it?”

“It’s old and wooden and needs some lighting, but I didn’t have any problems with it.”

Finn asks, “If it’s drivable, why did they ever close it?”

Holden answers, “That’s a good question. I’ve never asked and I certainly never went to the bridge to see it for myself, but I’ve seen photos of the car accident and the coroner's report.” He’s staring at Thea when he says, “The same coroner who signed a death certificate for a little boy in Greece who never existed.”

He’s been digging. But she doesn’t take the bait. She sounds bored when she says, “Interesting.”

“Is that all you have to say? Interesting?”

Her brows furrow, her lips purse. “What else do you think I should say?”

“You don’t think it’s strange that the same doctor signed the death certificate for a guy who died on the bridge and the fake baby in Greece?”

“No, I don’t. But you do, and that’s valid, since you’re even more suspicious about everyone and everything than I am.”

His lips quirk. “I am suspicious, but I also do my research rather than jumping to conclusions. Do you know what my research into the bridge suggests?” He finally pushes away from the wall. “I’m thinking that everything that happened from the accident on the bridge until now has been one big cover up.”

“Really?” Nodding, she says, “Yeah, I guess I can see that. They close the bridge and pretend it’s washed out or impassable, just to direct all traffic to the tolls. It’s revenue for the city.” She says, continuing to pretend she doesn’t know what Holden’s suggesting.

He’s enjoying this game. We all are. It’s fascinating listening to her evade answers and him trying to get around her defenses. “The cover up wasn’t to push the vote for the new toll road. It was to hide something from the town, and I think you know what?”

She gives him a placating smile. “Sorry, I can’t help you figure it out. The lighting was crap along that route. I couldbarely see the road in front of me with my high beams on, let alone anything suspicious.”

He counters with, “Did you look in the rear-view mirror while you were driving?”

“I did.”

“Then you saw something suspicious.”

I think I know where this conversation is going. Thea and I both do, but she keeps playing dumb, letting him reveal what and how much he really knows.

Thea barks out a laugh. “Are we back on that? Geez, Holden, I wasn’t doing anything the night I drove into town.” Nudging Finn, she says, “It was a coincidence that I was there, and hit Finn with my car.”

“Would anybody like a drink?” I ask, getting to my feet.

Thea jumps up and says, “I’ll help.” Once we’re in the kitchen, she whispers, “What should I do?”

“They think they know something. If they eventually say something close to the truth, it’s up to you to confirm or not.”

Looking over my shoulder at them, I say, “At this point, I don’t think it will hurt for them to know how you’re connected to the person who died on the bridge.”

I snag some beers and sodas out of the fridge. Handing two to her. “Let’s get this over with so we can kick them out and get back to what we were doing.”

When we make it back to the living room, Holden already has his laptop connected to the television. I stare at the giant diagram of Thea’s family tree. He already has Nikloas Constantin’s name plugged in.

I can imagine Thea is remembering what happened the last time they went digging into her life. If the truth comes out this time, it’ll have deadly consequences. Nobody’s going to just accept the family tree and unproven allegations about the establishment of The League of the Daggered Raven. That’s whyit’s more important than ever that she claims that fourth blood line by winning the challenge. Her being assigned that role gives her an added layer of protection and access to things to prove the rest. She straightens her spine, stares them down and says, “Get out.”

Chapter 118

Thea

Ikicked everyone out after Holden revealed the project he’s been working on and instructed the team revoke Finn’s access. I spent the last few days ignoring Finn and Holden’s calls. I have a test, or I wouldn’t have shown up on campus today, either.

I step out of the building and when I spot Finn’s beanie, I immediately turn to run back in. Holden’s waiting for me and grabs my arm, dragging me into the boys’ bathroom. Pax locks the door behind us and Holden says, “Let’s try this again.”

I step away from them and lean against the sink. “I have a test, but I think I can take a few minutes for a good luck orgasm.”

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