Page 242 of Heartless Legacy

An archivist asks, “What is she talking about, Malcolm?”

“Nothing.” He snorts. “These are just more outlandish claims and accusations.”

Thea shrugs and says, “They’re only accusations if I can’t prove them.” She takes a shuffling step forward, away from the people holding her up, and addresses high council member Sherman once again. “You know, I didn’t understand why Felix Lazarro’s bidders all chose the same things when it came to me. I seriously couldn’t figure out why no one, other than the guards, Malcolm and Leo Burke, ever wanted sex from me. But, I guess their end game was securing their place in the league and their success hinged on them forcing their small little dicks in me and getting me pregnant.”

I cut my eyes at them, and notice Finn is zeroed in on Burke. He might not have his dick when this is over.

Thea goes on to say, “Everyone else wanted me beaten, my resistance broken. For all intents and purposes, they wanted me dead. When I realized the guards at Lazarro’s gladiator games were really guardians, I thought Lazarro had somehow worked his way into two components of The League. Butthen, I saw your name on the screen.”

Someone from the crowd asks, “Prospect LaReaux, what exactly is it that you’re accusing High Council Member Sherman of doing?”

“Besides him being an arms dealer and using league resources to launder money, steal from his competitors, and traffic people? Well, there’s also murder, and weaponizing The Guardian program and turning the members into his own little army of enforcers.” Her voice is weaker, her energy waning. I see the signs, the too long blinks. She’s close to passing out. “Answer me this… whose idea was it for the lower legacy families and amnesty group to join the guardian lines?”

Thea goes on to say, “I’m sure if you do some digging… you’ll see he’s connected to Andor Reese, too. Isn’t that right, councilman Sherman? Or should I call you Don Selleti, since that’s the name you used that night in Nag’s Creek?”

All eyes whip to the man in question, while mine meet my father’s gaze. The Selletti’s are the cartel members that tried to kidnap me. But how does Thea know Sherman from her hometown? She sways on her feet. “By the way, your latest outbound shipment will be delayed indefinitely, and your favorite west coast resource center, Rockridge Psychiatric Facility, won’t be open much longer.”

All hell breaks loose as she pitches forward. Finn’s there to catch her before she hits the ground, and my father orders, “Sergeant, take Councilman Sherman, Malcolm Cox Jr, Archibald Grant, Leonardo Burke and Evan Bishop into custody.”

To the council he says, “I am resigning from my post on the security council, to avoid a conflict of interest, as local, state and federal law enforcement investigates the kidnapping and trafficking of Theona LaReaux, Paxton Cox, and as yet unnamed individuals, as well as the murder of Nikolous Constantin.”

I spot Eloise trying to slink by. Gripping her arm, I say, “Stay put. Something tells me your name will be heavily featured in my father’s investigation.”

Chapter 129

Thea

Three Weeks Later

The front door swings open before I can put the code in. “Expecting a delivery?” I ask Finn as I step inside.

“The motion sensors went off, so I came to see who was out here.”

I glance behind me, then back at him. “Since when do we have motion sensors along the footpath?”

Following me inside, he says, “Holden installed them last week.”

“We’re back with another load.” I call out to Austin as I pass him in the hallway.

“On it.” He jogs towards the front of the house to grab some of the boxes Wolfe and Pax are unpacking from the moving van. I shove open the door at the end of the hallway, and place the box I’m carrying against the wall where the other ones are. There are a few more boxes left in my car, then all the computer equipment will be on site. We all agreed it would be better to get my office up and running right away, just in case I need to video chat or send secure messages while we’re unpacking.

Hanging up fancy clothes and bath towels can wait. Security systems and protecting people can’t. The guys have been moving stuff into our new home since nine this morning. I’m just gettinghere, because I had back-to-back meetings. Learning the ins and outs of managing a security team is tiring, and so is the process of getting officially recognized as a descendant of the fourth legacy bloodline.

A big chunk of that process is going through the guardian and historian archives and figuring out what resources were originally part of my family line and reallocating them back to me. Wolfe’s grandfather, Pops, has been a tremendous help in all of that. He and a few other loyal guardian families have kept records hidden all these years, just in case something like this happened. I’m not fooled by thejust in casecaveat. They knew it would happen, because members of those guardian families are the ones who saved Alexz on the bridge that day.

Ryland and Clayton have been helping out, too. They’ve exhibited zero amounts of patience when it comes to getting the paperwork signed and transferring ownership of assets. There are a lot of empty and half constructed buildings on land I own. I’ve offered to let the current owners remain at an increased fee to their existing leasing agreement. Most refuse, because they think the deal they negotiated with Evan Bishop was already expensive enough. Too bad he wasn’t the rightful owner. The lawyers have informed them they’ll likely have to go through the courts to get their money back. I don’t see that turning out in their favor.

There’s a building in Red Cliff that I think would be perfect for a second Wolfe Pack location, when Wolfe decides he’s ready to expand. There’s also an apartment building a few blocks away from the subdivision Finn found along the backside of Canyon Falls. That neighborhood is the only thing out there so far, and it housed guardians in cahoots with councilman Sherman. I’m gonna finish construction on the apartment building and designate it as an Independent Living apartment complex.Foster children aging out of the system deserve luxury housing choices.

I walk out to my car and retrieve another load of boxes, as I mentally check things off my to do list. I’m meeting Scott and Moira for lunch tomorrow to give them an update. Apparently, the Adrianakis gene pool excels at making girl babies. Scott is the most recent male born, but he isn’t a league member, and by some fucked up twist of fate, I wound up as the de facto head of a family line. The League is dealing with me, but this is Scott’s inheritance, too.

That line of thinking brings me to Alexz. He’s setting up a satellite office in Palisade Shores. I’ve seen the blueprints for the mini-hub and think whoever works there will be very happy with the layout and amenities. He’s also opening an office for his PI business in Red Cliffs to help bring jobs back to the community that The League decimated over the years. I place the box I’m carrying beside the desk and start unpacking.

I’m nervous about this cohabitation thing, but the condo isn’t big enough for the five of us. The guys refuse to sleep in the dorms, insisting my safety is their responsibility, even though Pops’ security company and Phoenix agents are literally camped out all over the place.

Then, Pax mentioned needing a place to stay when he moves out of the dorms at the end of the semester, because his parent’s house isn’t an option. Once he started looking, Finn and Holden gave their inputs. Then Delta Team had to weigh in, because of safety and logistic reasons for if I wanted to visit them. Another week of back and forth, and I finally decided I would just find a bigger place and let them move in with me. Now, here we are, in a house on the south side of town, a few miles from the beach and my favorite diner.

I thought Pax, Finn and Holden were gonna have heart attacks on the spot when they saw the place. It’s a far cry fromthe cushy mansions they’ve grown up in. This old house wasn’t much to look at from the outside, and the inside needed a major update, but I just loved the feel of it. As soon as I saw it, I knew this was the right place.

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