Page 249 of Heartless Legacy

There’s been two league meeting this month, a mixer and a mini challenge, just to see how the prospects function amidst the upheaval. One of Eloise’s buddies filed a grievance against Thea. I guess the idiot calls himself being in love with Eloise and was fighting for her family’s honor or some shit.

Thea happily accepted the challenge and stepped into the cage. It was a beautiful thing watching her promptly knock him on his ass. She finished up with her signature move of wrapping her legs around his neck to choke him out. I was less happy about her legs being around him, but overall thoroughly entertained by the match. My favorite part was when she asked, “Isanyone else interested in taking an L for believing in Eloise’s fairytales?”

No one spoke up, but we all suspect there will be a few more brave souls down the line. It’s just the way it goes. When you’re in a power position in The League, someone is always looking to take your place.

Thea’s working with Deacon, his grandfather and Phoenix agents on revamping the recruitment and training process for The Guardian program, and how it’s run. There’s still a lot of shit to do to purge the old leadership, and any guardians affiliatedwith Sherman’s cartel. It’ll take time to find them all, but her decision to break ties with Andor Reese was a good start.

The government withdrew their military contracts with the company, too. There won’t be much left standing in that organization when the criminal cases are done. Anyone who’s not incarcerated and wants a job will have the opportunity to apply and go through a rigorous interview and background check.

Thea steps through the door of the restaurant. Finn and Holden are behind us, as we follow the hostess past my parent’s table to the area reserved for the luncheon Thea’s arranged.

I shake Roger Kinkaid’s hand before taking my seat. In all the years I’ve gone to school with Austin, I’ve never actually taken time to talk to his old man. Being with Thea puts me in situations where I have to talk to people outside of my usual circle of friends, and I’ve been enjoying interacting with new people. These last few months, I’ve been learning a lot about myself and the world. The biggest thing I’ve learned is that I didn’t know shit about surviving in the real world without wealth and privilege opening doors for me.

My parent’s assets have been frozen but my trust fund is secure, because my grandfather never released it to my father. Last year, my grandmother made my grandfather include a marriage clause on my trust. Getting that money before I turned thirty was what the push to marry me off to Eloise was all about. My father most certainly would have deemed me incompetent if grandfather would’ve signed the initial contract my father submitted.

Thank god, he didn’t. Or I should say, thank my grandmother he didn’t. She had a short list of women she wanted me to marry. Eloise wasn’t on it, and my grandfather wasn’t in a rush to piss her off.

Thea’s on the other side of the table, leaning in close, talking to her grandmother, Van. Whatever they’re talking about has the both of them giggling like teenagers. I love seeing her happy like this. Her phone rings and she holds up her finger, pulling it from her back pocket.

Her brows pinch as the gets to her feet, saying into the phone, “LJ? No, of course not. I’m sure that’s not what she said.” She walks by and squeezes my shoulder before stepping away from the table. “Well, that’s damn sure not whatIsaid.”

LJ’s been absent from campus. Thea has her locked away in some super secret location that she won’t even tell us about, but they talk all the time. Wherever she’s being kept is driving LJ crazy. Or rather, the bodyguards are driving her crazy and Thea refuses to tell them to stand down.

Deacon suggested that maybe LJ needed some space, and that Thea should understand, since she has a fit whenever she spots her guards. But my girl won’t budge. She says LJ’s safety is more important than hers. Of course, that led to an argument because none of us agree with that shit. Not when that psychotic doctor and Felix Lazarro are still out there. Arguing that point just reinforces Thea’s. She says those two men are the reason she has LJ under heavy guard. She doesn’t want to give them any chance to restart the outpatient drug testing they were doing on her. The boyfriend, Damon, and his cousin were using some fake as beet powder to deliver the drug.

When Thea returns to the table, Austin asks, “Everything good with LJ?”

“Nope. Everything’sawfulto hear her tell it. She’s ready to come home.”

“She’s been gone a long time.” He says. “It’ll be nice to have her back.”

“Yes, it will, but we don’t want to rush LJ’s recovery. When Dr. Sagebrook tells me she’s dealing with her trauma in a healthy manner, I’ll make arrangements to bring her home.”

The conversation around the table stops. It’s so quiet you could hear a pin drop as we all stare incredulously at her. “What? Why are ya’ll looking at me like that?”

Finn snorts. “Pet, I love you. But you’re absolutelythelastperson who should be commenting on people needing counseling and how to deal with trauma.”

“I’ve gone to more counseling sessions than all of you at this table combined. Except for maybe Sexy Daddy.”

“Don’t call him that.” Holden groans.

She smirks at Holden’s discomfort. “I’ve been going to therapy since I was a kid, and I’m in therapy now. That makes me qualified to speak on it.”

Holden arches a brow and asks, “How many of those therapists did you actually talk to?”

She shrugs dismissively. “Just the two who knew what they were doing.”

Deacon chuckles. “You mean the two who gave you permission to be violent?”

“The two who got to know me, and gave me tools I can use in difficult or overwhelming situations.”

We all laugh again, because her current therapist gave her tools, alright. She sent Thea a pair of ninja spikes that she wears in her hair when she goes out on missions with Delta Team or league challenges.

“Laugh all you want. But I’m doing the right thing for LJ.” Turning to Austin, she says, “I miss her too. But she’s not ready to come back and be around people yet. The best place for her is exactly where she is, and when that’s no longer true, I’ll be the first one to pack her up. Okay?”

“You trust the people running this facility?” He asks.

“It’s not an institution like that. Think of it as an all-inclusive resort.” She gives him a reassuring smile. “And I’ll be sure to tell her you asked about her.”

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