Page 33 of Heartless Legacy

In a chilling voice, Alexz asks, “Do you know who I really am?” Two guns cock, as we all wait for Wolfe to answer that question. Real or fake? He’s never been in danger in my hallucinations before. I eye the guns warily. Either I’ve really leveled up, or this is real. Alexz turns his back and walks down the hall. “If the two of you will join me in my office, I’ll be able to shed a little more light on the situation.”

Three of the guards close rank behind Alex and two fall in behind Wolfe and me. We travel the hallways and over to an elevator, which we ride up several floors, then take another hallway before stepping into an office. Alexz goes to the little conference room on the right. “Wait outside, gentleman.” He says to the guards.

“You sure you want to do that?” Wolfe asks as soon as the doors close.

“Beowulf, you wouldn’t have made it this far if I really thought you were a threat. Besides, hurting me hurts Thea.”

“She doesn’t give a shit about you.” Wolfe says with conviction.

“Maybe not now, but she might eventually. At any rate, I give a shit about her, and how she’ll feel if I have to kill you.”

Wolfe looks at me like I’m withholding information from him. I don’t know how to explain any of this shit. I’m still forty percent certain all of this is happening in my head, but I make an introduction. “This is Alexzander Cabini Moreau. He’s an old friend of Van’s.”

“Did Van hire him to hide you?”

Alexz answers, “Evangeline would never need to pay me. It is my duty, and my privilege, to protect my granddaughter.”

Wolfe is still staring at me, waiting for me to say something. “He’s Scott’s biological father.”

That’s all I can offer. That’s enough of an answer. He turns his attention back to Alexz. “So you’re a deadbeat dad and trying to use Thea to weasel your way into your son’s life?”

Alexz sighs, “It was a complicated situation and for reasons outside of my control, I couldn’t be a part of his life.”

Wolfe snorts in disgust, “Thea and I have heard this story before. It’s the same bullshit her parents gave for why they weren’t a part of hers.” Twisting his lips in a wry smile, he says, “Well, shit LaReaux, I guess I can see the resemblance now.”

Alexz ignores the jab and explains. “I went by another name a long time ago, back before Scott was born. Nikolaos Constantin.”

All emotion drains from Wolfe’s face when he says, “You look pretty good for a dead guy.”

Deacon

Alexzander Cabini Moreau formerly known as Nikolaos Constantin. Thea’s grandfather, and the dead man who’s the reason my family are no longer active guardians in The League. I don’t know whether to thank him or deck him for the circumstances that altered the trajectory of my life. I guess for Thea’s sake, I won’t do either.

Just as she was getting used to being a legacy through Moira’s side of the family, now she’s gotta deal with this shit.

I’ve done quite a lot of jobs for this organization, so as grandfathers go, I prefer this one over the one who let The League get their hands on her. I give her another once over. She seems to be handling the existence of another grandparent pretty well.

Moreau sits in a chair at the head of the conference table. Thea’s standing next to me, a wary look on her face as she glances behind us. I don’t blame her. I hate that the door is closed too.

I take in the fading bruise on her cheek where somebody hit her. Holding out my arm to her, I say, “Come here, Sweetness.”

She shakes her head, looking at the man at the table. I don’t give a shit about the audience, or what he might have to say, but I respect her decision not to fall into my arms. Moreau, because he hasn’t earned the right to be called her grandfather in my eyes, watches the interaction but remains silent.

Thea lowers into the chair next to me, sitting stiffly in her seat, with enough space between us to roll a truck through it. I grab a pen off the table and hand it to her. “Ram it into an eye if you need to.”

She grips it in her palm. “Thank you.”

“No, thanks needed. You holding dangerous weapons in your hand is part of your charm.”

She leans her head in and whispers, “Were you really using Alex’s resources to find me?”

“His and someone else’s.” I pull her chair closer to mine, pressing my arm against hers, just to reassure myself that she’s really sitting next to me. Thirty-six hours ago, that damned phone started blinking and after entering the code, I was prepared to tell them to fuck off. The agreement was I do one job, and I had thirty days to use their network. It hadn’t even been a full two weeks.

But this time, I didn’t get offered a job. As soon as I finished reading off the code, the guy on the line put me on hold. He came back a few minutes later, and his voice sounded strained, when he said, “I’m sending you coordinates. When you get them, destroy the phone.”

There have always been pre-arranged drop locations. A series of protocols I had to follow to get to Phoenix’s pop up field offices to receive my assignments. None of the jobs ever required me to smash the phone.

Planes, trains and automobiles later- I couldn’t even say for certain where the hell I am- since the helicopter touched down on a ship out to sea, but I’m here. With her.

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