Page 36 of Heartless Legacy

“The only thing I want from him is answers.” I pause, working out the rest of my thoughts. “He’s been in hiding all these years.”

Wolfe sits on the bed, lacing up his shoes. When he’s done, he climbs to his feet and walks to the door. “He has, and I’d be interested in knowing why. But first, breakfast, then we’ll go see if today is the day he’s offering answers.”

Wolfe is behind me when we enter the galley, guarding my back. Is it my paranoia rubbing off on him, or does he sense a real threat? The galley is noisy, with teams yelling insults back and forth to each other about their latest mission stats. For a group of trained mercenaries, they sure are fucking happy. “Maybe I should’ve joined The Guardians.”

He shakes his head as he fills up his plate. “They’re nothing like this.” Pointing to the tables, he says, “These guys all have asense of purpose. A reason to laugh and joke. They truly believe what they’re doing is for the greater good.”

“Isn’t that what The Guardians do? Take orders for the greater good of The League of the Daggered Ravens?”

He explains, “They work in service of The League. No matter how they feel personally about their missions, they take orders like good soldiers. The same way the military does.”

“I’m still not seeing the difference. This is what the Phoenix Foundation is doing, right?” I ask as I slide into a seat. He stares at my empty tray and says, “You didn’t get anything?”

I’m so used to not eating that my stomach heaves at the thought of putting anything in it. “I’m not hungry.”

He sets his tray on the table and walks back over to the serving station. When he returns, he’s carrying a tray of soup, crackers and some fruit, and places them in front of me.

“I said I’m not hungry.”

“You’ve lost a lot of weight and muscle tone. You need to eat. Or do you want me to connect you to an IV line?” My body locks up at the threat. I’ll never survive being poked again. “I’m not telling you to consume a burger and cheese fries. A couple spoonfuls of soup, some crackers and fruit. Just a few bites.” He points to my tray. “You eat. I talk.”

The food smells good. Iwantto eat, but… what if it’s drugged? The only thing pre-packaged are the crackers. I open those and pop one in my mouth. That appeases him, so he goes back to eating his food. He doesn’t talk until after I’ve finished the first cracker.

“Phoenix Foundation is more selective of the jobs they take than Andor Reese or The Guardians are.”

I ask the question that’s been niggling at me since the day he showed up here. “You didn’t want anything to do with The Guardians. You’ve been adamant about that, and didn’t wantme joining, but you’ve been doing side jobs with Alexz’s people. Why?”

I wait, as he finishes half of his toast, then I take the other half of it off his hands. He shovels some eggs in his mouth before continuing. “The world of elite mercenaries is a small one, and the people who run teams all talk about potential candidates. Everyone wants the best. The League of the Daggered Ravens is in the Merc for Hire business. They keep to the shadows and Andor Reese is the public facing company.” He sips his coffee. “My grandfather has a good reputation in the world of private security, even after our fall out with The League. Other paramilitary companies and security firms tried to recruit me as well. I was into sports and fitness and told them all no. I was a kid, planning my dreams and wanted nothing to do with the elitist life of Canyon Falls or private security. But then, I needed cash to open my gym, and you know the rest…”

“You couldn’t get a loan, because The League controlled the banks, so they made you a deal. They’d approve the loan as long as you agreed to recruit for MISTIC.”

“Yes, and I do exactly what I agreed to do. I recruit people who would be a perfect fit for them.”

“Yet you didn’t want me to be a part of their organization.”

His lips twitch. “I said I recruit the perfect people forthem. You don’t fit that description, Thea.”

I’m a little hurt that he didn’t think I was good enough. “Excuse me? I’m just as ruthless and skilled as anyone else.”

“You are, but you’re not morally bankrupt enough for Andor Reese, and I didn’t want them to chip away at the goodness you keep locked inside.”

My anger deflates. “You think I’m too good for them?”

“I know you’re too good for them.” He waves his hand to encompass the surrounding tables. “That’s how I wound up doing jobs here. I started running into Kendall at fights andother events, and we became friendly. He was on a fight card in Atlantic City and got pulled into a PI job. He asked me to watch his back.”

“Working for the Phoenix Foundation isn’t a full-time job?”

“It doesn’t have to be. When the recruits are done with training, they can do whatever they want. Live wherever they want.”

“So Atlantic City?”

“Yeah. I helped him with his job. A few months later, he called me to help with another, and I did. Some more time went on, a few more assists. It was maybe two years later, when he finally told me the truth about who he worked for.”

“He recruited you?”

“Trust me, I was pissed he kept his affiliations a secret. I felt like he’d been working me for two years, trying to force me into a position where I had to say yes. But he explained it was all freelance work, and that I didn’t have to make any promises I didn’t want to keep, or sign my life away. I could take the jobs I wanted, reject the ones I didn’t, and I got to negotiate my price. That sounded like a good deal to me. It helped me put money away, and work towards paying off my loan faster.” His hazel eyes search mine for understanding. “I’m okay with whatever I did, LaReaux. Working with Kendall, I got to see how the other team leaders protected their teams.”

He bites into a piece of cantaloupe, and I watch him chew as I gather my thoughts. I drop my voice and ask, “Do Alex’s people know you also work for the competition?”

---