Page 107 of Heartless Legacy

I get why she’s stalling. Life is simpler. Easier here, as opposed to her life in Canyon Falls. We go out, burn some shit up, and come back and relax. There, she’s always on guard, keeping up the facade of being a model prospect, while looking for ways to destroy Malcolm. The Trium is also working their way back into her life.

Finn joining us on the beach was a heat of the moment type of thing, but I should have known he’d use that opening to his advantage. I just worry Thea’s gonna be heartbroken again when this is all over with. Eventually, the truth about what she’s up to will come out and I’m not sure they’ll side with her against the father of the man they’ve sworn their lives and allegiance to.

“We have to go back. Every challenge matters. You agreed to this mission and you’re gonna finish what you started, so that when you walk away, it’s on your own terms and you’re free of this town’s baggage.”

Tucking a wet strand of hair behind her ear, I say, “And I’d rather not have to arrange for a kill squad to break you out of MISTIC, which is where The League will send you, if you’re stillat the bottom of the leader board when the amnesty period is over.”

She pulls my face to hers, kissing me, until we’re both panting for air. When we break apart she says, “I love it when you get all vigilante justicey.”

I squeeze her ass, giving her one last kiss before stepping away. The cooling space between us helps calm my raging hard on. I open the glass door, snagging a towel off the side of the tub, and wrap her in it before tucking one around my waist.

We both check our phones. I was right. The League has issued another challenge.

Chapter 64

Holden

I’m teetering on the edge of exhaustion. I can barely contain the urge to yawn and there’s this heaviness in my limbs that signals my body is ready to give out on me. I drank a cup of coffee with a double shot of expresso. The caffeine should be enough of an energy boost for me to make it through these next few hours.

There’s an area of shelves near the back of the library, far away from the part of the library that gets the most use. The lights are always out and there are a few couches and reading chairs back there. It’s supposed to be a community nook for quietly reading or discussing an assignment. Now, it’s a common hookup spot, used for quietly getting off. We’ve all learned to ignore the pants and gasps of the couples who use it. It’s common to see shoes peeking out from the bottom shelves, a few painted fingernails. Discarded books.

It’s been a while since I’ve been interested enough in seeing who the couples are for me to take a closer look. That was, until a few days ago, when I overheard a conversation between a group of first year prospects.

Eloise should be more careful about where she is and who she’s talking to. But, in this case, I’m glad she was so free withher words. Because what they were discussing was down right diabolical. The plan is a well thought out one, but it won’t yield the results she’s hoping for. I didn’t even have to change it much to fit what Finn and I are going to do.

The restaurant erupts in a series of chimes. It’s pandemonium as prospects hurry off, hoping to get to the starting spot for the challenge, faster.

We pile onto buses outside of the restaurant. We’re heading to the same location, but the challenge for each prospect year is different. Finn and I are on the same bus as Eloise, since she’s the starting point for this stack of dominos.

An hour later, the bus lurches into the driveway in front of the hunting lodge. Eloise makes eye contact with one of her teammates as she walks down the aisle to exit the bus. He quickly gets to his feet, falling into step behind her. The rest of the team, who were on the other buses, meet them in front of the lodge.

The plan calls for them to split into three groups. One group is supposed to grab Thea and tie her to a tree. The second group will complete the challenge, and the third group will do Eloise’s bidding, while she gets to keep her hands clean and reap the benefits of both of her missions going off without a hitch.

Finn and I lower our masks, and change out the lapel pins we’re wearing, before melting in with the crowd of first year prospects. He moves ahead of me, trailing the guys tracking Thea. I’m on Eloise duty. Ordinarily, I can’t stand to be anywhere near her, but tonight, I volunteered.

Everyone’s so caught up in what they’re doing that no one notices me jabbing her with the needle and dragging her unconscious body behind a tree.

I slip my backpack off and pull out a roll of duct tape, slapping the pieces across her mouth to form an X, and shovea pillowcase over her head, before using more tape to secure it around her neck. The duct tape as a binding was Eloise’s idea.

It pisses me off Eloise is always trying to get some random asshole’s pathetic dick inside my girl. It’s like she has a rape fantasy, but wants to use Thea as her proxy. Well, today she gets to experience the fear and worry she so callously inflicted on Thea first hand. When the last of the stragglers pass, I heft her over my shoulder, walking her deeper into the woods surrounding the estate.

I find a location far enough from the cabins that no one will spot her, but easy enough for the guys assigned to attack Thea to find. I tie Eloise to the tree, leaving her face covered. We don’t want them to know she’s not their intended target. The mild sedative I gave her should wear off soon. I want her awake for this, the way Thea would have been.

I’m leaning up against the tree when Finn catches up to me. “All good?”

He nods. “The kidnapping team’s been rerouted.”

“And Thea?”

“Off to complete her challenge.”

We wait for the people from the third wave of this plan to come through. When they do, Finn and I pull our masks back down, and I step away from the tree we’re pretending to guard. “She said leave the hood on. She wants her senses completely muddled.”

The two guys shrug, not caring that there’s a woman tied to the tree that they’ve agreed to rape. No questions asked.

“Lemme get your phones.” Finn says to the guys as they get closer. They hand them over, and Finn tosses me one. I swipe the camera app to record the person tied to the tree, then send the video with the caption.

Unknown

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