Page 132 of Heartless Legacy

I walk into the living room to find Wolfe sitting on the couch. I like the guy, but oh my god, I’m sick of seeing him. “Don’t you have training sessions?”

He doesn’t bother looking up from his phone when he answers, “Tank’s been handling them. No sense in me messing up the program he’s established for the clients.”

“Is he doing your paperwork too? You own the gym. Shouldn’t you beat the gym?”

He waves his phone at me. “That’s what I’m doing now. Paperwork. Or rather, paying bills, and signing new contracts.” He finally looks at me. “Do you want me to take you to the gym? Is that the point of this conversation?”

“No. I just figured you had other things you could do.”

“Ah.” He nods once and goes back to staring at his screen. “You’re trying to get rid of me.”

“I’m trying to give you space.”

That earns me another look and a raised eyebrow. “Why would I need space? This place is more than big enough for the both of us.”

I study his face and blurt out the question that’s been plaguing my mind all week. “Why are you doing this?”

“What am I doing, Thea? I’m sitting here working, yet somehow it’s pissing you off.”

“You’re not just sitting here, Deacon. You’ve changed your entire life to just sit here. Don’t tell me you’re happy about it.”

“I’m here because I want to be. I haven’t changed anything. I still have my job at the school and Tank’s been running the gym since last summer.”

“You want to be here? Confined to the house with me? Why? You know this is the worst babysitting job you could have taken. I’m stubborn, I keep sneaking off, and I don’t take orders. So why are you sitting here, instead of having them send someone else for me to annoy?”

He says, in a measured and calm tone, “It’s the assignment I signed up for. I don’t make a habit of passing off my responsibilities to other people, no matter how annoying they are. The gym is covered and if necessary, the school can get someone to fill in for my classes, or cancel them, and before you think this is a gotcha moment, the Physical Enhancement classes and the gym are not the same situation as this.”

“Why? What makes getting someone else to do those things so different from having someone else sit here with me?”

“First of all, if anyone else is here, you’ll still sneak out and there will be a team of mercenaries knocking on doors that we don’t want them knocking on just yet; and second, which should probably be first, I’m not letting anyone else move in with you.”

I shake my head. I don’t want him giving up his life for me. It’s not worth it. “Isn’t this beneath your security level or whatever? I should be someone else’s assignment.”

Hazel eyes pierce into mine. “You haven’t been and never will be someone else’s anything, Thea. You’remine.”

I roll my eyes, storming off. I’m tired of being cooped up here, and he’s refusing to engage in a fight. Now I need to find something else to do to get under his skin, because this cordial cohabitation shit is driving me crazy.

Deacon

I chuckle to myself as Thea storms off, slamming her bedroom door. I’m just as wired and agitated as she is, and the issue has nothing to do with living here at the secure building Alexz has set up for the team. The tension in this condo is so thick you can cut it with a knife.

Our friction isn’t solely about sexual frustration, though. The reason she wants someone else guarding her is because she thinks it’s easier to slip by them. The first few sets of guards assigned to her on campuswererookies, and they were easy to ditch.

The ones who’ve been watching her for the last month are more vigilant. She thinks she’s getting by them, but their orders are to hang back and give her some breathing room. We’re letting her think she’s slipping away unnoticed, but they’ll step in the moment they think she’s in danger.

The issue at the diner was under control until Pax stepped in and whisked her off to a cabin in the woods, so he could force her to talk to him. It would’ve been romantic if the cabin wasn’t a league property with a shit ton of access points. That remote location would have been the perfect spot for Malcolm to ambush them and take Thea away again.

Whatever those boys did or said in the short time Thea was there, has pushed her closer to the edge. Do I enjoy her taking her attitude out on me? Of course not, but I know I’m the person she feels safest being herself with, so I’ll endure a bit of her sass and misplaced aggression. For now.

Thea comes out of her room just as I’m finishing dinner, looking adorable, bundled in an oversized hoodie, leggings and bare feet. I’m plating up the food when she slips her arms around me from behind, mumbling an apology against my back.

I place the spoon on the counter and turn to face her. “I know you’re feeling trapped here, Thea. That’s not what I want for you, or for me. I’ve asked for support for you on campus.”

“What kind of support?” She asks, trying to pull from my embrace. “More bodyguards hiding in the bushes?”

“More like a campus companion. This person or persons would be school students, so they’d be more involved in campus life. You wouldn’t necessarily know who they are, for your protection and theirs, but they’d be less conspicuous than a cadre of mercenaries following you around.”

“Can I move back on campus?”

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