Page 158 of Heartless Legacy

He barks out a laugh. “No ma’am. I like it just the way it is.”

“That’s good to hear. I’m told the girls are quite fond of it.”

“That they are. But you shouldn’t listen to rumors. It’s alway better to find out things for yourself.”

Is this fucker flirting with my girl? I’m moving closer, and even though she’s not looking at me, Thea says. “Stop moving, you two. These men won’t hesitate to put a bullet in you.”

On my left, I see Pax has moved closer to the group as well. Holden is in the same spot. I know it’s not because he doesn’t care that these guys are so close to our girl, or that one is acting like some lovesick twat over her. He hasn’t moved because he’snot letting his emotions get the best of him. Which means he’s seen something I’m not seeing.

I take a moment to reassess the situation in front of me. Thea has moved to the front of the group, but the men are still in a formation around her. The two guys on her left and right can shift center, boxing her in again, and the one in the back has a straightforward path to the door. Their guns are still out and still trained on us, and Thea looks. Tense.

I step back towards Holden and her gaze swings to Pax. Shit. The guy said he was tied up with cuffs because of who his dad is. He’s the one they think is the biggest threat to Thea, and judging by her body language, right now she agrees.

“Pax.” I call, trying to get his attention. “Pax. Move back.”

“I’m good where I’m at.”

“This is not about you winning a pissing contest. Move the fuck. Back.”

He stiffens. Then shifts his head to look at me. I nod subtly towards Thea. His posture relaxes and then he moves back to our starting point. Thea’s body relaxes a little more with each step. Her guard is still up, but she’s better able to hide it now.

I try to smooth things over and say, “I think we got off on the wrong foot with the introductions.”

The guy who came to get us out of the room snorts, “I warned you.”

“You did. I didn’t care. Now, I do. So how about you tell us why we’re here?”

Someone steps from behind a pile of crates and says, “You’re here because we caught you breaking into Rock Mountain Rehab.”

Smiley adds, “And because we couldn’t all agree on whether or not to kill you. I voted no, for the record, but little ma’am here was leaning towards…yes?”

“Shut up.” Thea hisses, elbowing him in the stomach.

“Who are you guys?” Holden asks, bringing us back on topic.

“We’re her, bodyguards.” The first guy answers, taking a step towards Thea like he thinks his answer might cause one of us to attack.

“Why does she-” I bite back the rest of the very stupid question I was about to ask, and take another look at the group, who still haven’t lowered their weapons. “We’re not a threat to Thea.”

The guy over by the crates grunts, “Only an idiot would believe that.”

Thea shrugs at me. “And they’re not idiots, Finn. I haven’t been safe around any of you since the moment I stepped foot on campus.”

“I can’t argue with that, but Ireallywant to.” I give her a dazzling smile. “We’re not a threat today, so would you mind telling your band of GI Joes to lower their guns?”

She sounds incredulous when she asks, “You just want me to do it because you smile nicely?”

“The smile not working? Fine. What’ll it cost me?”

Her response is swift and matter of fact. “Answers.”

“I’m an open book to you, Pet. You know that.”

“Really? Then tell me, what the hell you were doing in Connecticut.”

I smile again. She’s gonna love me so much. “We were looking for your mother.”

The heart eyes I expected to see don’t materialize. Instead, the hands holding the guns flick the safety off as she asks, “For the league?”

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