Page 191 of Heartless Legacy

Finn walks up to us, and says, “Contingencies? Did you fuckers have a planning session without me?”

Thea glares at him. Kissing her cheek, he says, “It goes without saying that they’re the fuckers. Not you.” Taking the chair next to me, he sounds way too excited when he asks, “Whatare we planning, and do we get to blow shit up? The cliff’s notes version will do.”

He whips out his phone and I ask, “Who are you calling?”

“Cassius. He’s a prick, but he has cool toys. I’m gonna tell him Thea said I can borrow his EMP.”

She hops up and jumps across the table, snatching his phone out of his hand. “Nobody’s planning anything that requires Cass’s toys.” She says, disconnecting the call. “And I’m not so sure I like you associating with him.”

“You don’t?” Finn asks, holding his hand out for his phone.

“No, and I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I think he’s a bad influence on you.”

I can’t help but laugh. It’s loud and the most carefree it’s been in ages. Thea scowls at me. “What’s so funny?”

“You’re saying somebody out there is a bad influence on this guy?” I hook my thumb towards Finn. “The prince of blood and destruction? The guy who the high council worries is a psychopath?”

“That’s not funny.”

“No?” I tease. “Then what about the hypocrisy of what you just said? When you saw me sitting here, you said you don’t control Holden’s friendships.”

“I don’t. Finn’s not Holden. And if you actually knew Cassius, you’d be worried about them becoming characters in an unhinged buddy cop movie, too.” She returns to her seat. “Don’t believe me? Look up Dark Canyon Court, online.”

I do and say, “It says a sinkhole opened up on the road. So?”

“The sinkhole was Finley Jefferson Rhodes, the Third, and his buddy Cass experimenting with the corrosion rate of nitric acid.” Then, for the first time since this conversation started, she’s glaring at Holden. “And don’t think I don’t know that you’re the one who erased them from the camera footage.”

Holden’s unbothered by her disapproval. “It was a valid experiment.”

“How? When would knowing the corrosion rate of nitric acid ever come in handy?”

He answers, “Never.”

“Exactly.”

Then he says, “Unless someone makes it through us and your guards and hides you away in a facility buried under thirty feet of steel.”

She looks to me to back her up with this unhinged conversation. I was with her in the beginning, but after hearing Holden’s explanation, I agree it was a valid experiment. Noticing she won’t get any help from me, she aggressively turns the page in her book, muttering, “Not a reasonable brain cell amongst the three of you.”

Finn chuckles, and answers, “Four.”

“What?”

“There’s not a reasonable brain cell amongst the four of us when it comes to you. Deacon’s the one who suggested the location.”

Chapter 106

Holden

“Are you sure we’re in the right place?” Finn asks, as we exit the cab in front of the bus station.

“Reverse number lookup gave this address.” I look both ways before crossing the street, heading south towards Fountain View Pawn and Jewelry.

“Utah, Arizona, LA, Nevada, Colorado. Why would The League plant clues all over the west coast?”

“To see how dedicated the prospects are, I guess. You have to show maximum effort for maximum reward, and give up a lot of free time. It’s definitely a lot for one person to do alone. Maybe that’s why it’s supposed to be a team effort.”

Finn says, “Well, the teams suck ass. Because I can assure you nobody’s flying here after class on Friday to track down leads.”

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