Page 34 of Heartless Legacy

They call this place The Hub. I always assumed it was a military fortress in some obscure location in the subarctic. This vessel is more than a cargo ship. It’s a floating city. I guess if I were a dead man, I’d be living at sea where it’s harder to get to me, too. Moreau was probably right about Thea, looking for a way to escape. She’d never make it back to land in a lifeboat, but I know she’d try.

Thea’s hand squeezes mine, bringing my thoughts back to her. “Thanks for coming for me. Again.”

“LaReaux, there’s no place you can go in this world where I won’t come for you.”

“You might not feel that way after.”

“After, what?”

She shakes her head, biting back whatever confession she was about to make. I know talking isn’t easy for her. Especially when it’s trauma related. She’s been missing for four months, and just from the bruises I can see, I know she’s been through hell.

I tamp down the homicidal voice ringing in my head. “Whatever they did. Whatever you had to do to survive, I can handle it. I promised you nobody’s taking you away from me.” I tip her head up, forcing her to look me in the eye. “That includes you. You’re not taking yourself away from me, either.” I lean in closer and whisper against her ear, “You and me, Sweetness. We’ll get through this together.”

Chapter 22

Thea

Ithought the swaying I was feeling was a byproduct of my lack of nutrition, but it turns out we’re on a retrofitted cargo ship out in the middle of an undisclosed ocean. I’ve always thought I’d cruise around the world, but this isn’t what I meant.

Right now, I’m standing on the top deck, the smell of salt water heavy in my chest, a cool breeze floating over my skin. We’re moving at a steady speed doing what one of the Phoenix agents calls gator squares. That basically means we’re traveling in circles with no real destination in mind.

Alexz says a moving target is a hard to hit target, and being out to sea is the best way to keep me safe. I agree. Nothing I’ve heard says The League has access to a fleet of ships, other than the yachts they party on, and the last place Malcolm or Felix Lazarro will think to look for me is in the middle of the ocean on a vessel that looks like a rusty container ship.

I grip the railing with my eyes closed. The familiarity of the sound of the ocean helps settle me. I’ve missed this feeling so much. Wolfe stands at my back, watching to make sure nobody approaches me. He’s not very trusting of the people around us, even though he seems to have worked with several of them before. I need to ask him about that, but I haven’t wanted todelve into anything serious. If I ask him to open up, he’ll expect me to do the same.

For now, I’m happy to pretend that this is another adventure I’ve chosen to embark on, and that there isn’t a mafia boss, an elitist prick, and an unhinged doctor on land probably looking for me. The Phoenix Foundation rescued me, but I’m far from safe. None of the men who held me hostage or their employees hid their identities, which means I’m a liability. There’s only one way people like that deal with liabilities. I sigh, letting that truth sink in. Just what I need. More enemies.

A shiver snakes down my spine. Not from the cool night air, but from the specter of death crossing over my proverbial grave. My life is officially over. I understand that. I can’t go back to Nags Creek or Canyon Falls. Those are the two places they’re sure to look for me, and mob ties always lead to Vegas. Maybe I can take my chances on the east coast. I’ve never been there before.

I turn, resting my back against the rail, watching Wolfe. I’m on the run, but what about him? He came out here for me, but I can’t drag him into this any more than I already have. I can’t expect him to float around the seven seas with me, or hide out in hostels when I get tired of playing pirate and need to step foot on dry land.

He turns as if he can feel my eyes on him. “You okay?” He asks, coming closer.

“Just thinking of how fucked up my life is. Just when I think it can’t get any crazier or crappier, the universe says,Here. Hold my beer.”

“We’re gonna figure this out, Thea. Phoenix Foundation, they’re good at what they do.”

I bite my tongue instead of asking just how he got caught up with people in the same field as Andor Reese and The Guardians, after he told me to stay away from them.

“You ready to head in?”

I nod and make my way over to the hatch. We go down two levels looking for the room where the team leader for my recovery mission works. Alexz gave us permission to read the report, since I’m not even sure what happened.

I follow Wolfe through the corridors towards a room called Operation Center. He pushes into an office on the right. The guy at the desk looks up at us and frowns, when Wolfe says, “I want a copy of the report and the names of everyone involved.”

He exhales loudly as he pulls a tablet out of the drawer, handing it to Wolfe along with a sticky note. “Username and password are on there.”

Wolfe sits and logs onto the tablet. “You’re kidding right?” He scowls at the team leader. “There’s nothing here.”

“We’re still gathering information about what happened during the time Miss LaReaux was gone.”

“You rescued Thea two weeks ago.”

The guy gives me a pointed look. Who cares if they rescued me? I don’t know them, so I did what I do best. I kept my mouth shut. Wolfe turns to me, giving me a look that says he knows exactly what I’m thinking. “Time to debrief, LaReaux. Tell me what happened.”

I’m shaking. Sweat breaks out on my forehead. I rake my hands up and down my arms. Someone yells, “Go get the doctor!”

“No!” I take a step away from them both.

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