Heartless Legacy (Heartless Heirs of Canyon Falls #4)

59. Deacon

Chapter 59

Deacon

T he message that comes across my phone has me grinding my teeth, to keep from saying something to alert my coworkers that something’s wrong. I felt comfortable showing up for tonight’s faculty dining out, because Thea was supposed to be safely tucked away in her dorm. But now, I’ve got a message that she left the dorm and headed towards the southern strip. Her final destination was Club Luminosity.

She went through the adjoining bar, but the person trailing her sends me pictures from inside the club next door. I zoom in on the person they focused on in the picture. Dammit! Thea’s not out for a night of rebellion. This is a fucking challenge.

I make my excuses about an early training session and hurry to my car. I pull onto the street and make an immediate U-turn, pointing my car toward the south side of town. The guard we have on Thea will intervene if he has to, but then his cover will be blown, which could put her at risk. I ignore the speed limit, hoping I get there before that happens.

The drive takes tens minutes but feels like an hour. Skidding to a stop, I hop out of my car and shove my way inside the club, pushing people out of the way as I make my way towards the back room. A server calls out, “Hey, you can’t go back there without paying first.”

“I’m not here for a dance. I’m here to pick up a friend.”

“I’ve got this,” Thea’s guard says, pulling out his wallet. Thankfully, these guys know how to blend in. The server waves me through. I give a cursory look into the rooms. I don’t want to see shit. I’m just looking for Thea. I find her and them in room seven.

I choke out the guard at the door and let myself into the room. They’re so caught up in what they’re doing that they don’t notice me leaning against the wall with my arms folded across my chest. After a few seconds of watching them paw at Thea, I say, “Good evening, gentlemen.”

Leonardo Burke springs to his feet. “What- what are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same thing, but the answer seems obvious.” I point to his unbuttoned fly. “What’s not so obvious is why LaReaux’s here.” I address my next words to her. “Did you get a job and forget to tell me about it?”

Someone walks up behind me and drawls, “That’s what I’d like to know.”

Where did he come from? I don’t risk taking my eyes off the men in front of me as Finn steps further into the room, his attention fixed on the guy holding onto Thea’s arm. “Oooh goody.” He coos. Fucking coos. “I love a lap dance. Looks like I’m just in time for the party.” He traipses in and plops down on the seat next to the guy.

Burke says, “Young Finn, this isn’t a party. This is official league business, and neither of you has the appropriate clearance level to be here.”

“But a first year does?” Finn beats me to asking the question. “And this guy? Who the fuck is he? I’ve never seen him at any league events.”

“Prospect LaReaux is here on a challenge.”

“A challenge?” Finn says as if he’s unfamiliar with the word.

He looks over at me for clarification. He’s a sarcastic little shit, but this time, I’m enjoying his antics. I ask, “What kind of challenge requires the prospect to be in a sheer teddy, and see through heels in a room alone with five men?”

I make a big production of pulling out my phone and scrolling through it. “I didn’t get any messages about a challenge.”

“We are not required to notify you of the details of the challenges.”

“I’m not asking for details. I’m saying I didn’t get any alerts that a challenge was scheduled for tonight.”

Finn pipes up, “Neither did I.”

Burke says, “This is a first year challenge, Finley.”

Finn nods, “Right. Right. Righto.” Then his brows furrow. “My vision must be failing, because I didn’t see any other first years with their tits out on my way in.”

He’s moved even closer to Thea and the guy who is still holding onto her. I know how that’s about to end. Finn looks at each of the men in the room and asks, “Is anyone gonna introduce this guy before things go any further?” He juts his chin toward the older man whose dick is out of his pants. “Him too.”

Burke puffs up his chest, voice oozing with authority. “I don’t answer to you. How I conduct a loyalty challenge is none of either of your concerns.”

“A loyalty challenge?” I repeat, looking at each of the league members. “The tribunal already issued their loyalty challenge, and Thea still has two weeks to meet the deadline. Are you telling me the high council and tribunal have amended those terms?” I turn to Thea. “LaReaux. You didn’t inform me of the change. How much time has elapsed? Are you still within your rebuttal window?”

The men share looks. One of them says, “This isn’t an official change. We are merely offering support to first-year Prospect LaReaux.”

I turn to the guy. “Support?”

“Yes. We will be character witnesses should the need arise.”

“And why would she need character witnesses?”

“Well, you see, she was gone a long time. We need to know that she has The League’s best interest in mind.”

Is this what he believes or the lie they’ve come up with to justify their actions? “Thea wasn’t on vacation. She was in jail for attempted murder.”

Finn huffs, “Who the fuck are you?” To the guy who thinks he’ll be a character witness.

“Why does it matter?” Burke snarls.

Finn’s facade of patience and civility finally slips. “It matters, because I want to make sure I have all the details straight. It matters because I need to know whose fingers I’m giving my girl.”

“Whose fi-”

The anguished scream cuts off the rest of Burke’s question. Color leaches from his face. Finn’s on his feet, approaching the other unnamed man in the corner. “Did your dick touch her?”

The man covers his now flaccid penis and shakes his head. “No. No, I swear. My dick didn’t touch her.”

Finn looks at Thea for confirmation. She’s staring down at his bloody knife. “Pet?”

“Hmm?”

“Did he put his shriveled penis on you?”

“No. He. He didn’t touch me.”

I ask, “Did anyone else touch you?” Finn spins towards the other three men in the room, flicking his knife open and closed, waiting for her answer.

Burke bellows, “Now wait a minute. You can’t just come in here maiming people. I will have you sanctioned!”

Finn laughs, “You’re gonna have me sanctioned? A Trium member who walked in on you holding an unauthorized loyalty challenge with a first year prospect, in the presence of two unidentified civilians, in the champagne room of a club that’s not affiliated with The League, no less?”

I didn’t even think of that. But, yeah, now that he’s mentioned it, the crimes against these three are getting worse and worse. He holds up his finger, blood from the knife still dripping down his hand, and pulls out his phone with the other one. “Let’s just get Parker Sullivan on the line and get the sanction paperwork started, shall we?”

“Now wait, young Finn.” Burke sputters. “Don’t be hasty. We’re willing to overlook your rashness. It’s just a few fingers he lost in a bar fight. They look like clean cuts. He can probably get them reattached if he and his father leave now.”

“My rashness?” Finn nods. “Yeah. That sounds like a good way to explain what went down here. I’m known for being rash.” He looks over at Thea. “What do you think, Pet?”

She’s looking at me for guidance, but this choice is hers. I’ll do whatever she wants. I can have a cleanup crew in here in five minutes.

“I think.” She says as she slips off her shoes and steps over the guy, still crying and whimpering in the corner. “I was never here.”

We follow her through a door to the dressing room that holds a rack of obscenely thin and too small lingerie. I would love to see her in something scanty, but my stomach churns because my first time seeing her in lingerie shouldn’t have been like this. She shoves her feet into her boots and puts her jacket on, opting to carry her clothes.