Heartless Legacy (Heartless Heirs of Canyon Falls #4)

82. Thea

Chapter 82

Thea

M y steps slow as I enter the gym, trying to make sense of seeing Holden, Finn and Wolfe all in one room. I’ll just ease on by and wait by the wall, out of the blast zone for all that big dick energy. I’m almost there when Wolfe calls out to me. “LaReaux. A word.”

I don’t want a word. I’m stressed about a test I have coming up and I need a distraction from all the studying I’m doing. A few rounds at the bags or even on that god awful treadmill should help. What would also help is him on his knees, putting that wicked mouth to good use, while Holden’s hand is around my throat, and Finn’s dick is inside me. I shake my head, clearing that image away. Am I really thinking about a four-way right now?

That’s huge. I’m not ready for that, but fantasizing about it is something I haven’t been able to do before today. I guess non-traditional therapy is working. I force myself to focus on Wolfe as a professional, and not a champion pussy licker. “Co- Coach?” I have to clear my throat to make it sound normal. He’s staring down at his tablet, but I see his lips twitch, like he knows why I sound like frogs have taken up residence in my throat.

“You’re excused from your workout today.”

Bye-bye lust, hello attitude. Not only am I stuck living in a bubble, but I’m not even allowed to go on any Phoenix missions. The gym is the only place I can go other than school. I’ve been coming here, working on rebuilding my strength and stamina. I still hate the treadmill, but my lungs no longer feel like they’re on fire when I run. “I feel fine.”

Wolfe looks up at me. “I’m well aware that you’re good to go on more strenuous activity. These two would like to have a little chat with you.”

I flash them a huge grin. “Awe Wolfe, are you finally admitting Tank’s so badass that it takes two people in the ring to equal one of him? He’ll be happy to hear that.”

Finn purrs, “I’d love to go a few rounds with you. Where do they keep the pudding or jello?” I try to ignore the timber of his voice and the flirting, but after my mini fantasy, all I can think about is letting him lick pudding off of me.

“These two are your escorts to the meeting,” Wolfe says, forcing my attention back to non sexy things.

“Escorts?” So this is league business. I’ve skipped two socials and the last league challenge. I was wondering how long I’d be able to get away with thumbing my nose up at them. “And if I decide I’d rather reschedule or skip this meeting?”

Holden says, “You can’t skip it. You can come now, willingly, or fifty minutes from now unwillingly, and I can promise you won’t like the escorts or the mode of travel waiting for you then.”

The air gets trapped in my lungs, the threat of the league punishing me flings me back to that hellhole. Wolfe shuffles closer, dropping his head to capture my gaze. “It’ll be okay, Thea. I wouldn’t let you go if it wasn’t.” His hand is on mine, his finger sliding from my knuckles to my wrist. It grounds me. My breathing calms as I stare up at him. Wolfe doesn’t just say shit to appease me. He’d never let me go off with these guys if he thought I was in danger.

“Fine.” I let out a shaky breath. “Let’s go, and these travel accommodations better be top-notch.” I grit out, stomping towards the door.

“Oh, they are.” Finn sing-songs behind me. Why the hell is he so chipper? My mood inflates when I see the mode of transportation sitting in the parking lot. I have a choice between Finn’s car and Pax’s bike. I look for the Coxsucker, but Holden says, “He didn’t stay. He took my car.”

“And left this?”

“We got the text this morning to personally escort you to the meeting. He thought this might help if you need to clear your head after the meeting.”

I take the helmet he offers to me without questioning Pax’s motives. If I’m going into the lion’s den, I need to show up like the bad ass lion tamer I am. I climb onto the bike, my lips kicked up on one side as I ask Holden, “You wanna ride bitch?”

Those gray eyes drink me in, heat simmering below the surface. “You know how much I love wrapping my body around you and hanging on tight. But I’m not sure the council will think bending you over the handlebars and fucking you in the parking lot is an acceptable reason for keeping them waiting.” He motions towards the handlebars. “The coordinates are already programmed into the GPS.”

I shove the helmet on to hide the look on my face, and what I’m sure are flushed cheeks. Holden always catches me off guard with his dirty talk. I’m mad at the sexy asshole, but I’m no less affected by his words. He’s still stalking me around town, even though he hasn’t acted on it again. I’m not exactly excited about the idea of him physically accosting me, but I’m 30 percent less scared than I was before.

I press the start button. The bike comes alive, purring between my thighs. The rumbling relaxes me, and without a backward glance at the two in the car, I maneuver out of the parking lot and onto the road. I settle into the ride, my body one with the machine as I lean into the turns and make myself smaller as I pick up speed.

All too soon, my ride is over, and I come to a stop in front of the building designed in neoclassical style architecture. Holden’s car and dozens of others sit empty in the parking lot. I hook the helmet across the handlebars and drop the keys in my pocket as I pass through the pillars at the top of the steps.

“Good Afternoon.” The man standing in the foyer greets us with a smile. “Welcome to our spring humanitarian project. For those who don’t know me, I’m Parker Sullivan. I’m a member of the security council, but I’m also one of the event coordinators for the community outreach program.”

I push forward through the crowd to get a better look. If his father’s anything to go by, Holden’s gonna be such a zaddy when he gets older. His future wife’s gonna be one lucky bitch. My next thought is an irrational one. I hate her .

I give my full attention to what Sexy Sullivan is saying about helping out the less fortunate in the community. “This year, we have teamed up with Edgecliff High School to help beautify the campus. The trucks containing the gardening and painting supplies will meet us there in an hour.” He eyes the crowd. “Any questions?”

Someone has a question. “Why do we have to paint and plant stuff? Wouldn’t donating money be better?”

Mr. Sullivan counters with, “How do you learn to appreciate what you have if you’re never confronted with what you don’t have?”

Someone else snickers. “We appreciated not going to public school just fine.”

Daddy Sullivan is not amused by the comment or the laughs it gets. “In that case, I have a very special challenge for the group.”

Our phones ping and shrieks of outrage come from around the room, amid choruses of, “Is this a joke?”

He says, “Thanks to your fellow prospects’ disdain for community service, your accounts have been frozen. When you step outside, you’ll see your cars are no longer there.” He steps forward, handing out envelopes. “Inside is the cash you will have at your disposal for this week. You are still expected to get to class on time, and attend any social commitments you’ve already made.” He gestures towards the door. “I will see you all at the Edgecliff in forty-five minutes.”

I count the cash in the envelope, ignoring the grumblings and hysterics going on around me. Outside, it’s just as Mr. Sullivan said. The vehicles are gone. There’s no way he didn’t have all this planned out ahead of time. He must’ve known at least one entitled asshole was gonna bitch about having to serve others.

But at least I have my phone. I pull up the address he gave and map the location of the school from where we are. My ride-share app is connected to my Nags Creek bank account, but I won’t cheat the system and use it. Instead, I walk in the direction where GPS says there’s a park. According to the map, there’s a bus stop on the other side of it, and a bus coming in twenty minutes.

Feet slap the ground behind me. “Where are you rushing off to?” Finn asks, catching up to me.

“Didn’t you hear Mr. Sexy Sullivan? We’ve got forty-five minutes to get to the school.”

“Do not let Holden hear you call his dad sexy.” Finn warns.

“Why not? It’s true, and Holden’s probably gonna be a zaddy too. He’s already one of the prettiest boys I know.”

He chuckles, “Definitely let him hear you say that .” When his laughter dies down, he asks, “Do you know where you’re going?”

“I know how to read a map and catch a bus. Don’t you?”

Finn pauses, his brows scrunched up. “As a matter of fact, I do. It’s just been a long time since I’ve done it.” He turns to wave at someone, then turns back around, smacking me on the ass. “We’ve got an appointment to keep. Lead the way.”

We’re one of the last ones to arrive at the school. Some prospects called friends for rides, others used the family car service to bring them here. Faster, yes, but also more expensive. We walk up just in time to see Parker go into each of their envelopes and pull out the cost of gas money for the trip from Canyon Falls, and hear him say, the next time they take a shortcut we’ll be locked out of the dining hall. I’d love to see them survive on PB&J sandwiches, hot pockets and ramen noodles.

“Hayden? What are you doing here?” Holden asks, rushing over to a girl holding a broom.

His father walks up behind us. Draping an arm around her shoulder, he says, “She begged me to bring her. Can you believe she gave up sleeping in and lounging by the pool to do this? Surprised the hell out of me that she was up on time, too.”

“Da-aad.” Her eyes dart around, but she doesn’t try to shrug him off.

Finn says, “That is surprising. Hayden is always the last person ready to go anywhere. How many outfit changes did it take for you to settle on this masterpiece? Did you even sleep last night?”

“Oh, shut up Finn. You’re the fashion snob around here.”

He smiles and walks over to ruffle her hair, which makes her even more frustrated. Pax also joins in on the teasing. I stand back, watching. It’s so fucking normal. Hayden smiles and laughs, but the corners of her lips pull tight around her smile, her eyes darting around as if she’s looking to escape.

After a few more moments, we’re put to work pulling weeds, cutting down shrubs and scrubbing graffiti off the doors and sides of the building. The school has also provided bodies to help, and some of the prospect family members are here.

It’s about twenty minutes later when Hayden says she needs to use the bathroom and rushes into the building. When she comes back, she spends more time staring at her phone than she does scrubbing the door she’s working on. She visibly exhales when it chimes, then tucks it back into her pocket. An hour later, she disappears again.

I don’t know Hayden, but I do know suspicious behavior when I see it. I’ve damn near wrote the book on it. I’m taking my bag of pulled weeds and cut shrubbery branches to the dumpster when I see a flash of dark hair peeking out from the gym door. Hayden uses a book to keep the door open, then hurries back inside.

I stand watching the door. A few minutes later, a girl carrying a backpack crosses the parking lot and walks through the propped open door, picking up the book as she passes. I return to the front of the school to find Hayden talking to another volunteer with too much cheer in her voice. This is obviously her first time breaking the rules. If she doesn’t pull it together, she’s gonna get herself caught.

When she runs off again right before we break for lunch, Holden gets up to follow her. Running him down will make me look suspicious, but I need his attention. I drop the sponge I’m holding into the bucket, and pull it out without squeezing out the water and throw it at his back. It lands between his shoulder blades and neck.

The wet splat sound draws attention from the people close by, but my eyes are on Holden. The look of disbelief on his face, when he turns to face me, is so comical that my plans to pretend I didn’t do it fail. I’m so focused on Holden’s reaction that I don’t notice someone walking up behind me. Water cascades down my head. I shriek, jumping out of the way of the stream of the water.

“Finn!”

He jumps out of the way when I swipe at him, throwing a sponge as he retreats. This one hits me in my chest. His smile grows wider as the fabric clings to me. My nipples pebble from the water. I grab my bucket, rushing after him. When I’m close enough, I fling the water his way. It hits him and Pax. I pause to stare at three Trium members standing in front of me like contestants in a wet t-shirt contest.

“It is so on, now, Pet.” Finn threatens. The three of them rush at me. I run towards the side of the building to refill my bucket and grab more sponges. Our fight spills over to some of the other workers. My jaw drops open, then I snort out a laugh when Holden’s dad shoves a sponge up the back of his son’s shirt and pats him on the back.

My sides hurt from laughing and running around with buckets of water. Holden catches me and scoops me up, carrying me to the side of the building, away from the group. “Put me down.” I demand, slapping his wet back. He does, shaking his head, flicking water on me. “What are-”

His mouth meets mine, silencing my question. I’m stunned, then slowly melt into it. He’s never kissed me this slowly. This sweetly before. Holden’s always about dominating power and the chase. I like that with him. It gets me out of my head, but this kiss is just as mind numbing. It chases all sensible thought away.

My hands are under his shirt, my leg hitched up around his hip, as the heat coils through my core. He breaks the kiss, smiling down at me with a mischievous twinkle in his eye. I yelp as I’m doused in water, and sputter, “What the fuck?”

Pax and Finn are standing on either side of me with their now empty buckets. Holden backs away and says, “That’s how you distract somebody.” I can’t even get mad at him because it is. He pulls me into him again, whispering in my ear. “Thanks for trying to cover for my sister.”