Page 13 of Hidden But Not Safe

The pressure against his shoulder felt like a heavy weight.

‘Not yet,’ he texted to Ramiro.

Naz dropped the phone to his lap, the small puffs of Meg’s breath teasing at his neck as she continued to sleep.

Julio stared at Naz’s shirt on Meg, where she sat on the edge of the table while the rest of the crew finished sorting the drugs. No one mentioned testing any that day.

Naz had pretended to be asleep when Meg woke up, and he’d been relieved when she left on her own a little after dawn. She’d stayed close to Julio all day so far.

His shirt was way too big on her, one side baring most of her shoulder down to the slope of her breast, showcasing her bronzed, smooth skin more appealingly than when she’d worn the crop top. Naz didn’t understand it, but he tried to keep his gaze away from her.

She leaned forward, the material gaping. Miguel whistled, and Meg slapped a hand on the cloth before looking at Julio with wide eyes.

She sat up straighter before sliding her hand down Julio’s arm. “I had more clothes at my ex’s place. I know you’re busy, but do you think we could go pick up my stuff?”

Her voice sounded different to Naz, hesitant, but he refused to look, helping to stack boxes of pill bottles instead.

The laugh she let out was huskier than the bright giggle he’d heard from her before. “I promise to let you rip some of it off me,” she said to Julio.

Across from Naz, Miguel stood transfixed, his eyes locked on her as if he could absorb her into his body.

Naz shoved a box toward him, the drag of it pulling Miguel’s gaze back to the table.

Julio’s frown deepened as he studied the shirt she was wearing. “I told you to wear one of my shirts.”

“We already tried that. You dragged it off me again.” She hopped off the table to stand in front of him, her hands sliding down his chest. “Besides, it was just as big on me.” Her hand cupped the front of his jeans. “Even bigger.”

Julio hummed in his throat as she stroked him, and Naz decided another perimeter check was in order.

“Fine, baby,” he heard Julio say behind him before he shouted, “Naz! Take my girl to get her clothes.”

Naz froze halfway across the warehouse. He turned, lifting his eyebrow.

Meg planted a swift kiss to Julio’s lips. “Thank you, thank you!” She started to rush toward Naz, but Julio grabbed her arm.

He nodded to Miguel. “Go with them in case there’s trouble from what we did.”

Miguel nodded, looking eager.

Meg’s smile fell when her eyes darted to Miguel, then dropped to her feet.

Julio stroked her arm. “Don’t be long,” he warned before letting her go.

Naz was closest to the exit and led the way outside. The thought of being in the car with the two of them gave him a headache. Closed-in vehicles reminded him of being locked in a cage. He strode to his motorcycle instead.

“No can do, Ignacio,” Miguel said, jogging to catch up.

Naz hated the way his full name sounded. The only people that had used it before, he’d wanted to kill, very slowly.

“Your name’s Ignacio?” Meg asked, coming up beside him and fiddling with the tilted handlebar on the motorcycle.

Naz felt strange watching her hand curl around the handle while she said his name. He’d expected to hate hearing it from her just as much as he did everyone else, but it sounded different from how the men had said it. Softer, maybe, and pleasant.

Miguel scowled at her. “Aren’t we getting your stuff? A motorcycle won’t get the job done.”

Naz nodded, waved his hand toward the nearest car, and held up two fingers.

“Two vehicles?” Miguel considered. “Yeah. That’s smart. We can split up if shit goes down.” He moved closer, his arm snaking around Meg’s waist, pulling Naz’s shirt tighter against her. “You’re coming with me, baby. Just the two of us.”

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