Page 23 of As Thick As Thieves

“Show you what?” she asked quietly, refusing to look at me.

I slowly reached out to cup her chin, her eyes finally sliding to mine. “Show me what he did to you.”

The hesitation on her face dug into my chest as she contemplated it. I didn’t want her hiding from me.

Finally, she sighed and moved to sit in front of me on the bed, turning so that her back was to me, and I carefully lifted the bottom of her shirt to find most of her back bandaged. I gently took the corner in my fingers and pulled it back, pure rage rushing through me as I saw the slashes across her skin.

“It’s so ugly,” she whispered, and as much as I wanted to tear the bandage off to get a proper look, I put it back in place.

“Nothing about you could ever be ugly, Penn.”

Her tear-filled eyes burned into me as doubt lingered below their depths, and I wanted nothing more than to kiss her pain away. The shame reflecting on her face made me want to tear her father apart even more, especially when she looked away as if she couldn’t face me.

“No matter what, my feelings for you will never change,” I said softly, and I swore she stopped breathing.

“How do you feel about me?”

I crawled around her so that I was directly in front of her, holding her unsure gaze.

“I love you. You’re all I want. You want to get out of here and never look back? I’ll go with you. I’d follow you to the ends of the earth.”

“You can’t leave the guys behind,” she said weakly, but something settled across her face as hope filled her. “Or your job.”

“No? Watch me. I’ll walk away from everything for you,” I promised, taking her face in my hands. Her lip trembled with overwhelming emotion, and I couldn’t hold back any longer as I leaned forward and kissed her.

She didn’t even try to fight me off as she accepted the kiss almost desperately, her fingers threading through my hair to keep me close. I wanted to push her back and sink inside her, but I’d only end up hurting her wounds.

“Stop!” she suddenly blurted out as she pushed me back. “I’m still mad at you!”

“How’s that working out for you?” I chuckled as I drew her against me again, not wanting any distance between us.

“Do the others know you’re here? They’re not outside, are they?” she scowled, only relaxing when I shook my head.

“Nah. I’m selfish and wanted to see you alone. I won’t keep it a secret from them when I get home, though. My fist has an appointment with Stone’s face anyway.”

“I don’t want you guys fighting.”

“I’ll skip the fighting and go straight to fucking murder,” I snorted. “Is there anything else he did to you that you didn’t tell me about?” The flash of worry in her eyes was small, but it was there, anger simmering inside me again. “Penn, what the fuck did he do?”

“It’s nothing.”

“Why are you protecting him?” I asked with a frown, her eyes dropping to the blanket as she fiddled with her hands on her lap.

“I’m protecting you, not him.”

“From what?”

She looked back up at me, and guilt flickered across her pretty face. “Because if I tell you, it’s going to tear you all apart, and I don’t want to be the reason you fight. I was also worried you’d all get in trouble over it, so I just kept it to myself.” Alarm bells rang in my head as I watched her, a choked laugh leaving her. “Why doesn’t he like me, Cruz? I’d do anything he asked of me, even risk my own fucking life, and he continued to throw it back in my face. I just wanted to be part of your world.”

“What did he do, baby?” I asked in a low voice, taking her hand and giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m not mad at you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“You will be. I lied to you.”

“About what?”

“I didn’t sneak out to break into Rory’s house behind your backs. Stone told me it was training, and he took me there and said I had to get in and out within ten minutes with a painting. If I’d told Skeeter that Stone had sent me in there, the crews would’ve gone after all of you,” she finally admitted, my blood running cold.

“Stone sent you in there?”

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