Page 26 of As Thick As Thieves

“Penn asked me to marry her but now you’ve ruined it.”

“Don’t tease him,” I scolded, giving Cruz a cringe. “We made a deal last night that if we get to fifty and we’re still single, we’ll just be together so we’re not lonely.”

“You’ll be too busy marrying me to make time for this asshole,” Cruz answered swiftly, moving to search in the cupboard for my pills. “But if I have to kill Lopez and bury his body somewhere to make sure, I’ll do it.”

“You’re not funny.”

“I wasn’t laughing,” he deadpanned, handing me the antibiotics and grabbing me a glass of water. I took them and washed them down, and Zavier got to his feet to grab everything for my back and handed it to Cruz.

“I’ll leave this with you then. I assume you’ll be going out for the day with Cruz?” he asked, making Cruz snort.

“She’s coming to stay with me, obviously.”

I turned to face him, giving him a dirty look. “Excuse me? I’m staying here. I’m not going to the compound.”

“I’ll stay here then,” he shrugged, and Zavier bit out a groan.

“This isn’t a hotel. Besides, Stone won’t just let you spend all your time here when you’re supposed to be working.”

“Bet,” he scoffed, shooing him. “Make yourself busy so I can fix her back.”

Zavier rolled his eyes but took his coffee to his room, leaving us in peace, so I pulled my shirt over my head and held it to my chest.

Cruz peeled the bandage off, and I could tell it was worse than he expected because he stayed silent as he assessed it. I peeled the one off my stomach too, letting it air while he started tending to my back.

“I’m going to kill him,” he muttered under his breath as he worked, but I didn't bother replying. I had a feeling he wasn’t really talking to me.

He was almost done when an engine revved outside before going quiet, and I was surprised when he knew who it was without even looking. “What the fuck is Lavaro doing here? Does he stay here too?”

“Yeah, sometimes. He was out with Riley doing car stuff last night but I don’t know where he stayed,” I shrugged, smiling as Ander walked in. “Hey, I didn’t burn the house down.”

“Not yet,” he joked, moving behind me to inspect my back. “Seems like it’s healing okay. It definitely looks better.”

“Eyes off,” Cruz grunted, making Ander scoff.

“Eat shit. It’s just her back, not her pussy.” He lifted a plastic bag in his hand, giving me a wink. “I bought more ice cream.”

“Are you going to stick around long enough to actually eat it with me this time?” I asked dryly as he put it in the freezer.

“I’m a busy man. If you want to hang out, you’ll have to come with me when I go out. We’ll go to the track soon, okay?”

Cruz was fuming but I shot him a flat look. “Don’t be such a jealous asshole. I’m enjoying being able to make friends.”

“You have the worst taste in company,” he said with a wry smile, amusement flicking through me.

“I know, right? I can’t help but like you for some reason, though.”

“Ha ha,” he grumbled, motioning for me to turn around. I kept the shirt pressed against my chest as he cleaned and bandaged my stomach, then he blocked me from Ander’s view so I could put my shirt back on.

“We’d better get going if we want breakfast,” I said once he downed the rest of his coffee. “I want pancakes.”

“Sounds good. C’mon, I’ll help you get dressed,” he grinned, taking my hand and tugging me towards the hallway, ignoring Ander’s comment about him being an ass. I flicked the light on and opened my closet, Cruz’s eyes running over all my clothes. “Where did all this come from?”

“Zavier took me shopping. I was happy with a handful of things, but he insisted on buying everything I looked at,” I huffed, his eyes narrowing.

“He paid for it?”

“Well, it’s not like I have any money,” I pointed out as I grabbed a cute sundress off the hanger and held it up to inspect. “Zavier said it was Ander’s money.”

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