Page 41 of As Thick As Thieves

Arms slid around my waist from behind, Cruz speaking with amusement. “I have enough dangerous hobbies. Besides, I’m currently out of work so I don’t want to start splurging on sports cars.”

“The fuck do you mean you’re out of work?” she asked slowly.

“We walked out on Stone. Moved out and quit.”

“Damn, you really like this girl,” Beckett muttered, eyeing me differently. Almost like she was curious but with an untrusting edge to it.

“We love her, and Stone figured that out the hard way,” he replied flatly, and before I could say anything, I was suddenly slammed down on the ground with Cruz laying over me. “Stay down!” I didn’t understand until I heard the distinct sound of a gunshot, panic swarming through me. I jumped as another shot fired, Cruz’s hold tightening on me. “I’ve got you, baby.”

Screams rang out around us but I couldn’t see from down here.

“Get behind the car!” Beckett ordered from beside us, and Cruz didn’t hesitate to take his weight off me so I could move, but not enough to leave me uncovered as we scrambled to safety.

“Where’s Drake and Knox?” I blurted out, peeking around the yard now that we were behind the car. “Cruz, where—”

“They’re with Maddox and Jett still. I can see them behind Maddox’s car,” Beckett answered calmly, pulling a gun from nowhere and leaning around the side of her car to assess our surroundings. “Stay with Cruz.”

“Where are you going?” I asked in a shrill voice, amusement flashing in her eyes.

“To kill whichever motherfucker thought they could shoot up my turf.” She took off, and Cruz pulled me against his chest more, kissing the top of my head.

“Trust me, the Devil doesn’t want her in his kingdom any time soon because she’d try to take over Hell, she’ll be fine.”

“What if it’s someone my dad hired? What if—”

“We’ll figure it out. Whoever it is just started a war with the crews, so they won’t be able to stay hidden for long,” he assured me, the bullets going silent now that Beckett was chasing them off.

I clung to him, but I pulled away when wetness soaked into my shirt. I wasn’t bleeding, but blood rapidly spread across Cruz’s shirt by his waist. “Oh my God. Did you get shot?”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s not fine!” I choked out, my hands shaking as I grabbed the bottom of his shirt to pull it up, finding a bullet wound. Blood seeped out, leaking down his side and soaking into his pants to form a large wet patch. “What do I do? Fuck.”

“You don’t do anything.”

I pulled my eyes up to his face, and despite his crooked grin, I could see the pain he was trying so hard to hide. He was hurting, and it was probably a bullet meant for me.

Tears burned my eyes as I stared at all the blood, but Drake was suddenly beside me, pulling me back into his arms.

“It’s okay, we’ll fix it,” he murmured as Knox knelt in front of Cruz to inspect the wound. “Are you hurt?” When I shook my head, he sighed. “Let me look anyway.”

“Where’s Beckett? Is she okay?” I forced out through the panic, his lips kicking up into a smile.

“She’s off being a badass as usual. She’s with Maddox. Now, let me look at you.” He moved back to lift my shirt slightly, checking my stomach and sides, and he sucked in a sharp breath when he got to my back. “You’ll feel that later.”

“Was I shot?” I squeaked out, drawing Cruz’s attention as he quickly ran his eyes over me. I could tell he wanted to come and check for himself, but Knox growled at him to sit still.

“No, but your back’s bleeding.” He peeled the bandage back, his warm hand sliding around my hip to keep me in place. “You’ve reopened some of your cuts.”

Cruz cursed, apology in his eyes. “I’m sorry, baby. I just had to get you on the ground. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Knox scowled, glancing at me before looking back at Cruz. “She’s fucking fine. Reopening old injuries is nothing compared to ending up dead, dumbass. You’re fine, right, Whitlock?”

“Yes,” I nodded, letting Drake fix my shirt before pulling me against him again.

Beckett and Maddox finally joined us, Beckett jerking her chin at Cruz. “You good?”

“Yeah, I’ll live,” he replied, using Beckett’s car to get to his feet. “Did you catch them?”

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