Page 64 of As Thick As Thieves

“No, she wants experience for her resume. He said he’ll pay her, so we have to leave her be. You know how much it will mean to her,” I sighed, his face scrunching with frustration.

“Sometimes, I wish she was a fucking princess.”

“No, you don’t. You like her exactly how she is because her defiance gets you off,” I teased, making him grunt.

“Whatever you say.”

Stone watched our interaction longingly, but I had to stop feeling sorry for him. He could’ve had this with us, but he was so fucking stubborn that he lost the best thing that could’ve happened to him.

Penn would’ve worshiped him if he’d let her.

Stone

The moment Cruz and Knox left, I locked myself back in the office alone, pulling up security footage of Harley’s. It wasn’t too busy, Alex at the register serving someone while two other tables were filled with people already eating, and my eyes locked onto Penn as she made her way out of a back room with a tray. I watched as she collected dirty plates and glasses from a table, taking them into the kitchen to clean. I switched cameras, finding Harley cooking as he spoke to Penn. The audio sucked and I couldn’t hear anything, but she was grinning at whatever he said.

She was fucking gorgeous, my damn dick had always known that, but something flipped inside of me from her smile. I’d never seen her so happy before. Princesses didn’t like to work, so I really had been wrong about her.

That made me feel even fucking worse for how I’d treated her.

I spent two hours watching her before Zavier walked through the door at Harley’s with Beckett, the pair of them sitting in a booth at the back. Harley gave them a wave to let them know he’d seen them, then he ducked into the kitchen before emerging again with Penn who appeared nervous.

Harley handed her a pen and notepad, letting her take their order, and she looked so proud of herself. Beckett studied her as she walked away, saying something to Zavier that was probably rude. She really didn’t trust Penn.

Zavier, on the other hand, was grinning and talking with his damn hands, more than happy about Penn working too. She seemed right at home as she moved in and out of the kitchen, getting more confident as Harley let her take more orders, and I scrubbed a hand over my face with a sigh. Most women would lock themselves away after what she’d been through, but she was trying so hard to stay strong. I admired her for that.

I wasn’t surprised when Knox, Cruz, and Drake eventually wandered in and sat at a table, spending the rest of Penn’s shift there. It wasn’t like I could scoff at them, I’d watched most of her shift on my computer like a fucking weirdo. This was the kind of bullshit Drake would do, not me, but I continued to search her out in footage whenever I was at my desk.

I turned it off when they all went home, sitting there in silence for a little longer. I’d lost my family, friends, and for some reason, I was pissed off that I’d fucked it up with Penn too. I had other things to worry about, though, like the fact Beckett’s family was likely to come after me and put me in a hole.

Sending Penn into Rory’s house had been stupid, and it had ruined a good business relationship with the crews, as well as made me lose literally everything I cared about.

Knox had been right, my brother would be disgusted with me.

Chapter Fourteen

Penn

For the following week, the guys took me to the gym in Stoneleigh and helped me with some strength training, and Drake had organized a proper meal plan for me to follow. Knox and Cruz turned their noses up at most of it, but I’d never tasted food so good before.

My back and stomach were healing a lot better now, too, and I was completely off my antibiotics and bandages. I felt really good, especially since Harley had asked me to help out a second time at the bar. I’d loved working there, and I kept glancing at my bank account that Zavier had set up for me, giddy with the fact I had my own money in it. It wasn’t much, but it was mine, and I’d worked hard for it.

The guys had backed off a little and didn’t glue themselves to me either, which made it a lot easier to keep tabs on Stone. I’d overheard Knox and Drake talking about how the Psychos were likely to kill him, so instead of ignoring Stone’s random messages, I kept replying. That way, I knew he was okay.

Like today, for instance, when all three of the guys were out doing stuff that I hadn’t questioned, leaving me home alone.

Stone: You know I can see you, right?

That made me pause as I stared down at his recent text while I tidied up the living room, glancing around at the windows as if he was going to jump out at me.

Stone: Don’t you own your own clothes? You’re always in their shirts.

Penn: Where are you? The guys will kill you if they find out you’ve been creeping around the house.

Stone: Who said I was there?

My eyes flicked around the room in confusion, another message coming through as I started walking towards the kitchen.

Stone: Cold.

---