Page 96 of As Thick As Thieves

“Please?” Penn begged, her voice cracking as she turned her sad eyes to Stone again. “Stone, don’t—”

“I’m not throwing you out,” he murmured, not moving closer. “You’re all welcome to your old rooms here if you want to crash tonight.”

Drake’s brow creased, but Knox snorted. “I suppose you want Penn to sleep in here? Not happening.”

“No. She can have her own room too if she wants,” he replied, Penn relaxing a little the more he talked. “Then we can have a long conversation in the morning over breakfast. I think we need it.”

Penn glanced at me, and I knew dragging her home tonight would just upset her for no good reason, so I nodded. “Okay, we’ll stay. Let Estelle know not to expect us, or she’ll worry.”

“I’ll call her once I’ve gone to the bathroom,” she smiled, sliding from the bed and padding into the hallway, Stone giving me a look before he followed her without a word. From the way Knox didn't react, he already knew something, too, but Drake scowled.

“What the fuck does he—”

“Leave them,” Knox said before he could finish his sentence, making Drake’s mouth drop open.

“You’re okay with Stone following her to the bathroom? Have I fucking missed something?” He turned to me for backup, finding me not looking bothered either. “Seriously? You’re cool with it, too?”

“Apparently, our girlfriend’s been sneaking over here to play doctor with Stone all week,” I murmured, Knox letting out a dry laugh.

“He kissed her.”

“Yeah, I know,” I said on an exhale, Drake’s eyes almost bugging out of his head.

“What the fuck? Why didn’t either of you tell me?”

Knox gave him a dirty look. “Sandra lost her shit today and spilled a lot of information, but Stone also told me some, too. I don’t know how Cruz found out, though.”

Drake turned to me, and I held up my phone. “I started going through the footage here when I found some of Penn’s drawings on the desk.”

“So, how we thought Stone might have been blackmailing her—”

“Yeah, I think she’s been keeping tabs on him and not the other way around,” I confirmed, getting to my feet and stretching. “From what I could see, it’s been innocent until today.”

“He’s falling for her. He told me,” Knox said quietly, his face scrunching with annoyance. “I want to punch him, but I also don’t.”

“Let’s leave this for tonight. We’re all tired, and our nerves are fried from Leah. Sleep on it, then come back with a fresh mindset first thing in the morning,” I suggested, grimacing before adding, “I think Penn’s going to want to sleep in here with Stone, though.”

“Absolutely not,” Drake scowled, but I blew out a breath and raked a hand through my hair.

“She’s beat, bro. If he’s going to be what she needs to sleep tonight, I think we should let it slide. It’s Stone, not a stranger.”

“We’re just going to forgive him now?”

“No, but he’s not going to hurt her.”

Drake didn’t look convinced, but he kept his mouth shut when Penn walked back in, not bothering to hide that she was holding Stone’s hand, tugging him into the room behind her.

“I’d like to sleep in here. I don’t want to upset you or anything, but I just—”

“It’s okay, we figured you might,” I said quickly, her entire body almost sagging with relief.

“Really?”

“Yeah, baby. We’ll see you in the morning,” I smiled, moving towards her and giving her a quick kiss.

“But then you’ll be on your own. Knox and Drake have each other, but you—” It was cute how she worried. Before I could reply, Stone spoke.

“You can crash in here, too, if you want.”

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