Page 11 of As Thick As Thieves

Since Stone hadn’t called to say we were being followed, we risked it and headed back to the compound in Rawson Grove, parking in the garage and shutting the massive roller door, taking a moment to catch our breaths before climbing from the cars. Knox was limping badly, holding his shoulder as we made our way inside.

Stone was sitting in the kitchen barking orders at some of the other thieves, and I couldn’t help but lose my temper. “Who the fuck’s on surveillance?”

“You were supposed to be,” Stone said without skipping a beat, running his eyes over us. “What happened?”

“I went to help Knox because he was on his own. You were here, so you should’ve been keeping an eye out.”

“It’s not my fault you refused to come home and help.” I was so close to laying him the fuck out in front of everyone.

“The fuck is wrong with you?” I demanded, seeming to catch his attention because he spun around and glared at me.

“Me? You’re the one that’s been a pain in the ass ever since that rich bitch left. I knew she’d ruin everything. You should’ve listened to me.”

“Are you dense? The only person destroying this place is you. Look around you, Stone. No one wants to fucking be here!” I exploded, motioning to Knox. “His DNA is now all over the perfectly manicured lawn in Kingslake because the damn dog got him, so don’t be surprised if you get stuck dealing with that.” I tugged Knox from the room despite his annoyed growl, steering him into the bathroom to stop him from bleeding all over the floor.

He managed to get his shirt over his head, slapping at my hands when I went to unbutton his jeans.

“The fuck, Cruz?”

“Grow up. I’m not going for your dick,” I scoffed, going back to the task of removing his jeans. Once he was in nothing but his boxers, I squatted to inspect the bite on his leg. The bleeding had slowed but it still looked nasty.

“So, what’s the verdict, Dr. Perv? Will my dick survive?” Knox deadpanned after a moment.

“Get over yourself. I’ll need to clean your leg and give you some stitches, but yes, you’ll survive. I’ll give you a tetanus shot too just to be safe.” I stood, carefully moving my hands over his shoulder to test for damage, noticing straight away it was dislocated. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d fucked up your shoulder? You shouldn’t have driven home.”

“We were a little occupied, and the car was automatic so it wasn’t that much of a problem,” he muttered. “I can deal with my leg myself. Stop fussing.”

“You’re such a stubborn asshole. I’ll do it, then I think we should stop by the Psychos’ to see if their medic can look at your shoulder,” I replied as I started pulling gauze and everything else I needed out of the cupboard.

“We need our own medic, but I’m fine.”

“Shut up and do as you’re told. I’ll fix your shoulder since you won’t go, but don’t punch me when it hurts,” I scolded, an amused huff leaving him.

“Yes, Doc.”

Chapter Three

Penn

“Morning,” I said with a raised eyebrow as Zavier stumbled into the kitchen in his boxers. “Rough night?”

“Nope.”

“You have one sock on and your dick’s poking out of your boxers,” I deadpanned, making him curse as he fixed it. “And did you get punched in the face?” His cheek was red and a little swollen, but apart from that he seemed okay.

“I’m fine, I gave Reid attitude last night when he was leaving, so he punched me for being a dick,” he muttered, pouring himself a coffee before dropping into the seat opposite me. “Sorry about flashing you.”

“It’s just a dick, I’ve seen them before,” I chuckled, eating a spoonful of cereal before speaking again. “Why did you give him attitude?”

“In my defense, they were giving me shit, so I’m not completely to blame. Don’t worry about it, it’s normal for us to fight about dumb shit. He did take his car back though.”

“Do you think you could teach me to drive? I’ve always wanted to,” I asked, and he gave me a blank look.

“With what car?”

“Can’t we borrow Ander’s?”

“You mean the high-performance street racing car? No. You’d kill us in that thing, it’s got more power than a fucking jet plane under the hood,” he snorted. “Not to mention that car’s the most important thing to him in the entire world. No offense, but he’s not going to let some random girl drive it.”

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