Page 13 of As Thick As Thieves

I found my black high top sneakers and laced them up, following Zavier outside.

“Are you sure Beckett won’t beat me up again?” I whisper-yelled as we walked towards the car, and Zavier ruffled my hair.

“If anything, she’ll beat me up instead. I can distract her while you run.”

“That’s not funny,” I scowled as he opened the door, and Reid’s smug expression dropped as he studied me.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me. You’re banging her? Jesus Christ, Lopez. Are you insane?” Reid snapped, and I didn’t mean to, but I jumped at how angry he sounded.

Zavier scowled, pulling the passenger seat forward and motioning for me to slide into the back. “I’m not sleeping with her, I’m helping her, asshole.”

“Do the guys know?”

“The guys who abandoned her? No, and they don’t fucking need to. Keep your mouth shut.” He turned to me, softening his face when he realized I hadn’t climbed into the car. “It’s fine, get in. Everyone just thinks I have a secret girlfriend and this dumbass thinks it’s you.”

“Care to explain why you’ve been so sketchy then? If it’s not a secret that you’re spending time with her, then why aren’t you telling people?” Reid argued as I finally got into the back so Zavier could fix the seat and climb in.

“You know her father’s a piece of shit, so I’m just helping her get on her feet. She doesn’t want to see the guys, so drop it. I’m not hiding it, I’m just giving her time to figure out what she wants to do,” Zavier answered, glancing back at me. “Right, Penn? You don’t owe anybody shit.”

“I owe you,” I muttered, earning a dirty look.

“You don’t owe me anything. You needed help, so I helped you. End of story.”

“I’ll take you to Harley’s bar, but I’m not sticking around for this shit show,” Reid stated firmly as he started driving towards Ashburn Valley. “Just remember that Stone and the guys can see literally everything through security cameras, so they probably already know she’s with you.”

“They don’t, or they would’ve already shown up for a pissing contest,” Zavier snorted, ending the conversation.

* * *

“What the fuck, Lopez?” Beckett bit out as we walked towards a booth in the back of the bar, her eyes burning into me. She definitely wanted to beat me up again. “What’s she doing here?”

“Good to see you too, Donovan,” Zavier deadpanned, ushering me into the seat opposite her before sliding in beside me. “Her father sold her, so I’m helping her out.”

“You can’t just hide her from some rich kingpin on your own!” Beckett hissed quietly. “Do you know how dangerous that is? What if they go through Raven’s fucking house looking for Penn? You’re going to get people hurt or killed!”

“No one’s looking for her because I was the buyer,” he explained, continuing before she could lose her mind. “If I didn’t do it, some creepy abusive dickbag would’ve bought her, and she could’ve ended up anywhere.”

“Where did you get that kind of money? The skin trade is insanely priced, and I doubt Louis would let her go for cheap.”

“It was counterfeit cash.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Beckett groaned, scrubbing a hand over her face before assessing me again. “You wouldn’t have needed saving if you hadn’t shot Stone and run off.”

I frowned, confusion washing over me as her words sunk in. “What? I didn’t shoot him. Stone delivered me to my father with some big speech about me needing help. My father had convinced him that I was mentally unstable and was taking everyone for a ride, so to speak. Stone got shot? He was fine when I saw him last.”

Her eyes narrowed skeptically as she glanced at Zavier. “You knew this and didn’t tell Cruz or Drake?”

“No, I didn’t know,” he replied tightly.

“Why did you bring her here? I thought we were talking business,” she asked as she changed the subject, checking her phone and replying to a message.

Zavier shrugged. “I wanted to talk about the skin trade, so I thought I’d bring her with me since she might know a few things. Also, she’s been locked up since she was taken, so the fresh air and carbs might do her some good.”

Beckett’s eyes lifted to me once more and she took a long look, her expression softening the tiniest amount. “She could definitely do with the carbs. Get her some pasta or something.”

“She needs nutrition. What is it with you girls and your empty carbs? All she wanted when I brought her home was fucking ice cream,” he grumbled, and Beckett actually gave him a genuine smile.

“If I’d been locked up for a month, I’d want ice cream too. And some whiskey. You’d better have given her the fucking ice cream, asshole.”

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