Page 24 of As Thick As Thieves

“Yeah. He didn’t tell me it was Rory’s house, or I never would’ve gone in. I thought he was finally taking me seriously, so I didn’t question it.” That explained why the cameras were out that day, Stone had fucked with them to hide the evidence that he’d left with her.

“They could’ve killed you, Penn.”

“Yeah, and if I’d told them your organization was involved, they could’ve killed you instead,” she said tightly, and I was going to beat the shit out of Stone for putting her through that.

“I’ll handle it. Did he do anything else?”

“No.” I got to my feet and started stripping off, earning a dirty look from her. “What are you doing?”

“Pretend to be mad at me, but you know I had no idea about any of this, so I’m getting into bed. How did you end up here anyway? Zavier and Ander are helping you?”

“They bought me,” she said casually as if it was no big deal.

“Excuse me?” I bit out as I kicked my black jeans off.

“Well, it wasn’t real, but Dad thinks it is. Zavier can explain it better than I can.”

“I’ll deal with him tomorrow too,” I grunted, sliding under the covers once I was in nothing but my boxers. She came to me willingly as I put an arm out for her to snuggle into me, and I was careful of her injuries as I held her.

“Don’t fight with Zavier. He’s been the best,” she said softly, jealousy burning under my skin.

“Did he touch you?”

“No, he turned me down.”

“The fuck does that mean?” It was harsher than intended, but the thought of her fucking him turned me savage. “You asked him to fuck you?”

“He risked his life to save me. I couldn’t think of another way to pay him back.”

“Your body isn’t currency, and I would’ve killed him if he’d taken you up on it,” I muttered, burying my face in her neck. “I missed you.”

“I missed you too.” She tilted her head to let me kiss her soft skin, and her hands slid across my abs as she explored. “Is Drake okay?”

“Hardly seen him. He’s been away on jobs a lot, and when he isn’t, he’s been at Beckett’s mostly. He’s close with her two guys.”

“And Knox?”

“He’s not around much either. He’s avoiding Stone like the rest of us. If you want to see Drake, I can take you whenever you’re ready,” I promised. “Go back to sleep, we’ll talk more in the morning.”

“I should make you sleep on the couch,” she huffed, but she snuggled into me contentedly, making me chuckle.

“Sweet dreams, baby.”

Penn

I woke up to lips trailing across my shoulder from behind, my body melting as Cruz’s hand slid over my hip and gave it a gentle squeeze.

“Morning,” Cruz murmured as he nuzzled into the crook of my neck, and I arched back into him slightly with a sigh.

“Morning. I should kick you out,” I answered lightly, a sleepy laugh leaving him.

“But you won’t. I’m taking you out for breakfast.”

I rolled over to face him, his light blue eyes sucking me in instantly. He had a black eye and his lip was split, but it looked good on him despite making me feel bad for being the cause of it.

“Why?”

“Because nothing’s stopping me and I want to.” The front door slammed and Cruz huffed, giving me a wry grin. “Sounds like your boyfriend’s home.”

---