Page 37 of As Thick As Thieves

“Guys, just stay and—”

“I’m done talking. Everything that comes out of your mouth are lies anyway. She told Cruz about you sending her into the Donovans’ house to rob it, too. You can’t pretend you didn’t want to wish her harm when you knew sending her in there was going to get her killed. She’s our fucking girl, Stone. I’d never do that shit to you if you let your brick walls down long enough to let someone in, even if I didn’t like her. I’d just be happy for you and get over it.”

“She was a liability,” He said calmly, but his voice wavered a fraction, telling me he didn’t believe it.

“We’re all a fucking liability! What about that time Cruz hacked into the police station in the Heights to steal evidence against me because I was stupid and forgot to put gloves on? He then continued to break in alone to make sure all the hard copies were burned, too. Or recently, when Knox broke into that Kingslake house alone and got bit by the damn dog? Everyone does stupid shit, but we just figure out how to get out of the mess and move on. We don’t throw each other out when it gets hard, we’re supposed to be family.” I started hitting him, angry tears burning my eyes with every hit. “Fuck you, Stone. You ruined everything!”

Strong arms wrapped around me and pulled me back, Knox’s voice soft in my ear as I tried to fight him off. “Leave him. I’ll take you to Penn, okay?”

“You’ll be nice to her?” I asked tightly, not surprised when he hesitated before replying.

“I didn’t say that, but I won’t choke her out or anything.”

“The sacrifices you make for me,” I deadpanned, glaring at Stone who was now leaning against the wall, wiping blood from his lip. “I mean it, asshole. Stay the fuck away from her.”

“Knox,” Stone blurted out, desperation lining his tone. “Can we talk about this?”

Knox didn’t even acknowledge him, dragging me further down the hallway until we reached his room where he locked us inside.

“Pack,” he grunted, giving my hand a squeeze before pulling out our duffle bags from the closet and tossing one at me.

“Are you okay?” I asked carefully, knowing he was hiding his emotions. This wasn’t as easy for him to do as he was making it out to be.

“Pack,” he repeated without looking at me, ending the conversation.

Knox

Drake packed a bag for Cruz, grabbing anything sentimental in the process. Cruz’s guitar was one of them despite him not playing much anymore. We crammed everything into the car, and we were just pulling out of the garage when Leah ran towards us and stopped right in front of the car, causing me to slam on the brakes.

“Leah! If you want to meet Jesus, that’s a good way to go about it!” I snapped as I rolled down the window. She moved to the side once she knew I wasn’t going to floor it, her eyes on Drake.

“Give Penn my number. I don’t blame her if she doesn’t want to talk to me, but let her know I’d like to see her.”

Drake nodded, lost in his own thoughts and not really paying attention, and I let out a sigh as I eyed Leah. “I’ll tell her.”

“Thanks. Are you guys really leaving?” she asked softly.

“Yeah. Maybe you guys should do the same,” I murmured. “We need to go. We’ll see you around, I guess.”

“You will,” she promised, stepping back and letting us leave.

I didn’t force Drake to speak on the drive to the Heights, giving him some time alone with his thoughts, but I did send a quick message to Cruz to let him know we were on the way. I knew where to go, I wasn’t going to lie and say I hadn’t stalked Penn a little too, but Drake didn’t call me out on it as we pulled up out front.

Cruz’s car was parked out on the street in front of me, leaving the driveway clear for Ander and Zavier.

“Take your bag inside, I’ll grab the rest,” I offered as I climbed out, opening the back door to grab his bag and hand it to him. “I’ll be in soon.”

“I’ll take Cruz’s too, it’s fine,” he answered, seeming in a better mood now that he was so close to Penn. “Remember to be nice.”

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my bag and Cruz’s guitar, locking the car before following Drake towards the front door. It was unlocked, so we let ourselves in.

“Hey, baby,” Drake murmured as he dropped the bags on the floor and moved into the kitchen to where Penn was sketching at the table while Cruz made coffee. Her face lit up when she saw him, my heart skipping a beat when her eyes slid to me. I didn’t miss the small head shake from Drake, warning her to leave me alone, but she ignored him and got to her feet, heading straight for me as I leaned the guitar against the wall and dropped my bag beside it.

I scowled as she threw herself at me, my traitorous arms going around her without hesitation. I could feel the bandages through her shirt, and a sense of pure rage washed through me. This was Stone’s fault, but it was also ours.

Why hadn’t we chased after her?

I raked a hand through her hair, tilting her head back carefully but with a firm grip. “Are you okay?”

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