Page 36 of As Thick As Thieves

“Shower. Breakfast. Shit show. In that order.”

I started cleaning myself up with the shirt, frowning at him. “What shit show? Has something happened?”

“Just a feeling I have.”

He didn’t elaborate so I didn’t ask, both of us going for a shower and getting dressed for the day before wandering into the kitchen. It was quiet despite being busy, and my eyes landed on Stone who was silently glowering in the corner with his morning coffee. Knox took my waist from behind and steered me towards the food, ignoring people’s looks. He was getting braver with publicly touching me, and it caused butterflies to flutter in my stomach.

He took a tray for me and started filling it with fruit, and he even grabbed some toast and avocado. I’d been eating terribly lately thanks to all the drama, so knowing he was in tune with me enough to know what I needed made me stupidly happy.

He handed it to me before piling his own tray up with greasy eggs and bacon, sitting as far away from Stone as possible. I thought he did it for me until Stone scoffed. “Seriously, man? Cold shoulder?”

“Come join us if you want. I’m itching to fucking hit you again,” Knox grunted, not caring about people hearing him. I glanced between them with confusion, noticing the bruise on Stone’s cheek. If they’d come to blows, what had they been fighting about? And when?

Knox had gone to sleep with me so they hadn’t had time to fight.

“Did you hit me over your boyfriend or the princess’ pussy?” Stone asked dryly, my fists clenching. After everything, he still wanted to disrespect Penn?

I stood, sick of him being such an asshole to everyone just because he could. He didn’t have to like Penn, but that didn’t give him the right to dictate everyone else's feelings for her.

“How the fuck do you think you’re still in charge here, Stone?”

“I’m the boss, dumbass.”

“Of who? You treated everyone like shit, Cruz fucking left, and you somehow still think you’re in charge?” I snapped, Leah cutting in before I could keep going.

“What do you mean, Cruz left?” she asked quietly, her eyes flicking between us. “What’s going on?”

Stone suddenly ran out of words to say, but I was so done with him.

“Penn never shot Stone and ran. He delivered her to her father and she’s been locked in his basement for the past month. She’s probably only alive right now because Lavaro and Lopez saved her. Cruz is done with Stone, he’s moving out.” I took a deep breath, turning my gaze back to Stone. “I’m fucking done too. Fuck with me all you like, but not my girl. She could’ve been raped and killed, but you don’t give a fuck about that, right? As long as she’s not here. Her father sold her in the skin trade, and I’m always going to blame you for that.”

Murmurs went around the room as Stone glared at me, and Knox stood beside me, crossing his arms. “I’m done too.”

Stone’s face hardly showed emotion, but I saw the panic flair in his eyes. He had no one to blame but himself.

“If you want out, then you’d better make new living arrangements,” Stone said coldly before finishing his coffee and standing, his eyes on Knox. “You sure this is what you want?”

I glanced down as fingers linked with mine firmly, my eyes flashing back up to Knox’s face as he held my hand tighter.

“It wasn’t a hard choice, trust me,” he answered, tugging me towards the door. “C’mon, babe. Let’s clear out.”

We walked out, leaving people whispering behind us, and I wasn’t surprised when Stone stomped after us. He’d show more emotion in front of us without an audience, but I wasn’t expecting anger.

“Are you seriously leaving? If you need to throw a tantrum, take a week off and—”

“So now that no one’s around, you’ll negotiate?” I bit out, beating Knox to it. “You were more than happy for us to leave a second ago.”

“You know I can’t stand down in front of the Thieves or they’ll walk all over me. I have to treat you the same as I treat them,” he gritted out, and Knox scoffed.

“Since when? Everyone knows you favor us with jobs and that you bend the rules for us. You fucked up. Admit it.”

“I know I fucked up!” he snapped, holding his arms out wide. “How else can I say that? I wanted her gone, and when her father said she was sick, I thought I was helping her and it was just good timing! If she was sick, then all the stories about her past were bullshit and—”

I shoved him, letting some of the anger leak out. “If Lopez and Lavaro hadn’t gotten to her in time, she’d currently be tied to some rich asshole’s bed. Her father sold her, Stone. Do you understand that? It was just a miracle that the guys were on a rescue mission for one of the other girls and managed to save Penn, too.”

He cleared his throat, holding my gaze. “I should’ve asked earlier, but is she okay?”

“No, and you lost the right to ask about her.” I didn’t elaborate, swinging my fist back and punching him in the eye. He didn’t even try to block it. “If you go near Penn, I’ll fucking kill you. If you see us in the street, keep walking. You don’t know us and we don’t know you. Understood?”

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