Page 71 of As Thick As Thieves

His hold on me tightened as I heard the front door open, and I glanced over to find Knox and Stone walking out together. Knox didn’t look happy to see me out of the car, but Stone’s eyes were glued to me as if he hadn’t just been right in front of me having a conversation.

“Drake,” Stone greeted gruffly, stopping in front of us and giving me his usual bored expression. “Penelope.”

“Get in the car, baby,” Drake said tightly, making me scowl.

“No. It’s Stone, not the fucking Grim Reaper. He’s not going to shoot me right in front of you.”

I didn’t miss the way Stone’s mouth twitched with the ghost of a smile, his voice calm. “I’m not going to waste bullets when we might need them.”

“I see you’re still as charming as ever,” I replied, also acting like I hadn’t spoken to him recently. Guilt stabbed at me, but it was better this way.

“And I see you’re still a pain in the ass,” he chuckled, but his tone was softer than normal. “I don’t know why the guys are flipping out so much. It’s obvious you’re fine.”

Knox growled and stepped between us, warning in his tone. “Don’t talk to her. We appreciate your help, but leave her alone.”

“She’s a big girl and can handle her own shit,” Stone replied flatly, turning his attention to Drake. “I’ve been going through all the footage I can from the shooting at the track, and I can’t find shit. I tried to see if anything stood out today, but whoever’s after Penn isn’t leaving much of a trail. Looks like we have a pro on our hands.”

“A hitman? Do we have contacts in the area that we could ask about it?” Drake asked, but I shook my head, replying before Stone could.

“Friends or not, a hitman won’t disclose a business deal he has with someone else. If the person paying them loses their anonymity, the hitman will lose their reputation. Why don’t you know that?”

“Exactly. Drake does know that, you’ve just fucked all of his brain cells out.” He gave Drake the side-eye before adding, “I’ll ask around for information, but I don’t like our chances. If it’s a pro, they’ll be like a vault and there’ll be no trail to follow. If by chance they’re an amateur, we might get lucky. I’ll do some digging.”

“Thank you,” I said on an exhale, and he gave me a nod. Knox and Drake went on alert as Stone stepped closer, and he snarled.

“Jesus Christ, I’m not going to hurt her.” He pulled two phones out of his pocket, handing one to Drake and offering one to me. Drake tried to snatch it, but Stone pulled it back, leveling him with a glare. “Not for you. It’s for her.”

“Get back in your lane, dick,” Knox bit out, but Stone ignored him, offering me the phone again. If he’d wanted to hurt me, he would've done it by now, so I stepped forward and extended my hand, taking it from him with a small smile.

“Thanks. I can pay you back.”

“This is me paying you back. Not that it covers much of it,” he said seriously, stepping back before the other two could start throwing hands. “Eyes open, Penelope.” He turned and walked away, making Drake clench his fists.

“Was that a fucking threat? Did he threaten her?”

“No, you psycho. Get in the car. You’re the one being crazy now,” I scowled, and I swore I heard Stone laugh as he stepped into the compound.

Stone

I shut myself inside, watching them leave through the window. Penn had looked back before getting into the car, and my dick jerked in my pants at the thought of having her attention. She hadn’t even fought me when I’d shoved her into my room once she realized it was me, so I knew there was hope in fixing things with her.

Once I’d watched the car vanish into the distance, I walked into my bedroom and locked the door, dropping down onto my bed with a sigh. It was always so quiet around here now, especially without Drake’s antics.

I was surprised when a message came through on my phone from Penn, my heartbeat rising a fraction as I read it.

Penn: Thank you. Keep me in the loop? I’m going to talk to Zavier about Kingslake gossip to see if he can find out anything.

Stone: Will do. Let me know if he finds anything.

I didn’t expect her to reply, but my phone buzzed in my pocket a minute later.

Penn: Sure. Maybe we can meet up and talk about what we find later in the week. Then you can finish the conversation we were having before?

Telling her the truth about my past wasn’t something I’d ever intended on doing, but the words had spilled from my lips before I could stop them earlier. Cruz knew about it, but that was it.

Stone: I’ll think about it.

I dropped my phone beside me on the bed, staring up at the ceiling for a moment. Penn had only been wearing Knox’s shirt, and I wondered if she was wearing panties under it or not. She hadn’t been wearing a bra, that much I knew. Since they’d been at the beach and her hair was still wet from swimming, I assumed her panties were with the rest of her wet clothes. That thought alone made my dick strain against my zipper. I really needed to get laid, it had been way too long.

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