Page 83 of As Thick As Thieves

“With my life,” I nodded, motioning to Zavier. “If it was Dad, surely he’d be gunning down Zavier and Ander.”

“I think it’s a good plan,” Zavier nodded.

“What about this mess?” Cruz asked, but Zavier shrugged.

“Ander and I can’t keep people here, too many people know about it now, so it’s not safe anymore. We’ll fix it and get rid of it. He has other safehouses anyway.”

Guilt hit me, and I cringed a little. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, this shit happens sometimes. We can’t always keep the girls we help hidden. I’m considering pulling back and letting Lavaro work with Beckett or something. They have better connections and money between them. I need to focus on keeping my family safe, and I can’t do that when I’m getting involved with this sort of thing. I saw how fucked up things got when Raven found out about Reid and Logan illegally street racing with Lavaro and Riley, and I don’t want to be next,” he said with a shiver. “Not to mention she could get hurt with what I’m involved in.”

“That’s a good idea. Stay away from me until this all dies out,” I smiled, but he just laughed.

“You’re different. You’re my little sister, remember? You can never escape me now.”

“You’re being weird,” Cruz muttered, but my heart melted a little. I loved the guys, they were it for me, but Zavier had become family, and I appreciated all his help.

“You’re the best brother in the world,” I murmured, hugging him and flipping Knox off from across the room as he cursed at Zavier. They could get over it.

We loaded the cars and I took one last glance back at the house, leaning back against Drake as he wrapped his arms around me. “You okay?”

“Is it weird that leaving here makes me feel homesick already, but leaving Kingslake wasn’t even a blip on my radar?” I asked, sliding my gaze towards the others who were talking quietly with Zavier closer to the house.

“You might have lived in that castle your whole life, but it was never a home, baby. Time doesn’t make a home, the people in it do.”

“Is this how it felt to leave the compound?”

“It still feels like that,” he confirmed, opening the passenger door for me. “In you get. You go with Cruz, and I’ll ride with Knox.”

I gave him a kiss, sliding in to wait for Cruz who was slowly making his way towards me, and he said something to Drake before getting into the car and giving me a smile. “You sure Estelle won’t mind?”

“If she does, we’re no worse off than we were before I suggested it. She’ll let us stay at least tonight to figure out where to go next,” I answered.

“Have you told her we’re coming?” he asked as he backed out of the driveway, waving to Zavier before driving along the road with Knox and Drake behind us.

“I don’t have a way to contact her. She told me to let myself in if she wasn’t home. She’s probably still at Dad’s.”

“I don’t think she meant you could bring a bunch of thieving hackers with you,” he teased, reaching out to take my hand.

“She’ll be fine with it.” She’d love them, I had a feeling. All she’d wanted was for me to find happiness, so if these guys meant everything to me, they’d mean everything to her, too.

I’d never been to Briar Falls before, so I stared out the window as Cruz drove, my eyes taking in the gorgeous green landscape. It was a small town, mostly ranches and small cottages with surrounding porches and white picket fences, and my nose pressed against the window as I tried to get a better look at the small creek running through some trees.

Cruz chuckled, his fingers squeezing my thigh gently. “What’s got you so entranced?”

“It’s so pretty here,” I replied without moving, my eyes scanning over a field as we passed it, horses running along the fence line and making me smile.

“It’s peaceful, too. What number were we looking for?”

“Seventy-seven Sale Street,” I confirmed, glancing behind us to make sure Knox and Drake were still following. Drake gave me an energetic wave, and I relaxed at knowing we were all okay.

“Looks like this house,” Cruz murmured as he slowed, my eyes turning to the house we’d stopped in front of. It was a cute, white cottage with a white picket fence, exactly the type of home I’d always pictured Estelle living in.

We climbed out with our bags and Cruz’s guitar, waiting for the other two to do the same, then we headed towards the house and let ourselves through the gate. We tried knocking on the front door, but I wasn’t surprised to find her not home, so we went around the back, and I found the hidden key under the pot, letting ourselves in.

Once we’d taken our shoes off, we walked into the kitchen and placed our things on the floor. The kitchen had dishes piling up, making me frown. Estelle was a perfectionist at Dad’s, so I was a little surprised to see clutter in her own space.

“I’ve got it,” Cruz murmured, dropping a kiss to my lips as he steered me towards Drake and Knox. “You guys hang out in the living room.”

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