Page 52 of Dark OZ

I waved lazily at her. Thea flipped me off. It was adorable, really.

Orin’s surprise attack wised us all up to what was at stake here. Yes, this was a random stop, but we’d also randomly moved the Crick Link job up, and look how that turned out.

Danny wanted me to stay with her, but Thea was basically in a mobile vault while in the cab, and I could keep an eye on her while also making sure there wasn’t an entire assault team lying in wait for us. We weren’t taking any more chances. It was sloppy letting Orin get the jump on us last time, and I wasn’t going to risk falling into a similar trap. Thea could just deal with it.

After being sure that it was clear, I returned to the car at the same time Danny came walking out of a side exit.

“Parking area is safe.” I nodded toward the building. “No gunfire, so I’m guessing no threats inside.”

He shook his head. “Place looks clean. Crowe is getting us a table at the diner. Did you lock her in?” Danny knocked on the glass like a child at the zoo.

Faintly, the sounds of Thea cussing us out filtered through the plated glass.

Crowe came out the front entrance. “Oh, she’s pissed. Why is she so fucking cute when she’s angry?”

“She really is.” Pressing a button on the key fob, the car clicked, and the side door flew open.

Thea tumbled out of the car, swiping at Danny like a loosed cobra. “Fuck you, Dandy!”

He took her by the back of the neck. “Come on, brat, I don’t have all day to be waiting on you.”

“Waiting onme? Assholes, every last one of you.” She blew by Crowe and Danny, stopping only to give a childish kick straight at their shins.

“What did I do?” Crowe asked, confused. “Table is ready, by the way.”

“I’m not doing anything until I get a clean pair of underwear,” Thea snapped. Danny opened his mouth to counter her, but she cut him off. “Functionalunderwear.”

“Fine,” Danny relented. “Nick, go with her ladyship to get what she needs and meet us inside. I’m gonna take a piss.”

I followed Thea around the inside of the store as she picked up a few pairs of leggings, a pack of camisoles, and a hoodie. When she looked at the pack of cotton briefs she let out a groan that was damn near sexual.

I smirked at her.

“Fuck off. You try going a week with no underwear, and then we can talk.”

“I never wear underwear.”

She blinked at me.

“Like, ever?”

“No.”

She pushed her tongue into the side of her cheek, knitting her brows together, and hummed. I had no idea how to interpret that reaction. Snatching a pack of hair ties from beside me, she tapped them against my chest. “Come on, commando. I’m starving.”

A quick stop by the bathroom later, and we were approaching a booth where Crowe was already halfway through a plate of nachos. He crunched down on some fresh chips, mouth half full, saying, “We ordered for you. Food should be here any minute.”

Thea sighed, “I suppose I’m not surprised. Why should I want to pick my own food, when I haven’t had a real meal in over a week? What did you order?”

“Burgers for all of us, and a slice of cherry pie, because it’s Pop’s. You have to have pie at Pop’s.”

“You didn’t get me cherry, too, did you?” I asked with a groan. Cherry was my least favorite. It was always too tart or too sweet.

“No, you and sour pants over there are having apple. I decided on pecan, but I wasn’t sure if Thea would like it, so I went with the safer bet of cherry.” With a wink at Danny, he added, “Darling Thea reminds me of cherries and tastes just as sweet.”

Danny snorted like they shared some kind of inside joke.

She reached over to his chips, grabbing an extra cheesy one. “Is that supposed to be some kind of a virginity joke?”

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