Page 35 of Prettiest Little Thief
“What exactly do you owe those assholes for?”
I sighed and turned back to face forward and stare at the wall in front of me. Lucas picked up one of my arms, scrubbing my skin in soft circles. “Do you remember when I told you my mom died?”
He grunted and mumbled, “Yes.”
“Well, before she died, she had cancer.” My mind flashed back to the memories of my mom in the hospital with stage four breast cancer. She had been so frail. So small. The opposite of the person she was prior to her diagnosis.
Mom was the person who lit up a room with her smile. With a big personality, she was patient and kind. She never let my excessive energy levels as a child bother her.
“The doctors, they said there were all sorts of new drugs and new experimental treatments. I didn’t want to lose her. She was… she was my everything. My rock, my best friend. I had tried going the traditional route and applied for personal loans, sold everything that I owned. No bank would give a college dropout without a job a dime. And anything I sold wasn’t enough to begin treatments. So, I went to Charles.”
Lucas had stopped his movements, listening to the why and how of my life. A thief’s truth. I continued. “Charles gave me the money upfront, and so long as I made payments, he was willing to work with me. But she died anyway. All of it was for nothing. And still, I had given him every payment as he asked. Until…”
“Until I forced you to repay me,” Lucas growled, dropping the washrag.
I placed my hand over his as it rested on the side of the tub. The energy between us pulsed through the smallest of touches.
“I don’t blame you. For any of this. I did this all to myself.”
“No.” His jaw clenched, the muscles fluttering beneath his flesh. “It’s my fault. I couldn’t let it go.”
I sat up straighter. “Lucas, I got what I deserved. I’ve stolen, cheated in life. I crashed your freaking car. It’s karma at its finest.”
“It’s not. You may be a thief, and you may have crashed my car, but you’re a good person. I see it in everything you do. In how you are with people. Now I understand why you chose this path. And I can’t blame you for the choices you’ve made. I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same.” He turned his hand, threading his fingers with mine, and the sweet moment quickened my pulse. With his free hand, he pushed a strand of my hair behind my ear.
The rush of tears burned the back of my eyes, but I didn’t want to cry in front of Lucas. I suppressed the urge to let them fall. “I don’t want to do this anymore.”
“Do what?” he asked.
“Be a thief. Be a bad person. Take from others to pay my debt.” My throat clogged with emotion.
“Oh,” he replied. His face was crestfallen.
“What? Did I say something wrong?”
He shook his head. “I just had an idea, but it’s okay.” Lucas started to stand, but I gripped his hand to keep him in place.
“Tell me about your idea.” Maybe it would get my mind off of everything.
“I… I don’t want to make you feel like it’s something you have to do.”
“Tell me,” I implored.
Lucas settled back into his previous position. More at ease. “How much do you owe Charles?”
“About eighty grand.” I cringed at the number. The payments I had made hardly put a dent in what I owed the Crimsons.
“I have another proposition for you.” My stare locked on Lucas, and seconds ticked by as I waited for him to send me on some ridiculous job for him now. “Marry me, and I’ll pay off the debt for you.”
Chapter Twenty
Monroe
Speechless, I dunked my entire head beneath the water. The cuts on my face and lip stung from the soapy, eucalyptus bubble bath. I had done a lot of crazy things to survive, but marriage… that was something I never even let myself think about. Not with me being a criminal. Not with the possibility I could be killed or arrested any day.
My main goal in life was survival. Not a relationship or marriage. Or children, for that matter.
Below the surface for as long as possible, a large hand reached in and gently grasped my upper arm. Lucas hauled me up, my hair a soaked mess, stuck to my face. He pushed back the strands and cupped my face with tenderness.
