Page 39 of Prettiest Little Thief
Lucas
The only thing I could think about today was getting to Monroe.
The entire way to the airport, the entire flight… Every. Fucking. Second.
There has never been a woman to completely snatch my attention. It was foreign territory for me. I needed to get to her no matter what. Even if I didn’t have the backup from anyone.
Luckily for me, I had done business with some of the most notorious gang leaders around. So, a couple of phone calls to call in favors was all I needed to get the reinforcements to put the Crimsons in line.
“Is she doing okay?” Rafael asked just as my foot hit the main level.
“She’s… comfortable. But I’m going to grab her some pain medicine.”
Fox, Rafael, and Evie stood together; arms crossed over their chests.
I didn’t quite know Monroe’s relationship with the Raf, and it sent a twinge of jealousy through me. He was at the museum the night Monroe was taken. Apparently, he and Fox were there to create a distraction.
“You aren’t going to have some fancy doctors come to check her out?” Evie asked. A lioness ready to pounce.
I smirked. “Nice to meet you too. And yes, a doctor will be here in the morning to check her over. I’m going to try to keep her from being taken to the hospital. But if they think it’s necessary, we will go from there. For now, she’s resting.”
“Oh.” She dropped her attitude.
Evie’s protectiveness was a good thing. Especially after that douchebag Frankie left Monroe high and dry. She had people who cared about her and watched out for her.
“Fox, can I get a moment?” I asked.
With a nod, he followed me into the kitchen, where I started to rummage through the medicine cabinet.
“What’s up, Lucas? Are you good?” Fox halted just near the island and observed me.
“I asked her to marry me,” I said as the search continued for anything that could take away Monroe’s pain.
“I’m sorry. I must have gone completely deaf for a moment.” He stuck his finger in his ear, pretending to clear it. “Come again?”
“For her own safety, I asked Monroe to marry me.”
“I’m confused.”
“About what?” I found the bottle and set it on the counter and turned to face my best friend. My back against the countertop.
“Why would you ask her to be your wife? I thought you couldn’t stand her.”
“She’s… different than I thought. And if I can get her to a point where she’s safe, we can divorce. After she helps us get the second half ofAnastasia’s Keepsake.” I ran my hand over the stubble on my jaw. A reminder of how badly I needed to shave.
“Did she agree?” Fox placed his hands on the counter, a look of disbelief still plastered on his face.
“Not yet.”
He choked on a laugh. “Did you think Roe would just give in to you so easily?”
“No.” A pause as Fox raised his brows at me. “Yes. It’s the logical thing for her to do. But she also doesn’t want this type of life anymore. At least if she does this last job, she won’t have to worry about it. That will be the end of her criminal career.”
“Dude, you’ve been an asshole from the moment you met her. You can’t expect this shit to go smoothly. I mean, you can’t just help her out without the rings and paper?”
“I couldn’t promise that shit wouldn’t hit the fan again. If something happens to me because of Christian—”
“No. Don’t even say it. I will fucking kill Christian myself if he pulls some psycho shit like your dad did.” The anger on Fox’s face let me know how serious he was.
