Page 57 of Prettiest Little Thief
“Don’t answer him. We can go out the window.”
I arched my brow.
“Monroe.” Irritation flared in my husband’s deep timbre, and I knew I only had moments before he barreled into the room.
“I’m fine,” I replied, although it was strained.
Lucas stormed into the room, and I peered over my shoulder at my husband. He was still bare chested with low hung pants. Fury etched in his expression as his eyes locked onto Frankie.
Lucas stepped around me and grabbed Frankie by the collar, taking his legs out from under him. With Frankie flat on his back, Lucas pressed a knee into his chest and the gun pressed against his head.
“Get the fuck off me,” Frankie said as he flailed, trying to dislodge the heavy body of Lucas from him. Frankie’s face was turning a shade of cherry red from effort, but Lucas didn’t budge and gripped Frankie’s face in a large hand.
“Lucas!” I ran to his side, placing my own hand on his bicep.
“Tell me right now why I shouldn’t put a fucking bullet in your brain?”
“I’m just trying to help Roe,” Frankie explained.
“Monroe doesn’t need your help because she has me,” Lucas growled. “Her husband.”
Frankie stopped fighting then, his gaze sliding to my frozen form. “You really married this asshole?” he asked through squished cheeks.
I glanced at Lucas and then back to Frankie, giving him a nod. “Yes.” Frankie went limp, and I tugged at Lucas. “He won’t hurt me. You don’t have to kill him.”
Lucas held firm for a moment longer before roughly shoving Frankie’s face and getting to his feet. Frankie scrambled to stand, his clothes disheveled and face red.
“Are you keeping her here? Cause if you are—”
“You wouldn’t make it out of this house alive if you think you can take me on,” Lucas interrupted.
Frankie’s fiery expression surfaced, and he adjusted his disarranged jacket. “Come on, Roe.” His stare hadn’t left Lucas. Pure hatred spewed from both of the men in the room. If I didn’t intervene, this might escalate.
I stepped between both of them, with my back to Lucas. He moved closer, his chest and stomach brushing against me. “I’m not leaving, Frankie.”
“What do you mean? Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Frankie’s voice became louder, and the surge of energy behind me amplified from Lucas as he let out a growl.
“Don’t talk to her that way.”
I spun on Lucas. “I can handle him without you acting like a damn caveman.” His brows shot up in surprise, and I turned to face Frankie again. “I’m not going with you. You left me when I needed you the most.”
“I’m sorry, let me make it up to you. We can go to the rink—”
“No,” I cut him off. “You need to leave. Our friendship is over.” As much as it hurt my heart to say those words to him, it needed to be done. If the tables had been turned, I would have stayed with Frankie. I would have gone to jail with him. He was an unnecessary appendage at this point and needed to be permanently removed.
I had Evie, Raf, Fox… and Lucas. For now, at least.
“Roe.” Frankie’s face softened.
“You left me, Frankie! You’ve always left me. The accident, with the Crimsons, when my mom died… it took me all this time to realize you have never been here for me. You’re only around when it’s convenient for you,” I spat. Once I was able to calm myself after a few deep breaths, I continued. “Since leaving is what you’re best at, just go.” My voice cracked as the pain of the wreck came back to me. Not just the physical discomfort but the torment of grieving the trust and friendship lost. An ache started to build behind my eyes as tears welled.
Frankie still hadn’t moved, so I strode toward him and pushed him. “Go! Get out! I never want to see you again.” Sobs wracked my body, and again, I shoved at him. “Leave!” Hurt was blatant on his face.
“At the risk of sounding like a caveman, get out,” Lucas said from behind me. Frankie finally backed away and trudged to the window. “Not the window, you idiot. Go through the front door.” He pointed toward the open door with his weapon.
Frankie stopped his retreat and rushed past me without a word. As soon as I knew he was gone, I sank to the floor. The more I thought about it, the more upset I became with myself. The more I realized that Frankie truly hadn’t been there through all of the painful parts over the last few years.
He never visited my mother with me when she was in the hospital or showed up at her funeral to support me. But Evie… Evie had been there for it all. Without me even asking her. That was true friendship. Someone to lean on when things were screwed up and you felt like you couldn’t breathe.
