Page 37 of Nest of Thieves
“Pretty faces are dangerous.” Vette studies my face. “We don’t know who she is, who she worked for, or even if we like her outside of the fact that she’s hot and smart as hell.”
“But we can get to know her. I’m not saying we mate her. I’m saying, let’s have some fun.” And if by chance she ends up wanting to stick around, I’m not opposed to it.
“One job. That’s it.” He glances over his shoulder. Doc is inserting the needle through her skin. We both watch him pull the thread through and stitch her wound shut.
“What if she doesn’t agree to it?” I ask, grabbing his attention.
“I’m not above threatening her to get what I want.” Vette’s eyes narrow when I shake my head.
“Threatening her will get you nowhere fast.”
“Are you doubting me?” Vette’s face flashes with annoyance.
I smirk and boop his nose. “Only a little.”
He growls at me and shoves my chest. “¡Te odio!”I hate you.
“Liar,” I whisper.
Huffing, he returns to his seat and I take my spot at the wall.
Vette is only going to piss her off. I’ll get to her first and ask her nicely to help us out. Getting her alone is purely out of concern for getting the job done.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that.
twelve
JO
I wake in a bed that reeks of Mac. The mattress is soft and molds to my body like it was made for me. The comforter is tainted with his vetiver scent. Before I open my eyes, I pull the comforter up to my nose and take a deep breath of that earthy scent. It’s really annoying how wonderful he smells. It’s annoying that my omega nature makes me want to swim around in a vat of essence à la Mac. Mac clears his throat, alerting me to his place on the bed next to me. That’s also super annoying.
Yanking the comforter away from my face, I narrow my eyes on the alpha in the bed. “Why are you watching me?”
After the doctor stitched me up, I was so tired. I didn’t have a concussion, thank fuck, and as soon as I lay down, I fell asleep. My head hurts like a bitch, and no matter how much I want to jump out of the bed and run from Mac, I know it’ll only end up causing me more pain. So I stay where I’m at, secured beneath the comforter and studiously ignoring the cute smirk Mac is wearing. I chew on my bottom lip to keep from smiling back at him.
“Because I want to. Pretty risky driving you were doing.” His eyes flick to my mouth. “Where’d you learn to drive like that?”
“A friend of the family. How long have I been asleep?” Mac’s room is dimly lit by the bedside lamp. The blackout curtains are drawn tight and he has no alarm clock.
“Not long. It’s almost ten.” He reaches up to touch my forehead.
I recoil, immediately wincing when pain slices through my head. “Ow. Ten at night?”
“Yeah. That’s a nasty gash. Don’t worry, though. It won’t ruin that pretty face.”
Sitting, I wrap the blanket around me and, even though I’m fully clothed, it feels like an extra layer of protection between Mac and me. My stomach churns and I breathe through my teeth, waiting the nausea out. It takes a minute for the dizziness to go away. As soon as I feel somewhat human, I glance around. Mac’s room has light gray walls with black trim. There’s a nice wooden dresser against the wall on my left and a desk with one giant monitor on it. The only decorations in the room are two black and white abstract paintings. I stare at the art for a minute. It almost looks like ghosts on a rain-coated street, but that could be the hit to my head making me see things that aren’t really there.
“What are you going to do to me?” I glance back at Mac.
He sits next to me, crisscrossing his legs. He’s wearing basketball shorts but they ride up a little. Tattoos cover nearly every inch of Mac. He’s a living and breathing work of art, and part of me wants to stare until the images are burned in the back of my mind. Part of me simplywants.
“Nothing you don’t want.” His smile is devastating and my mouth drop opens.
Were my thoughts so clear on my face?
I look away. This isn’t how things were supposed to go. I shouldn’t want to learn more about them. They shouldn’t intrigue me, dammit. I shouldn’t feel an ache in my chest, one that tells me that this might be the pack I’ve been waiting for. No. I was supposed to get the ring back, not end up inside their home with a head wound. What sort of criminal gets herself caught by getting into a car wreck? To be fair, I had given them a good chase. I was so close to getting away, but even if I had escaped, I still wouldn’t have the Sunrise Ruby.
“Mac. I need that ring.” I stare into his blue eyes. “The man I work for will hurt my family.”
