Page 21 of As Thick As Thieves

“No. It seems the truth came out, though, because he’s freaking out about needing to see you. Apparently, he broke into your father’s house to look for you after you left, but you obviously weren’t in your room. He thought you really were in a facility,” he answered. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he shows up within the next day or two. What’s the plan?”

“What about the others? Does Stone know?”

“If Beckett went there and told them, then he’s probably got a bruised jaw and ego right now. Do you want to stay here? Now that Cruz knows the truth, he’s likely to follow you to the ends of the earth. He’s a little in love with you,” he chuckled dryly. “Or you can face him and send him packing.”

I dropped down on the couch and groaned. “Why would Beckett tell them?”

“It’s probably her way of getting payback on you for the whole, breaking into her parents’ house thing.”

“I wish she’d just hit me again,” I grumbled, a light chuckle leaving him as he sat beside me.

“If you ever watch her fight in the cage, you’ll change your mind fast. That girl’s a weapon.”

“I can fight, but not that well. Hopefully, once I train more, I’ll be better at it,” I smiled, turning to face him and crossing my legs.

“As much as I enjoy your enthusiasm, you need to heal first, Penn. Do you want me to find something for you to do? Are you bored?”

“I’m used to doing nothing,” I shrugged, his phone pinging with a message. He sighed as he read it, typing a response while speaking to me.

“I stopped by to let you know I’m staying at home tonight. Cruz’s visit spilled a lot of secrets that I’d been keeping from Rae and the guys. They’re a little pissed with me so I think I owe them a half-assed explanation and some time at home.”

“You don’t have to explain yourself, I’m fine alone. I’m sorry about Cruz taking his shit to your house, that wasn’t fair,” I sighed, but he ruffled my hair and gave me a wink.

“I get it, trust me. I should’ve expected it since Beckett has zero loyalty to you. We can hang out for a while if you want, though?” he offered, but I shook my head.

“It’s fine, spend more time with your friends. I can watch a movie and have an early night.”

“Call me if you need me. Lavaro’s with Riley tonight, so fuck knows what trouble they’re getting into. He’s likely to have his head under the hood of a car so he won’t hear the phone,” he said with a wry smile. “It’s probably why his girl left him.”

“Where’s your girlfriend then?” I teased, laughter filling the room and making the place feel homey. I really enjoyed having company again.

“Smart-ass. I don’t have time to let another person in, and it wouldn’t be fair on someone to be a second priority.”

“If we get to fifty and we’re still single, I’ll marry you. We can get a dog,” I grinned. “Then we can just hang out all the time and won’t be lonely.”

“You won’t be lonely,” he said seriously, a soft look on his face. “You make friends easily, and now that you’re free to do whatever you want, you’ll have a social life in no time. If we’re lonely at fifty, though, we’ll buy a condo on a beach for sure. Deal?” He was humoring me, but it was nice to pretend I’d never be alone again.

“Deal.”

I watched TV alone for an hour once he’d left, then I got hungry and rummaged in the cupboard. Ander had told me that noodles were easy to make, so I put them in a pot and figured out the right knob to turn the stovetop on, then I went back to the TV.

It was fine until I smelled smoke and the fire alarm started screaming through the house.

“Fuck,” I cursed as I flew off the couch and into the kitchen, smoke coming from the pot.

I switched the stovetop off and grabbed the pot, tossing it in the sink and turning the water on. It sizzled as the metal cooled, and I huffed as I stared at the burned noodles, not understanding what I’d done wrong.

My phone rang and Ander’s name popped up on the screen, his voice sharp as I answered.

“What tripped the alarm?”

“I did. I thought you said noodles were easy! I burned them!” I whined, making him chuckle.

“How the fuck did you burn noodles? Did you cook it for too long and all the water evaporated?”

I frowned, glaring at the pot because it was obviously to blame. “What water? I just put the noodles in the pot.”

“New rule, you don’t cook. Not even toast. You’ll have to open the windows to let the smoke out or the alarm will keep going. Wave a dish towel at it or something,” he sighed. “And order yourself something to eat.”

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