Page 18 of As Thick As Thieves

“Your friend’s here,” I muttered, his eyes sliding to my screen and making him chuckle.

“Face it, you like her.”

“False. She set that asshole on fire here, and I can still smell it,” I grumbled. That was the last time I let her store a torture victim here, even if they deserved it.

Someone let Beckett in and she entered the office with a smirk on her face, which instantly put me on edge. “Afternoon, you two. I’ve had an interesting day.”

“Spit it out, Donovan. You know I don’t like your cryptic bullshit,” I growled, but Cruz was more than happy to play along.

“Maddox finally stuck his dick in Jett? I knew it. They have so much sexual tension between them. I bet that got your rocks off.”

She laughed, grabbing a chair and turning it to face us so she could get comfortable.

“I wish, but that’ll never happen,” she grinned, leaning back and eyeing me. “I just had breakfast with a mutual acquaintance of ours.”

“Satan? How’s he doing?” I deadpanned, my stomach dropping when she raised an eyebrow and replied.

“A particular runaway princess.”

Cruz tried to act unbothered, but his voice filled with interest. “You saw Penn?”

“I’ve spent most of the morning with her. Won’t lie, she looks like shit. Her daddy did a number on her this time.”

She knew. I could tell by the way she was staring at me that she knew what I’d done.

“Well, I’m glad she’s out and about. I’m surprised she was allowed to spend time with you, though. Louis really wouldn’t like you,” I said lightly, but Cruz shuffled closer and spoke over the top of me.

“Is she okay? What happened? I thought she was in a facility? Why’s her father letting her wander the streets? And how the fuck did you end up having breakfast with her in the first place?”

Beckett slid her gaze from me to him, her face softening a fraction. “She’s not doing too good. She wasn’t in a facility, he’s had her locked in the basement this whole time, and she’s skinny as a rake. He only gave her bread and water. Louis sold her a few days ago.”

“That can’t be right,” I mumbled, frowning. “Why would he do that? He was supposed to help her.”

“Is that what Louis told you?” she scoffed, crossing her arms. “She’s lucky her wounds didn’t turn septic and kill her. She’s not crazy, Stone. He lied to you. The only thing wrong with her is that she’s impressionable and easy to coerce because she doesn’t have a proper understanding of social skills. She’d follow the Devil to the pits of hell if he promised to be her friend.”

Cruz turned to me, fury in his eyes. “What the fuck did you do to her to make her shoot you then? If she isn’t crazy, then she was scared and trying to defend herself.”

My heart slammed in my chest, and sick satisfaction filled Beckett’s eyes as she watched me struggle to dig my way out of it. “Yeah, Stone. Why’d she shoot you?”

“She wanted to go with him,” I said weakly, surprised when Beckett got to her feet and walked towards me, the amusement gone from her face as she looked down at me.

“You mean you wanted her to go with him. She never would’ve left the guys behind without warning. I don’t know her well, and I don’t particularly like her, but she’s so desperate to please people so that she’ll belong. You handed her back to her father for your own gain. I’d like to know how you got shot, because from what Penn told me, you were fine when you handed her over.”

I didn’t dare look at Cruz as the guilt ate me alive. I’d wanted her gone, but I didn’t think it would be that bad for her. I’d be lying to myself if I really believed she was enjoying her time with him, but I figured he’d just lock her back in her room.

“I wanted her gone, and he wanted her to get help. I thought I was doing the right thing. I didn’t know—” Beckett’s fist slammed into my cheek, surprising me.

“You sold her out! She’s done nothing but beg for you to accept her, and you threw her to the wolves, asshole! She’s been locked in that basement for a month, being beaten and degraded until she was sold! If you didn’t think it was the wrong thing to do, why did you lie? Why did you stage a shooting?” She hit me again, and I let her because I deserved it.

“Where is she?” Cruz asked in a flat voice, refusing to look at me as Beckett stood back. “I need to—”

“No offense, but she wants nothing to do with any of you.”

“Where the fuck is she, Beckett?” Cruz barked, getting to his feet. “I need to see her.”

“He won’t let you near her until she’s ready,” she answered, motioning to me. “And she didn’t shoot this asshole either. She said he was fine when she saw him last.”

“Who the fuck has her?!” Cruz shouted, getting in her face. “Tell me!”

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