Page 25 of Prettiest Little Thief (Band of Thieves #1)

Lucas’s confession was the last thing I would have ever expected.

In truth, I thought it had something to do with a billionaire’s greed.

To have a priceless relic in his possession.

Everything I thought I knew about him changed at that moment.

My heart clenched at the anguish so plainly on his face.

“Why do you have to get her out of the marriage?” I asked.

“Her husband was a man of my father’s choosing.

My dad pulled her from the relationship she was in for control.

” He ran a hand through his sandy hair. “He didn’t approve of her romantic choice because he wasn’t from a rich family.

On top of the arranged wedding, my brother-in-law is a piece of shit.

” He heaved himself into the chair beside me.

Despair rolled off of him in waves, drowning him.

I gripped his hand. “I’m so sorry. Have you been able to talk to her? To see her?”

Lucas shook his head. “At first, I was able to visit, but then I lost my shit when I saw the bruises and how thin Sarah was. I was going to kill him, Monroe.” His icy gaze locked on me, and his thumb stroked the back of my fingers.

“After I beat the shit out of him, Christian cut Sarah’s contact off with me. ”

“I’m guessing he won’t let her leave.” I frowned .

“No, he won’t let her leave.” There was silence for a few moments as all of what Lucas told me settled over me.

The pain of loving a sibling you can’t help must have made him feel so hopeless.

“That’s not all.” He licked his lips. “I told you my parents died, but I didn’t tell you how.”

“I’m listening.”

“When I found out about Sarah’s arranged marriage to Christian, I confronted my dad. He was pissed off that he couldn’t push me around anymore because I was bigger. Stronger. So, he pulled out a gun.”

My breath caught in my throat. “Oh my god.”

“My mom came into the room and tried to talk him down from his psycho bullshit. We got into a scuffle, and the gun went off.” Silence again, and Lucas’s throat worked.

The sorrow clearly overwhelmed him, and he glanced at our joined hands.

“The bullet hit my mother in the chest. She was pronounced dead when the paramedics arrived. Sarah let the death of our mom be the reason for marrying Christian. She felt guilty about everything that happened, so she went along with whatever our father said. Like it would make up for her being gone from this world,” he scoffed.

“You don’t feel like it’s your fault, do you?” I asked.

A humorless laugh left him. “It is my fucking fault. All of it. Because if I hadn’t been an asshole and tried to get the gun from my dad, my mom might still be alive. Maybe Sarah wouldn’t have had to marry some rich prick and could have been happy.”

“I don’t believe that it was your fault.” I shook my head. “It was an accident. You meant well.”

“How do you do that?” he asked.

“Do what? ”

“How do you always try to see the best in everything? You don’t let shit get to you.”

My gaze dropped to Lucas’s tattooed forearm, and I ran a finger across the art.

He shivered at my touch. “Shit gets to me, but I just think things could always be worse.” I shrugged.

“My mom used to always try to make me see the brighter side of life. She would say, what’s the best that could happen ?

Which is now the motto that goes through my mind all the time. ”

“I was close to my mom, too.” He caught my hand that worked across his flesh and brought my fingers to his lips, pressing a kiss to the tips.

My entire body reacted, my heart speeding up and thumping wildly in my chest. Chills skittered across my skin, and warmth blossomed between my thighs.

“Okay.” I nodded and licked my lips.

“Okay?”

“Yes, okay. We will get married and find the chest. Then get your sister back. One last job.”

His eyes widened slightly. Between one second and the next, Lucas cupped my face and kissed me feverishly. I placed my hands over his and basked in the feel of his mouth against mine.

Lucas pulled back. “Thank you.”

“Just keep me in the loop. That’s all I ask. No more secrets.”

“You got it, wife.” Something about the way Lucas called me wife felt right. It settled over me like a warm blanket. Comfortable and safe. It swathed me and burrowed into my bones.

“We aren’t married yet, Lucas.”

“We will be soon enough.”

“When were you thinking exactly?” I asked. My brows inched up my forehead .

A smooth grin ran across his face. “Well, since you’re doing better, and we really need to get the remaining half of the relic—” The silence hung a little too long between us as I waited for him to finish his sentence.

“Lucas Knight, tell me already,” I demanded.

“Tomorrow, Monroe.”

My mouth dropped open, and nervousness swarmed me. I wasn’t prepared for it to be that soon. A week, at least… right?

“Tomorrow? Are you sure?”

“Yes, the courthouse tomorrow. I’ll tell Fox and invite Evie. We’ll need witnesses.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead.

“What about a dress, my makeup, everything?” I asked as dizziness set in at the realization that I would be married in less than twenty-four hours.

“Everything will be worked out with just a couple of phone calls. Don’t worry.” Lucas brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. The tenderness of his touch sparked a feeling of warmth that traveled through me.

Lucas could be an ass, but he also had an entirely different side to him.

One that I was betting not many people knew about.

The last two weeks he showed me who he really was.

There was no denying my feelings had grown over the short period of time we spent together.

Each touch, each kiss filled up my heart little by little.

The part of me that felt so empty since my mother passed away.

Lucas dug right in and surprised me at every turn with his kindness and caring. The protection he promised me was something I didn’t deserve.

I swallowed hard. “Okay.”