Page 47 of Prettiest Little Thief (Band of Thieves #1)

My hand shook as I lifted it to knock on the apartment door. Taking a deep breath, I managed two soft raps on the wood, crossing my arms over my chest.

The feeling of being watched crawled down my spine, and I glanced down the hall. Just when I was about to walk away from the door, the locks clicked, and the door opened. My eyes widened as Jericho stood in front of me with nothing on other than a towel wrapped around his trim waist.

His espresso-colored hair was wet, and water droplets speckled his bronze torso, my gaze wandering over his muscular build.

“Sarah, what are you doing here? Are you okay?” His face was contorted with worry as he pulled me inside. His hand wrapped around my upper arm sent a jolt of awareness through me.

“I… I’m okay. I just…” Jericho led me to the sofa in his small living room, guiding me to take a seat. “I’m a nervous fucking wreck, and even though I trust my brother, I have this eerie feeling. I can’t explain it.”

He sat next to me, his brown eyes inspecting me. “Is it because of the car being found? ”

I nodded and bit my bottom lip. My hands fidgeted in my lap. “Do you think the police will find out anything?”

Jericho ran a hand through his damp strands. “Naw, Mr. Knight is very thorough.”

“You can call him Lucas. You’ve only known him forever.” A giggle left me.

His smirk sent my stomach tumbling. “Habits from the job.”

“I was surprised when you were at Christian’s. That Lucas would allow it, I mean.”

“He’s… softened a bit since he met Mrs. Knight.”

My stare homed in on his lower lip, the scar that cut through the plump flesh there. My heartbeat sped up as I remembered what that mouth felt like. How soft and perfect his kisses were against my skin.

I felt the heat as it rose from my throat to my face. There was no doubt I was blushing, and to tear my gaze away was much harder than I expected. “I can definitely see that,” I said and cleared my throat.

“Give me a minute. I’ll go get some clothes on and we can talk more about it. Do you want something to drink? Eat?” he asked.

“No, thank you.” I was too nervous to even think about food.

While Jericho was tucked away in his room, I scanned the apartment. The space was pretty bare. A flatscreen television hung on the wall, a small coffee table that sat before the sofa, and a couple of floor lamps. Nothing decorative.

He came back a few moments later, pulling a shirt on and covering up his glorious chest.

“So, explain to me why you feel uneasy,” Jericho said, taking up the spot next to me again .

“I don’t know. I just have this strange feeling that somebody's watching me. I’ve been so scatterbrained since they found Christian’s car.”

He placed his sizable hand on mine, stopping me from my anxious movements. “Do you think you need to ask Lucas for a security guard?”

“Maybe. I just hate to ask him for anything else. Christian totally screwed me over with spending every cent we had,” I said with a sigh. The feel of his hand seemed to calm some part of me.

“Trust me, he would rather you be safe than feel scared.”

“He’s just done so much for me lately. I don’t want a handout.”

Jericho chuckled, the sound making my flesh pebble in an outbreak of goosebumps. “Sarah, he would do anything for you. He went through so much shit to get you away from Christian.”

“That’s exactly why I don’t want to ask for more.”

He seemed to consider that for a moment. “You can stay here tonight if you want. I can pull out the sofa bed and you can have my room.”

“I don’t want to put you out. I’m not sure if you have a girlfriend, or wife…” I couldn’t believe I just asked him about his relationship status. I couldn’t control my mouth around him.

“Neither. So, there’s nothing to worry about. Besides, it wouldn’t be our first sleepover.” Jericho winked with a devious grin.

Some of the tension in my body fell away, and I rolled my lips. Just when I was about to answer, Jericho’s phone rang.

“That’s my work phone. Give me a minute, it’s probably Mr. Knight or Fox. It’s important if they’re calling at this time.”

I shook my head, and a small smirk tipped up on my face as Jericho stalked over to grab his cell phone off the kitchen counter.

“Fox, what’s going on?” Jericho asked. I watched him as his expression changed from relaxed to a frown, his amber-colored eyes landing on me. “She’s here.”

The stress that had seemingly left me came rushing back. Something wasn’t right. I stood and made my way to stand beside Jericho, my ears straining to hear what Fox was saying on the other end of the line.

“She’s safe with me. I’ll tell her.” He hung up and straightened.

“What’s going on?”

“Fox said there was a new report that came out about the crash,” Jericho paused.

“Jericho, get on with it. I’m going to pass out from a panic attack,” I said. My skin prickled with anxiety.

“There was only one body found.”

Ice flooded my veins. “Who was in the car?”

Jericho stepped closer to me, and I craned my neck to stare up at him. “Joseph’s. ”