Page 5 of Prettiest Little Thief (Band of Thieves #1)

The doctor deemed me well enough to be released the following afternoon.

There was no reason for me to stay any longer.

The moment I was dreading came as they placed me in the back of a police car and took me to the county jail for booking.

They fingerprinted me, took my mugshot, and made me squat and cough while naked.

Completely and utterly degrading. But this was my punishment.

There was no one else to blame but myself.

The officer gave me a matching beige top and bottom set that looked like scrubs a nurse would wear.

Once I was dressed, I was escorted to my cell.

When the door closed, I trudged across the small space and sat on the sad little cot in the corner, my roomie for the time being snoring in the bunk above me.

Tears pricked my eyes as I laid down and covered my face with my hands.

Sobs wracked my body and I sniffled, trying to remain quiet so I didn’t wake up the woman above me.

“Girl, why are you crying?”

I gasped and removed my hands from my face.

A blonde-haired woman hung her head over the edge of the bunk, staring down at me.

I must have been crying louder than I thought, not even hearing the woman’s snoring stop.

“I… I’m sorry.” I wiped my face. The woman’s freckled face didn’t disappear from my view, she just continued to stare at me with wide brown eyes.

“But really, why are you crying?” she asked again.

“Isn’t it obvious? I screwed up.” Her face disappeared for a moment, then she hopped down from the bunk.

“What’d you do to get in here?”

“Car theft,” I replied simply, not wanting to explain the whole ordeal.

“Nice.” She smiled. One of her two front teeth slightly overlapped the other.

I sat up, throwing my legs over the edge of the cot. “Not really. What about you?”

“Oh. My boyfriend was cheating on me, so I stabbed him in the leg with a rusty pair of scissors.” She explained it like it was no big deal. “I told the cops it wasn’t like I tried to kill him this time.”

My mouth dropped open. “This time?”

“Yeah. Last time I tried to hit him with my car, but the bastard is quick on his feet. Just managed to clip him.” She sighed and took a seat next to me on the cot.

I tensed, not sure if I wanted such a violent person so close to me.

“He’ll forgive me, and the charges will be dropped soon enough. ” She shrugged and swung her feet.

“I could get out of here too. I just… I don’t know. I don’t trust the guy.” My shoulders sagged.

“Who is he?”

“The guy whose car I stole.”

“A boyfriend?” she asked.

I laughed. “No. Not a boyfriend. He is pretty flipping hot though.”

“So, what’s the big deal, then. You take him up on his offer and get the hell out of here while you can. It beats getting put in prison for who knows how long. ”

She had a point. Confusion about the whole situation made my thought process murky.

Somehow, it overshadowed the nervousness of going to prison.

Lucas was condescending and mean, but I supposed if I’d managed to learn to steal cars, I could steal a stupid key he wanted me to retrieve. How hard could it be?

“You know what? You’re right. I should take him up on his offer.” I gave her a watery smile.

“Good. You have his number?”

Shoot. I didn’t have his business card on me any longer. “The guards took it when they stripped me.”

She stood and strode across to the barred door.

“Hey, Joel!” she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Her fingers wrapped around the bars of the cell, and she shook them, making them bang loudly.

I cringed, not wanting her to get into trouble for making so much noise.

But the sound of swinging keys grew closer, as did the footsteps of the guard as he neared our cell.

“What do you want, Sheila?” he asked. He sounded exasperated.

“My girl over here needs to make a phone call.” She jerked her head in my direction. “You guys took the card with the number on it.”

Joel’s gaze slid to me. “Fine. I’ll try to get it from her belongings bag and then she can call.” He strode back in the direction of where he came from.

“Sheila?” I asked. She turned toward me with raised brows. “Thank you.”

She gave me a grin. “Anytime… what’s your name?”

“Monroe… Roe Whitlock.”

** *

A few hours later, I was free to go and trudged out of the jail into the cold evening air. All I had on was the valet uniform I had worn when I was taken to the hospital. I looked around the parking lot, and a black car pulled up just in front of where I stood.

The window rolled down, and the driver leaned over the passenger seat. “Monroe?”

I nodded and shifted on my feet, trying to keep moving so the chill of the night didn’t freeze me to death.

“Come on, doll. Lucas sent me to get you.”

My stomach did a somersault, and I couldn’t believe it, but I was going to get into a car with a stranger. I took a deep breath before I willed my feet to move and get into the front seat of the car.

“My name’s Fox. I’m Lucas’s friend and assistant.

” He gave me a beautiful, wide smile. His kind, mahogany eyes were a surprise, glorious dark skin making their richness stand out more in the car light.

He stuck out his hand and I took it in mine.

The warmth of his skin seeped into my frigid fingers.

If it wasn’t weird, I would hold onto his hand until mine defrosted.

“Roe.” I released his hand, and the chill of the night spread back into my icy fingers.

“You stole Lucas’s car?” he asked. I nodded as I buckled my seatbelt, aching with every movement. Fox laughed, putting the car in drive and departing from the jail. “You must have some pretty big balls for a chick if you stole my boy’s car and totaled it.”

“That wasn’t the plan,” I sighed.

“He’s been pissy ever since.” Fox shook his head, but his smile didn’t dissipate .

“He seemed pretty pissy before I even took his car.” My gaze drifted to the darkening sky out the window. Lights of the city blurred past us as we merged onto the interstate.

“Ahhh, so you noticed.”

“Who wouldn’t. He may be good-looking, but he seemed like a real downer.”

“He has his moments,” Fox replied.

“Don’t we all?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

The rest of the ride was quiet as Fox drove me to my apartment on the other side of town. How he knew where I lived was lost to me. When we pulled up to the building, he must have seen the question in my expression because he said, “Lucas is known to be nosy.”

“Nosy? This is stalker status.”

He chuckled lightly. “You could say that. He just likes to know who he’s doing business with. We’re just here to grab some of your stuff and then head back to his house.”

I frowned. “Why?”

“You’ll be staying there with him. He doesn’t trust people easily.”

“Where am I going to go?” I threw up my hands in disbelief.

“You could run. But of course, with his resources, he’d find you eventually.” Fox said it so matter of fact. Like I had no chance of escaping our deal. The thought of running hadn’t even crossed my mind.

“Fine.”

Fox escorted me to my apartment, lingering in the living room. Even going so far as to sit on my couch and prop his feet up on my coffee table.

I grabbed an overnight bag and shoved as many outfits as possible into it. “Do I have time to shower?” I yelled out to Fox.

“No. Lucas will go ballistic if we take too long. You can shower at his place,” he hollered back. I rolled my eyes in irritation and grabbed my toiletries before marching back into the living area.

“I’m ready.” I slung the strap of my bag over my shoulder.

Fox drove us back to Lucas’s house… scratch that…

freaking mansion. Just driving up the winding driveway took minutes, letting on to just how much property he owned.

When we finally reached the mansion, my eyes widened at the sheer size of it.

The brick-faced facade was elegant, with a historic feel to it.

Turrets stretched toward the dark sky, illuminated by perfectly placed lighting around the entire home.

A fountain sat in the center of the driveway, the water trickling. It gave the impression of tranquility.

But I wasn’t feeling very tranquil at the moment. My pulse raced, my stomach ached, and I was pretty sure I was going to pass out. So much had happened in the last couple of days, and my anxiety clawed at my insides.

Fox led me into the mansion, and my gaze trailed across the interior as my bag slid off of my shoulder and plunked onto the marble floor. When I had admired the boujie hotel in awe, I thought it was the most beautiful entryway I had ever seen. Nope. I was wrong. Very, very wrong.

A grand staircase led to the second level with intricate railing.

The chandelier that hung in the center of the room was larger than the one at the hotel, and the lights twinkled, catching my attention.

The only furniture was a round table with a vase of flowers and an area rug.

I felt like I had landed in the Clueless movie, and I was in Cher’s house.

“It’s quite…” Fox started, unable to finish his sentence.

“Ostentatious?” I asked.

Fox barked out a laugh. “Yeah, definitely. Come on, I’ll show you to your room.

” He picked up my bag from the floor and swung it over his shoulder.

I followed him as we trudged up the staircase and down a long hallway, stopping in front of one of the rooms and opening the door as he stepped aside to allow me to pass.

My eyes widened when I saw the décor. The bed had a white, tufted headboard, set in the center of the room.

The linens were ivory, and it was adorned with pale-pink decorative pillows and a matching throw blanket at the foot of the bed.

Yet another chandelier hung in the middle of the room.

Although, this one was a quarter of the size of the one hanging in the entryway.

White nightstands stood on either side of the bed and a white dresser against one of the walls, a gold mirror hanging just above it.

“This will be your room while you stay here. The bathroom is just through that door.” Fox nodded in the direction of a closed door as he set down my bag. “Feel free to shower now. There are fresh towels hung up for you already.”

“Okay,” was all I managed to say. Was every room so extravagant?

Fox left me to it, and I pulled out clothing from my bag and walked into the bathroom.

There was a clawfoot tub and a shower with a rain shower head.

I couldn’t wait to scrub away the last couple of days, so I took my time in the shower, soaking in every ounce of the decadent hot water.

It soothed the tenderness I had everywhere in my body from the accident.

When I finished, I dried off with one of the fluffy towels, then, dressed in my leggings and oversized Get in loser, we’re doing butt stuff alien abduction T-shirt, I could think of nothing better to do than lay in the comfy-looking bed and go the heck to sleep.

But the moment I waltzed into the bedroom, my gaze landed on Lucas, sitting on the edge of the bed.

His piercing eyes trailed over my outfit choice and a smirk tipped up at the corner of his lips. I crossed my arms over my chest, feeling a little self-conscious under his scrutiny. A frown formed on my face, wishing he would just get out so I could enjoy some rest.

“I’m glad you decided to call me.”

“I saw no other choice,” I admitted as I shifted on my feet.

His attention crawled over my skin, sending my stomach tumbling.

Not just because he seemed like a pretty important person, considering he gave me a get out of jail free card, but because his mere presence was overpowering.

My body sensed his energy, and I couldn’t shake the shivers it elicited.

“Either way, we’re both getting something out of it.” He stood and stepped closer to me, his scent wafting toward me, and I craned my neck to look up at him.

“It seems like I traded one prison for another.”

He chuckled. “Maybe you did. But I don’t know how many prisons would give you such a nice room.” Lucas glanced around the space before his stare landed back on me.

“True.” I relaxed a bit and dropped my arms to my sides.

“Aliens, huh?” His brow arched.

My cheeks felt hot. I loved anything extraterrestrial.

Shows, shirts, trinkets, everything. One time, I even visited Area 51.

Although, it wasn’t really a visit, per se.

More like a drive by. There was no way I was going to be held at gunpoint if I went too close.

“I like them,” I replied. I wasn’t going to give him any information about me that wasn’t necessary to our deal.

I’d keep it short. “When will we discuss the key?”

“We have plenty of time for that. Get some rest.”

I watched him as he strode out of the room, closing the door behind him.