12. Thea

Chapter 12

Thea

T he invoice to her father's latest round of treatment burned a hole in her pocket. They'd increased their charge by thirty percent, which meant she needed to find even more money before he finished his current round.

Pulling her hood lower on her head to avoid the rain now pouring down, she shuffled past a crowd, heading toward the only pawn broker still open on a Sunday afternoon. The ‘P' in the open sign flickered, the buzz such a high-pitched tone Thea could hear it even above the rain.

Rushing inside, the little bell above the door tingled gently. The heater was a force, blasting her face hard enough to immediately dry any remnants of water left behind."I'm about to close, so fuck off unless you have something worth my time," Doug, the owner, sales assistant, bouncer, accountant, and everything in between grunted from behind the metal lattice. The majority of his face was covered behind his broadsheet newspaper, only his bushy brows and shiny head on display.

"Have I ever let you down?" Thea placed six watches, three bracelets and seven rings on the counter, waiting for him to look at her.

The newspaper rustled, his dark, hawklike eyes narrowing on the bounty. "Thea, girl. How's your da? Haven't seen him around in a while."

Thea's smile tensed. "As well as he can be."

Royalty Pawn and Loan was an independent family-owned broker, one with a connection to a certain high end jewellers over in Hatton Garden. Not that they'd ever admit it. Doug ran the pawn, while his brother ran the jewellers. The pawn displayed jewellery, electronics, and anything else people could sell for some quick cash. Nothing amazing, and nothing to the quality of the stuff Doug was currently examining. With a magnifying loupe pinched in his left eye, he studied every single piece she'd brought in meticulously.

"Not as much as usual," he commented casually, placing one of the rings in a separate pile before moving onto the watches.

"Hmm," Thea hummed, watching him work. Doug was loyal, and had been since her father first introduced them almost ten years ago at the pub. Her dad had made a friend to watch football with, and Thea had made a business connection.

Doug didn't ask where she'd acquired the jewellery, and she didn't ask whether they would be melted down or sold as they were in his brother's shop. For a professional relationship, it worked great.

"Ravyns, pounds, or credit?"

"Pounds." She chose Ravyns when she needed an emergency stash, the currency only used within the Undercity, and usually worth more if she found a dodgy enough exchange. Despite the extortionate prices charged, the trial her father was on was all above board, which meant they only accepted legal tender. The lady who dealt with the payments would likely clutch her pearls if Thea handed over the small black coins.

Doug dropped the last of the rings. "I can only give you around ten."

"Ten? For everything?" Thea gaped at him through the cage. "But that watch is a platinum Ryker. It's worth ten grand on its own!"

"I'm sorry, Thea, but that's all I can give you right now. I'll have to send the Ryker off to get the serial number changed. The gold isn't worth much right now, and the diamonds are low quality."

"Fuck, I need more than ten, Doug."

"Then try somewhere else, but we both know the Ryker's too hot to touch for at least six months, even with a serial number change. I wouldn't normally accept it, but I'm doing you the favour for your da. One watch is a fake, but I'll take it for parts, and the others have minor scratches that impact the price."

Thea curled her hand into a fist, closing her eyes and letting out a long breath. "Okay, what about this?" She placed the knife found in Jax's wallet on the counter. "It's metal, and the design's – "

"Yeah, I'm not touching that." Doug's hand snapped back as if it were a snake. "Where did you get this?"

Thea blinked at him with a frown. "Does it matter?"

Doug chuckled, and Thea couldn't recall a single memory of him reacting in such a way before. "Wherever you got it, take it back."

Her stomach twisted. "Why?"

"Trust me, the owner's going to notice that it's missing."

"What's so special about it?" She ignored the protest of her fingers as she flipped it open. It glistened beneath the fluorescent lights, the blade smooth against her fingertips until she found a small, stylised J engraved near the hinge.

Of course Jax has a personalised knife, she thought.

"The fact you have to ask means you're not the owner." Doug shook his head, his eyes lingering on the blade until she'd placed it back in her pocket. "So, you taking the ten?"

Bloody hell.

"Sure." It wasn't like she had many options.

Without another word, he disappeared behind a curtain of beads into the back, leaving her alone. Tapping her foot against the linoleum flooring, she waited. Grey's money had come in that morning, and with the ten she had around forty-five thousand saved, which covered around half of the next round of treatment.

Gnawing on her lip, she tried to remember how much Ravyns she had hidden. If she was lucky, she'd be able to exchange them for more than they were worth.

"Say hi to your da for me." Doug came back through the beaded curtain and handed her an envelope, and as soon as she touched it, she sent it straight to the special space in her bedroom. "Tell him he missed the last Hammers game, which means he owes us a round."

Thea smiled. "Will do, thanks."

The rain hadn't let up in the time she'd been inside, forcing her to run to the bus that had luckily pulled up in perfect time. Slipping into a spare seat at the front, she watched the droplets race down the glass.

What the fuck was Doug's reaction to a simple knife?

She was achingly aware of it in her pocket, despite being so weightless she could barely feel it. She should have moved it back with the money, but for some reason, she hadn't. Thoughts of a certain tall, brooding man flashed across her mind, and she fought a groan. He didn't have permission to dominate her thoughts. Not when he'd so openly broken into her flat and threatened her.

She'd seen him fight and knew he was as dangerous as he projected. She should be scared. So, why wasn't she?

The bus jerked to a stop, the general wheeze and cough of the vehicle causing a racket. The rain had softened in the time she'd stared blankly out the window, the sun turning the sky a dark pink as it settled in the horizon. Recognising the residential street, she decided to walk the remaining ten minutes to her parents' house. She needed to clear her head, and practice schooling her face when her mum undoubtedly asked her how her life was going. If she asked once more if Thea was going to settle down and provide her with grandbabies, she was going to scream.

The rain finally stopped, leaving behind a pleasant, earthy scent that masked the exhaust fumes of the passing cars. Turning a corner, she smiled at her childhood home. It was a mid-terrace, with the front garden enclosed by a handmade fence her father had put in when she was around five. He'd engraved each of their names in the posts, adding her siblings after each birth.

Her foot touched the bottom step, and something caused her to stop. Thea stilled, listening to the wind carry childish screams from a few houses down as well as the traffic a road over. Nothing out of the ordinary, and yet something was…

Thea looked over her shoulder, letting out a surprised hiss.

Jax watched her from across the street, his shoulder leaning against the lamppost as if he'd been there a while. He seemed to wait until she'd fully turned before straightening from his position, crossing the street toward her.

Thea simply blinked, believing her mind was playing tricks on her. Because no way would the real Jax look at her with such intense heat that she felt it kiss across her skin.

"You can't be – "

"Thea?" The door behind her creaked, and Thea froze at her mother's familiar voice. "Oh, who's this?"

"Don't you dare," she warned him, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hi Mrs Hart," he greeted, giving her mum a polite nod. "It's nice to finally meet you."

His eyes returned to hers, daring her to argue.

Fuck.

"Hi, it's nice to meet you too." Mum's voice was hesitant.

Jax's lips twitched, and Thea glared at him to stay silent while she thought of any possible excuse. "Don't worry, he's – "

"Jax," he said, because of course, he was sent to her from the devil himself. "Her boyfriend."