Page 14

14

Aran

A person calling in sick sounds easy on paper, but when you have three hours left before the shift starts and someone is yet to actually make that call, the reality ends up being a lot more complicated.

I finish securing the improvised chain to Mong’s ankle, making sure the padding is sufficient so that the metal won’t irritate his skin. The other end of the restraint I’ve locked around the window frame, so even if he tries, he won’t be able to get any further than what the chain allows for, namely the bathroom.

Frowning, I look around the room for anything that he might use to attempt an escape. I tasked Hex with sweeping the place, and unexpectedly, it seems like he’s done a decent job of that, save for the carving knife sitting by the bowl of fruit on the table.

“Tien, why is the knife still there?” I ask, raking my hand through my hair. My bun comes off and so I have to retie it as too much hair gets in front of my eyes.

Hex closes the fridge he has been inspecting for the past two minutes and trains his gaze where I’m pointing. “Oh. Well, in case he gets hungry? How else is he supposed to butter his sandwich or cut himself some ham and cheese?”

I cross my hands and exhale slowly. “First, he doesn’t need a carving knife. He can use a butter one. There is plastic cutlery in the bottom drawer. And second, any sharp object can be used as a weapon against us.” And since his hands aren’t tied, as a means to break the chain.

Hex pouts and curls his mouth to one side. It’s cute. “Maybe don’t knock people out like this next time and try the diplomatic route first?” he mumbles and retrieves the potentially dangerous object, which he then locks in the corner cupboard with the rest of the knives.

I concede. I acted way out of line, but seeing Mong so close to Hex just did something to me. Instinct took over, and I got in the way before the two of them went any further. I simply couldn’t allow that.

I also almost kissed Hex.

Every pore in my body screams at me for holding back. Hex is right—I did it because a part of me wants him for myself. A big, dark and possessive part that I’ve never had to deal with before.

Witnessing Hex flirt with another man has messed with my head. I don’t know what to do or think. This is all new, and not to mention still very wrong. I made a promise, but it seems like with every passing hour on this cruise, that promise is going out the window bit by bit.

And that’s not the worst part either. It’s the fact that it feels right, where this is going. My head pulsates like it’s suddenly full of bubbles, my thoughts are a jumble. Control has almost fully slipped out of my hands, and I have no idea how to regain it… or if I even want to. Not when the prize is as enticing as claiming Hex for myself.

Shaking my head as I close my eyes, I try to shut down that line of thought. This was never supposed to happen, for me to question everything and flirt with that which should be unobtainable. Hex is out of my league, out of my age-range too. I can’t have him and I shouldn’t want him. We could never work together. Yet the more time that passes, the more I don’t care about that anymore. The truth is that I’m tired of resisting and coming up with reasons as to why I should stay away from Hex. I want to give this a try, to dive into the dark unknown and see what happens and if I will live through it or die.

There is just one complication—we are in the middle of an emergency, and all of this angst and internal drama will have to wait until later. I am a professional and that’s what professionals do.

“So, I had an idea…” Hex starts, trailing off in that way that never bodes well.

“What is it?” I prompt him when he says nothing further.

“Well… We have the names of Mong’s colleagues, so all we need to do is pick one and make it so that they have to call in sick.”

Sigh. Why do I not like where this is going? “Okay…”

Hex walks over to the window, gazes out for a few moments, then turns around and shrugs at me while smiling sweetly. “So, I was thinking… Why not knock someone out the same way you KO-ed Mong?”

“That is a great plan, Tien. But who’s going to watch them? And no, I do not have any more chains.”

“Okay, but what if we don’t need to. There is a medical center, right? They are bound to have sedatives we could use.”

Great. In the three hours we have until Hex needs to meet the Lynxes, he wants us to steal from the cruise’s medical supplies, locate a staff member who’s working tonight, take them out of commission, and replace them?

Sure, what an amazing plan, if only we ignore all the ways things can go completely wrong.

The St. August’s medical center feels more like a VIP hospital. It’s smaller in size, obviously, and aside from the typical stuff you’d find at one, there is also plastic surgery and cosmetic improvements zones.

The sedatives which we are after are in the keycard-controlled storage room behind the reception. Hex is currently chatting up the woman at the desk, flashing cute smiles at her that irritate me even if I know it’s all for show. But it’s been hard to keep myself in check since earlier, and it’s only getting worse. It feels like the last straw of my sanity is about to snap any moment now.

I chuckle in self-pity. Who would’ve thought that Hex would drive me into a corner like this?

“You could maybe give me a massage? My leg really hurts, and all the doctors are currently busy.”

They aren’t, but they are also not around because we may or may not have called in an emergency. It gives us about twenty minutes to execute this first and very questionable portion of our plan.

“Oh, you poor thing.” The woman hesitates, glancing at her monitor. “Okay. Sit there and I’ll be with you in a second.”

Hex complies, but I remain by the desk and watch her unlock the storage area and disappear inside. When she comes back out, she’s carrying what I assume is muscle relaxant gel.

“I’ll take care of your boyfriend, don’t you worry,” she tells me as she walks by me, patting me on the shoulder in a way a mother would.

Before my brain has even comprehended her words, she’s moved onto treating Hex’s nonexistent injury.

My ‘ boyfriend ’? Do Hex and I really look like we are together? Giddiness invades my chest, mixing in with guilt as my face stretches into a smile I can’t shut down. Excitement courses through my veins, encouraging my heart’s sudden sprint. Shit. This is bad. I need to focus, not get distracted because someone called us boyfriends.

Making sure the woman is occupied tending to Hex, I thank the heavens she left the storage room unlocked and jog over to it, slipping inside. Fortunately, it doesn’t take me long to find what I am looking for, allowing me to escape before she can figure out what I have done.

Hex and I meet up outside after a while. He’s limping as he thanks the receptionist and heads to the bench I’ve occupied.

“See, I told you it would work,” he says, flopping down with a grin.

“This was the easy part,” I say, nerves twisting my stomach as I pin my gaze on the darkening sky and sea.

If I was doing this on my own, I wouldn’t be so on edge. Yes, things could still go wrong, but it would be just my life that I put in danger. With Hex here, that makes the two of us. Just entertaining the scenario of him getting hurt because of me makes me want to wrap him in my arms, steal one of the lifeboats and leave this dangerous cruise, mission be damned. He’s not a professional, he’s never done anything like this. Behind a computer, he’s an unmatched genius and a pro, but this is different.

This is my domain and not his.

Despite it all, I like having him by my side like this. As a partner. My heart beats twice as fast as it normally does, my stomach feels queasy. I feel younger too, like I can do anything and everything so long as Hex keeps smiling.

“Hey, Aran?”

Slowly, I turn his way and meet his expressive brown eyes. Specks of golden light swim in them, pretty and magical. The ring piercing gracing his right nostril glints softly, adding that lovely rebellious edge which makes him all the more charming. He really could’ve been an actor, or a singer or a dancer. The audience would’ve loved him.

“Hm?”

“You were saying something and then just went quiet.” He places his palm across my forehead and the other one across his own, then smiles in relief. “Phew, no fever. Am I stressing you out too much? I’m sorry. Just tell me what to do to make it better and I will, I promise,” he rushes out, slanting those cute eyebrows at me.

I grab his wrist and bring the back of his hand to my lips, ghosting a feather-light kiss across his bony knuckles. He sucks in air, as if he’d been about to say something but got cut off by my action, and his eyes go wide.

“You always stress me out, Tien.” I hold his hand between us, and massage his palm with my thumb. “And that will never change, no matter what you do.”

He frowns, his expression clouding with confusion. Tilting his head to the side as I let go of his hand, he squints at me like he’s trying to solve a puzzle, and then lets out a heavy exhale. He’s on his feet a heartbeat later, absentmindedly rubbing the hand I was just holding as he places it flat against his chest.

“Don’t you want it to change?” he asks me, his voice small.

Don’t I? Wouldn’t my life be easier if I didn’t have to watch over him? If I could go home to a partner and relax instead of worrying if he’s eaten dinner? Or if he’s hacked into somewhere he shouldn’t and made enemies who don’t intend to let it slide?

He scowls after a few moments of us just staring at each other, regret tensing his delicate features. My fingers itch to smooth out the worry from his forehead, to calm him down so he smiles at me again.

Before I can think better of it, I hop up from the bench and step into his personal space, tipping his chin up. Those soul-stealing eyes of his drink me in like he’s seeing me for the first time, like he can’t believe I am standing in front of him.

I want to kiss him. It’s not the first time, but it’s also different from any other time I had wished that. It’s deeper and darker. It consumes me down to my soul, to the marrow of my bones, to every fiber of my being. My blood moves for him, my eyes see only him, my heart beats just for him.

Saengtien Thanan is—and has been, for as long as I can remember—my everything.

I just wasn’t ready to accept that, maybe still aren’t. But…

“No.”

He pouts his mouth, chewing on his bottom lip. My free hand cradles his cheek, warmth seeping into me through my fingers. It touches my every cell, igniting a wildfire inside me which I don’t want to stop.

Which I can’t stop.

Because I don’t want to fight this thing between us anymore.