Page 21

21

Aran

“Absolutely not!” I say, crossing my arms. “I am not getting Mong off the sedatives, Tien.”

“Okay, but what if he’s hungry? Or thirsty? You wouldn’t want to starve or dehydrate him to death, would you?” the little shit argues, chewing on a piece of pancake with blueberry preserve.

I rub my forehead, sighing. “A few days of sleeping won’t kill the man. Now, can we get back to the Lynxes’ party, please?”

Hex told me the gist of what happened last night. My hairs rose on a few occasions, but overall, his findings made it all undeniably worth it.

“I told you. I got the network’s SSID, but cracking the actual password will take a while. It changes periodically and I have to be careful. But if Eleanor can get Mrs. Lynx to hire me, then it’s only a matter of time until I have access to her information.”

He’s right. Once he has a point of access, nothing can stop him.

“You two are meeting for lunch today?”

“Yep. At one, which gives us plenty of time to make sure Mong is okay.”

I want to argue, I really do, but waking up the unfortunate waiter has its pros, too. I didn’t get to question him, for one. He might know things that can help us navigate this dangerous game easier. To be hired for the job, he must be exceptional in what he does and that includes attention to detail, ability to remember people, faces, preferences, names…

The challenging part will be explaining why he’s here tied to a couch and convincing him to talk. If worse comes to worse, I have my ways of extracting information, but I’d rather Hex didn’t witness those. It’s one thing to be aware of the stuff I’ve done, to know what his father and I had to do when we were in the Thai Army, but it’s an entirely different matter to see what I am capable of in person.

Then again, knowing this cute demon, he’ll probably cheer me on while I extract our victim’s nails one by one.

Sighing, I produce the sedative’s antidote from the hidden pouch of my backpack, then aim a stern scowl Hex’s way. “No untying him, Tien. We don’t know how he’ll react. It might get dangerous.”

Hands halting before they’ve managed to undo the improvised restraints around Mong’s wrists and ankles, he smiles sheepishly. “I didn’t consider that.”

He’s such an airhead sometimes. A bit too innocent for his own good, too. But it’s one of the things I love about him—no matter who you are, Hex will always give you a chance. Even if you are a scary, grumpy mess of a man who joined the army because his own father disowned him.

Hex’s dad was probably the only person who knew the whole story. He never once judged me about my sexuality like my family did. He didn’t laugh at me, nor did he defend what my own flesh and blood did. He took me under his wing during those first few nightmare months at the army, and he stuck with me, becoming the first ever person that I considered a true friend.

We had no secrets and until the day that he died, he was the closest thing I had to a real family. A brother, not related by blood, whom I wouldn’t have traded for anything.

I absentmindedly wonder if Hex ever found out about my background, and strangely, I don’t feel panic or anxiety at the thought that he might have. He’s too much like his dad, too open-minded to care where you come from, what language you speak, how you look or whom you like to fuck.

Smiling as subtly as I can, I inject the anti-sedative into Mong’s arm after shooing Hex away from him. The substance is very strong and should work within a couple of minutes, so I pull one of the chairs close and sit down to wait.

Hex joins me, but he doesn’t bring his own chair. That would be too logical a thing for him to do. No, he plops his naughty backside on my lap, drapes one arm around my neck and nuzzles his nose against my chest. If I had a say in this whole thing, I’d go for intimidating and scary here, but the picture that Hex and I currently paint is anything but that. Unprofessional and silly describes us a lot more accurately, and yet I do nothing to amend that.

I don’t really know why. It’s just… It feels so damn good having him in my arms like this. So right. I never mix work and private life, that is my number one rule which I have followed since I got into the business of guarding important men, but here I am ignoring that just because I don’t know what to do with all the contentment flowing through my veins.

It’s wrong. Even if I have decided to maybe, potentially, possibly let myself get another small taste of Hex, I must not get carried away. Aran Suwannarat is a real professional like that.

Most of the time.

Inhaling Hex’s sweet scent because I simply can’t help it, I rake the fingers of one hand through his silky hair. He melts and purrs like a cat, sending a thrill of excitement across my already buzzing body.

“Ugh, Hex… What happened?” Mong’s croaky question interrupts my moment of bliss, knocking me back to the real world like a punch to the gut.

“Mong! Are you okay? Oh my god, you drank sooo much and then you passed out!” Hex explains in a rush, surging up from my lap and almost headbutting me in the chin. “How are you feeling?”

“Like shit,” the man who looks like a young version of me groans. “I have a real nasty headache.” He makes to rub his forehead, but the restraints prevent him from moving his hands.

Mong’s eyes snap to the sturdy but elastic zipties around his wrists, narrowing in confusion. “What is this…” He sits up, but that’s as far as he can get since I haven’t adjusted the chain/restraint to allow him to move further than the couch yet. “Hex, what is going on? Why am I… tied up?”

He’s quick on the uptake. Too quick, in fact, for my liking.

“Oh, um… It’s for your own safety! You are a bit wild when you’ve had too much to drink,” Hex tries, flailing his arms around. “You wouldn’t shut up about skinny dipping and when Aran tried to talk you down, you started throwing punches at him and he accidentally knocked you out?”

Mong’s eyes bounce from my hacker menace to me, eyebrows slanting lower and lower as grogginess seems to leave Mong’s brain. “Wait. Didn’t you just say I passed out because I drank too much ? And now it’s because I had a fight with your”—he glares at me suspiciously—“ friend ?”

The way he says it rubs me the wrong way. It shouldn’t, because he is right, but he also technically isn’t, if we count the multiple kisses and the little jerking off session Hex and I had. While I might be trying not to think about either of those things, it’s kind of impossible, especially when my doppelganger’s eyes light up with open interest whenever they lock on Hex.

“Uh.” Hex looks at me for help. “It’s the second?”

Mong presses his lips in a line, his nostrils flaring. “Are you asking me ?” He shakes his hands once more, but the zipties don’t give, keeping him immobilized. “Hex,” he turns back to my troublemaker, “this is really weird. Please, tell me what’s going on.”

I know what’s coming before Hex even opens his mouth. I even contemplate shushing him, but if we are to progress with our mission, the little problem we have here needs taking care of. There are multiple ways I can come up with of doing that, and honestly, I’d rather avoid some of the more extreme and permanent ones.

It’s not that I’ve gone soft or lost my edge—it’s purely from a logistical standpoint. Making a mess, cleaning it up and getting rid of the evidence without anyone on this cruise noticing might prove a little more difficult than I’d like. With all the CCTV and people lurking about, it would be all too easy for someone to notice me dumping a body into the ocean. And that’s if they fail to realize that something is amiss with Mong. I might be good at impersonating him, but I am not flawless—I can keep up the charade for only so long before I slip up.

“Okay… but promise not to freak out? I swear we aren’t the bad guys!”

I both want to roll my eyes in exasperation and hug the hell out of Hex. He can be so goddamn innocent in the way he looks at the world. Everything is simple in his eyes, and he always thinks the best of people.

Mong pulls harder with his arms now, making the chain clank. He’s getting antsy, I can tell, and the more time we waste trying to explain things to him, the less likely he will be of taking it all in calmly.

“You are scaring me. Please, let me go,” Mong pleads as if to prove my point.

Hex raises his arms in a placating manner. “We won’t do anything to you, I promise! Just, uh, hear Aran out, okay?”

For a moment, I’m caught completely off-guard. For Hex to pass the ball to me so abruptly… I study those lovely brown eyes, finding in them a silent request that never makes it to Hex’s lips. My partner in crime must have realized how delicate the situation is and that no matter what he says, Mong is unlikely to cooperate. I’m pleasantly surprised. Hex can be observant, but when that manifests is usually a coin toss.

Ghosting my hand over his silky hair, I approach the couch. Mong’s gaze fills with fear and he tries to scurry as further away from me as possible. It tells me that he must remember something, else he wouldn’t be reflexively trying to put distance between the two of us.

“I’ll be direct,” I say, picking up the chain that’s attached to his left ankle’s restraint. I dangle it in my hand and let him watch and stew in that for a few moments. “Hex and I are undercover. We work for the CIA, and we’ve been following up on a lead for a very major case.” I’d hoped I wouldn’t have to use it, but as I take out the fake badge, I am glad I had the foresight to bring it on this cruise.

Mong inspects the little object, and his tense shoulders relax a notch. I’ll have to thank Kieran for this—it was his idea. He gave me his CIA access card and, with Kwanchai’s help, we disassembled it and turned it into a badge. Now, while CIA agents don’t normally carry badges, a lot of people don’t know that. Especially those who aren’t Americans.

“When you came over the other night,” I continue, “you were about to find out who we were and I couldn’t risk that, so I acted impulsively and incapacitated you. I apologize for that and for the inconvenience caused, but you must understand why this was necessary.” I tip my head at the chain, then dangle it a bit more.

Mong swallows. Hard. I can see it across his face as he turns over my words, drawing his own conclusions. “Right, uh, but couldn’t you have just explained that instead of knocking me out and tying me up?”

I nod and smile. “Yes, but as I said already, the nature of this mission is very sensitive. One wrong step and all the progress we’ve made will be lost.” Turning to Hex, I cross my arms. “My partner is new and, evidently, still needs guidance regarding certain procedures.”

Hex’s frown is adorable. “Yeah, yeah, whatever, agent . Next time, no inviting civilians to drink and play board games, gotcha.”

Mong continues to look perplexed, but at least he’s no longer on the brink of a freak-out. Now for the tricky part.

I let go of the chain and lean in. “I’ll remove the restraints now, but before that I would like to ask for you cooperation in our investigation. No one must know why we are here, and I would like you to stay in our cabin for the time being. We’ll provide food, drinks, entertainment and anything you might require in the meantime. You are also not to make contact with anyone.”

Mong’s expression transitions back to cautious. “Right, but I have work. I can’t just skip.”

“Don’t worry about that!” Hex pipes up with a smile. “Aran can do that instead of you while you stuff your face with ice-cream and marathon our favorite series or anime. And you can call in sick too.”

“I don’t know. No offense, but this is really suspicious.”

Batting his eyelashes, Hex gasps. “No way! You think I’d be lying about this? I’m sorry about this misunderstanding, but we need your help, Mong. You think it wouldn’t have been easier for us to drug you and keep you sedated instead of apologizing and explaining what happened? C’mon.” He hooks a finger at me. “And Aran… He just pretends to be scary because he’s super awkward with people.”

I flex my hand so hard I feel my nails dig into my palm. I swear that Hex and his big mouth will get us killed one of these days. But as I observe comprehension dawn on Mong while a smile slowly curves his lips, I am also fascinated by my troublemaker’s craziness.

“Yeah, okay. You are right. You couldn’t hurt a fly and…” He smiles wryly at me. “I used to be shy around others, too. Found it easier to play the scary badass and keep them away, but if you want some pointers on how to overcome that, just tell me. I’ll be happy to help.”

Hex snatches the scissors from me and undoes the restraints as I watch the two joke at my expense. I can’t believe this actually worked. Mong shakes his arms and legs, getting blood circulating. His stomach churns and both he and Hex laugh.

“Oh, I bet you are hungry. We got some stuff in the fridge.” Hex rips the tape he put around the counters’ edges so that Mong wouldn’t hurt himself. “Ham and cheese toastie okay with you?”

Cracking his neck, Mong sits at the devices-riddled dining table. “Sure.”

Two minutes later, all three of us are eating slightly burned sandwiches, courtesy of Hex. Normally, I wouldn’t allow something like this, but it seems to put Mong at ease, which makes he more likely to answer my questions.

“Sorry, um, Aran is usually the one cooking,” Hex chirps, not sounding sorry at all.

I have the urge to cradle his face and squish his cheeks.

“It’s no problem, really.” Mong chuckles, a flirtatious note accompanying his laughter.

It grates on my nerves and before I think better of it, I pull Hex’s chair to me and throw an arm around his waist so I can plaster him to my side. He squeals in surprise, but recovers quickly, aiming a blinding grin my way that gets my heart pumping like mad.

“Are you two… together?” Mong tosses, winking at Hex.

“No—”

“Yes! Aran is not only my partner, but also my fiancé!”

Mong’s eyes go wide, a smile stretching his lips a moment later. “Shit, I knew something was up. I’ve never been glared at the way your man does it. Should’ve realized a cutie like you would already be taken,” he muses, wiggling his eyebrows at Hex. Then, bringing his hands together in an apologetic gesture, he looks at me. “Sorry for flirting with your fiancé.”

Something settles in my chest, and I decide to let Hex’s lie slide. It seems like it will also deter Mong from any further attempts to hit on my troublemaker, so I take that as a win.

“Apology accepted, but make sure it doesn’t happen again,” I say and take a bite from my burned toastie. This is enough small talk, so I think we are ready to move onto the interrogating part.

Just as I decide which question to start with, Mong says, “So, this might sound weird, but since we cleared the air and I am already kind of dragged into this, I was wondering if maybe you could tell me in more detail what this is about so I could maybe help you with your investigation?”

I bristle the moment Hex’s eyes light up in excitement. A momentary foreboding feeling surges through me, but as Hex aims a hopeful glance my way and tangles our fingers together under the table, I take a few seconds to consider Mong’s suggestion.

I had Hex check the guy. He came back with nothing suspicious—he’s just a hardworking waiter who got lucky landing this gig. He doesn’t know any of the bigshots and neither has he worked for them. He also has a younger sister who needs surgery, which is the reason he even applied for a staff position on this cruise.

He’s trustworthy. And besides, somehow, Hex has him completely wrapped around his finger. I am still baffled that he bought our story, but then again, mixing a half-truth with some very convincing bluffing while having a friendly guy like Hex on my side makes the possibility of us being the bad guys very hard to swallow.

“We are hunting down a drug ring,” I say, propping my elbows on the table. “And we have reason to believe that a number of the VIP guests are involved in it.”

I share with him the parts I deem most relevant, keeping out some of the details. This is a risk, but it’s also an opportunity, depending on what he can tell us. He listens intently, nodding and humming.

Once I am done, he volunteers what he knows, starting with things he’d noticed about some of the VIPs.

This could really work. I’m convinced of that.

And if it doesn’t?

Well, then I’ll simply knock him out and hope that Hex’s hacking skills will be enough to save the day once more.