23. A Lot More

There are seven missed calls on Jet’s phone.
All from the same number.
“Still think it’s a telemarketer?” Kit is smiling.
Jet rolls his eyes. “He hasn’t left a voicemail.”
“He?” Kit lifts his favorite eyebrow. “So you do know who it is. Hey, don't throw food!”
Jet tosses another leftover piece of fried egg at him. “Don’t do the Eyebrow Thing.”
Breakfast is over and Rome and Talay have left with full stomachs, but not before Kit got a promise out of Talay that he would keep looking into the newly acquired reports. Jet had reiterated Rome’s promise that he would keep an eye on Kai before letting the other man go. The painkillers and hangover pill Jet had taken earlier have finally kicked in, and his phone hasn’t stopped buzzing since Jet turned it back on.
“If Luca calls an eighth time,” Kit doesn’t lower his eyebrow, and he’s still smiling. “You should answer.”
That gets Jet’s attention, and his brow furrows. “Why?”
“Because,” Now Kit’s other eyebrow rises to join the first one. “It’s rude to ignore other people’s calls.”
As casual as Kit’s words sound, Jet can hear the faint buzz of another emotion underneath. Kit has kept track of all the calls and voicemails he’s left for a certain person, and whether he acknowledges it or not, Kit obviously feels hurt at being ignored.
Strawberries and cigarettes.
Guilt gnaws at Jet’s insides, mingling with the annoyance already brewing there. Luca is a distraction, but a very persistent one. The least Jet can do is answer the phone and tell him to go away, right?
Because that worked so damn well the last time.
Jet sighs, turns his back to Kit so he can’t see the expression on his friend’s face, and taps the number that’s called him seven times. It’s answered halfway through the first ring.
“Seven really is a lucky number.” Luca’s voice walks the fine line between flirtatious and triumphant. “About time you answered my calls.”
Rather than point out that he left Luca barely two hours ago, Jet asks a question instead. “What do you want?”
“That’s not very nice,” Luca sounds more amused than offended. “I brought you home, made you breakfast, the least you can do is say ‘thank you’.”
“Kai brought me home,” Jet corrects him. “But you did give me breakfast, so thank you. How did you get my number?”
“You gave it to me,” Luca’s amused response catches Jet off guard. “Last night. Not that you were in any condition to remember that.”
Kit is leaning against the bar, and the look on his face tells Jet he can hear both sides of the conversation. Jet glares at him, flipping him the bird as he goes out onto the balcony. He locks the door for good measure.
“Is that the only reason you called? To get a ‘thank you’?”
Luca’s chuckle is a warm, rich sound. “How about…since I got you breakfast this morning, you get me dinner tonight?”
“No,” the word comes out of Jet’s mouth before he can stop it. “I mean, not tonight.”
“I told you, you can’t get away from me that easily.” Luca doesn't sound at all offended. “And I still say you’re the best decision I made last night.”
“You’re annoying.”
“I know.” Luca is clearly still smiling. “So if not dinner tonight, then when?”
“I don't know.” There’s a note of regret in Jet’s voice that he can’t quite hide, and he hangs up before either he or Luca can say anything else. Knowing exactly what the expression on Kit’s face will be whether he heard the phone conversation or not, Jet turns his back to the condo, pressing his hands onto the balcony railing.
No distractions, Jet.
No distractions.
From inside the condo, Kit watches his friend. He knows that Bel and Kam had a good reason for introducing Luca to Jet other than matchmaking, but since they hadn’t gone into details Kit can’t really do much except encourage Jet to pick up Luca’s calls. It worked this time, but what about the next time?
Kit glances down at his own phone. The call history hasn’t changed: eighty-seven outgoing calls to the same number, which meant eighty-seven voicemails. But only half of them are personal. The other half are business--if you could call it that. From his first meeting with Talay in the mall, all those weeks ago, Kit has continued to call and leave voicemails, and received no reply. He’d even gone into details sometimes, saying he was working a case and really needed a favor because there were resources he didn’t have access to and couldn’t necessarily request through official channels.
That had worked in the past.
It wasn’t working now.
Granted, he hadn’t originally had much to go on, but since meeting Chalam face to face, and seeing the more recent information about OmniVentures’ involvement in possible fraud this morning, maybe now he has something that would actually make this person pick up the phone and help him.
Or just let the call go to voicemail for the eighty-eighth time.
Maybe there was another way.
Kit scrolls through his contacts for a second, then sends a LINE:
KITKAT: I need a favor.
BEL: Conversations that start like this don’t usually end well.
KITKAT: Very funny. I need your sister’s number.
BEL: You really think Nina’s going to help you?
KITKAT: She could have access to information on OmniVentures that we don’t.
BEL: You sure that’s the only reason?
KITKAT:[middle finger]
BEL: I’m just saying.
KITKAT:[middle finger]
BEL: Kam says you’ve left eighty-seven voicemails now. Is that true?
KITKAT: My brother talks too much. Do I get your sister’s number or not?
BEL: Let me call her. There’s a better chance she’ll answer the phone.
Luca doesn’t call or text Jet for the rest of the day, but Kai does—to confirm their morning run. Even though he’s complained less every time they’ve done it, this time Jet’s little brother seems to be looking forward to running at five-thirty in the morning. Maybe he’s eager to run off additional nerves about returning to OmniVentures, which Jet doesn’t blame him for having. As he pulls up in front of Kai’s dorm, Jet wishes he had asked why his little brother had needed the confirmation.
Kai isn’t the only person who gets in the car.
Luca gets in, too.
Behind the driver’s seat.
“This is why you texted me yesterday?” Jet raises his eyebrows at his little brother, hoping no one else can hear his increased heartbeat.
“What?” Kai’s face is all innocence, but the rush of his words give away his guilt. “Luca heard that you and I run every morning and asked if he could come and I didn’t see a problem with that.”
“Is there a problem?” Luca’s face is invisible, since he’s seated behind Jet, but the amusement in his voice is unmistakable. Apparently, everything to do with Jet amused him.
“No.” Jet gives Kai another annoyed look, but keeps his voice neutral as his pulse speeds up again. “Heads up would have been nice, though.”
In the passenger’s seat, Kai throws anxious glances first in Jet’s direction, and then Luca’s, but doesn’t say anything. Jet keeps his eyes on the road, but can see Luca’s smile in the rearview mirror every time he glances at it. That smile and the intensity of those black eyes makes Jet’s blood tingle. Luca’s earthy, woody scent causes warmth to blossom in his chest, and other parts of his anatomy he doesn’t want to think about right now. He tightens his hands on the steering wheel.
No distractions.
When they get to the park, Kai is the first one to scramble out and begin warming up with more enthusiasm than usual. He has on the same style T-shirt and shorts he wears every time they run, but it catches Jet’s attention this time because of the sharp contrast to what Luca is wearing.
The jacket--a sleek, deep red--has the symbol of a jungle cat in mid leap, legs extended forward and body gracefully arched. The matching pants taper down his legs, extenuating every sinew and muscle. Clearly, Luca’s good taste extends to athletic wear as well as casual.
Or, he has an athletic side no one knows about.
Either way, Luca seems to know exactly what he’s doing.
“Right,” Kai’s voice sounds deliberately casual. “I’ll meet you guys back here in…half an hour? Maybe longer?”
“Where do you think you’re going?” The question is obvious, but Jet asks it anyway.
“I feel like running by myself today.” Kai clearly can’t get away from his irate older brother fast enough. “See you later.”
He runs off before Jet can say anything else.
Jet turns back to Luca, giving his running outfit the once over. “You went with Puma?”
“Are you making fun of my track suit?” Luca tries to look offended and fails completely.
“No,” Jet reaches toward the end of Luca’s waistband. He catches the tiny hitch in Luca’s breath as he pulls the little piece of cardboard attached by a small plastic hoop free from the fabric. “But you forgot to take the price tag off. You won’t be needing the jacket.”
“All right then,” Luca shrugs, removing the unnecessary article of clothing and tossing it back into Jet’s car.
Jet’s mouth dries out.
There’s no shirt under that jacket.
Luca’s grin widens as he sees Jet’s involuntary swallow. He takes a deliberate step forward. “Anything else?”
“Yeah,” Jet’s answering smile is also dry. “Try and keep up with me.”
Luca doesn’t have to try.
Not only does he keep up with Jet, he passes him.
Several times.
And he’s hardly out of breath when he does it.
Luca’s strides are long and powerful. His impeccable form and effortless grace causes a pang of jealousy to flare up inside Jet, though he has no idea what he has to be jealous of. It’s not like they’re competing against each other.
Are they?
Jet’s own breath is coming in ragged gasps, and the adrenalin pumping through him is only partly due to exercise. He drops his gaze, forcing himself to focus on the pounding of his feet so that he can pace himself. The burning in his muscles and lungs intensifies with each stride. When Jet finally looks up, Luca has stopped just ahead of him, leaning against a tree. The sheen of sweat glistening on his skin makes the muscles on his arms stand out even more. He’s still barely winded.
“You’re pretty good.” Jet manages, aware of just how out of breath he sounds.
Luca’s answering chuckle makes Jet’s spine tingle. “You’re not so bad yourself.”
They stand in silence for a minute. Jet forces his breath to slow, aware of Luca’s eyes locking on his pursed lips. Luca is studying him, the expression on his face a mixture of amusement and something else that does nothing to help Jet slow his heart rate.
“I didn’t know you were a runner.” Jet finally breaks the silence, lowering himself onto the grass. He knows it will be harder to run back unless he stays on his feet, but his legs don’t seem to want to support him at the moment.
Luca sits down next to him. “There’s a lot more you can find out about me, Jet. All you have to do is ask. In exchange, I want to know everything about you.”
Jet raises an eyebrow at him. “Just stick to running for now.”
“Fine by me.” Luca leans back on his elbows. “I was coursa campestre at uni.”
“A cross country runner?” Jet’s automatic translation makes Luca raise his eyebrows.
“You speak Italian.”
“I learned it growing up.” Jet shrugs. “It helps when you’re COO of a company that operates in both Bangkok and Modena.”
Luca waits for Jet to elaborate, then continues speaking when he doesn’t. “I didn’t just go to uni in Italy. I spent half my life there. Where else do you think my name comes from?”
“Your parents are Italian?” Jet is curious in spite of himself.
“My dad is. He met my mom when he was on vacation in Chiang Mai. I have no idea how they managed to build a life in two different countries, but they make it work. I guess it helps that they both had commutable careers, so they spend half the year in Chiang Mai and half the year in Milan. What about your parents?”
Jet’s expression closes up. “They died. Car accident.”
“Oh,” Luca is unsure what to say for a minute. “They weren’t the ones you taught you Italian then?”
“Kit’s family did.” Jet’s voice is quiet. “How did you know Kai and I ran every morning?”
“I heard it from you,” If Luca is surprised by Jet’s abrupt change of subject he doesn’t show it. “That’s one of the many things you said the other night. I told you, you’re very talkative--”
“When I’m all liquored up,” Jet finishes for him. “I know.”
“You want to know what else you said last night?” Luca grins. “First, you told me you hated cheesy lines and I should go away—“
“That I remember.” Actually that had been one of the last clear thoughts in Jet’s head that night, but that’s not something he’s going to say out loud.
“And then,” Luca continues as though Jet hadn’t spoken. “You said something about a shark, and your brother and your sister—you said a lot, actually—and how you had no one to talk to about it. So I said you could try talking to me and that’s when you gave me your number. I’m a little hurt that you didn’t ask for mine. Then you were hungry and when I asked what you wanted to eat you said an omelet because that was your favorite breakfast. And then you told me how to make it. In detail. After that you said you wanted your car and I asked you where it was and said I’d drive you home. That’s about it.”
“You also said I was the best decision you made all night.” The words are out of Jet’s mouth before he can stop them.
Luca’s grin widens. “You remember that too, huh?”
“It was one of the first and last things you said.” Jet says it to the grass, rather than look Luca in the eye. “So it kind of stuck with me.”
“I made an impression, then.” Luca’s shoulder brushes against Jet’s as he sits back up, and Jet’s heart starts turning somersaults. “I meant it, you know. What I said the other night, and just now.”
“That I’m the best decision you ever made?” Jet’s eyebrows are threatening to disappear into his hairline, in spite of his increasing heart rate. “You’ve known me forty-eight hours, if that.”
“Actually, I said you were the best decision I made all night,” Luca corrects him. “And I said I’d tell you why once you could understand me better. I want to get to know you. All of you.”
Luca’s face is so close to Jet’s that the tip of their noses almost touch. Black eyes lock with dark brown ones. That same magnetic force crackles between them, and neither want to speak for fear of breaking it. Jet can see Luca’s pulse beating in his throat. How much of that has to do with the run? One way to answer that is if Jet leaned just a little bit closer…
“You haven’t even made it around the park yet?” Kai’s voice cuts jarringly through the tension. Jet looks up to see his little brother standing just in front of him, a light sheen of sweat on his face, arms crossed and one eyebrow raised.
“What happened to meeting back at the car in half an hour?” Jet flips him the bird, and Kai flips it back.
“The car’s in this direction so I have to come this way anyway.”Kai tries to arrange his face in an innocent expression. It doesn’t quite work.
Luca smiles at the two of them as he gets to his feet. “Why don’t we head back to it, then.”
He winks at Jet and starts running back the way they came. Kai gives Jet a sidelong glance.
“Soooo,” His voice wavers on the edge of casual curiosity. “Did you two actually run or just…talk?”
“What do you think?” Jet raises an eyebrow. “Why did you invite him?”
Kai tries and fails a second time to arrange his face in an expression of innocence.“You said it wasn’t a problem. Next time I’ll let you know he’s coming.”
Now both Jet’s eyebrows are up. “Next time?”
Kai is genuinely confused. “You don’t want him to come?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“So maybe next time I should definitely let you two run alone?” Kai grins at his older brother, and Jet flicks his forehead. “Ow! What was that for?”
“Mind your own business,” But Jet smiles to take the potential sting out of his words. “Listen, when you go back to OmniVentures today--”
“I’ll be careful!” Kai looks annoyed again. “I told you that!”
“I know. But there’s something else I want you to do.” Jet’s face sobers and he looks his little brother right in the eye. “Do you think you could find financial information that doesn’t add up?”
Kai’s eyes narrow. “Why?”
“Because you and I both want Chalam behind bars.” Jet keeps his voice low, aware of potential eavesdroppers in this public place. “Fraud is something that’s difficult to explain away.”
“Not just fraud,” Kai’s jaw sets. “Chalam killed our parents.”
“I know.” Jet reassures him. “Be we can’t prove murder as easily as we can fraud. All we need for that is the right financial information.”
“And you trust me enough to find it?” Kai’s eyebrows shoot up. “Is this why you came back? To go after Chalam?”
“That’s one of the reasons.” Jet nods. “And I do trust you. Just--”
“Be careful, I know.” Now it’s Kai’s turn to nod. “I’ll find what we need. What was the other reason?”
Jet’s brow furrows. “Other reason?”
“Why you came back to Bangkok.” Kai clarifies.
“I already told you. I missed Mali,” Jet smiles at his little brother. “ And I missed you.”
“Hey!” Luca has stopped just ahead of them. “You two coming or what?”
Instead of running ahead of them on the way back, Luca matches his pace with Jet and Kai. Jet can’t help but notice that Luca runs slightly closer to him, allowing Kai to pull ahead. Luca casts Jet a sideways glance, and the rhythm of their feet syncs, the same as their breath, as Luca’s words echo in Jet’s head.
I want to get to know you. All of you.

"24. Q&A" 
Read from beginning: "1. Ignored"