34. Confession

Once he fully regains consciousness, Kai is not allowed to leave the hospital after twenty-four hours’ observation.
He has to stay for forty-eight.
Which is actually fine by him, since he has more than one thing to think about. He has more than one thing to think about, like the information about his parents' murder for spying on Chalam. Only he saw Chalam’s face that day, a secret even Jet doesn’t know.
And Jet still doesn’t know Chalam adopted him, either.
“You’ll pull your IV if you keep moving around .” Jet warns.
Kai glares at his older brother. “Stop treating me like an invalid.”
“Stop twitching,” Jet retorts. “Or I’ll tell them you need a sedative.”
Kai blows out a frustrated breath, but he stops moving around. The IV line stops stretching and the stinging pain from the needle in the top of his hand recedes. Jet smiles at him before his gaze returns to the folder in his lap. It’s the same folder Kai had in the break room—Rome had given it to him while Kai was still out of it, a day and a half ago. The three of them—Mali, Jet and Kai—hadn’t spoken much about the contents other than to assure Kai that Pepper had seen it and was doing some digging.
Kai has a suspicion that his “forty-eight hours’ observation” is Em’s way of keeping him out of trouble for a minute—at Jet’s request. Why is his older brother being so damn protective all of a sudden? Has Jet always been that way and Kai had never noticed?
Or is this train of thought stemming from the remains of the drug still in Kai’s system, and he hasn’t come all the way down yet?
There’s a knock at the door, and a nurse Kai hasn’t seen before pokes her head in. “Khun Sataengmasawat has a visitor.”
Though it’s expected, Kai smiles, both at the nurse’s polite use of the customary honorific and the knowledge that someone other than his brother or sister wants to see him. He changes his mind when the furious female whirlwind enters the room.
“You idiot!” Pepper punctuates each word with a smack on Kai’s arm. “You moron! How could you be so damn stupid?”
Kai dodges Pepper’s hands as he protests, “I didn’t think—”
“No, didn’t.” Pepper cuts him off. “That’s perfectly clear.”
“I’m an invalid,” Kai whines. “Why are you hitting me?”
“I’m hoping I can knock some sense into that damn stubborn head of yours.” Pepper sighs, but she stops hitting him. “But I doubt it’ll work.”
“It won’t.” Jet confirms. Since Pepper has come into the room, he’s remained seated, watching the interaction with dry amusement.
Kai glares a second time at his older brother. “You enjoying this?”
“Little bit,” Jet smiles as he holds his thumb and forefinger a centimeter apart. “I thought you didn’t want to be treated like an invalid.”
“That’s different.” Kai sulks, hoping neither of them will ask him why.
He doesn’t sulk for long, though, because Pepper stops hitting him, and kisses him instead. The press of her lips against his has a better effect on Kai than whatever the hell’s in the IV.
“Don’t scare me like that again,” Pepper warns after breaking the kiss. “Or I’ll—I don’t know what I’ll do, but it’ll hurt. A lot.”
“Noted.” It’s the only word Kai can get out of his mouth.
Pepper sits on the bed next to him. “How do you feel?”
“Like I drowned in cotton.” Kai admits. “Is this what being hungover feels like?”
“Not necessarily.” Jet smiles at him.
“Which is worse,” Kai presses. “Being drugged or hungover?”
Pepper smacks him again. “How can you ask that, even as a joke?”
“Because I’m curious.” Kai glances at Jet. “So, which is worse?”
Jet shrugs. “Depends on the drugs and the alcohol.”
Pepper smooths Kai’s hair back from his forehead. “You look better than you did a day ago. I suppose you’re going to tell me this was all worth it?”
“I got what we needed, didn’t I?” Kai points to the folder in Jet’s lap. “So what do we do next?”
Jet looks up from the folder. “You are staying in this bed until your forty-eight hours of observation are over. When Em says you’re clear, then you leave. Just forget about the investigation for now and concentrate on getting back on your feet.”
“Easy for you to say,” Kai grumbles. “Can Pepper at least tell us both what she found out?”
“Why don’t you ask her?” Pepper’s smile is forgiving. “I compared what we found on the SD cards to what you found and there is a deficit—one you can prove.”
“So we can prove fraud.” Kai presses. Maybe that means I don’t have to say anything. Maybe just fraud is enough and Jet won’t want to prove murder.
“We’ll worry about that once you’re out of the hospital.” Jet reiterates. “You were stupid, but you did find what we needed.”
“Thank you?” Kai cocks his head, not sure if Jet means that as a compliment or not. “I’m glad I wasn’t totally useless?”
“You’ve never been totally useless. We can prove fraud because of what you found when you snuck back into the archives.” Jet’s expression turns serious. “But don’t do it again. We need to be smart about this.”
“I know!” Kai squalls. “If I do something stupid like this again Pepper will hurt me and you’ll—probably do the same thing.”
“Not ‘probably’,” Jet corrects him. “I will kick your ass.”
“I believe you.” Kai sinks back against his pillows, making sure to give both Jet and Pepper puppy eyes. “I promise I’ll be very very good.”
Jet chuckles.
“You had better be,” Pepper blows him a kiss. “I need you on your feet by Saturday.”
Kai’s brow furrows. “Why Saturday?”
“It’s Christmas.” Jet raises his eyebrows, his face carefully expressionless. “I’m surprised you haven’t been counting down the days.”
Christmas.
The word that should be giving Kai excited butterflies instead makes his guts feel like they’re full of worms. It takes more of an effort than he likes to keep his face equally expressionless. Jet has remembered their deal—and until now, Kai was unaware of how badly he’d hoped Jet had forgotten.
What if Jet leaves after Christmas? The thought turns Kai cold. Or will he stay? He works in Bangkok, Kai knows that, but will he stay away if Kai tells him to? The choice he has to make weights heavy in his chest, almost suffocating him.
Does Kai want him to stay? The question twists like a knife inside him. Having his older brother around was comfortable, and the potential of losing it nearly rips Kai open. But keeping Jet around also means that he had to open himself up—tell Jet all of the secrets he’s keeping. And once he does that—once Jet knows he’s Chalam adopted him, and Kai found out and kept it from him—would Jet leave anyway? Indecision gnaws at him, and his hands involuntarily clench against the blankets tucked around him.
“Kai,” Jet leans forward. “You ok?”
Kai swallows, forcing his voice to remain steady. “Yep, I’m good. That damn IV needle stings.”
“They’ll probably remove it tonight,” Pepper smiles. “And let you out tomorrow.”
Before Kai can respond, the door opens and Em pokes her head in. “How’s the patient?”
“Stubborn and difficult,” Pepper winks at Kai to soften her words.
“Acting like a toddler.” Jet adds.
“I am not,” Kai rolls his eyes. “I just hate being stuck like this.”
“That’s perfectly understandable.” Em chuckles as comes the rest of the way into the room to check the numbers and wavy lines on the machine next to Kai’s bed. “Well, if your vitals remain stable tonight, we can discharge you tomorrow morning. And we can remove this right now.”
She extracts the IV needle and Kai bites back a wince.
Pepper gently squeezes his fingers. “You see? What did I tell you?”
Kai smiles weakly back at her.
“Yeah,” He forces more enthusiasm into his voice than he feels. “I will be out by Christmas. Great.”
◼️◼️◼️◼️
Luca waits outside the hospital. It’s too hot in the car, so he paces the parking lot.
But he did not go into the hospital.
Going into the hospital means he’ll see Jet.
Seeing Jet means talking.
Talking is not something Luca wants to do right now, because of what he needs to say.
And Luca’s not sure if he should say what he needs to say. Yet.
Because it could ruin everything.
Funny how he never thought about how much it would matter before now. It had been a favor, that was all. But it was more than a favor now. His conversation with Nail had made one thing clear: keeping secrets was detrimental. Kam and Bel knew bits and pieces of his former position at OmniVentures—Luca had needed to give them some details of his previous employment to get the position at Nightshade—and Pepper knew even more, but she wasn’t going to say anything unless Luca gave her permission. But Kai knew nothing and neither did Jet. The sooner Luca came completely clean, the better.
Pepper still hasn’t come outside. She’ll be upset with him if he leaves before she does, since he’s her ride. There’s a line of trees on one side of the parking lot. Luca leans against one of them and pulls out his phone, scrolling back to the text Kam had sent him two weeks ago:
KAM: I need a favor.
LUCA: I don’t do threesomes. Bel would kill me. Unless he kills you first.
KAM: Very funny. My brother’s working a case. For Interpol. I think you could help.
Kam sent him another text this morning, telling him everything that he’d learned the previous night. He’d also sent a screenshot of one of the images the CIA had sent in exchange for everything Interpol had on Chalam so far. Seeing that image made Luca’s stomach bottom out. He has to tell Jet—tell him everything before someone else does.
He doesn’t as footsteps approach him, already knowing it’s Pepper. “So did you yell at him or what?”
“Yeah, she did.” The voice who responds isn’t Pepper’s. “But I doubt Kai will listen to her any more than he did me.”
Luca looks up into Jet’s smiling face. “Hi.”
“Hi?” Jet’s brow furrows. “That’s all you have to say? Why didn’t you come in?”
“I didn’t want to overcrowd the room.” Luca’s answer is truthful enough, provided Jet doesn’t push.
“It’s a huge private room,” Jet points out. “Four people would hardly make it overcrowded. I know Kai would want to see you, too.”
Luca hesitates, then makes up his mind, trying to keep his tone casual. “Let’s go for a walk.”
“Ok,” Jet gives him an odd look.
“Not far,” Luca reassures him, feeling committed now. “Just—let’s walk around for a little bit.”
Jet doesn’t budge. “Why are you acting so serious all of a sudden?”
Luca shrugs and starts to walk, knowing that Jet will follow him. There’s a park near the hospital and Luca heads in that direction. He’s partially grateful for the voices fighting to be heard above the revving of motorcycles and car engines, and the hiss of the BTS along its track. Not exactly the respite Luca had in mind, but one he would take for now. All that cacophony meant there would be no asking of questions that Luca wasn’t quite sure how to answer. Jet walks beside him, occasionally giving him curious glances, but says nothing.
The sounds of traffic and tuk-tuks fade, and the park welcomes them into its lush embrace. Shade from the trees provide a stark contrast to the heat of the streets outside. A slight breeze stirs the leaves, bringing with it a scent of jasmine. Conversations are muted, as there’s no longer the need to shout in order to be heard. Rather than making Luca feel tranquil, however, the park just makes him more nervous. He can hear his pulse pounding in his ears.
“Luca,” Jet’s voice is quiet. “What do you need to talk to me about?”
Luca hesitates. “How’s Kai?”
“Em says he’s stable, so he’ll be discharged tomorrow.” Jet takes an extra step, then turns to face Luca, blocking the other man’s progress. “You’re hedging.”
Luca nods. That’s what he’s been doing since they met--hedging. He can’t do that anymore. There’s a bench next to the pathway, and Luca gestures to it, inviting Jet to sit before taking a seat himself. Jet doesn’t break the silence that stretches between them. He doesn’t push, just waits for Luca to form the words in his head and get them out of his mouth. Jet trusts him, and Luca is about to shatter that trust.
He takes a deep breath. “I have to talk to you. About Chalam.”
“Chalam?” Jet’s brow furrows. “What about him?”
“I used to work for him.” Luca swallows against the leaden lump in his throat, unable to meet Jet’s eyes. “Actually…I used to be OmniVentures’ COO.”