The Bone Collector - The Watch #1 - Ch. 17 & 18 (Patreon)

You know the drill. Unbeta'd/Unedited We're in the home stretch now guys. I can't believe we're almost at the end. GiftGift had killed someone. He’d killed someone and then freaked out about it... in front of a bunch of killers. Park had spent the last two hours attempting to care for him and console him, which was nice. But Gift didn’t know how to tell him that it wasn’t killing Aspen that had sent him spiraling. It was what he’d said about Gift’s mother. Surely, even trained assassins were entitled to a meltdown over their potentially dead moms…right? Would Park believe him? Would he send him home? Did he even have a home to return to? Or would it be Gift consoling his shell of a father when he realized his wife was gone? Even though his grandparents had arranged his parents' marriage, they’d eventually grown obsessed with each other. Gift knew his mother could live well enough without his father, as much as he knew the opposite wasn’t true. Gift’s heart squeezed, like unseen hands squeezing water out of a wet washcloth.His father would be destroyed.“You can talk to me, dek dee.” Gift shivered at Park’s smooth voice, words pressed into Gift’s hair. “Tell me what’s happening in that head of yours.”Gift stared at the sliver of light coming from the barely opened bathroom door, letting the heat of Park’s near naked body warm him beneath the covers. This was all Gift needed. Park’s clothes on his body, cocooned in his scent, the steady thump of his heart beneath Gift’s ear, the calming rise and fall of his chest beneath his cheek.He didn’t want to admit the truth.It was too embarrassing.“I’m fine, hia.”Park scoffed. “You’re not fine, ouen. You’re just dissociating. Your brain’s tricking you. Talk to me.”Gift could tell him the truth. That he was fretting over his parents, his future, his relationship with Park to some extent. But none of that would make him feel better. There was really only one thing that would make Gift feel better and he was worried if he told Park, he’d think him a monster.“There’s nothing to talk about, hia. I-This is nice. I just want to lay here with you.”The truth was, Gift had been half-hard since they’d climbed into bed. That couldn’t be the appropriate reaction to taking someone else’s life, so he’d kept his mouth shut about it, curving his pelvis away from Park’s hip so he wouldn’t know even while they snuggled close. He didn’t want Park to think he was some deviant who got horny from killing people. But was he? Or was it just his proximity to Park and knowing now what it felt like to have him inside him? Gift preferred to think it was the latter.Gift sucked in a breath as Park rolled onto his side, rearranging them so they were chest to chest, slotting a muscular thigh between Gift’s knees. Gift froze. There was no way Park didn’t feel Gift’s erection pressing against him.His face burned with embarrassment. At least Park couldn’t see that in the shadows.Park flexed his thigh, arms tightening when Gift tried to squirm away. “Is this what’s got you so fidgety, baby?”Gift finally nodded. No use in hiding it now. “I’m sorry.”Park chuckled. “Why are you sorry? After the adrenaline spike earlier, it's a pretty common biological response.”Gift whined, pressing his face to Park’s bare chest. Park flexed his thigh, applying a steady pressure that had Gift gasping.“Hia…”Park tipped his head up, lips finding his for a long, lazy kiss that made his heart feel too big for his body.Park continued to rock his thigh against Gift’s “Feel good, dek dee?”“So good,” Gift managed, breathless, unable to stop himself from grinding on him, the pleasure too sharp, too intense, leaving him no choice but to chase it.Park kissed him again and again as Gift moved, praising him, his words driving him closer and closer to his release. “That’s it, make yourself feel good, pretty boy. You’re so good for me. Such a good boy.”A whimper fell from his lips as he rolled his hips,trying to find a rhythm. “Can…can you keep talking to me?”“Yeah? You like when hia calls you his good boy? You like being good for me?” Park asked, hand sliding to Gift’s ass, then under his boxer briefs—Park’s boxer briefs—to curve over his cheek, helping Gift keep that steady pressure he desperately needed as he worked himself against Park’s thigh.Fuck. He did like that. He loved it, even but that’s not what he wanted. “The-Can you say the other stuff?”Park’s next kiss was a greedy affair, all spit and tongue. “You want me to talk about my day?” he taunted, chuckling when Gift made another desperate noise. “Oh, I know. You want hia to tell you all about what a needy little slut you are, grinding on my leg like a horny puppy. Is that it, ouen?”Gift gasped like he’d been slapped, fingers digging into Park’s bicep. “Yes…please. That.”“Please what?” Park asked, voice dripping with innocence as he put Gift on his back, slotting their cocks together, rolling his hips with purpose until Gift was dizzy from it. “Use your words. Tell hia. Tell me how much you need me to be a little mean. How you need me to tell you how pretty you are when you’re begging for my cock?”“I need more,” he panted, doing his best to meet each of Park’s movements. It was good. It was so fucking good, but it wasn’t filling that ache within him. Something was still missing.Park pulled back, staring down at him. “Look at you. Just a little bit of friction and you’re all fucked out, eyes glassy, lips wet. My needy little baby. So desperate.”“Yes,” Gift nodded, heat building in his core.Park stopped moving. Looking down at Gift sharply. “Yes, what?” he said, tone chilling.Gift choked on a sob, trying to keep moving, but Park had him pinned in place. “I’m yours. Your needy baby,” Gift said. “Please.”Park growled. “That’s right. Mine. Just mine. Only mine.”Gift nodded mindlessly. He was only Park’s, would only ever be Park’s. “I want you…”Park nosed along his cheek, then bit at his earlobe, rasping, “You have me, ouen. What more do you want?”“Fuck me?” Gift asked, too desperate to be filled to feel embarrassed.Park pulled back, his expression serious. “You have over a dozen wounds, I just closed. I don’t want to hurt you.”Gift dragged his teeth over his bottom lip, pouting. “You didn’t mind hurting me last night?”Park gave him a flat stare. “That’s different, baby, and you know it.”Gift’s hand slid up into Park’s hair, pulling him down so their lips were millimeters apart. “If you don’t want to hurt me, then fuck me gently, hia.” Park still hesitated. So Gift threw away the rest of his dignity. “Please, hia. I am needy, I am a slut for you. I need it, need you, so bad. Want you to fuck me full again. Please.”Park growled, crushing their mouths together, hand tangling in Gift’s hair. Gift melted against the pillows, ready for that hazy feeling to overtake him so he didn’t have to think, didn’t have to worry anymore.“You tell me if anything hurts,” Park demanded, between devouring kisses. “Do you understand me?”Gift dug blunt nails into Park’s shoulders. “Yes, hia.”“Good boy.” Park said. “You don’t come until I say.”Before Gift could agree, Park was kissing him once more, hand sliding up under his shirt to tease over his nipple. Gift sighed into his mouth, arching into the touch. “Talk…please.”Gift flushed at Park’s knowing chuckle, but he did as Gift asked. “My needy little whore. My slutty baby. So pretty when you beg. You really can’t help yourself, can you? So desperate for hia’s cock. You’d do anything for it, wouldn’t you?”Gift moaned, nodding frantically. “Yes. Yes, hia. Anything.”He might come just from Park’s words alone. He’d told Park he liked when Park was a little mean to him but that wasn’t the case. The more Park taunted him, the more desperate and frantic he grew, trying to fuck himself against Park. He liked being his slutty baby. What did that say about him?“Then you’re going to lay still and let hia do all the work right? You’re going to lay there like a good baby and take what I give you, right? Not going to beg and whine like a greedy little slut?”Gift sobbed, but nodded. “I’ll be good. I’m a good baby. I’m your good boy.”“Mm,” Park hummed, like he didn’t think Gift was telling the truth.Park moved to kneel between Gift’s open legs, his thumbs circling his hip bones just above his underwear as he studied him. Finally, Park’s eyes locked on Gift’s as he ducked down, soft lips ghosting over his belly, then placing open mouth kisses that made him squirm.Gift held his breath as Park nosed his shirt up, fingers still digging into his sides, as he licked and sucked at every inch of skin revealed. Gift gave another whine but Park ignored him, taking his time, making a meal out of every bit of Gift, like he had all the time in the world.Gift could only watch, riveted, as Park’s mouth closed over one taut nipple, a soft sigh escaping as he tongued over it. That sigh became a pained hiss as teeth grazed over that same tender flesh. Before he could even process the pain, Park drew back and blew on it, kissing it apologetically, then sucking on it hard enough to bruise. Then he started again on the other side.Park was merciless. Torturing Gift’s nipples until they were red and puffy, until he was so sensitive, he thought he might cry from someone looking at them too long. Tears pricked at his eyes, his hips rising off the mattress, desperate for friction. But Park kneeled over him, ensuring no part of his lower body touched Gift’s.Gift made a noise of frustration, too far gone to think about rules. When he felt Gift moving, he sat back up on his knees, shaking his head in disappointment. “Look at you. You can’t even follow one simple rule. I’m trying to give you what you were just begging for but now you're humping the air and whining like a needy little brat. Is that what you are? Are you a brat, ouen? Brats get punished.”Gift shook his head, whining. “I’m not a brat. I’m not. I’m good. I’m a good boy.”“You say that,” he said, like he was contemplating the validity of Gift’s words. “But good boys lie still and let hia play with them. Good boys take what they’re given and are grateful. Good boys listen?”Gift sobbed, nodding frantically. “I’ll listen. I’m listening. I’ll do better.”This was what Gift had needed all along. This was so easy, slipping into this cozy, cobwebbed haziness was like sliding into a warm bath, the world shrinking until there was nothing but the two of them. Gift didn’t have to think, just feel. He just had to take what he was given no matter how long Park tortured him first.Park reached blindly over to the drawer on his bedside table, mouth teasing at Gift’s throat. He dropped the lube on the mattress before hooking his thumbs in Gift’s underwear and hauling them down and off.Gift might have been embarrassed by the way his cock slapped against his stomach, all flushed and wet, but he could only concentrate on Park looking at him like he was going to eat him alive.“Spread your legs, ouen.” Need punched through Gift at his words. He bent his knees and widened his legs. “My baby can do better than that. Show hia where you want him.” Gift squeezed his eyes shut and spread his legs lewdly. “Mm. That’s much better.”Park hooked a hand under Gift’s knee, lifting each leg and pressing a kiss to the bruises he’d left there the night before. When he finished, he pushed Gift’s heels against the mattress, splaying him even wider.“Pretty,” he muttered to himself, before dipping a finger to tease over Gift’s hole until he whined.“This where you want me, baby?” Park pressed his dry finger against his rim, but didn’t push inside. “This where you want me to fill you up, ouen?”“Yes, please,” Gift said like a prayer.Park leaned forward and gave him an almost chaste kiss right over the spot where Aspen’s sword had sliced him, then settled between Gift’s legs, breath ghosting over his aching cock. “Oh,I think you can beg better than that.”“I-” Gift’s words became a soundless moan as Park spread his cheeks and licked over his entrance. “Park…”Gift yelped as teeth sank into his ass cheek. “What did you call me?”Fuck. “Hia,” he corrected. “Hia. Hia. Hia.”“That’s what I thought,” Park said before pressing himself deeper, tongue soft and wet and teasing.“Oh, fuck.”How did this feel so good? How did Park always know just how to touch him? His tongue speared at his rim, making Gift’s already straining cock throb. He was never going to survive this. Park was just so good with his mouth and he ate Gift out like he was a seven course meal, licking and sucking, biting and probing at his hole until Gift was sobbing, crying his name, begging for more. Each time Park would take him to the brink, then stop until Gift was choking on actual tears.His hands twisted in Park’s hair, rolling his hips up to meet him, trying to get more pressure where he needed it.Then the pleasure stopped once more, but this time Park loomed over him, cheeks and chin wet with saliva. He tsked at Gift like he was disappointed in him. “You just can’t help yourself can you?”Oh, right. He was supposed to be holding still, he was supposed to take what he was given. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. It just feels so good, hia.”Park shrugged. “Well, since you clearly don’t trust hia to take care of you, you can take care of yourself.”Gift felt like he’d been doused in cold water. “What?”Park flopped back on the mattress. “If you’re so desperate for my tongue inside you, you can do it yourself. Climb on up.”Gift made a strangled sound, mouth opening and closing, before finally saying, “You want me to…”“Sit on my face, yes. And I don’t like waiting.”Heat consumed him. He couldn’t…He couldn’t do that. But there was no way Park was going to take no for an answer. “How…”“You’re going to ride my tongue until you come, no hands allowed. If you wanna do everything yourself, I’m sure you can get off without touching yourself, no?”Gift shook as he did what he was told, yanking off his t-shirt before settling naked over Park’s face, thighs burning as he tried to keep from smothering him.  “Stop worrying, and sit.”“I-I can’t. If you die from this I would have to go live in a cave somewhere. I could never face another person again. That would be so embarrassing.”He felt Park laugh against the most intimate part of him. “I promise if I suffocate from this, I will die a legend. Now do as you’re told.”Gift made a high pitched sound as Park spread him open, dragging his weight down until his face was buried. Holy fuck. Was this really happening? Just hours ago he killed someone and now he was there, riding Park’s tongue, unable to stop the sounds falling from his lips as Park’s tongue did things that made his eyes water.Park grabbed each of Gift’s wrists, holding them hostage so he couldn’t touch himself. How was he supposed to come from this alone? But Park wasn’t going to stop until he did. Gift closed his eyes, rocking his hips, sucking in a breath as Park moaned against him.Gift stopped worrying then, stopped thinking. He let that hazy feeling wash over him, focused on Park’s fingers digging into his wrists, and the way his tongue worked against his hole. How just changing the way he moved even slightly set off a whole new chain of euphoric bliss until Gift was rocking against him without thought, chasing his own pleasure, with zero regard for Park’s safety or well-being.Gift was near delirious, a needy whining mess, choked sobs and desperate whines falling from his lips as he worked himself faster, pushing down every time Park’s tongue pressed against him until he managed to push past that first tight ring of muscle.“Oh, God…oh, fuck. Please, hia. I can’t. I ne-need it, t’ touch m’self,” he slurred, “I, please, can I? Please?”His voice didn’t sound like his own, he was crying, hot tears sliding over his cheeks, pleasure and frustration warring as he tried to get what he needed from Park’s tongue alone but failed. “‘m sorry, hia. ‘m bad. Please…” he didn’t even know what he was trying to say.Park released his wrists, guiding one of his hands to his cock. Gift wailed as he wrapped his hand around himself, a shock of pleasure rocketing through him as he squeezed. Each stroke was heaven, goosebumps erupting along his skin. Fucking himself into his tightened fist while Park used his tongue to fuck him open was more than his brain could handle. Two more strokes and Gift cried out, a euphoric high so intense crashing over him that his vision went white as he came, spilling over Park’s chest and stomach.Gift didn’t remember moving, but he found himself kneeling beside Park, staring at the pool of cum on his stomach. Park followed his gaze, hand landing on the back of his head and pressing down. “You made a mess, ouen. Clean it up.”Gift nodded, his brain comfortably numb, his whole body liquid. He swept his tongue through the bitterness, lapping it up like a cat, fully aware of Park’s fingers petting through his hair. Then they were gone.Gift vaguely noted hearing the cap on the lube bottle, but didn’t pause in his task. Two wet fingers now circled his rim. He rocked back against them until Park took the hint and pushed them inside.Gift shivered at the sensation, still oversensitive from his orgasm.“Still so tight for me,” Park groaned.When Gift finished cleaning Park’s stomach, he couldn’t help but fuck himself back on those long, thick fingers, even if he was oversensitive, even if it was just this side of too much. He needed more. “Fuck me, hia? Even if I can’t come again. Use me. I want to feel you come inside me. I need you to fill me up.”“Yeah, baby?” Park asked, twisting his fingers inside him until he whined. “You want hia to use you, to stuff you full?”“Please, hia,” he begged, still rocking back on his fingers.Gift winced as Park pressed a third in with the first two. “What a good boy, opening yourself up for me.”“I am good. I’m so good. You don’t have to be gentle. I promise. You won’t break me.”Gift had no idea where those words came from but they did the trick. He found himself on his stomach, Park over him, the head of his cock teasing Gift’s hole. “You want me to be rough with you?”Gift nodded quickly. “Please.”“Fuck. Color, ouen?”“Green. Green. Gre-” Gift cried out as Park slammed home, burying himself to the hilt.One hand knotted in Gift’s hair, the other held his hip as he drove into him again and again. Gift’s hands bit into the pillow, the pain almost pleasurable each time Park’s cock dragged against that tiny bundle of nerves.He whimpered as Park tucked his face into Gift’s neck, kissing and biting at it as he spoke, his words raw, his breaths panting, “Fuck, you’re so tight. You feel so good, baby. Such a good boy, letting hia use you. Laying there and taking it so well. My perfect boy. My fucked out little baby. Wanna fill you up, gonna fill you up…until it leaks out of you.”Gift whined, his cock twitching, arching his back a little more, his brain imploding at Park’s dirty words. “Please. Oh, fuck. Yes. Do it. Please. I’ve been good. I deserve it. I want to feel it.”Park’s hips fell of rhythm, his sounds barely human as he fucked into Gift three more times, then ground his hips against him like he wanted to be as deep as possible when he filled him up.Park collapsed on top of him, softening inside him as he placed gentle kisses wherever his mouth could reach, his neck, his throat, his shoulder. When he spoke to Gift again, his voice was soft, full of concern. “Are you alright, baby? I didn’t hurt you, did I? Didn’t reopen any of your cuts, did I?”Gift reached back, burying his fingers in Park’s hair, running blunt nails along his scalp. “I’m fine, hia. Nothing hurts.”That wasn’t entirely true. Now that the adrenaline rush was settling, Gift could feel the stinging of his injuries along his arms and legs, but it was no worse than before they’d started.After a long stretch of only their breaths filling the room, Park whispered, “I love you, ouen. I’m so…relieved that you handled yourself as well as you did.”“So you’re not going to tell me I need to leave the watch?” Gift blurted before he could stop himself.Park sighed. “Would it matter if I did? You’re an adult. You can make your own decisions.”“But…will you still be with me if I want to finish the program and become Payton’s handler?”Park made a grumpy sound. “I would feel better if it wasn’t Payton, but I’m never leaving you, no matter what your career path might be.”Gift giggled. “You do know I was never going to let Payton have me, right? He doesn’t even think of me that way. He’s hot for Boone. He was just helping me.”Park froze. “Helping you what?”“Seduce you,” Gift said, tone a little smug.“Is that so?”Gift nodded. “Yeah. I knew you wouldn’t give in unless you thought there was a worse alternative than you.”Park’s hands dug into Gift’s ribs until he squealed, unable to escape, trapped between Park’s weight. “You think you’re so smart, huh? Huh?”“Stop. Stop. Stop,” Gift begged around his laughter. “Red. My color is red.”Park snorted, but stopped his tickle torture, to nip at the back of Gift’s neck. “Brat.”They stayed as they were, both content. Park’s body acted as a weighted blanket, keeping Gift’s growing panic at bay as reality came crashing in.“Do you think my mom’s dead?”“No, ouen. I really don’t. She’s too smart. If I know her, she took to ground, trying to regroup. She’ll call me when it’s safe.”Gift nodded. Now he was ready to ask the question that had sat on his tongue since he’d gotten off the phone with his father. “Do you really think I’m adopted?”Park stiffened over him. “What?”Gift sighed, insides twisting as he considered the ramifications of what that might mean for him. “I overheard you talking when I finished my conversation with my dad. If he even is my dad.”“Ouen, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. It’s probably nothing. Your mom called me when she found out she was pregnant. We talked about it a lot. I don’t think she would fake an entire pregnancy, make up a story where she was shot. All to what end? Adoption is hardly scandalous. It was just this nagging thought in my head.”“It was the ‘got you’ part, wasn’t it?”Park nuzzled his nose against the base of Gift’s spine. “How do you know that?”Gift shrugged as best he could from beneath Park. “My dad’s slipped up in the past.”“What do you mean?”“When I was a kid, I had to do this project where we made an About Me board and talk about our family and our likes, favorite food, favorite color. I asked my mom for baby pictures.” Gift’s stomach sloshed at the memory. “I was home on break, and had to take them back to school with me. My mom gave me a picture of her pregnant with me and my father got mad. He said it wasn’t right. That it was…disrespectful.”“Disrespectful?”“Yeah. I didn’t want to take the picture after that but she insisted. My father was still mad when they sent me back to school.”“See, you know your mom was pregnant with you. I probably just misread things. It was just a fleeting thought. Who knows why your father was so upset about the photo? I’m sure it’s nothing.”Gift didn’t believe that. He didn’t think it was a coincidence his father had said what he said. Gift knew his parents loved him as best as they could, but he also knew they’d spent their lives distancing themselves from him.“What did Kendrick say?” Gift asked. “What did he say that made you think I might be adopted?”Park sighed, kissing Gift once more. “He said that he was surprised you hadn’t been flagged for the watch from the beginning.”Gift swallowed the lump in his throat, thinking about his conversation with Payton about how none of their parents had ever been capable of loving them. “And all of the students from the watch were adopted, placed in influential homes.”“Yeah, exactly.”“Like me…”Park held him tighter. “We don’t know that.”A lifetime of conversations filtered through Gift’s head with the lens of a potential adoption over them. Looking back, there were so many things that made sense, so many snippets of conversations, the way his parents switched to English around him whenever they spoke of the past.Even the night after Gift had escaped the first attempt on his life, the way his mother had gone white when Gift had mentioned it was a woman who’d screamed orders at the two men trying to force him into the van at gunpoint. A woman speaking Thai…in Malaysia. There were plenty of Thai people in Malaysia, yet Gift’s mother had interrogated him for what felt like hours. Then she’d called Park.Gift felt his heart crack into a million pieces, crumbling to dust. He already knew the truth. They both did. Gift was adopted, his parents were liars, and their past was coming back to haunt all of them.Gift buried his face in the pillow, hoping to muffle the full-body sobs suddenly wracking through him. When he felt Park shift like he was going to move, he made a desperate cry, hands frantically reaching back to hold him where he wss.Park batted his hands away, sitting up and dragging him into his lap, cradling him there like a child as he cried.“Shh,” Park soothed, one hand on his head and the other holding him tightly against him, rocking them both gently. “It’s going to be okay, baby. I promise, it’s all going to be okay.”Gift clung to him, unable to stop the flood of emotion, he didn’t tell Park he was wrong, he didn’t say anything at all. He just let Park hold him. And lie to him. And tell him everything would be okay.Chapter 18ParkPark wouldn’t let Gift out of his sight. Classes for Peregrine pod were canceled as the others refused to go to class until they saw for themselves that Gift was alright. That’s how they’d ended up in the meeting room, Gift surrounded by psychopaths and neurotypicals alike, each trying to hold him and baby him and get him to spill the details of what he’d been through.Gift sat between Payton’s knees, the other boy’s arms around him from behind. Park no longer felt that tell-tale tug of jealousy now that he knew Payton had never had any interest in Gift. If anything, he felt a little grateful. To all of them. They were providing the distraction he needed. One Park hadn’t been able to provide.He stayed out of their way, watching from a distance as they all swore they would find who was behind this and get vengeance in Gift’s name. Park was half-ready to let them. They’d had to put poor Madison’s death investigation on hold, as they all refused to focus on anything but Gift.Park realized now that there was nowhere safer for Gift than there, amongst half a dozen psychopaths and the people chosen to be their conscience. If they’d been with him in the gym yesterday, Aspen wouldn’t have stood a chance. But Gift had held his own. He’d done brilliantly. With minimal training and with all of the odds stacked against him, he’d come out on top, with only a few cuts to show for it.Maybe Gift had more of Anchali in him than he thought.The first call came in at a little past ten in the morning. It was Archer.“Can you talk?” he asked.“Yeah.”“Meet me in Boone’s office? I want to show you something.”Park frowned, glancing over at Gift who was smiling, hands threaded with Payton’s where they rested on his belly. “Yeah, I’ll be there in ten.”Park disconnected, then crouched down beside Gift. “I need to go talk to Archer, ouen. Will you be okay for a bit?”“Don’t worry,” Dove said. “We’ll take care of him for you, Park.”The others all nodded solemnly. Park didn’t think twice about leaning over and pressing a kiss to Gift’s lips. “Do not leave this room..”“Yes, hia,” Gift said quietly, cheeks pinking prettily.Park looked at Payton. The boy met his gaze, expression borderline hostile like he was expecting to be told to stop touching Gift. Instead, Park said, “I’m trusting you to keep him safe. Do not let him out of your sight. For any reason. If he has to go to the bathroom, you go together.”Payton’s eyes widened, but then he nodded. “I promise I won’t let anyone near him.”Park nodded once, gave Gift another kiss, on the temple this time, then left. The more distance between them, the harder something tugged at him, like an invisible cord tied them together. Being away from him—no matter how much he trusted his group to keep Gift safe—was painful.He didn’t knock before entering Boone’s office. The man sat behind his desk looking like he’d been through a war. He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday, his hair a mess like he’d been brushing his fingers through it. Archer sat in one of the two chairs on the other side of Boone’s desk while Mac leaned against the far wall, arms crossed over his wide chest.“Did you find something,” Park asked.Archer tapped a file underneath his fingers, then pointed to the empty seat. Park fell into it, reaching for the file. Archer held firm. “Are you sure you want to know any of this?”Park fixed him with a hard stare, then yanked the file from under his hand. Inside were dozens of photocopied, hand=written notes all in Thai. It was a medical chart. Anchali’s medical chart. From the night of Gift’s birth. Park skimmed the notes.Twenty seven year old pregnant female. Gunshot wound to the abdomen. Approximately thirty-six weeks gestation. Emergency c-section performed to attempt to save the life of the mother. Fetus female. Dead on arrival. Surgery to remove a bullet lodged six millimeters from the spine successful, patient still unconscious but stable.Fetus female.Dead on arrival.“Her baby died,” Park muttered. “Her baby was a girl.”“Which begs the question, where did she get Gift?” Boone asked.“Kendrick,” Parkmuttered.Boone raised a brow. “What?”“Kendrick. It has to be. Who else knew Gift was adopted other than Satja?” Park asked.“Why would Kendrick help Anchali adopt a baby?” Mac asked.Park deflated against the chair, scrubbing his hands over his face. “Fuck if I know. None of this makes any goddamn sense. Anchali was upset when she found out she was pregnant. Even contemplated an abortion. Satja was the only reason she decided to keep the baby.”“So how did Anchali go from not wanting a baby to adopting a baby boy in secret and what the fuck does Kendrick have to do with it?” Boone asked, shaking his head.“I wish Anchali was here to tell us,” Park said. “Kendrick doesn’t know about what happened yesterday, right? With Aspen?”“No,” Boone said.“Not on our end anyway,” Mac said. “You really think it was Kendrick who sent Aspen after Gift?”Park looked to Boone. “Who gave you Aspen’s paperwork? Who told you he’d been cleared for employment.”Boone sighed. “Kendrick.”“Exactly,” Park said. “He’s into this up to his wrinkly neck.”“But why?” Mac asked. “Why does Kendrick want Gift dead? Revenge?”Boone reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a bottle of bourbon, flicking the cap off and taking a swig before offering it up for grabs. “Well, I’m not exactly Sherlock Holmes, but if Kendrick is the only one who knows Anchali isn’t Gift’s mother and suddenly Kendrick is trying to silence both of them, I’m going to deduce that it has something to do with Gift’s birth.”Park took the bottle, taking a slug, letting the burn spread through his limbs. “How could Gift’s birth be worth killing two people twenty-one years later?”“You don’t think…” Mac started, then drifted off staring hard at Archer as if they were having a silent conversation.“No?” Archer said. “There’s no way.”“No way what?” Park snapped.“You don’t think Gift is Kendrick’s kid, do you?” Mac asked.Park scoffed, disgusted. “What? No. Why would you say that?”“Because Kendrick has a history of disappearing his offspring when they make him look bad,’ Archer said. “I would know.”“Fuck, he’s right,” Boone said.Park frowned. “Is this about that rumor that he murdered one of his own sons?”Archer closed his eyes like he was trying to call on some higher power. “He didn’t kill him, but he did make him disappear.”“Then how do you know he’s alive?” Park asked, doing his best to follow the conversation.Archer looked him dead in the eye. “Because he reappeared as my adopted brother, Aiden Mulvaney. Well, my step-brother now.”Park tried to process his words. “Your brother, Aiden, is Kendrick's missing son.”“Yep.”“So it's not entirely out of the realm of possibility that Gift was also disappeared as his son and reappeared as Anchali’s,” Mac said.“Let’s say you’re right,” Park said, standing to pace the small space. “Let’s say Gift is Kendrick’s son and he gave him to Anchali to raise. One: Why would she agree to it if she never wanted a baby in the first place. Two: Why choose now to decide to cover it all up by trying to kill Anchali and Gift?”“Maybe he blackmailed her into taking Gift? Maybe Kendrick saw an opportunity once Gift was in the watch and took it?” Boone theorized.“But someone tried to kill Gift before he got here. That’s why he’s here in the first place,” Park recalled. “Anchali gave him to me to keep him safe.”“We could volley theories back and forth all day but only two people know the truth,” Archer said. “And we don’t know if one of them is still alive.”Park shook his head. “No, Anchali is still alive. I know it. Especially if this has something to do with Kendrick. She would have seen him coming a mile away. He’s always had a thing for her but she’s always hated him.”Boone nodded. “I hope you’re right.”Park looked at Archer. “You didn’t find anything at all that might hint where Gift came from, no birth certificate, adoption papers?”“Anchali would be too smart for that. His birth certificate gives his date of birth as the date the other baby passed away in the hospital and shows Anchali and Satja as his parents. There’s nothing that stands out about it that would make me think he was adopted,” Archer said.“Is it in the file?” Park asked.Archer nodded, flipping it open and thumbing through until he found what he was looking for, handing it to Park. “See, just your standard run of the mill birth certificate.”Park blinked at him, then looked at the paper. “This is an American birth certificate.”Archer frowned. “What?”“Look at it. It's a US birth certificate. Why would Gift, who was born in Thailand, supposedly on the night Anchali was shot, have an American birth certificate.”Archer shook his head. “Shit, I didn’t even think of that. I just…I didn’t even notice.”“It’s a US birth certificate because Kendrick only has pull here, in the US, over there he’s just another rich beaurocrat with diplomatic immunity.”Park’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it free, frowning at the unknown number before swiping to answer. “Yes?”“Park?” came a tinny voice.Park’s heart shot into his throat. “Anchali? Anchali is that you?”“Can you hear—” her voice disappeared.Clearly her signal was bad. “Anchali? Anchali? Where are you? I’ll come to you? Can you hear me?”There was a staticky silence and then “…coming to you—tell anyone—drop a pin- location—bring Gift. Only Gift. Kend—dangerous. Serious, Park—n’t tell anyone where—”Then the call dropped. Park stared at his phone. “We got disconnected.”“Can we trace the call?” Mac asked.“She’s running,” Boone said. “She’ll be using a burner phone. What did she say?”“I have no fucking idea,” Park muttered.That wasn’t entirely true, but he was going to keep that to himself for now.“At least we know she’s alive,” Boone said, his relief evident.Park ran a hand through his hair. Anchali wanted Park to bring Gift to her. Outside of the watch. Everything inside him screamed no, but she was also Gift’s mother, whether by blood or by choice. She was clearly afraid for him. If Park was with them, they’d be safer than they were alone. Maybe he could convince her to come back to the watch with him where they had an army at their disposal. And also the upper hand with Kendrick.“Look, Kendrick doesn’t know that we know,” Park said. “We need to keep it that way.”“Kendrick has no friends here. You know that,” Boone said. “But what’s our end game?”“What do you mean?” Park asked.“I mean if we decide Kendrick’s guilty, then what? We hand him over to the authorities? And tell them what? The only person who could prove he tried to have Gift killed is dead. Unless you think we have a shot at getting him to give up the names of the original attackers.”Park snorted. “Not likely.”“So we kill him,” Boone said, like he was talking about adding a new course to the curriculum.“Just like that?” Park asked. “You want us to kill a high ranking government official in a school full of armed military personnel?”“Sure,” Archer said. “The armed personnel stay on the outside, there’s no surveillance cameras. It will definitely be an easier kill.”“Except Kendrick will come in, but he won’t leave. Even without cameras, that’s suspicious.”“Not if he uses the tunnels,” Mac said. “They’ll never even know he’s here.”“Why would he be so accommodating?” Park asked.“Because Aspen asks him to,” Mac said with a smile. He reached into his back pocket. “I still have his phone. His burner phone. The one he texted Gift with. He was smart enough not to use names, but there’s only one number he’s been talking with consistently. If it’s not Kendrick, we’ll know when he shows up for the meeting.”“It’s Kendrick,” Archer muttered. “That man’s been a piece of shit his whole life.”“Let’s give him to the kids,” Boone said.“What?” the other three said in unison.“What? They need to show they have what it takes to torture and kill someone. They were right. A bloated mob guy is boring. Let’s let them play with Kendrick. God knows, he isn’t worthy of putting up much of a fight.”“Are you serious?” Park asked. “You just said he might be GIft’s father.”“Even more reason to let him help,” Mac said, getting on board with the idea.“On that note,” Archer said. “Maybe we could make this a family reunion of sorts?”“Meaning…”“I know someone who might want a ticket to the show.”“Aiden…” Mac said, nodding. “I bet he’d even be willing to bring the kids some toys to play with.”“Are you…you want us to just turn a group of psychopaths loose on Kendrick and let them what? Torture and kill him?”“Yeah, why not?”“Christ.” Park scrubbed his hands over his face. “Okay. Okay, sure. Why not? But only if Gift says it's okay.”Boone shrugged. “That’s fair.”“And you have to wait until we get back,” Park added.“Back from where?”“I can’t tell you that.”“Now you don’t trust us?” Boone said, exasperation obvious.“No, Anchali just hasn’t dropped a pin with her location yet,” Park said, waving his phone.“Oh,” Boone said, nullified by Park’s answer. “Okay, well you go bring Anchali home and leave Kendrick’s invite to us.”Park nodded, already distracted wondering how he would explain this to Gift.