The Bone Collector - The Watch #1 - ch. 20 to end. (Patreon)

Before you read the end I wanted to clear up some stuff that I have already gone back in clarified in the final version of previous chapters. Park is a US Diplomat who works overseas in Thailand. GIft's mother is a Thai diplomat who worked with in tandem with the US government doing deep cover stuff. Kendrick was a US government official with diplomatic immunity who took over the Bangkok office to keep trying to flirt with Gift's mother who worked out of Bangkok but lived in Chaing Mai. Gift attended an international school in Malaysia. Most international schools use English as their common language as most international schools are a melting pot of military kids, polititicians kids and rich kids from all over the world.  That is why Gift spoke English. Okay, here we go. These chapters have not been run by my editor yet so they're rough. Sorry. Chapter 20Park“Who is that?” Park asked sharply, drawing his gun and pointing it at the door. “There’s no way we were followed.”Anchali shook her head. “Don’t,” she said, pointing to Park’s weapon. “I expected her. No matter what happens, just let me handle this. Okay?”Her? Park hesitated, then nodded, muscles tense.To Gift, Anchali said, “Don’t be scared, okay, noo. You’re safe.”The moment Anchali opened the door, a woman shoved a gun in her face. Anchali didn’t seem surprised, but Gift sucked in a shocked breath, bolting to his feet. “Mom!”The woman at the door flinched at Gift’s cry, eyes jerking to him, then back to Anchali, eyes wide.After a moment, she shoved past Anchali, rushing at Gift. Park stood, putting himself between them, pointing his weapon at the skinny, unkempt woman.“Stop. Stop. Stop,” Anchali said in Thai. “Both of you. Please. Please, just listen.”“I don’t understand,” the woman said in Thai, still brandishing the gun in one shaky hand but with far less conviction.The pieces fell into place as Park studied the woman. She was older, gaunt, and her clothes, though clean, hung off her. Her face showed signs of a hard life, but she had rich brown hair, delicate features, soft brown eyes, and rounded cheeks.Gift clearly took after his mother. “Petal,” Park muttered.She blanched like she’d seen a ghost, eyes wild as she looked from Anchali to Park and back again before asking Park, “Who are you?” She pointed the gun at Anchali. “Who is he?”Anchali gave her a gentle smile. “That’s Park. Gift’s…boyfriend…” she explained, tone implying she could hardly believe she had to utter those words out loud.Gift blinked rapidly, looking between the two women. “What’s happening here?” He looked at his mother—at Anchali. “Who is she?” he said again. “What is this?”Park could see his gears turning. It was hard enough coming to terms with learning he was adopted and that his biological mother was a dead traitor selling government secrets, but having said woman resurrected and standing in the same room just moments later was a much harder hill to climb. Even Park was having a hard time fathoming this.“Who are you?” she asked again, gesturing to Park with the gun. Clearly, she wasn’t buying Anchali’s boyfriend story.“Park,” he said calmly.“Park? What’s happening?” Gift asked in English.“Thai,” she snapped at Gift, then her face softened, her voice gentle as she repeated, “Speak Thai.”Gift gave a jerky nod, repeating his question in Thai before adding a hasty, “I’m sorry.”She gave him a watery smile. “Come. Come.”Anchali gave Gift a sharp look of warning. It said don’t move. She looked pained as she spoke with the other woman. “Sukhon, please listen. I brought you here for a—”She swung the gun at Anchali. “Shut up. You stole my baby. You stole him from me while I was left to rot.”“What?” Gift asked again, white as a sheet, looking at his mother in horror.“Please, just listen,” Anchali tried again, but the woman wasn’t having it.She shook her head frantically, pacing back and forth. “I’m taking my baby and I’m leaving. We’re leaving.” To Gift, she said, “Come.” Her eyes were pleading.What had Anchali been thinking bringing this woman face to face with Gift? She was clearly unstable.“Mae,” Gift gasped, not looking at Anchali but at Sukhon.Park put an arm out, barring him from moving towards the woman. Gift didn’t go to the woman, but he was now close enough to Park’s back to feel him trembling.Sukhon’s eyes teared up and she nodded.Gift smiled at her. “I-I remember you. You were in the van when those men tried to…kill me?”“No. No.” She shook her head again. “Not kill. Just bring you home. I would never hurt you.”“I know,” Gift said. “I know that now.”Sukhon nodded, calmer now than she had been a moment ago. She held out her hand. “Ahrak.” She gestured for him to come once more.“I-I can’t,” Gift said. Sukhon made a distressed sound, her expression growing pained once more. This time, it was Gift who made a pleading sound. “Not yet. But I’ll sit here with you. I want to talk to you. I want to know the whole story. Where you’ve been. What happened to you. If you tell me that, then maybe we can leave together. But I-I need to know the whole story. Can you please tell me what happened? I thought you were dead?”She hesitated, wiping the palm of one hand on her jeans in an agitated motion. She looked back and forth between Park and Anchali then whined, pacing back and forth again like a caged animal.Anchali was right. This woman wasn’t a threat. Both Park and Anchali could have disarmed her in mere moments, if necessary. Anchali clearly wanted this meeting. Maybe she, too, wanted to know how it was that Sukhon was still alive.Park slowly bent to place his gun on the coffee table, raising his hands in surrender, before slowly moving to sit in the other armchair beside Anchali.Gift took a seat and patted the space beside him, giving the woman an encouraging smile.Park prayed Gift could reason with the woman. He didn’t want to have to kill Gift’s birth mother in front of him just as he got her back.Sukhon hesitated for another moment, then seemed to make a decision, inching towards Gift, then finally sitting. She sat angled her body towards him, her knees pressed together and both hands holding the gun in her lap like she might be able to ignore Park and Anchali.She gazed at Gift with a blind adoration that spoke of madness. Then she jerked forward, wrapping her arms around him in a vine-like grip.Gift stiffened, then melted into her, hugging her back just as fiercely, letting his eyes fall shut. Fear shot through Park like electricity. What if Gift chose to leave with her thinking he was saving Park and Anchali?The worry lasted only as long as it took for Gift to open his eyes and meet Park’s gaze, expression bleak. Gift pitied this woman. They all did.When Sukhon released him, Gift smiled. “I look like you.”She smiled back, and Park saw the damage to her teeth. Someone had neglected this woman for years. Decades, even.Kendrick. What the fuck did you do?Gift looked pained, but she didn’t seem to notice, so enamored of him, fussing over him like he was still a newborn, touching him wherever she could.“Can you tell me what happened to you? To me?” He gently took the gun from her lap and set it beside them, taking both her hands in his. “You’re the only one who can tell me the whole truth. Will you?”Her gaze flinched to Park and Anchali once more, like she expected an attack or, at the very least, a protest, but she gave a jerky nod when Gift smiled encouragingly.“How do you know Marshall Kendrick?” he asked. Her face contorted, her rage and disgust evident. Tears sprang to Gift’s eyes as he whispered, “What did he do to you?”Her expression softened at Gift’s tears. She pulled her hands free to wipe at them.With one more hostile look at Anchali, she began to tell her story, her voice flat. “I worked for Mr. Kendrick as his secretary. It was a good job for someone like me. I had never finished school. I married when I was sixteen. I was good at my job…but he took advantage. He didn’t hire me for my skill. He forced himself on me. Made me do things to keep my job, even though he knew I was a married woman. Then my husband disappeared and things just got worse.”Christ.Sukhon’s pain was Gift’s, more tears already sliding down those soft, full cheeks, so much like his mother’s, even as underweight as she was. Park desperately wanted to comfort him, to hold him, to touch him, to help him somehow. But he couldn’t. He could only trust that Gift could work through this.How far had Kendrick gone to keep Sukhon under his thumb? Had he wanted her badly enough to make her husband disappear?Gift held her hand tighter, nodding encouragingly for her to go on.She looked at Anchali, then back to Gift. “After Anchali came, it was better…for a little while. He couldn’t touch me as much then. I was terrified he would find out I was pregnant and force me to get rid of it. Of you.”There it was.Gift’s mouth fell open, the color draining from his face. “Kendrick…is… Is he my father?”Sukhon looked startled at his question but shook her head rapidly. “No. No. It was my husband’s baby but that wouldn’t stop Marshall from forcing me to get rid of it. He already commented frequently that I was growing fatter every day.”Gift looked relieved to know he shared no part of Kendrick’s DNA but made a hostile sound at his mother’s admission, blowing out a breath through his nose. “Bastard.”Sukhon patted his cheek again. “When I started to realize Marshall was corrupt, I went to Anchali…who I thought was my friend. She didn’t believe me.”She turned a frigid glare on Anchali, who stayed quiet, even though it was obvious she desperately wanted to defend herself.“And then what happened?” Gift pressed gently.“Nothing at first. He kept abusing me. I kept taking it. Until one day, I couldn’t hide my condition anymore. He demanded to know if the baby was his. I lied and told him it was and that if he didn’t give me money to leave and start over somewhere else, I’d tell everyone he was corrupt and I would tell his wife about the baby. I just wanted him to leave me alone. I wanted to start a new life…with you.”Gift made a choked sound, then nodded, swallowing audibly.Park could see where this was going, like watching a train barreling towards a busload of children. He couldn’t do anything but watch.“He said he needed time to arrange things. That it could take weeks—months, even—but I had to be patient. I agreed. As long as he stopped…touching me. The day Kendrick was supposed to give me the money, he called me into his office and said he’d changed his mind. I told him I was serious, that I would tell everyone who he really was. He told me that I was threatening the wrong man, that he could ruin my life, that he could make it look like I was the one who was selling secrets.”Gift looked enraged.“He demanded I come to his office that night, said he missed me. I’d had enough, though. I couldn’t stomach the idea of him touching me again, of him thinking he…owned me.”Gift squeezed her hands.“I went home and found my husband’s gun and went to his office as planned.”Her voice had morphed from monotone to horrified as if she were right back in it. Like Anchali moments before.“I was so afraid he would take the gun from me that the moment I opened the door, I fired. But it wasn’t him. It was Anchali.” A choked sob escaped. “I shot her. In the stomach.”A look of horror washed over her as if she was realizing, perhaps for the first time, the consequences of her own actions. She turned to Anchali. “I… Your baby…”Anchali’s face crumpled, and she just nodded. Gift looked at Park and he could see he was barely holding it together.“I killed your baby.” She sobbed, dropping to her knees and putting her head in Anchali’s lap. “Forgive me. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you or your sweet baby. Please, know that.”Anchali was crying too hard to form words.“Is that why you took my baby from me?” Sukhon asked. “To punish me?”Anchali shook her head, voice thick. “No. No. Kendrick told me you died. He said there was a firefight and you’d been shot but they’d managed to save the baby. He said there was nobody to take him, to care for him. I could have checked, looked for your family, but I was selfish and convinced you were a criminal and…and I wanted him so much.”Sukhon shook her head vehemently. “He didn’t shoot me. He took me to a prison somewhere inThailand, he said it was run by your government. Told me I no longer existed. Said the world would only know me as a traitor to the United States. That I would be held indefinitely. I begged him not to do this. I was still pregnant, due any day. He ignored me. I thought I would never see him again, but the next day, he was back. Two guards dragged me to a medical suite and a man in a surgical mask knocked me out. When I woke up, I wasn’t pregnant anymore.”“Oh, my God,” Anchali said. “Oh, my God. He went back for the baby. He went back so he could use him to buy my silence.”“That son of a bitch,” Park muttered.Anchali hugged Sukhon and the two of them cried, their apologies blending together.When they pulled apart, Anchali said, “He told me you died. I swear, I didn’t know. I didn’t. I would never have let him do that to you. I should have listened to you. I should have believed you. I’m so sorry.”Sukhon nodded. “I’m sorry about your baby. I will never forgive myself.”“You didn’t know. This is all Kendrick’s fault,” Anchali promised. “And he’s going to pay for his crimes once and for all.”Sukhon looked up at her, eyes hopeful.“How are you here?” Gift asked. “How did you get free?”She collapsed onto the floor before Anchali, feet tucked beneath her. “I escaped. The prison was closing, some kind of funding issue. They were moving us to a different facility. When I saw my chance, I took it. There were so many of us, they didn’t notice. And I wasn’t officially there, after all. I didn’t exist in any computer system.”“Are you a…fugitive?” Gift asked.She looked at him with hollow eyes, shaking her head. “No. I’m a ghost.”Gift shivered, looking away.“It’s true,” Anchali said, her voice more upbeat than the situation seemed to call for. They all looked at her strangely. She waved her hand. “Don’t you see? It’s perfect. There’s a death certificate on file for her and everything.” To Sukhon, she said, “Officially, you don’t exist. I can help you. We can give you a new name. A new life.”Sukhon shook her head. “I just want my son. And I want Kendrick dead.”“Well, we can help you with the second part. Marshall Kendrick is on borrowed time,” Park promised.Anchali looked at him, frowning. “What does that mean?”Park looked at Gift, nodding for him to answer his mother.Gift shrugged sheepishly. “Torturing and killing Kendrick is sort of like our midterm exam.”Anchali looked at Park. “You can’t be serious.”Park rolled his eyes. “Your son is attending a school for assassins, Anchali. He’s not trying for a merit badge. They need practical hands-on experience, and killing Kendrick is a far better test of their skills than killing some barely competent criminal.”“And the rest of the school is okay with this?” Anchali asked.Gift scoffed. “Are you kidding? There’s a line forming of people who all want a piece of him.”“People are even flying in to watch,” Park added. “If we sold tickets, we could fund Project Watchtower for another three years.”Gift turned back to Sukhon. “Come back with us. Please. Let us help you. You can watch us put Kendrick down for good. Please?”Sukhon shook her head. “Come with me?” she countered. “Start a new life with me.”“Mae, I’m an adult. I have a life. A good life. Let my mo—Anchali help you start over. Then we can see each other as much as we want. Maybe she can even arrange for you to start over here in the States. Somewhere nearby.”Park frowned, looking at Anchali. “How did you get Sukhon into the States anyway?” Park asked.Anchali gave a shrug. “I had her smuggled in.”Park shook his head. “What? How?”“Yeah, how did you even know any of this was happening?” Gift asked.Anchali looked a little insulted. “I still have my old contacts, you know. People more loyal to me than to Kendrick.”“But that doesn’t explain how you even knew Sukhon was alive in the first place,” Park said.“I didn’t. At first. When Gift was giving his description of the attacker and he’d said it was a woman and that she spoke Thai, I worried that Kendrick had been right all these years that Sukhon’s family had found Gift in Malaysia and had come for him, maybe for revenge but more likely trying to kidnap him. I never thought it would be you,” she said to Sukhon.“Still, I sent Gift to Park because I knew he could keep him safe. I never expected Kendrick to show up and ask you to teach for the project, just as I never suspected Kendrick had any ill intent towards Gift. He seemed far safer on a military base full of psychopaths and soldiers than in your condo. So, I allowed it.With Gift safe, I had some old friends do some recon on Sukhon’s family home, hoping to get pictures of some of her family to show Gift, but when they sent me the pictures, I recognized Sukhon right away.”Gift looked at Sukhon. “You went home? Weren’t you afraid Kendrick would find you?”Sukhon scoffed, voice frigid. “I wanted him to find me. I was going to finish what I started all those years ago and put a bullet in his head.”“Oh,” Gift managed, eyes widening at the venom in her tone.“Why didn’t you tell Kendrick I was alive?” Sukhon asked Anchali.Anchali shrugged. “At first, I thought he knew, that maybe he’d let you go all those years ago and you had finally made your way back home. You’d clearly been clever enough to make your way from Chiang Mai to Kuala Lumpur and back. Whether he knew or not, I wasn’t ready to share anything with him. I was biding my time while my people found out what they could about you.”Sukhon nodded.“Knowing I had tabs on Sukhon, I continued on with my daily routine. I didn’t want anyone catching on. I was on my way to a meeting in Phuket when someone drove me off the road and tried to shoot me. I lived. They did not.”Gift’s brows raised at his mother’s statement.“That was when things started to fall into place. Only three people knew I’d be in Phuket: Kendrick, your father, and my current boss, who has nothing to do with intelligence work. I thought maybe Kendrick had somehow learned I knew Sukhon was alive and wanted to shut me up. It never occurred to me he would go after Gift. Why would he?”“Because he thinks he’s my father,” Gift said. “Which, in his mind, would corroborate Sukhon’s story if she chose to go public.”Anchali nodded. “I know that now. But I never suspected he might think you were his child. It seems absurd.”“Kendrick’s an idiot,” Gift countered.Anchali nodded.Park shook his head. “But Kendrick said you called him and that you were concerned about Gift being in the program.”“I wasn’t worried about Gift and some silly assignment, but Roland Skinner had left a message blustering on about it and I didn’t want Kendrick to know I suspected he was the one who tried to kill me. I needed him to think I was still in Phuket.”“But you weren’t?” Park asked.Anchali shook her head. “I was on my way here.”Gift frowned. “Why?”“I needed to be closer to you on the off-chance Sukhon and Kendrick were working together. I couldn’t rule it out. But then Suri called me and told me Aspen had gone after Gift. That’s when I knew.” She gave her son an apologetic look. “I’m so sorry, noo. I didn’t even know he worked there until I got the message.”“It’s okay. I lived. He did not,” he said, echoing his mother’s words back to her.Anchali beamed at him. “When Kendrick tried to kill you, I knew Sukhon wasn’t working with him. She would never try to harm her own child. I asked my contacts to bring her to me. I knew she’d be safer here. And I thought it was about time that you knew everything. You deserved to know everything.”“But you looked so shocked when I said I knew I was adopted,” Gift said.“I was shocked. I had planned to tell you everything, but I didn’t expect you’d already know something so big.”Sukhon looked from Gift to Anchali. “Why did you let me bring a gun?”“I wanted you to feel safe. And I knew I could take it from you if I wanted.”Sukhon flinched at that but seemed to accept the statement. “How do you know Kendrick won’t find us here?”Park answered first. “Kendrick’s currently cleaning up a different mess. At least, he thinks he is. He thinks Aspen is still alive and Gift is still at the Watch. With any luck, he hasn’t grown any smarter since the last time we saw him and is walking into a trap…right…about…now.”Gift looked to Sukhon. “Please, come with me…with us. Let’s end this once and for all. Please?”Sukhon closed her eyes then took a deep breath. “Yes. Okay. Let’s end this.”Chapter 21Gift felt like his knees were going to give out as he walked to the gym. He didn’t want to see Kendrick. He hated the man, wanted to see him dead. But the idea of the man being in the same room as both his mothers made him sick.Boone had called while they were on the way back to say that Kendrick had fallen right into their trap. Kendrick would be incapacitated in some way, Gift was certain. But in Gifts mind he’d became a monster in a fairy tale, waiting to devour them all.Gift shivered as Park pulled the gym door open, the creak drawing the attention off all of those in the room. There were so many people. But Gift only searched for Kendrick.When his eyes settled on the man in question, Gift frowned. He’d remembered Kendrick as this larger than life powerful man, not the sweaty old man tied to a chair, a white rag stuffed in his mouth and held in place with some type of cord.How could this be the same man from just a few days ago? How was this the man who had tormented both his mothers?Park and Gift entered first. Sukhon clung to Anchali behind them shrinking back when she saw the amount of people in the cavernous space. The scene was surreal, like something out of a movie. Kendrick secured to a sturdy wooden chair in the middle of an enormous blue tarp, arms and legs secured with heavy restraints.The few staff members in attendance talked amongst themselves in the corner while Gift’s pod mates all sat on the edges of the tarp like they were just waiting for the green light.Boone looked relieved when he saw them. “Oh, good. We’re just waiting on two more and then we can start.”“You gagged him?” Park asked, amused.“He wouldn’t shut the fuck up about how he was friends with the president and how he would have us all hanged for treason,” Boone muttered.Mac grimaced. “It was giving me a headache.”Despite the gag, Kendrick was still shouting at them, he was just incomprehensible. Gift kissed Park on the lips then each of his mothers gently on their cheeks before going to sit with his friends.Kendrick’s beady eyes tracked him as he walked to the others, but then his gaze landed on someone behind him, eyes widening and skin blanching, making his craggy, bloated face look even older under the harsh gym lighting. Gift turned to see he was staring at Gifts mothers, his expression somewhere between confused and horrified.Sukhon broke from Anchali’s hold, approaching Kendrick loke someone might a dangerous animal, tarp crunching as she grew closer. Kendrick squared his shoulders as best he could and attempted to give Sukhon a nasty smirk behind his gag. That seemed to break something in her. She marched to the center of the tarp, reared back and punched Kendrick in the face hard enough for his nose to explode, blood pouring like a faucet was opened. Before he could even recover she spit in his face, then turned on her heel to curl around Anchali.“Damn,” Drake muttered. “What’d he do to her?”“Stole me,” Gift said quietly. His friends turned to look at him. “She’s my birth mom,” Gift said, then pointed to Anchali. “And she’s the mom who raised me. It’s a long story, but he pissed off the wrong women.”“Damn, I feel like we fast forwarded past five episodes and now we’re watching the finale,” Payton said.“We are the finale,” Drake reminded him.“Oh, right,” Payton said, cheering instantly.They all stared at him owlishly until Dove smiled at him. “You look like your mom.”Luca tilted his head, to smile at Anchali. “Weirdly, you kind of look like both your moms.”“That’s not possible, idiot,” Jay muttered.Gift hoped it was true anyway. Anchali was his mother, for better or worse. But Sukhon was too. And she’d endured years of torture and when she was free all she’d wanted was Gift. If he could somehow have a piece of both of them in him somehow, he’d take it.Gift’s gaze flicked to Kendrick who watched him like a crocodile watched its prey from the water. Gift’s stomach sloshed as he realized Kendrick thought Gift was his son. Gross.Gift yelped as Payton grabbed him beneath his arms and dragged him into his lap, squeezing him tightly. “I missed you.”“I was gone for a few hours,” Gift said, rolling his eyes.“It was too long. You’re my emotional support human. When you’re gone, I feel at least twenty four percent more stabby. I’m sure it gets worse the longer you’re gone. Best not to test the theory.”Gift rolled his eyes, but let himself be manhandled by Payton, feeling the weight of Parks stare on him the whole time. Some sick part of Gift wanted--no needed-Park to be jealous. It would only work out better for Gift later that night. Should he be worried about how much he craved Park’s punishments? Even the edging? Maybe he should be more worried about the fact that he was thinking about his sex life at an execution.“What are we waiting for,” Morgan whined. “I just want to cut this guy open and see what his insides look like.”Payton raised a brow. “You do get that you’re not the psychopath, right?”Morgan scoffed. “You shouldnt discriminate against me just because I theoretically have a conscious.” Gift heard the gym door screech, announcing their final guests as she said, “Besides, I maintain that you can enjoy murder without having a psychopathy diagnosis.”“I concur,” a deep voice said just as the heavy door slammed shut.They all turned to gawk at the stranger walking with AArcher.He looked vaguely familiar, like maybe he’d seen him somewhere before, but Gift couldn’t quite place him.The stranger had a scruffy beard and his hair pulled back into a messy bun. He wore expensive jeans and a cheap worn flannel and carried a huge duffle bag over his shoulder. One of the biggest bags Gift had ever seen really.“Who’s that?” Remi asked in a stage whisper.Dove sighed dreamily. “Aiden Mulvaney, the only man I’d make an exception for. Unfortunately, he’s taken…by a billionaire. Even I can’t compete with that.”“How do you even know all that?” Gift asked.“He’s a celebrity. Just like Archer.”“Archer’s a celebrity?” Gift asked.“Sometimes I swear you were hatched in a lab,” Persephone said, shaking her head.Aiden Mulvaney walked onto the tarp, dropped the heavy bag at Kendrick’s feet then produced a knife from his pocket, cutting the gag from around Kendrick’s head.He leaned down to Kendrick’s eye level, hands on his knees.“Hey, pops,” Aiden said, then slapped the man in the cheek before pinching his broken nose, eliciting a scream. “I see you’re still making friends everywhere. Who jumped the gun?” he asked around a laugh.“Pops?” Payton said in awe. “Kendrick is his Aiden Mulvaney’s dad? That is a stellar plot twist for a finale.”It was only then that snippets of the conversation from the gym came back to him. Park talking with Archer and Mac over Aspen’s body.Aiden was the child Kendrick had gotten rid of, the one people had thought he’d murdered. Gift didn’t share any of that. It wasn’t his place.“I should have known it would all come back to you. You’re the worst thing that ever happened to me. My biggest mistake.”Someone gasped from beside Gift but he wasnt sure who. Aiden however just laughed. “Oh, come on. Im almost poitive that you havent experienced the worst thing to ever happen to you. But you’re about to.”“Didn’t bring the rest of your fucked up little family with you? Going to make this kill on your own?” Kendrick spit at him, but there was just the tiniest hint of fear behind his bravado.“Kill? Me? Nah,” Aiden said jovially, hand on his chest. “I wouldn’t want to take the fun away from the children. Your first kill is always special. I just brought the party favors.”Kendrick frowned. “What? You can’t be serious? You’re going to turn these pre-pubescent monsters loose on me? ”“Rude,” Dove muttered. “How old does he think we are?”“What an asshole,” Lennon said.Persephone rubbed her hands together. This is going to be fun.”Aiden’s sole focus was Kendrick. “What?” he asked the old man. “Did you think you were worthy of the whole Mulvaney family?”“Did you?” Kendrick shot back. “You should be thanking me.”Aiden chuckled. “My husband seems pretty happy I’m there. Have you seen my son?” Aiden took the phone out and showed him something on the screen. “That’s Theo. Tommy says he looks like me, but I don’t see it. He sure is the coolest kid, though. And he’ll never even know you existed.”“My real son will miss me,” Kendrick said with a cold smile.Aiden’s laugh was chilling. “Matt? Is that who you’re talking about? Do you know a thing about him? Cause I do. I know he hates you. I know he spends as much time as possible at his best friend, Jordan’s house, and that he tells strangers that you’re dead. Sometimes, he tells people he doesn’t know well that you’re his stepfather and that his real father died in the military.” Aiden winced. “Yikes.”“You’re lying,” Kendrick snarledAiden shrugged. “Too bad you won’t live long enough to find out. On the bright side, little Matthew won’t have to lie about having a dead father anymore. Oh, and Tommy plans to reach out to him this summer to offer him a spot in the freshman internship program with the Mulvaney foundation. Its nepotism but that never stopped you. So you can die knowing that Tommy is going to take care of yet another child you abandoned. ”Kendrick’s eyes fell to Gift, looking like he was about to claim Gift as his own, but before he could say anything, Gift beat him to it. “I’m not your son. My mother lied to you. And if I was your son, I’d be the first one to try to carve your heart from your body for what you did to my mother, both my mothers.”Aiden made a hissing sound. “Oof. Swing and a miss. Looks like you’re out of kids, old man.”Gift heard Park chuckle from somewhere behind him, but couldn’t tear his gaze from Kendrick.As they all watched, Aiden dropped to his knees and unzipped the enormous bag, tipping it over. Gift’s eyes went wide. There was a clatter of metal on metal as all kinds of devices rolled onto the tarp. Aiden picked up a knife with a curved blade and wiggled it at Gift. “You want?.”Gift shook his head. “I want to go last.”Aiden gave a single nod. “Suit yourself.” To the others, he said, “The floor is yours, children. Go nuts.”“You’re not serious?!” Kendrick cried, gaze darting to Boone. “This has gone far enough. Just shoot me and be done with it. This is absurd. You can’t do this.”Everyone ignored his shouting.Gift had expected the six psychopaths of Peregrine pod to jump at the chance, maybe even Morgan, but his eyes went wide as they all crawled toward the pile, sorting through it like kids on Christmas morning.“Thumbscrews,” Drake said. “Holy shit.” He looked to Aiden. “These look…homemade.”Aiden shrugged. “Everyone’s gotta have a hobby.”“That’s so fucking cool,” Diego whispered. “I wanna be a Mulvaney when I grow up.”“Pretty sure they’re all taken,” Morgan said. “Maybe he’ll adopt you. Or, hey, there’s always the next gen.”“What is this?” Lennon asked, holding up a metal object that looked like a complicated Christmas ornament.“The pear of anguish,” Payton said, nostrils flaring and eyes glittering. “You insert it into the anus, vagina or mouth of your victim and then you just crank it it until it—” he made a gesture that looked something like an orange exploding— “does it’s thing.”“Show us?” Persephone asked, her excitement palpable.Payton looked to the instructor’s, namely Boone, who shrugged. “We’re not here to tell you what you can and can’t do. As long as he doesn’t have a pulse when you’re done, you pass.”Payton looked like he wanted to kiss Boone, not that he didn’t always look a little like he wanted to kiss Boone. He turned to Kendrick who started blabbering, spittle flying from his mouth, flop sweat making his clothes instantly damp. He offered money and power, claimed he could fix this if they’d just listen for a moment.The group closed around the man, all but Gift. He stayed back. He was okay with death, but he didn’t think torture would ever really be his thing. He was content knowing his friends would make Kendrick suffer. He just wanted to be the one to put him out of his misery at the end.Gift winced at the gagging, then the shudder inducing sound of metal over tooth enamel, following by a wet crunch like someone chewing rocks.And then the screaming started.“Sick,” Gift heard Luca say gleefully.“Twist it again,” Morgan begged.“His eyes are so fucking wide right now, like a Halloween mask,” Dove said around a laugh.“Almost as wide as his big fucking mouth,” Payton said.Someone whistled low. Jay said, “Damn, I think you broke his jaw.”“If you open it any further you’ll kill him,” Remi warned. “And then you’ll just be playing with a dead body.”“Get the thumbscrews,” Diego said.“Shit, let’s just use all of it,” Luca said.Gift stood, wandering to where Park stood with his mothers, the instructors and now, Aiden. He wrapped his arms around him and put his head on his chest, not caring who saw them. Something unknotted in his chest when Park crushed him into a hug. “What’s wrong, ouen. Don’t want to play?”“I don’t like torturing people,” Gift muttered, then looked at Boone. “That’s okay, right?”Boone gave a soft laugh. “Torture isn’t part of the handler program, though it seems some are gunning for dual degrees.”The only one who seemed uninterested in the torture was Remi, he stood at the outside of the circle, looking around like he was waiting for a bell to ring so he could be dismissed. Gift closed his eyes, listening to Park’s heart to drown out the wet sounds of Kendrick being taken apart a piece at a time. Park swayed him in his arms like they were slow dancing, seemingly watching the carnage with a casual disinterest.It seemed to go on for hours, but in truth, it was probably less than twenty. In retrospect, they’d all perhaps been a little too eager to try everything.“Gift, do you still want to finish him?” Payton asked.“You don’t have to, ouen,” Park said, kissing his forehead.“But,” Dove said, “If you did want to, we brought you something…”Gift frowned, turning around to see Payton and Dove standing side by side, hands behind their backs. He couldn’t stop himself from wandering closer. “What is it?”“Ta-da,” they cried, each brandishing a sai sword.“Are those…”“Real?” Payton asked. “Oh, yeah. Straight from the real weapons storage.” They thrust one into each hand. “Here, take them. Feel them, play with them. Then fucking end him.”Gift tested the grip, then spun each one in his hand, sucking in a breath at the sound the blade made as it cut through the air. He spun them both together, then separately, relieved to see that he was just as comfortable as the real thing as he was the training swords.Kendrick’s wet moans, dragged Gift from his own thoughts. They all stood back as GIft walked to what was left of Marshall Kendrick. His fingers were missing, his face was grotesquely misshapen, there was an object driving screws into the man’s skull.Killing him was probably more than he deserved. He’d assaulted his mother, stolen her child, kept her locked in a Thai prison for over twenty years. He was the reason his mother lost her baby girl. Who knows how many other people’s lives Kendrick had ruined.“You don’t have to do this, noo,” Anchali said, softly.Gift met Kendrick’s eyes, giving him a cold smile before his left blade pierced the hollow of his throat, coming out the other side. Kendrick started to seize, a foul smell filling the room. Unlike with Aspen, this time GIft’s aim was dead on, his right blade sliding through the man’s chest with only the slightest bit of resistance.He watched as Kendrick’s body stiffened, then went boneless, slumping into the chair. He left both blades where they were, then turned back to the others, running and throwing his arms around his moms. They both hugged him, though Sukhon with far more hesitancy.When they finally let him go, Anchali kissed his forehead. “Sukhon and I are going to find a place to stay for the night, but we’ll come back and see you in the morning, noo.”“I have quarters available, if you’d like to bed down here for the night,” Boone offered. “I’m sure we can find some clothes for you to wear overnight. If you don’t mind the watch logo on them.”Anchali looked at Sukhon who nodded, her exhaustion evident.“Mac, would you mind showing them to the rooms in the East wing?”“No problem. Ladies,” Mac said, with a sweeping gesture towards the door. They followed him, smiling when he stopped to smack a kiss on Archer’s mouth.“Who is cleaning up this mess,” Park asked Boone.“They are,” he said, pointing to the kids.Groans sounded around the whole room.“Oh, come on. You made us clean up after Aspen and now we have to clean this too?” Morgan whined, flopping onto one of the gym mats.Boone sighed. “Fine. Just this once, I’ll let the professionals handle it. But you will learn proper body disposal. Got it.”“Yes, sir,” the all said in unison.Boone rolled his eyes. “Okay, go to bed. It’s late.”Park slapped Boone on the shoulder with a nod, then took Gift back to his room. Gift stood in the bathroom as Park undressed him then stood him under the scalding water, stepping in behind him. Gift just sagged against him letting Park wash him, unable to even open his eyes.Only once they were both curled in bed did he finally speak. “Are you disappointed in me?”Gift didn’t open his eyes, but heard the confusion in Park’s tone as he said, “What? Why?”Gift shrugged. “I don’t know. Cause I didn’t want to torture Kendrick. Or because I did kill him. Or cause I now have a body count.”Park dragged him into his arms, gathering him as close as he could manage, resting his head on the top of Gift’s head. “I don’t care if you never kill again. I don’t care if you drop out of the watch and stay home watching reruns of the Price is RIght all day. I don’t care if you want to go back to school and get a master’s degree in…needlepoint or french cooking.”Gift snickered. “Can you get a master’s in either of those things?”“Fuck if I know. The point is, I love you whether you have a body count or not. It’s not going to keep me from marrying you.”Gift’s eyes flew open. “Marriage? Marriage isn’t even legal in Thailand,” Gift reminded him.“I’m American and we don’t live in Thailand. And I need to put a ring on your finger before Payton starts dragging you around the world as his handler and you run off with some French guy.”“I’m starting to think you want to run off with some French guy. One that makes pastries.” Gift narrowed his eyes at him. “What’s in France that you’re so afraid I’ll see? Do you already have a husband over there? Did he seduce you with his giant…baguette? Hmm?”Park huffed out a laugh as he trapped Gift beneath him. “I’m far more interested in you taking my baguette than vice versa.”Gift snorted. “Oh, my God.”Park dipped his head to sweep his tongue over the seam of Gift’s mouth, making a contented sound when he opened beneath him, letting him sweep inside. Gift lost himself in Park’s soft lips and his deep, drugging kisses, tipping his head when Park began to kiss his way down his jaw, stopping at his ear. “There’s just you, ouen. There will only ever be you,” He nosed at the spot behind his ear, sucking until Gift whined. “But I am hungry.”“What-” Gift gasped as Park rolled his hips against Gift’s, letting him feel how hard he was. “What do you want to eat?”“You, ouen. Only you.”Gift moaned, seeking more friction. “Oh, god. I have to be honest, this is not how I saw a marriage proposal happening.”“Don’t worry, I’ll make the official proposal much more formal. But the night will still end the same.”“How’s that?”“With you riding my tongue until you scream.”Gift whimpered. “Deal.”EpilogueParkPark had just finished making changes to the curriculum for next year’s chemistry class—or as Gift called it, potions class—when the boy blew through the door of his office, cheeks pink and eyes bright. He slammed the door behind him, locking the shiny new lock on Park’s office door before crossing the room and crawling right into his lap, letting Park cradle him like a baby.“Hello, ouen. What’s got you so worked up?”“Madison’s killers are dead and we all got extra credit for it.”The kids hadn’t been willing to let Madison’s case go. While Boone had assured them that they weren’t required to solve the mystery as they’d more than proven themselves with Kendrick, they still insisted. As suspected, Madison had died because of the game. While the others had exited out of it, Remi had kept playing and losing, and that was when the threats started. He was told he could work his debt off or die. Despite Boone’s protests, Remi said he was going to tell them he’d work it off. It was the only way he’d know what happened.That was when they learned that, at its core, the game was just a unique front for a trafficking ring. Those behind it tricked children into racking up mounds of debt, then forced them to work it off as runners, sex workers, dealers, knowing, of course, they would never work off the debt.Remi learned from another runner that Madison had thought it was all very exciting when she started dating one of the boss’s sons. She even pushed the game to her followers and got others to do the same. Then her boyfriend put her to work turning tricks in some dirty trailer. When she threatened to tell the authorities, he killed her.It was so tragic but so mundane. There would never be any shortage of Madisons or men willing to use them for their own profit. Remi found the names of the men in charge and Boone pulled him out. Apparently, once again, the kids had gone rogue.Park’s mouth formed a hard line. “Are you saying you left campus without me?”Gift’s gaze floated away from him to stare at a spot on the wall as he played with Park’s tie. “It was an assignment, hia. What was I supposed to do? Besides, it wasn’t like I didn’t have six psychopaths with me.”“Boone wouldn’t have sanctioned that without telling me, and that’s not the point, ouen. You know the rules.”Gift raised his hand to Park’s mouth, running his thumb along the seam of Park’s lips, giggling when he bit the tip of his finger. “I think you just want an excuse to punish me tonight.”“Is that so?” Park asked.“Mm,” Gift said, dropping his hand back to Park’s tie, unknotting it. “I think you want to tie me up and spank me ‘til I cry. And then you wanna fuck me.”“That’s what I want, huh?” Park said, amused by Gift’s antics as usual. “Who would have thought I’d be so transparent.”Gift shrugged. “I just know my hia so well.”“Mm,” Park said. “Seems to me like maybe that’s what you want.”Gift pulled Park’s tie from around his neck and pressed it into the hand currently resting on Gift’s thigh, then he held his wrists together, blinking wide eyes at Park. “Me? No. I don’t want that at all. But I’m a good boy, so I’ll do it…for you.”When Park continued to stare at him, amused, Gift bit down on his bottom lip as if contemplating his next move. Finally, he said, “Do you want to know how we managed to get the guys where we wanted them?” He pressed his lips to Park’s ear. “They used me…as bait.”Park growled. “You better be kidding, ouen, or you won’t be able to sit down for a week.”Gift’s pupils were blown wide as he continued to spin his elaborate tale. “I volunteered. I mean, look at me. Who would ever suspect that I was some kind of double agent capable of murder?”Park stood with Gift still in his lap, letting the boy’s feet drop to the floor before barking, “Everything off from the waist down.”Gift scrambled to comply, kicking off his shoes, then his pants and underwear, leaving him only in his white uniform shirt. Park forced his chest to his desk then kicked his legs apart. “Hands.”Gift put his hands behind his back, wrists together. Park had no idea whether Gift was telling the truth, but if he was willing to go this far to be spanked and fucked over Park’s desk, then he’d happily give him what he wanted. He’d been keyed up all day, anyway.He wrapped Gift’s wrists with his silk tie, testing to make sure they weren’t too tight before gripping Gift’s hair tightly, pulling him up enough to meet his gaze. “Can you keep your slutty little mouth shut, or do I need to gag you?”Gift was already glassy-eyed. It was clear he needed this, too. “I…I’ll be good, hia.”“Mm,” Park said. “We’ll see about that.”Park released him to reach for his belt. Gift craned his neck around in confusion. “You’re not going to punish me?”“What makes you think that?” Park asked, pulling his belt free with one hand before doubling it up.Gift’s eyes went wide, voice trembling, as he seemed to understand where this was going. “You… You’re not using your hand?”“Did I say I would?” Park asked, tone neutral, as he ghosted his fingertips across Gift’s pretty little ass.“No,” Gift whispered.Park stepped behind him, letting his clothed cock rest against Gift’s naked skin. He wanted him to feel how hard he was already. He rubbed himself against him as he bent to kiss his shoulder. “Why do you look so nervous, ouen? I’m just giving you what you asked for, right?”Gift whined.Park continued to rub off on him. “You’re the one so desperate for my cock that you crawled right into my lap and started taunting me. Hia’s only giving you what you wanted. You should thank me.”A full body shiver ran through him as he said, “Th-Thank you, hia.”“My pleasure.” Park stepped back, letting the belt trail along Gift’s thighs and between his cheeks. “I think you should count for me. Don’t you?”“Count?” he gasped. “How m-many?”Park chuckled. “Let’s play it by ear.”Gift gasped. “Wait…”Park squeezed Gift’s ass cheek hard enough to watch the skin turn white beneath his fingers. “Something wrong?”There was a long pause, then, “N-Nothing, hia.”Park frowned. “Color, ouen?”Gift gave a sigh of exasperation. “Ugh, green. Hurry up,” he finished with a whine, wiggling his ass in front of Park.Park snorted. What a little shit. He let the belt fly, cock twitching at the sound of leather on skin and Gift’s low moan.“O-One,” Gift said, voice wobbly.Park aimed the second strike for the exact same spot.Gift yelped. “Two.”Park landed three more blows right over the first two while Gift fell apart, cursing and whining, trying to get away from each subsequent blow.He couldn’t seem to remember what number they were on. “Six?” he sobbed.Park tsked. “Five, ouen. Just five. Maybe hia needs to start over.”Gift’s responding wail was loud enough for Park to be grateful he didn’t have a secretary sitting outside his door. He ran a soothing hand over Gift’s sweaty back, then leaned down and pressed a kiss to the welts forming over his left ass cheek. “So pretty.”“Please…”“Please, what?” Park asked, voice filled with disinterest. “Do you want more?”Gift fell silent. Park let him contemplate the question as he teased a dry finger over his hole. Gift moaned, pushing back on it.Park slapped his other cheek, admiring his perfect handprint. “You take what you’re given.”A choked sob fell from Gift’s lips. Park reached into his top drawer, pulling the lube from its hiding place way in the back. “What’s the matter, my needy little baby? Don’t want to play with hia anymore?”This was hardly the first time Gift had wanted to play in Park’s office. It wasn’t even the first time this week. It turned out that Gift had an adventurous streak a mile wide; he wanted to be fucked in all kinds of creative places. Under the bleachers in the gym, in the middle of the Peregrine meeting hall. Park was convinced he had a list somewhere and they were slowly working their way through it.“I-I need you,” Gift begged.“Oh,” he asked, like this was new information to him. “Need me to, what?”Gift whined but fell silent.Park collapsed back in his desk chair. He pressed two fingers to Gift’s rim, applying just enough pressure to have the boy fidgeting. “I don’t think you really know what you want. My needy slut gets stupid when he’s horny, huh?”Gift whimpered. “Yes, hia.”Fuck, he looked hot like this, bent over for Park, completely at his mercy. “I think hia should make your decisions for you, don’t you?”“Yes, hia.”Park spread Gift open, fighting the urge to bury his face between his cheeks, instead spitting over his hole before using his dry thumb to push it inside. “I think my baby makes silly mistakes when he’s desperate and forgets who’s in charge, huh?”Gift choked on a sob, pushing his hips back. “Yes, hia.”Park kissed one greenish yellow bruise on his ass cheek, then sank his teeth into the other, biting until Gift yelped.“Poor baby,” Park cooed, then soothed over the wounded flesh with his tongue. “Pretty,” he murmured. “My baby is so pretty with my marks all over him.”And there were plenty. Finger-shaped bruises on Gift’s hips, teeth marks, scratches, even bruises Park had sucked into his skin as he ate him out. Gift was Park’s favorite meal and he tried to dine there frequently.When Gift made another noise of complaint, Park realized he’d gotten lost in his thoughts. He wet those two fingers with lube, rubbing at his entrance. “What’s wrong, ouen?”“Need it,” Gift whined.Park pressed the tips of his fingers just past that tight ring of muscle, then stopped. “Need what?”Another quiet sob. “I need you inside me.”“Does my greedy little slut want to be full?” Park taunted.“Please, hia,” Gift begged.Park sighed. “I don’t know if you want it bad enough.”“I do,” Gift swore.“Okay, prove it. Show hia how badly you want to be filled up.”Gift groaned, knowing what Park wanted. He pushed back on his fingers until they were buried to the hilt.Park stifled a groan. “So tight, baby. I don’t think hia’s cock is gonna fit.”Gift rolled his hips, fucking himself on Park’s fingers with abandon. “It’ll fit, hia. I promise. It’s okay if it hurts a little.”Christ. Park slapped his ass with his other hand. “Convince me.”Gift made a beleagured little sound, spreading his legs a bit more so he could fuck back against his fingers harder. After a minute or two, Park added another, watching as Gift worked harder to accommodate the invasion.Park’s cock throbbed in his pants as he watched his fingers disappear in Gift’s tight little hole. “That’s it. Open that slutty little hole for hia.”Gift was crying for real, his voice choked with tears. “Please. Please, I’m ready. I can take it. Park, come on.”Normally, Park would edge him for hours until he was so deep into sub space it took hours for him to come down. But that was only for home. “Okay, needy baby. Okay.”He gently slid his fingers free, then stood, only bothering to push his clothes out of the way before slicking up his cock and burying himself in one hard thrust. Gift’s whole body bowed backwards with a moan. “Oh, God. Fuck, yes.”Gift fucked himself on Park’s cock a couple times just like he had his fingers before Park slapped his ass. “Do you want hia to fuck you or not?”“Then do it,” Gift snapped back.Park snorted, delivering another hard smack before he gripped Gift’s hips and gave him what he asked for, setting a brutal pace. “This what my slutty little baby needed?”“Yes,” Gift cried, fingers curving around the ends of Park’s tie around his wrists, bouncing off his lower back with every hard thrust. Park adjusted the angle and a raw moan fell from Gift’s lips, followed by a stream of babbling. “Oh, fuck. The angle is—Oh, fuck. Oh, my God. It’s perfect. It’s so perfect. Please. Please. Don’t stop. Don’t stop. Can I come? Hia? Hia? Can I? I’m gonna. I don’t think I can stop.”Gift made a sound like his soul left his body, his hole spasming tight enough around Park’s cock to drive him almost to the edge of his own orgasm. “Holy shit, did you…”“Yeah,” Gift panted. “Wow. I didn’t… I didn’t even think that was something people could really do.”Park groaned, grinding his hips against his ass. “Fuck, that’s so hot, ouen. I might even forgive you for coming without permission.”Gift looked back at him. “Keep going. I need to feel you. Fill me up, please. Please.”Fuck. Park buried his fingers in Gift’s hair, pulling him upright, biting the space between his neck and shoulder as he fucked him hard enough to drive him up onto his tiptoes. Gift’s head fell back on his shoulder, letting Park use him like a toy.“You feel so good, ouen, so hot and wet inside. Fuck. Fuck.”Gift whimpered, flinching from overstimulation every time Park drove into him. He shouldn’t have found that so hot but he did. He truly did. He let him fall forward, holding him by his tied wrists, just chasing his release. He was so close, and Gift felt so fucking good. With one final thrust, Park groaned, bending over Gift, filling him up as he panted against his back.After a minute, he slipped free, using the wet wipes in his desk to clean them both up a little before releasing Gift’s wrists and massaging the feeling back into them. Once their clothes were back where they belonged, Park sat in the office chair again and pulled Gift into his arms once more, pressing kisses to his temple, his forehead, his hair.Gift sighed contentedly.“Did they really use you as bait, ouen?” Gift remained silent long enough for Park to deduce the answer. “Kla.”Gift shrugged, looking at Park like he was a drag. “It was the smartest play, you know, tactically.”“I’m going to kill you.”Gift gave Park an eye-roll that made him want to put him right back over his desk. “Well, that’s hardly logical. You were just mad that some mob guys almost did the same.”Park’s temper flared. “They almost killed you?”Gift waved a hand. “Hyperbole, hia. There was hardly even any gunfire.”“Gunfire? What?” he snapped.Gift yawned then tucked his head under Park’s chin. “Can we talk about this later, hia? I’m worn out.”Park stared at him, exasperated. “Are you fucking kidding me?”Gift patted his cheek in a borderline condescending manner. “What are you making me for dinner, hia?”Park continued to gape at him until he realized Gift considered the conversation over. He shook his head. “What do you want me to make you for dinner, ouen?”Gift batted his lashes at him. “Ramyeon.”“You have a gourmet chef at your disposal and you want ramen from a plastic baggie.”Gift rolled his eyes like he could already taste it. “Mm. We can lie in bed and eat noodles and watch Extraordinary Attorney Woo.”Park scoffed. “It’s my night to pick. We’re watching Vincenzo.”“Oh, come on,” Gift whined. “I have to know if Woo Young and Joon-ho go on a date.”“You just have a crush on Joon-ho,” Park said sulkily.“No,” Gift said, drawing out the word like Park was ridiculous. “I have a crush on Vincenzo ‘cause he looks just like you. But Vincenzo is never going to reveal his true feelings to Cha-Young and I want some romance.”Park sighed. “So, you’re only going to be happy with cheap ramyeon and Attorney Woo?”Gift seemed to contemplate the question for a long time before saying, “I’ll be happy regardless, but if you let me watch Attorney Woo I’ll blow you in the shower and then sit on your face until you make me come.”Park’s cock twitched. “Christ, you’re a fucking menace.”“I know. So, is that a yes?”“Do I ever say no to you?” Park countered.“No, but I like hearing how whipped you are for me,” Gift countered, tone smug.Park sighed. “What happened to that meek little mouse who used to only say ‘yes, hia, no hia?’”Gift wiggled his ass in Park’s lap. “Is that what you want? You want me to pretend to be your little mouse? We can play that game if you want, hia. I didn’t know you had such a corruption kink.”Park almost choked on his own spit. “I didn’t even know you knew such a thing existed.”Gift gave him a look. “Just because I was a virgin when we met doesn’t mean I wasn’t horny. I fantasized about all the dirty things I wanted you to do to me for months. I watched so much disturbing porn that my laptop caught half a dozen viruses and I was starting to get carpal tunnel syndrome.”“Gift,” Park said, his name a warning.Gift giggled at Park’s scandalized expression. “What? It’s true.”Park sighed. “Have I at least fulfilled all your dirty fantasies?”“Oh, please, hia. We haven’t even cracked the top ten. I’m just easing you in.”Park dug his fingers into Gift’s ribs until he squealed. “Easing me in, huh?”“I didn’t want to scare you.” He cackled.Park stopped his attack. “I’m hard to scare, ouen.”Gift turned, eyes serious. “Does that mean you love me like this? Even if I’m not some meek innocent virgin?”Park gave Gift a long, slow kiss. “I loved you as a meek innocent virgin. I love you as my needy little baby. I love you as my mouthy little brat. I love all of you. Every incarnation. In this life and in all the rest.”Gift teared up but he quickly blinked them away. “I’ve loved you in every lifetime, too. I just know it.”Park kissed his temple. “Let’s go home so I can defile my kitchen with your disgusting store bought ramyeon.”“Okay, hia. Oh, don’t forget we have dinner with my mom tomorrow.”They had dinner with Sukhon once a week. She was still skittish about the outside world. Her time in prison had definitely taken a toll on her mentally. She had a new name and a new life.She lived on a little piece of property in the middle of nowhere just outside Vegas. She had three large dogs and a dozen surveillance cameras and satellite television that let her watch American television. She was slowly learning English, so Gift would download Thai television shows—mostly BLs—and they would watch together. She couldn’t hold a job, so Park and Gift’s parents helped cover what little bills she had. It was a small price to pay, all things considered.“Did you let Payton know you wouldn’t be back at the dorm tonight?” Park asked as he locked his office.“He was a little preoccupied getting bitched out by Boone,” Gift said, taking his hand. “I’ll text him later.”“Isn’t he the one always bragging about having Boone wrapped around his little finger?”“It’s called foreplay, hia. Payton loves pushing his buttons.”Park dragged Gift behind him, then tugged until they were side by side and he could sling an arm over his shoulders. “I almost feel sorry for the poor bastard.”“Almost?”Park laughed, dragging Gift in for a kiss. “Yeah, almost.”