Page 21 of Slay Tricksters and Silent Skeletons
“I’m sorry,” Anurak said softly. “I’ve been scared since you got kidnapped, Bento. I was terrified you wouldn’t make it out of surgery, and then, I was even more afraid that you would hate me when you got home. You rely on your routine as my bodyguard, and because of me, you lost that.”
“Not because of you,” I told him, my voice firm. “It’s because of the assholes who wanted to kidnap you, Anurak.Theyhold all the blame.” I moved closer, and despite the pain in my ass and the strain it would put on my abdominal muscles, I crouched, bringing our faces level with each other. “None of this is yourfault. It’ll take some adjusting on my end, but I’m going to be fine. And I’m sure Niran will find other ways to keep me busy.”
Niran snorted from behind me but otherwise stayed silent. I settled my good hand on Anurak’s shoulder. “You’re basically my little brother, kid,” I told him quietly. “If you really don’t want me to be your bodyguard anymore, I’ll respect that.” I wouldn’t fucking like it, but I wouldn’t fight him on it. It was, ultimately, his decision. “Butpleasebelieve all of us when we say that what I went through hasnothingto do with you.”
He sniffled and nodded, his eyes blurry with tears. “I still want you to be my bodyguard,” he said, his voice wobbling, “but only if you still want that. I didn’t mean to say what I did earlier.”
“You were scared.” I understood that. Didn’t make the words hurt less, but Ididunderstand saying shit in the heat of the moment. Hell, I’d threatened to leave Niran not even an hour ago in the heat of the moment when both of us knew I’dneverwalk away from him, even for a lonesome ass vacation. “And it’d be an honor to still be your bodyguard.”
He surprised me by hugging me, his touch gentle, and he avoided my injured shoulder. I sighed and hugged him back, the anxiety I’d been dealing with since that morning finally loosening. When he stepped back, he grabbed Rico’s hand and linked their fingers together. I straightened, swallowing down my wince and my groan of pain. I couldn’t show Anurak that I was hurting. He would just worry even more than he already was.
“Ace and I will be going into town tomorrow evening to give out candy at the Trunk or Treat event. Will you come with us?”
Niran pressed his hand to my lower back. “Afraid Bento is unavailable,” Niran told him. “We have other… business to attend to.”
Rico nodded once at Niran, understanding what Niran meant, even if his husband was a little clueless. “I’ll go with you,” Rico told him before Anurak’s face could fall again. Andfuck, the way the boy brightened at those words… He was so in love with his Papi.
“Really, Papi?” Anurak asked as Rico led him from the room.
“Really,perrito,” Rico assured him, their voices fading as they walked further and further away.
“Do you think they know what happened in here?” I asked, staring at the still-open door.
“Everyone knows,” Alfonzo said as he walked past Niran’s office, his eyes locked on his phone. “You’re loud, Bento.”
“Oh, myGod,” I groaned, my head falling back on my shoulders.
Niran snickered from beside me, then patted my sore ass. “Help me clean up this office, then we need to sort the papers that can be saved and the ones that can’t so I know what to reprint. After that, you need to sit your ass in that chair and do what I told you to do earlier.”
“You better be glad you’re hot when you boss me around,” I muttered as I began sorting through the papers on his desk while he gathered what’d fallen to the floor.
Niran snorted. “You keep saying that,kon-dii.”
I winked at him when he glanced up at me. “Well, it’s true.”
He shook his head. “Focus. We don’t have all day.”
I gave him a mock salute, and in return, he landed a smack on my ass so hard, I yelped.
19
Niran
When I woke on Halloween, Bento was passed out beside me on his back, his lips parted just the slightest bit as he snored. Lifting myself to rest on my elbow, I tracked my eyes over his face. In sleep, Bento looked calm and serene. He wasn’t trying to live up to my expectations, and he wasn’t trying to impress Rico. He wasn’t worried about saying the wrong thing to Anurak and making the poor boy burst into tears. When Bento slept, he was able to justbe.
And while he was already a damn good-looking man when he was awake, seeing him so at peace was almost breathtaking.
His breathing pattern changed, and his eyelids slowly slid open. Turning his head, he let his eyes meet mine, arching a brow at me. “You’re such a creep,” he rasped, his voice still thick and heavy with sleep.
“Just admiring what belongs to me,” I told him. A stupid grin tilted his lips, and I chuckled, unable to help myself. He gothappy over the simplest things. It was one of the things I adored about him.
“You’re so corny,” he groaned, then stretched his good arm over his head before wincing. “Why are you up so early?”
“Why are you?” I retorted. I actually thought the pain pills would’ve kept him knocked out half the day since he’d taken them so late last night.
He huffed in annoyance. “Because I could feel someone staring at me, and it was disturbing my sleep.” I reached out and lightly thumped his nose. He smacked at my hand, shooting me an annoyed look. “Again, Niran, why are you up so early?”
“Because I have things to do,” I reminded him. “Like taking care of the two men down in the basement.Youwere the one who suggested we should deal with them on Halloween for the irony of it.”
