Who Said Witness Protection Was Boring? (Mobster Mayhem #2)

26. Kieran

26

Kieran

We land at Chubu Centrair International Airport in Nagoya just before ten the next morning. A fleet of black SUVs awaits us. This is impressive, but very unnecessary. A single car would’ve been plenty.

“Hey! Where are you going?” Liz halts me as I approach the stairs once the last passenger has exited the plane.

I look from her to the sunny day outside. It’s chilly, but not overly, which tells me the temperature must be in the low sixties. “Off?”

She crosses her arms and clicks her tongue. “We need to check the plane and make sure it’s clean and ready for its next flight.”

“I thought that’s what we did on the way here? Besides, no one even used the second lounge.”

She waves her index finger at me. “We have to clean everything again.”

I stifle a sigh. Of course we do.

The delegation of cars outside leave just as I’m done checking the glasses. I contemplate calling Kwanchai, but it’s not like they’ll let us go before we are done here. It seems we have to play our roles to the very end.

Two hours later, we are finally let off. Adrian, Matt and I follow the cabin supervisor into the staff portion of the airport through a set of corridors and stairs. We are each handed a backpack of new clothes and instructed to change and leave the uniforms at the reception desk of the crew company. Then we are taken through a keycard-controlled elevator and finally join the regular folk in the public area of the airport.

“Where is your friend?” Matt whispers, hovering close to me.

The place is brimming with people, so I find his hand and hold it. It’s just in case, so he doesn’t accidentally get lost.

“He said he’d be waiting for us, but maybe he changed his mind.” We find a quieter spot just outside the building, where the smoking area is. Just two people are using it, so it’s less noisy. They have their backs to us and are currently talking, so I decide not to interrupt them with a greeting. “Let me give him a call.”

“It’s about time you three showed up,” the man in the black trench coat says, exhaling smoke and turning to face us.

He’s wearing a tailored suit much like the blond man next to him is. Both of them also sport sunglasses which make it impossible to see their faces. But based on the structure, I’d say Blondie is not from around here.

The man who spoke extinguishes his cigarette and takes the glasses off. His dark brown eyes dance with amusement as they scan me. It takes my brain a few heartbeats to recognize who they belong to.

“Oh, shit! Kwanchai!”

“Hi, Kieran. I hope you had an uneventful flight.”

I bite on my bottom lip. Aside from having a quickie in the bathroom after we cleaned spotless the plane, I’d say it was. I mean, no one even questioned who we were. Nor were we recognized. So whatever Kwanchai did, it worked.

“We did. Thanks.” I nod and flash him a grateful smile.

Tilting his chin as this companion, he offers me his hand. “It’s been a while. I was starting to think you forgot I owed you.”

Blondie takes off the glasses. Yep, he’s not Asian. He has big blue eyes and a straight nose. I’m pretty sure he’s Kwanchai’s bodyguard.

I grin at Kwanchai and shake his hand. “Nah. Never. I was just waiting for the right moment to cash in.”

He smirks and pulls me into a bro hug. “Mhm. I can see that. And I also can’t wait to hear all about it.”

“Thought you’d have by now.”

“Hex is off visiting a hacker friend, so he isn’t picking up,” Blondie says with a chuckle. Kwanchai glowers at him, but instead of apologizing or appearing reprimanded, he pecks the mafia heir on the lips. “I’m Leo, by the way. Chai’s boyfriend and bodyguard. Who are you guys?”

The way he says it bleeds pride and fondness and ‘don’t mess with my man or I’ll end you’ vibes. It’s kind of cute.

“It’s nice to meet you. I’m Matthew, Kieran’s boyfriend and accomplice,” Matt preens, shaking Leo’s hand.

“I’m Adrian. I… Uh, I worked for the Crew before those two showed up.”

A crease appears between Leo’s eyebrows. “You worked for the Crew…?”

Matt props his arm on Adrian’s shoulder. “Don’t worry. He was more than happy to defect. I don’t think he liked it much there. Plus, he was helping… my aunt investigate their dealings with the CIA.”

Kwanchai and Leo’s eyes widen, but they quickly school their expressions.

“Oh? I guess the Thai government wasn’t the only interested party. You don’t happen to have a sample of that drug?” Kwanchai says, exchanging a look with Leo.

“The one they are spreading on the streets?” I jump in, wanting to regain control of the conversation. “No, but we have something better. It’s why I needed your help and why the secret services are after us.” I watch the journey of a group of tourists who exit the terminal and board one of the buses parked at the short stay zone. “But I think this is a conversation that’s better had somewhere private.”

Kwanchai gestures at a black SUV much like the ones that picked up whoever the dudes on the private jet were. “Agreed.”

“Hey, you don’t happen to have heard anything from the Crew about me, do you?” Leo asks Adrian and Matt, keeping pace with them as I walk stride by stride with Kwanchai.

“ Leo ,” the mafia heir chides.

“What? I’m just curious! I know in the grand scheme of drug dealings and gangs that screwing them over once and getting a bunch of people arrested isn’t that big of a deal, but I mean, c’mon. Did they really forget about it this quickly?”

I open the door to the back of the SUV and let Matt and Adrian get in first. Leo holds the door for Kwanchai and then circles around to the driver’s seat.

“Wait. You are the guy who got the gang in trouble with the police?” Adrian blurts out just as we pass the parking lot’s barrier.

Leo grins at him via the rear-view mirror. “The one and only.”

“Shiiit. Things were crazy for a few weeks after that. Leadership was losing their shit.” Adrian turns to me, his eyes glinting in excitement. “It was around the time Chrissy and I met. I had started not long before. We tried to track down who did it, but the trail ran cold…”

“Of course it did. I ran off to Japan and seduced Chai. He had no choice but to do my bidding and keep me safe.”

I swear I hear Kwanchai snorting, though he does a great job masking it as a cough.

“No way! Kieran and I sort of happened the same way. I was in a bit of a pinch when we met.” Matt leans into me sideways and pokes me gently in the ribs. “He was playing hard to get, but in the end, he couldn’t resist me.”

“Chai here thought he was straight. But then he met me,” Leo adds, kneading Kwanchai’s thigh.

The mafioso lets him do that for a few seconds, then laces their fingers together. “Don’t let him fool you. Leo was even straighter than me.”

“No, I was not. I’m the one that jumped you that first time. After the arena match.”

“You are misremembering. I treated your wounds, then I kissed you because you were being cute.”

“I am not cute—”

“What arena match?” Matt cuts in, practically vibrating in his seat like a shaken soda about to burst out.

Leo steers the car out of the airport’s premises and onto the Centrair bridge. “Oh, Matty. Let me tell you. It was crazy. I almost died. But it was also the most fun I’d had in forever. Chai here was losing his shit the entire time…”

The shimmering blue ocean replaces the gray concrete and shiny glass of the modern structure, calm and soothing. I just know then that everything will be fine. We made it out and alive thanks to the favor this mafia heir owed me. But even if we are just acquaintances right now, I have a feeling we’ll be a lot more than that soon.