Chapter 3
Bento
“Your nose looks better today,” Anurak noted when he emerged from his room.
When Rico got up for work in the mornings, my job was to sit right outside their room and wait for Anurak to get up for the day.
I’d fucked up one time before by letting Anurak wake up without me waiting for him, and it almost got him killed.
Rico had been doing an exchange with a man he didn’t fully trust, and when Anurak had stepped outside, multiple guns had immediately been trained on him.
I was fucking lucky I didn’t get a bullet through my own skull for allowing it to happen. I sure as fuck would not be making the same mistake again.
“Thanks.” I let a little smile tilt my lips for him, even if I didn’t feel much like smiling.
Niran was avoiding me since that moment in the locker rooms, and it had me in a foul mood.
For the past week when I headed to his office for my regular check-in, he wasn’t there and instead left instructions for me to just text him my update.
His avoidance of me was frankly getting on my fucking nerves, but it wasn’t like I could say anything.
He was my boss, and if Rico found out there was drama between us—or whatever the fuck this was—he might fire me or put me on leave.
And I didn’t want either of those things to happen.
I needed to stay busy, and I needed the stability of belonging here.
If he put me on leave, where the fuck was I supposed to go?
If he fired me, he might as well put a bullet through my skull.
I had money now and Rico had gotten documents for me to make me a United States citizen, however illegal they might be, but I was never meant for civilization.
I’d go right back to the streets. Outside of these walls, the streets were all I knew.
We began heading down the hall for the staircase, but Anurak abruptly stopped, swinging around to face me. I arched a brow at him and slid my hands into my pockets, waiting for him to spit out whatever was on his mind.
“Today is Rico’s birthday,” he told me, his voice dropping a little lower, like he was afraid of being overheard. “And he said he’s too busy to go out and do anything to celebrate it.”
“He may not like to celebrate his birthday,” I gently reminded him. As long as I’d worked for Rico, he’d never once mentioned his birthday. Hell, I hadn’t even known when it was. Wasn’t like I really cared to find out either, though.
Anurak sighed. “I think I can make him like it. Will you help me?”
I nodded. “Sure, kid. What do you have in mind?” It was my job to be at his side, after all.
And I knew that also entailed being at his beck and call.
Wasn’t like I had anything else to do anyway.
Since he wouldn’t be spending the day with Rico, that meant I wouldn’t have any training this morning, nor would I be doing my bullshit check-in with Niran, who more than likely wouldn’t be in his fucking office anyway.
“I want to go buy some things for him.” A light blush stained his cheeks. “I know it’s with his own money, but he always says what’s his is mine, so…”
I chuckled. “I don’t think he’ll care that you bought him things with his own money, Anurak.
I think Rico is just going to love that you thought of him at all.
” They’d been together for a while now—over a year—but Anurak still got insecure sometimes about his relationship with the big boss.
But honestly, there was nothing for him to be insecure about.
Rico worshipped the ground Anurak walked on.
I truly believed if Anurak were to ask Rico to step away from this criminal enterprise for good, Rico would in a heartbeat so long as it would make his boy happy.
“We’ll go shopping,” I told him. Pressing my hand to his shoulder, I gently nudged him in the direction of the stairs. “Go let Rico know you’re going shopping. I’ll go get the car ready.”
He skipped off with a beaming smile. I followed behind him down the stairs.
When he turned for Rico’s office, I headed for the garage, grabbing the keys for Anurak’s Jeep Rubicon off the wall.
He couldn’t drive, but Rico insisted he still have his own vehicle.
Anurak tried fighting him on it, but he’d lost. So, when we went out together, I always took his Jeep instead of the SUV I’d been assigned just so the Jeep got to move.
I was just turning the Jeep on when Niran appeared in front of it. Sighing, I rolled the window down, then angled out of the driver’s seat, and shut the door. Leaning my shoulder against the door, I crossed my arms over my chest and arched a brow at him. “What?” I drawled.
“Is that any way to speak to your superior?” he asked, his voice empty. I fucking hated it.
I scoffed. “Right. The superior who’s been avoiding me like I’m the fucking plague.” Rolling my eyes, I shifted, crossing my feet at the ankles. “What do you want, Niran?”
“Rico brought it to my attention that you’ll be taking Anurak out today. Do you need extra hands?”
“Oh, so now I’m not good at my fucking job?
” I demanded, getting angry and feeling defensive as fuck.
“What the fuck, Niran? When have I ever needed assistance when protecting Anurak? He’s never been unsafe with me.
” I turned and yanked the door back open, sliding into the driver’s seat. “Go fuck yourself.”
He grunted, but instead of apologizing, he just turned and walked into the house, giving a quiet greeting to Anurak as he passed him. I clenched my jaw and flexed my fingers, willing my rage away. Rico would have my head if I frightened his boy just because I was pissed off with Niran.
Did Niran think me getting punched in the face was suddenly a sign I couldn’t take care of Anurak? Was he going to go to Rico and demand Anurak be given another soldier to protect him? Was I about to lose my fucking job?
If Niran stabbed me in the back like that, I was going to fucking ruin him. I didn’t care how obsessed I was with the man. If he took away the one thing that gave me stability, I was going to destroy him.
“Everything okay?” Anurak asked as he slid into the passenger seat.
I rolled my window up and hit the button to lift the garage door.
“Everything is fine,” I lied. Everything wasn’t fine, but my number one rule was to never let my foul moods touch the sweet boy I’d been entrusted to protect.
“Let’s go blow some of your Papi’s money,” I teased, calling Rico by the name Anurak had given him.
Anurak laughed, but a blush stained his cheeks red anyway.