you, if ever you remember.”
Bobby was freakishly strong, with arm muscles the size of small children. I often cursed my genetics and questioned my masculinity around him, especially when we sparred. It made me want to drag Mike along with us, but my brother had fast fists. I’d take a pounding from him too, then afterward they’d bond over a beer.
We loaded up the truck quickly and tied the tarp down over the boxes and dolly. Passing through the gate, I snuck a peek at the sedan bothering Bobby. The driver and passenger were familiar, both stern-faced, sunglass wearing Asian men in suits. They watched Bobby’s truck roll by, their heads nearly turning as one as we passed.
Much to Bobby’s disgust, I did what any normal guy would do.
I waved at them and smiled like an idiot.
“Boy, I am disappointed in you,” he sighed. “Why do I take you anywhere? Now they know we spotted them.”
Needless to say, the sedan didn’t follow us out of the parking lot. I sat back in the seat and helped myself to one of the last donettes, getting more sugar all over the floor mats. Motioning gallantly with my donut, I gave Bobby permission to drive on. “Home, Jeeves. We’ve got shit to dig through.”
“You know,” Bobby said through gritted teeth, “The longer I know you, the more I understand Mike beating the shit out of you when you were kids.”
J AE -M IN was awake and drinking coffee when I strolled in behind Bobby and his trusty, box-laden dolly. I stole a kiss from Jae as I took the mug from his hand. He tasted slightly of my mint toothpaste. The gulp of coffee I took from his mug tasted like it could use more sugar.
“I can’t believe you waved at them.” Bobby’d grumbled nearly the entire way, and I’d kept quiet, silently gloating.
“I waved so they wouldn’t pay attention to me taking a picture of their plate with my phone.” I waved my cell under Bobby’s nose. He mumbled something derogatory about me and snatched it from my hand. “I’m not totally stupid, you know.”
“You act like it,” Bobby replied. “I’ll go call it in and see if someone can chase it down for us. Grab me a beer, Princess. I need one after spending the morning with you.”
“He loves me,” I reassured Jae, who stood in the doorway between the foyer and the living room. “Really, I complete his life.”
“Huh.” The look I got was a doubtful one, as if Jae didn’t quite buy into Bobby’s deep, abiding affection for me.
“Are you busy?” I lifted one of the smaller boxes and brought it into the living room. “I could use your help. Dae-Hoon left a bunch of notebooks behind, but they’re all in Korean.”
“And you want me to translate.” Jae pursed his mouth and leaned against the doorway. “I’ll need more coffee then. Is this how it’s going to be? Every case you take is going to have something Korean that you need me to translate?”
“Just the ones with Koreans in them.” I grabbed his arm before he could head into the kitchen. “Hey, I’ve got to warn you. There’s some… stuff in these. Photos. Sex photos. I think one of the guys I saw is Scarlet’s hyung . If you don’t want to….”
“Cole-ah, I worked at Dorthi Ki Seu. I’ve seen… people I know do things.” His shrug was nonchalant. “It won’t be the first time. Since you took my coffee, I’ll grab Bobby his beer while I’m in the kitchen.”
He was stronger and more jaded than I ever gave him credit for. His sweet, pretty face hid some dark secrets, something I knew but kept shoving aside. Jae’d survived a hell of a lot more than I cared to admit. It was time I acknowledged that.
I still wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and keep him safe from the world. Fuck, if I had my way, I’d join him under that blanket, and we could just stay there until the end of time.
There were two boxes of notebooks. I pulled those out first and set them aside for Jae. The rest of it seemed to be books and personal papers.
Bobby was freakishly strong, with arm muscles the size of small children. I often cursed my genetics and questioned my masculinity around him, especially when we sparred. It made me want to drag Mike along with us, but my brother had fast fists. I’d take a pounding from him too, then afterward they’d bond over a beer.
We loaded up the truck quickly and tied the tarp down over the boxes and dolly. Passing through the gate, I snuck a peek at the sedan bothering Bobby. The driver and passenger were familiar, both stern-faced, sunglass wearing Asian men in suits. They watched Bobby’s truck roll by, their heads nearly turning as one as we passed.
Much to Bobby’s disgust, I did what any normal guy would do.
I waved at them and smiled like an idiot.
“Boy, I am disappointed in you,” he sighed. “Why do I take you anywhere? Now they know we spotted them.”
Needless to say, the sedan didn’t follow us out of the parking lot. I sat back in the seat and helped myself to one of the last donettes, getting more sugar all over the floor mats. Motioning gallantly with my donut, I gave Bobby permission to drive on. “Home, Jeeves. We’ve got shit to dig through.”
“You know,” Bobby said through gritted teeth, “The longer I know you, the more I understand Mike beating the shit out of you when you were kids.”
J AE -M IN was awake and drinking coffee when I strolled in behind Bobby and his trusty, box-laden dolly. I stole a kiss from Jae as I took the mug from his hand. He tasted slightly of my mint toothpaste. The gulp of coffee I took from his mug tasted like it could use more sugar.
“I can’t believe you waved at them.” Bobby’d grumbled nearly the entire way, and I’d kept quiet, silently gloating.
“I waved so they wouldn’t pay attention to me taking a picture of their plate with my phone.” I waved my cell under Bobby’s nose. He mumbled something derogatory about me and snatched it from my hand. “I’m not totally stupid, you know.”
“You act like it,” Bobby replied. “I’ll go call it in and see if someone can chase it down for us. Grab me a beer, Princess. I need one after spending the morning with you.”
“He loves me,” I reassured Jae, who stood in the doorway between the foyer and the living room. “Really, I complete his life.”
“Huh.” The look I got was a doubtful one, as if Jae didn’t quite buy into Bobby’s deep, abiding affection for me.
“Are you busy?” I lifted one of the smaller boxes and brought it into the living room. “I could use your help. Dae-Hoon left a bunch of notebooks behind, but they’re all in Korean.”
“And you want me to translate.” Jae pursed his mouth and leaned against the doorway. “I’ll need more coffee then. Is this how it’s going to be? Every case you take is going to have something Korean that you need me to translate?”
“Just the ones with Koreans in them.” I grabbed his arm before he could head into the kitchen. “Hey, I’ve got to warn you. There’s some… stuff in these. Photos. Sex photos. I think one of the guys I saw is Scarlet’s hyung . If you don’t want to….”
“Cole-ah, I worked at Dorthi Ki Seu. I’ve seen… people I know do things.” His shrug was nonchalant. “It won’t be the first time. Since you took my coffee, I’ll grab Bobby his beer while I’m in the kitchen.”
He was stronger and more jaded than I ever gave him credit for. His sweet, pretty face hid some dark secrets, something I knew but kept shoving aside. Jae’d survived a hell of a lot more than I cared to admit. It was time I acknowledged that.
I still wanted to wrap him up in a blanket and keep him safe from the world. Fuck, if I had my way, I’d join him under that blanket, and we could just stay there until the end of time.
There were two boxes of notebooks. I pulled those out first and set them aside for Jae. The rest of it seemed to be books and personal papers.
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