The Kingpin's Possession

46: The Pieces of a Dangerous Puzzle

Kim:When Aawut reported to Kim the events of that afternoon, he could hardly focus at work. Anxiety crept up at him every second, and he could hardly focus on what his associates were discussing. He could see their lips move, but it felt like neither their words reach his ears, nor did they retained in his mind.

He was too stressed, too worried. All Aawut had told him was that they had been shot at, and that he was in pursuit of whoever had done so. Then he fell off the face of the earth and didn’t answer any of Kim’s texts and calls.

Kim wasn’t worried about him, though. He knew that Aawut was more than capable of defending himself should the need arise; he was so resilient that perhaps only death itself could come to take him. But he was worried about Kit and Kaya.

When he was finally free to rush home after he had finished settling things at work, he did so without another look back. Panting, he ran in, past the foyer, and stumbled into the living room, where he found Kit and Kanya with Som and P’Kla.

To say that the atmosphere was tense would be an understatement. It was as though some deity had frozen them in time. He hastily darted over to where Kit was sitting, taking his hands as though trying to make sure that he was real. He knelt in front of him, his eyes darting all over his body to make sure that there weren’t any traces of visible injury.

“Are you okay?” he asked urgently. “Is everything alright?”

Kit squeezed his hands reassuringly, then patted him away, suddenly painfully aware of all the eyes on both of them. “Yes, I’m fine. We’re fine.” He nodded. “None of us got hurt from the incident.”

“You know, you should be more worried about N’Kanya,” P’Kla butted in, his voice tight. “Since the bullet actually hit herHe was standing with his arms crossed over his chest, leaning lazily against the wall. It only took Kim one glance at him to know that he was in a bad mood, so he didn’t bother answering him. Still, he could acknowledge the truth in his statement—after all, Kaya was supposed to be carrying his child.

To compensate for his insensitivity, he turned toward her and gingerly placed a hand on her shoulder, as though afraid she might break. “Are you feeling alright?” he asked. “Did you get hurt, by any chance?”

To her credit, Kaya managed a weak smile. “Don’t worry,” she said with a small shake of her head. “Kit was there to protect me.”

Kim was wrong to think she would be in shambles; she was definitely stronger than he gave her credit for. Or even P’Kla for that matter. Speaking of which…it was time he had a proper discussion with his brother.

“Okay, it’s time for you to get some rest,” Kit said hesitantly, almost like he could hear Kim’s thoughts. “I’ll take you to your room now.”

“Yes, that’s probably a good idea,” Kim agreed, standing as well. He needed to talk to P’Kla alone.

Nong Som did not miss a beat either. She was at P’Kanya’s side in the blink of an eye, one arm curled around P’Kanya’s. “I’ll come with you.” She must have read Kim’s intention, bless her. “It’s been a stressful day, hasn’t it? Let’s get some rest.”

With that, the trio slowly began to head upstairs to their rooms, leaving Kim and Kla alone to deal with their issues.

Once they were all gone, Kim turned to P’Kla, his eyes narrowing in on his older brother. “Well?” he demanded. “What’s your problem?”

P’Kla frowned, as though Kim was stupid for not knowing what the issue was right off the bat. “My problem,” he seethed, “is that you aren’t taking good care of your wife-to-be. Have you forgotten your role as her husband?”

Seriously? That’s what he was fuming about?Kim stepped forward. “But you forget, PhiKla looked angered at his younger brother’s words; lips pressed together in a pursed line, forehead creased as his eyebrows met in the middle, hands balled into fists at his sides. Kim knew those signs all too well; his brother was furious. But he did not say anything in retort. Instead, he turned on his heels, ready to leave the room.

But before he could go, Kim said, “It was a planned attack, you know.”

P’Kla halted in his steps, then turned to face him once again. “What do you mean by that?”

“Just as we were about to leave the fertility clinic, I got a call that one of our warehouses had caught fire.” He kept his voice steady as he spoke, though he knew that anyone with a rational mind could hear the cold anger beneath his words. “I headed over immediately to assess the damage. I left in a different car and had Aawut drive them back here.”

Kla stared at him, the pieces of the puzzle slowly coming together in his mind. He was by no means a slow person, and Kim could tell that he already knew where this was going.

“And right after we went separate ways, a bullet hit the car exactly where Kanya was sitting?” Kim said rhetorically. “Clearly, that’s no coincidence. Meaning, whoever did this knew exactly what we had gone to the clinic for. And not only that…the fire at the factory was probably a distraction.”

Kla’s eyes widened in alarm, understanding immediately what Kim was hinting at. “You mean—?”

Kim nodded. “Yes,” he said gravely. “I believe Lung