The Kingpin's Possession

69: Cleared Out

Kim:As soon as the office door was closed shut, the first thing P’Kla did was…surprisingly, apologize to Kim.

“Kimhan, Hia... karthot naHiaNeedless to say, Kim hadn’t expected that; it had been a long time since Hia“And… as your constituent, I overstepped my boundaries—which is a mistake I will never make again,” P’Kla added.

Oh. It seemed that he had taken Kim’s threat too seriously. Well, it wasn’t like his defiance of Kim’s authority hadn’t warranted such a response from the mafia don, but still… perhaps Kim had been too harsh on someone who was his family by blood.

Besides, he could sense that P’Kla’s apology now was genuine; clearly, he had learned his lesson.

“You are forgiven,” Kim said. He stepped closer to P’Kla and put a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “And… I am sorry as well, for what I said earlier. I forced my authority upon you, and while that in itself is not a sin, I should never have done such a thing because you are my brother. You are not a shame to the family name, and me saying such a thing out of spite was unacceptable.”

“Then… as your brother, is it safe to assume that I can get a hug from you?” P’Kla tried for a more light-hearted approach, and it worked, because Kim returned his smile and said, “Fine,” and they shared a brief but meaningful embrace.

“You have already forgiven me, but I am still sorry, Kim,” P’Kla said. “Can we both have a promise to talk out our differences before we start throwing punches?”

Kim scoffed. “I should say that to you.”

“Alright, then, I promise to communicate first before jumping to conclusions,” P’Kla sighed. “You know, I’m not always like this. I don’t know what came over me. And for that I am sorry.”

“Me, too.” Kimhan smiled, glad that it was well behind them now. “And I promise to be more reasonable from next time as well.”

Instantly, the blanket of tension that had draped itself over them vanished, and it was easier to breathe and move now. Kim took a seat behind the desk and motioned for his brother to take as seat as well. “So, have your misunderstandings with Kaya been cleared out yet or not? Because I swear, if you two are still beating around the bush, I’ll simply throw you two into an empty room, lock you up and have the alligators swallow the key!”

He stopped short when he saw his brother blush. “Oh. I guess the alligators aren’t needed any longer.” Kim grinned.

Clearly, something must have happened between them, and Kim didn’t want to pry or tease him about it, not when his brother was slowly becoming an open book.

P’Kla was used to pushing people away, and any wrong move from Kim could once again cause a rift between his brother and Kanya. Plus, he didn’t want P’Kla to hide back inside his shell and suppress his emotions again.

Given the way he had approached Kim and apologized without a hint of pride, Kim was confident that P’Kla and Kanya’s relationship would progress soon enough—all at their own pace.

Kim was about to change the topic and ask if there was something else P’Kla wanted to talk to him about when he was cut off by P’Kla clearing his throat.

“I have feelings for Kanya,” P’Kla finally admitted out loud. “I’m still trying to figure it out, but yes, this much, I can tell you with certainty. And… and after the child is born and your, uh, divorce is settled, I want to pursue her.”

“That’s wonderful to hear,” Kim said truthfully. “You have my full support. Besides, we aren’t married yet, so you still have the time to pursue her and win her over. I’m sure she would appreciate that and see your sincerity.”

“Yes, well, I’m working on that,” P’Kla said in a dismissive tone, rubbing the back of his reddening neck and averting his gaze.

As it turns out, he still had some issues about vocalizing his feelings. But anyway, at least he’s starting to change for the better. Kim could only continue to hope for the best for his brother, who had locked up his heart and bottled up his feelings for so long that Kim had almost started to lose hope.

“Anyway, tell me what happened,” Kla suddenly changed the topic. “I know something must have gone wrong; I saw that worried look you two shared earlier. What’s the real reason why you didn’t come home last night?”

Kim smirked humorlessly. “I guess you still got it, huh? You noticed even though I could have sworn we were being subtle…”

P’Kla shrugged. “It runs in the blood.”

Yes, it did, Kim thought to himself. P’Kla may have taken a different route in his life, after witnessing their father being killed, but he was still an Ayutthaya.

“Kit went to his friend’s house to celebrate the end of their semester, but the shooter that we had been chasing from earlier got to their address, even thought their plan was last minute, and shot at them. Kit’s friend, Ben, sustained some injuries while saving him, but he’ll be fine. He’s in the hospital, recovering. I didn’t return with Kit here last night to help him calm down, away from everything, so he could see his sister now without any worry.”

P’Kla looked troubled. “You should stick together at all times,” he suggested. “Just as a safety precaution. I’m starting to think that even bodyguards might not be enough; that shooter is surely getting bolder, targeting the person closest to you. It means they’re in on your weaknesses. Any idea who it is yet?”

But Kim only shook his head. “They’re careful not to have anything distinguishable about them when they attack. Last night, it was too dark to see, so we couldn’t get any significant points of identification.” He sighed. “More than that, this isn’t just about me—P’First is also in the enemy’s hit list, which got us thinking that it must be the Russians’ doing. We had dealt with them together, so that might be the obvious answer.”

“I’ll have to disagree,” P’Kla said at once. “On the contrary, it could just be someone else who is trying to take advantage of the situation and pin this on the Russians. You have to be careful.”

“I know. I have considered that possibility as well, which is why P’First and I haven’t done anything in retaliation yet. But we do have a rough plan… An opportunity had presented itself to us; Kit and his friends have made plans to go to Chiang Mai, and we are positive that the enemy knows this as well, and that chance would be too juicy to pass up on.”

“I see. You’re trying to turn their advantage into your own.”P’Kla said thoughtfully, even though his worry was evident.

“Exactly.” Kim pointed an approving finger at his brother. “But we have some reluctance. Although it is our best bet at luring and trapping the shooter, we don’t want to risk the lives of Kit and his friends, so we are still in the process of perfecting this plan.”

P’Kla nodded. “I was about to point that out. With kids involved in this mission…we never know what can happen and when. It’s a huge risk.”

Kim clenched his fists on the desk. “I will do everything—and I mean everythingKla saw the determination in his brothers eyes as he said, “Who knows what would happen then? We have many enemies, and I’m sure all of them would want a hand in bringing us down.”

“Apart from that, you also need to be careful of them finding out you two main weaknesses, Kim,” P’Kla warned. “Remember that Kit may be your lover, but Kanya is now carrying your heir. And if words gets out about this incident…they would target both Kit and Kanya, so they can weaken your heart and leave you a shell of who you are.”

Kim didn’t take that warning lightly. He knew what was at stake, and he knew he had to act fast before his enemies got the news of Kanya pregnancy. What he had hoped to keep a secret until the very end, might just be exposed out in the open for all to know, and Kim would have to risk everything to keep his loved ones safe.

Because P’Kla was right…it was the only way for him to stay sane.