The morning after the second body showed up, Chiang Mai felt... different.
Not louder. Not bloodier. Just heavier. Like the clouds knew. Like the streets were bracing for more. The kind of quiet that made people glance over their shoulders without knowing why.
Jay hadn't slept. He didn't even try.
He sat in the corner of his room, shirtless and bruised. The gun rested across his thigh like a habit. And that damned silver coin spun slow and steady on the desk beside him, catching the light just enough to stay irritating.
He'd been spinning it for hours.
Just watching it circle. Just listening to the soft clink every time it wobbled to one side. Imagining how that same coin must've looked, resting in a dead man's palm, sticky with blood. Or worse… folded into the mouth of someone meant to send a message.
Jeff knocked once before stepping in. Already dressed, boots on, holster tight. Like he didn't need sleep anymore either.
"I heard," he said. "The second body was burned."
Jay didn't look up. "Photo of Jack stuffed in his mouth."
Jeff exhaled. "That's not just a hit. That's a dare."
"They're setting the table," Jay said.
"For what?"
Jay's voice was low. "Juhu isn't aiming for the empire. Not yet. He's aiming for the heirs."
Jeff's jaw twitched. "He's coming for us."
Jay nodded once.
And that was enough.
Jack hadn't slept either
He sat across from Rin in one of Charlie's safe rooms, stone walls, no windows, a single buzzing light above.
The bloodstained photo sat between them. Jack's photo was burned at the corners. Still damp in some places. Whatever it had been meant to say, it said it loud enough.
Jack lit a cigarette with a slightly unsteady hand. But his eyes stayed still.
"You okay?" Rin asked eventually.
Jack shrugged. "Define okay."
They both let that hang.
"They're calling it a warning," Rin said, quieter now.
Jack blew out smoke, slowly. "No. It's bait."
Rin tilted his head. "For what? For whom?"
Jack didn't answer right away. Just stared at the photo.
"For me," he said finally. "For Jay. Maybe for you. But smokemostly... us."
Rin watched him. Studied the tired lines in Jack's face.
"Are you seeing him?"
"No."
"You should."
"I can't."
"You love him."
Jack didn't deny it. Didn't even blink.
Instead, he murmured, like it was already too late, "I'm not pretending."
Later that day, two more bodies turned up. One face down in a bowl of noodles. Shot mid-bite. No one at the table saw who pulled the trigger. The other was dismembered and packaged in boxes. Delivered to Vavaporn's gates like presents from hell.
Vavaporn slammed his palm down on a meeting table so hard even Jeff winced.
"They want chaos," he snapped. "Well, they got it."
Jeff stayed calm. "They're moving fast. Too fast. They're trying to keep us guessing."
"They want us blind," Jay added.
"They're succeeding," Vavaporn muttered, then looked at Jay like he'd just remembered something.
"You. You're staying in this house until I say otherwise."
Jay's tone didn't change. "No."
Vavaporn narrowed his eyes. "Try me."
Jay stood his ground. "You made me into a weapon. Let me be one."
That hit something. For a second, Vavaporn's face slipped into something human. But it passed quickly.
"Fine," he said. "But Jeff doesn't leave your side. You breathe when he breathes. You move when he moves."
Jay didn't argue.
That scared Jeff more than anything.
Charlie was barking orders to his men like the war had already landed on his front lawn. Pulling scouts from docks. Rerouting shipments. Closing down entire routes.
Jack leaned against the wall, arms crossed.
"You're not going anywhere," Charlie told him.
Jack laughed under his breath. "Since when do you care if I stay alive?"
Charlie walked over. Looked him in the eye.
"Since I buried three sons of other men this year."
Jack looked away.
Charlie lowered his voice. "This Juhu doesn't care about history. He's not here to negotiate. He's here to dismantle."
Jack's voice came sharp: "Then let me fight him."
Charlie grabbed his arm. "You're not ready."
Jack pulled away. "You don't know me."
Charlie's voice dropped to a whisper. "No. But I know what love makes people do."
That shut Jack up.
That night, Jay's burner phone lit up.
Just one message. No name.
Jack ➤
"We need to talk. Alone."
Jay stared at the screen for a long time.
His pulse didn't spike. His face didn't change. But something in his chest ached.
He typed back.
Jay ➤
"Where?"
Jack ➤
"Old temple. Midnight. Just us."
Jay looked across the room.
Jeff already knew.
"I'll follow—"
Jay shook his head. "I need this. I need to see him."
Jeff hesitated. "Then go. But if you don't come back—"
"I will."
At Midnight,
Jack's old safe house, very close to the old temple garden behind the riverfront, was forgotten by time. The lanterns didn't light up anymore. The statues were cracked. The air was thick with ghosts.
It was perfect.
Jay arrived last.
Jack looked up the second he stepped through the gate.
Neither of them spoke.
Rin lingered nearby, far enough to be out of earshot. Close enough to pull a trigger if he had to.
Jay walked toward Jack.
Jack didn't move.
The garden was silent. No crickets. No wind. Just the sound of their breath.
"You came," Jack said.
Jay's voice was steady. "You called."
They stood inches apart. Same height. Same eyes. Same storm inside.
"This is a bad idea," Jack said.
"I know."
"I couldn't stay away."
"I know."
A beat.
Jack looked down. "He's trying to take everything. Piece by piece."
Jay nodded. "Let him try."
"Are we going to die?"
Jay didn't answer.
Then, gently: "Would it change anything if we were?"
Jack's throat worked. "No."
Silence.
Then Jay did something he rarely did.
He reached out first.
His hand brushed Jack's. Not a grab. Not a grip. Just a question.
Jack didn't flinch.
Their fingers touched. Locked.
And suddenly, everything else—blood, fathers, ghosts, warnings. It all faded; it faded completely.
Even if just for a second.
They didn't kiss.
They didn't need to.
Some love is too dangerous to name. Too loud to speak.
They just stood there—boys raised for war, holding hands in a forgotten temple—while the wolves closed in around them.
And still...
They didn't let go