Hidden.

Trey

The last thing I remembered was Raon yelling about my husband being shot. No matter how many times we'd discussed the matter, he'd never once called me that. Maybe because I was younger, or maybe because he was afraid to admit it to himself. No, Raon loved me, and cared for me as much as he could, but he always insisted on secrecy, even though I'd never made a big secret of it.

When the truth came out and he was the first to speak of separation, I accepted his position to avoid conflict within the families. Youth, stupidity, or maybe I was just scared. Not for myself, no. I've never been afraid of death, if that old woman comes after me, I'll be ready at any moment.

A half-starved childhood, a straggling youth, had it been fated - I would have died while still in the ring in an endless series of contract fights.

However, I have never been shot at point-blank range in such a situation. By some happy coincidence, at that moment we were next to each other, and I didn't know who to thank. As I bled to death in the car, all I could think about was what a blessing it was to die looking into his eyes.

***After a while***

The nasty beeping was annoying. Opening my eyes, I tried to get used to the darkness. The room didn't look like a hospital room. Heavy curtains blocked the light from the window, making it hard to tell what time of day it was. There was a thin trickle of light coming through the ajar door, probably to the bathroom. It wasn't much use, but it was better than nothing.

My neck was stiff, and I tried to raise myself up a little, but a sharp pain on my left side of the bed had chained me to the bed, and now the pain in my neck seemed like a fairy tale. Colored sparks from my eyes, the taste of blood in my mouth, basically the whole spectrum that an idiot who does first things first then thinks can experience. Wanting to cover my eyes with my hand, I realized I couldn't lift it either. He was holding her tightly, and he was piling on top of her.

My throat was very dry, and I couldn't say anything intelligible, but at least I could squeeze my lover's warm hand. It wouldn't have been hard to figure out that it was him; I'd recognize his cologne from a thousand. I tried to remove my hand from his tight grip.

"Get some more sleep," a sleepy voice mumbled.

Poor thing, how long had he been sitting there if he was delirious with fatigue? I couldn't take his hand away, but I could turn it so I could touch his face.

"Raon," I tried to call out to him, but the man was sound asleep.

My voice was hoarse, and my throat immediately burned with pain. Even though I called Raon quietly, someone outside was heading into the room. The footsteps grew quieter, and almost silently the door opened, and in the light from the hallway I saw Vien's figure. He caught my gaze and put a finger to his lips, signaling me to be quiet.

Okay. If he's here too, that means I'm in one of Vago's houses. Why didn't he take me to the family home, or at least our apartment?

"Please don't move, don't wake him up, he's only just fallen asleep," the person who entered whispered, I blinked at him in agreement.

"I'll get the nurse right away, in the meantime hold this, it's water, you can talk later," Vien smiled at me, holding out the tube from the IV system.

A few minutes later he returned with a middle-aged woman. The nurse just as quietly asked questions about how I was feeling, injected something into the IV and immediately left the room.

"Better? Can you talk?"

"Yes, how did you hear me?" - I asked, still hoarse but no longer in pain.

"The baby monitor," the guy replied contentedly, nodding at the gadget by my pillow, "The best model. The most expensive and sensitive in the city, will hear the baby's breathing at a distance of 5 meters."

"Why?" - I wondered.

"So that hysterical guy could hear you, his work was never canceled, he was afraid to miss anything. Chased the guys for every breath, even though he had a camera phone in his hand and could see you sleeping."

"Did you find them? How long have I been here?"

"Only found the perpetrator, we're looking for the others. It's only early morning, fifth hour. You're a sturdy fellow, you came to your senses quickly, but next time, please be sore at home."

Not understanding the claim against me, I simply nodded.

"Vien, what about Boon? Where is he? Is he alright?" - I asked.

"Yeah, Vago was able to cover for him, he went home."

"Home... You can't go home! I don't know who the informant is at Enthil yet. Who took him away? He's not safe there. We need to hide him."

"Don't worry, Vago will pick him up in the morning. He was offered to stay, but he refused."

"A fight?" - I could tell by the look on Vien's face that I was right, "Fine, go get some rest, leave that toy here."

The guy immediately left the room, he did look tired. Analyzing what happened, and the data I checked the other day, it's almost certain who was involved in the murder of Vago's father. I was going to trade that for information, for Boonmi's safety. That boy is so innocent, eager for life, believing in "world peace." Locking him in an anthill box is the worst of Chuckan's ideas.

Ayson didn't want to drag Boonmi into the shadow world, in his perfect picture of the world, his son was a great artist, surrounded by loyal friends and admirers. Dreamed of keeping his spontaneity, dreaminess, and pure heart.

"Hmmm," the man next to me hissed.

Despite, the darkness, I could make out the blackness of his eyes, the laid back bruises and the expression of worry on that beautiful face.

"Why aren't you sleeping properly?" - I turned to him.

"Trey," he exhaled, scooting closer to me.

His hands slid over my head, my healthy shoulder, my face. Weightless kisses soaked in tenderness and love covered my eyes, my cheeks, my lips. Only I could see him like that. The reverent touches, the happiness in the shining eyes.

"Are you okay? I'll get the doctor now, have you been awake long?" - began fussily examining me, propping up the blanket.

"Shh, I'm fine. The nurse has already been in. I just woke up a little while ago," I tried to reassure Raon.

"Why didn't you wake me up?" - The man muttered resentfully.

"Vien told me not to wake you up."

"Since when, does he get to decide when I wake up!" - he resented.

I smiled, rubbing the back of his hand.

"You better tell me what's wrong with me, and give me that water pipe over there," I turned my attention back to myself.

"The shot went through the soft tissue a few centimeters from my heart and lung, lingering in the bone of my shoulder blade. There are cracks in the bones. Major blood loss," the pain in his eyes was driving me crazy now.

"Okay, it's minor stuff, it's not the first time bones have been broken. It's okay," I was choosing the most affectionate tone I could muster.

"It's okay? DONE?" - he roared.

"Raon," I called out, but there was no stopping the process.

Raging, that was the only thing that could characterize his state right now. Accepting the chant as inevitable, I sighed heavily.

"You were dying in my arms! Do you realize that? I thought you were going to die! Because of your carelessness, and that brat, I could have lost you, do you realize that? And now you say it's no big deal? Do you even think about me sometimes? If you loved me half as much as I love you, you wouldn't let this happen!" - he roared so that about seventy percent of the house could hear him.

"You didn't see this coming either," I muttered quietly, more to myself.

"What?"

"Nothing, I didn't say anything, you're absolutely right, I was careless, it won't happen again from now on," I said, what he wanted to hear: "Your anger is completely justified, please forgive me for scaring you so much," I said in my most sincere tone.

"You should quit," Raon suggested doomedly.

"We've already discussed this."

"But I can't leave, Vago is my friend, yes he's like a brother to me!"

"Then we'll get back to this conversation when the guns start falling out of your hands and dementia consumes you."

"You think that's funny?" - interrupted my fiery speech with anger.

"Actually - yes," I answered honestly, "Think about it. It's already happened. Just accept it. Yes it's scary, yes it hurts, but that's our job!"

"Trey!"

"I want to sleep, I waited too long for you," I blurted out in a fit of anger, hopefully he wouldn't continue the showdown.

A heavy sigh, the noise of a man falling into a chair. Nothing, he'll psych himself up and calm down.

Turning my head, I really began to drift off to sleep. Today was one of those rare days when I could fall asleep without begging the universe to wake up not a widower.

I understood Raon's feelings perfectly, our love makes us weaker, we become vulnerable. Scattered attention when one of us is on a deal or another assignment. Heightened emotionality that spills over into aggression when we fight. He thinks, I don't know how many broken noses, jaws, and bones in general, have been where words could do the trick.

I woke up to the sensation of someone talking to me in the room. When I opened my eyes, I could still see Raon, holding a clipboard and listening intently to something. If I understood correctly, it was Boone's voice. But why?

"What's going on?"

"Are you awake? Do you want something?"

"I want an answer to my question," a feeling of something unpleasant rolled around in my chest like a slippery jelly mass.

"Nothing's going on, you're asleep, I'm with you. Vago is addressing the issue of your snotty little resentment."

" What are they discussing? Where's Boonmi?"

"Tana called a press conference, they'll explain everything and make it clear that the kid wasn't hurt."

"Idiots! Who asked you! You've ruined everything! Now he's in even more danger, and your friend with him," my heart was pounding so hard with excitement that my ribs were pounding out from under the bandage.

"The old man! Supalai! He did it all. And Vago and Boonmi's fathers. Vago needs to keep quiet, there seems to be his brother involved. Open my mail, run," I pleaded, gasping in pain as I tried to sit up.

"Lie still, it's coming right now. Don't be so nervous." Raon reassured me.

"Read, 'report number seven' it's called. Call him and tell him to shut up," I scolded.

In a matter of minutes, he familiarized himself with the information in the documents and in parallel dialed the boss.

As he briefly explained the information, I saw Vago's eyes darken on the live feed. But what happened next threw me off balance. Contrary to my expectations, the man gave a threatening speech, and led the guy away. Now everyone, even those who shouldn't have, knows who the Sansiri heir is.

"I'm sorry Uncle Ayson, I couldn't keep my word...," I whispered, looking at the report on the clipboard.

"I have to go home. It's urgent. Help me up," I struggled to get out of bed through the pain.

"You're out of your mind! Your stitches are coming apart!" - Raon pressed me immediately.

"You're the one who's crazy, you're the one who signed his death warrant! You don't understand, I have to be by his side right now! I have to protect him!"

"You can't help him right now! Don't you understand?"

"No Raon! You're the one who doesn't understand! I'm supposed to be close by! I'm supposed to be the target! He's just a kid! I swore an oath to protect him! I gave my word to be there for him! I owe my uncle!"

"You don't owe anything! Your only obligation right now is to get well! You owe this family nothing, you serve them honorably, but you don't owe them your life! What, now I'm supposed to go and die instead of this brat?!"

"OBLIGED! It's only because of that brat that I'm still alive! It's only because of him that I eat good food and sleep in a comfortable bed. It's only to help him that I was given an education I never dreamed of. It's only so that this, as you put it, brat can live that I'm still alive! Or do you think my boss didn't know about us? You think everyone around here is a moron? I swore to protect him with my life, I traded my life for yours! So tell me, by your standards, do I love you enough?" - I yelled at Raon for the first time in my life.

Raon would have wanted to say something back, his lips were opening, but he couldn't find the words, much less speak them. So, he was like a discarded fish and opened his mouth as he left the room.

I kept this secret long enough. About six months before the accident, my boss called me in and showed me a photo from my last vacation. Knowing that sooner or later that day would come, I was ready to die. But suddenly, my uncle offered me a deal. I protect the boy, effectively taking his place, and he doesn't touch Raon. It was a choice without a choice. Of course I agreed. The father's greatest wish was that the boy continue to live the life he chose.

And I was willing to go along with that, to take over the anthill. But I didn't know about the agreement between the relatives about sole inheritance.

"He will be brought here. Safe and sound. And we'll all decide together what to do," Raon came into the room.

The faded look in his eyes, the slumped shoulders, everything spoke of his extreme distress.

"Come to me, please. Help me at least sit up. Let's talk," I begged pitifully.

"You can't sit down. The doctor will come in the afternoon and tell you what you can do. The nurse will come now and give you medicine," his voice had lost all strength.

He didn't look like a grown man now, but like a beaten dog that had been kicked out into the rain.

"Don't be like that! Let's talk!" - I insisted.

"You shouldn't be nervous. At least now I can know why you're not leaving. Get some sleep. Boonmi will pack your things. Oh, also your cell phone. Lei said it's quiet at Anthill, he'll stay there for now. Jung's with Boonmi. Do you trust them?"

"Them yes," I wanted to discuss something else, but the same woman who had come in earlier in the morning came in, reintroduced the medication into the IV, checking all the vitals beforehand.

"You try to get some sleep, okay? Vago will be here in about an hour, I'll wake you up right away, okay?"

"Don't go..." - I asked, patting the bed.

Smiling, he sat down next to me and taking my hand he kissed my wrist.

"Don't I deserve a normal kiss? I have an injury, by the way, and my lover shuns me. Screams and won't feed me. "And I have to pee. Can you take me?"

"You can't get up. I'll get some strange dishes the nurse left."

"No way! Take me away!"

"What difference does it make where I stick my dick?"

"I'm going to tear up!"

"Trey!"

"Raon!" - stubborn old man.

"Well nothing, you'll get my nerve cells and my dignity tarnished by this plastic shit!" - I thought angrily, as the man took advantage of his advantage to perform all the sanitary procedures.

The medication was starting to take effect, and in my dreams, instead of counting sheep, I was counting Raon's shot muscles, but in such a way that he wouldn't die.

Awakened again by the noise, I couldn't make out what was going on. Raon was thrashing around the room like a cornered animal, and I could only make out scraps of phrases.

"What do you mean you can't find him? If Trey finds out, he'll bury me in pieces on every continent first, and then he'll flatten you too!" the man yelled into the receiver in a whisper.

"Raon?" - I called out to him.

"Trey, why are you awake?" - A startled and surprised look pierced through me.

"Where's Boonmi? What time is it?" - The curtain was half open and you could tell it was evening.

"He hasn't arrived," the man said quietly.

"Where's Boonmi, I ask you?!" - all this grimacing made me mad.

Having slept all day, I felt much better. At this sudden anger of realizing they had lost a guy, I was able to sit up jerkily.

"You're not allowed to sit down, lie down running!" - he worried.

"Raon, I'm begging you in matte, tell me where he is!"

"He's gone somewhere."

"I trusted you with my brother and you failed? Why are you here then? Go and bring him here! And it's in your best interest to keep him alive, safe and sound!"

"Trey, they're looking for him, he won't get farther than Bangkok. He was under supervision, had a little fight with Vago, but Jung took him to the Enthil and then he slipped away unnoticed. So basically, it was your people who lost him. I offered to send a car to pick him up," he justified himself.

"You sent a car? Then why didn't he go? And let me lose Vago, and I'll be at home looking for him?!"

"Am I a virgin to be lost?" Vago entered the room without knocking, "Here, your heir is resting, quite happy."

Taking the clipboard in my hand I exhaled, except for one I knew the guys who were with him.

"You know these kids?" - Vago asked.

"Yeah, they study together, it's his girlfriend and I think one of his classmates," I replied without giving any importance.

"Well ok, so what? Raon, you know the address, go. You're the only one free."

"Vago, please, you're my friend right? He won't go with me, I yelled at him and I can't leave," Raon looked at his friend with pleading in his voice.

"I dropped him off at the highway, you think I'm more trustworthy?" - he objected.

"What did you do?" I yelled.

"And you know what though...I'd rather follow a drunk kid than this one," Vago laughed pointing his finger at me.

"Raon, if anything...even happens to him...I will kill you! Do you understand me!!! Give me water!"

The man guiltily bustled around the room, running errands.

Well darling, the next few days will see you bathing in the cauldron of hell for what you've done!