GCT 7

It had been two weeks since Lear’s communication abruptly stopped. Not only Vasquez, but the entire neighborhood had been quiet, with no notable incidents. It felt like the calm before a storm.

“This guy is completely out of control.”

Whenever he felt like bothering someone, he’d reach out, but now there was no way to know where he was or what he was doing. Was he even alive, or had he been ambushed somewhere and taken out? Yohan frowned as he sent a reply to the last message he’d received from Lear, only to get no response. Turning on the television, he muttered to himself, “Nothing fun to do in times like this.”

“But he’s probably busy again. Does he think some of us have nothing to do?”

Yohan scratched his stomach roughly and stood up from his seat. He figured he’d grab a quick lunch and head out to see if anything interesting was happening. Letting out a deep sigh, he rummaged through the fridge, pulled out some chicken breast, microwaved it haphazardly, and ate it with a protein shake. The taste was predictably awful, and it only made his already sour mood worse.

“What’s that?”

His phone suddenly buzzed, and Yohan, still frowning, opened the messenger app. It was none other than Aisha.

Aisha

Yohan

What’s up?

Aisha

Cold as ever.

Just say what you need.

Aisha

Did you figure out who Luke Meizel is?

Nah, totally forgot about it.

Who the hell is it that you’re contacting me about it?

Aisha

It’s the name of Lear Crawford’s dog.

Bullshit.

Aisha

It’s legit.

The photo Aisha sent next was a People magazine picture of a young-looking Lear, probably in his early twenties, posing with his grandmother. The theme was “proud family.” Well, with a famous actress grandmother and a billionaire grandson, it was understandable why they’d be proud.

Yohan zoomed in on Lear’s youthful face, then zoomed out again, noticing a dog with strikingly white fur nestled by his side.

“This is the homeowner? Seriously?”

Thinking about the mansion in Calabasas being a doghouse, Yohan sighed as he recalled his own rent. Still, the fox-like dog was kind of cute.

Pomeranian?

Aisha

Nah, Spitz.

Damn.

To think a dog that grew up to be ridiculously big could make a Spitz look like a Pomeranian—what a distortion. Yohan was musing about what an impressive creature it was when he set his phone down.

Suddenly, a gunshot rang out from outside, followed by a scream. Startled, Yohan shoved his phone into his pocket and quickly rummaged through a drawer to find his gun. Pulling it out and checking the ammo, he cursed under his breath, instantly on high alert.

“No wonder it’s been so quiet.”

From the sound, it seemed like something had happened nearby. He didn’t know the exact reason, but with factions splitting within Vasquez, it was possible some of them had gotten into a fight. He’d always thought Glenn Cowrie and Jamal would clash eventually.

Yohan swallowed hard and moved to the window. The window was so small that he couldn’t quite see what was happening nearby.

“Of all places, this neighborhood has to go to hell.”

If it was just small-time dealers going at each other, that’d be one thing. But if it was a fight between Cowrie and Jamal, that was a different story. Fiona had been driving around in her Range Rover, acting conspicuously, and Yohan had briefly been in her car that day. Some might assume he was pretty close to her.

“Damn it.”

The thought made Yohan realize he could be in deep trouble if things went south. Being seen as slightly closer to Fiona could make people think he was on Cowrie’s side. If that happened, he wasn’t sure what he’d do next.

If it was a faction fight, would it be better to dig deeper into one side rather than staying neutral? Or should he report to the branch chief first? Yohan’s mind grew cluttered. Tensely, he started looking for his duffel bag. If push came to shove, it might be better to abandon this place and move somewhere else.

“It’s not like I’m fleeing in the middle of the night, but it’s chaos in broad daylight. People might think I’m Jason Bourne or something.”

Yohan checked his magazine one more time and tucked the gun into his waistband. He stuffed clothes, cash, and other important items into his Boston bag. As he downed a glass of cold water, trying to organize his thoughts and planning to move once it got dark, a commotion erupted outside.

“What now?”

The old lady, Grandma Minty, lived next door, and a stripper lived next to her. In other words, this building was full of people who were either hard of hearing or lived nocturnal lives, so it was usually dead quiet during the day. The problem was that the thumping sounds were getting louder and closer to his place. Even if Grandma Minty walked with a cane, it wouldn’t sound this chaotic.

Yohan drew his gun, his face tense, and moved toward the door. Holding his breath, he opened the peephole cover to look outside.

“Huh.”

Fiona was looking around the hallway. She seemed anxious, almost like she was about to break down the door. Startled, Yohan flung the door open.

“Fiona?”

“Ha, Kitty…”

Seeing Yohan’s face, Fiona stumbled inside. Yohan, taken aback, stepped back and soon noticed she was bleeding heavily. As her body slumped toward him, he quickly supported her and brought her inside.

“Are you okay… the blood!”

“Ugh, I’m fine. For now, anyway. More importantly…”

Fiona was putting on a tough front despite clearly not being okay. Her face was pale, and blood was streaming from what looked like a gunshot wound on her arm. Yet, she smiled at Yohan and said something pointless. Typical alpha.

“Kitty, you smell nice.”

“I thought you only got shot in the arm, but did you take one to the head too?”

Fiona let out a small chuckle at Yohan’s words. Acting tough in a situation like this. Whether it was because she was a confident alpha or bold enough to ride with Cowrie in a Range Rover, he couldn’t tell. But he couldn’t just stand there awkwardly holding her, so Yohan lifted her up and placed her on his half-broken sofa.

“I have a lot of questions… but I’ll hold off for now. First, we need to stop the bleeding…”

“Never mind that, do you have Polysporin?”

“This isn’t something Polysporin can fix…”

Yohan wondered if he attracted crazy people or if he was the crazy one, because at this point, he was starting to get confused.

“No… that’ll do…”

“What about the bullet? It’d be better if it went straight through… let me see.”

“Just put some Polysporin on it, it’ll be fine.”

Maybe because she’d lost so much blood, Fiona’s condition looked bad. But he couldn’t just abandon someone who was dying. Yohan grabbed her bleeding arm to inspect it. Luckily, it seemed the bullet had passed through. If stitched up properly, it might be okay. But Fiona’s condition was far from good, likely due to the blood loss.

“Fiona, stay with me! You can’t fall asleep. We should get you to a hospital, okay?”

It was unclear if Fiona could hear him, as her body slumped to the side. Yohan caught her, cursing under his breath. Should he call 911? Or take her to the pain clinic about ten miles away? Sure, that clinic had a bad reputation, to the point where people questioned if they even had real licenses, but… they could probably handle stitching up a wound like this with intern-level knowledge. But Yohan quickly dismissed the idea. A hospital could be more dangerous. A gunshot wound would definitely get reported to the police, which would complicate things.

In that case, maybe he should rush to a pharmacy, grab a first-aid kit, and stitch her up himself. If he gave her some heroin lying around the house instead of anesthesia, it might help. No matter how tough an alpha she was, if she was in bad shape, the drugs might hit harder. And if that didn’t work, there was that new candy Fiona had given him.

Just to be sure, Yohan shook her again.

“Fiona! If you die here, I’m taking your Range Rover!”

Even mentioning her sleek, fancy car didn’t rouse her. Her face was deathly pale, and she showed no signs of waking. Yohan ran to the bathroom, grabbed a towel to tie around her bleeding arm, and was about to grab his packed bag when the door suddenly opened.

“Damn it.”

Thinking someone might be after Fiona, Yohan drew his gun with a tense expression. He clicked off the safety and pressed himself against the wall. He didn’t know who was coming in, but he decided to wait until they got closer before pouncing. Fiona, lying on the sofa, let out a groan, which made his nerves stand on end.

“Should I have gagged her first?”

Even though Fiona was an alpha, she was a woman and injured. Gagging her felt too heartless for someone as sensible as him. In the midst of this, the thought of that lunatic Lear popped into his head, and Yohan gritted his teeth, cursing his reality.

“Ugh, this is annoying. How did I get tangled up in this mess… It’s all my choice, but it’s still frustrating.”

As Yohan took a shallow breath, preparing to strike the intruder with the base of his magazine, he saw who it was—none other than Lear. Yohan stopped his arm just before smashing Lear’s head and shouted.

“Hey!”

If he had to pick the least annoying thing about Lear, it’d be his handsome face, inherited from his grandmother. Yohan’s heart sank as he realized he’d almost bashed that face in. Whether Lear read his mind or was just clueless, he grinned and said, “It’s been a while, but isn’t this a bit too intense?”

“You, how—! Ugh, never mind. Forget it.”

Yohan hadn’t expected Lear, who’d been completely out of touch, to show up like this. His heart was still pounding.

“Forget it? Come on, it’s been so long, you should at least give me a welcome kiss.”

Yohan, increasingly irritated with Lear, shoved his chest. But Lear just smirked mischievously. Frowning, Yohan seriously considered knocking him out as he said, “I almost bashed your head in. You realize that, and you’re still grinning?”

“Seeing an angry Kitty after so long is just too cute.”

“Cut the crap.”

“Your feisty personality is still the same.”

“The only tolerable thing about you was your face, but maybe I should’ve just smashed it. Would’ve made it easier to hate you.”

Lear let out an awkward “Haha” before suddenly looking around and saying, “By the way, you let an alpha in here? The smell’s overwhelming.”

“Are you a dog?”

“Despite how I look, I’m pretty jealous. When it comes to love, I can act a bit… like a dog.”

Yohan’s head was already starting to hurt from Lear’s words. He was stressed enough with Fiona bleeding out and showing up at his place, and now Lear had to appear at the worst possible time, driving him up the wall. Not that he could control Lear anyway.

“Anyway…”

“Yeah?”

Lear moved toward the pheromones Yohan couldn’t even sense, then coldly stared at Fiona, half-conscious on the sofa.

“Who’s this woman?”

Yohan hadn’t done anything wrong, but he felt oddly guilty and scratched his head as he explained, “She’s from Vasquez. There’s a faction fight going on, and… I didn’t expect Fiona to show up like this. Thanks to her, I’m in a real mess.”

After explaining, Yohan wondered why he felt the need to justify himself to Lear. Lear seemed to think for a moment, then, as if he hadn’t just been glaring, gave a slight smile and said, “I was worried we’d have to get into some love triangle drama.”

Yohan pursed his lips at Lear’s return to his usual demeanor and muttered, “Why wouldn’t you say something stupid like that?”

“Kitty, you’re secretly the type alphas fall for, you know? If you were an omega, I’d have claimed you and made sure you were never without a full belly.”

“Wanna get hit?”

“I don’t mind getting hit, but let’s set a safe word first.”

Yohan shook his head in exasperation. He glanced at Lear, then at Fiona, letting out a heavy sigh. Two hopeless people together made an even bigger mess, driving him insane. Honestly, he wanted to run to the FBI branch, resign, and immigrate somewhere far away.

“Enough. Got any ideas?”

“Ideas? Can’t we just let her die?”

“Are you gonna keep acting like a lunatic?”

“What? Do my eyes make me look too much like a psycho?”

Yohan looked at Fiona, then sharply turned to meet Lear’s eyes. Aisha. It was definitely Aisha who’d spilled everything to Lear.

“She told that guy every little thing.”

Yohan gave an awkward smile and said to Lear, “Think about what you just said. Every word creeps me out.”

“Oh, maybe it’s because the situation shapes the person. That’s why I’m trying to clean it all up.”

“Let’s be clear—clean up the organization or Fiona?”

“Both?”

For a moment, a murderous glint flashed in Lear’s eyes. Yohan flinched and took a step to the side. Lear grabbed his arm and said, “I’m kidding.”

“Didn’t sound like a joke.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. And I’m not into sleeping with psychopaths, so sorry.”

Lear clicked his tongue at Yohan’s words, then, as if to prove a point, lifted Fiona off the sofa. Yohan wondered if it was okay to handle a woman—alpha or not—who’d lost so much blood and was barely alive like that.

“You’re really gonna ditch her?”

“Just proving I’m not a psychopath.”

“…”

“If I handle this, I get to do what I want, right?”

“Why do you get to decide that?”

Lear sighed heavily at Yohan’s words. “It’s been a while since we’ve done anything. Do you know how hard it’s been for me to stay faithful? And you talk to me like that?”

“You sound like a clingy boyfriend. Some guy who only shows up or calls when it suits him. You know you’re shameless, right?”

Lear chuckled at Yohan’s words, his eyes sparkling as if he’d caught him. “Kitty, you just sounded like a nagging husband.”

Yohan froze, embarrassed. It didn’t feel like he was nagging a husband, but maybe a boyfriend who never stays in touch. His face flushed, and he avoided Lear’s gaze, pushing his back. “N-no, I didn’t. Ahem, just stop talking nonsense and do something about Fiona. I might be paying rent, but I don’t want to see someone die in my place.”

“Then let me have my way with you once.”

Yohan shot Lear a contemptuous look, as if to say, “You’re saying that now?” But Lear, unfazed, kept talking, proposing a deal. “You missed me too, Kitty. And it’s not a bad deal for you.”

“You’re absolutely insane.”

“You know it. I’m crazier for you than I thought.”

Unable to handle Lear’s smug face any longer, Yohan lowered his head. But his ears were already red, and Lear kept chuckling, finding Yohan’s reaction adorable.

“That’s why I can’t help but want to tease him.”

Unaware of Lear’s thoughts, Yohan glared at him, picked up the Boston bag he’d left on the floor, and said, “Stop messing around and lead the way.”

“Oh, sure thing. If Yohan’s offering, I’d better behave.”

Yohan thought if Fiona weren’t in Lear’s arms, he’d have swung the bag at him. That smug grin was oddly infuriating. But Yohan held back and said, “I’ll cover you, so hurry up and go.”

“Baby, I’m falling for you again.”

Ignoring Lear’s words, Yohan held the bag in one hand and his gun in the other, stepping into the hallway to check their surroundings. As he headed toward the usual exit, Lear stopped him.

“Not that way.”

“That’s the exit.”

“How naive.”

Yohan frowned, incredulous. There was only one exit in this building. Lear nodded toward the end of the hallway and said, “We need to go that way.”

“That’s the electrical room.”

“You sure about that?”

“I mean…”

Lear’s polite tone made Yohan look at him skeptically. He knew it was the electrical room, but he’d never had a reason to go inside or do anything there. Lear, as if reading his mind, grinned and strode toward the electrical room. Yohan followed, opening the door for him. Inside, noisy machines filled the space. Lear tapped Yohan’s foot with his shoe and said, “Behind the machines.”

Sure enough, behind the machines was another door.

“How’d you know about this?”

“Getting a blueprint isn’t that hard.”

“You live an easy life.”

“No way. I haven’t even gotten engaged to you, let alone married.”

Ignoring Lear’s comment, Yohan opened the back door. Just as Lear said, it led to a fire escape.

“I never would’ve thought of this.”

“Who would think to check an electrical room?”

Yohan let out a sigh and shook his head as he took the lead. Fortunately, there was no one behind the building. It might have been due to the lack of space, but it also seemed likely because gunshots had rung out in broad daylight. In times like these, it was probably best to stay holed up at home, keeping oneself out of harm’s way.

“I told them to park the car at the alley entrance, so we should head that way.”

“Thanks. I’m learning all sorts of things because of you.”

“Don’t mention it.”

Lear winked at Yohan, suggesting he’d learn even more as time went on.

Yohan pretended not to notice Lear and descended the stairs with a blank expression. As soon as his feet touched the ground, he looked up and retraced the path he’d taken. There were no windows except for the ones by the stairs, and the building across was the same. He couldn’t tell what the atmosphere would be like at night, but the street looked clean, so it didn’t seem like a place frequented by junkies. However, given the neighborhood’s vibe, there was no way the street could be this pristine. Yohan shot Lear a suspicious look and asked, “What did you do?”

“Just had someone clean it up, that’s all.”

“…”

“I don’t like getting dirt on my shoes.”

“Of course you don’t.”

At Lear’s words, Yohan shook his head with a look of exasperation and headed toward the alley. He knew Lear had definitely done something, but he didn’t feel like pressing for details.

“By the way, don’t you think we should get out of here quick?”

“I get it, so can you keep it down?”

Yohan pouted slightly at Lear’s words and took the lead, scanning their surroundings. Lear watched Yohan’s back as he covered him, his expression relaxed.

“That it?”

As soon as they exited the alley, just as Lear had said, there was a black SUV parked there. Yohan glanced around once more to confirm no one was nearby before opening the back door so Lear could help Fiona inside.

Lear frowned as he roughly shoved Fiona in, then threw his blood-stained jacket over her body. He stared at Yohan.

“What?”

At Yohan’s question, Lear began rolling up his shirt sleeves.

“We came all this way, and now this?”

“You planning to hit me or something? Why’re you rolling up your sleeves?”

“Do I look like that kind of trash to you?”

Yohan wanted to list all the things Lear had done so far, but that would take all day, so he just said, “Yeah.”

“That’s harsh. I hate dirty things, and here I am, loading a bleeding alpha into the car and even planning to get her treated.”

“That’s one thing.”

“Still, Kitty, I’m a bit hurt. How could I do that to someone as cute and delicate as you… Ha. Do I really seem that crude?”

“For someone like that, I got hit with a baseball bat a lot as a kid, you know? I don’t collapse from a light tap, so can you stop saying stuff like that?”

“What? You got hit with a bat? Want me to take care of it?”

“You crazy bastard. No matter how estranged we are, they’re still my parents. You want this to end up on the news?”

Yohan shook his head and told Lear to stop talking nonsense. Just as he was about to close the back door after placing a bag on the floor, Lear grabbed the door and looked at Yohan, saying, “So, Kitty. I’ve done all this—don’t I get something?”

“Just think of it as doing a good deed while you were here for business anyway.”

“Let me put it another way since you don’t seem to get it. I may not look it, but I’m a businessman who likes to keep things precise.”

At Lear’s words, Yohan gave him a look of contempt. But Lear pressed on, undeterred. “How about doing things my way for once?”

“The guy who’d pounce even if I said no is now asking for permission?”

At Yohan’s words, Lear burst into laughter and lightly tapped Yohan’s cheek with his finger. “I’m saying you’re cute.”

Yohan swatted Lear’s hand away with an irritated expression. Lear exaggeratedly whined that the spot Yohan hit hurt.

“Cut it out and drive.”

Lear grabbed the steering wheel with a sulky expression, as if he had no choice. After driving in silence for a bit, he spoke to Yohan with a tone of grievance. “Kitty, I don’t care what you think, but I’m serious.”

“About what?”

“About you being cute.”

“…”

“And I came here today to go on a date with you, but my plans got all messed up. Ha…”

Sighing heavily and muttering about trying to quit smoking but failing, Lear’s nonsense made Yohan shake his head and look out the window. A car visible in the side mirror had been bothering him for a while. Yohan frowned, reached out, and tapped Lear’s thigh. “Babe, I know you’re into me, but messing around while I’m driving… That’s not fair, is it? Good thing I put my wallet in the other pocket today. Phew.”

“Shut up. You see that blue sedan tailing us?”

“You mean the one following us like a creep?”

Instead of answering, Yohan pulled out his gun and disengaged the safety, ready to pull the trigger if needed. Of course, Lear had also noticed they were being followed and sped up. Suddenly, gunshots rang out, and the sound of bullets hitting the back of the car echoed.

“Hey, speed up.”

Lear grinned at Yohan’s words and suddenly turned on the radio. A smooth R&B song, completely out of place in the tense situation, filled the car. Yohan glanced at Lear, who was acting far too relaxed, clicked his tongue, and rolled down the window. Despite Lear speeding up, Yohan wanted to shake off their pursuers. At least there aren’t any other cars around, he thought, grateful for the empty road. Their pursuers were likely emboldened by it too, but Yohan unbuckled his seatbelt, leaned slightly out the window, and fired precisely—one shot at the hood, one at a front tire—hitting both targets in quick succession. Just to be safe, he fired one more shot at the car. As their pursuers’ car stopped and they began shooting wildly, Yohan flinched and sat back upright.

Meanwhile, Lear sped up even more. Yohan, catching his breath and reaching to buckle his seatbelt, felt a sharp gaze from the side. With an uneasy feeling, he fastened the seatbelt with a click and turned off the radio.

“Stop staring and keep your eyes on the road.”

“I thought you were Black Widow.”

“Do it in moderation.”

At Lear’s admiring words, Yohan felt a bit embarrassed and grumbled, glancing at him. Their eyes met briefly, and Yohan let out an awkward cough, fidgeting with the button to roll up the window.

“Are you blushing?”

“Just drive properly.”

“I’m driving just fine. By the way, Kitty.”

Yohan responded as curtly as possible to Lear calling him. “What.”

“I’m holding back a lot here.”

“Can you keep holding back?”

“Haha. Even joking.”

An awkward silence filled the car. Yohan regretted turning off the radio, biting his lower lip and fidgeting with his knee. Then Lear broke the silence. “By the way, you’re a hell of a sharpshooter.”

“I’m not called Le—… Ugh, never mind. Fiona’s in the back, so let’s drop it.”

Lear pouted at Yohan’s words. They entered a neighborhood not far from Yohan’s place. Normally, it’d take about fifteen minutes by car, but with the detour to lose their pursuers, it took longer.

As soon as Lear parked, Yohan flung open the door, got out of the passenger seat, and opened the back door. He lifted the unconscious Fiona into his arms. Lear looked at Yohan disapprovingly but was ignored as Yohan asked, “Where’s the hospital?”

“Right in front of you.”

“?”

Yohan followed Lear’s finger pointing at a sign. There wasn’t even a hint of a hospital—not even a Subway. All he saw was a shop with [Kyiv Butcher Shop] written on it. It looked like an ordinary butcher shop on the outside, but Lear’s words made Yohan uneasy. He held Fiona tightly and stuck close to Lear, saying, “Hey, why a butcher shop all of a sudden? Don’t tell me…”

“There you go again, saying creepy things with that cute mouth.”

“Anyone would get the wrong idea, wouldn’t they?”

“Don’t worry. The guy’s skilled.”

Lear explained that the butcher shop’s owner, Nikolai Kozlov, was an immigrant from Ukraine. Kozlov had extensive experience as a surgeon, but after getting in trouble with the mafia over gambling in Ukraine, he fled to the U.S. at forty. Unable to have his credentials recognized, he couldn’t return to his home country and ended up performing illegal surgeries without a license. At his age, going back to medical school to get certified again wasn’t an option. Still, his surgical skills were exceptional, so he ran a kind of illegal clinic exploiting the U.S. healthcare system.

Even after hearing Lear’s explanation, Yohan felt uneasy. “This is… okay, right?”

“At least we saved on ambulance costs, so you won’t want to kill yourself over hospital bills.”

“…”

“Kidding. Mr. Kozlov is pretty well-known in this world, so you can relax. And that woman’s an alpha, unlike our delicate Kitty. With her recovery rate, she’ll be up in no time.”

Yohan thought alphas were a pain, but he could only nod. Seeing his shirt soaked with Fiona’s blood made him frown. Damn, blood’s such a pain to wash out… He couldn’t even go home. It was a small comfort that he’d brought his bag, but Yohan was feeling exhausted in every way. Still, after handing Fiona over to Kozlov, he felt lighter. As they left the butcher shop, he asked Lear, “What now? Those guys chasing us were probably after Fiona…”

“Let’s have a smoke first. Seeing all that blood’s got me queasy.”

“I get queasy just looking at you. Thinking about my future with you makes me feel all sorts of heavy.”

“But I’m in your future, huh?”

Lear grinned, lighting a cigarette. Yohan realized his slip-up, his face flushing. Unable to meet Lear’s intense gaze, he looked away and said, “I told you not to cross the line. Once this is over, I’m marrying a normal beta girl and having rabbit-like kids. Like you said, a promotion would give me some stability.”

Lear’s face turned serious. “I can’t be a beta girl, but I could marry you right now. We’re compatible, so if we try hard enough, we might have a rabbit-like kid.”

“You wanna die? You say the most ridiculous things so seriously.”

“I’m being serious, and it’s unfair you say that. I’m, like, prime husband material.”

Whether it was because he was born rich and had sky-high confidence, Yohan couldn’t tell, but Lear stubbed out his cigarette on the ground and continued, his purple eyes glinting. “So don’t just say no—open your heart a bit. I’m pretty great, aren’t I?”

Yohan turned away from Lear’s gaze. Then he spotted a familiar face and pointed. “Huh?”

It was Heinz, whom he’d seen at Lear’s mansion in Calabasas. Wasn’t he with the Vasquez crew? When Yohan acknowledged him, Heinz, who was about to enter the butcher shop, bolted. Without thinking of Lear, Yohan instinctively chased after him. “Heinz!”

For a guy with short legs, he was surprisingly fast. Just before Heinz turned into an alley, Yohan reached out and grabbed his collar. But Heinz twisted, knocking Yohan’s arm away, then swung a punch at Yohan’s face, followed by a headbutt. Yohan staggered slightly, and Heinz shoved him aside and fled. Yohan touched his nose, feeling something wet, and cursed. “Fuck!”

It was blood. Heinz had acted friendly in Calabasas, but now he was running just because Yohan recognized him? It didn’t make sense, but whatever the reason, Yohan decided he’d catch him and pay him back. Wiping the blood from his nose with his already bloodied shirt, Yohan ran in the direction Heinz had fled.

Bang!

A sudden gunshot made Yohan pause and turn toward the sound. Drawing his gun, he moved toward where the shot came from. Maybe because of the odd butcher shop, the neighborhood had a lot of rundown buildings and few people on the streets.

Yohan thought only shitty things happened in this shitty neighborhood as he searched for Heinz. A motorcycle roared past, nearly hitting him. Yohan dodged quickly—if he’d been a second slower, he’d have been hit. He aimed his gun at the retreating motorcycle, trying to catch the license plate, but there wasn’t one. It was too far to shoot, so Yohan gave up on the bike and muttered, “What the hell… This isn’t Mission Impossible, for fuck’s sake.”

With rain looming, it seemed like lunatics kept popping up, making things exhausting. Well, Fiona got hit, so… Drug-dealing bastards and their turf wars—what a mess.

Gritting his teeth, Yohan searched the area. Soon, he found Heinz collapsed beside a large dumpster between buildings, blood gushing from his throat as he clutched it with trembling hands. Yohan clicked his tongue, tucked his gun into his waistband, and called out, “Heinz! Shit, what a mess, huh?”

Yohan pressed his hand against Heinz’s bleeding throat and reached for his phone with the other to call Lear for help. Just then, a familiar voice came from behind. “Got caught up in some bullshit, huh?”

Yohan turned to see Lear staring coldly at Heinz. “When’d you get here?”

Only then did Lear meet Yohan’s eyes and say, “Don’t look at me like that with your cute face, begging for help. That guy’s done for.”

“But… if we get him to the butcher shop, maybe…”

“That soft heart of yours is why you get used, Yohan.”

“What?”

Yohan frowned, staring at Lear. Lear sighed heavily, running a hand through his hair irritably. “You know it too. Look at how you’ve been stuck, living as someone else, not Yohan, for years.”

“Don’t run your mouth.”

“It’s been a rough day, huh? Is it gonna rain?”

Lear glanced up at the sky, noting the clouds but no sign of rain. Yohan couldn’t retort and just glared at him, frustrated. Lear was right—he’d been ignoring and hiding the truth, and now Lear had dug it up. Yohan was annoyed at Lear for exposing his feelings. At that moment, he felt Heinz’s breathing stop under his hand.

Noticing Yohan’s subtle change in expression, Lear approached, grabbed Yohan’s arm, and gently pulled him up, saying softly, “Don’t worry. I’ll have this guy cleaned up.”

Lear saw Yohan’s dark eyes tremble with panic and hugged him on the spot, rubbing his back. “You’re the guy I was looking for.”

“What?”

“The one who fed me candy in Calabasas—it’s this guy.”

Yohan, still in Lear’s arms, pushed him away and looked up to meet his eyes. Lear continued in a calm tone, “Real name’s Shai Miller. Did six months for assault and worked as a cleaner at a crime lab for about a month. No idea why Miller was headed to the butcher shop, though.”

Listening to Lear, Yohan looked at his blood-soaked shirt and said, “What the hell… is going on?”

It felt like he was sinking into a quagmire. He’d agreed to work with Lear to survive, but now it seemed he’d gotten tangled in something huge. He wasn’t sure if sticking with Lear was the right call.

Seeing Yohan’s anxious expression, Lear reached out and patted his back. They’d come this far—Lear couldn’t have Yohan backing out now. “Let’s talk details later. For now, you should clean up and calm down.”

Yohan swallowed hard and nodded. Soon, three SUVs pulled up—likely Lear’s people. Yohan was reminded that Lear was Joel Declin’s heir, but with their deal and nowhere else to go, he got into the car without a word.

“…Liz.”

“Yeah?”

“This is going the way you wanted, right?”

“…”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. It feels like I’m sinking deeper into a mess. Now that Heinz, who drugged you, is dead, what do we chase next?”

Lear silently placed his hand on Yohan’s thigh, gripping it tightly, and said, “Every hero faces trials and hardships.”

“Hero, my ass.”

“For starters, our Kitty’s main trade was heroin22, right?”

Yohan swatted Lear’s hand off, crossed his legs, and leaned against the window. He wished it would rain, but the clouds that had filled the sky earlier were gone, making him feel even more unsettled.

Yohan, who hadn’t even asked where they were headed, exchanged a few words with Lear before staring out the window, only to fall asleep from exhaustion. When he woke, he was mortified to find himself on Lear’s lap.

Yohan’s face flushed red as he bolted upright. Lear laughed and said, “I thought you were testing my patience. Guess how many sheep I counted in my head?”

“Wh-what…! No, you’re being so shameless, doing that…”

Yohan stammered, scolding Lear in embarrassment. But Lear, with a more relaxed expression than anyone, said, “Shameless? Babe, someone might think we were having sex in public.”

“Hey!”