BL Novels

“Well, I’m glad that worked.” Luis looked him up and down. “You don’t seem injured.”

Oh, God. He sucked at small talk.

“Nope, all good here. Not a scratch on me.” Jaesung raised his arms awkwardly, as if to prove a point.

Luis laughed, a hand over his mouth and a smile on his lips. “You’re a funny one.”

Jaesung wasn’t sure how to react to that. The Luis he had seen a few minutes ago and the one he was talking to now seemed to be two completely different people. Honestly, there was something attractive about the way he held himself. That made it all the more difficult for him to draw a line between them.

He couldn’t help but compare him to Luca. The two of them were like yin and yang.

“Ah, it’s time for me to go.” Luis’s eyes were on his watch, a black and gold Movado. “Benito won’t be happy if I’m late again. It was nice to meet you, Jaesung. I’m sure we’ll see each other again soon.”

There was no doubt that he knew exactly what Giovanni and Jaesung were doing there. But he didn’t feel any kind of hostility, only a slight apathy. He went back to his room as soon as Luis’ footsteps moved to another part of the house.

Giovanni was still absent from their shared space. It was annoying how he moved around without telling Jaesung. They had made themselves at home, even to the point of sleeping with the enemy, but Luca’s right-hand man remained completely unaffected. It irritated him to no end.

A sigh escaped his lips as he steeled his resolve to leave once again, hoping to find something to eat. He prayed that he didn’t have to test his cooking skills. Vince’s house had nearly caught fire the last time he dared to cook. He blamed it on Jett, whose idiotic grin only fueled his frustration. He longed for the days when his only concern was the aftermath of a night out with friends.

The dining area greeted him with the aroma of burnt toast. A few heads turned his way, but for the most part, they ignored him. Unlike the guys upstairs, anyway.

The bigshots were nowhere to be found, but he did see his missing companion eating alone in the corner.

“I knew you were a loner, but really? How is this gathering information?”

Giovanni massaged his temple. “There’s going to be a big celebration tonight.”

“A party? Hell yeah. Finally, something exciting going on around here.” Not to mention it was nearly impossible to get information when the place was a ghost town. All the people they met on their first day were conveniently absent.

“Benito and Luis will be there.” Giovanni pushed his glasses up, concealing his eyes behind the reflection of the light on the lenses. “You know—”

“Yeah, yeah. I get it already.”

His heart raced at the thought of meeting Luis again so soon. Purposefully avoiding eye contact, he snatched the jelly toast from Giovanni’s plate.

Still, he couldn’t help this nagging feeling telling him that what he was doing was wrong. If word of his exploits here got out, he’d be nothing more than a dead body thrown haphazardly in the trash.

Would Luca protect him if it came down to it? He stifled a laugh at the thought. The only person he could trust was himself.

He had to remind himself why he joined the mafia. Why his hands had been stained red, why he woke up some nights covered in sweat, screaming as he relived that one night day after day.

Why he kept his true self hidden behind a carefully crafted mask.

Hoping to clear his mind, he washed down the rest of the food with water, feeling the cool liquid soothe his throat.