14. Adam

14

Adam

“ S o, Adam.” Dave’s voice drew Adam’s attention away from his laptop screen, which was currently being hacked and the database downloaded by Tim, his partner in crime, who was miles away at the Sullivan Mansion in an unspecified location.

Adam easily nudged the laptop screen to face the wall of his cubicle and turned to Dave. “Hmm?”

“How’s that little fox doing?” his colleague asked. “Have you given it to the zoo yet?”

“No,” Adam said, folding his arms across his chest. “I’m in love with that fox and will keep him around.”

Dave snorted. “You what? How do you even fall in love with a wild animal?”

“You wouldn’t know, Dave,” Adam commented. His cell phone rang then, and he checked it, noting it was Chase. To Dave, he said, “I need to take this.”

Dave nodded and rolled his chair back to his cubicle.

Adam answered the call and said, “What’s up?”

“I need Shiro back at the clinic,” Chase said. “I double-checked the X-ray and saw what I have a feeling is a Medi gadget inserted at the back of his ear. It releases a suppressant and the longer Shiro has it in him, the weaker he’ll become.”

Adam said, “All right, I’ll bring him around tonight.”

“Okay,” Chase said, and Adam ended the call.

Work continued though Adam’s mind was on Shiro. He was relieved when five o’clock came around, and after turning off the laptop, he headed out the door of the office. He was in the car when his phone rang. Noting it was Nolan, he answered, “What is it?”

“Can we meet?” Nolan said. “You need to see something.”

Adam sighed. “All right. Where?”

“The warehouse by the harbor,” Nolan said.

Adam narrowed his eyes. It wasn’t good news if Nolan asked to meet up at a warehouse. The brother had picked a secluded spot for a reason, which meant whatever Adam was going to see would piss him the hell off.

“Be there in twenty,” he said.

“Yeah, see you soon,” Nolan said, and the call ended.

Taking a deep breath, Adam ran his fingers through his hair. What could Nolan want to show him, something that was sure to set Adam’s temper soaring.

He started the engine and then drove out, and twenty minutes later, he cruised along the harbor area. It wasn’t long before he drove into a warehouse and spotted a black Mercedes-Benz. Adam parked his car alongside it, and when he got out, Nolan got out of the Mercedes-Benz, along with Jeff, a big man of a bodyguard .

“Sir,” Jeff said to Adam, which the man nodded in acknowledgment.

To Nolan, Adam said, “I don’t have a lot of time.”

The two brothers walked farther into the warehouse until they were out of earshot while Jeff guarded the entrance. Nolan handed Adam a tablet, which Adam took and clicked on a folder.

The first page that popped up was a report on Shiro, with the boy’s institute code number and department, along with descriptions of his appearance as well as numerous photos in very sexual poses and in various alluring outfits. Adam tightened his hands on the tablet as he scrolled down the pages.

“He was in the red department,” Adam said, his voice ice-cold.

“Mm-hmm.” Nolan nodded his head. “S-grade. Special.” He snorted. “Well, considering how beautiful he is, I’m not surprised.”

Adam scrolled farther down and an exquisite fox boy with raven hair, smoky dark eyes with alabaster skin, and ruby-red lips came up.

“That next one is Kuro; he’s apparently Shiro’s adopted brother. Biological parents were murdered. He’s also an S-grade at the red department,” Nolan said.

Adam noted the numerous sexy poses in sexy outfits, ones that would be sure to make a man’s cock hard. He scrolled down, and showing next was a pretty fox boy with crimson-red hair and emerald-green eyes, and the moment Adam saw the profile picture, he raised a brow. He was certain this was the boy he had seen at Chase’s clinic last night .

“That’s Aka,” Nolan said. “Also Shiro’s adopted brother. S-grade at the red department.”

Again, Adam noted the sexy outfits and poses.

“His father, a foxkin, was murdered. His mother abandoned him at the age of five because, well, she’s human and he’s not.”

Adam scrolled down and noted a beautiful woman with long crimson curls and emerald-green eyes.

“Elaina Williams,” Nolan said, tapping the back of his fingers on the profile picture of the exquisite beauty. “Famous actress. Not surprised she abandoned the boy when he was merely a child. If the tabloid found out she gave birth to a beastkin boy, her career was sure to be over. But that was thirteen years ago. The silver screen siren is still as famous and as popular as ever, as you well know. Her net worth runs in the high millions.”

“How did you get into this in the first place?” Adam asked, looking at his brother.

Nolan stared at Adam’s hands holding the tablet, noting the tight grip and the screen of the tablet cracking. He knew his brother was holding on to his anger by a mere thread.

He said, “Lan. When he saw Shiro on the file I gave him this morning, he recognized the boy. They used to share a dorm room together back at the institute before they got separated at age thirteen.”

“I see,” Adam said. “So they’re childhood friends.”

Nolan nodded. “I got word from him, and apparently, Shiro is keen to look for work. More specifically he has asked Lan to meet up with me and would like to go into Lan’s line of work. ”

“That’s a no,” Adam said bluntly. “Shiro will not be working as a bodyguard, let alone for a mafia clan such as ours.”

Nolan chuckled. “Figured you’d say that.”

Adam scrolled farther down the pages and noted the client names. “The bastards who rented these boys out?” he asked.

Nolan nodded.

Adam took in a deep breath and said, “Give me a minute.”

Nolan said, “Sure,” and then headed back to the car. There, he waited for a good ten minutes, his back to Adam, when he heard a loud growl, followed by an explosive bang and the entire structure of the warehouse shaking. When he finally turned, Adam was heading toward him, adjusting his tie. Behind the brother, a massive hole had been blown into the wall of the warehouse, with cracks radiating out across that side of the building. Adam must have smashed his fist into that, and Nolan was glad he had chosen a secluded place to meet up. Looked like he’d have to get a team to fix that hole.

Adam handed Nolan his tablet, which was broken and dead.

“Send the file to me,” Adam said.

“Sure thing,” Nolan replied. “Oh, please do send Lan my way. I already miss that cute, sassy smart mouth.”

Heading to his car, Adam raised his hand in the air. “Sure.”

H alf an hour later, Adam arrived at the apartment building and he was just heading into the foyer when he saw Shiro and Lan sitting on the sofa near the reception desk. Obviously, Shiro couldn’t get back into the penthouse because he didn’t have a key card nor did he know of the passcode.

Adam felt a lump form in his throat the moment his gaze came to rest on Shiro. Fuck, just how much had the boy gone through? Despite that he and Nolan had been through hell during their younger years, Shiro had been through thrice that, from the reports he had read.

Emotions played havoc inside him—rage, sadness, sympathy, pity, and an overwhelming urge to protect. He reached out and rested his hand on the boy’s head, which had a cap on to hide the fox ears.

“I thought I told you to stay put and rest?”

Shiro, blushing hot on the cheeks, said, “Sor—” He cleared his throat. “I had some things to do.” He pulled Lan by the arm to his side then and said, “This is my childhood friend, Lan.”

Lan waved at Adam. “Hi.” He chuckled.

Just like that little rascal to be so good at pretending they didn’t know each other.

“Hello, Lan,” Adam said. “You taking good care of Shiro?”

Lan nodded his head furiously. “Oh, yes, sir. I took very good care of my childhood friend. I took him to a burger joint, sir. Can you believe it? It was his first time at a burger joint and his first time eating a burger. He was so happy that he was in tears. ”

Shiro frowned and snapped, “I was not in tears.”

Lan chuckled. “Yes, you were. I saw it. You were in tears.” To Adam, he said, “He goes all teary-eyed when he eats something very delicious.”

Adam nodded. “I noticed that.”

Shiro widened his eyes, his face flushing hot. “You noticed that?”

Adam chuckled. “You wear your emotions on your sleeves, Shiro.” Turning on his heel, he said. “You two hungry?”

“Absolutely, sir,” Lan said.

Shiro asked, “Is Lan allowed to come up, too?”

Adam nodded. “He’s your friend, so of course he can.”

Shiro smiled then. “Thanks, Adam.”

An hour later, the three of them sat down to Adam’s home-cooked meal of stir-fry honey and soy chicken and vegetables served with steamed rice.

“I get it,” Lan said. “Because I’m a Chinese wolfkin, you’re treating me to my homeland food.”

Adam laughed. “I thought you’d be pleased.”

“I am pleased, sir,” Lan said. “And thank you for cooking a Chinese meal for me. I haven’t had a home-cooked Chinese dinner for ages.” He tilted his head to one side. “For six months now, since my big boss nonchalantly walked out on his job.”

Adam narrowed his eyes and knew the brat was talking about him. He was used to cooking them meals when he had the chance back at the Sullivan Mansion. Because he couldn’t help himself, he leaned forward and ruffled Lan’s hair. “Maybe you should return home to your boss. He must be missing you in your absence.”

Lan pursed his lips. “Nah. He’s only too pleased to be rid of me.”

Shiro said, “This is my first time eating Chinese, and it’s very tasty. The cooking doesn’t look that hard, so maybe you can teach me, Adam?”

Adam chuckled. “I’ll only be too glad to teach you, but it’ll cost you.”

Shiro smiled then, his eyes twinkling, which made Adam’s heart melt.

“You just name the price and I’ll pay up.” The boy chuckled.

What about a kiss, Adam thought, with tongues?

He cleared his throat and then took a sip of his red wine. When he put the glass down again, he said, “We need to get you back to the clinic, Shiro. Chase wants to check you again.”

Shiro nodded. “Okay.”

Lan nudged at Shiro by the elbow, and Adam wondered what they were up to. Shiro, looking a little nervous, said, “Adam, umm…” He licked his lip and then continued. “First, I just wanted to say thank you for helping me and stuff.”

Here it comes, Adam thought. He leaned back in his seat, folding his arms across his chest.

Shiro said, “Since I’m kind of healed now, I thought it would be better that I leave. It must be a burden for you to have me around.”

“It’s not,” Adam said.

Shiro stared at him, his eyes large. “It’s… not? ”

“Having you around is not a burden, Shiro,” Adam said. “But go on. You want to tell me something, don’t you?”

Shiro glanced at Lan for a brief second and when Lan gave him an encouraging nod, the boy continued. “I don’t want to burden you so I’ll be leaving tomorrow morning.”

Adam picked up his wineglass and gave the liquid inside a swirl. He said, “And then what would you do?”

Licking his lip, Shiro said, “I’ll look for a part-time job. Nighttime preferably, and during the day, I’ll look for my brothers.”

Adam suspected by brothers he meant Aka and Kuro. He said, “What line of work are you looking for?”

Shiro turned to Lan then and said, “Lan will introduce me to his boss.”

Adam flicked his eyes to Lan and said, “What line of work do you do, Lan?”

Lan widened his eyes, and the boy was quick to figure out Adam was not happy where this was going. He chuckled nervously and then said, “But, Shiro, my work is very dangerous, and I have to work both day and night. I swear it’s not for you.”

Shiro widened his eyes. “Huh? But you said you’d take me to see your boss.”

“Well.” The boy shrugged his shoulders. “You didn’t tell me you’d only work nights.”

Shiro’s shoulders slumped then. “But I can’t work both days and nights. I need time to find Kuro and Aka.”

Lan wrapped his arms around Shiro and said, “I’m sorry, Shiro, but I’m sure we’ll find you a nighttime job. ”

Adam said, “You do realize to have a proper job, you need a permanent home address?”

Shiro looked a bit shocked at that realization. “Oh, yeah.” The boy sounded dejected. He turned to Lan and asked, “What about you, Lan?”

Lan knew where this was going and said hastily, “Oh, where I work, that’s where I live. I mean, it’s a live-in job, being a bodyguard.”

Flabbergasted, Shiro asked, “You’re a bodyguard?”

Lan looked damn proud of his vocation. “Yep. I’m my boss’ personal bodyguard. I saved his life once already.”

Shiro looked even more dejected. “No wonder you said your job is dangerous. I’m not at all athletic and fit like you, so there’s no way I can be a bodyguard.”

“It’s okay, Shiro,” Lan said. “I’m sure Adam probably knows a few people who he can refer you to, right?” Lan winked at the man, which made Adam chuckle.

Adam said, “If you’re that keen on getting yourself a job, Chase would probably have a position for you. You okay being a jack-of-all-trades? Cleaning and doing odd jobs at his clinic?”

Shiro nodded his head furiously. “I’m okay with anything as long as it’s a night shift.”

Adam chuckled. “As for home address, you can put this one down when you sign the work contract. You can stay here as a boarder. I won’t charge you, but if you’re adamant in paying me, then a few hundred bucks a month is fine.”

Shiro looked like he was about to burst out crying, and Lan patted the friend on the arm. “Isn’t that great, Shiro? Isn’t Adam awesome? Now you don’t have to worry.”

Wiping tears from his eyes before they could roll down his cheeks, Shiro said, his voice all emotional, “Thanks, Adam.”

“You’re welcome,” Adam said, ruffling the boy’s hair across the table.