Chapter 3 Blood, Bullets & a Kiss

Jay had a pickup to do.

Ammunition. Imported. Korean. No room for mistakes.

He and his crew arrived just after midnight, Chiang Mai's outskirts-an abandoned dock turned black market depot. The warehouse stood like a sleeping beast, quiet and cold.

Jay stepped out of the SUV, his boots echoing on cracked concrete. Jeff and the men followed, silent and armed. Eyes scanned shadows. Guns were already drawn. Jay lit a cigarette. "Let's make this quick."

Then, headlights.

Another SUV. Just as sleek. Just as armed.

Doors opened.

Footsteps.

And then. Him.. jack!!!

The spark from the casino hit harder this time. And Jay hated it. He Hated how his chest tightened.

Jack looked just as surprised. Or maybe not. Maybe he expected him.

Of course, Jack muttered. It's you.

Jay scoffed. Don't tell me this is your delivery.

It is. Or was. Until you showed up.

Their men tensed. Fingers hovered near triggers.

It could've been war right there.

But Jay raised his hand. Stand down.

Jack mirrored him. Let's hear them out.

They walked forward. Alone.

Face to face under the flickering warehouse lights.

You following me now? Jack asked.

Please, Jay said coolly. I've got better taste.

Jack's eyes narrowed. You sure? The way you're looking at me says otherwise.

Jay didn't respond. Couldn't.

Because Jack was right, and that smirk proved he knew it.

This deal was mine, Jack pressed. We were here first.

So was I. And we both know neither of us is backing down.

So what now? Jack stepped closer. We share?

Jay leaned in, voice low. Depends... You sharing with me?"

Their eyes locked. Again. That silent pull. That damn unspoken heat.

Then Jack blinked, heart racing, lips twitching in amusement.

You look sexy, he whispered.

Jay froze.

Jack smirked, wickedly amused by the reaction.

That broke the moment.

Jay straightened, he was being played.

Or so he thought.

Then.....gunshots.

Loud. Close. Not from their men.

From the Koreans.

They have been Ambushed, Betrayed.

The warehouse erupted in chaos. Bullets flew, bodies hit the floor. The Koreans had double-crossed them both.

Jay and Jack turned, wordless, and fought together.

Jay fired with deadly precision, covering Jack's flank like it was instinct. Jack returned the favor, sliding behind crates and eliminating threats with surgical grace.

Jay pushed Jack out of the way of a bullet, and took the hit instead.

Jack grabbed him, hauling him toward the SUV as Jeff and Jack's crew handled the rest of the firefight.

Jack drove fast. One hand on the wheel, one on Jay, pressing down on the bleeding wound.

Jay winced, blood seeping through his shirt.

You idiot, Jack muttered. Why the hell would you take a bullet for me?

Shut up and drive, Jay groaned.

They made it to safety, an abandoned villa outside the city.

Jack pulled Jay inside and dropped the first aid kit on the table.

Shirt off, he barked.

Jay smirked, even in pain. You just want to see me naked.

Jack ignored him. But the moment Jay pulled his shirt off...

Jack's eyes lingered.

Too long. Too intense.

Jay noticed. "You're staring."

Jack didn't deny it.

And in that second, neither of them were thinking about their fathers, their families, or the war.

Jay leaned in...slow, deliberate.

Jack didn't stop him.

Their lips met.

Once.

Then again.

And then, a firestorm.

It was hungry. Reckless. Full of rage and need and heat they both had buried too long.

But it ended as fast as it began.

They pulled apart, breathing hard, stunned.

Jay bit his lip. Angry at himself for liking it.

Jack looked away, disgusted. But not at Jay, at himself knowing fully well he vowed he will never like a man just to please his father.

You kissed a man, he thought. Not just any man... Jay.

Still, he continued dressing the wound.

Silently. Carefully.

The room was quiet, but the tension screamed.

Back at the Warehouse

The Koreans scattered, shocked. They had planned to kill both groups-turn Jay and Jack against each other. They didn't expect the heirs to fight side by side.

They never imagined two sworn enemies would stand as one.

They fled the scene, retreating in humiliation.

Jeff and Jay's men debated.

Where did he take him?

Is Jay kidnapped?

Do we go after him?

Jay's PA shook his head. Don't panic.

You sure?

Yes, he replied calmly. Jay can handle himself. No one takes Jay without permission.

He was right.

But no one knew what really happened in that villa.

The kiss.

The confusion.

The blood.

The spark.

The villa was quiet.

Too quiet.

Jay sat shirtless on the edge of the leather couch, his bandaged shoulder still bleeding through. Jack stood by the open window, chain-smoking like the silence might kill him faster than the guilt.

Neither of them had said a word since the kiss.

Jay finally broke it.

"So we're just going to act like that didn't happen?"

Jack didn't turn around. "It didn't."

Jay scoffed. "You kissed me back."

"You leaned in first."

"Don't do that," Jay growled, rising to his feet despite the pain. "Don't pretend like you didn't want it."

Jack turned slowly. His eyes were cold. But his hands were shaking.

"What do you want me to say, Jay? That I liked it? That it meant something?"

Jay stepped closer. "Didn't it?"

A pause.

Too long.

Then Jack said, flatly, "No."

Jay's jaw tensed. "Liar."

"You think you know me?" Jack's voice rose. "You don't know a damn thing about me."

"I know what it feels like when someone's heart stops mid-kiss," Jay said. "Yours did. Just like mine."

Jack looked away. His silence was an admission.

Jay took another step. "Tell me you didn't feel it."

Jack snapped.

"I DID feel it! Okay?! I felt everything and I hate that I did!"

Silence.

Jack's voice dropped. Shaky. Honest. Terrified.

"I've spent my whole life building walls so no one could touch me. You kissed me and I felt everything I've spent years burying."

Jay's breathing slowed.

He didn't expect honesty. Not from Jack.

Not here.

"You think I didn't fight it?" Jack continued. "You think I don't know what this means?"

Jay stared at him. "Then why are you still fighting it?"

Jack swallowed. "Because I know how this ends."

Jay's voice was low. Deadly. Soft.

"Then let's rewrite the ending."

Jack shook his head, eyes burning. "You and me? We're not a story, Jay. We're a warning."

Jay moved closer until there was barely space between them.

"Then why do you keep standing so close?"

Jack's eyes searched his. For anger. For weakness. For something he could kill.

But all he found was truth.

Jay wasn't bluffing.

This wasn't a game.

And Jack hated how much he wanted him.

"We'll destroy each other," Jack whispered.

Jay smirked. "That's the point."

Morning light crept through the broken blinds of the villa. Dust floated in the air like ghosts.

Jay sat at the kitchen counter, shirt back on, painkillers untouched. He hadn't slept. He didn't need to. The weight of the night was enough to keep his blood humming.

Jack came out from the other room, expression unreadable, jacket already on, keys in hand.

They locked eyes.

Silence.

And then-

"We should talk," Jay said flatly.

Jack leaned against the wall, arms crossed. "About what?"

Jay smirked bitterly. "About last night. The kiss."

"It was a mistake," Jack said before Jay could say anything else.

Quick. Cold. Final.

Jay's smirk faded.

Jack added, quieter, "It didn't mean anything."

Jay nodded slowly, looking away. "Right."

Silence again. Heavy. Dense with the things they weren't saying.

Jay lit a cigarette. Took a long drag.

"Just heat of the moment," he muttered. "Adrenaline. Blood. Close call. That kind of thing."

Jack's eyes flicked to him. "Exactly."

Jay scoffed, smoke curling past his lips. "So that's what we're doing? Pretending?"

Jack stepped forward, voice sharp. "What do you want me to say, Jay? That I enjoyed it? That I can't stop thinking about it?"

Jay blinked.

Jack exhaled and turned his face to the side.

"Because I won't. I can't. We don't get to have that. You know what this is."

Jay's voice was quieter now. "Yeah. I know."

Another pause.

"So we forget it," Jack said, looking at him again. "Agreed?"

Jay hesitated.

Then, with a small, tired nod-

"Agreed."

But the way his jaw clenched said otherwise.

And the way Jack refused to meet his eyes again?

Said everything.

Jay sat on the edge of the couch, shirt back on, but pain lingering. The silence in the villa was too loud. The air between them felt loaded, like it could explode with just one wrong word.

Jack leaned against the wall, one cigarette after another. The smoke made it easier not to speak, easier not to feel.

Jay finally said, "So we're just pretending?"

Jack didn't look at him. "It didn't mean anything."

"You keep saying that."

"Because it's true."

Jay stood, wincing slightly. "Then why can't you look me in the eye?"

Jack crushed his cigarette in the ashtray. "Because I already have enough reasons to hate myself. I don't need another."

Jay stepped closer. "You think this is weakness?"

Jack's voice cracked. "In our world, it is."

"But it felt real," Jay whispered.

"That's the part that scares me."

Jay turned away. "I should go."

Jack nodded. "Yeah."

Jay paused at the door. "We're going to see each other again."

"I know."

"This doesn't end here."

"I know that too."

Jay lingered a second longer. "You kissed me like you meant it."

Jack looked up then, expression guarded but vulnerable. "You bled for me."

Neither of them said anything else.

Jay walked out.

They both knew mistakes don't burn the way their kissed burned, they knew it wasn't a mistake and they would certainly meet again.. This time, butts naked!!!