A Thousand Bad Times (So What's Another Time to Me?) ~ A VegasPete AU

Chapter 10

   Vegas couldn't stop thinking about the beautiful man and the brief time they shared in the library. He thought about the full, bow-shaped lips as he ate. He thought about how vocal the stranger had been while he showered. He thought about how easily the masked man had surrendered himself sexually while he tried to pay attention in class.

He kept the mask in his closet, away from prying eyes and questions Vegas didn't have answers for. He wanted nothing more than to find out who the man was. Did he want to see him again, too? Did he ever even think about him?

So Vegas was too distracted and oblivious when the sauna door made a strange click shortly after it shut behind him for his weekly visit. The room smelled a little different, but he shrugged it off, deciding he was just smelling the pool. Vegas sat in silence for several minutes, just letting his mind wander. Usually, he would close his eyes as he meditated, trusting the guard outside the door to keep him safe. Although they were in the compound and his attacker had yet to try anything there, Vegas knew it was only a matter of time. Vegas exhaled slowly and tried closing his eyes, but images of that night just burned brighter behind his eyelids.

With a soft groan, he got up to pour more water on the rocks to heat the room. He just needed to sweat this out of his system, then things could go back to normal. Before Vegas could turn to sit down again, the smell of chlorine grew stronger in the room as he grew lightheaded. He looked closer among the rocks and saw the edges of two large chlorine tablets, cursing under his breath. He ran to the door, but it wouldn't budge. He screamed, banging a fist against the wooden door, but there wasn't any sign of life on the other side. Vegas knew he only had seconds to spare.

Wrapping a towel around his nose and mouth, Vegas looked around the room again, his eyes quickly locking on the small window. Wrapping another towel around his hand, Vegas smashed against the window until it splintered and finally shattered. He called out until he could hear bodyguards replying.

"Open the goddamn door! I'm locked in!" Vegas screamed as he leaned out the window to suck fresh air into his lungs.

It took them a little while to find the bodyguard who had been on duty, or rather, find his body.

The first thing on Vegas's agenda, after putting on some clothes and being seen by the physician on staff (at his brother's insistence), had been to check the cameras. Arm was uncomfortable having others in his little lair, but he tolerated it as Vegas urged him to rewind and switch angles until he found the person he was searching for.

"That clever little fucker," Vegas breathed. His would-be assassin had avoided having his face captured all the way through, but Vegas recognized his hairstyle and knew it had to be him. "I swear, once I get my hands on that little shit, it's over. He'll be begging me for mercy."

Arm gave a loud gulp and turned to another screen while Vegas stormed off. After spending some time in the gun range to let off some steam, Kinn and Khun found Vegas in the library.

"I heard there was an attempt on you today. In the compound," Kinn said, to the point. "Pa is beefing up security, so don't worry."

"Don't worry? Easy for you to say. He seems to only be after me."

"Sounds like you need a night out," Khun exclaimed, nudging Kinn with his elbow.

"Right," Kinn murmured awkwardly before clearing his throat. "So, Vegas-"

"No," Vegas interrupted. "Whatever it is, I'm not interested."

"Oi!" Khun whined. "At least hear him out!"

Vegas rolled his eyes and glared at his older cousins. "What the fuck do you want?"

"My boyfriend said his brother wanted to meet you."

The three of them sat in silence for so long Vegas thought he was having a stroke.

"The fuck did you just say?"

"My lovely and wonderful boyfriend told me that he thought his brother–well, his adopted brother–it's a long story–anyway, he wanted me to introduce you to his brother."

"Why?"

Kinn hummed in annoyance and quickly said, "At your birthday party, we realized that we all went to the same school and he thought it would be fun to go on a little double date of sorts. He even said his actual little brother thought he recognized Macau from his school. What a small world, huh?"

"Think about it," Khun said excitedly. "You never go out. It could be fun! And besides, you could be dead tomorrow, so why not try and have some fu-"

"Let me get this straight," Vegas said slowly, "I almost died today, and you want me to do you a favor and go on a double date so you can win brownie points with your fuck of the week?"

Under his breath, Khun muttered, "You almost die all the time, it's not special," just as Kinn hissed, "He is NOT my fuck of the week, just so you know. I happen to like this one a lot."

"Yeah, yeah," Vegas grumbled, "That's what you also said about...Hold on. Did you say his brother recognized Macau? Does his brother have fluffy hair and big Bambi eyes?"

"His real brother or adopted brother?" Kinn asked to be facetious. Narrowing his eyes in response to Vegas's glare, he added, "Yes, his real brother does look like a fucking cartoon puppy. Why?"

"I'll go!" Vegas shouted, making both Kinn and Khun jump slightly. "What time are we leaving?"

"We are meeting at nine, so if you want to go you have less than an hour before I leave."

"Shit! Okay, I'm going. Do NOT leave without me."

As Vegas sped from the room, Khun glanced at Kinn and shrugged, twirling his finger next to his head to indicate that he was no longer the craziest one in the family, apparently.

Kinn smiled, hurrying to get ready as he texted Porsche.