Impasse

4. Brief

"You're checking your phone again." Jet doesn't even try to keep the amusement out of his voice. "How many voicemails have you left now?"

Kit, seated on the couch with his phone on one hand, and a king size KitKat in the other, glares at his friend. "Thirty-two."

"Give up." Jet makes a deliberately ineffective swipe for Kit's phone, and Kit flips him the bird, nearly dropping his KitKat in the process.

"Stay out of my business."

"That's hard to do when your business is right in front of me." Jet flips the bird right back at him. "If he hasn't answered by now--"

"Then I'll keep trying until he does," Kit's mouth is now a hard little line, and he shoots a shut-the-hell-up glare in Jet's direction, biting off a chunk of KitKat harder than he actually needs to. Jet, however, has no intention of taking the hint.

"Isn't he supposed to be on vacation? Maybe he's not answering because he's busy doing other things. Why does it matter so much to you anyway?"

"Long story."

"Which you're not going to share?"

"Correct."

The two men are in the front room of the condo. It's an open floor plan, with picture windows that provide fantastic views of Thonglor's vibrant cityscape. The myriad lights and dazzling tapestry of colors can be seen to full advantage in both the front room and the two bedrooms, but the condo itself is high enough that the sounds of traffic and the skytrain fade to a low, comfortable buzz. The interior has been so tastefully decorated Jet wonders if Kit did it on his own or hired someone else to finish what he started. Three bar stools under the kitchen bar are well polished and just as well used. A plush, L-shaped sofa in neutral tones is placed opposite the expansive front room window. The sleek, minimalist coffee table stands exactly in the center, in front of the sofa with a single cut glass bowl usually filled with mini versions of the candy Kit likes so much. But it's the strategically placed indoor plants and throw rug that make Jet suspicious that Kit's Italian mother had a hand in the room's decor. Kit hates throw rugs and his mother loves indoor plants.

The condo is also the only part of Kit's inheritance that he doesn't have to share with the rest of his family, so he has an empty bedroom and allows Jet to crash there.

Except for tonight, when that bed happens to be occupied by someone else.

Someone who looks like he's been through a meat grinder.

Kit hadn't said or done much after Jet had half carried his bloody companion into the bedroom, just brought what was needed and left them alone. Well, he'd cleaned Jet's vomit decorated shoes so they didn't stink up the condo, but that was it.

That was an hour ago.

"I'm not the only one with a story." Kit finally looks up from his phone. "Do I get to know who that bloody mess of a human being in the bedroom is?"

"You went with a king size?" Jet makes it sound as though he just noticed the candy bar in Kit's hand.

"I'm out of regular size KitKats, and don't change the subject. You didn't want the iodine to use on yourself. " Kit is one of those people who has the amazing ability to lift only one eyebrow instead of both, which somehow adds even more snark to his reply. "And just because I'm on my phone doesn't mean I don't see or hear what's going on around me."

"Don't do the Eyebrow Thing." Jet barely keeps himself from rolling his eyes. "It's irritating."

"Only to people who don't know how to do it," Kit doesn't lower his brow. If anything, he hikes it higher. "So, you're going to tell me about that kid, and about what's in the folder you've been carrying around. No more half-assed small talk you've been trying to pass off as conversation for the past three days."