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“Of course,” he agreed, kissing Thomas’s palm again.
Business as Usual
Thomas couldn’t relax. To his frustration, Seong didn’t call him back. The others seemed perfectly content to act as if nothing happened. Danny was pushing for them to carry on their vacation like it was business as usual. So the next morning, they got up, ate a breakfast of mostly fruit and breakfast pastries from the room service, and headed out as previously planned to explore a street a few blocks from the hotel that had been turned into multiple stages for bands.
At least Kevin and Mark seemed to take Thomas seriously when he mentioned needing to keep a lookout. Both kept their heads turning as they moved through the crowds, a bit more obvious than Thomas would have liked but that wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. Them being alert did mean that around midday they spotted the same man who had told them to get out last night in the crowd.
“I see him, stop elbowing me,” Thomas hissed, elbowing Kevin back as he glanced at the man leaning against a light post facing the stage. “And quit staring at him, Kev! For fuck sakes.”
A smirk lifted on the man’s lips, face still forward. At the distance, Thomas couldn’t tell if the man had spotted them. Knowing all too well that someone like Issac could see everything in a room without turning his head, it was possible he had but he didn’t seem interested in them at least.
“What is he doing,” Kevin whispered, turning his head in the opposite direction.
“He’s watching the band,” Danny said flatly, his hands around Thomas’s waist. “Like we are. Calm down.”
“Danny’s right,” Thomas said, keeping half an eye on the man as his head bobbed to the music. His watch buzzed with a five minute alert and he tapped his palm against the screen without looking. “Good spot, but I don’t think we have to worry about him.”
“Hm, I think I’d be more comfortable on the other side of the crowd all the same,” Mark commented, taping a finger against his water bottle. “Besides, it’s almost lunch time.”
* * *
Seong frowned at his phone as the mechanical voice told him the number dialed was unreachable. Thomas had sounded stressed out, worried even in his message but he hadn’t given any information.
A thought occurred to him and he opened the app store, taking no time at all to find Thomas’s developer’s profile. He chuckled softly, shaking his head. A two star rating from someone who vastly misunderstood the purpose of the app.
“What’s funny,” Ray asked, applying make up in the mirror.
“Nothing. Thomas was the phone call.”
“Isn’t he supposed to be on an island paradise somewhere making kissy face with that ball player of his,” he asked, looking at Seong in the mirror. A smirk on his ruby red lips told Seong he knew that phrasing annoyed him. “What did he want?”
“He didn’t say and he’s not connected to the internet right now so I can’t call him,” Seong said, choosing to ignore the first comment altogether. “But I think he got a notification about a bad review and can’t fully see it. I’ll check in with him later but-” He shrugged. “I can’t do much from here.”
Humming, Ray wrapped his arms around Seong’s neck, peering deep into his eyes. “It bothers you that he’s so far away.”
“You are annoyingly insightful,” Seong told him, his hands finding Ray’s hips.
“It’s one of my many charms, Song Bird,” he said smiling. then kissed Seong’s cheek. “Don’t worry about it. He’s a smart boy. He’ll stay away from trouble.”
Now Seong hummed, leaning into Ray. He was right, Thomas was smart enough to spot potential trouble and keep away from it. So why could Seong not shake the sinking feeling in his gut?
A Threat
They couldn’t actually see the band. The fact that they found a table at all was nothing short of a miracle. Thomas’s back was to the open street and his eyes were closed. The two acts were the only reason he could still tolerate the loud, dense masses of people they had been moving through all day. Danny was holding his hand on top of the table, thumb rubbing absently on the back of his hand, his ankle wrapped around Thomas’s. Kevin was across from him, facing in towards the music, claiming he could see the band through the phones held up to film. Mark had moved his chair next to Kevin, giving Thomas a bit more space on his left side.
There hadn’t been any concerning run-ins with any of the men who had been at the restaurant last night. Thomas had spotted a couple more of them out and about, but like the first one, they either didn’t notice them or didn’t pay them any attention. Perhaps Peacock’s little scene was a bigger deal to Thomas than it had been to anyone else, too many run ins with the Three Rings making him think he was more important or “special” than he actually appeared. Of course the local powers weren’t interested in some random red head who had blundered into their place with his three friends and had enough sense to leave again. They could just be normal young men on vacation after all.
A hand rested on the back of his neck. An unfamiliar rough hand. “You’re a hard man to find, Thomas O’Malley.”
Thomas kicked Danny in surprise at the sound of Peacock’s voice in his ear, his eyes shooting open as the fingers tightened on his neck.
“OW, what— Hey-”
Out of the corner of his eye, Thomas saw a man grab Danny by the shoulder, but didn’t dare turn his head enough to look properly.
“You guys say-” Mark said, turning his head. He froze, his eyes fixed on Danny as the blood drained from his face.
“Now, now,” Peacock said, raising his voice so the rest of the table could hear them. “Let’s stay calm. No reason to make a mess by doing anything rash.”
