My Little Mind Reader

9. Confessions of a Bodyguard

Kao's POV

Yo was the worst kind of person to have to protect. His looks made him the target for a lot of attention. He was from a wealthy family, which invited even more. He was also sweet, gentle, and kind, which meant that people always wanted to be around him. Everyone wanted to talk to him. He was so adorable and shy, it made people feel like it was okay to hug him or reach for his hands. It was like a nightmare for someone trying to keep him safe without standing right next to him.

What was even worse was that for me, guarding Yo wasn't just a job. After he saved me and my brothers, I took a job keeping him safe as a way to pay back my life debt, but his kindness and thoughtfulness made it impossible not to love him. He was an innocent angel in a world full of evil. So every time I saw the looks full of lust directed at him, I had to hold myself back. No one should be allowed to think about an angel that way.

Don't worry, I'm not crazed or fanatical. I knew that my protectiveness was over the top, but that didn't stop how I felt. So I reined it in and practiced self-control. Joss and New understood, they both started by owing Yo a debt and finding themselves caring about him deeply.

Yo had saved Joss' sister's life. New's father had been in some huge financial debt to the wrong kind of people, which had put his whole family on the line. As for me, Yo had saved my life in more than one way. I was the oldest son of a mafia boss and I wanted nothing to do with the family business.

My father had been training me since I was seven years old to take over for him. I learned to fight, I learned to kill, and I learned that the whole world was evil. I had two younger brothers. When my dad started teaching them to fight and kill, I couldn't sit back anymore. My youngest brother, Tanawat, was sweet and playful, he wasn't meant for that kind of life. My siblings were several years younger and our father started training them later, but his lessons about the world were destroying the light in Tan's eyes. I was his older brother so I couldn't let that happen. I planned and prepared. When I ran away, I took Tan and Benz with me.

I had hidden us well, and I had enough money to keep us safe for a while, but things didn't go exactly as planned. It was difficult to get a job without proper documentation. I didn't even have valid work experience. Worry about our finances and living in constant fear that my father would find us had worn away my patience. The problem was that I was always angry. I got into fights and started drinking too much. I was good at fighting, and I was always in trouble. I was headed to a very bad ending, but I didn't even feel like I had control anymore.

Then one night about three years ago, at a loud bar with a bad crowd, Yo walked in like a lost angel who accidentally found himself wandering in hell. While he stood at the door, looking around uncertainly, I noticed a group of guys looking him over. I could see where their thoughts were headed from across the room. I was trying to decide if I should get involved when he saw me and smiled. He walked up to me like we were old friends.

**Flashback**

"Do you know how many bars I had to try before I found this one?" the boy asked, taking my hand in his own. The men who had been about to approach the boy, saw me and sat back down, watching us.

"What?" I asked, too surprised to pull away.

"Let's go somewhere more quiet," the boy said. A boy this age, selling himself? I thought about it for half a second. I'm human and this boy is tempting, but I don't pay for sex, especially not from a kid. Before I could shake his hands off me, he leaned in to speak in my ear, "I'm not a prostitute! How rude. I don't like this place and I can barely hear, so would you please come with me?"

His face was turning an attractive pink color, and he kept pulling on my hand. I didn't move. If he's not selling himself, why is he grabbing a stranger in a bar?