Mek's phone rang. Uncle Korn reminded him he needed to join him at the temple the next day to make merit. After hanging up an unknown number that had left a voicemail caught his eye. He listened to the message.

Fah began speaking in a shaky voice, "Mek, it's me, Fah..."

He continued listening to Fah's message, becoming more shocked as it progressed.

"Mek, the biggest mistake I made in this life was choosing Lom over you. You are a kind and wonderful person. You gave me advice whenever I asked, and always helped without complaining. And of course, you're sexy as hell. I'm sorry we never did more than kiss but I'm glad that you were my first kiss. I cherish that memory."

Mek smiled at this. As sad as he was, he was glad that he had helped Fah as much as possible. Plus, he told himself, it's always flattering when people think you're wonderful.

"I'm sure Run can fill you in if he hasn't already, but we were kidnapped by Ton's men. Lom was part of the group. He shot me in the arm and he plans to kill me. He told me I was stupid for believing he loved me. It wasn't the Lom that I knew, or thought I knew."

Mek was sure Lom said this to mess with Fah's mind. The Lom that had continuously called him trying to find Fah hadn't been pretending. He didn't have a clue as to why Fah would be so quick to believe the one time Lom said he never loved him when Lom's actions and words for months testified to his love for Fah.

"I guess he was right, I was stupid. I thought he was the greatest guy in the whole world and everything I dreamed of in a partner. It was all a lie, all fake. He didn't mean any of it. I don't know why he did it if it was just for sex or to make a fool out of me. Whatever. He fucking feels nothing for me and he never has. If I try to escape, I'll put Run's family in jeopardy. If I stay here I will be killed soon enough. I don't know if he'll torture me or not."

Mek was dumbfounded. Would Lom torture and/or kill Fah? He doubted Lom would do it on his own but if Ton was there, Lom would most likely obey his father. That was scary. Especially since Ton had already shown Fah meant nothing to him or his wife.

"To protect Khun Adi and the family, I had to kill three of Lom's men and one of them seemed to be very important to him. Lom's not forgiving me. I suspect he is getting ready to kill me because he has me on an IV and is already giving me constant morphine. I won't give him the satisfaction of killing me, I'll do it myself. It's the only thing I can do to protect those I love."

Did Fah kill three people? Was this some sort of joke? He had never seen Fah do anything remotely violent; he'd always been laid back and calm. Yet this couldn't be a joke because what type of person would think this was funny? Fah would never joke this way.

"By the way, don't call back on this number, it's a phone I found in Lom's bedside table drawer. He mustn't know I've contacted you. I'll erase this from the call log. I'm in some condo of his and when I look out the windows, it's not an area I've ever seen. Thanks for everything. I love you. Hopefully, we'll meet again in the next life."

Tears were running down Mek's face. This had to be a joke. He called Run's cell phone.

"Hey Mek, how are you?" Run's voice was monotone.

"Run, where is Fah?"

"No idea, has he called you?" Run sounded excited at the prospect.

"Yes, sort of. I think I need to speak with you and your parents as soon as possible. Can I come over now?"

"Yes, my parents are both home. My dad took time off from work. I'll explain once you're here although I'm sure you must have seen the news."

"No, I haven't. I haven't seen any TV and I haven't been on the internet. I've had a virus and I've been sleeping a lot over the past few days. I'm on my way."

He hung up the phone, grabbed his keys and wallet, and headed out the door. Twenty minutes later he arrived at Run's house. He caught sight of Fah's car parked off to the side.

Run opened the door before Mek had a chance to ring the bell. He immediately hugged Mek and wouldn't let go of him. Gently Mek removed Run's arms and followed him into the living room where the rest of the family sat. Tin was sitting on Mint's lap, something he'd been doing ever since the kidnapping.

Mek greeted the family. He realized everyone looked exhausted and paranoid. Every sound from outside had them looking out the windows. Mek noted a few men who appeared to be new bodyguards walking through the house as if on patrol.

"Mek, Run says Fah called you?" Khun Adi leaned close, making direct eye contact as he waited for a reply.

"Well, yes, but I'm not sure how to feel after hearing his message. I don't want to upset anyone and this isn't an easy message to listen to." Mek hoped Mint and Khun Adi would send Tin out of the room but they didn't. When Mint realized Mek was looking at Tin she spoke.

"Tin has been through a lot. He was abducted along with us. He experienced things no child his age should ever see, but he did witness his brothers, Run and Fah, protect us and his father. I think he can hear the message." She smiled at Mek while alternately patting and rubbing Tin's back.

"Okay, here it is." Mek put his phone on speakerphone and laid it down on the coffee table. Everyone leaned forward. No one said a word throughout the whole message. By the end everyone, including Mek, was in tears.

"When was this message left?" asked Khun Adi.

"It came yesterday morning. I had my ringer off because I've been sick and sleeping. Also, the number was unknown so I didn't listen to it right away. I'm angry at myself for that. Do you think there's a chance Fah is still alive?" Mek asked the question only wanting to hear a positive answer.

"He can't be that far away, he had been shot. If he is in a condo, it has to be in a building owned by Lom or Ton," said Mint.

"I'll call my assistant to come over right now. I can send a team out to search for the building," said Khun Adi.

"If we find the building, how do we reach Fah without getting him or ourselves killed? Fah might already be dead." Run wanted to rescue his brother but he didn't want to lose anyone else either.

"I'll call Lom. He, Fah, and I are friends. He used to call me all the time looking for Fah when he was still in love with him," said Mek.

"How do you go from being in love to shooting someone and planning to kill them?" asked Mint.

"I'll go to the other room and call him. He can't hear any of you because if he knows we're friends, he won't speak with me." Mek stood up and walked upstairs to a guest room. He called Lom. He was about to give up when Lom answered.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Lom, it's Mek. Although I guess you saw the caller ID."

"Hey Mek, how are you?" Mek noticed Lom sounded odd; his words were right but his tone was wrong.

"I'm good. You haven't called me in a while. I wondered if you ever got in touch with Fah, or did you give up looking for him?"

"Fah? I found him. He's here with me now, actually," said Lom.

"He is? Are you two dating?" asked Mek, trying his best to sound natural.

"No, he had an accident. He overdosed on drugs and lost his memory. He doesn't even remember me."

"What? Fah overdosed on drugs? That doesn't sound like him at all. He's never done drugs, or mentioned them, whenever I've hung out with him," said Mek.

"When did you see him?" asked Lom

"Well, a couple of months after you stopped calling, I ran into him at a party. We talked and he said he'd found a new place and job and was doing well. I asked him out—sorry if that upsets you—but he said he couldn't date anyone because he was still in love with you. That's why I thought maybe you two were finally a couple now." Mek hoped he didn't sound suspicious.

"Fah said he still loved me?" asked Lom, the pitch in his voice rising. A bark of laughter escaped his lips.

Mek hoped what he told Lom would help protect Fah. "Yeah, he's crazy about you. He said he can't kiss anyone else, he can't forget you. You said he's there? May I speak with him?"

"Mek, he doesn't remember anyone. You can try though, maybe it will help him remember. One second." The sound of Lom walking and telling Fah who was on the phone convinced Mek that Fah was there. Fah asked who Mek was.

Lom isn't lying, Fah doesn't have any memory, he realized.

"Hello?" It was Fah's voice but it didn't sound right.

"Hi Fah, it's Mek, your friend. Do you remember me?"

"Um, Mek? Hm, um, no. Who are you?"

"I was your first kiss!" Mek said hoping to trigger his memory.

"Mek, Aren't you a man?" asked Fah.

"Yes..." The fact Fah didn't remember he was a gay man was something for which Mek had been unprepared.

"Oh, I'm... sorry?" Fah sounded even more confused now.

"Fah, why are you sorry?"

"Did you want me to kiss you?" asked Fah.

"Fah, I'm a gay man. So are you. We kissed. You, Lom, and I, we're friends. I'm sorry you don't remember me but it's okay. I would like to visit you if it's okay. Can you ask Lom?" Mek hoped Fah asking would make Lom say yes.

In the background, Mek heard Fah asking Lom to allow Mek to come visit.

"Hey, Mek, it's Lom. Sorry, he can't have visitors yet."

"That's okay, call me when he can. Why isn't he at the hospital?"

"My dad paid for a private doctor so he's here with me. We thought being home might bring back some memories," said Lom.

"Oh, are you at your dad's house? I could come there. Or you and I can meet somewhere and have a drink."

"No, I'm not at the house but at one of our other properties. It's quieter here and he can rest."

"Lom, how did Fah end up like this? Did someone force him to do drugs?" asked Mek.

"He'd been shot, so he was here recuperating with me. He was on an IV and getting antibiotics and morphine for pain. One morning I went out and he found where I kept the morphine and overdosed. The doctor came as soon as I called and saved him. He was blue, it was terrifying. As you can tell, he's lost all of his memory. It's only been a day though. The doctor said his memories may or may not come back, it's not certain yet. I need to go, I have to take care of Fah. Thanks for calling. I'll talk to you later." Lom hung up.

Mek returned to the living room and shared what he learned. Everyone was happy to discover Fah was alive. Khun Adi wanted to hunt Lom down, have him arrested, and take Fah to the hospital. Mek pointed out that as long as Lom was caring for Fah, it was safer for him than if he were alone at a hospital now that Ton considered him part of the judge's family.

"You heard what Fah said in his message, Mek! Lom told him it had all been fake, he had never loved him. He also said it in front of all of us. We can't count on Lom's feelings to keep Fah safe," said Khun Adi.

"I know what Fah said. What Lom told him was a lie. I'm close to the two of them and I've spent time with both. Lom is in love with Fah. Lom called me every week for six months to help him find Fah! He truly loves Fah. I don't why he said that to him, but saying he never loved Fah, that is a lie," said Mek. He spoke with conviction because he was sure the feelings Lom and Fah had for each other were genuine.

"That's good. That means he won't kill Fah," said Run. "When Lom said that to Fah, it was in front of all of us, during the kidnapping and after Fah shot a couple of people."

"That's probably why Lom said it. He was angry and he wanted to hurt Fah for fighting against him. He was sure that saying that was the one thing that would hurt Fah worse than any physical injury. In the message, Fah said Lom isn't forgiving him for shooting one man." Mek couldn't believe how messed up things had become between his two friends.

"What should we do next?" asked Run.

"I don't think we should do anything. I'll keep calling Mek to check on Fah and I'll keep pushing to visit him. It's what I would do even if there hadn't been an abduction; I would go visit my friend and help him get better."

"Well, now we know the truth about you," said Run with a mischievous look.

"What?" asked Mek.

"Your kisses are forgettable," said Run as he bent over laughing. The whole family laughed together for the first time since the incident.

"Mek, thank you for sharing the message with us and for calling Lom. At least we now know he is alive and Lom wasn't planning on killing him. Poor Fah, he must have been traumatized by the abduction and that's why he thought Lom was going to kill him," said Mint in a sad tone.

"Most likely because he believed it when Lom said he didn't love him. If you knew how much Fah loved Lom, you would understand why Lom saying that would destroy him. Fah's whole life has been based on a dream of someday running away with Lom."

"That poor boy," said Mint. Mek was struck by how much she cared for Fah. It was understandable that Khun Adi would love him since Fah was his biological son. It was also great his brothers accepted him since they were also blood-related. However, for a woman not to be threatened by or be jealous of her husband's love child, was very sweet. It showed what a kind-hearted woman Mint was.

"I'm going to head home. I'm still weak from the virus. I've been afraid to eat anything that might upset my stomach so I've lost my appetite. Take care, everyone. I have to go to the temple with my uncle tomorrow early in the morning." Everyone said goodbye and Mek left.