Page 43 of The Broker

The blanket was flat and neatly laid out—same as every day after housekeeping had cleaned up their rooms and made their beds. Not like they had slept in them last night, but still. Housekeeping had a schedule to keep.

Strange.

Where was he?

Turning toward the balcony, he spotted a dark shadow standing just outside the double doors.

Relief set in. Jared crept across the dark room, feeling like a prowler in the night.

Once he reached the partially open doors, he stopped, realizing that the boy was deep in thought.

“Everything okay?” Jared asked, cautiously stepping out on the patio, not wanting to startle his blue-haired friend.

Long dark lashes turned toward him as the tail of the snake tattoo appeared to coil itself around Isaac’s neck.

The guy had the creepiest snake tattoo, which started at the side of his neck, then slithered its way down his back and around to his stomach.

When Jared was fucking him the other night on his back, he swore it looked like the snake was trying to bite his damn dick off. Even Isaac’s tattoos were apparently protective of the guy.

“Hum? Uh, yeah, sorry,” Isaac responded, sounding half-dazed.

Jared closed the gap between them, then wrapped his arms around Isaac’s body. He folded his hands across the boy’s flat stomach, then pulled him in close to his chest.

Breathing in his scent, Jared rested his head in the crook of Isaac’s neck.

He held him close and tried to pass his warmth and strength into the saddened boy. They both stared out into the darkness of the gardens and listened to each other’s heartbeats.

The night was quiet and still, with only a few lights illuminating the gardens below.

Matteo wanted people to be able to come outside and see the stars at night. They were far enough away from Paris that the light pollution didn’t obstruct their view of the night sky.

Jared had to admit, the view was stunning at night.

“What’s wrong? What happened with M?”

It was heartbreaking to see Isaac so forlorn. Usually, the boy was a bouncing ball of energy—skateboarding, chatting up guests, even play fighting with Raj, Matteo’s pet tiger. Yes, the man owned a fucking tiger.

Rumor was that Matteo saved Raj from hunters when he was just a little cub. Apparently, the four-legged beast began following Matteo as he made his way through Thailand, much to the frightened surprise of many other travelers. It was saidthat the loyal beast would only rest once Matteo had invited the creature onto his private plane as he returned home.

That was the story people heard, anyway.

Isaac stood there for a while—staring out into the abyss, casually leaning into Jared’s supportive chest.

His breathing was calm, but his focus was distant.

Just as Jared was about to break the silence, Isaac spoke.

“Did I ever tell you that I have a brother?” Isaac’s voice was soft and emotionless.

“No. You never mentioned a family, so I just assumed they were all dead.”

“Well, both my parents are dead. My brother was sent to prison when I was twelve, leaving me alone with my abusive, alcoholic uncle who, by the way, tried to sell my ass to his friends when I was fifteen, just so he could get some extra cash for booze.”

“What?” Jared’s body tensed. His grip on Isaac tightened as his body naturally went into protective mode.

Without thinking, his eyes scanned the bushes and shadows below, searching for anything that could be perceived as a threat.

It was instinct. Remnants of his military past.

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