Page 55 of The Broker

“Hey!” Mr. Reed bellowed once again. His face was red with anger. The man looked so frustrated as he tried his best to chase after the much younger men.

Declan let out a laugh, mocking the old man as he ran toward them.

“You gotta catch us first, old man,” he teased, grabbing Isaac by the arm, then pushing him into the old man.

Isaac fell headfirst into Mr. Reed’s gut, causing them both to tumble over.

What the…?

Isaac was stunned. He looked up just in time to see his brother and his two friends exit the shop and take off across the parking lot.

Did his brother just leave him?

He felt an angry set of hands grab him, then shake his arm.

“You punk kids are gonna pay!” the old man growled, holding Isaac tight with his grip.

Isaac was in shock.

His brother just left him. He shoved him into the old man, then ran off, leaving him behind to get caught.

He needed to get out of here.

Isaac jumped to his feet and shoved the old man as hard as he could, freeing himself from the granddad’s death-like grip.

He darted for the door.

When Isaac stepped outside, he stopped dead in his tracks.

Across the parking lot, his brother and two friends were being handcuffed by police officers.

Declan glanced over at Isaac as he stood there, stunned, not knowing what to do.

Should he run? Hide? Try and help his big brother?

From across the way, he watched as his brother’s lips moved as if he were about to warn the officers of his little brother’s presence, but instead, they stopped.

They both stood there for a moment, staring at each other in a twisted game of brotherly chicken. Who was going to say something first?

As Isaac stared at his brother, wondering if he was going to rat him out as well, he heard the door behind him squeak open.

Shit!

Without thinking, Isaac took off in the opposite direction, never stopping to look back at the brother who betrayed him.

A brother who just… left him.

The convenience store parking lot faded away, returning the world around him to the harsh realities of a property abandoned and a world that had moved on.

Isaac was pulled from his memories and reminded once again that these events had already unfolded. His brother and his friends had been arrested and thrown in jail. Given that hisbrother already had two previous break-and-enter and assault charges laid against him, Declan was given a sentence of four years. That was the last time he ever saw his brother. By the time four years had rolled around, Isaac was already long gone—living on the streets of London, sucking dick for cash and snorting coke to numb the pain.

“Everything okay?” a familiar voice asked from behind him.

Isaac smiled. Leave it to his knight in shining armor to track him down. He turned and was greeted by Jared’s strained face.

“How did you find me?”

Jared’s face blushed as he nodded toward the jeans Isaac wore.

---