Page 80 of The Broker

Isaac understood.

Matteo was conflicted. Did he murder the brother of one of his adopted children? If he did, he would forever be seen as the person who killed Isaac’s older brother.

On the other hand, should he end the life of a monster who had orchestrated the kidnapping and rape of so many women just so he could steal their children and sell them to the highest bidder? If so, he would be administering justice and making the world a safer place.

Or should he let the man live? If he did, the world would never truly be safe with such a monster in it.

Isaac felt Matteo’s pain. He couldn’t let the man who had saved him so many times over the years, given him a future, and taught him what it meant to be a family make that sort of decision.

Reaching out, Isaac placed his hand on Matteo’s and lowered the gun.

“I have a better idea.”

Matteo turned his conflicted eyes until they landed on Isaac’s. Slowly, he nodded, letting Isaac choose his brother’s fate.

Ignoring the painful groans coming from his brother as he withered on the floor, Isaac turned and hugged his friend, his boss, and his chosen father.

“Don’t you two look cute together?” Ares’s voice cut through their tender moment. “I hate to remind you, old man, but the boy is half your age.”

Isaac felt Matteo growl against his chest and giggled. There was something about Ares that always elicited an adverse reaction from his boss. Yet, strangely enough, every time Matteo was in trouble, he always seemed to turn to the man for help.

They pulled apart and stared at Ares and Jared, who were both standing in the doorway. One was smiling, while the other twisted his face.

Isaac couldn’t wait any longer. He ran to Jared and jumped into his arms. He hugged Jared tight once again, enjoying the warmth and security that always came from being wrapped in Jared’s big, muscular arms.

There was no other place he’d rather be.

From the corner of his eyes, he watched Ares’s eyes widen, and a look of terror cross his face.

The man leaped forward, just as Isaac turned to see his brother holding a gun, pointed at Matteo’s back.

“Matte—” was all that Isaac managed to get out before Ares’s body crashed into Matteo’s, sending his boss stumbling to the side at the same moment Declan’s gun went off.

Jared fired a shot at Declan’s hand, forcing him to drop the firearm he was holding. The gun went flying, and so did two of his fingers.

Lying two feet from Declan was Ares. He was holding his stomach as a pool of red quickly expanded across his wrinkled white dress shirt.

“Ares!” Matteo shouted, scrambling toward the bleeding man.

He quickly placed his hand over Ares’s wound and pressed down hard. Ares let out another growl, cursing in a foreign language at the Italian pressing down on his spleen.

“Fuck! You crazy guido! Stop squishing my liver!” Ares gritted his teeth as he cursed out Matteo in French and then in English.

“You’re shot!” Matteo shouted, still appearing in shock.

“No shit, you fucking dumbass,” Ares responded through grunts of pain. Sweat dripped from the man’s face as he cursed every deity known to man.

Isaac crouched next to Ares’s shoulders, fear causing him to forget every first-aid video they had ever watched in school. Were they supposed to put pressure and elevate the wound? Butit was his stomach. So perhaps just put pressure? Was the bullet still inside?

Panicked, he glanced up at Matteo, who was still staring at Ares wide-eyed.

A storm of footsteps charged toward the room.

“In here,” Jared shouted seconds before Elijah and the team burst through the door like they were the baddest motherfuckers on the planet. Well, they kind of were.

“You… you saved me,” Matteo stuttered, still in shock.

Isaac wasn’t sure if it was the shock of seeing his friend get shot or the shock that his friend had actually taken a bullet for him that was causing such a reaction.

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