Page 84 of The Broker

“She was,” Matteo whispered, still staring down at his hands.

It was time to go. These two deserved a bit of privacy.

“I’ll give you two some time. Like I said, thank you again for all that you’ve done for me tonight. I owe you my life.” Isaac squeezed the man’s hand again. Then nodded to Matteo. “Good night, M.”

“Night, Isaac,” Matteo whispered, giving him a loving smile.

Isaac left the room and gently pulled the door closed behind him. He really wondered what had happened between Matteo and Ares all those years ago. He hoped that perhaps the two might be able to bury the hatchet and forgive one another for whatever caused this rift between them.

Before he went to settle in with Jared, there was one more person who he needed to visit.

29

ISAAC

Making his way down the grand staircase, Isaac turned left, then walked across another long hallway before coming to a door that led down to the basement. This was the section of the château that guests didn’t need to see.

He opened the door, then made his way down the old wooden steps. Since this section of the estate was not for public use, Matteo wasn’t concerned with making this area as flashy and opulent as the others.

Once Isaac reached the bottom of the stairs, he continued his path down a long and dark hallway, passing door after door of what used to be the servants’ living quarters.

When he reached the end of the quarters, he turned down another hallway, which led to a darker, more sinister section of the château’s past.

The dungeons.

Yes, Matteo may have joked about throwing people into his dungeon, but the truth was that Matteo did actually have a dungeon located deep beneath the mansion.

Isaac stopped in front of the large wooden door and took a breath.He could do this.

Exhaling, he lifted the latch and stepped inside the room.

The room was dark and cold, with only a few lit torches providing light and heat in this medieval torture chamber. The dungeons were long forgotten as the last man to be imprisoned and tortured had died over a century ago.

At least, that’s what Matteo claimed.

When Isaac had suggested the idea, he hadn’t thought about the logistics of holding a man prisoner in a century-old dungeon. Light and heating were something that he and Matteo would have to figure out soon. They didn’t want their guests dying from pneumonia or hypothermia. Those escapes were way too good for either of their prisoners.

“Miss me already?” a deep voice snarled from the darkest corner of the cell.

Isaac smirked, then lifted the torch off the wall and watched as shadows danced across the stone. It seemed quite fitting to keep a monster locked away in a dungeon instead of a modern-day prison.

Dark figures on the walls seemed to follow him as he made his way toward the snarl in the darkness. He lifted the torch slightly, causing the shadows on the walls to run and hide. Cowering from the light that threatened their very existence.

There, huddled in the corner and chained to the wall, sat his brother. His head was lowered as he focused on the ground before him.

They left him dressed in the same clothing he wore during the takedown, so his shirt and jeans were stained with blood and grime. They really didn’t care enough to clean the man up or give him a fresh pair of clothes. Animals like this man deserved to live in their own filth.

“I thought I’d come down and see how you’re settling in?”

Declan let out a huff.

“Why don’t you come over here, and I’ll show you just how great I’m doing,” his brother sneered, refusing to believe that he had been beaten.

“Oh, don’t worry, you and I and Özgur are going to get to know each other really well.”

“Özgur?” Declan asked with a slight hitch in his voice.

Was his brother…scared?

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