Page 33 of The Chameleon

Ares pulled out his cell and pressed call on Matteo’s number.

The phone went directly to voicemail.

“Fuck,” Ares growled under his breath. Then he realized that Jared was still standing next to him with a concerned look on his face.

“Is everything okay? Should we be concerned?”

Shaking his head, Ares downed the rest of his whiskey with a snarl, then dropped a fifty on the bar.

“I’m sure everything is fine. Look, if Matteo does happen to call or come back home, tell him to give me a call. And if he doesn’t, can you at least give me a call?”

Jared nodded, his chestnut eyes filled with concern.

Ares scribbled his number on the back of a napkin, then shoved that and two hundred euros into Jared’s unsuspecting hand.

“Here. Use this and take your man out on a nice date.”

The boy looked up at him, speechless. “Umm, thanks, Mr. Ares. That’s really nice of you.”

“No thanks needed.” Ares stepped off his chair, giving Jared a pat on his back before heading toward the exit.

He needed to find Matteo.

He needed to make sure that the stubborn-ass Italian was alright.

10

MATTEO

Heat licked Matteo’s face as he stared into the burning fire. There was something calming about the way the flames danced over the logs as if celebrating their freedom of being released into the world.

It was hypnotic and soothing.

Matteo raised his glass and took another sip of his wine. He let the liquid roll over his tongue, enjoying every bit of sweetness before letting it slide gently down his throat.

Wood crackled as Matteo reached for the bottle.

The wine was a red cabernet he had picked up from a tiny shop earlier this afternoon. He had never heard of the winery, only knew that it was local and produced somewhere near central Spain.

It was pretty good. The sweetness of the grapes rolled gently over his tongue as he enjoyed every sip. He would have to buy a few cases before he returned home, perhaps contact the local vineyard and have them send over a few cases each month. This might be something new he could add to their menu at the club.

He stared at the label on the bottle. It was nothing fancy. It contained the name of the wine and details of the winery, allwritten in gold lettering against a black label. Perhaps he would speak with the owners and discuss the possibility of rebranding—updating the label to give it a more elegant look. Possibly even invest some money into their company so that they could widen their distribution. A wine like this shouldn’t be hidden from the world.

Placing the bottle down on the floor, he returned his attention back to the fire.

This was what he needed. A calming fire and a good bottle of wine. Yes. Some peace and quiet to be alone with his thoughts and try to sort through the mess in his head.

Still, as he sat there, alone in his cabin, he found his thoughts returning to his family. A group of strangers who had entered his life and somehow managed to carve out a place for themselves deep in his heart.

He loved them. All of them. Even when they acted out and got on his fucking nerves. Deep down, he knew that they would do anything for him. They cared about him, just like he cared about each one of them.

The other day was a perfect example. All the boys sitting in his study, pretending to do their own thing while secretly being concerned for Matteo’s well-being.

It was sweet. It was moments like those that reminded Matteo that even though his parents were gone and he had no other living relatives, he wasn’t alone. He still had a family. People who cared about him.

But this was something that he needed to work out on his own. He hoped the boys understood. Although Levi looked like a wounded puppy when Matteo tried to explain to the group that he was heading out of town for a few days, possibly a week, to have some alone time and work through some of the issues rolling around inside his head.

It meant a lot to him that he had people who loved him and who he could turn to if he ever needed to talk. That was the definition of family, he explained to them.

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