14. Jared

14

JARED

I t had been two hours since they returned home, and Isaac still hadn't come to his room. Jared wondered what could be keeping him. It was after midnight. It wasn't like Matteo would send him off on an errand at this hour.

Perhaps he had given Isaac some bad news? Isaac didn't have any family, he wasn't seeing anyone, and as far as he knew, Isaac hadn't done anything to piss anyone off. So, what could be keeping him?

His gut was telling him that something didn't feel right.

Hopping off his bed, Jared threw on a shirt and made his way next door to Isaac's bedroom.

He knocked twice, then waited for Isaac to answer.

Nothing.

Was he asleep?

He doubted it. The boy was twenty-five years old; he wasn't passing up the opportunity to get some dick just so he could get a good night's sleep.

Hell, most twenty-five-year-olds would rather spend a whole night fucking, and then head right into work with no sleep than pass up on an opportunity to have someone play with their dick.

It was guy priority number one.

Jared knocked again.

Still no answer.

He decided to try the doorknob.

Bingo! Door unlocked!

"Sonic? You in here?" Jared asked, cautiously pushing open the door, then taking a step into the darkness.

Was this some kind of kinky, sexy game? A naked hide and seek? Perhaps Isaac had some sort of "break-and-enter, attacker, force me down on the floor and fuck me until I can't see straight" fantasy he had yet to tell him about?

Holding Isaac down and force-feeding him his cock… that could be a lot of fun.

Jared smirked to himself.

Okay, seriously, where the fuck was this guy?

Making his way across the room in the silent dark, Jared stopped at Isaac's bed and ran his hand over the surface.

It was cold. No one had lay down on its surface in quite some time.

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 said that 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.

He wanted to protect the boy from any and all possible threats to his life and safety.

Isaac placed a hand on Jared's forearm as if sensing his discomfort and turmoil.

How does he do that? Just the feel of Isaac's skin upon his somehow calmed his nerves and made him feel relaxed and in control.

Jared couldn't believe it.

"That was when I ran off and began living on the streets. It was about two years before Matteo found me."

Two years? The guy had just been a kid at that time. How on earth did he survive?

Then an evil voice from the depths of his mind whispered to him—telling him all the ways in which a vulnerable, young man could make money to survive… especially on the streets.

Jared's jaw tightened.

The thought of this happy-go-lucky Irish boy starving on the streets, huddling under bridges, and barely having enough food to eat made Jared want to beat some faces in.

Slowly, Isaac turned in his arms.

Staring into the boy's saddened green eyes, Jared wanted nothing more than to take away all of his pain and suffering. Shield him from the world and build him a safe nest in which they both could live.

Gently, he caressed the cool, smooth cheek of the annoying skater boy he had come to care for. Fuck … the boy was such a pain in the ass, yet somehow, seeing him like this—so raw, so vulnerable—he couldn't help but feel for the man.

"I'm so sorry, Isaac," Jared whispered before nuzzling his nose into Isaac's neck.

He hoped that his warm embrace and gentle, soft words would provide some sort of comfort to the boy. Let him know that he wasn't alone in this world. That he always had a friend in his corner, someone always willing to stand with him and fight beside him.

Isaac shifted in his arms once again and took a deep breath as he stared out into the darkness.

"So, as it turns out, my brother is now out of prison and has become an even greater monster. He's set up this scam where he kidnaps women, has them raped, then sells their babies off in some sort of sham adoption."

Isaac's back was stiff, and his breathing began to sharpen.

"What?" Jared asked, his voice hitched.

The whole thing sounded preposterous. This was the sort of shit you saw in movies or read about in books. It didn't happen in real life.

Who are you kidding? You know better. You've seen the darkness in men's hearts; you know the atrocities they are capable of. What makes you think that this isn't possible? That blasted voice spoke deep in the depths of his mind.

"And to make matters even worse, Matteo wants me to go speak to my uncle in prison to find out where my brother is. This way, Chase and his gang of murderous vigilantes can hunt down their asses and kill the fuckers."

"Wait, I thought it was your brother who was in prison?" Jared asked, trying to follow along with the family tree.

"He was. Uncle Jed got arrested shortly after I came to live here. If you ask me, I'm pretty sure that Matteo is the reason he was thrown in jail and still continues to rot in there."

Jared was furious. He spun Isaac around a bit more forcefully than intended and glared at him.

Was he insane?

"What? No. No way! You're not going to see the man who tried to sell you to his friends." Jared was seeing red. He couldn't believe that Matteo would ask Isaac to do such a thing. What was wrong with the man? "No. I'm going to go speak with M. Why the fuck would he ask you to do such a thing?"

Isaac tightened his grip on Jared's arm and held him in place.

"I agreed to do it."

"What? Why?"

"Because I need to rescue those women and make sure that nothing like that ever happens again."

Jared was seething. There was no way he was allowing Isaac to put himself in so much danger. Physically, emotionally, or mentally. He was all too familiar with the after-effects of trauma. And this? This would break the poor guy.

But how could he stand by and allow this to happen to innocent women? No. They needed to do something, and Jared would do everything that he could to protect the precious gem currently cuddled into him. No one was ever going to hurt his little guy ever again.

"Fine, I'm coming with you," Jared announced.

Isaac's hold on Jared tightened.

"I can't ask you to do that."

"You didn't. This is the only way that it's going to happen. I'll be sitting right next to you when you go visit your bastard of an uncle, and I'll be standing right next to you when we take down your brother. This is the only way I'm allowing you anywhere near those monsters. Sorry if that makes me sound all possessive and shit, but this is the only way I can ensure your safety, so I'm coming, sweetheart ." He added a bit of an American Southern drawl for added effect.

Yes, he might sound all levels of possessive stalker psycho, but he didn't care. And judging by the way Isaac was clinging to him, he was pretty sure that Isaac appreciated the over-protectiveness.

Isaac rested his exhausted head against Jared's broad chest and seemed to sink into the safety of his embrace.

"Thank you, Jare. I'm not sure I could have done this on my own."

"Anytime. I'm always here for you, babe. Even when you're spiking my drinks with Viagra."

Jared welcomed the gentle giggle rumbling off Isaac's body.

God, he loved that laugh.

With that, they continued to stare out into the abyss, Jared's protective arms wrapped around Isaac, not saying a word as they welcomed the darkness of the night.