3. Jared

3

JARED

S taring at the food on his plate, he mentally calculated how much time he needed to spend in the gym. He had four links of sausage, three pieces of bacon, a vegetable egg white omelet, a croissant—because what self-respecting Parisian didn't have one with breakfast—then a glass of orange juice and a black coffee on the side.

His face scrunched upward as he did the math in his head.

"Is he alright?" Gunnar, the older of the Scandinavian twins, asked, holding his fork inches from his mouth.

"Yeah, he's just trying to figure out how many more squats he's going to have to do today if he stuffs another sausage into his mouth," his brother Anders, born eight minutes later, responded.

Jared's eyes drifted over to the two brothers sitting across from him as he gave them both the finger.

The two chuckled.

"Don't worry. You're a beast. Eat as much as you want. I'll go for a run with you after breakfast," Diesel chimed in.

"Thanks, brother," Jared nodded, turning to his tattooed-covered friend.

The man was sitting at the table shirtless, breaking Daddy M's number one breakfast rule—or at least one of the rules that he tried to enforce but, for some reason, always seemed to get ignored.

Staring back at Jared was the creepy as fuck, demon face tattoo Diesel had drawn over his left chest muscle. The thing was creepy enough in the daylight, with its eyes seeming to follow you around as you walked. Jared could only imagine how fucking demonic that thing must look when staring at you in the dark.

No way. No thanks.

He didn't need any more nightmares.

"I swear that guy keeps winking at me," Jared noted, nodding toward the demon on Diesel's chest.

"Who? Bruno? The guy's just checking out how sexy and beast-like you are—minus the furry chest and nasty back hair." Diesel scrunched his nose. "Hey, I even heard that he likes to watch you shower and sleep at night," Diesel said, pumping his eyebrows and giving Jared a creepy-ass grin he was sure Diesel learned from the demon on his chest. "You may want to sleep with boxers on if you want to keep Bruno away."

Jared leaned back in his chair.

"You know, I find it creepy as fuck when you refer to your ink as a person."

Diesel chuckled, rubbing his fingers across his neatly trimmed beard.

Jared was glad that Diesel had finally returned to La Maison after having run off from his last rehab clinic. Those few weeks after he had disappeared from the clinic—a very expensive stay paid for by their fearless leader—had been filled with tension and uncomfortable silences here at La Maison . Matteo had been going out of his mind trying to find Diesel. He had several private investigators scouring Europe, hoping to eventually find the man alive and passed out in some drug den.

Jared had no idea how Matteo would react if they had ended up finding Diesel dead somewhere. That was a thought that was never allowed to take root.

After weeks of searching, the fucker just showed up at the mansion one night and crawled into Jared's bed. Not that there was anything sexual going on between them. Hell no. The two simply shared a common brotherly bond and understanding. Both men had their issues, yet neither of them judged one another. They accepted each other for their faults and did what they could to help each other get through each day.

"See, this is how brothers should act: supporting one another and not making fun of what someone puts inside their mouth," Jared explained, turning his attention back to the six-foot-three Scandinavian twins.

They both shrugged their shoulders in unison and continued chowing down on their breakfasts. Apparently, they'd lost interest in the conversation. Probably around the time Jared turned his attention toward Diesel. The twins were good guys; they just had a short attention span.

"Mornin' ass-face," Isaac blurted as he pulled out the chair next to Jared and plopped his hurried ass down.

Jared just shook his head and passed Isaac the orange juice.

Isaac's hair was messy and looked like it hadn't seen a comb in almost a year. It was part of his boy charm, he guessed. Bedhead hair was in style, and that "I don't give a shit what I look like" look was sweeping across Europe.

"Did you at least brush your teeth?" Jared murmured under his breath, turning his lips toward Isaac.

Isaac placed a croissant on his plate, then cupped his right hand over his mouth and blew.

Jesus. The man was a pain.

"Smells alright to me," Isaac noted, tossing his hand in Jared's general direction.

"You really are a brat." Jared passed Isaac the butter, then took a bite of his own breakfast.

Next to him, shaggy blue hair flopped around as the boy shrugged his shoulders and dug into his breakfast.

"Good, we're all here," Matteo announced from the head of the table.

All eyes fell on the dashing young man seated at the end, watching them all. Even though it was only eight in the morning, Matteo was already dressed in his usual expensive designer suit, form-fitting vest, and perfectly fastened tie.

His dark brown hair was neatly styled, resting gently behind his ear. A look like his could only be achieved using some expensive hairstyling product, probably purchased in one of the specialty boutiques in downtown Paris.

The man exuded power, not that anyone would ever question his wealth or influence. When you were the only surviving heir to this massive estate, everyone knew that you were the one with the biggest dick at the table.

They stared at Matteo, waiting for the man they had all come to see as a father figure to speak. The man deserved their respect and attention, especially after everything he had done for each and every one of them.

La Maison de M employed a staff of seventy, with twenty-five of those being "companions" or Matteo's boys as they like to refer to themselves.

Many of the dancers who worked at La Maison did so because they had approached Matteo and applied for the position. Others, like Jared and Isaac, had stumbled into this life after being saved in one capacity or another by Matteo himself. Given these extraordinary circumstances, a strong bond began to form between this young group of men and the man who they had come to view as their mentor or father.

Sharing in adversity and overcoming a traumatic event together creates a bond that few can, or will, ever understand. These men… these misfits all gathered around the table… were bonded. Brothers in arms. Ready to protect one another and even willing to step in front of a bullet to save each other.

That was love. That was loyalty. That… was family.

As a result of that familial bond, this group of fucked up characters shared breakfast together every morning. They talked, they laughed, they even got scolded by Matteo when one of them fucked up or misbehaved.

Jared loved it. This was the closest thing he had to family, and he wouldn't change any part of it. Well, except for the part where he wanted to bone his blue-haired "brother" sitting next to him. That part was messed up. But they weren't really brothers… so the boning part could theoretically happen… if they liked each other. Which they didn't.

In addition to their family time together, Matteo also used this opportunity to get caught up on the previous evening's activities. Who entertained whom? What information was shared? The works.

A small growl emerged from the back of Matteo's throat. All eyes turned to Diesel, who was sitting there with a giant grin on his face.

They all knew what Matteo was glaring at.

"For the love of God. We all know that you're proud of the little asshole, but I honestly don't appreciate having to stare at Bruno's smug little face while I'm trying to enjoy my eggs and coffee," Matteo complained, giving Diesel a displeased fatherly stare.

Jared glanced down at his food.

When Daddy was yelling at one of your brothers, you lowered your snout and pretended not to notice.

"Can we all stop acknowledging Diesel's weird obsession with his creepy demon friend?" Isaac demanded, lowering his glass of orange juice with an annoyed slam on the table.

"Easy there, short stuff. Don't be splashing me with your morning juice," Jared added, startled and annoyed.

Isaac's head flipped in Jared's direction. "Come see me tomorrow morning, and I'll paint your face with my morning juice."

The guys around the table burst out laughing.

"Man, talk about losing my appetite," Jared groaned, dropping his fork on his plate and pushing it away.

"Isaac, keep your nasty fluids to yourself. Jared, tuck your boner back in your pants and finish your breakfast. Diesel, tomorrow I better see Bruno smothered by one hundred percent cotton," Matteo laid out. It was hard to tell sometimes whether he was mad or just teasing.

Overall, it seemed that having his whole family back together again had improved Matteo's overarching mood. He had definitely been a cranky bastard when he was busy searching for Diesel.

Then again, Matteo could just be getting a regular dicking. In this household, you never really knew.

Confused, Jared pulled his plate forward and resumed eating his breakfast.

"Okay, so now that we got all that cleared up, Teo, how did things go with Mr. Devos last night?" Matteo asked their nature-loving, health nut of a brother.

Teo's head jerked up from his apple, carrot, and kale smoothie.

How could anyone even drink that gunk , Jared wondered to himself. It was green and lumpy and smelled like trash.

Teo always boasted about how healthy and delicious his slime-green breakfast was, but Jared knew that the man was lying through his teeth. Nothing that looked that gross could ever taste delicious.

Jared tried to avoid sitting next to Teo whenever possible, knowing that the guy liked to enjoy the same nasty-ass drink for breakfast each morning.

That was a lie.

Occasionally, Teo mixed it up and treated himself to a berry, chia, and mint smoothie. First off, what the fuck was chia? And secondly, mint should never be added to food in any way, shape, or form. Fuck all those who claimed that mint-flavored ice cream was amazing or that chocolate-covered mints were the bomb.

No! Clearly, those people were insane and had never tasted good food in their lives.

The only time that mint should ever touch one's lips was while brushing one's teeth with mint-flavored toothpaste or when chewing gum in an attempt to improve one's nasty kale-smelling breath.

Argue all you want, but Jared knew insanity when he saw it, and drinking chunky green slime for breakfast was a prime example.

Swallowing, Teo looked around the table at his fellow brothers.

"Well, Mr. Devos wasn't as chatty last night as he normally is," Teo mumbled, fidgeting with the glass in his hands. He always got nervous when he knew that Matteo wasn't going to like what he was about to say.

Mr. Alexander Devos was a Dutch scientist working for Hass Industries. His current project was highly confidential as it had the potential to revolutionize the way we use biometrics in security access.

Mr. Devos joined the club about a year ago and had quickly taken a shine to Teo. Whenever he visited, the two would spend Friday to Sunday getting sweaty in the sheets and lounging around the pool talking for hours.

Mostly, they talked about Mr. Devos's childhood, how he spent most of it competing in science competitions and attending the latest science camp. His parents were scholars and insisted on only the best education for their boy.

Occasionally, their conversations would drift to the present. He'd talk openly and freely about the stresses of his job and the very tight deadlines of the current project he was working on.

Once Matteo got wind of the man's discoveries, he quickly purchased shares in the company's stock, hoping to make a killing once the new technology was announced.

In the meantime, he had Teo keep his ears open and Devos's lips spread apart, taking in every last detail and update of the project and its status. There was power in knowledge, and Matteo knew how to capitalize on any opportunity.

Hearing of Teo's failures, Matteo's jaw tightened with annoyance. He wasn't a man who enjoyed delays or missed opportunities.

"Is Mr. Devos staying with us another night?" Matteo asked, eyes fixed on the food on his plate.

"Umm, yeah. One more night."

Matteo let out a sigh.

"Okay, here's what you're going to do." Matteo laid out another plan for Teo—one involving a long bath, some soft music, strawberries, and lots of lube.

Once that issue was dealt with, Anders provided his update while Matteo made notes in his black leather notebook. Later in the day, Matteo would go down to his private office and update his electronic files with all of the new information his team had gathered.

These files were part of the reason that Chase had come to La Maison in the first place.

As they finished up their breakfast, Jared noticed Levi, who was quietly pushing the food around on his plate.

"Everything okay, Lee?"

Levi looked up, startled. He took a breath and placed his fork down on his place.

"Yeah, I'm just missin' Chase."

"He off on assignment?" Jared asked, already knowing the answer to his question.

"Yeah, he's off in Spain, hunting down another one of the monsters from Edwin's journal."

Last month, Chase had shown up at La Maison , pretending to be a regular guest, when secretly, he was hired by a man to hunt down and terminate evil men who did very bad things. A list of these men and all their horrific crimes had been documented in a handwritten journal—one used to blackmail and extort rich and powerful men.

"He'll be back in no time," Jared reassured, thinking back to the nightmare they had all lived through trying to rescue Levi from Mr. Peabody and his dollhouse of horrors . They had all almost died there that night.

"Don't worry, buddy. Chase will be back in a few days, and then you'll spend the next week walking bow-legged around the chateau!" Isaac added, giving Levi a wink.

The guys all laughed.

Levi presented Isaac with the gift of his middle finger and a blessing of "fuck you" through mouthed lips.

Sitting back in his chair, Jared glanced at the guys sitting around the table. While they might not share the same DNA or come from the same set of balls… deep down, they were brothers. All connected by the bonds they had formed and the promises they shared. Promises to always protect one another and always be there for each other.

This was his family. And he loved every fucking last one of them. Even the annoying little brat with the huge holes in his ears and spiky blue hair.

Fuck, he was annoying.