This morning, he’d written up a list of things he required to build the computer for his hack. Now he was supposedly mapping out a plan for the hack that he swore was never going to happen. Kairo had explained some of the intricate steps he would have to do if they were really going to steal the algorithm. He’d been alight with such intense joy, but most of the words had gone straight over Isidore’s head. Computers were not his thing.
“Actually, you’re far more entertaining than you might guess. Before you arrived, I spent a lot of time staring at the walls, trying to remember some of my favorite movies and books scene by scene.”
A nearly silent laugh escaped Kairo, and he shook his head while the smile on his lips widened.
“May I ask…how did you get into this line of work?” He quickly followed up, waving both of his hands at him. “You don’t have to answer, of course, if you’re not comfortable. I understand if it’s a secret or very personal.”
Kairo put his pen down and sat back in the uncomfortable wooden chair, stretching his arms over his head. He’d shed the long-sleeved shirt he’d been wearing in Uruguay and was in just the white undershirt he had. While the air conditioning in the house was very good, they were still at the top of the three-story house, and the room was stuffy.
Not that Isidore was complaining. He liked the way the white T-shirt looked against Kairo’s dusky skin, giving him a good view of muscled arms and powerful shoulders. As he stretched, the hem rode up, giving a tantalizing glimpse of a flat stomach, but he tried hard not to stare.
Well, okay, maybe he didn’t try that hard.
“I spent some time in the Army as part of recon. I learned a lot about research, scouting, infiltration, and people, but my specialty quickly turned out to be computers. I was good at sneaking inside of secret systems and stealing information for my team. From there, I was recruited—” He stopped and glanced over his shoulder toward the door as if trying to determine if the guard assigned to watch them was eavesdropping.
To Isidore’s shock, Kairo got up and walked over to his bed. He sat down on the mattress directly beside Isidore and leaned his shoulders back against the wall. Grinning broadly, Isidore repositioned himself so that he mirrored Kairo, their shoulders nearly brushing. This felt like two old friends sharing secrets, and he loved it.
“You were recruited?” Isidore prompted in a whisper.
“By the CIA.”
His mouth hung open in the most unattractive fashion, but he couldn’t close it. At least not for a full two seconds. That wasn’t what he’d been expecting Kairo to say. Everyone had heard of the American bogeyman. And Kairo was part of that group at one time? Was he even allowed to tell people that?
“Are…are you allowed to say that? And well, don’t you have to kill me now?”
Kairo cocked his head to the side, joy and speculation filling his eyes. “You don’t even question what I told you. You just believe me.”
“Sure. Why would you lie about something like that?”
His companion stared at him for a bit before finally shaking his head and chuckling. “I have never met anyone like you.”
“I’m not sure if that’s a good thing or a bad thing.” But regardless of the answer, he was still smiling because the sound of Kairo’s laughter made him happy.
With a soft sigh, Kairo leaned his head back against the wall and tilted it to the side so that he lightly bumped into Isidore’s, resting there. “A good thing. I’ve met a lot of not-great people and a hell of a lot of bad people in this line of work. You’re nothing like them, and it’s really…really fucking nice.”
Isidore could feel himself blushing and glowing and grinning like an idiot, but he didn’t care a single drop. Kairo liked him. Thought he was different in a good way. He probably wasn’t attracted to him. He wasn’t entirely sure if Kairo might be gay or bi or what because he hadn’t given any hints. But if he couldn’t have Kairo interested in him in that way, he could settle for Kairo viewing him as a friend or that adorable little brother who was adept at finding trouble.
“My friends and I parted with the CIA a few years ago,” Kairo continued, pulling Isidore from his idle daydreams of Kairo falling for him. “We decided to go into business for ourselves since we had this unique set of skills and a love of travel.”
“I’m so happy this job could offer you this stunning view of Meteora. It’s a view only a tiny number of people in the entire world have seen.” Isidore waved his hands out in front of them, motioning to the small, white-walled room that was their prison.
To his delight, Kairo chuckled as he’d hoped. “It is a side of Greece that I was never expecting to see.” The mercenary sat up, sliding to the edge of the bed as if he were planning to return to his spot at the desk to resume his work.
“If you want,” Isidore quickly began in hopes of stopping him from moving away, “after all this is over, I can take you on a tour of Greece. Anywhere you want to go. The Oracle of Delphi. The site of the first Olympics. Or maybe we go out to the islands. Each one is so beautiful with their own culture and customs. I know so much of our history. I could tell you all the stories about our past.”
Kairo seemed to flinch, and his smile slipped, becoming thin and brittle as if he were struggling to keep it on his lips.
Isidore’s heart became a lead weight in his chest, crushing down on his other organs. “Oh. Right. You probably want to get away from Greece as quickly as possible after this is all over.”
Kairo immediately twisted around to face Isidore while his hand tightly gripped his knee. “No! That’s not it at all,” he argued, kickstarting Isidore’s heart. “Sightseeing across Greece would be great. Even better with a knowledgeable local taking me to all the best places. It’s just that my mom is an archeologist. I’m Egyptian on my father’s side. I’ve spent way too much of my life hearing about ancient history, artifacts, and ruins.”
“Santorini has amazing beaches,” Isidore countered, his voice trembling slightly. He could barely drag his brain away from the heat seeping through his slacks from Kairo’s hand. He just had to keep talking so Kairo wouldn’t stop touching him. “We have a house on the island. I could take you to all the best beaches on Santorini. And then we can take a boat out into the sea, check out some more islands. No ruins or history. Just relaxing and fun. I promise.”
A wide smile spread across Kairo’s lips and his hand squeezed his knee, fingertips digging into his thigh. High brain function was shutting down as blood flowed south to a needier part of his body.
“That sounds amazing,” Kairo murmured in a low voice. “But are you sure? I thought you’d be happy to get rid of me and all memory of what’s happened to you and your sister?”
His tongue became tied in his mouth. Why in God’s name would he ever want to forget about this? Meeting Kairo was one of the best moments of his life. Luckily, some working part of his brain quickly reminded him that he was also being held prisoner along with his sister and their lives were in grave danger.Yeah. That.