How to Hack a Hacker - A.J. Sherwood Page 0,69
like he couldn’t quite believe what his own eyes reported. Kyou found himself speaking without any real intent of revealing everything. “My last foster home, the parents were both engineers. They let me play with their computers, even build one from spare parts lying around. I learned a lot from them. I even worked summers at their company and picked up more. By the time I was eighteen, I’d been hacking here and there, and I was just good enough to be dangerous. In retrospect, I jumped the gun rather badly, but I went dark at that point. I wanted to repay you. I wanted to start building my own rep. I started keeping tabs on Bran”—he turned and cast a quick smile at the hovering Isabella who was watching this play out with wide eyes—“and Isabella. I couldn’t do much at that point, but I wanted to make sure your family was doing alright.”
“You started watching me at eighteen?” Brannigan demanded, tone rising with incredulity.
Kyou waffled a hand back and forth. “Not like now. I was just trying to keep tabs on you in a general sense. I had no idea what I could do to repay the favor at that point. And I wasn’t exactly top grade at eighteen. But by twenty-two, I’d gotten good enough to do a decent job. I based myself in Chicago. For reasons. That’s about the time when you started making really stupid decisions.”
It took a moment, then Brannigan lit up in remembrance. With a fond smile, he said, “Ah, yes. The Burton Project.”
“I lost hair over that hot mess express, so you can wipe that smile right off your face.” Kyou glared at him. A tic tried to develop at the corner of his eye just from the memory of that. “At that point, I realized that my intention to safeguard all of you had just become a monumental task, because this idiot likes to play with fire.”
Brannigan pressed in for a quick kiss. “Love you, caro.”
“You’re truly terrible and I do not know why I put up with you.” Kyou rolled his eyes to cover his embarrassment. Brannigan really didn’t think anything of being affectionate in front of an audience.
Someone cleared their throat from the doorway. “Dinner is served.”
Deidra responded, “Oh, thank you, Charles.”
Had Kyou somehow fallen into an old black and white movie? It would explain a lot.
With a graceful wave of the hand, Deidra said, “Shall we?”
Kyou followed them out. Brannigan took his hand for the short trip to the dining room, giving him an arch look as if to say, See? It was all fine.
Oddly enough, it did seem to be.
Dinner progressed far more smoothly than Kyou had feared and better than he had hoped. After they ate, they lingered around the table, conversation flowing freely. Kyou sat between Brannigan and Mattias, with Mattias asking Kyou one question after the next with absolutely no sign of slowing down.
Kyou ended up telling him the story of how he acquired his family, one person at a time, even Remi. He felt no qualms about doing so. If there was anyone who could be trusted to safeguard a child, it was this man.
Mattias listened with keen interest, a half-smile on his face. “It’s all so fascinating, what you’ve done with your life. I was so focused on making sure you reached adulthood, I guess I never thought to wonder what you’d be like as an adult.”
“Are you—are you disappointed? I didn’t walk a straight path.” Kyou’s largest fear was that Mattias would somehow regret his choice in Kyou.
The fear was dispelled instantly as Mattias shook his head, expression firm but with a paternal warmth. “Perish the thought, mio figlio. You are so much more than I hoped for. How could I possibly judge you and find you lacking?”
Those damned tears were back. Kyou was going to end up bawling at this rate.
Mattias looked like he wanted to hug him again. “You’re a blessing in so many ways. I’m happy to have you with us properly. And to hear that you have family too, that makes me beyond happy! The people you speak of, they sound like good men.”
“Some of the best.” Kyou meant every word of that. “It’s just like having four brothers, I think. Not that I ever had brothers. But it feels that way to me.”
“Then that’s what they are, don’t question that. Will I be able to meet them?”
“They’d love to meet you. They’ve all told me that.