Chapter 2: GarethThe hotel room looked…nice.
I dumped my suitcase on the floor and switched on the TV. Only then did I notice the item in my hand. A plush kitten on a keychain. When had I picked that up? Must have been at the airport before I’d climbed into the taxi. Not the first time I had bought something like this, and probably wouldn’t be the last. But damn, it caused an ache in my chest! Two years since Bradley and I had split up after what felt like half our lives together. It had been nothing more serious than an occasional one-night stand since then, and I could count those on the fingers of one hand. So for whom was I absentmindedly collecting all those toys?
The phone rang.
“Jason,” I answered without preamble, “it’s two in the A.M.”
“Two in the A.M. in China, Gareth! The re
