Chapter 381 Is Charles Seeing Someone Else?
Caden was starting to get irritated. “These scam calls are getting out of hand.”
He hung up again, flagged the number as spam, and blocked it..
Meanwhile, Zev had gone into the kitchen to cook. treated him like one.
nically, he was a guest, but Caden never really
“Where the heck is Charles?” Zev asked as he stirred the last dish. Dinner was practically ready, but Charles still hadn’t shown up.
“Hey, your cooking’s getting better,” Caden said, oblivious to anything being wrong as he swaggered over to taste Zev’s cooking.
He had to admit–it was actually really good.
“You think you can get a wife if you can’t cook?” Zev teased with a raised brow.
“So I should probably learn too?” Caden grinned, suddenly interested. “Come on, teach me!”
“You?” Zev looked him up and down. “Don’t bother. You’re never getting married. Might as well find yourself a husband.”
Caden’s face darkened. “Nothing good ever comes out of your mouth.”
Kelly walked in carrying a dish and led the twins off to wash their hands. Still no sign of Charles. No phone call either.
“What’s going on with Charles?” Caden finally sensed something off. He called Charles, but there was no
answer.
His chest tightened, and he instinctively looked at Zev. “Wait, what if that call wasn’t a scam? That that he had my man.”
guy
said
Zev froze, then quickly snatched Caden’s phone. “Seriously, you’re … ?”
He dug through the blocked numbers and called it back.
No one picked up.
Now Caden was panicking, dialing over and over, but the line stayed dead.
Kelly looked worried too. “Zev, you don’t think something really happened to Charles, do you?”
Zev frowned. In their line of work, danger was constant. It was possible for something to happen to him
“That sounded like a classic scam,” he said, trying to calm Caden down. “If it were real, they’d have answered again. I’ll go look around. You guys eat first.”
Caden’s eyes turned red; his worry eased with Zev’s words. “Are you sure?”
Zev nodded and started toward the door. But then he stopped, turning back with a conflicted look. “You and Charles… Are you serious about each other?”
Someone Else?
Truth be told, Zev had always had reservations. As a brother, he didn’t want to see the two together.
Not because of who Charles was, but because of what he did. His job was dangerous. There were no guarantees–no promises of tomorrow.
Similar to their time in Solmaris, Zev harbored a profound love for Kelly, yet he never ventured to reveal it. All he did was crack jokes and make light touches because that w
safer.
Because what if he died on a mission? What if she ended up hurt because of him?
If his mission hadn’t ended carly, if he hadn’t come back to find Kelly abandoned and alone–maybe he would’ve kept hiding in the shadows forever. Loving her quietly.
Never interrupting her life.
Caden didn’t respond. At first, he hadn’t even been sure what he felt for Charles.
But now? If Charles was really in danger, he felt like he’d lose his mind.
“Sidney would never approve of you two,” Zev said quietly before he left. “If this isn’t the real thing, don’t waste his time.”
Caden sat by the table and said nothing. He clearly wasn’t in the mood to eat. His mind was with Charles. As soon as Zev stepped out, he called Gary to tell him something had happened to Charles.
No answer.
Obviously, something was going on behind the scenes. It was nearly impossible to get through when they were on active missions.
Left with no choice, Zev tapped into his old contacts and reached up the chain.”
“Stay out of it,” said the higher–up coldly.
The higher–ups told him to stay out of it and stop being nosy.
Zev was left speechless. What did they mean he was being nosy?
“Just go enjoy your life as a CEO. You’re retired now–this has nothing to do with you. Don’t get involved. You’ve got a wife and kids. Stop asking questions.” The commanding officer tore into him without mercy.
Zev didn’t argue back. He just gave a bitter little smile.
The truth was, they all knew what was at stake. Getting involved meant danger–real, possibly fatal danger.
During his last assignment, Zev had been walking a razor’s edge the entire time. Every officer watching over him had been holding their breath, praying he’d make it out alive. When he finally did, they swore never to let him touch that world again.
They treated him like their own/son.
After all, Zev had grown up right under their noses–he was one of theirs.
“Just give me a word,” Zev said quietly “Is he okay or not? I won’t ask anything else.”
Seeing Someone Else?
There was a long pause; finally, that officer revealed. “He’s fine. Actually, he did pretty well. Got some recognition.”
Zev let out a long breath, his shoulders finally relaxing. He ended the call.
As long as Charles was alive, that was all that mattered.
Zev stood outside the house for a moment before heading back in.
Caden shot to his feet the second he stepped inside and asked, “Did you find him?”
Zev nodded. “Got in touch. He said he’ll be back later and told us to have dinner without him.”
Caden looked at him, doubtful. “You really talked to him?”
Zev’s eyes shifted slightly, betraying just a flicker of something.
“Liar.” Caden’s voice rose, anxious now. He darted toward the door. He had to find someone–anyone–to help him look for Charles..
“Caden, stop.” Zev frowned, stepping forward.
“He’s hiding something from me–I know it! And you do too, don’t you?” Caden shouted, grabbing Zev by the collar. “I know you too well. You wouldn’t be asking if I was serious about him unless you knew something was wrong!”
Zev choked on his words. Since when did Caden get this sharp? But he still couldn’t blow Charles’s cover. “He…” Zev started, grasping for a lie.
“Is he seeing someone else?” Caden snapped. “Are you my brother or what? I’ve known something was up. I’ve been thinking maybe he’s got a wife and kids out there somewhere–made up a fake identity to string me along! He’s always acting shady, whispering into his phone in the middle of the night when he thinks I’m asleep!”
He was furious–truly hurt. He’d suspected Charles of cheating but never once imagined the real reason: Charles was undercover.
Zev took a deep breath, looking awkwardly at Caden. “Look … maybe you should just ask him yourself when he gets back.”
Ding–dong. The doorbell rang.
Caden turned toward it–and groaned. Not again.
It was Clarissa. Like a ghost that haunted him, she just kept turning up.
“What is wrong with you?!” Caden snapped. If she wanted to walk into gunfire, today was the day.
“What? You didn’t hear about Charles?” Clarissa raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised. She’d expected Caden to come running to her. Maybe it really was just a fling between those two?
Caden was stunned. He stared at Clarissa and asked, “What kind of nonsense are you spouting now?”
“Charles got kidnapped, didn’t he?” Clarissa said plainly. “I know where he is. And if you agree to get
Clarissa
Chapter 381 Is Charles Seeing Someone Else?
married to me, I’ll tell you where they’re holding him.”
