Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1527

Leaving Lowell behind to handle the aftermath was to protect them.

Lowell understood Tarquin’s meaning and nodded. “Don’t worry about a thing. I’ll handle everything here.”

Tarquin finished packing, put on his jacket, and said with a cold face, “As soon as I’m gone, have the guards move in. Every last one of his spies—take them out.”

“Got it. You be safe.”

Just as Tarquin left, Lowell’s phone rang. It was one of the bodyguards.

“Lowell, Dane’s in trouble. A man named Kuban is using his brother to threaten him, trying to force information out of him.”

Lowell’s brow tightened. “Is Diaz hurt?”

“He’s been kidnapped by Kuban’s accomplices.”

Lowell was seething. “What kind of watch were you keeping?”

“Kuban is a friend of Dane’s,” the guard explained helplessly. “He went straight to Dane’s house. We were caught off guard and couldn’t risk a confrontation.”

Lowell frowned. “I’m on my way now. Find a chance to rescue the kid. Don’t hold back. As long as Dane and Diaz are safe, you do what you have to do. Break bones if you have to.”

He was filled with a burning rage and needed an outlet.

The mysterious figure was nowhere to be found, but his informants were all Zhinorians. Collaborating with the devil to harm their own countrymen—what were they if not traitors? And there was nothing more despicable than a traitor.

…

As evening fell, just as Tarquin arrived at the airport, he received a call from a spoofed number. It was the mysterious figure.

“You’d barely left town when Lowell started taking out my informants. What’s he so worked up about? Or is it you who’s angry?”

The voice was dangerously smooth. “Someone you care about. Someone you value. Someone you miss very, very much.”

Tarquin froze.

“If you want more information about him,” the man continued, “trade me a clue about the 8th-generation virus. If you find it soon enough, you might even be able to save his life.”

Before Tarquin could say anything, the line went dead.

Tarquin’s brow was deeply furrowed, his breathing ragged. He tried to call back, but the number was virtual and unreachable.

His face darkened. For a moment, he couldn’t think who the man could possibly be talking about. But he knew this wasn’t a bluff. To get the virus from him, the man would have long ago prepared the perfect leverage. This person he was talking about had to be real.

But who was it?