Hitched & Hitched Again: A Comedy of Marital Mayhem novel Chapter 1817

"While I'm gone, I need you two to take care of your mom and your siblings."

Elliot and Elijah nodded solemnly. "Stay safe, Dad."

Tarquin ruffled their hair, then stood and walked out.

He had barely stepped into the hallway when Lowell Rhodes called. Lowell's voice was hoarse and frantic. "Tarquin, something's wrong! I just saw a text from Axel. A few minutes ago, he told me... he said goodbye. He said he'd see me in the next life!"

"He's in trouble! Bad trouble! You know how he is, he wouldn't even say 'Happy Birthday' on our birthdays, let alone joke about dying!"

"He's in danger, Tarquin, he..."

Lowell was rambling incoherently until his words broke into full-blown sobs.

He and Axel had been inseparable since childhood.

In fact, Lowell had spent more of his life with Axel than he had with Tarquin.

They had survived on the streets together, fighting for scraps, sleeping in filth, taking beatings side by side, and shivering through freezing rain.

Axel was the brother who would gladly starve just to make sure Lowell had food in his stomach. He was the one who would eat stale bread so Lowell could have a warm meal.

Whenever they took a beating as kids, Axel would always throw himself over Lowell to shield him from the blows.

The thought of losing him was tearing Lowell apart.

Back then, Axel had been the fiercely protective older sibling.

But as they grew into adulthood, their dynamic shifted.

Even though Axel was by far the deadliest fighter, Lowell had become the caretaker in their daily lives.

Axel was withdrawn and terrible at navigating social situations; to Lowell, he was just a grown man who hadn't quite figured out how to live in the real world.

And now, that same brother had just sent a final farewell text. It was too much to bear.

Listening to Lowell's broken cries, Tarquin felt his throat tighten. "Pack your gear. We're leaving to find him right now."

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