Stolen Identity: Mute Heiress

Chapter 280: Fathers

Jamal and Callan stepped out of the Quinn house a little before noon. Callan slipped into the passenger seat, tugging on his seatbelt as Jamal started the engine.

”Are you sure you don’t want me to drive? I still don’t trust your driving skill,” Callan said, making Jamal chuckle.

”You seem to have forgotten that not long ago I was an employed driver,” he joked, and Callan snorted.

”Did you ever receive your salary?” He asked, and Jamal frowned.

”Now that you mentioned it, I didn’t. I guess when Stefan comes with Genevieve I’ll have to ask her for it. I don’t owe her boyfriend his salary so she shouldn’t hold on to mine,” he said with, and this time Callan chuckled.

They drove slowly at first, windows half down, letting the warm air rush in. Callan leaned back, his eyes roaming the streets. ”I guess I’ve not been in Ludus for a long time. Lots of stuff have changed around here,” he said after a while. His voice was quiet, almost thoughtful.

Jamal glanced at him. ”Yeah. You’ve been away for a long time and each time you came around you never stayed more than a couple of days.”

Callan pointed as they passed a row of glass-front stores. ”That café used to be a small thrift shop. And the cinema over there? It used to be a rundown hall. Now it looks brand new.” His eyes widened at another corner. ”And that bakery, wait, wasn’t that where we used to drive all the way from campus to get meat pies?”

Jamal laughed, steering toward it. ”Yeah. The owners sold it three years ago. But the new owners retained the staff and they still make the best meat pies and bread in Ludus. You’ll see.”

They parked and walked in. The smell of fresh bread, cinnamon, and butter wrapped around them. Callan breathed deep, his shoulders loosening. ”God, I just realized how much I’ve missed this.”

They ordered meat pies for Callan, a sandwich for Jamal, and mugs of hot cocoa. The little bell above the door jingled each time someone walked in, and they found a small table near the window.

Callan chewed thoughtfully, watching the city outside. Then he turned to Jamal. ”By the way, how’s Mari? It’s been a while since I last saw her. Maybe we can surprise her later. Yesterday, was her birthday, wasn’t it?”

The question caught Jamal off guard. He froze for half a second, then his hand went to his head. His eyes widened. ”Damn. Her birthday. I didn’t call her.”

Callan’s brows shot up. ”You forgot her birthday?”

Jamal groaned. ”Completely slipped my mind.” He pulled out his phone and dialed quickly. On Callan’s request he put the call on speaker.

The line rang. And rang. Finally, Mari picked up.

He could hear the pout in her voice as she received the call. ”Wow. You finally decided to call me twenty-four hours after my birthday.”

Jamal winced. ”Mari, I’m sorry. Things have been crazy. It slipped my mind—”

”That’s worse,” she cut in. ”You’re saying my birthday just escaped your mind? Do you know how much that hurts?”

Before Jamal could respond, Callan leaned over and plucked the phone from his hand. ”Give him a break, Mari,” Callan’s voice came steady. ”With everything going on here, he’s allowed to forget everyone’s birthday for a whole year.”

There was silence. Then a gasp. ”Cal the jerk?” Mari’s voice softened instantly. ”Is that really you? Oh my God—I’ve been so worried about you! How are you?”

”How else is a jerk supposed to be? I’m fine,” Callan said, lips curving faintly. ”Thanks for worrying about me. And happy birthday, Mari.”

Her giggle rang down the line. ”Thank you. And Jamal, you don’t have to worry about me. I had the best birthday of my life and I doubt I’d have had the time to talk to you considering how busy I was with my cute boyfriend. And just so you know, he’s the hottest guy in the world. You both don’t stand a chance.”

Callan and Jamal chuckled. ”Hottest, huh? Jamal, have you drilled him yet?”

Jamal chuckled. ”Not yet. But since you’re here, we’ll do it together. Put him on, Mari. Let’s see if he’s really as cute as you say.”

Mari laughed so hard her voice shook. ”Not now. He’s making me breakfast. I’m waiting in bed. But I’ll give you the privilege you talk to him later.”

”Fine,” Callan said, amusement lacing his tone. ”I look forward to meeting him.”

Mari’s voice turned curious. ”So what’s happening over there in Ludus? I saw Ryan’s video,” she said hesitantly, not sure if she should talk about it in front of Callan.

Jamal raised a brow. ”You saw it?”

”Yeah. And honestly the only thing stopping me from calling him every foul name I know is Callan,” Mari admitted.

Callan grimaced. ”You don’t need to spare my feelings. I’ve got none for him. Call him whatever you want.”

”You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that,” Mari said with a sigh.

”Easy, Mari. You of all people should be a little more understanding,” Jamal said, not wanting Callan to ever get the impression that he needed to pretend about his feelings around them.

”What do you mean by that?” Mari asked with a slight frown.

Jamal’s voice dropped. ”Your Dad killed lots of people to avenge your mom’s death too, remember? He killed his own father too. None of our fathers are perfect so maybe we shouldn’t call each other’s fathers out. The major difference between you and Callan is that your father raised you himself and he had a person like aunt Andy beside him. Maybe if Ryan had the privilege of raising Callan and had someone like aunt Andy too, things wouldn’t have gotten to this extent,” Jamal said, and Callan frowned, wondering what Jamal was talking about.

Mari pouted. Although she wanted to argue with Jamal and say they couldn’t compare her father with a monster like Ryan because her father only killed the bad guys, she didn’t. She didn’t want to hurt Callan’s feelings, and she didn’t want to argue with Jamal either.

As if realizing that he’d taken things too far and said too much, Jamal cleared his throat. ”I’m sorry I got carried away, Mari. I didn’t call so we can argue about stuff like this. You know I respect your Dad. Let’s talk about your favorite topic. You. Tell us what did you do on your birthday.”

Glad that he had changed the subject, she giggled and her voice turned mischievous again. ”You both won’t believe it. I found out who my secret painter crush is.”

Both guys leaned forward unconsciously. ”You did?”

”Who?” They asked in unison.

”It’s my boyfriend, Jax,” Mari whispered excitedly. ”He had so many paintings of me in his studio. Can you believe it?”

Callan wrinkled his nose. ”That sounds creepy.”

Mari laughed. ”Maybe I’d be creeped out if it were someone else but it’s Jax. And Jax is so sweet and cool. Maybe the fact that my parents sent me to him also makes me feel even more at ease.”

”Her parents sent her to him?” Callan asked with a puzzled frown, looking at Jamal in confusion.

”I’ll tell you about it later,” Jamal whispered to him.

Her voice dropped lower, almost giddy. ”And guess what guys?! I finally did it.”

Both Jamal and Callan exchanged a look. ”Did what?” they asked.

Mari giggled. ”You know. The stuff adults of the opposite sex do together in bed.”

Callan groaned. ”Why are you telling us this?” He asked, rubbing his forehead.

This wasn’t how he had imagined spending his day or the kind of conversation he’d imagined having, but here he was.

As if the conversation was not weird enough already, Jamal leaned forward. ”You used protection, right?”

Callan stared at him. ”You’re asking her that? Don’t you guys have any boundaries?”

Mari giggled. ”Take a chill pill, Cal. It’s not like I’m giving you guys any details. And Jamal, why are you always asking me about protection when you’re the one that knocked up the first girl you slept with?” She asked making Callan laugh.

”Well, what did they say about experience being the best teacher? Experience taught me,” Jamal muttered.

Mari laughed until she coughed. ”Don’t worry. We took precautions. And it wouldn’t be so bad to have a mini me, would it? Anyway, I gotta go. He’s coming with breakfast. I hear his footsteps.”

”Have fun,” Callan said warmly.

”Be careful,” Jamal added before hanging up the call.