Chapter 15
Charlotte
T hat night, Kane guided me to his bed without discussion or asking.
It struck me, as I lay there listening to his heartbeat slow, that this was the first time we’d ever actually slept together.
At the club, we’d fucked and then gone our separate ways.
Earlier tonight, we’d collapsed on the living room floor before eventually stumbling to clean up.
But this—lying tangled together in the soft glow of the nightstand lamp, his fingers idly threading through my hair—this was different.
This was intimate in a way that made me ache with a longing I wasn’t prepared for.
I fit against his side like I belonged there, curled into the solid warmth of him with my head tucked against his shoulder, his arm wrapped securely around me, and our legs intertwined under the sheets. It felt so natural. So right. Like this was where I was meant to be. In this man’s arms. Always.
But I knew better than to trust that feeling.
Whatever this was between us, it was temporary.
A product of proximity and adrenaline and unfinished business.
Time was ticking down. Tate had sent bits and pieces about Calloway over the past few days, but nothing substantial.
No smoking gun. No evidence that would implicate Calloway definitively and put him away.
Eventually, one way or another, this would end. I’d either get my story or I wouldn’t. Kane would go back to his life, and I’d go back to mine. And this fragile, unexpected thing we’d built in this safehouse would fade into memory.
Maybe that was why I couldn’t stop thinking about what Kane had told me regarding his brother a few days ago.
Kohen following Kane into law enforcement despite resenting him.
The constant rivalry. The bitterness simmering beneath the surface for years.
Kane being the perceived golden child while Kohen fought to prove he could measure up.
An idea had been taking shape in my mind since then. What if we could use that rivalry to our advantage, and in the process possibly repair Kane’s relationship with Kohen?
I tilted my head back to look at Kane. His eyes were half-closed, tranquility softening his features in a way that made my heart stutter. He looked relaxed. Happy, even. A far cry from the cold, bitter man I’d come face to face with at Noble and Associates.
His gaze met mine, and a slight smile curved his lips. “Something on your mind, Ms. Massey?”
The question was soft, a little amused, like he thought I was about to say something flirty. Something light and easy to match the warmth between us.
I almost hated to ruin it.
“I’ve been thinking about Kohen,” I said.
Kane’s hand stilled in my hair. The contentment in his expression flickered, replaced by wariness. “What about him?”
I shifted slightly, propping myself up on his chest so I could see his face better. His arm stayed wrapped around me, but I felt the tension creeping into his muscles.
“You said he’s always wanted to outshine you,” I said carefully. “That he needs to prove he can do things you can’t—be better and get recognition on his own terms.” I paused, letting the words settle. “What if we gave him the chance to do exactly that?”
Kane’s eyes narrowed. “Charlotte...”
“Hear me out.” I pressed my palm flat against his chest, feeling his heartbeat quicken beneath my hand.
“Ruth told me about the cops who visited the strip clubs, and I saw them there myself, too. She said they were high-ranking. People with real power. If Kohen could get close to them, find a way in, he might be able to get proof we can actually use against Calloway. Footage. A recorded conversation. Something concrete.”
Kane’s entire body went rigid beneath me. He pulled back, creating distance between us that felt like more than just physical space.
“Are you out of your mind?” His voice was low, controlled—but I heard the anger simmering beneath it. “That’s my brother you’re talking about.”
“Your brother who’s already on the inside,” I argued, because of course I was like a dog with a bone. “Who has access we don’t have—”
“Who would be dead if he got caught.”
Kane sat up abruptly, the sheets pooling at his waist. I sat up too, pulling the comforter against my chest as the warmth between us evaporated.
“You saw what happened to Ruth. You think Calloway would hesitate for one second to do the same thing to a cop who betrayed him?”
“I’m not saying it’s without risk—”
“Risk?” Kane’s laugh was harsh, humorless.
“Charlotte, these aren’t people who play by rules.
Human traffickers are the worst of the worst. They’re already doing the most evil thing a person can do to another human being.
Murder doesn’t even register as a moral line for them.
Torture before murder is just... standard practice.
” He ran a hand through his hair, the gesture rough with agitation.
“That’s my brother. I can’t hand him an opportunity to get himself killed. ”
I lifted my chin. “Maybe that’s not your call to make.”
The words hung between us, sharp-edged and unretractable.
Kane’s jaw tightened. “Excuse me?”
I’d already crossed that line, so I pressed on before I lost my nerve.
“You told me Kohen has always felt like he was in competition with you. Almost like the younger brother that could never measure up.” I kept my voice steady, even though my heart was racing.
“If you keep this from him—if there’s a chance he could help, could prove himself, and you don’t even give him the choice because you’re worried—aren’t you doing exactly what he fears?
Treating him like he’s not good enough at his job to help? ”
“That is not the same thing,” he said, his voice a low growl.
“Isn’t it?” I shifted closer, refusing to let him retreat into anger. “If our positions were reversed, if you were the one on the inside and I came to you with this, what would you do? Honestly?”
Kane’s mouth opened. Closed. His jaw flexed, the muscle working visibly beneath his skin.
“That’s different,” he said finally.
“How?” I pressed.
“Because I—” He stopped. Exhaled slowly through his nose. “I can’t ask someone else to risk their life. Not for this.”
“But if I asked it of you , you wouldn’t hesitate to say yes.” It wasn’t a question. “So why can’t we ask it of Kohen? Why doesn’t he get the same respect you’d want?”
The silence stretched between us, heavy and charged. I watched Kane wrestle with what I’d just pointed out—the logic he couldn’t refute warring with the protective instincts that ran bone-deep.
“He’s a police officer,” I pressed, gentler now. “This is literally what he signed up for. And if we don’t find something soon, my story dies. Ruth will have died for nothing, and Calloway keeps doing what he’s been doing, and more women disappear.”
Kane’s shoulders dropped slightly. Not defeat, exactly—but the beginning of reluctant consideration.
“You really are relentless,” he muttered.
“I became a journalist because I’m like this.” I allowed myself a small smile. “I’m not like this because I’m a journalist.”
Grudging respect flickered across his expression. “Fair enough. There are people who became cops because of who they are, and people who became who they are because they’re cops. You learn to spot the difference.”
“Most people don’t understand that distinction.”
“I do.”
The admission felt like more than just words. Like an acknowledgment that we were the same kind of person, underneath everything—driven by something deeper than circumstance.
I reached out and took his hand, threading my fingers through his. “This could help us and give Kohen something he needs. A way to prove himself. A way to bridge the gap between you two.” I squeezed gently. “Think about what that could mean. For both of you.”
Kane stared down at our intertwined hands. I could practically see the thoughts churning behind his eyes—weighing the risks, the possibilities, the brother he loved despite everything.
“And,” I added, aiming for lightness, “it’ll get me out of your hair faster if we crack this.”
Kane’s head lifted. He gave me an odd look, one I couldn’t quite read. Not the amused smile I’d expected, but a quieter, more conflicted emotion.
“Right,” he said slowly. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s all I’m asking.”
He switched off the light on the nightstand and pulled me back down against his chest, and I went willingly, settling into the warmth of his body. But my mind was still spinning.
I didn’t want Kohen to get hurt. After Ruth, I knew better than anyone that there were no guarantees, that being careful wasn’t always enough.
But we were out of options. And if this worked—if Kohen came through—it wouldn’t just save the story.
It might help Kane repair the most fractured relationship in his life.
Maybe that would go some small way toward making up for how badly I’d hurt him.
Kane’s fingers resumed their slow, absent path through my hair. His breathing evened out, his body relaxing beside me.
But I lay awake for a long time, staring into the darkness and hoping I hadn’t just set something terrible in motion.