Chapter 27
The rain battered against the windows of Angus Williams's office, matching my darkening mood as I stood with my hands braced against the back of a leather chair. My knuckles had gone white from the pressure, but I couldn't bring myself to sit. Sitting felt too much like acceptance.
"What do you mean it wasn't him?" The words came out low and controlled, but inside, I was screaming.
James Killingham sighed, leaning back in the chair that normally seats Williams, as he regarded me with that insufferable calm that had always been his trademark.
"Exactly what I said, Logan. The man we apprehended in Finland wasn't Damien McIntyre. He was carrying McIntyre's passport, wallet, and even wearing his clothes, but facial recognition confirmed it was someone else entirely."
"A fucking decoy." I spat the words, my grip tightening on the chair. "And you fell for it."
"We didn't 'fall for' anything," Killingham replied, his tone sharpening slightly. "We followed the lead we had. It was solid intelligence that McIntyre was attempting to flee the country."
"And instead, you caught some random nobody while the man who tortured Cadence for weeks is still out there.
" I pushed away from the chair, pacing the length of the office like a caged animal.
Every cell in my body was screaming for action, for violence, for anything that might ease the crushing weight of failure pressing down on my chest.
"Not a random nobody," Killingham corrected, sliding a file across his desk. "Thomas Reid. Minor criminal record, mostly petty theft and fraud. Paid a substantial amount to act as McIntyre's double. He claims he was told it was for an insurance scam."
I flipped open the file, staring at the face of the man who wasn't Damien. He had the same build, similar colouring, but his features were all wrong. How the fuck had anyone mistaken this for Damien?
"And you believe that bullshit?" I asked, slamming the file shut.
"What I believe is irrelevant," Killingham replied evenly.
"What matters is that Reid has given us new information.
There have been sightings around Harrogate and Leeds in the last seventy-two hours.
McIntyre might still be close to home." The implication hit me like a physical blow.
Close to home meant close to Regents. Close to Covenant House. Close to Cadence.
"You're telling me that the man who abducted and tortured Cadence for weeks is lurking around our fucking backyard?" My voice rose despite my efforts to keep it under control. "And you're only telling me this now?"
"I'm telling you as soon as the information was verified," Killingham countered, his patience clearly wearing thin.
"And I'm telling you because you and your fellow Regents need to be on high alert.
Increase security at Covenant House. Limit Miss Turner's movements.
Take whatever precautions you deem necessary.
Trust me when I say that here safety is my concern as much as yours, Mr Bale. "
I ran a hand through my hair, trying to process the implications. Damien was still out there. Still free. Possibly watching us, watching Cadence, planning God knows what. The thought made my stomach twist with a nauseating mixture of rage and fear.
"I want all the intel you have," I demanded.
"Sightings, possible locations, known associates, everything.
And I want your people working with my father's security team.
No jurisdictional bullshit, no Trivium secrecy.
This ends now." Killingham studied me for a long moment, his expression unreadable.
"I've already sent the files to your secure email.
And Nicholas has been informed. As for cooperation.
.." He sighed. "You'll have whatever resources the Trivium can provide.
This reflects poorly on all of us, Logan.
We want him found as much as you do." I doubted that very much.
No one could possibly want Damien found as much as I did, except perhaps Ryder and Cole.
But I kept that thought to myself, nodding curtly as I turned toward the door.
"Logan," Killingham called after me. I paused, hand on the doorknob, not bothering to turn around. "Be careful how you handle this with Cadence. She's been through enough trauma." A bitter laugh escaped me before I could stop it.
"You think I don't know that? You think I need you to tell me how to protect her?"
"I think," Killingham said carefully, "that sometimes our desire to protect the people we care about can lead us to make decisions that ultimately cause more harm than good."
I left without responding, slamming the door behind me hard enough to rattle the frosted glass panel bearing the Trivium's insignia. The hallway of the administration building was mercifully empty, allowing me a moment to compose myself before heading out into the rain.
My thoughts were a storm as violent as the one raging outside.
Damien was still free. Still a threat. And I had to go home and face Cadence with this knowledge weighing on me, knowing I had failed her yet again.
The thought of seeing her, of watching her flinch at sudden movements or wake screaming from nightmares, knowing her tormentor was still out there, was almost unbearable.
I had been avoiding her. I could admit that much to myself, at least. Throwing myself into the hunt for Damien, spending more time with my father's security teams than at Covenant House, all under the guise of seeking justice.
But the truth was simpler and far more shameful: I couldn't face her.
Couldn't bear the sight of what had been done to her because I had left her alone.
Couldn't stand the knowledge that if I had just stayed with her that night, none of this would have happened.
The rain soaked through my jacket as I made my way to my car, but I barely felt it.
The cold numbness that had become my constant companion since Cadence's abduction seemed to shield me from physical discomfort.
Nothing could compare to the ice that had settled in my chest the moment I saw her in that cell, broken and barely alive.
The drive back to Covenant House was a blur of windshield wipers and grim thoughts.
By the time I pulled into the driveway, I had resolved to tell Cole and Ryder immediately, but to keep the information from Cadence for as long as possible.
She was just starting to heal, just beginning to reclaim some semblance of her former self.
I couldn't bear to shatter that fragile progress with the news that her nightmare wasn't over.
The house was quiet when I entered, shaking rainwater from my hair and dropping my keys on the console table with a muted clatter.
I expected to find Cadence in her room, or perhaps with Ryder, who had barely left her side since her return.
Instead, as I passed the living room, I caught sight of her curled on the couch with Cole, both of them engrossed in a movie playing on the television.
I froze in the doorway, momentarily stunned by the sight before me.
Cadence's hair was purple again, a rich, vibrant violet that framed her face and made her blue eyes seem even more striking against her pale skin.
It was so unexpected, so reminiscent of the fierce, defiant girl we had first brought to Covenant House, that for a moment I couldn't speak.
Cole noticed me first, his eyes flicking up to meet mine with a mixture of wariness and something like pride. He nudged Cadence gently, and she turned, her gaze finding mine across the room.
"Logan," she said, her voice soft but steadier than I had heard it in weeks. "You're soaked." I became aware of the water dripping from my jacket onto the hardwood floor, forming a small puddle around my feet.
"It's raining," I said stupidly, still unable to tear my eyes away from her transformed appearance. "Your hair." A small, hesitant smile touched her lips, and she reached up to touch a purple strand as if to confirm it was really there.
"Cole and Ryder helped me dye it back. Well, Rosa did most of the actual work, but it was their idea.
" Something twisted painfully in my chest. Cole and Ryder had seen what she needed, had found a way to help her reclaim a piece of herself, while I had been too busy running away from my own guilt to even notice.
The realisation burned like acid in my throat.
"It looks good," I managed, forcing a smile that felt foreign on my face. "Really good." And it did. The purple hair was like a beacon in the dimly lit room, a flash of the old Cadence shining through the trauma-induced fog that had surrounded her since her rescue.
Cole was watching me closely, his expression carefully neutral but his eyes alert. He could always read me too well.
"Everything okay?" he asked, though his tone made it clear he already knew the answer.
I hesitated, glancing at Cadence. She looked... not happy, exactly, but more present than she had in weeks. The last thing I wanted was to shatter that fragile peace with news about Damien.
"Just wet," I replied, gesturing to my drenched state. "And I need to talk to you about something, Cole. Work stuff." Cole nodded, understanding the code for 'not in front of Cadence.' He turned to her with a gentle smile.
"Will you be okay for a bit? I should see what Logan needs." For a fleeting moment, I saw panic flash across Cadence's face, the fear of being left alone that had become a constant since her rescue. But she mastered it quickly, nodding with a determination that made my heart ache.
"I'm fine. The movie's almost over, anyway." Cole squeezed her hand briefly before standing, and I noticed with a mixture of relief and envy how she didn't flinch from his touch.