"Yes," I bit out. "I'll be there."
"Excellent. And Ryder? Do try to pull yourself together before then. Your obsession with this girl is becoming concerning. People are beginning to talk."
"Is that all?" I asked, struggling to keep my tone neutral.
"For now." The threat of future demands hung in the air between us. "I'll expect you at seven. Don't be late."
The line went dead, and I stood there for a moment, phone clutched in my hand, rage and helplessness warring within me. I wanted to throw the phone, to scream, to break something, preferably my father's face. Instead, I took a deep breath, thenanother, forcing the fury down deep where it couldn't touch Cade. She'd seen enough anger, enough violence. I wouldn't add to it. With one last glance at the window to confirm she was still there, still safe with Luce, I headed back toward the house, schooling my features into something resembling calm.
The warmth of Covenant House enveloped me as I stepped inside, a stark contrast to the bitter cold and even more bitter conversation I'd just endured. I shrugged off my jacket, hanging it by the door before making my way toward the living room, where soft voices and the occasional gentle laugh indicated Luce was still keeping Cade company. I paused in the doorway, taking in the scene. Cade was curled up on the couch, knees drawn to her chest, swallowed by one of my oversized sweaters. A thick blanket was draped around her shoulders like a protective cloak. Her hair, which was more dark roots than the blond left over from the faded out purple, was pulled back in a loose ponytail. She looked so small, so fragile, yet there was a spark in her eyes today that had been absent yesterday, a tiny ember of the fire that had once burned so brightly.
Luce sat beside her, animated as she recounted some story about a disastrous date one of the Courts girls had been on. "-and then he had the audacity to ask if she'd split the bill after he'd spent the entire meal talking about his vast estate!" A small smile tugged at the corner of Cade's mouth.
"What did she do?"
"Ordered the most expensive dessert on the menu, ate one bite, and then 'accidentally' spilled her wine all over his designer shoes." Luce grinned, miming the action with exaggerated movements that drew a soft, raspy laugh from Cade.
The sound hit me like a physical blow. When was the last time I'd heard her laugh? Before the kidnapping, certainly. Before the punishment ritual, maybe. It seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Hey," I said softly, stepping into the room. "Everything okay in here?" Both girls looked up, Cade's smile fading slightly but not disappearing entirely. Progress, I reminded myself. Small steps.
"We're good," Luce answered, her eyes searching my face. She knew me too well and could probably see the tension I was trying so hard to hide. "Just catching up on all the Courts House drama Cade's been missing." I knew that even though Luce wasn’t a part of the Courts, her Melody and Silvia had become close since Cade went missing, and she had spent a lot of time there. Something that had been by my design. I was worried that whoever had taken Cade would go after Luce next. I needed to know she was safe while I searched for Cade.
I moved to sit in the armchair across from them, careful to give Cade space. We'd all learned quickly that crowding her could trigger panic attacks, could send her mind spiralling back to that cell.
"Sounds riveting," I said, forcing lightness into my tone. "Please, don't let me interrupt." Cade's eyes lingered on my face, her expression thoughtful.
"Was that your father on the phone?" she asked quietly. I blinked, surprised by her perception.
"Yeah, it was. Just the usual Purcell family bullshit." I waved a dismissive hand, trying to downplay it. "Nothing important." She nodded, but I could tell she didn't quite believe me. Before she could press further, the sound of footsteps on the stairs drew our attention. Cole appeared in the doorway, his eyes briefly meeting mine before skittering away to fix on some point just over Cade's head.
"Hey," he said, his voice oddly formal. "I didn't realise you were all down here."
"Just chatting," Luce said, her tone deliberately light, though I could see the concern in her eyes as she glanced between Cole and Cade. "You want to join us?" Cole shifted his weight, discomfort evident in every line of his body.
"Actually, I can't. I've got a project for Advanced Economics that I need to finish by tomorrow." I didn't miss the way Cade's shoulders tensed slightly, or how she drew the blanket tighter around herself, as if bracing against a sudden chill.
"Oh," she said, her voice small. "Okay."
"Maybe later?" Cole offered the words hollow, a platitude with no real intention behind them. "I should be done in a few hours."
"Sure," Cade nodded, her gaze dropping to her lap where her fingers worried at a loose thread in the blanket. "No problem."
Cole lingered for a moment longer, something like guilt flashing across his features before he nodded once and disappeared back up the stairs. The silence he left in his wake was heavy, laden with all the things none of us were saying.
I watched as Cade visibly tried to rally, to push down whatever hurt she was feeling.
"So," she said to Luce, her voice a little too bright, "what happened with Lisa and that guy from Syndicate House? You were telling me about it yesterday, but we got interrupted." Luce launched into another story, but I was barely listening. All I could focus on was the way Cade's eyes kept drifting toward the empty doorway where Cole had stood, the slight downturn of her mouth when she thought no one was looking. It was the same look she got whenever Logan made his increasingly frequent excuses to be elsewhere.
The rage I'd suppressed during my father's call began to simmer again, directed now at my brothers. For weeks, all three of us had been united in our desperation to find Cade, to bring her home. We'd promised to protect her, to help her heal. Yet now that she was here, now that the real work of recovery had begun, Logan and Cole were pulling away, finding reasons to be anywhere but with her. I understood their guilt. God knows, I felt it too. The weight of our failure to protect her, the knowledge that we'd branded her ourselves before Damien ever laid hands on her. But that wasn't an excuse to abandon her now, when she needed us most.
My phone buzzed with a text.
Logan:
Meeting with Lynch in 20. Updates on McIntyre. You coming?
I typed back quickly:
