All Chapters of The Bodyguards boy : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

73 Chapters

Fractures

Rowan hadn’t slept in two days.He stood at the penthouse windows, the city stretched wide below, lights flickering like a pulse that wouldn’t slow. His reflection was a hollow version of himself jaw sharp, dark circles carved under his eyes, and the faintest twitch in his fingers whenever he reached for his phone. He’d already scoured traffic cams, hacked his way through old Wesley files, even retraced Cassian’s last public appearances. All the trails bled into smoke.The world had written Cassian Wesley’s obituary. Rowan refused.Every instinct he had, honed by years of violence and vigilance, screamed the same thing: Cassian wasn’t gone. He was somewhere, waiting, hurting. Maybe worse. But alive. Rowan clung to that belief like a blade. If he let it go, he’d collapse.Behind him, Lennox’s laughter cut through the silence. Too loud. Too casual. He was sprawled on Cassian’s couch, feet up, scrolling his phone with the ease of someone who hadn’t been hollowed out by grief.“You’re goi

Ghosts of the Living

The Wesley estate sat at the edge of the city like a monument to wealth and denial three floors of glass and silence, sprawling gardens, and gates tall enough to keep the world out.Rowan’s car slowed as the iron gates swung open, creaking like something ancient that didn’t want to move. The headlights cut across the rain-slick driveway, glinting off marble statues and manicured hedges trimmed into impossible perfection. The place looked more like a museum than a home a monument to appearances, built to be admired but never touched.He drove through the gates, gravel crunching beneath the tires, and for a moment, he could almost feel the weight of Cassian’s absence pressing against the windshield. The estate had always felt cold, but tonight, it felt hollow as if the grief inside had finally swallowed what little life remained.The guards at the front didn’t stop him. They knew who he was by now the man who kept showing up when everyone else had retreated behind press statements and c

HOLLOW GRAVE

The rain hadn’t stopped since dawn.It came down in soft sheets that blurred the skyline and soaked through umbrellas, turning the city into a gray watercolor. The cemetery sat on a low hill, flanked by stone angels darkened by weather and time. Every inch of ground shimmered with rainwater puddles pooling between graves, the mud sucking at polished shoes.Dozens of black umbrellas dotted the field like bruises.The Wesley family stood beneath the largest one, their silhouettes neat and composed for the cameras lingering at the gate.Cassian’s framed photo rested beside the coffin smiling, charming, the version the world preferred to remember. His eyes in the picture caught the light, alive in a way that twisted something deep inside Rowan’s chest.He stayed back from the main crowd, half-hidden beneath the shadow of a drooping oak. His umbrella tilted slightly, the rain dripping steadily from its edges. His black suit clung damply to his shoulders, but he didn’t move. He didn’t want

WRONG BODY

The rain refused to leave the city.Even hours after the funeral, the sky still hung low and gray, the streets slick with water and reflections. Rowan drove without turning on the radio, the quiet inside the car thick enough to press against his thoughts.The crash report sat open on the passenger seat.He had read it three times already.Each time the same unease crawled beneath his skin.Official cause of death: high-speed collision followed by vehicle fire.Case status: closed pending family approval.Rowan’s jaw tightened.Closed.Of course it was closed. Preston Wesley could close almost anything with a single phone call and the right amount of money.Rowan stopped at a red light and glanced again at the photograph clipped to the report.The image had been taken by a responding officer. Flashing red and blue lights reflected across twisted metal and charred asphalt.The car was barely recognizable.And inside itThe body.Rowan exhaled slowly.Burned beyond recognition, the repor

STRANGE NUMBER

Night settled over the city like a heavy curtain.Streetlights reflected across rain-soaked pavement, turning the roads into long ribbons of gold and shadow. Rowan sat in his car across from the Wesley estate, the tall iron gates looming ahead like silent guards.The crash report rested on the passenger seat.He had folded the page with the photograph, but the image still lingered in his mind.The burned body.Too broad.Too heavy.Not Cassian.Rowan leaned back in the seat and stared at the estate windows glowing faintly through the darkness. The Wesley mansion always looked calm from the outside perfect lawns, polished stone, carefully placed lights.Inside, it was something else entirely.Footsteps approached the car.Rowan looked up just as Taryn stepped into the glow of the streetlight.She wore a long dark coat and carried the same tense posture she’d had since the memorial service. Her eyes scanned the street before she opened the passenger door and slid inside.“You said it wa

THREE CALLS

The number kept returning to Rowan’s mind.Three calls.Same number.Same night Cassian disappeared.It sat in the call log like a splinter under the skin small, almost invisible among the dozens of other contacts, but impossible to ignore once you noticed it.Rowan stared at the laptop screen again.Across the small kitchen table, Taryn watched him scroll through the log for the fourth time.“You’re going to burn a hole through that screen,” she said.Rowan didn’t look up.“Maybe.”“You’ve been staring at that number for twenty minutes.”“I know.”Morning light slipped through the tall windows of Rowan’s apartment, pale and quiet. The city outside was waking slowly distant traffic, the hum of buses, someone shouting across the street below.Inside, the only sound was the faint tapping of Rowan’s keyboard.

The File

Lennox Vale stared at the phone on his desk.Three calls.The number sat there like an accusation.The office had gone completely silent.Sunlight filtered through the tall windows behind him, cutting thin lines across the dark wood floor, but the warmth of the afternoon did nothing to ease the tension in the room.Rowan stood across from the desk, arms folded.Taryn remained beside him, her gaze fixed on Lennox.No one spoke.Finally Lennox exhaled slowly and leaned back in his chair.“Where did you get that?” he asked.His tone sounded calm, but the tightness in his jaw betrayed him.“That doesn’t matter,” Rowan said.“What matters,” Taryn added quietly, “is why you were calling him.”Lennox looked from one of them to the other.Then his eyes dropped back to the phone.“You’re jumping to conclusions.”“Are we?” Rowan asked.He tapped the screen.“The man you called checked into Blue Harbor Inn under the name Evan Cross.”Lennox said nothing.“He’s the same man Cassian left the club

THE WARNING

The rain had thinned into a cold mist by the time Rowan turned onto the narrow industrial street.The buildings here were older brick walls stained dark by decades of weather and exhaust. A single flickering streetlamp illuminated the crooked metal sign above the garage.Derek’s Auto Service.Taryn looked out the window.“This is where Cassian came?”Rowan nodded, tapping the tablet resting on the steering wheel.“According to his vehicle records, yes.”The screen displayed a detailed log of Cassian’s red Lamborghini every service appointment, diagnostic check, and GPS stop recorded by the car’s internal system.Luxury dealerships dominated the list.High-end performance shops.Private service centers.Exactly what you’d expect from someone like Cassian Wesley.Except for one entry.A small, independent garage.

SHADOWS

The footage looped again.Rowan leaned forward in his chair, elbows resting on the desk as the dim light of the monitor flickered across his face. Across from him, Taryn sat with her arms folded, eyes fixed on the screen.The small office around them was quiet except for the faint hum of the computer.On the screen, the grainy CCTV footage from Derek’s garage replayed for what must have been the twentieth time.A shadow moved into frame.The man.He wore a dark jacket and a cap pulled low over his face. For a moment he simply stood beside Cassian’s red Lamborghini, glancing around the empty garage.Then he crouched.Rowan tapped the keyboard.“Pause.”The image froze.The man’s hand was visible near the open wiring panel beneath the car.“Zoom there,” Rowan said.Taryn dragged the cursor across the screen, enlarging the image.The resolution bec

DEAD SIGNALS

The city lights thinned behind them, dissolving into long stretches of empty road.Rowan kept his distance.Not too close to raise suspicion. Not too far to lose him.Julian Ward’s sedan cut through the night with steady precision, every turn deliberate, every movement controlled. There was no hesitation in his driving.“He’s not wandering,” Taryn said quietly.Rowan’s eyes stayed on the road ahead.“No. He already knows where he’s going.”The sedan veered off the main road.Rowan slowed slightly, letting another car pass before following the turn.The road narrowed into darkness.Trees pressed in on both sides, their branches swaying faintly in the wind. Somewhere beyond them, water moved low and distant.Taryn leaned forward slightly.“River.”Rowan nodded.Then the structure came into view.An abandoned bridge.Rust crawled along the railings. Barricades blocked the center. It stood like something forgotten cut off from the world, untouched for years.Julian’s car rolled to a stop

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