438 Treading Through It All

At a quarter past midnight, the couple who just had the most amazing exercise they've had in a while was all snuggled up in bed. Katherine laid on Damien's chest with a soft blanket covering their naked bodies. 

Compared to their previous lovemaking, what they did earlier was far different from what they have had. In the past, they had barriers up—most of it was Katherine's, but Damien had some too. However, tonight was proof of just how much they had been holding back. Both of them got to see each other's different side—in bed.

All this time, Katherine had been struggling but still continued to try and give her all. Similarly, Damien had been struggling but still continued to be what he needed to be.

Two imperfect souls—not trying to be perfect… But trying to be just right for each other, no matter how hard it already has been for either of them. 

It hadn't always been and probably still wouldn't be the smoothest sail for Katherine and Damien, but neither of them was willing to give up. No matter what storm may come, no matter what hail may fall, these imperfect souls would tread through it all.

…

The moon was high above the sky, serving as the only light that's illuminating the master bedroom. Despite the cold wind outside at this time of the year, Damien made sure that the temperature in the penthouse was just right. The air smelled of lavender and sex—a combination they could get used to if they keep going at it—which wasn't a question anymore.

The buzzing of a phone from the nightstand woke Damien up. It had only been an hour since they had snoozed. Reaching out to check who was calling at this hour, he squinted his eyes and saw that it was Styles. Careful not to wake Katherine up, he slid out of bed and replaced himself in her arms with a pillow. Then, he answered the phone call as he got in the walk-in closet to grab himself a new set of clothes. 

"Damien," he answered.

"Where are you guys? I've been calling Katherine but she's not picking up. Shouldn't you guys be home already?" Styles asked.

"We're back at my penthouse."

"..." There was a short silence before Styles's voice came back again in a teasing tone. "Ah… Eh… I see… I get it… You guys…"

Damien rolled his eyes. If Styles was in front of him right now, he would see the other wiggling his eyebrows as he spoke.

"...hey, I approve of this. If I had a girlfriend and she also looked like that tonight, I'd also—"

"Styles." Damien's icy tone interrupted Styles's teasing.

"Right." Styles cleared his throat. "You guys have time? I found something you will not believe."

"What is it?"

"I think it's better for you to see it personally, it's hard to talk on the phone."

"Come up. I'll let you in." Damien ended the call and walked out of the closet. 

…

"Wow! Your place is huge, man." Styles's eyes were wide as he took in Damien's penthouse. He had his tablet in one hand and a stack of papers in the other. Damien led him to the study on the second floor.

The two discussed Styles's research as they looked into somewhat suspicious people. Damien held a few papers and then Styles handed over his tablet showing a video clip. "Here's what I got from what you asked earlier when you called me outside the hotel. It was a bit of a challenge but I managed to do it."

Damien watched as the video played on the screen. It was from the time he chased after the woman who got in the car. He called Styles after that, hoping that the latter would be able to get a visual—from the city cameras—of whoever that woman was. The image of the woman came up on the screen and Damien found her familiar, but he just couldn't remember where he had seen her. He would usually remember people by their faces easily especially if he had talked to them personally. But this woman seemed to be just a familiar face as he didn't know who she was.

Styles tapped the screen on his tablet and another picture of the same woman appeared. It looked like it was taken from a newspaper article. "Her name is Sandra Hughes…"

"Who is she?"

"Ready?" Styles tapped the screen again. "She's a Director in the National Intelligence Agency."

Damien knitted his brows together. "She's NIA? What's Chris doing with someone from the NIA? Isn't Shadow not part of the government?"

"That, I cannot answer. Before I left Shadow, Parker always does all the negotiations and every request goes through him. I'm not sure if he has started giving Chris that responsibility but even so… Chris meeting this person from NIA alone sure looks weird. Agents, including Chris, don't meet with clients directly. That is if Hughes is a client."

Damien leaned against the backrest of his chair and thought about possibilities when Styles continued, "There's more. I gathered data from the list of people you gave me. And so far, I can almost guarantee that Hughes is the same person whom Chris is meeting at the Central Harbor Restaurant."

"What supports your theory?"

"She's not on the list that you gave me tonight, but…" Styles handed him a paper filled with Sandra Hughe's information. "Just like what Katherine thought, Hughes is apparently the wife of one of the club members. Her husband is Josiah Connor."

Studying the file that Styles gave him, Damien recognized the man, he's one of the well-known wealthy people in America. "I didn't know he had a wife… and a Director in NIA at that," he muttered absent-mindedly. "So, this Chris… If what Katherine suspects is right, then Chris is a double agent?"

"I guess? Who knows?"

Damien put the paper down on the table. "Let's say he is. He has a lot of information that could take Shadow down."

Styles ran a hand down his face and sighed. "I've known Chris since I entered Shadow—a year before Katherine joined. But I can never tell what the man is thinking. I wish he was here to answer the questions. That would be a hell of a lot easier than us only suspecting."

"Then let's make that happen. Can you find a way to contact that man? Lure him in?"

"I can't guarantee that, but I can try. I've always wanted to try actually but with Chris, you'd never know what his next moves are. And that's actually scary."

"Let me know once you found a method. Don't do anything yet. Let's wait for when Katherine wakes up in the morning. But if we're on the right track, we're a step closer to ending this once and for all." Damien got up from his seat and Styles followed him out of the study. "How's that other thing I asked you?"

"No dice. For the last five years, I've been trying to stay away from their radar. If they so much as sniff that someone's trying to get to them, we'd be over before we could even blink. And I'm not liking that they had found another person to replace me there. Tch." He scoffed.

"We'll get there. Just let me know if you need anything, I'll get it for you." Damien patted the other's back as they reached the living room.

Styles had a huge smile on his face. "How about a Lambo?"

Damien looked at him with an unreadable expression and then he heard him laugh before saying, "Nah, too much. I'll see you tomorrow, King Char—I mean, bro."

After their meeting, Damien went back to bed next to Katherine. He thought about what he and Styles discussed just now. Even if it's just a little, at least, they were on to something.