Page 6 of The Sound of Secrets

“I met him at one of our school’s soccer games. There’s a charter school a few blocks away. Our teams practice with and play against each other. A couple of guys from another class were giving me a hard time. They were teasing me about my dad. Calling him a zombie, insinuating he’s a monster because of how he looks. I don’t know how they even know he has scars, but it was awful. Ky came out of nowhere and made them stop.” Winnie gulped and turned pleading eyes in my direction. “The first time I slipped away, it was to help him leave the school grounds without getting ganged up on. If I hadn’t, the entire team might’ve jumped him. Those guys in my school look down on everyone.” She sniffed. “Even me.”

I wrapped my arm around her shoulder and gave her a reassuring squeeze. “I understand wanting to help someone in that situation, but that’s why you have security. Where was Goldie?” I knew Win went out of his wayto have his head of security find a female staff member who would be unobtrusive while she protected Winnie during school. “If there’s a fight, you shouldn’t try to handle it on your own. And if the other kids are being mean about things you have no control over, tell me or Uncle Win. We can help you navigate that sort of nonsense.” I sighed and followed her into the backseat of the SUV. I wanted her to have an authentic high school experience, but I conveniently blanked on how awful kids could treat one another for no reason. “None of that explains why you disappeared today, Winnie.”

She flinched at the admonishment but squared her shoulders and defiantly said, “When those guys got rough with him, they tore his clothes. I could tell Ky was depressed when he saw the shape his hoodie was in. I told him I’d get him a new one as a thank you. You’re the one who taught me to respect what others have, even if it seems insignificant to me, Aunt Channing. I was just repaying what I owed. I might’ve gone around it the wrong way, but I was doing the right thing. Please don’t let Uncle Win fire Goldie. It’s my fault. I broke the rules, not her.”

Rocco just grunted and refused to reassure the teenager. I sighed and told her, “You can explain yourself to him. If you don’t want her to lose her job, it’s your responsibility to make him understand why she should keep it. She’s not supposed to let you out of her sight, and I assume this is the first time anyone has heard about friction with your classmates. Part of her responsibility is letting Win know what’s going on with you at school. Someone isn’t being honest.” I allowed the implication to hang in the air as Winnie deflated like an old balloon.

“I’ll talk to him. I want to ask him if I can invite Ky to my birthday party, anyway. That should be fine, don’t you think?”

Rocco snorted again, so I gave him a look in the rearview mirror. “It never hurts to ask.”

But sometimes it did. If the kid was leery of her security and dodging the precautions around her, chances were Win wouldn’t let him anywhere near Winnie, and the budding friendship was already dead on arrival.

I forgot how hard it was to be a teenager. Be it one with the world at their fingertips, or one who had to fight for something as simple as a beloved hoodie.

Win

“Is it her first crush? Is that why she’s acting out?” I rubbed the tension coiled around the base of my neck like a noose. I hadn’t stepped foot off my flight before Rocco launched into a litany of complaints against Winnie’s recent behavior. I knew something was up by how evasive my niece was when I called to tell her I was on my way home. Channing beat around the bush as well when I tried to get more information. Of course, I could always count on my head of security to fill in the blanks.

The big bald man shrugged as he navigated through the heavy city traffic. I hadn’t been home in nearly a month, and I could feel the weight of exhaustion to my bones. I didn’t plan to leave as soon as Channing came back, but I had no choice. I used every bit of leverage and negotiation skills I’d learned over the years to convince Bellamy Rose to transfer back to the States and mentor Alistair. No amount of money could sway her. She single-handedly revived a dying branch of Halliday Inc. in eastern Europe. She built the team from the ground upand wasn’t used to answering to anyone. She was stubborn and resistant to change, partly because she was banished to the faraway location years ago as punishment. My mother didn’t approve of my father having a smart, successful, savvyfemaleexecutive close at hand. Through no fault of her own, Bellamy was deemed a threat and dealt with in my mother’s typical way. Instead of quitting, or letting Colette’s machinations derail her career, she took on the challenge and turned a pile of shit into a gold mine. She definitely didn’t owe the Hallidays any favors. I was certain she kept stringing me along for petty revenge.

I didn’t blame her. But I couldn’t let her go. There was no one else I felt could do the job. I played nice for as long as possible. However, when I heard about Winnie slipping her security multiple times for some boy, I decided enough was enough. I needed to be at home. Not only for Winnie. Channing and I still had a sticky web of feelings and expectations to unravel. I could only pay penance for my mother’s misdeeds for so long.

After a heated back and forth, I gave Bellamy an ultimatum. She could take the promotion and move back to Halliday headquarters, complete with the unheard-of opportunity to become a partial shareholder, or find herself out of a job when I closed her entire division down. I didn’t want to be ruthless. I was trying to be a better person. Unfortunately, when someone stood in the way of what I wanted, I still couldn’t take no for an answer. Some things were just engraved in my bones from being born into a family like mine.

Rather than see the group of people she trained and fostered with her own blood, sweat, and tears lose everything, she begrudgingly acquiesced to my proposition. I didn’t envy Alistair. I had a feeling she was going to be a tough tutor, and since there was no love lost between her and Halliday Inc., she had no obligation to treat the future CEO with kid gloves.

“The boy, Winnie likes him?” I pulled myself away from my frustrating thoughts and asked Rocco the question once more.

“He helped her out of a bind. I think it’s more appreciation than anything else. She’s never been around normal kids before. The closest she’s ever been is spending time with Channing. If I had to guess, I’d say she’s wondering how the other half lives.”

I grunted in acknowledgment. “What are you doing about the guard who let her slip out of sight?”

Rocco lifted a large shoulder and let it fall. “Goldie is one of the few women in private security who looks young enough to belong in a high school. She blends in better than anyone else we might send in. She’s got kids of her own. When Winnie begged her not to tell me about the kids giving her a hard time, she saw her own teenager in a tough spot. She didn’t have ill intentions, but she was lax with her assignment. Winnie really likes her. She’s going to feel bad if she’s the reason Goldie gets fired.”

I swore and let my head fall forward. The action sent a spike of pain shooting down my spine. One would think the burden I carried around would lessen without my mother there to add to it. I wasn’t sure how it’d become infinitely heavier.

“Winnie has to learn that there are consequences to her actions. Let Goldie go. Give her a proper severance package. I can’t have someone who goes soft in charge of Winnie’s safety. There are too many unknown threats out there.” Rocco nodded, not surprised by the decision in the slightest. I sat up and dragged a hand down my haggard face. “Did you get the information on the boys who were giving her a hard time?” I put off hiring a new assistant after my previous one conspired with my mother behind my back and died for his effort. And since I planned to step down from my position, it didn’t seem pertinent to invest the time and money to train a replacement. Which meant Rocco was stuck doing double duty for the time being.

“I did. I sent full dossiers on them and their families to your email while you were in the air. One boy has family involved in politics; the other is tied to several large car dealerships. I’m not sure how either would have information on Archie to tease Winnie.”

I grunted again. “Doesn’t matter where they hear it. I’m going to make sure they never open their mouths out of turn in the future.”

Rocco hummed in agreement and sped up once there was a break in the deadlock where we’d been stuck for over a half hour. “I assume you talked to the powers that be at the school and told them I was not happy. They assured me and Alistair that Winnie would be in excellent hands when we enrolled her there. As pricey as the tuition is, allowing such uncouth behavior is unacceptable.”

My head of security laughed. His typically steely gaze was full of mirth when our eyes met in the rearview mirror. “I didn’t have to. Channing marched into the dean’s office and dragged them over the coals. She said the same thing, that tuition was outrageous, and there should be no reason for such an oversight. She didn’t even throw the Halliday name around, just threatened to disrupt any fundraising event they held from here until eternity unless they got their shit together. I don’t think those hoity-toity administrators have ever been spoken to in such a blunt manner. If it wasn’t a serious situation, I would’ve filmed it and sent you a copy.”

I chuckled as well. “She’s learned fast where to hit them where it hurts.” Schools like Winnie’s were so hard to get into because of the private funding and wealthy donors who backed them. They would hate it if someone aired their dirty laundry in front of potential financiers. Especially if any of those investors knew I was unhappy with how the school operated. I was still the head of Halliday Inc., and even when I wasn’t, it wasn’t wise to go against me. “Did you tell them I was coming home today?”

I wondered if Channing would still be at the brownstone or if she’d taken off upon my return. She was unpredictable. I’d never been able to guess her next move, which was frustrating.

“They know. Winnie was very concerned you might miss her birthday party. Channing assured her that you wouldn’t. She’s managed to keep everything together while you’ve been gone.”

“She’s always been able to do that — keep things together.” I sat up and some of the heaviness weighing me down lightened when a familiar building came into view. I owned several properties throughout the city, including a penthouse apartment in a luxury high-rise. None of them felt like home when it was time to settle down and get Winnie into a new school. Alistair was the one who found this brownstone while I was incapacitated and laid up in a hospital bed. Winnie fell in love with the warmth and charm of the building when the two of them toured it together. Even though it grated on every working nerve I had, I let my half-brother purchase the place and remodel it. I had to admit that it was the first place I’d ever lived that really felt like a home.

The feeling expanded and grew, filling up my chest and banishing my exhaustion when I walked in the door. Instead of a pristine entryway and paid staff waiting to take my briefcase, there was a pile of shoes, a pink backpack, loose jewelry, a phone charger, and the smell of greasy takeout food. It was overwhelmingly normal. Other than the security measures to get in the door, it was all so blissfully domestic. It felt like I’d entered another dimension.

“Uncle Win!” A childish voice called out my name, and a minute later my arms were filled with an excited teenager. Winnie launched a million rapid-fire questions at me. I tried to keep up with them but easily got overwhelmed. All I could do was smooth her wild hair down and hug her back.