Page 6 of The Silence of Monsters

I found a seat where it wasn’t too busy, wiped the phone on the leg of my jeans, and answered his call.

“What’s wrong?” I tried to sound calm, but I could hear the tremor of anxiety in my voice. “Did something happen with Winnie?”

Win didn’t answer at first. He cleared his throat and told me Winnie was fine. I could picture him shifting into serious business mode by his tone. “I want to discuss something with you. I’m in the city on business. Can we meet up?”

“Does it have to do with Winnie?” I couldn’t imagine anything else he would want to talk to me about in person.

“It involves Winnie in a roundabout way.”

I sighed and looked around the coffee shop. “Why can’t we discuss it over the phone? Why does it have to be in person?” I had a hard time controlling my emotions when I was in the same room as Win. It was hard not to be overwhelmed by his oppressive aura. He made me defensive without even trying and we never brought out the best in one another. It always felt like a losing battle when we were face-to-face.

“It’s a sensitive subject. I don’t want you to hang up on me without hearing what I have to say.” Win sounded calm and reasonable. I couldn’t explain why I suddenly got goosebumps and an icy shiver ran down my spine.

“Fine.” If I didn’t agree to meet him now, he would corner me and force me into a conversation in the future when it was inconvenient for me. There was no denying a Halliday when they wanted something from you. “I’m at a coffee shop near my apartment.” I told him the name and cross streets. “I’m only staying until the rain stops. You have until then to find me. I have no intention of letting you back into my place until you agree to let me see Winnie regularly.” It was petty to say that. We both knew I couldn’t keep him out of anywhere he wanted to be. I felt like I needed to establish some sort of boundary, or I would be completely powerless against him.

“I’ll be there in ten minutes. Wait for me.” There was no mistaking that he was giving me a direct order.

I wanted to leave out of spite. Instead, I ordered a drink and waited impatiently for Win to arrive. Absently, I wondered if he’d ever been in a local coffee shop before. He seemed more the type to drink specialty imported stuff that the average person couldn’t afford. I laughed to myself, trying to picture him drinking something with whipped cream and candy-flavored syrup. He would never do anything as undignified as licking whipped cream off his face. Actions like that should be reserved for low-life, common folks like me.

I wrapped both hands around the coffee mug and watched as a black SUV pulled to a stop in front of the shop. Several men in dark suits climbed out and Win followed shortly after. He said something to the tall, stern man who was always next to him, and a hurried conversation ensued. I wished I could read lips because both men looked annoyed by what the other was saying. There was another nondescript man standing next to Win who was rapidly texting. It was the tensest entourage ever. Eventually, Win won the argument and walked into the shop and toward my table. He was by himself, which must’ve been what they were fighting about. Win never went anywhere without his security detail or his assistant.

He looked at the table, then at me, and frowned. I waited for him to complain about the location or the cleanliness, but he said nothing. He stared at me for a long, drawn-out moment. His fog-colored gaze was so intense I had to battle the urge to squirm in my seat.

“What’s going on? I can’t imagine anything dire enough that you would lower yourself to meet me on my home turf. That isn’t your style at all, Chester.”

He narrowed his eyes at me and reached out so he could tap the tips of his fingers on the table he looked unwilling to touch a moment ago. “I have a business proposition for you, Harvey.”

I couldn’t hold back a bark of laughter. “Seriously. What do you want to talk to me about? Is Winnie really okay? Please tell me you’ve seen the error of your ways and realize it’s much better to let her have a relationship with me than to fight me every step of the way.”

He gave a slight hum of acknowledgement. “I think there is a way for you to be more present in Winnie’s life, while I make sure that your interactions are appropriate and won’t harm our niece.”

I scowled at him and set the coffee mug down with enough force that some of the liquid inside splashed onto my hand. I shook my fingers, secretly hoping the droplets would land on Win’s pristine white shirt. “You want me to have supervised visits?” I bristled at the thought. He considered me immature and unreliable, but he had to know I’d never do anything that would put Winnie in danger. Considering his lack of trust in me, it made sense for him to view supervised visits with Winnie as a reasonable compromise. No doubt he wanted me to come to Halliday Cove to see my niece. My stomach turned at the thought.

“I’m considering something slightly more binding and beneficial to both parties than supervised visitation.” He paused and his gaze sharpened on mine. “I want you to agree to a contract marriage with me, Channing.”

It was a good thing I’d put the coffee cup down, because I would’ve dropped it. My jaw fell as if it were unhinged, and a thousand buzzing bees swarmed in my head. I lifted a hand and banged on my ear, thinking there was no way I’d heard Win correctly.

“Contract marriage? You want to marry me?” I felt like I couldn’t breathe. “In what world do you envision something as insane as that? Have you been working too hard lately? Has your mother finally driven you beyond the brink?” I laughed so loudly that several people in the coffee shop turned to look in my direction. I put a hand over my heart and used the other to wipe away tears of mirth and disbelief.

“You aspire to be in Winnie’s life, and I can make that happen. I want my mother to get off my case about getting married. Anyone else will want a sizable payout. All you want is time with our niece. You’re the lesser of all evils at this point.” He really sounded like he was in the middle of a business negotiation. There wasn’t a single ripple within his icy façade. He made it seem like his suggestion wasn’t the most outlandish thing I’d ever heard in my life. “You’ve been married more than once. What’s adding another one to the list?”

It took every scintilla of self-control I possessed not to throw my coffee into Win’s indifferent face.

“I loved both the men I married. I feel the opposite way about you, Chester. And as much as I long to be part of Winnie’s everyday life, there is nothing on God’s green earth that will get me to agree to being legally tied to you or living within spitting distance of your mother. You must realize how heartless it is to use Winnie as a bargaining chip for something like this.” I laughed again, but this time there was no humor in the sound. “I don’t know why I ever expect you to have human feelings.” I stood and glared down at the unfazed man. “Never. I will never agree to marry you. With a contract, or without. I value myself more than that.”

I stepped around him to get away from his insulting offer, but his hand wrapped around my wrist and pulled me to a halt.

A frigid shiver raced up and down my spine as our eyes locked. “I had a feeling you were going to react like this. You’ve never been able to see a golden opportunity when it’s right in front of you. I wanted to start by asking, but don’t think for a second that I won’t force you to do what I want, Harvey. This is the simplest, most effective way to get us both what we want.” He had the audacity to sound like he was doing me a favor.

I reached down and pried his fingers off my arm. I tried to calm my racing heart so I didn’t smack him. Not only was his security detail nearby, but I wouldn’t put it past him to press charges for assault. He played dirty.

“What happens when Colette finds out about your brilliant plan? She won’t do anything to you because she needs you to keep Halliday Inc. afloat. But me…” I pointed at my chest. “Can you even imagine what she’d do to me? We both know what she drove my sister to. If I agreed to your ridiculous idea, your mother wouldn’t rest until I’m buried next to Willow. No, thank you. I need to be alive to make sure Winnie knows how the other half lives and doesn’t lose herself completely to you god-awful Hallidays.”

I practically ran to the door. It was still raining outside, but I barely registered the weather. I was jogging at full speed toward my apartment. I clearly heard Win call after me, “Remember that you knowingly decided to do things the hard way.”

I always knew he was a ruthless man.

But I had no idea just how brutal he could be, until I became his target.

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