Page 30 of The Sound of Secrets

As a lifelong criminal, my dad had a healthy fear of the police. He let himself be escorted off the property, but not without glaring at me and Win and muttering dirty words under his breath.

When things calmed down and I managed to catch my breath, I repeated my question to Win. “How did you know I was here?”

I slipped out of the penthouse and ditched the security detail because I needed to face my father alone. I needed to see his face and pull back the curtain on any lingering sentiment I might have. I wanted him to know I wasn’t afraid of him, and that I wasn’t going to break no matter what he threw at me.

Win pointed at my phone. I looked at it but didn’t notice anything different from normal.

“Pop off the case.” He was obviously still angry but doing his best not to bite my head off.

When I peeled off the case, I noticed a plastic chip inside. It looked like something out of a spy movie. My eyebrows shot up to my hairline. “A tracker? Is this how you knew where I was the whole time I was in Europe?” It was an absurd violation of privacy.

Win grunted but refused to answer my question. I let him muscle me into the SUV while I tried to figure out how mad I should be over the fact he put a GPS tag on me like I was a wild animal.

“Why didn’t you wait for me? As soon as you saw that stuff on the Internet, you should’ve known I would take care of it — and you. You didn’t have to face your father on your own.”

I settled into the big backseat and watched him out of the corner of my eye. Winnie’s accusations about trust were still ringing in my ears. “I’ve been dealing with my dad my entire life. It was well past time I let him know I’ve had enough. I needed to stand up to him. For me and for my mom. He’s gotten away with playing us for too long.” Letting someone else mitigate my difficulties was easier said than done.

“Ky isn’t yours.” Win changed the subject so quickly it took me a minute to react. “I still need to verify a few things, but from what I understand, the baby never made it out of the hospital that night. There was simply too much damage done to the both of you to give him a fighting chance.”

We faced each other, both of us still angry and uncertain. Our emotions were too high to wade through the wealth of information captured in those three words.

I closed my eyes and rested my head against the passenger window. “I know he’s not.”

If only I’d managed to put two and two together before it came to this point. That poor kid got dragged into an adult mess for no reason. His life was turned upside down for nothing more than greed and selfishness. Thankfully, Win didn’t press me to tell him how I figured things out. He should’ve figured out the truth before I did. He knew his mother better than anyone. We were blind to overlook the obvious. It was wild to think how logic fell to emotions almost every single time.

Win put his arm around my shoulders and pulled me until my head rested on him. I let his embrace chase away the chill that had settled in my bones from dealing with my father.

“You don’t sound particularly relieved.”

I sighed and reached for his hand. I don’t know when feeling the scarred flesh had become my anchor in the whirlwind of emotions trying to suck me under.

“I’m glad there is nothing tying me to Parker. I’m happy Ky has a mom who loves him. I’m beyond sad that I have to grieve theideaof the child I always loved. Iallowed myself not to think too deeply about what happened that night because my heart couldn’t handle another break. One can only play the fool for so long.” I was going to cry again. It felt like my life was flooded with tears ever since I married this man. Grief ballooned inside of my chest and made it difficult to breathe. I was mourning the loss as if my child died in my arms today rather than when I was too weak to fight for him.

Win let out a long breath. “Why won’t you let me protect you?”

I had no answer, other than I was accustomed to relying on myself for everything.

I whispered another secret so softly I wasn’t sure he could hear it. “I want to learn how.”

How to trust him. How to let him take care of me. And maybe, most importantly, how to let myself love him.

Win

“If you want an endorsement from me when you come up for reelection, and the continued donations to the programs you put in place as governor, you’ll do whatever is in your power to make sure the person we spoke about stays behind bars for as long as possible.” I didn’t bother to tell the woman on the other end of the call I could make or break her next campaign cycle. She didn’t get as far as she had in politics by being dumb. A hurried assurance carried over the line, and I ended the call before she asked for money. Between Channing’s ex-husband and father, I was calling in a lot of favors I had saved for a rainy day.

When I left my office, I noticed Winnie was in the living room with the TV on. Her attention was on her phone and nothing else. There was a definite chill in the air when she and Channing crossed paths. Winnie offered a vague excuse as to why she returned home alone from the penthouse, but apparently there was more to the story. I’d never seen the teenager anything other thandelighted around her aunt. It was common knowledge that she preferred the redhead’s company to mine and often ran to Channing to commiserate when she thought I was being too tough on her. I struggled to understand why someone as compassionate and caring as Winnie got angry when Channing’s dark history was dragged into the light. Her reaction felt very out of character.

I slipped my phone into my pocket and stopped by the edge of the oversized couch. Winnie was rapid-fire texting and didn’t lift her head until I loudly cleared my throat. I turned the TV off and asked, “Did you get your homework done?” Her laptop was open on the coffee table. Instead of schoolwork, the screen showed a social media site and Channing’s name repeated in nearly every single post.

Winnie tucked her hair behind her ear and flipped her phone over, hiding whatever she was doing before I interrupted her.

“I’m almost done. I have to read a chapter in the book we’re reading for English and review my math quiz for a test that’s coming up.” She shrugged, then moved to close the lid of the computer with more force than required. “I’ve been distracted.”

I sat on the arm of the couch, and we watched each other carefully. She was feeling more like an adversary than an ally the older she got. The little girl who needed me for every little thing was long gone. This young woman in front of me had a force that was all her own.

“Your aunt has had a rough few days. Maybe you should take it easy on her.” I tried to be conciliatory. Unfortunately, I wasn’t very good at it.

Winnie made a frustrated noise and gave me a hard look. “Did you know what her life was like back then?”

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