The Sound of Secrets (The Monsters Duet #2)

Chapter 18

Channing

The fear that coursed through me when Win said Winnie was missing was unlike anything I’d felt before. It was almost as if I disassociated from reality and was watching everything happen outside of my body. Nothing felt real. My body was numb, and my brain kept circling around the idea that it was my fault Winnie became the focus of my father’s scheme because he couldn’t break me. I should’ve done more to protect her from him. And I never should’ve let him get away with manipulating my family for his own means. I’d never been this frightened.

Not the night I nearly died at Parker’s hands.

Not when I ventured into the bowels of Halliday manor on a ghost hunt.

Not when I was knocked out and kidnapped by said ghost.

Not when Colette pulled a gun on me.

Not when I thought Win was murdered right in front of my eyes .

At some point, my body sank to the ground like my bones turned to butter. The brownstone was bustling with uniformed police officers and federal agents in suits. Win’s security team was also in the mix, but Rocco seemed less fierce than usual and the tension between him and Win was palpable. Archie was sitting in the living room, looking dazed and staying mute. He wore a hat pulled low on his face, a pair of dark glasses, and a bandana around his neck. His ears were almost nonexistent after the fire, so he couldn’t wear a normal mask. His tear ducts were also damaged, so he couldn’t cry, but the way his shoulders shook and the way his hands silently trembled indicated he was inconsolable.

Realizing it wouldn’t do my niece any good to give up and berate myself, I eventually got my legs underneath me and pulled myself to my feet. The fact I was on the floor, nearly comatose and unnoticed for Lord knows how long was a sign as to how distracted Win was. He was laser focused on getting Winnie back and making my father regret every choice he made since reappearing in our lives. He would never let me lower myself to my father’s level, figuratively or literally. Winnie needed me. He needed me. Now was not the time to fall apart.

I walked to the living room and sat down on the edge of the coffee table across from Archie. I’d gotten used to his appearance over time, but there was something about the guilt and remorse he was dealing with that made him look more like the young man ruined in his prime than he had since his miraculous rebirth. I tried to grab his hands, but he jerked away from me, his entire body vibrating with emotion .

“He uses and abuses everyone. You aren’t the first person he’s taken advantage of, Archie. Right now, the best thing you can do is try to recall anything he said to you that might help us figure out where he would take Winnie.”

“It was so nice to have someone to talk to about Willow.” His voice was thin and cracked. His body shook harder. “Her mom…” he trailed off because I didn’t need an explanation about how difficult it was to have a conversation with my mother. “I thought Win was being unreasonable trying to keep him from seeing his granddaughter. My brother is ruthless. I was angry when Winnie told me how he fired the security woman she liked so much. I felt like he was being cruel and controlling. I didn’t understand he was protecting her from people like Paul. I was foolish.”

I gulped and made a silent promise to apologize to Ky for repeatedly blaming him for passing private information to my father. The call was coming from inside the house all along.

“PT is painful and stressful, especially since I had to travel outside the care facility to see a burn specialist. I felt like a freak. Like everyone was staring at me like I was some kind of monster. I thought it was so nice my father-in-law made the time to come and encourage me during my sessions. I never realized he spent the entire time asking me about Win and Winnie. I thought he was curious about his granddaughter and wanted to make sure she was doing well with Willow gone. But he was looking for a way to get her away from Win the entire time. I’m so stupid. Willow used to warn me about him. I wanted to believe he reconsidered his actions after losing a child. I thought we shared a similar grief. My God, what if he hurts Winnie?”

This time he didn’t flinch away when I reached for one of his hands. “All he cares about is money. He won’t hurt her while she’s useful to him.” Once she wasn’t, that was a different story. One I didn’t want to think about.

“So, my dad came to your PT appointments and started talking to you about building a relationship with Winnie. How did he know where to go? Where else did you see him? What else did he ask you about? Did he mention where he was staying?” My father burned bridges for fun, so it wasn’t like he had an extended network of friends and family he could reach out to when he had half the city’s law enforcement looking for him. And he was clearly desperate for a payday, which meant he didn’t have the funds to carry out this type of plan with no fault. We simply needed to figure out where he made a misstep, and Winnie would be home safe and sound.

“He came to the care facility to see your mother. Win’s security wouldn’t let him in. Not even after I intervened and asked them to let him see her for five minutes. I felt bad. I told him I was going to PT, and if he wanted to talk, he could meet me there. The security isn’t as tight. We started getting together before my appointments to catch up. We never met anywhere else, but I gave him my cell phone number to keep in touch. I already gave it to Win. Paul was friendly and seemed deeply invested in making amends for the past. I know he wasn’t a great father to you and your sister. I honestly believed Willow would’ve wanted me to make amends with her family if possible. ”

I bit my lip and looked at Win across the room. He was surrounded by federal agents and staring at his phone, willing it to ring so he could ask if Winnie was all right. He already planned on getting rid of all of his money. I knew he wouldn’t hesitate to hand my father his entire fortune to get Winnie back unharmed. I’d never seen him look so stressed or so angry. He was like a thundercloud waiting to unleash the storm of a century. One capable of unlimited destruction.

“Why didn’t my dad give you the cell phone to pass to my mother? You had a relationship with both of them. Why involve Goldie?”

He shook his head and the bandana around his mouth fell and showed the badly scarred lower half of his face. “I refused. I’ve spent time with Georgie. I know how fragile her state of mind is. If he wanted to see her in person, under observation, that’s one thing. I thought her having a phone and talking to him in private sounded too dangerous. Your mom has been good to me even when it’s difficult for her. She doesn’t see the way I look now. She still sees me as Willow’s husband.” He rubbed his palms together and glanced at his brother anxiously. “I should’ve told Win about everything. This is all my fault for trusting someone other than my brother. I should’ve known he had no interest in stealing my life like Paul led me to believe. Not when he’s the one who fought so hard to give it back to me. Win has always insulated me from so much. I was an inconsiderate fool, and now my daughter is in danger.”

I sighed heavily. “Fortunately for us, Win has a soft spot for inconsiderate fools. You need to tell him everything. He can see things others can’t. Maybe he can take everything you’ve been through with my father and figure out where he took Winnie.”

Archie stiffly nodded. I helped him from the couch and watched as he slowly walked toward his brother.

Thinking about my father showing up at the facility to harass my mother, and unexpectedly ending up with an even bigger fish on the hook, caused me to turn over other coincidences in my mind. The way my dad managed to charm people and misdirect motivations was reminiscent of the way he handled the loss of my baby. The man was a magician, managing to trick an audience into believing one thing while covertly making another thing happen. All he needed was a top hat and a cape to take his devious act on the road.

Ky looked exactly like Parker, and my father used that to his advantage to treat me like a puppet on a string. He knew all I wanted from my tragic past was the knowledge that my lost baby was alive somewhere, doing fine without me. He twisted that fruitless desire so I would dance to his tune. He had to have tracked Ky down at some point after crossing paths with him randomly. Just like he stumbled over Archie and used that unplanned meeting to his advantage so he could twist father and daughter into a tangled knot. My old man was quick on his feet.

I needed to speak to Ky. I sensed he was the key to figuring out where my father took Winnie, even if he wasn’t aware of it. I wanted to know exactly where my father found him .

The feds had my phone in case my father called to demand money. Win was in the middle of the chaos, demanding surveillance footage from every security camera in the city. Rocco watched everything happening in a daze. And Archie was trying his best to make himself as small as possible while answering the questions that were fired at him from all directions. I didn’t know where the kid lived, and it was too late to stumble upon him in the park. Winnie’s phone was also in the hands of the authorities, but her laptop was in her backpack that Rocco threw on the couch when he brought it in. I snatched the device and dashed up the stairs. It took a while to figure out her password. Fortunately, there were only a couple of things she was fond of enough to use. Once I got into her inner world, I muttered an apology for invading her privacy and started combing through her social media messages until I found a back-and-forth thread with Ky. Winnie was an obedient child, but my instincts told me she ignored all the warnings to stay away from Ky from the beginning. She always sounded starstruck when she spoke of the handsome teenager. As if he was already a soccer star and she was his number one fan. There was definitely a bit of hero worship happening on my niece’s end.

It was a relief they weren’t cousins, because I never wanted Winnie’s first crush to end in such a tragic way.

The conversation between the two was innocent enough. Just like they both asserted, there was no discussion of Winnie’s complicated security matters or private family happenings. Winnie never mentioned the longshot that the two of them might be cousins, and neither did Ky. They chatted about school and sports. Winnie was trying to find common ground. I’d never seen her watch a single soccer game, but now she was calling it football and seemed familiar with a handful of players from different teams. I was surprised to see that he told her repeatedly he felt her grandfather wasn’t a nice person, and she should be careful if he came around. I really needed to make amends with the young man. I clearly got him all wrong because of my bias and pain. He was never the villain I made him out to be. He was just a kid. A kid doing his best to make sure my niece wasn’t blinded by family ties and could spot a threat, even if it came in the form of affection.

Crossing my fingers that he would respond, I sent a message telling him Winnie was in trouble, and I was using her account to contact him for help. I asked him where he met my father and if he knew where the older man might take Winnie.

The response was slow in coming. When it did, I could tell Ky was confused and upset even through the simple black and white text.

~ WDYM? Winnie is missing? She was kidnapped? Why are you asking me about her grandpa? Shouldn’t you focus on finding her? This is insane. I feel like this is a terrible prank.

I gritted my teeth and shook the laptop as if it were the stubborn boy on the other end.

~ I’m trying to find her. Her grandfather took her. To find her, I need to find him first.

~ I just tried to call her, and the FBI answered the phone. You’re not fucking with me, are you ?

~ I’m not. This is very serious. I can’t call you because the police have my phone. And I can’t meet up with you because the police don’t want us to leave in case my father calls with demands.

Ky quit being difficult and started answering my previous questions in a rush.

~ He was hanging around my mom’s restaurant. I thought he was interested in her at first. I fill in as a busboy when they’re really busy. I didn’t realize he was sticking around for me until he told me I looked like someone he used to know. I always thought he was a creep.

~ Did you see him coming in and out of anywhere near there?

~ No. He always said the city was too noisy and crowded. He mentioned it took him a long time to get his land legs after being on a boat for so long.

I nearly threw the laptop across the room.

The answer should’ve been obvious from the jump. The place my father was most comfortable was on a fishing boat. He was used to going out to sea and pretending like everything he left behind on land was inconsequential.

I typed a hasty thank you to Ky and bolted back down to the kitchen, nearly tripping myself in the rush. Win caught me before I face planted in front of everyone. He opened his mouth to ask if I was okay, but I blurted out, “They’re on a boat! My dad took her back to the cove and they’re on his fishing boat somewhere.”

The chaos in the space stilled, and every eye in the place landed on me. I grabbed the front of Win’s shirt and pleaded, “You have to believe me. It’s where he feels the safest and where he’s always had the upper hand.”

“Channing.” He held my shoulders and set me away from him so he could look at my face. “Your dad just called. He wants to exchange Winnie for five-million dollars. He’s demanding you be the one who does the swap.”

I shook my head. “No. If I take the money, then he’ll have both me and Winnie in his hands, and he’ll ask for more money. This is going to be a never-ending cycle. They’re on a boat. I can feel it in my bones.”

“The FBI doesn’t want me to give him the money, either. This is bigger than a family disagreement, Channing. They want to set up a sting so they can arrest your father when he shows up for the money.”

I snorted and looked Win in the eye. He looked like he was at the end of his patience. “He’s never going to fall for that. Even if you arrest him on the spot, he still has Winnie stashed somewhere. He won’t tell you where she is with his life on the line. We have to outsmart him. We have to go get her.”

“Channing…” he trailed off and looked around the crowded brownstone in a helpless manner. “We’re surrounded by professionals. We need to let them handle this. We can’t risk putting Winnie in any more danger.” I could practically hear his “ remember what happened last time we went off half-cocked,” even though he didn’t say it. Things went so wrong when we confronted his mother. It was no surprise he wanted to err on the side of caution.

I glanced at all the official-looking people surrounding us and pleaded with Win, “I’ll work with the authorities to catch my dad. I’ll do whatever they tell me to do. But you have to find the boat. Go get Winnie.” I took a breath so deep it made me lightheaded, and I let it out slowly. “Win. I trust you.” I really did. I was shocked by how much faith I had in this man. I guess in the time of crisis, my true feelings had nowhere to hide. “Please trust me.”

He was deathly quiet. I could sense hesitation in every line of his big body. He didn’t cover the stark fear that feathered through his stormy gaze. “You’re okay being used as bait? Because I’m not.”

“No. But I’m less okay with my father using me and Winnie as leverage against you. He’s used to me giving him what he wants. If you want to lay a trap for him, I have to be the one to lure him into it.”

We stared at each other, and for the first time I felt like I understood the saying, ‘having your heart in your eyes’. I could see everything Win felt for me in that tortured gaze, and I was certain mine were showing the identical emotions back.

I grabbed his face with my hands and whispered, “I’m going with the professionals. I’m going to be perfectly fine. You’re the one who has to be careful.”

We agreed to divide and conquer without words.

A flurry of activity began after I was allowed to respond to my father. He didn’t answer my phone call or respond to my text messages asking him where he wanted to meet. The feds guessed he didn’t want them to track his movements via phone. Everyone waited around silent devices in vain until there was an alert that someone was approaching the brownstone. I recognized the teenager on the skateboard right away. Win and I rushed down the steps to stop Ky just as he reached the front of the building. He was frowning and looking down at his phone seriously.

When he looked up, he was startled by the police presence and nearly dropped his phone. He caught my eye and told me, “I got a message from your old man. He said he can’t wait for a family reunion. I don’t know what that means, but I figured it was something you needed to know. Have you found Winnie yet?”

A family reunion? What did he mean by that?

I asked to see Ky’s phone, and he reluctantly handed it over. I felt the authorities hovering anxiously behind me and noticed Rocco was doing his best to hold them at bay.

“We’re working on it. This message is very helpful. Thank you, Ky.”

The only option for my family to be together was the facility where my mother lived. He was going to drag every Harvey into the mess before the day was done. He wouldn’t stop until he destroyed us all.

My heart broke when I realized he was going to make my mother choose between me and him. I knew good and well who was going to come out on top. But that didn’t stop me from preparing myself to save us both from him, the way I’d been doing since I was just a little girl.