Order of Protection

by Lexi Blake

  “Tell me about your grandfather,” David said, watching the waves roll in.

  Henry sat back and started to talk.

  FOUR

  Win slipped in the back door, happy that it wasn’t locked. If it had been only Brie and the boys here, the house would have been locked up until late afternoon, but Mary kept strict hours. She got up every morning at seven and walked on the beach to get some exercise. It was nine now, so she would be working on breakfast because she had guests.

  Win thought of them that way. Though technically she owned the house, it was Mary’s chosen home, and that made Win a guest. Her nana always took care of guests.

  Win sighed at the smell coming out of the kitchen. Bacon. If there was bacon, there would be pancakes. Her stomach rumbled, and she took a silent moment once again to be grateful for that small blessing. When she’d been sick, she’d gotten past hunger. Hunger was proof that she was still alive, that she could live a normal, healthy life. Hunger was proof that she’d beaten back her demons, and she could do it again if she needed to.

  What was Henry’s proof? Was there some singular thing he could point to that made him feel like he’d gotten through the fire? She’d tossed the Scotch bottle into the first public trash can she’d found, but the problem would always be around for Henry. It would be there every time someone asked if he wanted a drink. It would be there in every bar he passed.

  Stubborn man. If she’d had her way, she would still be with him, still have had his back, but he had to play the martyr. She eased out of her shoes and walked from the mudroom into the kitchen. “Morning.”

  Mary turned and frowned. “You could have called.”

  She winced. “I called last night.”

  “Well, you should have called again this morning, especially after all that terrible news with that wretched woman.” Mary walked over and put her hands on Win’s shoulders, looking at her with serious eyes. “Is he all right? Tell me you didn’t see that news story and run out on the poor man. I’ve told you time and time again that men are sensitive creatures and you can’t use them for sex.”

  Nana Mary also had quite a dark sense of humor.

  “He’s out of sorts, but I suspect he’ll get over it. And I didn’t use him for sex. It was a mutually beneficial experience.”

  “I did not need to hear that.” Her uncle walked into the room in his usual casual wear. He wore slacks and a button-down, sans jacket and tie. It was the most relaxed he ever got, but then he did run a multibillion-dollar firm. “Please tell me you didn’t find some sad townie to bed down with. My darling girl, we’ve talked about this. You have to be careful.”

  Yes, she’d heard this a million times before. She had to be careful who she was friends with because they could use her. She had to be careful who she slept with because the minute any human heard the name Winston-Hughes they turned into ravaging money-hungry beasts. At least, according to her uncle they did. “I assure you, my sexually satisfying one-night stand is not going to cost you a dime. I promise.”

  He shook his head as he poured himself a cup of coffee. “Again, not something I needed to hear. Do you have any idea how I long for the old days when I could marry you off to some deserving man of my choosing and not have to worry about you again? I’m grateful I only managed to produce a single boy.”

  Her cousin. Trevor. He was a massive ass, the embodiment of perfect privilege. “Now, see, there you go, Uncle Bell. His sex life costs you all the time. Between the hookers and all that other stuff I’m not supposed to know about, you’ve spent a ton of cash on his defense attorneys alone.”

  She hated Trevor. He brought out the worst in her. He had ever since they were children. Trevor’s hatred of her had been the reason she’d spent so much time in boarding schools.

  “Defense attorneys?” Brie strode in wearing nothing but tiny boxers and a tank top that was far too small for her. She yawned as she strode up to the coffee maker and grabbed a mug. “What did Trevor do this time? Oooo, or are we talking about the hot lawyer Win did last night? I got the skinny from Mary.”

  Win winced but her uncle’s ears perked up. “Lawyer? He was a lawyer? Well, perhaps we should meet the lad if he’s got an actual viable degree. Don’t look at me like that, Win. I’m excited. You usually bring home idiots, like those two sleeping it off on my pool table. Actors and DJs. Scratching records and wearing massive earphones is not a career path. Do I need to remind you of your poet period?”

  She’d dated some men who wouldn’t score high on the eligible-bachelor board. “Like I said, it’s nothing serious.”

  “And speaking of the idiots you date, tell them I expect that pool table to be paid for. Drool and vomit don’t come out of felt,” her uncle said.

  Brie’s eyes rolled. “Yes, Daddy Dearest. I’ll handle it. I told you last night that the film crew will pay for it because we got some good footage. Of course, it would work way better if our sweet Win would agree to go on camera.”

  “Not happening. My reality TV career is totally over.” She sat down at the table more out of habit than desire. She wanted to make a plate and run up to her room, but Mary had taught her manners, and those included eating with family.

  “A mature decision, Winnie.” Her uncle sat at the head of the table. “And one that befits the future head of the Winston-Hughes Foundation. I’m proud of you, you know.”

  She didn’t want to admit it, but his words did make her sit up a bit straighter. Bellamy Hughes wasn’t a bad man. Yes, he was ridiculously rich and had some arcane ideas about poverty, but he’d been good to her. “Thanks, Uncle Bell. I’ve been trying to explain to my bestie that once I start at Duke, I won’t have time to film anything at all. Do you really think they want to film me studying and going to classes?”

  Brie groaned. “It’s why you should defer. You’re almost freaking thirty, Win. How long do you think you have before you’re some over-the-hill chick who has to pump out kids to keep people interested?”

  Which merely proved Brie didn’t understand her. “I don’t want people interested in me.”

  “Brie, darling, you’re a sweet girl but you don’t understand,” Uncle Bell began. “You see, we’re serious money, and that means we have a duty to our name and our honor. Your father made his money playing a guitar and snorting cocaine. It’s perfectly acceptable for you to show off your assets to earn cash. It’s not for Win. Win needs to honor her family name and her parents.”

  Brie’s eyes narrowed. “Yes, her parents. Who she never actually met. Her name. That means so much more than mine. You’re an asshole, Bellamy. Take that and shove it up your old-money anus.”

  Brie stood up, grabbed her mug, and walked back out.

  Bellamy sighed. “She’s a high-strung one, that girl. Win, you would do better to find other friends. I know she’s been around since you were a kid, but she’s also gotten you into a lot of trouble. Now tell me about this lawyer.”

  She needed to go talk to Brie, but it might be better to give her a few minutes to chill. Brie could take things badly, and she could transfer her anger at Bellamy straight back to Win. It had happened often enough. At least the boys were apparently still sleeping it off, or it could be worse. “He’s a lawyer. I like him. That’s all.”

  “He’s Henry Garrison, a nice young man who grew up in these parts,” Mary stated helpfully. “You knew his grandfather. He was on several of the governance boards for the island back in the ’80s and ’90s.”

  Her uncle’s eyes went wide. “Are you talking about the Monster of Manhattan?”

  She didn’t like that term. “He’s certainly not a monster.”

  He was actually quite sweet, and she hoped he’d remembered to take out the muffins or he would go hungry. Unless he was already on his way back to Manhattan, and then she likely wouldn’t see him again. She knew she shouldn’t be so invested after one night, but she couldn’t
help how she felt.

  Bellamy went still and then a massive smile crossed his face. It was his evil-genius smile. That’s what Win called it. “You slept with Henry Garrison. We could use that. I never could get him to rep Trevor. He said he was uninterested in college-boys-gone-wild cases, but if he’s interested in you, we might be able to get him on retainer. After all, Trevor is no longer in college.”

  “Yes, he got kicked out,” Win replied with no small amount of satisfaction. “So now it would be entitled men gone wild. I don’t think Henry would be interested in that either.”

  Her uncle frowned her way. “You could be nicer to him. Trevor, not Garrison. It seems to me you’ve been nice enough to Garrison. How long have you been seeing the man? Tell me you don’t have anything to do with his ex-wife’s current media tour bashing him. Because the last thing we need is gossip. The fund-raiser is in a few weeks. I can’t have paparazzi in front of the building. If we’re going to have a mob, I’ll move the entire thing. I don’t want those terrible people anywhere close to our home.”

  There would be a postgala reception for the foundation’s biggest donors at the Winston-Hughes penthouse. The entire five-thousand-square-foot penthouse would be done up like a Gilded Age salon, and there would be a midnight buffet. She’d already lined up a couple of Broadway stars to entertain, and the booze would be flowing freely.

  Not the kind of place she could take Henry. Although the guest list would include the movers and shakers of New York, there would also be an L.A. element there. Her uncle tried to keep it toned down, but there would be producers and a couple of directors. They had deep pockets, and she had to do everything she could to raise money for the foundation that had been her mother’s life’s work.

  “I didn’t have anything to do with that.” She glanced at the clock. It had likely been long enough and Brie would be calming down. “Apparently his ex-wife is trying to build her Oscar campaign. And I told you. I met him last night. It’s not a serious thing.”

  “It is if you slept with him,” Mary said. “You don’t sleep around.”

  Bellamy nodded. “Mary’s right, dear. Are you sure you’re ready for a relationship? It hasn’t been so long . . . well, it hasn’t been long since we thought we would lose you.”

  “I’m good, Uncle Bell. And the thing with Henry is nothing more than two consenting adults spending some vacation time together. Don’t look for anything deep.” Though she’d never felt connected to another person so fast, he’d made it plain that he wasn’t interested in having a relationship past the next few weeks. The good news was, she wouldn’t have to explain her past to him. She could enjoy being around him and then they would go their separate ways.

  Not every relationship lasted forever.

  “Besides, the last time I talked to the man he was planning on heading back to the city to deal with the crap from his ex.” Maybe that would be for the best. She’d talked a good game, but did she want to open herself up to that kind of rejection? Wasn’t it dangerous?

  Mary placed a plate in front of her. “Oh, she’s already taken care of that. She released a statement. Apparently she wasn’t talking about him at all. It was very cordial. I knew she was a nice girl under all that makeup. So much makeup these days.”

  “She apologized?” Maybe he wouldn’t leave.

  “Oh, yes. It was a mix-up. She wasn’t talking about Henry at all. Like I said, his grandparents were proud of him. Always talking about how he graduated from Harvard. He made it off the island, though there’s nothing at all wrong with staying on the island. The island is nice.”

  But it wasn’t where Henry would live. He would need to be in the city. He would be a different man there. And she was a completely different person than she’d been before she’d gone into the hospital.

  “Well, that’s nice.” Her uncle nodded Mary’s way as she put a plate in front of him. “Now if you could call an exterminator and get rid of the rodents in my house, everything would be all right.”

  Win groaned because she understood what he was saying. “I told them they couldn’t film any more here. They’re looking for a rental that will work.”

  Not that they’d been looking hard. Brie was using scouting locations for the next season as an excuse to come here and try to get Win back on board. It wasn’t going to work, but it was hard to tell her oldest friend that she didn’t want anything more to do with the life she’d worked hard to build.

  “You know you’re doing the right thing,” her uncle said quietly. “You got out before that lifestyle could kill you.”

  Mary’s hands came down on her shoulders, and she felt her kiss the top of her head. “We almost lost you.”

  “It won’t happen again.” Win was resolute about that. She’d put everyone who loved her through hell, and all because she’d let other people push her until she’d broken. She was stronger now, able to see herself more clearly.

  Bellamy sat back. “See that it doesn’t. I’ve lost far too many family members. I know Trevor isn’t your favorite human being in the world, but the two of you are all I have. And it was hard for him to have to share his father after your parents died. I coddled him far too much and then I went into mourning for my brother. Well, just know that I hate the fact that there’s distance between the two of you. It was my fault. You should have been like brother and sister.”

  But even she knew that sometimes brothers and sisters didn’t get along. Especially when one of them was psychopathically entitled. “I’ll try to be more patient with him.”

  She would try to stay as far from him as possible. Once she was safely ensconced at Duke, she likely wouldn’t see her cousin for anything but holidays.

  “That’s all I can ask.” He picked up his fork. “Now let’s have a nice breakfast and then you can deal with your friend. I know you want to run after her right now, but she’s a spoiled child and that would be rewarding her bad behavior. Tell me about the gala plans. I got the email you sent but I wanted to discuss some of your seating arrangements. Mary, please join us. I don’t want you fussing around and getting yourself tired out over those ridiculous friends of Win’s. They can have cereal if they don’t care to keep proper hours.”

  Win agreed with him when it came to Hoover and Kip. They were vultures and they didn’t deserve Mary’s excellent pancakes.

  But she was getting worried about Brie.

  Still, she started to talk as she ate, discussing the upcoming gala with her uncle and the woman who had been a mother to her. She relaxed and for a moment forgot to worry about Henry.

  * * *

  An hour later, she found Brie sitting on the beach. She wasn’t hard to find. Brie was a goth girl, and she kind of stuck out in her leather mini, ripped fishnets, and combat boots. Her hair was casually messy, though Win knew it took Brie a good twenty minutes to get it to look like she’d just rolled out of bed. She walked up the dune, avoiding the beach grass that swayed with the wind.

  “You okay?”

  Brie didn’t look up. “I’m sitting on a beach getting sand up my crack. I’m not okay.”

  Win dropped down beside her. It was quiet this late in the summer. She could see a fishing boat in the distance. Soon all the tourists would be gone and the island’s population would shrink. The year-round residents would hunker down for the winter.

  The island was a lot like her life. People seemed to come in and out for brief seasons. Tourists who merely wanted an experience. Very few stayed, and for the first time in her life she realized that was all right. She’d spent much of her life seeking approval, trying to make up for the fact that she’d lost her parents and spent most of her youth in boarding schools. She’d sought to build some kind of a family, but now she knew she couldn’t force that.

  But Brie had been around since they were kids. They’d been sent to the same boarding school and had stuck together from fourth grade through grad
uation. It was hard to leave Brie behind.

  Even when she was a massive bitch. Even when she kept trying to pull Win back to a place she didn’t want to go.

  “You know how my uncle can be.” She sighed and leaned back. “He’s on the stuffy side.”

  “He’s an ass and a complete hypocrite.”

  She wasn’t going to argue with Brie. Brie believed everyone who didn’t agree with her was a hypocrite. It was one of her favorite words, along with the word literally—which she misused constantly. “He’s leaving in a few days. He only came out to make sure I have the gala plans firmly in hand.”

  “You always have them in hand,” Brie replied almost sullenly. “You’re supercompetent. You even handled the gala during the years when we were filming. That had to be hard. And you wouldn’t even let us show it.”

  Because her uncle wanted nothing to do with reality TV. “I told you the East Coast is nothing like L.A. Those old-money families are serious about their image. They wouldn’t come if they thought there was a film crew.”

  “Their loss.” Brie wrapped her arms around her knees, laying her head there. “You know you don’t need a graduate degree.”

  They’d been over this before. “I told you, people will take me more seriously if I have one.”

  She’d wrecked her reputation by spending three seasons on a reality show that had made her look like a walking, talking party machine. She’d looked shallow and vapid, but then she’d allowed herself to sink into that lifestyle because she’d wanted to be known for something beyond how her parents had died.

  “They’ll take you seriously when you take over the company.” Brie turned back to the ocean. “It’s yours, you know. What’s old Bellamy going to do about it? You come into your inheritance in what? A year?”

  “Yes, but I’m not ready to run Hughes Corp.” She might never be ready. “I’ll take over as the CEO of the foundation. My uncle does a good job with the company.”