Violet didn’t resist when I opened the passenger door of her blue Volkswagen Beetle and ushered her inside. She buckled her seatbelt, closed the door, and leaned her head against the window, the glass fogging from her breath and the tears still streaming down her cheeks.

I didn’t even think about it. I pulled out of her parking garage and pointed her little car straight at Winters House. My chest hurt worse every time her breath hitched. I knew what it was to feel betrayed by your own family. And I knew what it was to be on Chase’s side of things, making decisions and keeping secrets to protect the ones you loved.

I couldn’t fix what was wrong. That was between Violet and Chase. I knew she’d forgive him, eventually. They were too close, and she loved him too much to hold a grudge forever. On the other hand… I’d seen Violet play the avenging angel. She’d infiltrated my company in the name of justice. If she was mad enough at Chase, I was afraid to guess what she might do.

The garage was empty when we pulled in. Even Sophie’s car was missing. Sophie had originally joined our household as a live-in nurse for our great-aunt Amelia. She was married to Gage now, but she took her job seriously, and she loved Amelia, despite my great aunt’s crotchety, troublemaking ways.

When the weather was good, Sophie and Amelia liked to walk at the Arboretum and then go to our friend Annabelle’s coffee shop in the Virginia Highlands to have one of Annabelle’s sugar-free hot cocoas.

Amelia’s diabetes-friendly diet was a source of contention between her and Sophie. Amelia snuck sweets, and Sophie ferreted them out and confiscated them. Annabelle had developed the hot cocoa recipe for Amelia, and Amelia took advantage as often as she could. They would probably be gone for hours.

Mrs. W, our housekeeper since my childhood, and Abel, our cook, might be home, but they were both discreet enough to give us space if they thought we needed it. I rounded the front of the Beetle and opened Violet’s door. She sat there, slumped, seatbelt still buckled, staring blindly between her feet.

“Come on sweetheart,” I said, leaning over and unfastening her belt. Docile, she allowed me to pull her from the car and slide my arm around her waist. I guided her through the mud room, past the family room and kitchen where she’d had the misfortune to meet my family the night before, past the dining room, to the two-story entry hall. She barely looked around, just wiped under her eyes with the back of her hand and let me lead her up the staircase to the second floor.

The upper level of Winters House was smaller than the main floor. It housed only two bedroom suites, Gage’s and mine. Both suites had a sitting room, bedroom, dressing room, and bath. Gage’s wasn’t small, but mine, as the master suite, was bigger than most homes. Before so much of my family had moved back, it felt cavernous. Now I was grateful for the space and privacy.

Violet didn’t truly take in her surroundings until I sat her on the edge of the bed and leaned down to tug off her shoes. Dropping my suit coat over an armchair, I urged her back onto the bed and joined her, pulling her into my arms and tucking her head against my shoulder.

“Sorry,” she whispered into my shirt. “I’ll stop in a minute.”

“You don’t have to stop,” I said into her hair. “Cry if you want to. I’d be pissed as hell if I were you. And hurt.”

“I hate crying,” she said, her voice wobbly. “It makes me all snotty.” She gave a wet sniffle. I sat up a little and leaned across her to grab a tissue off the bedside table. Violet took care of her runny nose, then settled back against me, her breath still jagged, tears still leaking from her eyes, soaking into my dress shirt.

I rubbed her back and searched for something to say. I came up empty. I didn’t have anything comforting to offer. She wouldn’t want to hear what I was thinking.

I understood Chase. I’d done plenty of fucked up things in the name of protecting my family. I’d screwed up Annalise’s relationship with Riley when she was in college. Screwed it up so badly it took them over a decade to find one another again. She’d forgiven me, partly because it was as much Riley’s fault as it was mine, but I’d still fucked up.

And it hadn’t been that long ago that Charlie had stopped speaking to me because I’d fired her. Maybe it had been for the best, but it was still an asshole move, and I knew it at the time. It hadn’t stopped me then and probably wouldn’t stop me now.

I knew all about making hard decisions to protect your family. Chase had known about us all these years and hadn’t made a single attempt to get in touch.

He’d looked after his little sister. He’d taken her in when her parents cut her off, gave her a place to live, a job. Loved her. Supported her. Yeah, he’d fucked up not telling her she was adopted. Violet had a right to know.

Still, I knew why he kept his mouth shut. He hadn’t wanted to see that look in her eyes the moment she realized that everything she knew about her family was a lie.

Violet’s breath evened out and I looked down to see her eyes closed, her pale lashes fanned across her flushed cheeks, spiky with tears. My phone beeped. I pulled it from my pocket to check the screen. Gage.

Where are you?

Tapping with one finger I wrote back, Home.

With Violet?

Y

That was a cluster fuck. We rescheduled the meeting for tomorrow. Want you there. She’s staying at W H?

Y

No comment from Gage. I wasn’t sure Violet would be willing to stay. If she was uncomfortable being at Winters House, I’d check us back into the Intercontinental. Or see if Jacob had an empty unit in his building. I knew she wasn’t going back to Chase’s condo anytime soon.

Making a decision, I eased away from Violet and got off the bed. She didn’t move when I unsnapped her jeans and slid them down her legs. When I reached beneath her T-shirt to unfasten her bra and tugged the straps down her arms, she only sighed and turned into the pillow.

We hadn’t gotten much sleep the night before, and she was emotionally exhausted. I pulled the covers over her body, drew the curtains and wrote a short note. Setting it on the pillow beside her, next to her phone, I left the room, shutting the door behind me.

I found Mrs. W in her office by the kitchen, looking down at a notepad and chewing on the end of the pencil. Her hair in a bun, her dark dress without a wrinkle, she was almost identical to the young woman who’d joined our staff at eighteen, not long before my aunt and uncle died. There were a few threads of gray in her dark hair and faint creases in the skin around her eyes and mouth, but otherwise, Helen Williamson defied the passing of the years. With our parents dead, she was the closest thing we had to a mother, and every single one of us adored her.

Except for Aunt Amelia. Those two had been sworn enemies for decades, at least until Amelia’s penchant for pulling pranks had crossed the line a few weeks ago. It turns out that when you hide a bullion cube in a shower head, the person who stands beneath smells like chicken soup for a few days afterward.

Mrs. W was not amused. When Abel, who we all suspected was sweet on her, pranked Amelia back, it seemed my great aunt decided to call a truce. The rest of us were relieved, but I wasn’t convinced the détente would last.

“When did you come home?” she asked, concern in her dark eyes. I was far more likely to work into the night than to show up in the middle of the day.

“Just a little while ago,” I said. “I brought someone with me. The woman I’ve been seeing, Violet Westbrook. She’s had a shock, a family problem with her brother. They live together, and she needed some space. She’s sleeping in my room upstairs. I’m going to run to her place and get some of her things.”

Anyone else would have pressed for more information, but Mrs. W was the soul of discretion. She’d pull out her own fingernails before she’d ask any of us a personal question. And even without poking at us, she managed to know every detail of our lives. If she was curious about Violet, I knew she’d satisfy that curiosity without upsetting Violet or interrogating me.

All she said in response was, “Do you know how long she’ll be staying? Will she be with you, or should I prepare a guest room?”

“She’ll stay with me. As for how long she’ll be here, that depends.”

Mrs. W said nothing, only raised an eyebrow. To her, I said what I wasn’t ready to admit yet to Gage, or to Violet. To anyone else for that matter. “If I get my way, she’ll stay forever.”

Mrs. W pressed her lips together in a tight line and gave a nod. She could be impossible to read. I knew she’d make up her own mind about Violet. If she decided Violet didn’t measure up, she’d never say a word. I was sure she’d hated my first wife, Elizabeth. Sure because everyone had hated Elizabeth, and because Mrs. W’s response when I told her Elizabeth would be leaving was a simple and quiet, “It’s about time.”

I wasn’t worried. Knowing Mrs. W and Violet, those two would be peas in a pod. Everyone else would be fine, too. Gage was the only Winters living in the house that worried me. The last thing Violet needed was my cousin giving her a hard time.

I headed out in Violet’s car and called Gage on his cell.

“Hey,” I said when he answered. “Violet’s sleeping. I’m going to get her stuff. When are we meeting with Chase?”

“Tomorrow morning. Nine. He was a mess after you left,” Gage said. “I feel bad for the guy.”

“I’m not admitting it to Vi, but yeah, I hear you.”

Gage gave a knowing laugh. “If anyone would be on his side, it’s you.”

“Don’t start with me. Look, I’m calling because Violet feels like hell. I want her to stay with me. If you’re going to be an asshole, tell me now and I’ll check us into a hotel. I’d rather have her at Winters House, but not if you’re going to make her feel unwelcome.”

Under his breath I heard Gage swear. “Fuck me.” Louder, after an exaggerated sigh, he went on, “Fine. I’ll be nice. I’m still not sure about her. But I’ll cut her some slack for major family drama. I’d rather have her in Winters House where I can keep an eye on her.”

“I’m asking you to be truly nice, not be fake nice and then glare at her behind my back,” I clarified.

“I can be nice. What, you’re the only one who gets to look out for his family? She didn’t exactly have the best beginning—”

“I know. I was there. But we’re past that now and I’m asking you to do me a favor and be nice to my girlfriend. Please. I want her to like my family, not think you’re all a bunch of jackasses.”

“I said I’d be good.”

“I’d settle for you keeping your mouth shut and letting Sophie do the talking. She’s an angel. You’re like the troll under the bridge.”

“Fuck off. I’m the one with the gorgeous wife. You’re the dumbass hooking up with a potential criminal.”

“She’s not—” I started to say before Gage cut me off.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah. We’ll see. In the meantime, you get her moved in where we can keep an eye on her.”

“Somehow,” I said dryly, “that’s not all that comforting.”

“Wasn’t meant to be,” Gage said, cheerily, before he hung up.

I loved my family. I’d die for anyone of them. But sometimes they were a royal pain in my ass.

The security gate to Chase’s underground parking opened as I approached in Violet’s car and the card on her key ring gave me access to the elevator. I knocked once on the condo door before I let myself in.

Chase Westbrook was sprawled across the couch, a half-full tumbler of bourbon balanced on his chest. He sat up awkwardly when he saw me, sloshing the liquor on his shirt. With a nearly silent curse, he set his tumbler on the coffee table and lurched to his feet, his eyes searching over my shoulder for his sister.

“Where is she?” he demanded. “What did you do with her?”

“I didn’t do anything with her,” I said, my voice as close to soothing as I could get. “I took her home—”

“This is her home,” Chase interrupted.

“I took her to my home. I tucked her into bed, where she cried herself to sleep. Is that what you wanted to hear? I came to get some of her things.”

Chase deflated with a long exhale and sank back to the couch, hanging his head for a moment before he picked up his tumbler of bourbon and drained what was left.

“I should have told her,” he said.

“Yeah, you should have,” I agreed.

“Are you going to tell me what an asshole I am, too?”

“Nope.” I stared down at Violet’s brother, Anna’s son. Half-brother to my cousins. He wasn’t related to me by blood, but that didn’t matter. Whether we wanted it or not, this man was family. Even without his connection to Anna Winters, he belonged to Violet, and Violet belonged to me.

No matter how I looked at it, Chase Westbrook was a part of our lives now. I couldn’t leave him alone and miserable. Not like this.

I grabbed the tumbler from the wet bar in the kitchen and helped myself to some of the bourbon he’d left on the counter. Sitting in a chair opposite the couch, I sipped the bourbon and thought about what to say.

Finally, I went with, “I have a little sister, too. And on top of that, I have two younger brothers, and four younger cousins. I’ve been the head of the family since I was twenty and my parents died. I know all about doing the best you can to keep them safe and happy. And I know all about fucking up in the process. Violet’s hurt. She’s pissed. But she’ll forgive you because she loves you.”

Chase shook his head, his blonde hair falling in his eyes, reminding me so much of my cousin Vance I felt for a moment like I’d stepped into an alternate universe. Add a few inches to that hair and slap some more tattoos on him, and Violet’s brother turned into my cousin.

At that thought, it occurred to me that we needed to have a family meeting, and despite Violet being angry with Chase, we’d have to orchestrate introductions. There was no way the rest of my family would be willing to wait once they found out Chase existed. It had only been a few months, but it felt like we’d been looking for Anna’s missing son forever.

He was the last piece in the puzzle of their deaths. Finding Chase, bringing him into the family, would let us finally put the past to rest.

“You seem pretty sure about that,” Chase said, turning his empty tumbler in his fingers.

“I am. She just needs time.”

“I wanted to tell her for so long. After they kicked me out, I wanted to tell her, but she was still living at home, going to school, and I didn’t want to do anything to fuck that up for her. And then they tried to force her to marry Walters and she was just fucking destroyed.” Chase raised his head and his blue eyes were wide with outraged fury. “They tried to fucking sell her to a man old enough to be her father and when she had the nerve to object they booted her out. Haven’t spoken to her since. She called me collect from a gas station in the middle of the night. I was two states away. Do you have any idea how helpless I felt?”

“I can imagine,” I said quietly. I could. I would have been sick to be that far away if one of my family had needed me. All I had to do was imagine Charlie or Annalise on a payphone at a gas station in the middle of the night. Yeah. I understood.

“I never should have left her with them. I had the money by then. I could have put her through school, but she wanted to prove something. That she could do it herself. That she could be the daughter they wanted. It was bullshit. She shouldn’t have had to be anybody but herself. And they never really saw her. They never saw either of us.”

“They didn’t try to find her? They never called? Sent a letter?” I couldn’t imagine it. I couldn’t fathom that they let their daughter walk out the door in the dark of night and never bothered to find out what had happened to her.

Chase got up and carried his glass to the bottle of bourbon where he refilled it. “Not as far as I know. They didn’t really want children. They wanted, I don’t know, pets, or robots. They wanted to be able to tell us what to think and who to be and what to do. What they got were two human beings with thoughts and feelings they couldn’t control. Once they realized what being parents was about, they lost interest. I was done trying to win their approval long before I found those files in the basement, but Vivi never gave up. Not until fucking Walters almost raped her and she found out her own father had set it up. That was enough to break anyone’s heart, even one as stubborn as Vivi’s.”

I gritted my teeth at the way he laid it out. If I couldn’t understand her parents tossing her out the door and letting her go without a second thought, I sure as hell couldn’t make sense of her father whoring her out to his friend. It didn’t make a fucking bit of difference that he’d intended for the friend to marry her.

He’d treated her like a piece of property. Sent her to that man’s house knowing his friend expected to fuck her, and not only did he not warn her, he’d punished her for resisting. The more I thought about it, the more I wanted to hunt down the people who’d raised Violet and make them pay for what they’d done.

I tossed back the rest of my bourbon and stood. “I’m going to get some of Vi’s things. Gage says we have a meeting tomorrow?”

Chase nodded. “I’ll be there.” He held his half-full glass in the air in a wry salute. “I’ll even be sober.”

He didn’t say a word as I went down the hall to find Violet’s bedroom. I located a suitcase under her bed and filled it with everything I thought she might want or need for an extended stay at Winters House. I did my best with her makeup and toiletries. If I missed anything she could always come back while Chase was at Winters, Inc. for our meeting.

Chase’s glass had been topped up in the short time I was in Violet’s room. He was going to feel like hell when the liquor wore off. Not my concern. Violet was my concern. Chase would have to take care of himself.

On my way to the door, Violet’s suitcase in hand, I stopped and turned. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Chase’s eyes were a little unfocused when they met mine. “Take care of her. Promise me you’ll take care of her.”

When I said, “I will,” it felt like more than a promise. It felt like a vow. A vow I planned to keep.