The DECEIT Collection: A Romantic Suspense full of lies, deception, passion, and DECEIT... (The DECEIT Series)

by Emma Shae

  Damon met two more guards when he neared the front door, and after they acknowledged him, he bounded up the stairs and went straight to Sasha’s room. He immediately looked down at Trenton and then grabbed Sasha and hugged her firmly. “Sit down here beside me.” As he patted the mattress on the bed, “there is something that I have to tell you.”

  They sat down together, and Damon began to explain, “Remember when I promised you that I would never keep anything from you again, that we would have no more secrets?”

  “Yes, what is wrong, tell me. I can handle it.”

  “My brother, Emry, didn’t have cancer. He did not die. He’s returned to the states, and he is threatening Trenton’s life.”

  “Emry’s still alive? Why would he threaten Trenton’s life?”

  “Everyone is confused, but it seems that his entire show of dying was all a rouse. He and a man named James Bonet, who was a nurse, plotted Emry’s fake death so that Emry could receive his inheritance early. After Vanessa arranged for him to get his money, Emry and Bonet flew to that island that he talked about, and he married this James Bonet got married. It seems that Emry was gay all along, which is another thing that none of us noticed. At any rate, Emry gambled all of his money away and plotted to get more he would kidnap our son and ransom him.”

  “Why don’t you just give him some more money, and maybe he’ll leave us all alone.”

  “You don’t understand Sasha, Emry doesn’t just want money, he wants revenge. Giving him money won’t stop him. He is money hungry true, but he feels that the family has turned their backs on him, and we owe him for that. I found out that my grandfather stood up for me to be president of our company in Emry’s steed. Emry did not take that well and felt that he had lost everything at that time. It seems from that anger Emry developed a deep hatred for his entire family, but most of all, me. Now he wants revenge, and to get it, Emry is coming after Trenton and anyone that gets in his way. So, I need you to stay in your room and keep your eyes on Trenton at all times. Do not let him out of your sight. Vanessa has alerted the police, and guards have been posted outside the mansion and around the grounds.”

  Damon stood and looked out the window. Then he pulled the drapes closed, and said, “You should stay away from the windows too, and keep your bedroom door locked. Don’t let anyone into this room except me, not even the staff. Do you understand?”

  Damon had Sasha’s complete attention as she tried not to panic, but she could sense the tension in Damon’s voice. “I’ll stay put Damon and do as you say. You don’t have to worry about that.”

  Sasha could feel herself start to tremble as the cold chill of fear tried to overtake her. She would do as Damon instructed, without question, but she was confused and frightened.

  Damon turned on the lamp beside Sasha’s bed and then turned off the ceiling lights. The room immediately darkened. Sasha grabbed Trenton in her arms and sat down in her rocking chair in the middle of the room. Her bedroom was ominously quiet, and in the dimly lit space, Sasha began to rock Trenton. While she rocked, she softly hummed a lullaby to the baby. Trenton was asleep already, but Sasha felt the need to have him in her arms at that moment.

  Damon sat back down on the edge of the bed and contemplated the information that Vanessa had shared with him. Emry had faked his death to get his inheritance early. That was a hard fact to grasp. Damon also could not understand how Emry had squandered all of his money gambling in such a short time. Emry had only been away from home for about a year, and in that time had lost millions. How was that even possible?

  Emry had fooled everyone with his staged illness and subsequent death, especially Damon. It hurt Damon to think that his brother hated him so much that he had lied, manipulated, and was now planning to kill his infant son. From what Mr. Bonet had said, ransoming Trenton was only a ruse. Emry was planning to kill Trenton even if Damon paid the ransom.

  Damon kept going over those horrifying details in his head, and the more he pondered over them, the angrier he became.

  Emry had turned into a cold, uncaring individual right in front of Damon’s eyes, and he had never noticed it. For a man who prided himself on being able to read individuals, Damon had failed on this account and failed miserably. It now made sense to Damon why Emry never consummated his marriage to Sasha. He was gay. Sasha had told Damon that Emry had never touched her, but Damon assumed that it was because he was too ill. Emry’s being gay was another fact that Damon had missed, along with everyone else, it seemed. So much had happened in their family that Damon had not noticed.

  Damon told Sasha, “I’m going downstairs to check in with the guards, do you need anything?”

  Sasha was still rocking Trenton and obviously distraught. “No, I’m fine,” she said.

  Damon knelt in front of her and said, “I’m so sorry that you have to deal with this. I know that you’re frightened, but we have lots of good people watching over the house and grounds, and the police are out looking for Emry. I’m sure all of this will be taken care of soon.”

  All Sasha could do was nod her head. Damon stood and kissed the top of her head. He loved her so much, and it hurt him to see her sad. All he wanted was to make Sasha happy, and now it seemed he was the leading cause of her unhappiness.

  Damon locked the bedroom door behind him and walked downstairs. The two guards at the front door acknowledged Damon as he walked out the front door. Everything seemed quiet downstairs, so Damon walked out onto the grounds. Within minutes he heard sirens and David, the local police chief, pulled up in the driveway.

  Damon met David, and David quickly explained the reason for his visit, “I’ve posted more officers to patrol the grounds and surrounding area because I got word that someone saw Emry in town. They said that he was boasting about coming out here and getting his money from Vanessa. There was no mention of kidnap or ransom, just coming to talk to Vanessa, but we are on the lookout for him, so you all can feel safe.

  When Damon returned to Sasha’s bedroom, he used his key and unlocked the door, saying, “It’s just me, Sasha,” as he entered the room. Sasha continued to rock Trenton without ever acknowledging that Damon was in the room with her.

  “Sasha, let me have Trenton, and I’ll put him to bed.” Damon bent down and gently removed Trenton from Sasha’s arms and laid him in his crib. The baby never woke. Trenton continued to sleep soundly. When Damon returned to Sasha, he stood her up and wrapped his arms around her. Sasha slipped her arms around Damon’s neck and held him close. She was trembling slightly when she softly whispered in Damon’s ear, “Why is Emry doing this? I don’t understand.”

  “I know, Sasha. I do not understand either. Emry is blood, he is my brother, but he has gotten so money hungry he’s losing touch with reality.”

  Damon held on tightly to Sasha until her trembling subsided, and she pulled away from him slightly, saying, “I just can’t stop seeing Emry, lying in that bed looking so helpless and being so hateful toward everyone. Now that I know it was all for show, I’m angry with him for that, but knowing that he has threatened my son makes me even angrier.”

  “Use that anger, Sasha. Vent all of your fear into that anger that you’re feeling right now. I am angry at Emry too. He used all of us to get his money by deceiving everyone about his health. It was all a lie. Now he’s broke because he has squandered his entire inheritance away and back for more.”

  “How did you find all of this information out? Did Vanessa have suspicions about Emry and have him followed.”

  “No, Vanessa was just as much in the dark about Emry’s deceit as we were. None of us ever knew that Emry was gay until recently. It appears that after Bonet and Emry married, the two of them had a huge disagreement, and Bonet left the island. After Bonet returned to the states, he wrote a letter and sent it to our law offices at Lockheed. Bonet seemingly grew a conscience and needed to let the family know about Emry’s plans to kidnap Trenton and ransom him. Bonet was supposed to help Emry with the kidnapping, but he wanted no par
t of it, and that’s why he left Emry. Bonet found out that once Emry got the money, he didn’t intend to return Trenton to us.”

  “So, Emry will kill Trenton even if you pay him, won’t he?”

  “Yes, Emry just wants the money, and then he plans to disappear again.”

  “How can anyone plan such a horrible thing, for money?”

  “I don’t think any of us knew just how really sick Emry had become, and cancer wasn’t the cause. He has lost all sense of rationality. I believe that Emry has allowed money to go to his head for so long, he has lost his mind. Bonet is in fear of his life as well. Emry told Bonet that if he didn’t carry out the kidnapping as he planned, that he would make sure Bonet disappeared forever.”

  “I never got to know Emry very well, but it's hard for me to believe that anyone related to you could be so callous.”

  Damon smiled down at Sasha and said, “I’m glad that you can see some good in all of this, sweetheart. I’m still having trouble finding it myself.”

  For the first time since Damon’s return, Sasha attempted to smile. She had finally started to relax a little bit in Damon’s arms. He smiled down at Sasha, and at that same instant, his cellphone began to ring, breaking their peaceful reverie.

  Damon answered his cell, it was Vanessa, she told Damon, “Mr. Bowman and his staff located James Bonet. Emry carried out his threat, Mr. Bonet is dead. Mr. Bowman found him in a hotel room with a gunshot to the head. There was a suicide note in his hand, but the police do not believe it was suicide because no weapon was in his room, and there was no gunshot residue found on his hand. They did find a map in his suitcase though. It was a layout of the estate showing all of the rooms and specifically Sasha’s bedroom, with a bright red mark and the word, HERE, in bold print. The police took fingerprints in the room and are processing them now. They have also put out an all-points bulletin for Emry. How is Sasha doing?”

  “I’m with her, Grams, and we are trying to hold it together.”

  “I’ll let you know as soon as I have some more information. I’m so sorry this has happened, Damon. Emry is out of control, so there is no telling what he might do if the police catch up with him. I don’t think that he will allow them to take him alive. I hope that you have prepared yourself for whatever has to come next.”

  Damon could never prepare himself for this, least of which thinking that Emry wanted his son dead. He covered the receiver of his phone and told Sasha, “I’m going to step out into the hallway, so I don’t wake Trenton. I’ll just be outside the door. Are you going to be okay?”

  “Go ahead, Damon. I think that I’ll lie down for a little while. All of this has drained my energy. I’ll be fine. You go find out what’s going on.”

  Damon stepped out into the hallway and said, “Grams, I don’t think I have a brother anymore. If Emry does not surrender without a fight and he gets killed in the skirmish, I don’t think that I’ll be upset. I’ve had a hard time dealing with all of this. It is taking everything I have, not to go after Emry and confront him, myself. I know that Sasha needs me, though, and that is the only thing that is holding me here right now.”

  “Stay where you are, Damon, and let the law handle Emry. There is no telling what his next move will be, and you are right, Sasha and the baby need you with them. Everything will be sorted out by due process soon, just try to bear with it for now. Stay put until you hear from me. You are where you need to be right now, so take care of your family and stay put.”

  “I’ll stay where I am for now but keep me updated. I need to know what is going on.”

  “I’ll call just as soon as I know something. Tell Sasha that I love her and to hold on. Everything is going to be back to normal, very soon.”

  After Vanessa hung up, Damon leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the floor. He sat there for several minutes, thinking about everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours. It seemed his whole world had just turned upside down. His brother had committed the ultimate deceit against his own family.

  Emry never deserved the love and attention that he received from his family for the pain that he claimed he had to bear. Damon felt his anger heighten, remembering all of the abuse that Vanessa and Sasha had withstood from him, not to mention his mistreatment of the staff.

  It tugged at Damon’s heartstrings, thinking that Emry, his own brother, was willing to kill his son over money. Out of all of the horrible things that Emry had done in his life, threatening his family was the one thing Damon couldn’t forgive. He slowly stood and returned to Sasha and the baby. Trenton was sleeping soundly. Damon lay down on the bed beside Sasha, and when she rolled over and looked into Damon’s eyes, she could tell that he had been crying.

  It was then Sasha’s turn to comfort Damon. She gathered him up in her arms and held him close to her heart. She never had a brother or sister, but it had to hurt to have one go against you so fiercely.

  They lay holding onto one another until Trenton began to whimper, signaling that it was time for some nutrition. Damon gently pulled away from Sasha and went to Trenton’s bed. He picked his son up, and after admiring him for a few minutes, lay him down on the bed beside Sasha for her to nurse him. Sasha was feeling drained from all of the emotions that she had struggled through, so as she started to nurse the baby, she closed her eyes.

  While Sasha nursed Trenton, Damon crawled back in bed with her and snuggled up close behind her back. As they lay together in a loving position, it helped to ease a lot of the anxiety and frustration that Damon was experiencing. He had not realized until that moment, but the day had drained him.

  Damon dozed in and out of sleep as he listened to the baby’s soft, cooing sounds. Damon could feel his body starting to relax when he felt his cell phone vibrate in his pocket. Damon immediately climbed out of bed to answer the call. Once again, he eased out into the hallway to not wake the baby.

  Vanessa was on the phone, saying, “They have him, Damon. Emry was caught just outside the gates. He pulled into the entrance, and when he realized guards were there, he was scrambling to leave. The police were close by, so they quickly apprehended him. Emry has denied any wrongdoing, of course, but when the police searched his rental car, they found a gun that was the same caliber as the one that killed James Bonet. If that gun matches, Emry will be going to prison for a very long time.”

  CHAPTER 6

  TIME TO RELAX

  While Damon was on the phone with Vanessa, Sasha continued to cling to Trenton. She was unable to relax until she knew that her child was safe. As she listened to the muffled conversation between Vanessa and Damon, she could tell by the tone of his voice that he was more relaxed. He must have just received good news.

  When Damon got off the phone, he returned to her and smiled, saying, “They caught Emry. You and the baby are safe now.”

  Sasha looked down at Trenton, inhaled deeply, and smiled. Trenton was sound asleep. Thank goodness he had slept through the entire ordeal. Sasha was glad that he never had to feel the intense fear that was going through his mother's mind. Sasha sighed and then looked up at Damon.

  Damon placed Trenton back into his crib and returned to Sasha, she crawled out of bed and stood in front of Damon. He reached out and pulled Sasha toward him. As Damon held her in his arms, he could feel Sasha still trembling slightly. He looked down at her and smiled, saying, “I have what you need. How about a nice long soak in the whirlpool, together, I think we can both use some relaxation.”

  Sasha looked up at Damon and tentatively smiled. As she looked deep into his emerald green eyes, she relaxed even more, and then said, “That sounds like a great idea, but I don’t feel comfortable leaving Trenton in here where I can’t see him.”

  “How about if I ask Vita to watch over Trenton so we can have some time to relax? I trust Vita with my son’s life. She is a loyal employee and a good friend. Vita will take care of Trenton like he was her own child.”

  Sasha hesitated for a few seconds and then agreed. A gentle hot,
soaking whirlpool together sounded great. Plus, it would allow them some intimate time together, which was also very relaxing. “Sure, that sounds like a great idea, if Vita isn’t too busy. I don’t want to pull her away from her job and get her into trouble.”

  Damon laughed, “Trust me, Vanessa won’t mind one bit if Vita watches Trenton for us. Vanessa is excited about the two of us getting together, so I’m sure that she will be fine with Vita taking a little time to babysit Trenton, away from her work. I’ll go downstairs and ask Vita; you go in and start the whirlpool.”

  Sasha could feel the excitement building as she allowed herself to anticipate being alone with Damon. Since the moment Damon asked Sasha to marry him, and her telling him yes, the two of that had not had any time to plan what their next move was going to be.

  Sasha stepped into the bathroom and stopped the drain on the whirlpool. She added some bubbles to the water as it started to flow in and just a touch of her favorite lilac, scent. Hopefully, Damon wouldn’t be too averse to smell a little bit like a woman. After all, the bath was his idea.

  As the water ran into the tub, Sasha sat on the edge allowing the bubbles to trickle through her fingers. She had so much to be thankful for right now. She had her baby, safe once again. Damon was in love with her, and her father was doing well in his business. Everything was starting to look up.

  If only Emry had not come back into the picture trying to kill her son. What on Earth was going on with him? Sasha had believed, just like everyone else had, that Emry had died of complications from cancer. Sasha knew that Vanessa had arranged for him to have access to his inheritance after she got pregnant, as part of the bargain that Vanessa had made with Emry. How did he manage all of that deceit?