Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Sandals Book 3)

by Kelli Callahan

  “Edgar, you don’t have to talk about this.” My mother reached across the table and squeezed his hand. “Especially not here…”

  “Give me a minute.” Edgar closed his eyes and raised his hand to cover his mouth—it looked like he was about to start crying.

  What the hell?

  “This is difficult for him.” My mother took a sip of her wine.

  Difficult? Why? It’s mutual hatred…

  “My son and I are not close.” Edgar winced and opened his eyes. “We had a falling out a few years ago, and we haven’t really spoken since. It’s not something that I like to talk about, but…”

  “Edgar’s son lost someone very close to him, and he decided to take it out on the people who loved him.” My mother sighed. “It’s a very sad situation.”

  “Yes.” Edgar nodded. “We all loved her—Caroline—the woman my son was going to marry. After the accident, we tried to put the pieces of our family back together, but Damien just wasn’t able to move on.”

  There is some truth woven into his version of it, but he’s not telling us everything. The hatred existed before Caroline’s accident—and she wasn’t the cause of their falling out.

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” I closed my eyes for a moment and sighed.

  I couldn’t press him any further because there was no way for me to dispute his twisted version of events without revealing that I knew the other side of the story. He had closed every door that would allow me to dig deeper. He was a master of manipulation, just like Damien warned—Edgar’s story sounded so genuine that I would have believed every word he said if I didn’t know that there was a lot more to it than he shared.

  That was my one chance, and he didn’t even flinch.

  They started talking about other things, and I just kind of zoned out as I ate my food. I wasn’t going to be able to shift the conversation back to him—not without burning a bridge with my mother. I couldn’t come up with a logical reason not to live with them, especially if my mother was selling the house. I wasn’t making enough money working at the front desk of the Pembroke Hotel to afford to live on my own if I had to pay rent—I would need a second job to pull that off—and I had school expenses on top of it. I had been able to secure grants to cover my tuition because of my mother’s financial situation—but that had changed overnight. I wasn’t even sure I would still qualify for those grants when it was time to renew them.

  “Please excuse me.” I put down my fork and pushed my chair back. “I need to go to the ladies’ room.”

  I really didn’t have to go to the bathroom, but I needed to get away from the table for a few minutes. I sat in the stall and fumbled with my phone as I tried to figure out what I should do next. Edgar’s sob story about Damien and their so-called falling out had complicated things. My mother was obviously under Edgar’s spell and had no reason to question the story he told her. If he was as cruel as Damien said, there was no way I could let my mother walk into Sinn Manor alone after seeing how easily he could lie to her face.

  If he was playing some sort of game, I had no idea what it could be—and that worried me. I had no choice but to let it play out and keep trying to dig deeper when the opportunity presented itself. If I could expose Edgar Sinn for what kind of man he truly was, then I might be able to save my mother from the life she thought she wanted—before she became another casualty of the devil’s cruelty like Damien’s mother. I knew Damien wasn’t going to be happy, but I had to tell him anyway, so I started typing a message.

  Leigh: My mom is selling the house. I’m not going to be able to stay there…

  Damien: What? Why is she doing that?

  Leigh: Probably because your father told her to do it.

  Damien: You’re not actually thinking about moving in with them at Sinn Manor, are you?

  Leigh: I don’t have much of a choice.

  Damien: No. We’ll find another way.

  Leigh: I can’t just abandon my mother. She doesn’t realize what she’s gotten herself into.

  Damien: This is a bad idea. I don’t think you realize how cruel my father can be.

  Leigh: I’ll keep my guard up. I know the truth. I need to try and help my mother see it too.

  Damien: Then I’ll tell her everything myself. Where are you?

  Leigh: That won’t work. Your father has already filled her head with lies about you. She’s not going to believe anything you say.

  Damien: I really don’t want you anywhere near him. Your mother made her choice…

  Leigh: I know, but if our roles were reversed, would you just walk away?

  Damien: …No.

  Leigh: I’ll be careful. I promise.

  Damien: I still don’t like this.

  I couldn’t come up with a better plan than the one that was laid out for me by the situation itself, so I returned to the table and forced myself to eat the rest of my food under the watchful eyes of Edgar’s two over-sized bodyguards. Edgar and my mother looked like the happiest couple on the planet. I couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of game Edgar was truly playing or why he was with my mother. Even if he did really like her, it was way too soon for marriage—and I knew enough about my mother’s previous relationships to know that she wasn’t the type of woman that kept her panties on until she got a wedding band on her finger. Maybe if she was, she would have gotten one long before Edgar came along—but it was hard to judge her for that after losing my virginity to Damien.

  If Edgar is half as charming as Damien, then I get that part of it, but marriage is a mighty big leap from the bedroom.

  “Are you ladies ready to go?” Edgar leaned back in his chair. “I have a car waiting outside.”

  “We—drove.” I glanced at my mother and then turned my attention to Edgar. “We can follow you.”

  “No need.” Edgar shook his head back and forth. “I’ll have someone pick up your car later.”

  “Okay.” I pulled out my cell phone and checked to see if I had any new messages from Damien.

  “Oh, we need to swap that out.” My mother took my cell phone out of my hand before I realized she was reaching for it. “We’ll do that when we get to Sinn Manor.”

  “I’ll hang onto it until then…” I leaned forward to retrieve it.

  “Don’t be silly.” She pulled away and shoved my phone into her purse. “You’ll have your new phone soon enough.”

  “If she’s anything like my daughter, an hour without her cell phone is going to feel like the end of the world.” Edgar chuckled under his breath.

  “She’ll be fine.” My mother shook her head quickly.

  Edgar and my mother got up from the table before I could object. I followed them outside to the waiting car and seriously considering making a break for it before I climbed into the backseat. His two bodyguards definitely made that prospect a lot more intimidating—they were a few steps behind us as soon as we left Moretti’s. I kept reminding myself that I needed to be there for my mother, and things could be a lot worse for her if she got too tangled up in Edgar’s lies before I had a chance to unravel them in front of her. I didn’t spend every free minute I had staring at my phone like a lot of people I knew, but I still felt practically naked without it. I just hoped it didn’t buzz with a message from Damien while my mother had it. The fear of that left me on edge for the entire trip to Sinn Manor.

  Now I have to pretend like I’ve never been here before…

  “I apologize for the mess.” Edgar led us through the front door and into the foyer, where I told Damien about our parents’ marriage. “It’s a long story.”

  “Someone ripped up all your pictures…” I aimlessly looked around the room. “What happened?”

  “Don’t ask so many questions.” My mother narrowed her eyes and hushed me.

  “It was literally one question…” I took a step away from her.

  “It’s fine.” Edgar waved off her concern. “I was living with someone before I met your mother—my ex-wife.”

&n
bsp; “Say what now?” I feigned shock.

  “It was a complicated situation.” He walked towards the living room.

  “Stop prying!” My mother grabbed my arm as soon as Edgar was out of earshot—and squeezed a lot harder than I expected.

  “Ow!” I pulled away from her immediately. “What is wrong with you? I can’t ask him any questions? You’re married to him!”

  My mother didn’t respond. She walked into the living room, and I rubbed my arm for a couple of seconds before I followed her. I was stewing inside, but I kept my composure. It was obvious that it wasn’t my mother’s first trip to Sinn Manor. She didn’t think it was strange that there were pictures missing half the people in them in almost every single frame, or that it looked like the place had been burglarized. I assumed that she must have gotten the grand tour earlier that day—because Damien finished moving everything out the day before, and I spent most of the night there with him. Our paths had come dangerously close to crossing.

  “I’ll go get your phone set up.” My mother reached into her purse.

  “You can use the computer in my office.” Damien motioned towards the hallway. “Log into my account and activate it once you switch the SIM cards over.”

  “I can do that…” I reached for my phone.

  “You don’t know the account information.” My mother pulled away and walked down the hallway.

  Now I have to worry about her snooping on top of Damien possibly messaging me.

  “I can tell you have a few concerns.” Edgar interrupted my thoughts, and I turned to face him. “All of this probably feels very sudden…”

  “It does.” I nodded. “Especially if you were living with your ex-wife before you met my mom.”

  He opened the door. I’m walking through it.

  “Yes.” Edgar walked over to the liquor cabinet and stared for a moment before pouring a glass of whiskey. “My ex-wife and I had a very complicated relationship. Damien was her son, and she let his grief drag her down with him—I tried to salvage the relationship, but it was simply too late. The marriage was over long before we were divorced, but I couldn’t bring myself to throw her out on the streets. I still cared about her…”

  “Until my mother came along?” I glanced over my shoulder to make sure my mother wasn’t going to walk up and hear me—prying as she called it.

  “No, I still wouldn’t have thrown her out. I was fully prepared to leave.” He sighed and took a sip of his whiskey. “She left on her own once I told her that I had met someone new.”

  “And took her half of everything?” I looked around the room. “Including the photographs?”

  “It would seem so.” Edgar nodded.

  Edgar’s story didn’t line up with what Damien had told me, but I didn’t get a chance to ask him any more questions because I heard my mother’s footsteps approaching.

  “See, that didn’t take long at all.” My mother handed me my new iPhone. “I hope you have already told Edgar thank you for buying it.”

  “Uh…” I looked up from my phone. “Thank you, Edgar.”

  I guess it won’t hurt to be polite—it is a huge upgrade over the one I’ve been carrying around for the last several years.

  “No need to thank me.” He shook his head back and forth. “We’re family now.”

  “Now that you have your phone let me show you where your room is.” My mother motioned to me.

  “Okay.” I nodded.

  “Would you mind pouring me a glass of wine?” My mother looked towards Edgar. “This should only take a minute.”

  “Of course, my dear.” Edgar nodded and smiled. “Unfortunately, the bottle I told you that I was saving for a special occasion seems to have disappeared, but I’ve got a few others that are just as good.”

  I might have had something to do with that…

  “Anything is fine.” My mother’s smile got a little wider.

  My mother walked towards the door, and Edgar leveled his gaze on me. The smile disappeared from his face. For a split second, I wondered if he could read my mind—if he somehow knew I was partially responsible for the missing bottle of wine. It was obviously impossible, but it left me with an uneasy feeling as I followed my mother up the stairs. We walked past Damien’s old room and finally came to a stop at the end of the hallway. She pushed the door open and motioned for me to enter.

  “You have your own bathroom and plenty of closet space.” She followed me into the room.

  “Plenty?” I raised an eyebrow as I looked over at the closet. “Everything I own would fit in that closet…”

  “We’ll go shopping for some new things in a few days.” My mother nodded. “Edgar’s company has several events that we will be required to attend, so we both need to expand our wardrobe a little bit.”

  I’m sure you’re not going to miss an opportunity to spend his money.

  I walked around the room and checked everything out, mainly because I was trying to be nice and make my mother believe I was somewhat happy to be there. I was going to have to keep my teeth on my tongue if I was going to stay in her good graces long enough to expose her new husband’s lies. The room was nice. Having my own bathroom was even nicer. I reminded myself that it was temporary. I had no intention of staying at Sinn Manor a single day longer than what was required to show my mother what kind of man Edgar Sinn really was.

  “It’s a nice room, Mom. I’ll be sure to thank Edgar for providing me with such nice accommodations.” I turned towards my mother and forced a smile.

  “I’m glad you like it.” She nodded. “I’ll let you get settled in. We’ll be downstairs if you need anything.”

  “When are we going home?” I tilted my head inquisitively.

  “The movers will bring everything tomorrow.” She shrugged. “As far as I’m concerned—we are home.”

  “I’d like to pack my own room.” I raised an eyebrow.

  “No need.” She shook her head back and forth. “The movers are being paid to handle it.”

  “Well I need to get my car—I have work tomorrow.” I pulled out my new phone and slid my finger across the screen, searching for the Uber app that was on my old phone.

  “We need to talk about that.” My mother folded her arms across her chest. “There’s no reason for you to have a job right now. You will be starting college soon—you can relax until then.”

  “Mom, I told you…” I shook my head in confusion. “I’m already taking classes online.”

  “I mean real college, Leigh.” She scoffed. “You can drop those other classes.”

  “The online classes are through Carson Cove University! I can’t just drop the ones I’m taking and show up on campus next semester—my GPA will be ruined!” I exhaled sharply. “I’ll just get an Uber. Go enjoy the rest of your evening with your new husband.”

  Trying to have a reasonable conversation with my mother really was like talking to a brick wall. It was not going to be easy to convince her that she was married to the devil himself, even if the evidence was flashing in front of her like a neon sign. Her view of the world was just horribly skewed in the wrong direction. Her hopes and dreams were so deeply rooted that they blinded her to everything else except the upward trajectory that realizing them was supposed to bring. That was a problem for me to tackle later—if I was going to have to move out of my house, I did want to make sure a few things made it to Sinn Manor. I couldn’t miss another day of work, so I was going to be up all night—there was just no way around it.

  I thought the crazy guests I took care of at Carson City Inn were unreasonable—they have nothing on my mother.

  I spent all night packing my stuff. I was dead on my feet the next day at the Pembroke Hotel. By the time I got off work, I was so tired that I drove halfway to my house before I realized that my stuff wasn’t there anymore—or was it? I really didn’t know exactly what my mother had moved out of our old house. I decided to push forward and found the place mostly gutted except for some furniture and most of the appl
iances. I was so exhausted by that point that the couch looked like the most comfortable place on the planet. I crashed on it for several hours before the sound of my phone woke me up, and I saw that I had a message from Damien.

  Damien: Are you okay?

  Leigh: Yeah.

  Damien: You didn’t text when you got back to Sinn Manor.

  Leigh: I haven’t made it yet. I fell asleep on the couch at my old house.

  Damien: Well, you were up all night…

  Leigh: Yeah, I’m still tired.

  Damien: Want some company?

  Leigh: There’s less stuff at my house than there was at Sinn Manor after you got finished with it.

  Damien: If you’re there, that’s all I need.

  Leigh: Okay, I’ll text you the address.

  Damien: Are you hungry?

  Leigh: I haven’t eaten…

  Damien showed up with a pizza, and I found out that I was a lot hungrier than I realized. I was so tired that I barely had anything all day except for coffee—all it did was keep my eyes open. Damien pulled me in his arms once we were done eating, and despite my desire to make the trip worth his while, I was still struggling to keep my eyes open. The next thing I knew, I was waking up in his arms, and the sun was peeking through the clouds.

  “Oh god!” The sight of the morning sky snapped me from dazed to fully awake. “We fell asleep!”

  “So?” He rubbed his eyes and sat up.

  “I didn’t make it to Sinn Manor last night!” I reached for my phone. “My mother is probably worried sick!”

  “Blame it on me.” He chuckled under his breath and pressed his lips to my shoulder. “Is she pissed?”

  “Um…” I stared at a blank screen. “She didn’t even check on me…”

  “My father has that effect on people.” Damien sighed and pulled me into an embrace. “They forget about everything except what he wants.”

  But what does he want with her?

  I said goodbye to Damien, drove to Sinn Manor, and showered so that I could get ready for work. It felt like I was just at work because I had slept so much, but I still had to go. I didn’t see my mother or her new husband, but the house was big enough that I could have totally missed them, even if they were home. I rarely saw Edgar’s bodyguards after I moved in. I was glad to find out that they didn’t live with us—but they always showed up when it was time for him to leave the house.