“I might get a raise if I splatter your head on the pavement first.” He glanced over his shoulder as the bell and students started exiting the school.
“Two minutes, Pennington…” I motioned to Jenny as soon as she walked into view. “It’ll be a lot less painful than the alternative.”
“Fine…” He adjusted his jacket. “I’m not in the mood to get blood on my clothes today anyway.”
I’m not sure which one of us called the other’s bluff right there. I’m in no condition to fight anyone right now.
It seemed that my day wasn’t going to end with bloodshed or handcuffs. I considered that a small victory. Jenny’s face lit up with a smile when she saw me, and she immediately started walking in my direction. I closed the distance between us, but I kept Pennington in the edge of my vision. There was no way I was taking both eyes off that giant of a man. His loyalty to my father couldn’t be understated, and I truly had no idea what he really capable of. When my father got arrested for Securities Fraud, Pennington turned himself in for a crime he didn’t commit and pleaded guilty—just so he could get sent to the same prison.
“Hey!” Jenny waved to me. “You look rough… How did you get Pennington to let you talk to me?”
“I’m fine. We’re avoiding mutually assured destruction—and handcuffs.” I motioned for her to follow me. “We only have a couple of minutes. Are you okay?”
“Dad is putting on a show for his new family.” She shrugged. “I don’t know how long it will last, but we haven’t gotten in any fights that I didn’t pick myself.”
That is better than I expected.
“I’m trying to come up with a plan. I haven’t given up.” I sighed and stopped once we were far enough away that Pennington couldn’t hear our conversation.
“I haven’t either.” Jenny looked down and grinned. “I’ve actually got something cooking right now.”
“You’re not going to do anything stupid, are you?” I tensed up.
“Nah.” She shook her head back and forth. “I’m just planning to give dad enough motivation to throw me out.”
“Do you really think he’s going to do that?” I raised my eyebrows.
“He’ll either toss me out on my ass or absolutely lose it in front of his new wife.” She laughed under her breath. “Either way, I think it’s a win…”
“I don’t even know what you’re planning, and I already think it’s a bad idea.” I looked down and sighed. “Are you going to tell me?”
“No, you’ll try to talk me out of it.” She raised an eyebrow. “Oh, by the way—I met our new stepsister…”
“Really?” I tilted my head inquisitively. “What do you think of her?”
I’d like to tell my sister the truth, but I don’t want her to accidentally say something…
“I’m not sure.” Jenny shrugged. “I caught her in dad’s office last night—snooping around.”
“Wow…” I blinked in surprise.
“Yeah, we almost got busted when he got home.” She laughed under her breath. “I’m going to have to keep an eye on her. She’s definitely up to something.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing.” I felt my throat tightening up as I thought about Leigh getting caught snooping around my father’s office—by someone other than my sister.
“I believe our time is up.” Jenny glanced at Pennington, who was motioning for her.
“It would appear so.” I nodded and gave her a hug. “Please let me know if you need anything.”
“I’ll be fine.” She gave me a quick hug and pulled away. “We’ll laugh about this one day.”
I’m not so sure about that.
I managed to keep my emotions in check while I was talking to Jenny but watching that car drive away tore me up inside. If worrying about her wasn’t bad enough, I was terrified that Leigh was going to actually get caught before she found anything useful. It could have just as easily been my father that found her in his office, and that could have ended badly. I already had a bad feeling about it—the entire situation felt off in some way. My father never had good intentions, whether it was another one of his twisted games, or something much worse than that. As soon as I made it back to my car, I pulled out my phone and sent a message to Leigh.
Damien: You promised to be careful.
Leigh: I have been…
Damien: Jenny caught you in my father’s office?
Leigh: Oh. That…
Damien: This is over. It’s too dangerous. You need to leave.
Leigh: Your father is going to be out of town this weekend. I can’t get caught if he isn’t home. I really don’t think your sister cares what I do.
Damien: Can I see you tonight?
Leigh: I hope so. I’m already at the villa…
Damien: I’m on my way.
My thoughts were all over the places as I drove to the villa so I could meet up with Leigh. I wasn’t happy she got caught by my sister, and that both of them almost got busted by my father. Jenny could have probably played it off—but that would have been a lot harder for Leigh. She wasn’t used to having her words twisted around and used against her. As amazing as Leigh was, my father was a manipulative bastard that knew how to get the truth out of people, and he didn’t care how much he hurt someone in the process.
My first real introduction to my father’s cruelty came when I was five years old. Several of his business associates had kids on the Carson Cove T-Ball team, and he wanted me to be his shining star to prove he was a better father than them. When I told him I wasn’t interested in playing, he left me on the side of the road several miles from home and told me that I could walk back to Sinn Manor.
By some miracle, I made it home, and when I defiantly told him I still wasn’t interested in playing. He pretended to accept it—then he left me on the side of the road even further from home the next day. I learned my lesson after that. A few days later, I was suited up and on the field—because I was scared of what would happen if I defied him again. That still wasn’t good enough for him. Every time I made a mistake, he berated me for hours—I would have actually preferred to have been left on the side of the road than endure that kind of emotional abuse.
Jenny’s introduction was even crueler. She was playing in the living room one afternoon and accidentally unplugged his cigar humidor. It was a mistake—she was too young to know better. It was a couple of days before my father noticed, but when he realized his prized possessions had been ruined by her carelessness, he promised she would lose something she cared about as well. A few days later, the puppy she got for her birthday ran away while she was at school. There was never any proof that our father was responsible, but we both knew he was—and he twisted that knife in every chance he got for almost a year.
I don’t want Leigh to even get a glimpse of that cruelty.
Chapter Seventeen
Leigh
I was nervous when I got Damien’s text, but as soon as I saw him, the nervousness faded away, and concern took over. It was clear he had been in a fight. He acted like it was no big deal, but it was a quick reminder that we were involved in something dangerous. I wasn’t taking my mission lightly, but if Edgar let his thugs hurt his son, then he was a lot more dangerous than I allowed myself to believe.
“Did you even get checked out by a doctor?” I pushed Damien’s hair to the side so I could get a closer look at the damage.
“No.” He scoffed. “I’m okay—really. It hurts, but it’s not serious.”
“I’d feel better if you at least had a doctor tell you that.” I leaned against his chest. “I guess I’m lucky that I don’t have a matching one—it really was foolish of me to snoop around when he could have walked in at any minute.”
“If he had laid a hand on you, your mother would be planning his funeral instead of packing for a weekend getaway,” Damien growled under his breath.
“I won’t even think about doing it again until they’re gone.” I sighed and shook my head. “I know you’re worried
about me.”
“More than you’ll ever realize…” He pressed his lips to my forehead. “I need you to promise me that this weekend will be the end of it if you don’t find anything.”
“Damien…” I looked up at him and grimaced.
I didn’t want to admit defeat in advance, but I finally agreed that I would call off my mission if I wasn’t able to uncover anything while Edgar and my mother were away on their weekend getaway. I needed real evidence to drag my mother out of her fairy tale, and it was beginning to feel like a hopeless endeavor. Edgar wasn’t the type of person to make mistakes or leave clues out in the open. I wouldn’t have even had an inclination that something wasn’t right if I hadn’t overheard his phone call.
After I pacified Damien’s concern, he told me what happened to his mother. She was obviously taking things hard—and if she wasn’t around, then Damien’s plan for getting Jenny out of Sinn Manor had become as hopeless as mine. He wasn’t ready to give up, but I wasn’t sure what he would be able to do. I could see that reality reflected in his eyes as well. I made a promise to Damien, and I wasn’t going to break it. Admitting defeat wouldn’t be easy, but I was willing to accept it if I couldn’t find anything useful over the weekend.
It’s the last chance I’m going to have…
I spent most of the night with Damien and returned to Sinn Manor after everyone else had gone to bed. I was tempted to poke around in the darkness, but I remembered my promise—and almost getting caught. I resisted the urge and went to bed. I woke up the next morning to another screaming match between Edgar and Jenny. I didn’t get a chance to find out what it was about because she stormed out of the house before I could get close enough to eavesdrop. My mother was in her bedroom—packing for her weekend getaway and humming like World War III wasn’t going on downstairs.
“What was that all about?” I walked to the bedroom door.
“Who knows.” She shrugged. “I think Jenny just woke up in a bad mood this morning.”
“It sounded a lot worse than a bad mood.” I raised an eyebrow.
“I’m sure she’ll be fine.” My mother waved off my concern. “Please keep an eye on her this weekend while we’re out of town.”
“I’m not her babysitter…” My head snapped back.
“Just let us know if there are any problems.” My mother turned towards me. “I put Edgar’s number in your contact list.”
“You did?” I pulled out my phone and checked—sure enough, his number was there.
Oh god, does that mean she looked through my phone when she was swapping them out?
“If there are any problems, I’ll probably just call you…” I stared at the screen.
“That’s fine.” She nodded.
“Hey…” I looked up as an idea suddenly came to me. “You set my phone up on Edgar’s computer, right?”
“I did.” She nodded again.
“I’d like to move everything over to my laptop. Do you think that would be a problem?” I tilted my head inquisitively. “It’s been a while since I organized my playlists. This phone can hold a lot more music than my old one.”
“I think it would be fine.” She shrugged.
This might work—and she won’t even be suspicious.
“Cool.” I stifled the smile that was forming. “I’ll need to use Edgar’s computer to do that—is there a password on it?”
“Yeah, he doesn’t like people messing with it.” She nodded and then grimaced. “Actually, I should probably do that for you when we get back. Edgar has a lot of Sinn Technology stuff on his computer—I wouldn’t want you to accidentally delete something…”
“Mom, I’m literally working on a Computer Science degree—I know how to use a computer without deleting anything.” I looked over my shoulder to make sure Edgar was still downstairs. “I won’t mess with his files, I promise.”
This is going to work!
“Yeah, okay.” She nodded. “The password is Sinn123.”
Really? I expected it to be a lot more complicated than that…
“Thanks mom!” I smiled and felt the weight of the world, lifting off my shoulders. “Need any help packing?”
“Sure, if you want.” She nodded and started to stand. “I wish you could go with us—maybe next time.”
Hopefully, there won’t be a next time.
“Yeah, maybe.” I shrugged. “Where are you two going anyway?”
“Edgar has a summer house at Cabot Beach. Personally, I’m fine with the villa he has here in Carson Bay, but he doesn’t want to be close enough to get pulled away if there’s a problem at the office.” My mom smiled.
“Makes sense…” I nodded and started helping her pack.
I felt guilty pretending to be happy for my mother and helping her pack for a trip when I was doing everything I could to bring her fairy tale to an abrupt end. I couldn’t focus on that—my mother walked blindly into a marriage with a man she barely knew—the repercussions were coming whether I was the catalyst or not. It was only a matter of time before she got a taste of Edgar’s cruelty. She had already gone full-Stepford, so I wasn’t even sure that would be enough to take her rose-colored goggles off. I needed definitive proof that Edgar’s intentions were as ominous as the phone call I overheard.
I’ll have that soon enough.
Edgar and my mother were leaving in the early afternoon, and I didn’t have a late shift, so I rushed back to Sinn Manor as soon as I clocked out. I didn’t even wait around to talk to Hank, even though he mentioned that he had something to tell me after work. I couldn’t waste a single second that I had alone in Sinn Manor—especially since I had the password to unlock Edgar’s computer. Unfortunately, there was a barrier to that plan. As soon as I walked through the door, I realized I wasn’t alone. Pennington was sitting in the living room.
Right, Edgar said he was going to be staying behind—that could be a problem.
I knew he would be leaving to pick up Jenny from school, so I went up to my room to wait. The anticipation was beginning to eat away at me, but patience was better than getting caught. Technically, I could have played it off—my mother gave me the password—but I didn’t want Pennington to check in with his boss if he saw me messing around in Edgar’s office. It felt like an eternity as the last hour crawled by, but Pennington finally left—and I ran down the stairs so fast that I was practically sprinting. I made it to the bottom before I remembered that I was going to grab a flash drive, so I had to go back to my room to get one.
Hopefully, I won’t need much time. If there is something on his computer, I’ll find it.
I stepped into Edgar’s office with the flash drive in my hand and instinctively looked over my shoulder. I was all alone and had free reign over his computer until Pennington returned. My heart was beating really hard in my chest when I sat down in Edgar’s chair. I had been there before and tried every combination I could think of, but I never thought it would be as easy as Sinn123. I typed the password in, leaned back in his chair, and smiled—but the smile faded an instant when I was greeted with the same message I had seen every other time I tried to access his computer. The password was wrong.
“No!” I shook my head and typed it again—with the same result. “What the hell?”
I wondered if my mother had gotten it backwards. I tried 123Sinn—it didn’t work. I tried multiple combinations of uppercase and lowercase letters—they didn’t work. The message kept flashing—taunting me—to the point that I felt like I was going to start crying. I was so confident that I finally had a way into his computer, but my mother had given me the wrong password. I didn’t know if she just made a mistake, or if she did it on purpose. The latter was somewhat terrifying. If she lied to my face just to get me to stop asking, then she had sealed her own fate. I was stilling sitting at the computer typing in everything I could think of—in a total panic—when I heard a car outside.
Damn it. They’re back…
I retreated to my bedroom before Jenny and Penning
ton made it inside the house. I heard Jenny stomp up the stairs immediately and slam her door. My stomach was twisted in a knot. I didn’t have any idea what I was going to do. I couldn’t go downstairs and snoop around if Pennington was there. Jenny probably wouldn’t care one way or the other, but I doubted she would help me if I asked. I would have to reveal that I was helping Damien, and I didn’t know how that would go. The secret was too important to share with her, even if she was close with her brother—the last thing I needed was for her to accidentally say something to Edgar during one of their screaming matches.
That won’t matter after this weekend—because I made a promise to Damien.
I gave Damien an update on my lack of progress and then stayed in my room until my stomach started to remind me that I needed to eat. I was so nervous that I skipped breakfast and barely touched my lunch. I considered reaching out to Damien to see if he wanted to meet at the villa—it didn’t seem like I was going to have any success at Sinn Manor. I might have more luck once Pennington retired for the evening, but if I couldn’t get into Edgar’s computer, I had no idea what good it was going to do. I reached for my phone, but before I could send a message to Damien, Jenny walked into my room.
“Hey…” She pushed the door closed.
“Hi.” I looked up at her, confused.
“Listen, I’m going to have a few friends over tonight—okay, a lot of friends. I’m throwing a party.” She fidgeted with one of her fingernails like she was nervous. “You’re not going to rat me out, are you?”
“A party?” I blinked in surprise and sat up.
“That’s what I needed the money for.” She nodded.
“I won’t say anything.” I felt apprehensive telling her that, but I had no intention of ever telling Edgar that his daughter did something he might not approve of.
“Good.” She smiled.
“Wait…” I held up my hand. “There’s no way Pennington is going to let you throw a party.”
“Don’t worry about Pennington.” Jenny slid her shoulder strap down until her bra was exposed. “I know how to distract him.”
Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Sandals Book 3) Page 18
