Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Sandals Book 3)

by Kelli Callahan

  “For what?” Taylor raised her eyebrows.

  “Nothing that stuck apparently.” Bolt stared at his screen. “Here’s something—apparently there was an investigation into his family for money laundering and racketeering.”

  “De Luca—wait, wasn’t that the name on the email from before?” I flipped over and checked it. “Yeah, he was talking to someone with that same last name about protection.”

  “So he got protection from them.” Bolt nodded. “In exchange for…”

  “Jenny.” Anna interrupted her boyfriend. “He traded his daughter for protection while he was in prison!”

  “No way.” I shook my head back and forth. “Nobody is that freaking heartless.”

  “I don’t know if that’s everything.” Bolt shook his head. “There are other emails here. Their business relationship goes back a long time. Way before Edgar went to prison. There’s a lot of talk about transactions and money—before and after he got popped for Securities Fraud.”

  “Okay, here’s something…” Taylor leaned forward. “I figured I would just start at the very first email. Edgar sent a proposal for some sort of joint venture between Sinn Technology and a company that the De Luca family-owned.”

  “So maybe it was legit at first?” I looked over at her.

  “Yeah, this looks pretty standard.” She nodded. “I’m going to keep reading.”

  “We need a timeline.” Anna took out a few pieces of paper and laid them out. “Read off anything that seems interesting with the date, and I’ll keep track of it.”

  Being able to access Edgar’s email did more to rejuvenate the room than coffee. The emails were vague if read individually, but once we started laying them out, we were able to line up the business transactions. Bolt came up with an idea to check those dates against big press releases for Sinn Technology, and that helped us piece together a few more elements of the timeline. He expanded that to include financial statements from Sinn Technology, and we were able to pinpoint a few interesting dates where an increase in Edgar’s email traffic with the De Luca family preceded a huge influx of cash at Sinn Technology.

  “I think Sinn Technology is laundering money for the De Luca Family.” Taylor put her laptop down and reached for her coffee. “We would need a forensic accountant to really dig into this, but when you compare Edgar’s emails to the financial reports…”

  “I guess this would explain why Edgar forced Damien out of the company.” I sighed. “He probably knew Damien wouldn’t go along with it.”

  “I think you’re right.” Bolt nodded. “It stopped after Edgar went to prison and didn’t resume until he took over as CEO.”

  “Is this enough?” I looked around the room. “Do you think we can stop the wedding?”

  “I don’t know.” Taylor sighed. “Let me call my husband.”

  We took another break while Taylor called her husband, who was the CEO of Benson Enterprises. She relayed the information, and he told her that it was enough for someone to take a closer look, but an investigation like that wouldn’t be done in a few days, especially if there was years of data to comb through. There would also be some questions about how we got our hands on the information—which could go badly for Bolt. We weren’t back at square one by any means, but we needed to keep digging.

  “Must be nice to have a CEO on speed dial.” I smiled and took a sip of my coffee.

  “Yes, because I’m always trying to figure out how to bring down other companies.” She leaned forward and laughed.

  “I’ve got something else.” Bolt held up his hand. “There’s a lot of talk here about a wedding.”

  “I think we’ve covered that.” Anna leaned over and nudged him. “Do you need more coffee?”

  “No, this is much older. I mean, seventeen is way too young to get married, but she wouldn’t have even been a teenager when they were talking about this.” He tapped a few keys. “And De Luca is mentioning his daughter…”

  “Daughter?” I raised my eyebrows in surprise.

  “Here… Edgar doesn’t think it’s a good idea—he doesn’t get along with…” Bolt pointed at his screen. “They’re talking about Damien.”

  “Damien? He never mentioned anything like that.” I blinked in confusion.

  “That appears to be the end of the discussion.” Bolt moved his finger across his touchpad several times. “Oh, wait—it gets brought up again. Franco De Luca felt like an alliance between their families was in order so that they could expand their operations to Carson Cove…”

  “This was in the works for a long time.” Anna leaned back against the couch. “Obviously, it never happened…”

  “Until now—with Jenny.” I sighed and shook my head.

  “Yeah.” Bolt nodded. “It looks like they went back and forth for a while, and then started arguing about something, but it’s too vague for me to tell what they’re talking about.”

  “I think we need to take another look at the present-day stuff.” I sipped my coffee and rubbed my eyes.

  “I think you’re right.” Bolt sighed. “They started talking about how important it was, but Edgar didn’t want to go through with it…”

  “I’m going to start back on the stuff from the last couple of years.” I leaned forward and started typing.

  “I need more coffee.” Taylor leaned forward and started to stand.

  “I’m dying…” Anna lowered her head and closed her eyes for a second. “We have school tomorrow too.”

  “Should we just call it a night?” I looked around the room.

  “Hold on.” Bolt held up his hand. “Something changed. It looks like Edgar finally caved—they’re talking about something they have to do beforehand.”

  “Bolt, we gotta get some sleep.” Anna sighed. “I love Jenny to death, but we’ve been at this for hours.”

  “Damn it!” Bolt shook his head. “Another dead end because they’re smart enough not to say what the hell they’re talking about—it says do it, okay, and then it’s done.”

  “Let’s pick this up tomorrow, okay?” I looked around the room.

  “I think you’re right.” Bolt sighed. “The next email says they should just talk on the phone about whatever it was—I guess it was a big deal.”

  “Was there nothing in the Sinn Technology press releases around that time?” Taylor walked back into the room and sat down.

  “No.” Anna tapped her paper. “Nothing at all around that date.”

  “What about the news?” Taylor took a sip of her coffee. “Maybe we could check for stories about the De Luca family around that time?”

  “That’s a good idea.” I nodded.

  “I’ll pull up the big news stories…” Bolt looked at Anna. “This is it; I promise. I’m done after this.”

  “I would help if I could, but my eyes are burning so bad I can’t look at the screen.” Anna looked up at the ceiling and blinked a few times.

  “I’ll look at the stuff from Carson Cove. Probably a waste of time, but you never know.” I shrugged and loaded the website for the local news station.

  “I’m not seeing anything from the day they supposedly did it.” Bolt tilted his head. “I guess it would have made the news the next day…”

  “Yeah, probably so. Nothing here.” I moved my mouse to click on the stories for the following day.

  “Nothing the day after, either…” Bolt sighed.

  “Oh my god!” I pushed my laptop away, and it felt like all the blood drained out of my body in an instant. “That—that was the night Caroline died!”

  I think we’ve just found what we need—but it’s worse than I could have ever imagined.

  Questions started coming from everyone in the room, but I didn’t have the strength to answer them. I felt like I was trapped underwater, and the air in the room was trying to suffocate me. My throat closed up—my whole body started to tremble. Tears started to stream down my face. Taylor brought me a glass of water, and I tried to sip it, but it tasted like stomach bi
le. It was like everything around me was happening in slow motion, and I had been shifted out of existence. At some point, I stood—walked to the bedroom—and collapsed on the bed. I don’t know how long I was there, but I cried until my eyes were burning more than they were from staring at the screen—and when those tears dried, I started crying again.

  “Are you okay?” Taylor came into my room and sat down on the edge of the bed. “Do you need anything?”

  “No.” I wiped the tears away from my eyes. “Did Anna and Bolt go home?”

  “Yeah.” She took my hand and squeezed it. “They have school…”

  “This is awful.” I tried to sit up. “I knew Edgar was a terrible person, but this goes so far beyond just being cruel.”

  “I remember that night.” Taylor handed me the glass of water that I had apparently brought with me when I came to the bedroom. “That accident…”

  “I need to keep digging.” I took a sip of the water and put it down. “I can’t stop—not when I’m so close.”

  Damien needs to know the truth, even if it is going to shatter my heart into a million pieces when I see the pain it causes him.

  I didn’t feel better about the situation, but I had to push myself forward. Taylor stayed and helped me compile all of the evidence we could find. We spent several hours digging through emails and organizing them so that the cops would have no choice but to start an investigation into Edgar—but the worst one of all was the murder of the woman who was going to be his daughter-in-law. Taylor was familiar with Addison Regan, the lawyer that represented Damien. Addison had handled some business for Taylor’s husband, and he gave us a telephone number so that we could contact her. I placed the call with trembling fingers and swallowed the biggest lump that had ever tried to silence my words as I explained what we found.

  “She asked me to email it to her.” I ended the call and put my phone down on the table.

  “Let’s do it.” Taylor nodded and reached over to squeeze my hand. “I know this awful, but it has to be done.”

  I wish I could trust my mother enough to give her a warning…

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Damien

  The heartbreak I endured when Caroline died was the worst thing I ever felt—until Addison told me that my father was responsible for her death. The emotional agony came back with a newfound vengeance, and it mixed with so much rage, I would have broken out of the jailhouse if I had been physically able to do so. I didn’t just see red—I saw crimson—I saw the blood that I was going to spill from the man who took a life so precious and pure.

  “Promise me you’re not going to do anything stupid when I get you out of here.” Addison tensed up and stared at me.

  “I don’t make promises I don’t intend to keep.” I felt my whole body trembling. “Just get me released and show me where the exit is. Nothing that happens after that is on your hands—it’s all on him.”

  “Damien… Damn it; I’ll be right back.” Addison stood up and walked to the door.

  I had every right to be angry, and my hatred for my father was no longer about the cruelty he put me through as a child. It wasn’t even about his plans for my sister, as awful as they were. What he did to Caroline transcended all of that. It was a cold-blooded murder. A human being wasn’t capable of that—my father was a monster that didn’t deserve mercy—and he wasn’t getting a single bit of it from me.

  “Hurry the fuck up!” I yelled at the two-way mirror. “I’m a free man—treat me like one!”

  I’ll be right back—trust me on that. I’ll slam the fucking door shut myself.

  The door opened, and I looked up—expecting to see the guard—or Addison with an explanation for the delay. Instead, I saw a pair of beautiful aquamarine eyes that were full of tears. Leigh ran to me—she wrapped her arms around my neck, and her tears started to soak my jumpsuit. I continued to tremble with rage for a moment, but then I felt it being replaced by something else—the love I had for the woman that was sobbing on my shoulder. I snapped back from the darkness of hatred, and the violent thoughts were quelled.

  “No touching,” a disembodied voice growled through the box on the wall.

  “I know you’re angry, Damien. I’m so sorry.” She retreated quickly to the other side of the table. “Please don’t go after your father. They’re going to arrest him. He’s going to prison for a really long time. Addison doesn’t think he will ever get out.”

  “Leigh…” I exhaled sharply.

  “Damien, please.” She begged me with her eyes. “I didn’t do all of this just to lose you again! Don’t throw your life away for him! He’s not worth it!”

  “I’m sorry, Leigh.” My shoulders slumped forward. “You’re right.”

  My father would probably smile as he took his last breath—knowing that he owned every one of mine in the process.

  “Will you promise me that you’re not going to do anything stupid when you get out of here?”

  “Yes.” I dropped my chin to my chest. “I promise.”

  “Thank you.” She sighed and wilted in her seat.

  “Is Jenny okay?” My concerns shifted when I got control of my emotions.

  “Addison is talking to the District Attorney right now. As soon as your father is arrested, the police will bring her to the station.” Leigh nodded.

  “I don’t know if my father will surrender peacefully.” I shook my head. “They need to be careful—for your mother’s sake. Then there is the matter of Pennington and Martinez.”

  “The cops have it under control. We have to trust them. Your father isn’t going to be the only one that gets arrested today.” Leigh swallowed hard. “The De Luca family helped get Pennington placed in the same prison your father was in, and Martinez was handling stuff on the outside while they were locked up.”

  “They deserve so much more than a prison sentence.” I spat out my words.

  “You have no idea.” She looked down and sighed. “We have a lot to figure out when the charges get dropped.”

  Leigh stayed with me as long as she could, and despite the fact that I was going to be a free man soon, the guard still refused to let me hug her one last time before she had to go. Addison was the next one through the door. She didn’t seem to be on edge after seeing that Leigh had talked some sense into me. The justice system in Carson Cove was moving fast for a change. I just had to wait it out. After she left, I was alone in the room for nearly two hours before the guard finally came back. He escorted me down the long hallway I knew too well, but he took me to a small room instead of my cell.

  “Your clothes are over there.” He pointed to a bench. “The faster you get changed, the faster we can get you out of here.”

  “Is there a record?” I started to strip off the jumpsuit. “I’m about to break it if there is.”

  The guard left the room without answering my question and gave me some privacy while I changed—that was different—I hadn’t even been allowed to piss in private since I walked into the jail unless I was in my cell. I knocked on the door once I was done changing, and the guard escorted me down another hallway. There was one more door between me and my freedom. I just had to sign some paperwork and get the personal belongings I wasn’t already wearing. I shoved everything into my pockets and pushed the door open—where I saw the most beautiful woman in the world again.

  “No more rules!” She ran over and hugged me.

  “All because of you.” I pulled her into a tight embrace. “Thank you for not giving up on me.”

  “Never.” She leaned back from our embrace, and her eyes filled up with tears. “I love you, Damien—almost losing you made me realize that I don’t want to live my life without you.”

  “I love you too.” I pulled her away from the lobby into the hallway, where nobody could see us and crushed her lips beneath mine.

  I wanted to rage against the entire world after finding out what my father had done—but holding the woman I loved meant more to me than vengeance. She was the light
that pushed the darkness I thought I would never escape away, and she had done it again when the darkness tried to devour my soul for the second time. I didn’t have to stain my hands with my father’s blood in order to make him pay for what he did to Caroline—he was going to spend the rest of his life doing that—one day at a time. There was no white-collar resort in his future, and if he thought he needed protection in a place like that, then he was going to find out how cruel the world really could be.

  “Ready to go?” Leigh gasped when our lips finally separated.

  “Is it over?” I tilted my head inquisitively.

  “Yes. The cops got my mother out. She’s in an interrogation room right now.” Leigh motioned to the other side of the station.

  “Jenny?” I raised my eyebrows in concern.

  “She’s waiting outside with Addison. I asked her to give us a few minutes.” Leigh hugged me again.

  “Jenny knows about us?” I leaned back from her embrace.

  “I haven’t told her everything.” Leigh shook her head back and forth. “We’ll do that together.”

  “What about my father?” I tilted my head inquisitively. “Were they able to arrest him?”

  “Yes.” She took my hand. “They will be bringing him in the station any minute now. We can wait—if you want to see it with your own eyes.”

  “No.” I squeezed her hand. “I know where he’s going—that’s good enough.”

  Seeing him in handcuffs won’t bring closure, and I’ve made peace with that. Some doors need to stay open in order to remember how dark it will be if you close them.

  Leigh and I walked out of the police station hand-in-hand. There was no reason to hide our relationship anymore. It was nice to see the sunlight again, even if it hurt my eyes. There were a few reporters gathered on the steps, and they immediately ran up to ask for a statement. My arrest didn’t make the news because my father had the story buried—he didn’t have the luxury with his. I didn’t have a statement, and I didn’t have any answers to the questions they started firing at me. The only thing I knew for sure about my future was that I wasn’t letting go of Leigh’s hand—and I didn’t want to spend another night without her in my arms. I pushed through the reporters and saw Jenny standing by a black sedan.