Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Scandals 3)

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.

I spent another day at the front desk of the Pembroke, met Damien for dinner, and then returned to Sinn Manor. My mother was in the living room with Edgar—and it looked like they were about to take things upstairs, so I quickly retreated to my room. I was behind on my schoolwork, so I spent the rest of the evening doing that before I fell asleep with my laptop open beside me.

Several days passed, and before I realized it, I had been a resident of Sinn Manor for a solid week. Damien found a villa on the beach that he could rent for the remainder of the summer, and we decided that it was too dangerous for us to be seen out in public, so it became our secret getaway spot when we wanted to spend time together. My mother didn’t seem to notice if I kept odd hours. When I did see her, it was the same routine—she reinforced the fact that I didn’t need to keep working, spouted on about the uselessness of the classes I was taking online when I would be a student at Carson Cove University the following semester, and gushed about her new life with Edgar.

She was happy, and I was still trying to figure out how to bring her entire world crashing down around her. The problem was—I wasn’t making any progress with it. Edgar was usually gone by the time I got up every morning. Being the CEO of Sinn Technology seemed to consume a lot of his time. I would see him in the evenings after I returned to Sinn Manor, but my mother was usually tangled up in an embrace with him, so I tried to avoid them when I could. I searched Sinn Manor from top to bottom and found absolutely nothing. Edgar had a computer in his office, but I didn’t know the password. I aimlessly made a few guesses, but nothing obvious worked—it was too bad my computer classes at Carson Cove University didn’t cover hacking because it seemed like the only way I would ever get in.

Another day—another shift at the Pembroke…

“There’s breakfast if you’re hungry.” A voice startled me as I was getting ready for work.

“Mom!” I spun around. “I never see you in the mornings anymore!”

“I have some shopping to do, so I got up early.” She smiled. “Edgar is working from home today. I’m going to go spend his money instead of bothering him while he takes care of business.”

“Lucky you…” I tried to hide the sarcasm in my voice, but I wasn’t very successful.