Leigh called out for me, but I couldn’t even risk staying behind long enough to hug her. I had to get in front of the problem—literally. It was the only chance any of us had. I walked outside and held my hands up as the police officers started to step out of their cars. Talking my way out of it wasn’t an option. I had to bluff—and hope they bought it. I squinted against the darkness and the beams from the flashlights as they zeroed in on me.
“Keep your hands where we can see them.” A police officer barked orders and started to advance on me.
“Yes sir.” I nodded.
“Damien?” A flashlight lowered, and I saw the face of someone I went to high school with.
“Hey there, Brock.” I forced a half-smile. “I didn’t know you became a cop.”
“I didn’t know you became a criminal.” He stepped in front of the other officers. “Why are you vandalizing your dad’s house? We had a call that there was some kind of party going on that got out of control.”
“Just me…” I shrugged. “You know I’ve never gotten along with my old man.”
“So there’s nobody else in the house?” He aimed his flashlight behind me.
“Nah, if there was anyone else here, they would have probably tried to stop me.” I shrugged.
“Should I check?” One of the other officers stepped forward.
“Hold on…” Brock waved him off and reached for his handcuffs. “I’ve gotta put these on you, Damien.”
“I understand.” I nodded and carefully moved my hands in front of me.
Just take me to jail—or take your sweet time doing it so that Leigh can figure out a plan that doesn’t involve both of us wearing bracelets tonight.
Brock put the handcuffs on my wrists and led me to the police cruiser. I walked as slow as possible and pretended to struggle when I tried to climb in the backseat. I was buying seconds—maybe enough of them would turn into a minute. I wasn’t sure that would be long enough, especially since Jenny was out like a light.
Pennington was another matter entirely. I was going to have to confess to drugging him if they found him. My father would press charges, which meant it might be a while before I was out of the legal cluster-fuck that was coming my way. There was a chance I would even serve time for it—but I would gladly sit behind bars if it meant that my sister got the hell out of Carson Cove before she faced my father’s wrath.
“Alright.” Brock tapped the top of the car. “We’ll sort all of this out in just a few minutes.”
“Down at the station?” I looked up at him.
“Nah, we’ll figure it out when your dad gets here.” He sighed. “Maybe he’ll decide not to press charges, and there won’t be any paperwork.”
“Wait; what?” I felt panic shoot through my veins. “What do you mean? My dad is away for the weekend.”
“He was.” Brock nodded. “Until someone called him about this. He contacted us as soon as his jet touched down—probably will be here in a few minutes.”
Oh fuck!
As if on command, headlights appeared at the end of the driveway and started creeping towards the house. Every bit of hope that had been building with the passing seconds was extinguished in an instant. My father was home. Two of the most important people in my life were inside Sinn Manor—and they were about to come face-to-face with the devil himself. I wanted to believe that Leigh had escaped with Jenny, but there was no way they could have gotten far. My bluff wasn’t going to work with my father. He knew Jenny was supposed to be there—and while we hadn’t been close for a long time, he wouldn’t believe for a second that I decided to go on a rampage for no reason at all.
“I’ll be right back.” Brock sighed and started walking towards my father’s car.
My father stepped out of his car, and I stared him down. There were a few cops standing between us, but they weren’t paying any attention to me. I could get to him—the handcuffs could turn into a weapon. I didn’t have it in my heart to kill the bastard, but I could hurt him—I could send him to the hospital. That would give Leigh all the time she needed. It would definitely be a one way trip to prison, but it would be worth it—if it kept Leigh and Jenny safe from him.
I have to do this. I don’t have a choice. He certainly deserves it.
One of the officers must have been reading my mind because he walked up and slammed the door before I could fully formulate the plan in my head. A second later, I realized that the plan would have never worked—Martinez was with my father. He immediately started walking towards Sinn Manor with Leigh’s mother in tow. If Jenny was inside, they would find her. They would find Pennington. I regretted asking Leigh to help—she should have put as much distance between herself and Sinn Manor as possible in the precious time I was able to steal before it completely ran out.
I’m trapped, and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it…
Chapter Nineteen
Leigh
“Jenny, come on—you have to wake up.” I grabbed my stepsister’s wrist and pulled as hard as I could.