Devious Intentions (Carson Cove Scandals 3)

“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.