True Deceit (Blindsided Book 1)

by A. J. Carella

She didn’t know why she was having these nagging doubts about marrying him. He’d never given her any reason to feel this way. In fact, the opposite was true. He treated her wonderfully and really did make her happy. But she couldn’t help but feel that something was missing. A spark maybe.

  On the occasions where they had indulged in some fairly heavy fooling around, she’d never felt disappointed when she’d had to put an end to it. She had nothing to compare it to, but from listening to her girlfriends, she knew that this wasn’t the way it should be.

  Maybe it was just her inexperience. It certainly wasn’t his looks. At six feet tall, he towered over her five foot six frame. He couldn’t be described as well built. Lanky was the word that sprang to mind. His hair was dark brown, almost black, and he wore it slightly long, showing its natural wave. He had the brownest eyes she had ever seen.

  Pushing the negative thoughts aside, she went up to him and slid her arms around his waist, resting her cheek on his back.

  “I do love you, you know, and I can’t wait to be Mrs. Ted Coleman,” she whispered.

  Putting the knife down, he turned and wrapped her in his arms. “And I love you,” he said, resting his chin on top of her head.

  ***

  Ted was quite pleased with himself. Everything was going perfectly, exactly according to plan. He knew full well that Jamie didn’t want to get married so soon, but his father’s business was on the brink of collapse and he couldn’t afford to wait.

  He’d known that getting Jamie to do what he wanted wouldn’t be hard. She was so damn eager to please all the time. All it took was a little bit of pressure, a bit of emotional blackmail and she was like putty in his hands. It helped that her parents were completely on board. He knew there was no way she’d let them down.

  As soon as they’d tied the knot, he would find a way to divert some much needed funds. Being given the job was a bonus he hadn’t counted on and it would make things a lot easier.

  “Is your brother okay? He looked really upset yesterday.”

  She sighed into his chest. “Yeah, he’ll be okay. He’s pissed with dad.”

  “Anything I can do?” He didn’t care in the slightest but it was always good to show concern.

  “That’s why I love you.” She smiled up at him. “You’re so thoughtful.”

  He reached down and kissed her. “Okay, come on and sit down. Let’s eat, and then we can have a nice afternoon, just you and me, curled up on the couch watching a movie. And I promise, no talk of weddings.”

  She laughed softly. “Deal.”

  Six

  His father was due home from work any minute, and Jake was determined to talk to him. They hadn’t spoken since the announcement at lunch yesterday and he needed some answers.

  Jake was sitting in his private office at the back of the house where it was quiet. He hated this room, but it was his father’s favorite one in the house. To him it was far too dark and gloomy, but his father liked the dark wood paneling and bookshelves and the big old oak desk. The desk faced the full length French doors, which opened onto a private patio area.

  Jake didn’t know why he hated it so much but it may well be because, when they were kids, this was the room to which they’d be summoned when they were in trouble. If you were called to Dad’s office, you knew you had a big problem.

  But he wasn’t a kid anymore and it was about time his father gave him some answers.

  Jake jumped as the door opened. He hadn’t heard him approach.

  “What are you doing in here?” his father asked him, a frown on his face.

  “Waiting for you, Dad. We need to talk.”

  “About your behavior yesterday? I’ll say we do. It was a disgrace, and you embarrassed us in front of our guests.” He closed the door behind him and went to sit behind his desk.

  Jake sighed. “And why do you think that was?”

  “Don’t you dare give me any lip, Jake. If you’ve got something to say, say it.”

  “Okay, I will. You promised me that job months ago. It’s what I’ve been working my ass off for.” He tried to filter the anger out of his voice.

  “It’s my company and I’ll give the job to who I damn well like. You’re far too young for a management job, anyway.”

  “But it’ll be my company someday. Surely that counts for something?”

  “So because you’re my son you should automatically have gotten the job?” he laughed. “Is that what you’re saying?”

  “Damn you, no! But I understood that’s what I was working toward, that’s what we agreed.”

  “Well, you’ll just have to get over it, won’t you?” He smiled. “And stop whining. You’ll take what you’re given and be grateful for it.”

  All the frustration, the anger and the bitterness boiled over then. “Yeah, that’s exactly it, isn’t it? I’m not your real son so I should be grateful for every scrap you hand me? That’s what you’re really saying, isn’t it?” he shouted.

  “Stop being so pathetic. Even if you were my biological son, I would be saying exactly the same thing.”

  “So, you admit you don’t think of me as your son?”

  “Now you’re putting words in my mouth.”

  “Come on, admit it. You’ve never thought of me in the same way as Jamie, have you? You’ve always thought of me as an outsider.”

  “I am not having this conversation.” He started taking papers out of his briefcase and Jake recognized the signal that, as far as he was concerned, it was the end of the discussion.

  “No, because that would mean admitting your true feelings, wouldn’t it?” Angrily, he pushed himself to his feet and turned to leave. As he had his hand on the door handle, his father stopped him.

  “One more thing, Jake. As you don’t seem to appreciate everything I do, and have done for you, consider yourself fired.”

  Without a word Jake walked out of the office, slamming the door behind him and storming down the hall. Bastard!

  What was he supposed to do now? Get a job at the local McDonalds? It was not as if there were many decent opportunities around here and there was no way he was going to be turned into the local laughing stock by doing something menial, not when his father was the richest man for miles.

  But with no job, what was he supposed to do for money? Unlike Jamie, everything he had, he paid for himself. Even his car was financed. He’d have to give that up for a start.

  No way was he going to let that happen. He’d just have to think of something, and fast.

  ***

  Feeling her hand stroking him through his pants, Jake smiled. He’d needed some light relief and Carrie was just the girl to give it to him.

  “You need to stop that or I’m going to have to pull over and nail you right here,” he laughed, removing her hand from his lap.

  He’d just picked her up and was on the main road back into town. The plan was to hit the local bar and drink as much as he could before going back to her place and screwing her brains out. He hoped that might put thoughts of his damn family out of his mind for a few hours.

  As he turned his attention back to the road, he was passed by a red Porsche traveling in the opposite direction. There weren’t two cars like that in town! Checking the clock on his dash, he saw that it was nearly 11 p.m. Where was Ted going at this time of night? His house was two miles out of town in the opposite direction.

  With his curiosity piqued, he swung his car around and started following him from a distance.

  “Hey! I thought we were heading into town?” Carrie protested.

  “We are, there’s just something I need to do first.”

  “Is that Ted Coleman’s car?”

  “It sure is. And I’m wondering where he could be going at this time of night.”

  “What on earth for? He could be going anywhere.”

  “True, but it would be interesting to see.”

  They followed him for the next ten miles, hanging back as the roads were quiet and he didn’t want to be sp
otted, before Ted took the turn-off toward Duke. Duke was a small town and it didn’t take long for Ted to get where he was going. Confused, Jake stopped a few cars behind him and watched as he got out of his car and crossed the street. He walked past several houses before turning a corner and Jake had to pull the car forward to be able to see down the next street, just in time to see Ted walk up to a run-down old house. As he watched, light spilled out onto the porch as the door was opened by a woman wearing a short robe and a smile. What the hell? She’d clearly been expecting him, and opened the door and let him in, closing it behind him.

  “Wait here!” he told Carrie, checking his jacket pocket to make sure he had his phone.

  “Why? Where are you going?”

  “To see what he’s up to, of course. I have a feeling that this trip won’t have been a waste of time.”

  Happy that his phone was there, he got out of the car and jogged across the street to the house where he’d seen Ted go in. It wasn’t a big house and there was no gate blocking access to the back yard, so Jake disappeared down the side before anyone could spot him. There was light spilling from one of the side windows so, creeping closer and praying that he didn’t make a noise, he carefully peered into the window.

  What he saw made him grin. Why, the dirty lying bastard!

  Ted wouldn’t have noticed Jake even if he’d shined a flashlight in the window. He was sitting on a couch pushed back against the wall opposite the window with his head resting on the back of it, eyes closed. The woman he’d seen at the door was kneeling between his legs, ‘entertaining’ him.

  Slipping the phone from his pocket, Jake took several pictures, checking each time to make sure you could see what was going on.

  He stayed there for another ten minutes, taking several more pictures of Ted in increasingly passionate and compromising positions, before he was happy that he had enough.

  Getting back to the car, he grinned widely as he slipped back behind the wheel.

  “What are you so happy about?”

  “Oh, you’ll see, honey. You’ll see.”

  ***

  Ted had never had much to do with Jamie’s brother, so what little he knew of him, he knew from her. So it was a bit of a surprise when he got a call from Jake, asking him if he’d like to meet him for a beer. Actually, he could think of many things he would rather be doing but he couldn’t afford to upset his fiancée’s brother. Nothing could get in the way of this wedding. Nothing.

  Jake had suggested a bar quite a ways out of town, and as he pulled into the parking lot he couldn’t for the life of him think why. The bar was a one-story building, seemingly just dropped by the side of the road. There were no other buildings for miles, as far as he could tell. It looked run down and only a couple of the letters on the illuminated sign spelling out the bar’s name actually worked.

  There were only two other cars in the lot, both old, beat up pick-up trucks, and his Porsche seemed completely out of place. There was no sign of Jake’s Mercedes yet and, checking his watch, he realized he was a few minutes early. They’d agreed to meet at 9 p.m. and it was just before that now.

  Pushing open the door to the building, he was immediately assaulted by the smell of smoke and stale beer. Once his eyes had adjusted to the dull gloom, he surveyed the room, taking in the old battered tables, the filthy floor and the yellowed lights. The beer must be fantastic, he thought to himself wryly. Why else would he have suggested this dump?

  He’d just sat on a stool and ordered a beer from the very disinterested-looking bartender when Jake walked in.

  “Beer?” he asked, as he stood up and shook his hand.

  Jake nodded. “Yeah, that would be good. Shall I grab us a table?”

  Ted nodded, waiting and then paying for the beers before following him over to a table in the corner of the room. There were no mats and the table was sticky as he put the glasses down. God, he hoped he could wrap this up quickly and get out of this shithole.

  “So, what are we drinking to? You becoming my brother-in-law?”

  “Yes, we can drink to that, if you like.” Jake smiled. “Of course, that’s assuming the wedding actually goes ahead.” He took a sip from his glass, watching Ted over the rim.

  “What do you mean, if it goes ahead? What are you talking about?”

  “Well, let’s see, I’m not sure my sister is going to be quite so willing to marry you once she finds out about your little trips to Duke.” He smiled slyly and Ted put his glass down hard, beer spilling over the sides.

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  Jake just smiled. Slipping his phone from his pocket, he selected one of the best pictures and slid his phone across the table. Picking it up, Ted looked at the image and felt all the blood drain from his face. Dragging his eyes away from the phone he looked up at Jake, who now had a smug look on his face.

  “It’s just a bit of fun before I get married. Come on man, you know how it is.” He tried to make light of it but he could see that Jake wasn’t buying it.

  “To you it might be a bit of fun but I doubt my sister, or my folks, will see it that way.”

  Ted tried to take a deep breath. He felt as if he was going to be sick. He could see everything he had planned, everything he had worked for, disappear in a puff of smoke. But if he wanted to split them up he would have told her by now, wouldn’t he? It dawned on him then that this wasn’t about Jamie. He wanted something. “What do you want from me?”

  “What do most blackmailers want? Money.” His smug grin wrenched Ted’s stomach. He looked so pleased with himself.

  “Money? This is about money?” Ted was stunned. This blackmailing little shit came from one of, if not the, wealthiest families around and he wanted money?

  “You’re joking, right?” The shock was clear on his face. “What on earth do you need money for?”

  Jake’s face darkened. “I wouldn’t if you hadn’t just stolen my job.”

  “What on earth are you talking about?”

  “Your nice, new job was supposed to be mine. Instead, I got fired. I think it’s only fair that you pay my salary from now on since it’s your fault.”

  “So this is all about a spat between you and your dad? Why drag me into it? You’re only going to end up hurting your sister!”

  Jake slammed his palm on the table, smiling as Ted jumped. “There’s only one person here hurting my sister and I’m looking at him. Now, do we have a deal or not?”

  “What kind of money are we talking about here?”

  “Ten thousand a month. Every month.”

  His stomach sank. No way could he find that kind of money!

  “I can’t do it, Jake. I don’t have that kind of money.” It was the wrong thing to say and he watched as a black cloud seemed to cross Jake’s face and he sneered.

  “Don’t give me that, you prick. Your family is loaded. You can easily afford that.”

  Ted didn’t know what to do. If he didn’t find the money he had no doubt that Jake would share the photos, and if he explained why he couldn’t find the money, then he was sure that he would revel in being able to share that, too. Either way, he was screwed because there was no way that Jamie’s parents would let her marry a cheater or a pauper. He needed to buy some time.

  “Okay. You’re right. But before I pay you a dime, what guarantee do I have that you won’t show Jamie the pictures anyway?”

  Jake laughed. “There are no guarantees. But if I showed them to her, what motivation would you have to keep paying?”

  He had a point. “Okay. Meet me back here tomorrow night and I’ll have the cash.”

  Jake stood up. “Nice doing business with you. Oh, and thanks for the beer.”

  Ted watched him leave then drained his glass, his hand shaking as he raised it to his lips. What was he going to do?

  Seven

  He’d had to scrape together every bit of cash he could find, emptying his accounts in the process. It wasn’t as if he could go to his folks and ask
for the money. They didn’t have it in any case.

  He couldn’t believe he was in this position. He didn’t even want to marry Jamie, but he refused to let his family’s troubles get out, and they would if they didn’t do something soon.

  Pulling into the lot outside the bar, he saw that Jake’s car was already there. Parking his Porsche next to it, he saw that Jake was sitting inside, waiting for him. Getting out, he walked around to the passenger side and slid in next to him.

  “You got the money?”

  Ted nodded. “Yes,” he replied, taking out an envelope from his jacket pocket and showing him. “It’s all here. Ten thousand dollars, as agreed.”

  Jake reached for it.

  “Not so fast.” Ted put the envelope back in his pocket, out of Jake’s reach. “I can’t afford to do this every month. This is a one time deal. Take it or leave it.”

  Jake’s jaw clenched and his eyes turned to steel. “No. That’s not what we agreed. 10k every month or my sister sees the photos.”

  “It’s not up for negotiation.” Ted’s insides felt as if someone was stirring them with a stick. He had to bluff this out. There was no more money, and if Jake didn’t back down, he was finished.

  Taking the money out of his pocket again, he handed it to him. “This is it. Done. Don’t bother me again.” Opening the door, he got out of the car. He was sweating and his skin felt clammy. Determined not to look back, to look weak, he strode to his car.

  The hand on his shoulder, spinning him around, came as a surprise. He hadn’t heard Jake come up behind him. Losing his footing, he fell back, leaning on his car for support.

  “Don’t you dare walk away from me!” Jake screamed in his face, spittle flying from his mouth. His red face and bulging eyes were inches away. “I own you, you piece of shit!”

  “Why are you doing this? She’s your sister! Why would you want to hurt her?” Ted tried to reason with him.

  “Me hurt her? You’re the one screwing around!” The veins in Jake’s neck looked as if they would burst, and Ted tried to back away, almost sliding up on the hood of his car.