Sinful Intentions

by Crystal Rhodes

  Nedra lifted a brow. “How so?”

  Royce heard a flicker of interest in her voice this time. He proceeded slowly.

  “No matter what happens in this custody dispute—whether he’s with me permanently or if we share custody—I still won’t be able to provide the boy with a mother’s love. You’re the only one who could do that.” He paused, prompting a reply.

  “And?”

  “And I’m toying with the idea of letting you provide that love if I get full custody of him.”

  Inwardly, Nedra smiled, not at the thought of what he had said, but at the arrogance of the man. The more he talked the more he revealed himself. The sheer audacity of his thinking that she wasn’t aware that he was trying to manipulate her for his own devises made her blood boil, and he was willing to use his own flesh and blood to do it. How low was he? It was clear that his intentions for meeting her were not only insincere, but downright sinful. Nedra decided to change the subject before she lost all control.

  “I thought that this meeting was about your not charging my husband with assault?”

  Royce studied Nedra for a moment. His eyes bored into her eyes, ignoring the waiter who placed his salad before him and moved quietly away. She held Royce’s eyes steadily, making it clear that she wasn’t intimidated. It was going to be difficult convincing her to do anything. This was one game that he might not win, but the thought of trying and the end result if he was successful was such a rush that his state of semi-arousal became more pronounced. He turned his attention to his salad.

  Nedra grew impatient. “I asked you a question, Mr. Jamison. I need to know if you’re going to press assault charges against my husband.”

  Royce began to cut his salad into small pieces. He didn’t look at her. “That depends.”

  “On what?” Nedra had about enough of this man. She had tried to be ambiguous about her feeling toward him before this meeting, but now she was certain about how she felt. She didn’t like him, but he was Trevor’s biological father, whether she liked him or not.

  “As I said I’ll have to learn to be a father and a mother to the boy, whatever his living arrangements. I think I know how to be the former. It’s the latter I’m not sure of.” Royce raised his eyes to look at her as he tried to sound sincere. “I need you to teach me how to fill that gap. You know, to do the kind of things for him that mothers do. That way the transfer between houses won’t be so traumatic for him.”

  Nedra folded her hands neatly on the table and looked him squarely in the eyes. “And how am I supposed to accomplish that?”

  Royce pushed on carefully. “Well, I thought that you and I could meet outside of our lawyers’ offices, in a less formal setting, and you could tell me about him, his likes, his dislikes. Maybe you could even list them for me.”

  Nedra almost laughed aloud. Was this man insane? “My husband could do that.”

  The muscles in Royce’s face contracted. “You know that your husband hates me.”

  “Hate is a strong word.”

  “Then what would you call it?”

  “He loves his son. Your request for custody of Trevor is threatening to us both.”

  Royce looked at her thoughtfully as the waiter served his meal and left. He cocked a brow. “Are you sure that you don’t want anything? I feel badly sitting here eating, and all you have is a glass of water.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll be leaving shortly.”

  “Oh, is my company that repulsive? I didn’t think that you hated me, too.” Her continued resistance was beginning to annoy him.

  “All I want is to make sure that you don’t press charges against my husband.”

  “Then you will work with me in helping me get to know Trevor.” It was a statement, not a question. He took a bite of his steak and chewed lazily.

  It took a silent prayer and all of the strength that she possessed to keep Nedra from leaping across the table and pounding the man. His lackadaisical attitude toward her husband’s freedom was frustrating. Besides, she had no intention of meeting him anywhere, under the guise of talking to him about Trevor. Surely the man didn’t think that she was so stupid that she couldn’t see what was behind his proposal. Sinclair had been right, and she regretted that she had ever doubted him. But how was she going to get out of this?

  “As you requested, Mr. Jamison, I’ll write down Trevor’s likes and dislikes, if it comes to that—”

  “And we can meet to discuss them,” Royce interrupted eagerly. “Perhaps you’d like to meet next on my boat?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” Nedra gathered her purse off the table and prepared to leave. “And I assume that since I met you as requested there will be no assault charges pressed against Sinclair. I pray that you’re a man of your word.” She rose to leave. “As for now, goodbye.”

  Royce started to rise, but Nedra turned and walked away before he could do so. He called after her.

  “It’s been nice, Mrs. Dav—Nedra.”

  Nedra didn’t acknowledge his words as she walked across the restaurant and out the front door without a glance back.

  Chapter 20

  Nedra returned home after her meeting with Royce Jamison to be greeted by Gillian as if she had been gone for a year. When she went upstairs, through the bedroom door she could hear Sinclair and Sharon engaged in a heated argument. As she opened the door, she collided with her husband as he was storming out of the room. Surprised by her presence, he grabbed her by the shoulders, steadying her as well as himself.

  “Nedra!” Sharon breathed a sigh of relief. “Am I glad to see you! Maybe you can talk some sense into this man of yours. I sure can’t!”

  Nedra noticed that Sharon’s voice was tinged with fear as well as frustration. Her eye’s scanned her husband’s face. His jaws were tight. His eyes were blazing with anger as he continued to grip her shoulders.

  “What happened? Did he put his hands on you?” His eyes scanned the length of her body. “I want to know.”

  His demeanor told her what a thousand words could not say. Sin was a hunter looking for prey.

  “He was going to go out to look for you and Jamison,” Sharon’s voice fell to a horrified whisper, indicating what she feared the results could have been. Nedra got the message as she stared wide-eyed at her husband. He looked unrepentant.

  “If he touched you, I’ll kill him.”

  She knew that he meant every word. Nedra fought to maintain control of her errant emotions as she stepped out of Sin’s grasp. “Sharon, would you leave us alone, please?” Her eyes never left Sin’s.

  Sharon nodded and moved past the couple. In the hallway, she looked back and called to Nedra.

  “May I see you a moment?”

  Pulling herself away from Sin’s steady gaze, Nedra complied.

  “He put something in his pocket,” Sharon whispered. “I’m not sure what.” But her eyes told Nedra that she suspected what it was.

  Nedra nodded her thanks and returned to Sin. He remained frozen at the entranceway to their bedroom. She continued into the sitting room. He turned and followed her.

  “I need to know exactly what happened in your meeting with Royce.” A muscle flexed in Sin’s jaw as he spat every word.

  Nedra sighed wearily as she took a seat on the sofa. He stood with his hands in his pockets, looking down at her. She patted the seat beside her. Sin followed her hand movements, then looked back at her.

  “I don’t want to sit. I want an answer to my question.”

  “I won’t tell you anything if you don’t calm down.”

  With a frustrated sigh he sat, then raised an expectant brow.

  “We met at a restaurant on Ocean Avenue. He ate. I didn’t. He claims that he wants to know more about Trevor.” Nedra hesitated. She knew that she would have to be selective in how she recounted the meeting. Sin was ready to go hunting, and she didn’t want to give him the excuse he was looking for to do it. “Before I continue, you have to give me your word that you’ll stay calm. If not,
I won’t say another word.”

  Sin’s eyes narrowed. The veins in his neck were about to pop. She was frustrating him to no end. The idea that Jamison might be dangerous had worked him into a frenzy. The fact that the man wanted her physically was bad enough, but if he had hurt her—

  He ran his hands over his face and the full impact of what he had planned for Royce hit. When he came home and found Nedra gone, all he could think of was finding the man and destroying him. He didn’t want her in his presence at all, but she was home now and safe. He trusted her and was certain that she had handled the man with her usual grace, but she had gone to see him without regard to his wishes, and that infuriated him. Yet, reluctantly, he agreed to her request.

  “I’ll try my best. That’s all I can promise.”

  “All right.” She was grateful for that. “I know that you’re not going to like what was said, so remember that promise.” She took a deep breath. “He said that he wants to meet with me a few more times to discuss Trevor.”

  From the look on Sin’s face she knew that it was best to leave out the details about where he suggested that they meet. However, she could see that he was trying hard to keep his word. She hurried on.

  “He said that if I do, he won’t press charges against you.”

  “In other words, extortion,” Sin said dryly.

  “Yes.” Nedra’s manner was stern. “And he’s willing to use you and Trevor both to get what he wants.”

  Sin looked at her steadily. “Then that makes it perfectly clear what kind of man we’re dealing with. And this is the man that you think should share our son?”

  She didn’t bother to answer. His point was clear. She didn’t need the reminder.

  “Are you going to meet him again?”

  Nedra reacted as if she had been slapped. Rising before she gave in to the urge to slap him, she moved to the fireplace, putting distance between them and allowing her time to think before speaking. She turned back to him.

  “I won’t dignify that with an answer, Sinclair.”

  Sin knew that his words had hurt her as much as her having met Jamison had hurt him. He wanted to go to her, but he stayed seated. “I asked you not to go, and you ignored me as if my asking didn’t matter.”

  “I did what I thought was best.”

  “So what were you doing, getting back at me because I came in late? Was this about an eye for an eye?” His voice was tinged with hurt and anger.

  Nedra sighed and answered wearily. “We’ve never handled disagreements between us like that before. Please let me know if the rules are changing so that I can keep up.”

  “Likewise.” His manner was cold.

  Nedra cut her eyes at him, preferring not to address the snide remark. She walked deeper into the room, increasing the distance between them. “I plan on telling Donovan about what happened. Perhaps Mr. Jamison will find that his less-than-stellar efforts at flirtation might cost him more than his pride.”

  “Let us hope.”

  “I’m glad that there’s something we can agree on.” Still peeved, she turned to leave the bedroom. “Oh, and by the way, Sharon said that she saw you put something in your pocket.”

  Sin looked surprised, but he neither confirmed nor denied the accusation. Nedra read between the lines of his silence.

  “I won’t ask what it was, because I don’t want to know. What I do know is that you had better think twice before bringing anything in this house that might endanger your children or me, and if that has happened, I hope that you’ll fix the situation, quickly.”

  Having said what she needed to say, she left the room with the chill between them still lingering.

  * * *

  Nedra sat in the meeting, listening to an assessment report from one of the social workers. The case on which she was reporting sounded all too familiar. A young woman who had married too young, became a mother too soon and now found herself alone with the responsibility of two kids she couldn’t support had turned to drugs as the solution for her pain. The stories all had a ringing familiarity, and although sympathetic, Nedra’s mind wasn’t on office business. Once again she and her husband had retired for the night not wrapped in each other’s arms, and it was disturbing. They had each made a half-hearted apology for the transgression that each felt the other had committed. That effort had fulfilled their promise never to go to bed angry with one another. Still, there was an underlying tension that had them falling asleep on opposite sides of the bed.

  She had called Donovan when she got to the office and informed him of Royce’s efforts at extortion. The attorney was ecstatic. Anything that he could use against him he was willing to use. He drilled her extensively about what exactly was said at the meeting. When they disconnected she felt hopeful.

  “Mrs. Davis-Reasoner.”

  Nedra sat up slightly, aware of someone calling her name. It was the office receptionist. She stood in the doorway addressing her.

  “Mrs. Duncan is on the telephone. She says it’s urgent.”

  Nedra frowned. Urgent? Sharon had a bout with morning sickness today and had stayed at home to work. Nedra glanced at the clock as she excused herself. It was nearly four o’clock. Her mind raced as she thought about what was so urgent. Was something wrong with Sharon? Sharon had called her earlier to tell her that she wanted to pick up the children from school. It was Nedra’s day to do so, and she had been grateful. It gave her the opportunity to sit in on the client assessment meeting. Could something be wrong with one of her children? Nedra increased her pace as she moved toward her office. By the time she reached her desk she nearly tore the receiver from its cradle.

  “Hello, Sharon?” Her heart was beating double time.

  “Hi, Nedra. Now I don’t want you to get excited, but it’s Gillian…”

  * * *

  Sinclair drove up the hill toward his office. The red light stopped him at the crest, where once again he had time to review yesterday’s disagreement with Nedra and last night’s withdrawal. When she crawled in bed last night, he had kept his back turned. It was the first time since they had been married that he had done so. It had been petty and he had suffered for it. He still felt the emptiness of not having her body wrapped around his. Yet the remnants of anger at her having gone against his wishes still lingered.

  At breakfast this morning the children noticed the chilly atmosphere between them. Only Gillian had the nerve to ask the question that he saw in all of their eyes.

  “Are you and Mommy mad, Daddy?”

  Both he and Nedra had tried to reassure the three of them that all was well. Yet, it was clear that they were trying to reassure themselves of that, too.

  The blast of a horn behind him spurred Sin to abandon his daydreaming and resume driving. Turning onto the street that held his enterprise, Sin pulled into his assigned parking space, but instead of getting out, he sat and stared into space.

  He had to fix this. Holding on to his anger was counterproductive. He couldn’t have his children living with uncertainty.

  Sin glanced at the clock on the dashboard. He was later getting to the office than he had anticipated. He was just returning from complying with Nedra’s request to get rid of the weapon he had removed from the safe and pocketed when he was hell-bent on finding Royce Jamison. It had been tossed into the ocean and carried out to sea with the tide. Once again, he had let his rage overshadow his reasoning. Had he acted on his insanity, he would have lost everything that was important in his life. That wasngoing to happen.

  With renewed resolve, Sin reached across the seat and picked up his briefcase. He had just come from a meeting that would bring his company more business and greater riches. Yet, he would give up every dime he had to wake up tomorrow and not have a man named Royce Jamison in their lives.

  As he got out of the car and locked the door, his cell phone rang. Without breaking stride, he reached into his suit jacket pocket and withdrew it.

  “Hello, Reasoner speaking.”

  “Sinclair.�
� It was Nedra, but the sound of her voice didn’t bring the usual smile to his face. He heard the thinly veiled fear.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “It’s Gillian.”

  His heart lurched. “Gillian? What about her?”

  “Sharon called. She said that she and the boys have looked all over the house, and they can’t find her. She’s missing.”

  Chapter 21

  “Gillian! Gilly!”

  The little girl’s name echoed throughout the Reasoner household and the spacious grounds perched above the Pacific, but she was nowhere to be found. Nedra was beside herself, praying with every step and call that their little girl would tumble from some undetectable hiding place, giggling her triumph. From the moment they became mother and daughter, she had known where she was every hour, every minute, every second of the day. She knew that she was safe and out of harms way. It was torture not knowing now.

  The last thing that the boys recalled was Gillian leaving the family room to go out to the kitchen where Mrs. Lucia had left snacks for each of them. Engrossed in play on the computer, nearly an hour had passed before Colin noticed that she hadn’t come back into the room. Knowing that her pattern was often going to her room alone to read or play, he decided to check on her. She wasn’t there. Soliciting the help of his brother, they did a thorough search of the house, then alerted Sharon of Gillian’s absence. When another search of the house and grounds still failed to produce her, Sharon had made the call to Nedra.