Deadly Arrival (Hardy Brothers Security Book 16) (13 page)

Finn indulged her, happy to dream big. As long as Emma was smiling, he would give her anything she wanted. Danger lurked, and he had a feeling it was growing closer. These moments were precious and few right now, and he wanted to bask in them as much as he could.

Once Pritchard made his move, their lives would never be the same.

“This is not what I had in mind when I said I wanted to spend time alone with you tonight, sugar,” Grady said, leaning back in his seat and shifting so he could stare out the front window of his truck. “You’re going to have to take a hot shower with me when we get home so I can work these kinks out.”

Sophie smirked. “Why don’t we just get in the hot tub and work each other’s kinks out?”

“I can live with that,” Grady said. “Let’s go home and do that now.”

Sophie shook her head, firm. “No. We’re staying here. I have a feeling about this.”

After returning to Hardy Brothers Security and telling Grady and Jake what she suspected, Grady reluctantly agreed to a stakeout. He would’ve been happy letting Peter’s men do all the heavy lifting, but Sophie was adamant about following through. So, once Peter supplied the address of the sister, they were on their way for an uncomfortable night of spying. Thankfully Peter sent Rodrigo to aid them, although he and another man parked one street over to watch the sister’s back yard in case DeAngelo approached from that direction.

As much as he loved her, sometimes Grady felt like he didn’t know Sophie at all. She let him hold dominion over her heart and head quite often, but there were still times she closed herself off. He was pretty sure the inclination to wall herself off came from being a foster child. Before Peter took her in, she bounced from home to home without roots or kindness. Peter loved her more than any biological parent could, but Sophie still felt like an unwanted child sometimes.

Grady hated that. He wanted her to feel warm and safe at every turn. Her recent murderous inclinations gave him pause, though. “Can I ask you something?”

Sophie shifted her dark eyes to Grady, her face unreadable. “You can ask me whatever you want.”

“Would you kill Lance Pritchard if you were assured that you would get away with it?”

Sophie didn’t appear bothered or surprised by the question. “You’re worried you fell in love with a sociopath, aren’t you?”

“No,” Grady said, shaking his head. “I’m worried that you’re so keen to protect Emma you might throw away our future to get vengeance.”

Sophie’s expression softened. “I wouldn’t throw our future away for anything,” she said. “I would be lying if I said that killing Pritchard didn’t hold appeal, though. Would I kill him myself? Only if backed into a corner with no other options.”

“Peter seemed worried the other day,” Grady pointed out. “I’ve never seen him speak to you like that.”

“Peter was indulgent in some ways when I was a kid,” Sophie said. “In other ways he was really strict. He let me read whatever I wanted to read … and watch whatever I wanted to watch on television … and he encouraged me to join any teams or groups my heart desired.

“He also was a stickler about curfews and meeting friends,” she continued. “I know it seems weird to say given what he does for a living, but he raised me to be a good person.”

“You’re the best person I know, Sophie,” Grady said. “I’m still a little worried.”

“Sometimes I look at Emma when she’s sitting by herself and she thinks no one is watching and I see the wonder on her face,” Sophie explained. “You guys don’t recognize that because you never grew up in a family where you weren’t loved. Emma and I have that in common.

“Granted, my foster homes were nowhere near as terrible as what Emma had to endure, but I get the way she thinks more than anyone else,” she said. “She’s so happy to be a part of your family, but she’s also afraid it’s all going to go away one day. I want to make sure that never goes away for her.”

“Are you worried I’m going to go away one day?”

Sophie tilted her head to the side, her long dark hair falling past her shoulders as she considered the question. “I don’t suffer from self-esteem problems,” she answered after a few moments. “I know you love me. I feel it when we’re together. I don’t worry that you’re going to break up with me, if that’s what you’re getting at.”

“What do you worry about?”

“Life is precious,” Sophie replied. “I worry something out of our control will rip our happy family apart. That’s why I want to be so proactive. Emma needs her happy ending.”

“I can’t make promises that nothing terrible is going to happen,” Grady said, reaching over and snagging Sophie’s hand. “No one can. Life is horrible sometimes. I can promise that nothing will ever make me stop loving you.

“I never knew it was possible to love someone as much as I love you,” he continued. “Every day I think ‘this is when I’ve reached the pinnacle and I can’t love you one iota more.’ Then the next day I love you even more.”

“You’re so sweet sometimes I can’t stand it,” Sophie said.

“We are going to protect Emma and that baby,” Grady said. “We’re going to figure a way for everyone to get their happy endings. I need you not to go off the rails while we’re waiting for things to work themselves out, though. Can you try to do that for me?”

“I promise not to go off the rails,” Sophie said.

Grady leaned over and gave her a kiss, sighing when his phone beeped with an incoming text. “This had better be good,” he grumbled, pulling the phone up and reading the display. “Well, sugar, you were right. That will teach me to argue with you.”

“What was I right about?”

“Rodrigo has eyes on DeAngelo,” Grady replied. “He’s sneaking over the back fence into his sister’s yard.”

“Let’s go,” Sophie said, reaching for the door handle.

Grady stilled her with a hand on her wrist. “Sugar, you stick close to me,” he instructed. “Promise me you won’t run off and do something stupid.”

“You have to trust me, Grady,” Sophie countered. “I was raised by Peter Marconi. Do you think I run off and do stupid things often?”

“No,” Grady replied. “I do think you have a tendency to want to win at all costs, though.”

Sophie snorted. “Coming from you and your constant competitive streak with your brothers, that’s rich.”

Grady frowned. “I … .” His phone dinged again. “What is it with this guy? I … you have got to be kidding me!”

“What’s wrong?” Sophie asked, instantly alert. “Did DeAngelo see them and run?”

“Rodrigo already has him in custody,” Grady muttered, throwing open his door.

“That’s what happens when you like to argue and tell people what to do,” Sophie shot back. “Now you made me miss all the fun.”

“Not
all
the fun, sugar,” Grady countered. “I’m going to fun your buns off later.”

“Fun my buns off? That’s a new one.”

“You’re going to like it when it happens.”

“I always do,” Sophie said.

“LET
me go!”

DeAngelo Jackson was spread eagle on the ground, Rodrigo sitting on top of him and bending the convict’s arm back at an inhuman angle when Sophie and Grady rounded the corner.

“Nice,” Grady said, smirking as they approached.

“What took you so long?” Rodrigo asked.

“We were … discussing the best way to take DeAngelo down when you texted and told us you already had him,” Grady answered. “It’s not our fault you move faster than a superhero.”

“I think you were playing kissy face,” Rodrigo countered.

“I think you’re a butthead,” Sophie said, sticking her tongue out. “Are we sure this is DeAngelo?” She leaned down to get a better look.

“I’m going to skin you alive, you bitch!” DeAngelo fruitlessly struggled against Rodrigo’s iron grip.

“It’s definitely him,” Sophie said, straightening. “I’m really bummed I missed Rodrigo taking him down. That would’ve been fun to watch.”

“I’ll do a striptease for you later to make up for it,” Grady offered.

“I can live with that,” Sophie said, nudging DeAngelo with her foot. She was bold given his current predicament. “How does it feel to know you’re going back to prison?”

“I’m going to rip your head off and wear it as a hat!” DeAngelo howled.

“Fun,” Sophie said, unruffled. “Can I ask him questions?”

“Go nuts,” Grady replied dryly, sharing an amused look with Rodrigo.

“So, DeAngelo, when was the last time you saw Lance Pritchard?” Sophie asked.

“If I tell you, will you let me go?” DeAngelo looked hopeful.

“If you tell me what I want to know I can promise Rodrigo won’t break your arm,” Sophie said, impressing Grady with her negotiation skills. “If you don’t tell us then he’s going to break your right arm first. That should make fighting off the guards when they try to kill you for shanking their co-worker difficult.”

DeAngelo scowled. “You’re a bitch.”

“I’m also Peter Marconi’s daughter,” Sophie said, dropping her foster father’s name without a second thought. “You should know that I’m not joking when I threaten you with bodily harm.”

“You’re not going to kill me with all these witnesses present,” DeAngelo argued. “My sister is in that house right now and she’ll turn you over to the cops.”

“Not if my father pays her to keep her mouth shut.”

Grady smirked as DeAngelo considered Sophie’s statement. If the man’s sister was anything like him she would probably take the money and run.

“I haven’s seen Pritchard since the day we escaped,” DeAngelo volunteered. “The dude was creepy so I didn’t want to hang with him. Everyone knows what he did. He’s a sick pervert.”

“That didn’t stop you from taking him with you,” Sophie pointed out.

“I didn’t have no choice in that matter,” DeAngelo said. “I wasn’t planning on taking out the guard. It just kind of happened. Once it did, I knew I had to get out of there. I couldn’t do it alone.”

“That guard died,” Sophie said. “You know you’re in real trouble here, right?”

“I know that this dude won’t get off of me even though I’m going to skin him alive,” DeAngelo seethed.

The back door of the house opened, allowing a small woman with hard eyes to step outside. She scanned the scene for a moment. “You cops?”

“No,” Grady answered.

“You going to kill him?”

“No.”

“You going to be long?” the woman asked. “I’m trying to watch
Grey’s Anatomy
and you guys are being really loud.”

“Shirleen, aren’t you going to help me?” DeAngelo whined.

“What am I going to do?” Shirleen asked, nonplussed. “You’re outnumbered and I’m in my bathrobe. I’ll send you a care package when you can receive stuff again.”

“Make sure you don’t forget my cookies,” DeAngelo called out to his sister.

“Do I ever forget your cookies? Good gravy. You’re such a whiner.” She moved to return to the house, pausing long enough to fix Rodrigo with a dark look. “Don’t kill him … and don’t make him scream too loud. I want to watch some doctors making out and you’re going to ruin it if you’re not careful.”

“I’ll do my best,” Rodrigo replied dryly.

“Fair enough,” Shirleen said. “It was good seeing you, DeAngelo. I’ll tell Mama you’re going back.”

Once his sister was gone, all the fight left DeAngelo. “She always was a bitch,” he muttered.

“I think she’s more of a realist than anything else,” Sophie said. “Tell me about Pritchard.”

“I don’t know what you want to hear,” DeAngelo said. “The dude was creepy and angry.”

“Did he talk about his daughter?” Grady asked.

“That’s all he talked about,” DeAngelo said. “He kept rambling on and on about hunting her down and finishing what he started. That dude is crazy.”

“How was he going to find her?” Sophie asked. “She’s not living in the same house and the place where she’s staying is in someone else’s name.”

“He’s been following her boyfriend online or something,” DeAngelo said. “Apparently she’s marrying some guy who is constantly in the news.”

Sophie and Grady exchanged a look.

“How did Pritchard find out Emma was engaged?” Grady asked.

“How am I supposed to know?” DeAngelo groused. “He didn’t confide in me. We spent all of two hours together when we got out and I haven’t seen him since. Good riddance. The guy freaks me out.”

“If what he’s saying is true, that means Pritchard had a lot more information on Emma than he should’ve been able to track down before he broke out of prison,” Grady said.

“I don’t like this,” Sophie admitted. “This feels wrong. Pritchard has been getting help from someone else for a long time. He had a plan in the works long before he escaped.”

Grady held out his hand and Sophie wordlessly took it. “I don’t like this either,” he said. “We need to call James. Can you guys handle getting him to the sheriff’s department on your own, or do you need us to go with you?”

“I’ve got him,” Rodrigo said. “I’m going to have fun driving him across town. Make sure you keep Sophie with you until I can catch up with you outside of your house again in a few hours.”

“Don’t worry about that,” Grady said. “She’s not leaving my sight.”

“Don’t peek in the back yard when you get there either,” Sophie warned, letting Grady lead her away. “We’re going to be naked in the hot tub and I’ll tell Peter if you see me without my clothes on.”