Deadly Arrival (Hardy Brothers Security Book 16) (2 page)

“You will,” Ally said. “You’re going to be exhausted. There will be no safer place for that baby than a room where four tough guys work. You’re going to need sleep.”

Emma and Finn took over James’ and Mandy’s former apartment on top of Hardy Brothers Security, the security business James owned in Southeastern Michigan. The baby would literally be safe from everything but a natural disaster in that building. That was part of the draw of the apartment while Finn saved up for a house.

“I guess,” Emma said. “I’m really anxious now, though. I know it’s going to hurt and everything, but I want to hold him.”

“Her,” Ally corrected.

Emma shot her a dark look. “It’s a him. I can feel it.”

“We’re just going to have to agree to disagree,” Ally sniffed.

Mandy and Sophie exchanged amused glances.

“I’ve got twenty bucks that says Finn’s son is going to be wearing a ‘Daddy’s little princess’ onesie before this is all said and done,” Mandy teased.

“I’m right there with you on that,” Sophie said, causing the room to erupt in giggles.

Mandy smiled. She couldn’t help herself. A baby shower wasn’t her first choice of activities, but Emma’s happiness was worth every ounce of effort. They were a family … and that family was about to get bigger any day now.

“What do you think they’re doing over there?” Finn asked, resting his cheek against the front window of the guesthouse behind his brother’s main house. “Do you think Emma is okay? Maybe I should go and check on her.”

Grady, the middle Hardy brother, rolled his eyes as he drank his beer. James flicked Grady’s ear and shook his head, a quiet warning passing between them, and moved to Finn’s side. He understood worrying about the woman you loved. He didn’t understand Finn’s incessant need to spy on the house.

“She’s fine,” James said. “Stop hovering over here. Come and sit at the table. We want to play poker.”

“What if she goes into labor?”

“Then I’m sure Ally will boil water, deliver the baby, and then steal it before you even know what’s going on,” Jake Harrison teased. In addition to dating the youngest Hardy sibling, Ally, he also worked at Hardy Brothers Security with the other men in the room. “She’s been shopping for that kid nonstop. If you have a boy, prepare yourself for a lot of pink clothes for him. She’s convinced you’re having a girl.”

“Does Emma still think it’s a boy?” Grady asked, pushing his shoulder-length brown hair over his shoulder.

Finn nodded, forcing his gaze back inside the room. “Someone would come and get us if Emma went into labor, right?”

James made a dumbfounded face. “Well, no, I don’t think they would,” he drawled. “I think they would panic and die a hundred feet away from us. Of course they would get us. Stop freaking out.”

“I can’t help it,” Finn admitted, rubbing his sweaty palms over the front of his blue jeans. “I know I’m driving Emma crazy … and I really don’t want to work her up because the doctor told us to keep her blood pressure down … but I can’t help constantly watching her.”

“Do you think she’s going to explode?” Grady asked dryly. “Her stomach is so huge I’m worried it’s going to burst every time I get near her.”

“Nice,” James spat.

“What? You’ve seen her. It looks like she’s smuggling a watermelon under her sweater,” Grady protested.

“I’m worried she’s going to go into labor at any second,” Finn said. “I don’t want to be away from her. I wake up in the middle of the night just to watch her because I’m afraid she’s going to go into labor and not know it and then a baby is going to miraculously appear in the bed.”

James snorted. “I think she would know it, man,” he said, patting Finn’s shoulder. “It’s supposed to hurt.”

“I don’t know,” Jake challenged. “You hear those stories about teenagers giving birth in bathroom stalls and no one hears them. I think maybe television and movies have programmed us to think it hurts more than it really does.”

“I’m going to tell Ally you said that,” Grady warned. “Then, when you’re in the delivery room with her one day, she’s going to crush your hand and remind you just how much having a baby doesn’t hurt.”

“I didn’t say it didn’t hurt,” Jake argued. “It’s just … women were designed for giving birth. It’s already a miracle. I think maybe all that screaming and huffing they do on television is for show.”

“I’m usually on your side in these things, but I’m telling Ally you said that, too,” James said. “Think about where you put your … you know … and how a baby is supposed to fit out of that space. You don’t think that hurts?”

“I think women are already amazing,” Grady said. “When I saw Sophie get a bikini wax I almost passed out. That’s quick. Squeezing a baby out of their lady parts? Yeah, that has to hurt.”

“I don’t think you’re making Finn feel better,” Jake said, pointing to the pale Hardy brother as he moved to go back to his spot next to the window.

“Oh, is that what you were trying to do?” James asked, realization washing over him. “I take back what I said then. I thought you were serious.”

“Please,” Jake said, making a face. “I want to pass out when I watch Ally pluck her eyebrows.”

James chuckled. “Yeah. I think women are actually built better for pain than men are.”

“Oh, don’t sell yourself short,” Grady chided. “You took a taser blast a few weeks ago and managed to keep your senses long enough to tell Mandy to run. You then searched freezing woods to find her. That’s tough guy stuff.”

“That’s love,” James corrected. “I was in pain, but I knew it would be nothing compared to the pain losing her would cause. There’s a difference.”

“You don’t think women dying in childbirth is still a regular thing, do you?” Finn asked, his gaze fixed on the main house.

“I think that it still happens occasionally,” James replied, choosing his words carefully. “Emma has a good doctor, though. It’s going to be okay.”

“She needs to have that kid,” Grady said. “You’re a mess.”

“Yeah, and then when she has it he can be a different kind of mess,” James said. “Babies freak me out … especially the really little ones. You know I can’t hold it until it can hold its own head up, right? I don’t want to break it.”

“I’m worried about that, too,” Finn admitted. “I’m more worried about the birth first. I … maybe I should check on Emma.”

“Mandy made me promise we would stay out here,” James said. “You can’t go in there and ruin their … girl fest. Sit down.” James reached for the remote control and flipped the television above the bar on, frowning at the live news crawl on the local station.

“What’s that?” Jake asked, his interest piqued.

“There was a prison break at Jackson,” James replied, furrowing his brow. “It says four prisoners shanked a guard and got out in the laundry truck before anyone noticed.”

“Does it say which prisoners?” Grady asked, leaning forward. “Maybe it’s someone we’ve heard about.”

As if on cue, four photographs flashed on the screen and James’ heart painfully rolled when he recognized the one on the end. “Finn, get over here.”

“What’s going on?” Finn asked, annoyed. “I’m not going to the main house. I just want to watch in case she needs me.”

“We have another problem,” James said, turning the volume up on the television and letting the brunette reporter’s voice fill the room.

“To repeat for those just tuning in, there’s been a jailbreak at Jackson prison,” she said. “Authorities are still ascertaining the details, but we do know four convicts escaped. Anyone who has any information about DeAngelo Jackson, Tony Lupo, Marcus Gibson, and Lance Pritchard should call their local authorities immediately. The location of the escapees is not known at this time. They are to be considered armed and incredibly dangerous.”

James muted the television and shifted to face Finn, finding his brother’s face sickly pale and grim. “We need to get over to the house and tell them about this.”

“I … no,” Finn said, shaking his head. “Emma will freak out.”

“You can’t keep this from her,” James said. “The news has to come from you … and then we’ve got to get serious about security.”

“Why?” Finn was obviously having trouble wrapping his mind around what was happening.

“Because something tells me the first thing Lance Pritchard is going to do is go after his daughter,” James said, pushing himself up from the table. “We need all hands on deck. Emma is already vulnerable. We need to work a plan, and we need to do it now.”

“THIS
is so cute, Heidi. Thank you.” Emma beamed at the happy court stenographer as she held up the animal mobile. “You didn’t have to get me anything. I appreciate you coming.”

“Oh, I love this stuff,” Heidi replied, brushing Emma’s enthusiasm aside. “I love babies.”

“Maybe you and Clint will have babies soon,” Mandy teased, causing Heidi’s cheeks to flush. Her friend recently moved in with one of the court security guards and she was basking in her own love affair these days. Mandy couldn’t be happier for her. “I think Clint will make a great father.”

“I’m just thrilled to share a house with him right now,” Heidi countered. “That’s all I need for a little bit. I … .” Heidi broke off, frowning when she heard the sliding glass door open and saw the four unhappy men standing there. “Is something wrong?”

Mandy shifted in her chair, fixing James with a dark look. “I told you not to interrupt us.”

“Baby.” James shook his head, sending her a silent warning.

Ally and Mandy exchanged a worried look.

“What’s going on?” Ally asked, focusing on Jake. “Has something happened? Is it Mom and Dad?”

“Mom and Dad are fine,” James replied, moving to the side to allow Finn entrance. He watched with a sick heart as his brother knelt next to his fiancée. This was going to hurt.

“Emma, we have to talk,” Finn said, his voice low. “I … .”

“Is it Jeff?” Emma asked, her eyes widening. Her older brother was in prison for theft, his need to take care of Emma after their father’s arrest and mother’s abandonment causing him to make some poor choices. He was due to get out soon, and she’d been counting the days until they could get him settled into his own apartment and they would be reunited. He was the only family she cared about that she had left.

“Jeff is fine,” Finn said, squeezing her hand. “I have something to tell you and it’s going to be hard to hear. I need you to remain calm, though. I won’t let anyone touch you. You need to have faith in me.”

“I … .” Emma’s eyes filled with tears even though she had no idea what Finn was about to say.

“Tell her what’s going on,” Mandy ordered, hopping to her feet. “You’re making things worse.”

Finn sucked in a steadying breath. “There was a jail break in Jackson,” he said, opting to rip the Band-Aid off rather than torture the love of his life one second longer. “Four prisoners shanked a guard and escaped. One of them was your father.”

“Omigod.” Emma’s already ashen features turned ghostly. “I … he’s coming after me, isn’t he?”

“We don’t know,” James admitted, instinctively opening his arms when Mandy shuffled closer to him. He pressed her head to his chest but kept his gaze fixed on Emma. “It doesn’t matter if he does come after you, though. There’s no way he’s getting past us. He won’t touch you. I promise you that.”

Lance Pritchard was the worst kind of deviant imaginable, molesting and raping numerous kids and teenagers in his former Eastpointe neighborhood. He didn’t leave either of his own children unscathed, and Emma spent years thinking she was worthless and no man would ever love her because of what her father did to her. Now all the fears Finn worked so hard to eradicate were rushing back, and he felt helpless.

“Sweetie, I promise he won’t get near you,” Finn said, brushing her hair away from her face. “You’re mine. I won’t let him touch you. I … everything is going to be okay. We’re going to make sure of it.”

“You live in the safest building in the area,” Grady added. “No one can get in that building. We’ll make sure of it.”

Mandy lifted her sea-blue eyes to James’ brown orbs, worry creasing her forehead. James smoothed the crinkle from between her eyebrows. “It’s going to be okay, baby,” he whispered. “We’re going to make sure of it. Don’t get worked up. Emma needs you guys to be strong for her.”

Mandy mutely nodded and James pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“What should we do?” Sophie asked, already on the offensive.

“We’re going to the security office to double-check everything,” James said. “That means we’re all going together. I don’t want anyone out on their own tonight.”

“Screw that,” Sophie said, making a face. “I’m going to Peter. If anyone can track down low-life scum in this town before the police, it’s him.”

In addition to being Sophie’s foster father, Peter Marconi was also a notorious figure in the Detroit underworld. He had an interesting set of ethics, but he protected Sophie above all else. He would pitch in to keep Emma safe.

“I like the idea of bringing Peter in on this, but we’re going to visit his place together because I want to talk to him,” James countered. “You call him and see if he can see us in about two hours. We’re all going to the security building together to make sure everything is up to snuff first. Then we’re locking Finn and Emma in there for the night.”

“I’ll stay there, too,” Jake offered. “There’s a cot in the back room. I think Emma will feel better knowing someone is downstairs.”

“I’m staying with you,” Ally said.

“You’re definitely staying with me,” Jake agreed, arguing with her the furthest thing from his mind. “I don’t think anyone should go anywhere alone until we have some idea where Pritchard is. He could be anywhere.”

“Agreed,” James said. He glanced at Sophie for confirmation. If anyone was going to put up a fight, it would be her.

“Okay,” Sophie said, giving in. “I’ll call Peter and set up a meeting. Let’s get all of this stuff packed up. I want Emma safe in her apartment as soon as possible. The best defense is a good offense, and that building is a fortress. That’s the safest place for her.”

No one bothered calling her on the assertion. They were all thinking the same thing.