Deadly Honeymoon (Hardy Brothers Security Book 7) (7 page)

“Sophie suggested it at dinner last week,” Grady said.

“You guys are having dinner now?”

Grady made an exasperated sound in the back of his throat. “It’s important to Sophie.”

“And you’re whipped,” James teased.

“And he’s helped us more than once,” Grady countered. “He’s not a bad guy. It’s not like he talks about his business in front of us, and installing a security system that his people are going to run doesn’t put us in a bad position.”

“I didn’t say it did,” James said.

“You have that look.”

James held up his hands in mock surrender.

“It’s going to be fine,” Grady said. “And I am not whipped.”

“You’re so whipped,” James said, laughing. “So very whipped.”

“I hate you sometimes.”

“Why are you unpacking now?”

Mandy was sitting cross-legged on the bedroom floor, the entire contents of her and James’ suitcases spread out around her. “Because we haven’t done it yet.”

“But why are you doing it now?”

Mandy shrugged. “I just decided it needed to be done.”

“Everyone is going to be here in thirty minutes,” James said. “We’re going to have a barbecue and a party. Laundry and cleaning don’t say party to me.”

“I … just give me a few minutes.”

James knelt down next to her, pushing her hair out of her face so he could study her. “What are you really doing?”

“I’m trying to find Ally’s gift,” Mandy admitted. “I lost it. You told me to be careful with it, and I swear I was, but it’s gone.”

“You didn’t lose it,” James said. “I put it in the safe.”

“You did?”

“We have a maid now,” James said. “I just didn’t want to leave anything tempting out.”

“Just because she’s a maid, that doesn’t mean she’s going to steal something,” Mandy scoffed.

“I know,” James said. “It was just instinct.”

“Can you get it for me?”

“Can you clean up this mess?”

“Fine.”

James kissed her cheek and moved to get back to his feet, a flash of bright color catching his attention. He leaned over and snagged the blue garter belt on top of the pile and held it up. “I’ve never seen this.”

“That’s because I never got a chance to wear anything that I got at my bachelorette party,” Mandy replied. “You had me naked before I could dress up in anything that you would want to take off of me.”

James smirked. “I don’t suppose you’d wear this tonight, would you?”

Mandy tilted her head to the side, considering. “Perhaps.”

“Are you negotiating?”

“No,” Mandy said. “However, I would like to actually make it to the bedroom before we do it tonight.”

“Why?”

“Because we haven’t done anything but sleep in our new bed.”

“That’s not true,” James said. “We … holy crap, you’re right. We haven’t broken in the new bed.”

“I think the blue will be nice for that, don’t you?” Mandy snagged the garter belt from his hand and tossed it on the comforter.

James eyed the mattress with interest. “You know … .”

“We don’t have time to break the mattress in before your family arrives,” Mandy said, standing up and straightening her skirt. “And, after your mother and my mother caught us having sex in the studio, I have no interest in cutting it close.”

“We really need to work on your sense of adventure,” James said, dropping a kiss on her forehead and moving toward the bedroom door. “Pick up that mess.”

“I am very adventurous,” Mandy shot back. “I just don’t find the same joy in public sex that you apparently do. Don’t forget Ally’s gift.”

“On it.”

Once he was gone, Mandy regarded the mess on the floor. She’d only torn everything out of the suitcases because she was desperate to find Ally’s gift. Now, she had no inclination to clean up the mess she’d wrought.

Mandy bent over, digging through the mound of clothes until she found the blue garter’s matching pieces and tossed them onto the bed haphazardly, knocking her purse off the edge with the effort.

“Great, more mess,” she muttered.

Instead of sorting through the clothes, Mandy scooped everything up and carried it into her closet, unceremoniously dumping the pile into the hamper. She’d deal with it later. She gathered the empty suitcases and tossed them into James’ closet, shutting the door to hide her lazy housekeeping.

She collected the items that had spilled from her purse, making a mental note to switch out the hobo bag with something more appropriate for a court clerk as soon as possible. For now, she just shoved everything back inside the bag.

Her eyes fell on a strange object peeking out from under the bed, and when her fingers closed around it, she was even more confused. It was a flash drive. She had no idea where it had come from. She shrugged, dropping the flash drive on the nightstand, figuring it belonged to James and he would be looking for it.

After hanging her purse on the handle in her closet and shutting the door, she looked over the bedroom. As long as no one opened the closet doors, they would never know.

James appeared back in the bedroom, Ally’s jewelry box clutched in his hand. “That was fast.”

“Huh? Oh, yeah, it was nothing.”

James shifted his gaze over the room. “How did you clean it up so fast?”

“I’m very efficient.”

“Uh-huh.”

James stalked to the first walk-in closet and threw open the door, smiling when he caught sight of the overflowing hamper. “You didn’t sort through anything, did you?”

“It all needs to be washed,” Mandy said. “It smells like vacation.”

James ran his tongue over his teeth as he opened the second closet door. “And the suitcases?”

“They like it there.”

James chuckled, shutting the closet doors. “Every time I think I can’t love you more, you do something that proves me wrong.”

“Being a slob makes you love me more?”

“Everything you do makes me love you more.”

Mandy smiled. “See, now I’m looking forward to breaking in the mattress.”

“THAT
smells great,” Ally said, bopping up and down next to James as he turned the steaks on the grill.

“Steak is great,” James agreed.

“Well, it smells good.”

“Ally, is there something you want?”

“Where is my present?” Her brown eyes were piteous.

“Mandy has it,” James said, his tone dry.

“And where is Mandy?”

“I didn’t realize it was my day to babysit,” James teased.

Ally punched him in the arm. Hard.

“Hey,” he said, rubbing his bicep. “I forget how hard you can punch sometimes. You’re all tiny and little and ... girlish … but you pack quite the wallop.”

“You taught me how to punch,” Ally said.

Jake approached the grill, a beer in his hand. “Are you two fighting?”

“We don’t fight,” Ally scoffed.

James raised an eyebrow.

“All you two do is fight,” Jake said. “What are you fighting about now?”

“She hits like a dude,” James said.

“She hits hard,” Jake agreed.

“She’s hit you?”

“She’s excitable.”

“She is definitely excitable.”

“I’m standing right here,” Ally growled.

“Who could miss that?” Jake teased, giving her a quick kiss. “You’re too beautiful to miss, angel.”

“Ugh, you two are gross,” James said.

“You and Mandy are way grosser than us,” Ally argued.

“Whatever.”

“Yeah, you two don’t argue at all,” Jake said, sarcasm positively dripping from his tongue.

“Where is my gift?” Ally poked James in the chest.

“Stop doing that.”

Ally was relentless with the poking. “I want my gift.”

“Stop doing that!”

“Gift. Gift. Gift. Gift.”

Mandy appeared on the patio, raising a bag in her hand. “Gifts!”

Ally clapped excitedly. “Finally!” She rushed to Mandy’s side. “Gimme.”

Mandy handed the blue jewelry box over. “You’d better like it, because it’s not like we can return it.”

Mandy handed matching boxes over to Sophie and Emma, both of whom were sitting in lawn recliners and sipping from margaritas.

“Oh, you didn’t have to get us anything,” Emma said, accepting the box.

“Yeah,” Sophie said. “It was your honeymoon. Who expects someone else to bring them a gift back from their honeymoon?”

Ally stuck her tongue out, blowing a raspberry in Sophie’s direction. “I am gift worthy.”

“Duly noted.” Grady slipped onto the lounger with his girlfriend, pushing Sophie forward so he could settle behind her. He pulled her back when he was done, kissing the side of her face and watching as she opened the gift.

“Oh, pretty,” Sophie said. “Thank you.”

“Yes, thank you,” Emma said enthusiastically, smiling at the necklace.

Mandy shifted her gaze to Ally, watching as the brunette opened her box. “It’s a necklace.”

“It is.”

“It’s pretty.”

Mandy’s face fell. “You don’t like it.”

“No, it’s pretty,” Ally said. “It’s just … .”

“What?”

“I expected something bigger,” Ally admitted.

“Isn’t that what you have Jake for?” Mandy teased.

“Hey, wife, stop saying stuff like that,” James ordered. “You’re going to render me deaf.”

Jake’s face was flushed with embarrassment.

“You’re calling her wife now?” Ally asked. “That’s a little demeaning.”

“Do you know what’s demeaning, Ally?” James questioned.

“What?”

“Looking down your nose at the gift that Mandy spent two hours picking out,” James said.

“Oh.”

“Oh,” James said, nodding.

Ally’s face brightened. “I love it!”

“Oh, it’s too late now,” James said. “You’ve crushed my wife.”

Ally punched him in the stomach. “I’m going to crush you is what I’m going to do.”

James rubbed his stomach ruefully. “Seriously. Have you considered women’s boxing?”

“WHAT ARE
you doing?”

James was stretched out on the bed, naked and waiting. Mandy had been in the bathroom for what seemed like forever.

“I’m prettying myself up.”

The bathroom door was closed, but James could hear the irritation in her voice. “You’re the most beautiful woman in the world. You don’t need to pretty yourself up. Get your ass out here.”

“One second.”

“Come on, baby,” James said. “This bed needs some consummation.”

The bathroom door opened and Mandy stalked out, taking James’ breath away with every step. The blue teddy was tight, the lace along the midriff allowing brief hints of nirvana beneath the see-through fabric. The thigh-high leggings were also blue, and the garters that drove James wild every time he saw them poking out from beneath her staid work skirts were somehow all the more spectacular when paired with the heady ensemble.

Mandy strutted to the end of the bed and struck a pose, tossing her blonde head playfully for emphasis.

“You’re beautiful,” James said, crawling to his knees and moving to the end of the bed. He ran his hands over the fabric, marveling at the way it clung to her body. The teddy’s underwire pushed her breasts up into heaping mounds, and he dropped a kiss on the quivering flesh above each one.

“You’re just saying that because you want to bang the headboard against the wall,” Mandy said.

“I’m saying it because you make my heart swell,” James said.

Mandy reached her hand down, rubbing it against his growing length. “I don’t think that’s what’s swelling.”

James slid his hands to her waist, kissing his way up her neck and brushing his lips against her ear. “You fill my heart with love each time you smile.”

“As sweet as that is, I was kind of hoping you would fill me with something else.”

James smiled, moving his hands down and cupping Mandy’s rear as he pulled her to him, holding tight as they tumbled to the bed. “Your wish is my command, wife.”

Mandy giggled as he rubbed his nose against her cheek.

“So, we don’t have to take those garters off to have sex, right?” James asked.

“No.”

“Thank God,” he said, breathing heavily. “The garters and stockings just make things more … fun.”

“James?”

“Yeah?”

“Stop talking.”

“Yes, wife.”

Mandy’s face was pressed to James’ chest when he woke the next morning, the faint traces of pooled drool pointing to a happy evening and a restful night of slumber. Her hair was wild, sticking out at odd ends, and the previous day’s makeup was smeared under her eyes.

She was still beautiful.

James glanced at the clock, scowling when he realized the alarm was going to go off in two minutes. He hit the button to cancel it before the loud beep could jolt his blonde awake.

“What are you doing?” Mandy mumbled, wiping her mouth and staring down at the spot where she’d drooled. “Oh, sorry.”

“I like it,” James said, giving her a quick kiss. “I love it when women drool over me.”

“Yeah, it’s very attractive.” Mandy sat up in the bed, catching a glimpse of her reflection in the bathroom mirror from across the room. “Ugh!”

James sighed. “I wish you could see what I see when I look at you.”

“Raccoon eyes and hair that looks like it’s been trapped in a hurricane for a year?”

“Perfection.”

Mandy’s shoulders slumped. “It’s hard for me to be mad at you – or make fun of you – when you say things like that.”

“Then don’t,” James said, kissing her bare shoulder.

Mandy glanced down at the teddy. “I need to get this off and get in the shower.”

“Do you have to take it off?”

“I am not wearing this to work,” Mandy said.

“Yeah, but it would give me something to think about while I was working,” James cajoled.

“How about I just go commando?”

“Sold,” James said, smacking her rear as he climbed out of bed. “Now, if you hurry, we can shower together and still make it to work on time.”

“That sounds like a dangerous proposition, but you’re on,” Mandy said, her eyes landing on the forgotten flash drive. “Oh, by the way, I found this under the bed. It must have fallen out of your pocket or something.”

James took the flash drive, looking it over. “This isn’t mine.”

“Then where did it come from?”

“I have no idea,” James said. “You found it under the bed? Why were you looking under the bed?”

“I knocked my purse off last night,” Mandy replied. “I found it when I was cleaning up the mess.”

“Are you sure it didn’t fall out of your purse?”

“Why would I need a flash drive?”

James shrugged. “I don’t know. It’s not mine, though.”

“Well, it’s not mine.”

James shook himself back to reality. “I’ll take it to work and see what’s on it,” he said. “Maybe it belongs to someone we know – which would mean they were in our bedroom. You don’t think that someone broke in our bed before we did, do you?”

“Who would do that?”

“I’m going to kill Ally,” James grumbled. “We have to burn that mattress.”

Mandy rolled her eyes. “Ally would not do that.”

“Are you sure?”

Unfortunately, she wasn’t. “Get in the shower,” she said. “You’re burning through your shower time with disgusting thoughts about your sister.”

“Start stripping now,” James ordered. “Although, if you could leave the garters and stockings on, I wouldn’t complain.”

“That kind of defeats the purpose of showering.”

“And somehow I’m fine with that,” James said. “Move your cute little ass.”

Mandy saluted. “Yes, sir.”

“Yeah, we’re going to play that game tonight,” James said, chasing her into the bathroom. “Now, strip soldier.”

“YOU’RE
back two days and you’re already late?” The second he had caught sight of his brother, Grady knew what he’d been up to.

James ignored Grady’s pointed jab as he stood next to his desk chair and gestured for his brother to vacate the spot.

“Are you doing mime now?”

“Get up,” James ordered. “That’s my chair.”

“Yes, but it was my chair when you were on your honeymoon,” Grady said. “I’m not sure I want to cede my throne.”

“Do you want me to beat you up, like when we were kids?”

“You never beat me up,” Grady countered. “I always beat you up.”

“Oh, whatever.”

Grady climbed out of the chair, poking his brother in the side playfully. “What were you doing this morning?”

“I got up, I took a shower, and then I came to work,” James said. “It was a normal morning.”

“You’re such a liar,” Grady teased.

“Is there a reason you’re fixating on my love life instead of your own?” James asked. He’d meant it as a joke, but Grady’s quick facial shift was enough to tell him he’d hit a nerve. “Is something going on?”

“I … I’m going to ask Sophie to officially move in with me,” Grady admitted.

“Don’t you spend all your time at her house?”

“Fine, I’m going to ask her to officially move in together.”

Grady’s discomfort filled James with glee – and happiness. Grady had trouble seeing himself settled down, even though he’d been with the same woman for more than a year. This was a big step for the middle Hardy brother.

“Have you guys spent a night apart since you got together?”

“No,” Grady said. “Your little snafu with Mandy taught me a valuable lesson, though. Just because we think one thing, that doesn’t mean that they think the same thing.”

“They?”

“Women.”

“Ah,” James said, smirking. “Well, I think that taking the bull by the horns is a good idea. I had no idea that Mandy and I weren’t living together until she snuck out in her pajamas and locked me out.”

“See, I don’t want that to happen,” Grady said.

“Sophie doesn’t seem like the type of woman who would have a profound meltdown like my girl did,” James said. “She seems too even-tempered.”

“She is even-tempered,” Grady acknowledged. “She’s cool. She’s mellow. You know, sometimes I think she’s too mellow.”

“Meaning?”

“I like that she doesn’t fly off the handle, don’t get me wrong,” Grady said. “She’s not one of those women who screeches or throws things or screams when she sees a spider. In fact, spiders freak me out, and she has to catch them in a cup and put them outside.”

James filed that tidbit away for another day – one where his brother wasn’t stripping his heart bare. “I don’t see what the problem is.”

“It’s not a problem,” Grady said. “I mean, if I was dating someone as excitable as Ally, I’d probably kill myself. I’m not saying I want that.”

“I think Jake likes how excitable she is,” James said. “He’s mellow, so she balances him out.”

“Are you saying I’m excitable?”

“I actually wasn’t,” James said. “I am now, though.”

Grady stuck out his tongue. “Anyway, the problem with Sophie being so mellow is that she never complains.”

“I still don’t see how that’s a bad thing.”

“If she doesn’t complain, and she doesn’t talk about her feelings, how am I supposed to know if she’s happy?”

Things clicked into place for James. “You know, Sophie doesn’t strike me as the type of woman who would stay in any situation that made her unhappy.”

“My head knows that,” Grady said. “My heart isn’t as sure.”

“Well, she loves you,” James said. “That much is obvious.”

Grady was suddenly vulnerable. “Does she?”

James faltered. “Has she never told you that she loves you?”

Grady shook his head.

“Well, when you tell her that you love her, what does she do?”

“I’ve never told her that,” Grady said.

“I don’t understand,” James said, wracking his brain for evidence that his brother was lying and coming up empty. “You’ve never told her that you love her?”

Grady’s pressed his lips together. “No.”

“Do you love her?”

“Of course I love her,” Grady practically exploded.

“Then tell her.”

“I’m waiting for her to say it first.”

James snorted. “Why?”

“Mandy told you first.”

“Mandy told me when she thought I was sleeping,” James corrected.

“She still told you.”

“Cripes,” James said, running a hand through his hair as he contemplated Grady’s conundrum. “Okay, here’s what you need to do, plan a nice dinner at Sophie’s house. Cook for her. Get some candles. Maybe dance a little, women like it when you dance, although I have no idea why. Then, when the moment is right, just say it. Then, when she says it back, ask her to move in together.”

“What if she doesn’t say it back?”

“She will.”

“You don’t know that,” Grady argued. “She might not feel it.”

“She feels it.”

“Did you ever think that you just got lucky with Mandy?”

“Every day.”

Grady scowled. “You know what I mean. She’s not scared to tell you how she feels.”

“I find it interesting that you have fallen in love with a woman who is scared of the same thing you are,” James said.

“Do … do you really think she’s just scared?” Grady’s eyes were hopeful.

“I really think she’s scared to say it to you because she thinks you might not say it back,” James said. “One of you has got to get a handle on your courage and just do it. You’re the man. Don’t make the mistake I did. Say it first.”

“Say what first?” Finn asked, poking his head into the office.

“That James had a lot of sex this morning and that’s why he was late,” Grady lied smoothly.

“I told him it was none of his business,” James said. “He likes to be crude, though.”

“That is his gift,” Finn agreed. “What are you doing?”

James pulled the flash drive out from his pocket and plugged it into the laptop’s port. “Mandy found this under the bed. It doesn’t belong to either of us, and I’m trying to find out what’s on it.”

“If it doesn’t belong to you, how did it get there?” Grady asked.

“I have no idea,” James said. “I’m hoping it doesn’t mean that someone else had sex in our bedroom while we were gone.”

“Who would do that?” Finn asked, laughing.

A certain brunette jumped into everyone’s mind at the same time.

“Oh, gross,” Grady said. “You think Ally and Jake did it in your bed?”

Jake was entering the office at the same moment Grady uttered the statement. “What?”

“Did you and my sister have sex in their bedroom?” Finn asked.

“Of course not,” Jake said, scandalized.

“Hey, that is something Ally would probably do,” Grady said.

“For your information, Ally wanted to have sex in their hot tub,” Jake replied. “And, don’t worry, I put the kibosh on that. We didn’t have sex in your bed.”

“I just can’t figure out where this thing came from,” James said, silently relieved that he wasn’t going to have to burn his mattress.

“And you’re sure it’s not Mandy’s?”

“She says no,” James said, wrinkling his forehead as he regarded his computer screen. “What the hell is this?”

Jake, Grady, and Finn crowded behind the desk, staring at the odd numbers that popped up in confusion.

“I think it’s corrupted,” Finn said. “Those numbers make absolutely no sense.”

James clicked on the second file on the drive, a map filling the screen seconds later. “There’s a map.”

“Where is that?” Jake asked. “That doesn’t look like Michigan.”

“It’s not,” James said. “It’s Bermuda.”

Grady cocked his head to the side. “Are you sure?”

“I’m sure.” James furrowed his brow. “Why would a flash drive with a corrupted file and a map of Bermuda suddenly appear in our bedroom?”

“Maybe it fell into one of your suitcases,” Jake suggested.

“No, that house was bare,” James said. “They had a regular cleaning lady come in.”

“Well, then how did it get here?”

James considered the question. “Mandy said she found it when she was picking up stuff off the floor,” he said. “She said she knocked her purse off the bed, and she was on her knees picking stuff up when she found it. What if it was in her purse?”

“How did it get there?”

“I have no idea,” James said. “I hated that purse. It was huge. She insisted on taking it, though, because the strap was so long that it could fit over her head and she didn’t have to worry about anyone stealing the bag.”

“So, whoever put it there, had to be close to her,” Finn mused.

A face popped into James’ mind. “Like the dead guy who tried to get her to dance on the street and then ended up with a knife to the chest in the yard?”

“Shit,” Grady said.

“Let’s get Maverick on the phone,” Finn said, referring to the computer guru Hardy Brothers Security kept on retainer. “Maybe that file isn’t corrupted.”

“Maybe it’s coded,” Jake said.

James was on his feet.