Deadly Proposal (Hardy Brothers Security Book 4) (17 page)

James rested his head on top of Mandy’s, giving in. “What are you going to do now? You’ve set everyone in your life up. There’s nowhere else to meddle.”

“Heidi is still single,” Mandy said.

“I’m sure you already have someone in mind for her,” James said, chuckling.

“I do. Clint.”

James stilled, pulling back so he could gaze into the blue depths of her eyes. “That’s actually not a bad idea.”

“See,” Mandy said. “I told you I’m always right.”

James wrinkled his nose, cupping her face with both of his hands. “I’ve seen the light.”

Everyone settled into different spots around the living room, with Jake and Ally sitting in adjacent chairs at the table. When James moved to join them, Mandy snagged his belt loop and shook her head.

“Why don’t you stay over here with me?”

The look on James’ face was a mixture of irritation and resignation. “I can’t even sit at my own table?”

Mandy pressed her lips together, her eyes glinting. “Don’t you want to be close to me?” She batted her eyelashes coquettishly. “I’ll make it worth your while.”

“How?”

Mandy leaned in, whispering so only he could hear.

“You have an absolutely filthy mind,” he said. “I’m going to hold you to that.”

“Get us some pizza.”

After everyone was seated and eating, Mandy asked about their day.

“We took a load of stuff out there,” James said. “It just doesn’t seem like enough.”

“Well, what else can we do?”

James shifted his gaze to the table where Ally and Jake were chatting amiably. “Jake says that I’m looking too hard to fix things that I can’t fix.”

“Maybe you don’t have to fix things,” Mandy suggested. “Maybe you just need to make them better.”

“And how do I do that?”

“We’re going to figure out something,” Grady said from his spot on the floor. “I can’t just sit here and ignore it either.”

“It made me really sad,” Finn said. “It was like … .”

“Like you were guilty because you somehow escaped that happening to you,” James finished for him. “I know.”

“You shouldn’t be guilty,” Mandy protested. “You can’t wish worse upon yourself to lift others up.”

James knocked his head against hers lightly. “I know. You just don’t understand what it was like out there.”

“I understand wanting to change things,” Mandy said. “We can still change things. We may not be able to make them perfect – but we can change them.”

“You know, sometimes I think you’re an optimist and sometimes I think you’re a pessimist,” James said. “I can’t decide which one you really are.”

“She’s an optimist with a pessimistic streak,” Ally informed him. “She’s got both tendencies – just like you.”

James leaned back on the couch so he could see his sister’s face. “You have an answer for everything.”

“I’m one of the great thinkers of our time,” Ally agreed, winking. “That’s why you always come to me for sage advice.”

“Do you actually think your advice is sage?”

“Who fixed you and Mandy when she went off the deep end?”

“I said we’re not talking about that anymore,” James said. “She feels bad enough. We’re now referring to it as the
misunderstanding
, and calling it a day. I don’t think making fun of her because she was hopped up on medication and recovering from being blown across a parking lot is exactly fair.”

“We’re calling it the
misunderstanding
now?” Grady asked. “Is this like us calling what you did to her after that first night the
incident
?”

“Pretty much.”

Mandy was busily studying her empty plate. The shame she felt for her meltdown was profound. She’d never thought of herself as the kind of woman who had low self-esteem when it came to her romantic entanglements. She still wasn’t quite sure how she’d fallen so far off the wagon.

James slapped another slice of pizza onto her plate. “Don’t let it get to you, baby,” James said. “Ally is just trying to irritate me. She doesn’t care that she’s hurting you in the process.”

Ally’s mouth dropped open. “I’m not hurting her.”

“Take a look, Ally,” James said, his tone chilly. “Does she look happy to you?”

Ally searched her friend’s face. “I’m sorry.”

“It’s fine,” Mandy said, avoiding the pointed gazes in the room. “I’m the one who had the meltdown.”

“I’m fairly certain we had the meltdown together,” James countered. “I don’t want to dwell on it. It was eighteen hours of horror, and we’ve put it behind us. Ally needs to stop bringing it up. I think that would make us all feel better.”

“I was just teasing her.”

“So, let me get this straight,” James said. “Your best friend was almost killed in an explosion. She could barely walk. Her body was a walking bruise. She was on medication that alternately made her sleepy and sick to her stomach, so she wasn’t eating. She had a few rough days, which I wasn’t exactly helpful with because I was doing every wrong thing I could possibly think of in an attempt to do everything right. And you think, given all of that, making fun of her is the best way to go?”

Mandy put a stilling hand on James’ arm. “She doesn’t mean anything.”

James ignored the blonde at his side, keeping his gaze fixed on Ally’s conflicted eyes. “I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I didn’t really think about it.”

“Well, think about it,” James said. “Really think about it for a change.”

The room sank into uncomfortable silence, with Grady, Finn, and Mandy exchanging questioning looks. James’ words were both harsh and cold – something he usually reserved for enemies, not his sister.

Jake was the first one to break the silence. “You know he’s just screwing with you, right?”

“What?” Ally was flabbergasted.

“He’s trying to get under your skin for a change,” Jake said. “I’m guessing you irritate him every chance you get. You might want to avoid getting under his skin by using his girlfriend as a weapon – at least for a little while. He doesn’t seem to have much of a sense of humor about it.”

Ally, confused, narrowed her eyes. “Are you trying to teach me a lesson?”

James smiled widely, popping a piece of pepperoni from Mandy’s plate into his mouth. “It’s not fun, is it?”

Ally squealed irritably, launching herself from her chair and into her brother’s direction. “How could you do something like that? You know I’d never hurt her.”

James tangled with her, wrestling both of her wrists into his right hand. “I know,” James said. “I still don’t want you bringing it up again. Be nice to my blonde.”

“I loved her long before you did,” Ally said. “I have certain rights as the best friend.”

James shook his head, refusing to fall prey to Ally’s twisted logic. “Yes, but as the boyfriend, it’s my job to protect her. As your older brother, it’s my job to both protect and torture you.”

“I hate you,” Ally grumbled.

With one hand controlling Ally’s wrists, James used his other to tweak her nose. “Just be nice to my girl and I won’t have to embarrass you.”

“You can’t embarrass me without embarrassing her,” Ally said, her face smug. “Every embarrassing thing I’ve ever done has been with her.”

“She has a point,” Grady said. “I can’t think of one funny Ally story that doesn’t involve Mandy.”

“Like the time they toilet papered the principal’s house because Ally was convinced he was looking down Mandy’s top in his office one day,” Finn suggested.

“What?” James looked disgusted.

“You were already gone,” Finn said. “And that dude was a total pervert.”

“He looked down your shirt?”

Mandy shrugged. “That’s what it seemed like.”

“How old were you?”

“I was fifteen.”

James was furious. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have handled it.”

“You were already gone,” Mandy said. “And Ally and I took care of it.”

“By toilet papering his house? That doesn’t seem like a very good punishment.”

“We started the toilet paper on fire when we were done,” Ally said, her face red from the exertion of trying to escape from James’ grip.

“Wait, is this when you got arrested for arson? Mom wrote me about that when I was in Afghanistan. I guess I missed out on some of the key details.”

“We were never charged,” Ally said. “Dad took care of it. The principal didn’t want it to come out in court that he was looking down Mandy’s shirt, so he refused to swear out a complaint.”

“It’s too bad you didn’t burn his house down,” James grumbled.

“The point is, I’ve had her back longer than you have,” Ally said. “I’m allowed to tease her.”

James tickled Ally’s ribs. “No. Tell me what else the two of you did while I was away. I like these stories.”

“We didn’t do anything,” Ally argued. “That was the only thing.”

“What about the time you two conned the quarterback by saying you both wanted to sleep with him and then stripped him naked and stole his clothes so he had to walk home in the buff?” Grady suggested. “I love that story.”

James wrinkled his nose, casting a curious look at Mandy, who was studiously looking at an empty spot on the wall. “Who was the quarterback?”

“No one.”

“Kip Jones,” Grady said.

“Isn’t he doing a dime up at the state pen in Traverse City for rape?” James asked.

“He is.”

James furrowed his brow. “Did he hurt one of you?”

Mandy shook her head hurriedly. “No. It was nothing like that.”

“It better not be,” James growled.

“He felt up our friend, Sherry, under the bleachers at a football game,” Ally said. “He took pictures and showed everyone. He even put some of them out on the web. He got what he deserved.”

James eased up his hold on his sister. “I’m going to let you up,” he said. “I have a feeling you might have a point about the friend thing warring with the boyfriend thing.”

“I always have a point,” Ally said, straightening her shirt and flicking James on the ear. “I’ll stop bringing up the
misunderstanding
, though. It’s mean, and I don’t want to be mean to Mandy.”

“Just me.”

“You deserve it,” Ally said, sauntering back over to the table where Jake was watching the exchange with amused eyes. “Besides, it’s a sister’s job to irritate her brother. You’re just going to have to get used to it.”

THE PHONE
ringing on the nightstand jolted James awake. Mandy was asleep on his chest, her blonde hair spread out like a halo in the dim light of the bedroom. A quick glance at the clock told him it was early, a little before five.

James answered the phone without checking to see who was calling. “Hello.”

“James, it’s Sophie,” the voice on the other end of the phone is. “I’m sorry to call you so early.”

“Sophie?” Mandy stirred on James’ chest. “What’s wrong? Did something happen to Grady?”

“He was fine when I left him in bed two hours ago,” Sophie said. “I got called out on a story.”

“What is it?” James ran his hand over Mandy’s worried forehead, smoothing it.

“I got called out to a body dump at the Clinton River,” Sophie said. “Someone shot a man in the back and dumped him in the river.”

“Is it someone from the tent town?”

“Kind of,” Sophie said. “One of the sheriff’s deputies at the scene recognized the man from a previous incident.”

“And?”

“It’s Cole Gordon.”

James sat up straight, being careful not to knock Mandy around in his haste. “I’m on my way.”

James handed Sophie a fresh cup of coffee when he found her hanging around the crime-scene tape near the river. It had taken some convincing, but Mandy finally agreed to remain at the apartment while he came to the scene. The thought of her warm and safe in the bed they shared was fueling him.

“Thanks,” Sophie said, taking the coffee from him. “The days are getting warmer, but it’s still cold out here. I needed this.”

“Yeah,” James replied, sipping from his own coffee. “Have you found anything else out?”

“They don’t know what kind of gun it was yet,” Sophie said. “They won’t have that until they do an autopsy.”

“That’s not really going to help us unless they find a ballistics match,” James said. “And, for some reason, I doubt they’re going to find a match.”

“You’re probably right,” Sophie said. “I don’t like to leave any stone unturned, though. It’s something to follow.”

James glanced around, taking in the scene. “How far is this from the tent town? About two miles?”

Sophie shrugged. “I haven’t been to the tent town,” she said. “You would know better than me.”

“That means he was still hanging around the area,” James said. “He didn’t wander far. He wasn’t with the others, but he wasn’t far away from them either.”

“The courthouse is just over that ridge,” Sophie said, pointing. “I have no idea how Cole managed to get here from the shelter. Maybe he caught a ride on a bus or something. He could have easily walked from the river to the courthouse, though.”

James nodded, not for the first time marveling at how the reporter’s mind worked. “That’s a good point.”

“Where did he build the bomb, though?” Sophie was talking, although James wasn’t sure if it was to him or herself.

“The shelter?”

Sophie shook her head. “They’re searched before they go in. There’s no way.”

“So, someone provided him with a place to build the bomb,” James said. “It would have to be quiet and out of the way, somewhere he wouldn’t look out of place if someone saw him.”

“That could be any number of places,” Sophie said. “And when whoever hired him realized that we were closing in on Cole, they eliminated him as a layer of protection.”

James’ heart clenched. “We got him killed.”

“He blew up your girlfriend,” Sophie reminded him.

“He was used as a tool to hurt Mandy,” James said. “He’s not the one I’m after. While I’m not thrilled with him running around, he’s not the one I want.”

“We need to know who hired him,” Sophie said.

“Do we have any idea who he trusted?”

Sophie shook her head. “I do have another idea.”

“Grady says you’re full of ideas,” James said. “What have you got?”

Sophie pointed to a spot over his shoulder, causing him to swivel and follow the line her finger was drawing in the morning sky. “The prostitutes?”

Three women, all scantily clad, were standing under a streetlight and watching the commotion.

“I think they prefer to be called women of the night,” Sophie said, her tone dry. “They’re always walking up and down this road. People pay for an hour of their time, and then park down here to stay out of sight from the patrol cars. I think it’s mostly a hand job and blow-job thing.”

James rubbed his unshaven chin, Sophie’s idea taking form. “They might have seen something.”

“They might not tell you without some form of … financial incentive,” Sophie said.

“Yeah, I figured.”

“I think they’re going to be more willing to talk to you than me,” Sophie said. “I don’t have the right parts. Just be prepared, you’re probably going to want to shower when you’re done.”

James glanced at the women and then back at Sophie. “Let’s not tell Mandy about this, shall we?” He could already picture her face, and it wasn’t pretty.

“Your secret is safe with me.”

James left Sophie to continue hounding the police force for information and made his way across the street, trying to look unassuming as he approached the women. His efforts were for naught.

“Hello, honey,” one of the woman, a platinum blonde with an impressive set of …
lungs …
greeted him. “Are you looking for some company?”

James forced a smile onto his face, one he’d been told on more than one occasion could be deemed as charming. “Actually, I’m looking for information.”

“Are you a cop?”

“He looks like a cop.” One of the other women, a brunette with an ugly scar near her hairline, was watching him with suspicious eyes.

“I’m not a cop,” James said, holding up his hand in a placating manner. “Although, I do need to know about the dead guy over there.”

“He was shot,” the blonde said. “We didn’t hear the gun go off, but that’s what the cops said.”

“I know. I need to know who shot him.”

“What makes you think we know?”

“Don’t you guys know all and see all?”

“Maybe.”

James reached into his back pocket and pulled out his wallet. He looked inside, pulling out two hundred-dollar bills and handing them over. “Did you see anything?”

The blonde took the money, tucking it into her ample cleavage before fixing him with her best come-hither smile. “He was arguing with someone.”

“At first, we didn’t realize there was someone there,” one of the other women said. “That dude talked to himself a lot.”

“When did you realize he was talking to someone else?”

“It was a couple of hours ago,” the blonde said. “He was talking to a woman.”

James cocked his head to the side, his heartbeat increasing. “A woman? You’re sure?”

“You couldn’t mistake that voice for anything else,” she said. “They were fighting about him screwing up some job.”

“Tell me exactly what you heard,” James instructed.

“It was a lot of nonsense at first,” she said. “He kept demanding payment for something, saying it was supposed to be put in some bank account and it wasn’t, and the woman refused to give him anything because he screwed up and let some bitch get away. Those were her words, not mine.”

“Was there anything about the woman that you recognized? Any identifiable marks or anything?”

“She was just a woman,” the blonde said. “If it’s any help, I think she was kind of old.”

“How old?”

“I don’t know, like sixties old,” the woman said, shrugging.

“Hair color?”

“It was dark.”

“Fat? Skinny?”

“She wasn’t skinny, but she wasn’t really fat.”

James nodded, figuring he had gleaned as much information as he could from the women. He pulled another hundred out of his wallet, pairing it with a business card. “Thank you. If you remember anything, give me a call.”

“You got it,” the blonde said, taking the money and the card. “Are you sure you don’t want anything else? I’ve been told I’m real talented.”

The only thing James wanted now was to see another blonde. “It’s a tempting offer, but no. I don’t think that would go over well at home.”

JAMES
watched Mandy sleep for a few moments, kicking off his shoes and stripping out of his clothes before climbing into bed with her. Even in slumber, she instinctively reached for him. He pulled her into his arms, folding her tightly into his embrace.

“What happened?” Mandy murmured.

“Cole Gordon is dead,” James said. “He was shot in the back.”

“Why?”

“I think someone needed to shut him up,” James said.

“Someone that wants to hurt me,” Mandy said.

“Yeah.”

“So, what happens now?”

“Now? Now I need you to do something you’re really not going to want to do,” James said. “I thought about going behind your back and doing something, but that never works out well for me.”

“You don’t want me to go to work, do you?”

“I don’t want you to go anywhere without me,” James said.

“For how long?”

“I don’t know,” James admitted. “Whoever killed Cole is in this immediate area. Something tells me it’s not going to be long.”

“Why?” Mandy rubbed her hand over James’ heart, letting its steady beat lull her.

“Whoever this is, I don’t think they want to wait to come after you,” James said. “This is somehow personal to them. I don’t know who it is, and I don’t know why they’re going after you, but I do know I won’t let anyone take you from me.”

Mandy was quiet, thoughtful. “I’ll call the judge after eight. He’ll understand.”

“I’ll call if you want,” James said. “There are some things I want to talk to him about.”

“Like?”

“Like beefing up security around himself and Heidi,” James said. “They’re close to you.”

“You don’t think … ?”

“I think you’re the target,” James said. “If I keep you hidden long enough, though, someone might try some inventive ways to get at you.”

“You know you can’t keep me here forever, right? At some point, we have lives to live.”

James kissed her softly. “I know. That’s why we have to get this right the first time.”

“So, you’re convinced that Cole is the one who set the bomb?”

“I am,” James said.

“And how do you plan on finding out who hired him?”

“I don’t know.”

Mandy inched her way up his chest, burrowing her head in the hollow beneath his neck. “I’m scared.”

James tightened his embrace. “I’m scared, too. That’s why I’m not going to let you out of my sight. You’re going to be sick and tired of me by the time this is all over with.”

“I guess we’re going to have to find something to distract us,” Mandy said, moving her hand down his chest and slipping it inside of his boxer shorts.

James’ breath caught in his chest when he felt her small hand wrap itself around his length, teasing him, enticing him. He fought to keep his voice neutral. “What did you have in mind?”

Mandy ran her index finger along the underside of his hardening member. “I don’t know, a little of this.”

James moaned.

“A little of that.” Mandy raised her head, kissing him deeply. “A whole lot of this and that.”

James rolled over on top of her, not realizing until he was already in place that this was the first time he’d rested the bulk of his weight on her since the explosion. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine.”

“Is your back okay?”

“James?”

“Yeah.”

“Shut up and make love to me.”

James chuckled. “Yes, ma’am. I guess I’m going to have to start calling you Captain Bossy.”

“That’s General Bossy to you.”