Deadly Intuition (Hardy Brothers Security Book 2) (6 page)

Watching Mandy with James was ... odd. Sophie had known the court clerk for more than two years, but she’d never taken the time to really engage with her – at least not on a personal level. She liked her. She was friendly and smart. Watching her and James through the office window seemed somehow intrusive.

You hear about magic occurring between people. When you’re guarded, like Sophie, that magic seems like nothing but a fairytale. One of those far-off dreams that’s never really attainable.

Mandy Avery and James Hardy had somehow captured that magic. They couldn’t keep their hands – or lips – off of each other. They were absolutely, no-holds-barred, crazy about each other.

They were in love.

A part of Sophie was reassured by their affection. Another part was empty. She knew she would never have something like that – even though she desperately wanted it.

Grady was talking to her. She’d been listening with half an ear, but the happy couple in the other room was draining her attention. Finally, Grady ceased his verbal interlude and followed her gaze.

“They’re cute.”

Sophie sighed. “They’re happy.”

Grady’s eyes were searching. “Are you happy?”

Sophie shook off the haunting sentiment filling her lungs with invisible liquid. “Of course.”

Grady didn’t look convinced. “Are you
really
happy?”

“Are you?”

Grady smiled, the expression lighting up his handsome face. “I try.”

“That’s not really an answer.”

“From the queen of the non-answer? I’ll take that as a compliment.”

“You do that.”

Grady glanced back in the direction of the office. “Find a bed!”

Sophie poked him in the ribs. “Leave them alone. They’re … refreshing.”

“Why do you say that?”

Sophie shrugged. “I live in a world of … unhappiness. People don’t find their way to me until there’s no hope on the horizon, and the story they have to tell is so heartbreaking it will make you cry. Those two have hope. Those two have more than hope, they have … delight in each other. It’s beautiful.”

Grady’s gaze was fixated on Sophie, his voice raspy. “It
is
beautiful.”

“ALL RIGHT,”
James said when everyone shuffled back into his office. “This is a lot of names to run, and we can only do so many at a time. I say we order some food and start running them.”

“How many searches can you run at one time?” Sophie asked.

“Only three,” James replied. “I suggest we break up into three teams.”

Finn barked out a laugh. “
Puh-leez
! The James and Mandy team isn’t going to get very much work done before they get distracted.”

James’ eyebrows knit together. “Are you saying I’m incapable of doing my job?”

“No,” Finn hedged. “Although, I think Mandy serves as somewhat of a distraction to you.”

Mandy moved to climb off James’ lap, biting her lower lip uncertainly. “I can go upstairs and leave you guys to it.”

James already missed her warmth. “No. You don’t have to go. I can do my job with you around. I think I’ve proven that over the past few months.”

“I didn’t mean anything bad,” Finn protested, his face coloring. “I was just teasing the two of you. I didn’t mean anything by it. Don’t get all worked up, bro.”

James knew he was being sensitive, but he prided himself on his work ethic. He’d built Hardy Brothers Security from the bottom up, and he didn’t want anyone calling his drive into question – even if it was his younger brother, and even if he was only joking.

“Let’s order some food,” Grady suggested as a way to ease the obvious tension. “I think everyone is just hungry.”

Finn nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. Let’s eat.”

James felt Mandy’s hand rest on his shoulder. “Let’s order some food. You’re always crabby when you’re hungry.”

James purposely relaxed his shoulders. “What does everyone want?”

“Let’s just go simple with pizza,” Grady suggested. “Everyone likes pizza.”

James glanced up at Mandy. “I’m not sure she can eat pizza.”

“Oh, come on,” Mandy protested. “I’m starving. I haven’t had anything decent in days.”

“I made you soup.”

Mandy snickered. “Campbell’s made me soup. You just heated it up.”

James’ eyes narrowed.

“You did a really good job, though,” Mandy said hurriedly, patting his shoulder soothingly. “I’ve never had better chicken and stars in my life.”

Grady snorted out a laugh. “You made her chicken and stars? That’s what Mom used to make for us when we were sick.”

“The doctor said you should only have bland food for a week,” James reminded her.

“The doctor also said that, once the food poisoning shot through me, I would be better. I’m better. I want some pizza.”

James sighed. “Fine. Nothing spicy for you, Blondie. If I have to spend the next two nights sleeping on the bathroom floor again, I’m going to be grumpy – even grumpier than I am now.”

Finn blew out a relieved sigh as James shot Mandy a small smile.

“That’s fine,” Mandy said, trying hard to appease him. “What does everyone like?”

THE PIZZA
arrived about thirty minutes later and everyone settled into various chairs as they ate.

“If you had to pick one person who you think is responsible for the money going missing, who would it be?” Finn asked, turning to Sophie.

She was surprised by the question. “I don’t usually approach things that way.”

“What way do you approach them?” James asked.

“In my line of work, it’s never good to go into an investigation with pre-conceived notions,” Sophie explained. “That’s why I take the information and whittle it down. I let the paper trail take me to the culprit. I don’t pick a culprit and then try to match up a paper trail. That’s how you make mistakes.”

“That makes sense,” Mandy said. “You’ve got a great reputation around the county. This must be how you got it.”

Sophie preened under Mandy’s compliment. “Thanks. I’ve tried to build a solid reputation so that, even if everyone doesn’t like me, they know I don’t have an agenda.

“There’s a saying in the news business,” Sophie continued. “If you tick off one side and not the other, you’re not doing your job. If you tick off both sides, though, then you know you’re doing it right.”

Mandy smiled. “That’s a good way to approach things. I’ve seen you in court a few times and, I have to say, all the stories you’ve written about cases in Judge MacIntosh’s courtroom have been more than fair.”

“Court is easy,” Sophie explained, wiping her hands on a napkin. “There’s not a lot of room for debate. You have evidence. You have counter-evidence from the defense team. You report on both, and let the chips fall where they may.”

“I would think that you would catch flak from the family of the victims if things don’t go their way, though,” Mandy pressed. “And, on the flip side, if someone gets convicted, I’ve seen their families rant and rave about it not being fair because there’s no way that the suspect could be guilty.”

“You can’t fight human nature,” Sophie agreed. “Most mothers will never believe their child is capable of doing something heinous. That type of stuff you have to ignore. You can’t let it get to you.”

“You do a lot of government stuff, right?” James said. “That’s got to be different.”

“It’s always different,” Sophie said. “Politicians are liars by nature. I don’t think they can help it. I’m sure a lot of them go into the system with the notion that they’re going to be different, that they’re going to be a good representative for their constituents.

“The truth is, the system fights that,” she continued. “The system is set up to make sure people like that fail. You must see that in the judicial system?”

Mandy shrugged. “I’m sure it’s there. We’re at the circuit-court level, though. We’re not making big decisions. We’re making a series of small ones for individual people.”

“Yeah, I wouldn’t think there are a lot of bribes on the circuit-court level,” Sophie agreed.

“Actually, you would be surprised how many people have tried to bribe the judge,” Mandy said, laughing. “The problem is, the majority of these people think ten thousand bucks can change an outcome. I think, if we were making decisions on the big things – gay marriage, affirmative action, gun rights, you know, those types of things – then it would be a different story.”

The Hardy brothers seemed comfortable to just let Sophie and Mandy chat. They were interested in the conversation, but none of them interrupted or added to it.

“So, if I’m understanding you correctly, you’re saying that you go into the court system figuring that the truth will come out,” Mandy said. “When you go into the political arena, you assume everyone is lying and you have to follow the paper trail to figure it out?”

Sophie nodded. “Exactly.”

“You know all the players,” Mandy said. “You must get a feel for them.”

“There are things that tip you off,” Sophie said.

James stirred. “Like?”

“Well, for example, the relationship between Sheriff Morgan and his assistant John Madison gives me a
funny
feeling.”

“Funny like they’re secretly doing it, or funny like they’re secretly stealing money together?” Finn asked.

Sophie laughed despite herself. “I don’t get a gay vibe off of them, although now that thought is going to give me nightmares.”

“Then what did you mean?” Grady probed.

Sophie opened her mouth, unsure of how to give voice to her suspicions. “There’s something there that feels
off
. Morgan is the sheriff. He’s in charge. Yet there are times when it seems like Madison is the one wielding the power behind the scenes.”

“Give me some examples,” James said.

“Okay, well, about three months ago the two of them came to the office to meet with the editorial board,” Sophie said.

“What’s an editorial board?” Grady asked.

“It’s a bunch of editors and the publisher,” Mandy answered for Sophie. “They decide what position the newspaper takes on editorials, endorsements, things like that.”

James glanced at his girlfriend. “How do you know that?”

Mandy stuck her tongue out at him. “Because, during election cycles, all of the judges make appointments with the editorial board in the hope that the newspaper will endorse them.”

James wrinkled his nose. “Beauty and brains? You never cease to amaze me.”

Finn groaned. “So Morgan and Madison came into the office looking for an endorsement? It’s not an election year.”

“They came in wanting the newspaper to back them on a special millage they were proposing,” Sophie said.

“I haven’t heard anything about that,” Mandy said. “I would think that would be the talk of the courthouse – at least with the sheriff’s deputies there every day transporting prisoners.”

“I don’t know if they’re still doing it,” Sophie said. “What was interesting about their visit, though, was that Madison did all the talking. When Morgan even tried to give his opinion, Madison cut him off. It was just weird.”

“Okay,” James said. “What else?”

“It’s just little things really,” Sophie said. “Madison is always giving Morgan tips before a press conference, directing him on which questions to take and which ones to ignore. It’s just a weird relationship.”

“Maybe Morgan needs the help,” Finn suggested. “Maybe he’s not really capable of doing the job and they’re hiding that fact.”

“I have considered that,” Sophie admitted. “I’m just not sure.”

“Well, let’s finish eating and get to work,” James said. “This list isn’t going to run itself.”

Sophie paired up with Grady to work, everyone agreeing to sort through her documents before running any specific searches. Grady’s presence was comforting – and conflicting at the same time. He felt warm and safe – and yet he also made her stomach coil with unexpressed attraction.

Being around him was dangerous for her emotional wellbeing. She couldn’t force herself away from him. She barely knew him, she reminded herself. She’d spent a grand total of ten hours with the man. It was like he was emitting some form of gravitational pull, and it was pulling her directly into his orbit every chance she got.

“I think I found something,” Finn announced.

Four heads shifted in his direction.

“This document seems to show a transfer of six-hundred-thousand dollars from the county,” Finn said. “There is no document acknowledging the transfer, though. All the other monetary transfers have both documents.”

Sophie moved over to him, taking the sheet of paper so she could look at it more closely. “Yeah, this came in a packet from the county about four weeks ago.”

“Was it one of your FOI requests?” James asked.

“No, it was just in the general packet.”

The Hardy brothers exchanged confused looks. They were slightly out of their depth here. Mandy filled in the blanks for them. “Any time something is put on the agenda there has to be some sort of notification,” she explained. “It could be as simple as a written request from one of the commissioners. When it comes to financial stuff, the subcommittees usually supply the paperwork. All that paperwork is then copied and put into a packet – and anyone, including the general public, has access to that packet.”

“Who supplied that document?” James asked.

Sophie shrugged. “No one signed it. There’s no committee affiliation. It’s just a random sheet of paper.”

“It has numbers on top,” Finn pointed out.

“Yeah, I don’t know what those are,” Sophie said.

Mandy moved from the chair she’d been sitting in behind James’ desk and bent down so she could get a better look over Sophie’s shoulders. “These numbers?”

Sophie nodded.

“Those are county codes.”

James straightened in his chair. “What do you mean?”

“Each department in the county has codes built into their printers and fax machines,” Mandy replied. “Each department has their own code. You can’t send or print anything without the codes appearing at the top of the document.”

“Why?” James asked.

Mandy straightened back up. “For various reasons. Some are for budget, so the accounting department knows how much money is spent on paper and ink and stuff like that.

“It’s also a way to track correspondence,” Mandy added. “If someone forgets to sign something, you can check the master list to find out where it came from.”

“There’s a master list?” Sophie asked.

“Yeah.”

“Who has access to the list?”

“I know Judge MacIntosh has one,” Mandy said. “It’s in his office.”

“Will he let you look at it?” James asked.

“I don’t see why not. I can look Monday.”

James smiled widely, motioning for her to rejoin him. He shot Finn a triumphant look. “And you thought our team would be the slackers.”

Finn rolled his eyes as James wrapped Mandy in his arms, pulling her into his lap. “I’m the one who found the document,” he said.

“And my blonde angel is the one who can figure out where it came from,” James countered, rubbing his nose against her neck.

Finn made a face, turning to Grady for support. “Can you believe this?”

Grady shrugged. “He’s not wrong.”

EVERYONE
returned to their work – but that only lasted for about fifteen minutes. The constant kisses and heavy petting between James and Mandy became too much for Finn to bear at a certain point, and he sent them upstairs. Once they were gone, the three remaining members of their investigative team separated into different sections of the office to work.

Grady settled at the laptop on James’ desk, while Finn booted up another at the counter in the lobby. Sophie wasn’t sure what to do, so she perched on the corner of the desk and watched Grady work.

“What search engines are you using?”

“It’s a national database,” Grady replied. “It’s broad. It’s effective, but it takes a while.”

Sophie’s proximity to him was driving Grady to distraction. Again. Her lithe body was settled on the desk, only a few inches away – her toned, denim-clad thighs within touching distance – and yet he was forcing himself to remain focused on the computer screen.

Just breathe. She’s not on the menu, son. She’s not interested in you in that way.

Still, there was something about the way Sophie had been watching James and Mandy. Admittedly, the way they pawed at each other was mesmerizing in its simplicity. Even when you weren’t in their bubble, the emotion roiling off of them seeped into your very being.

Grady wasn’t a fool for love. He never would be. Even he found comfort in James and Mandy. He couldn’t explain it.

He wasn’t alone. Sophie obviously felt the same way. He wasn’t sure how to feel about the naked emotion reflected on her face as she watched them. So, he’d done what came naturally: He ignored it.

Grady was flummoxed. His body was screaming at him. He wanted to take Sophie to bed and not let her escape for days. Once wouldn’t be enough. A lost weekend, though? That sounded just about perfect.

On the flip side, they were working on something here. It was a real case. A big case. If he took her to bed for a weekend he would lose interest, and then where would she be?

Another glimpse at those thighs had his mind spiraling, pictures of them naked and wrapped around his waist running through his head.
Why did he care again?
If he bedded her, he would clearly lose interest, and then he would be off the hook.
Wasn’t that the best for everyone concerned?

“IT’S LATE.”

Sophie jumped when Grady spoke. He’d been engrossed in his work for at least two hours. She’d tired of watching over his shoulder at some point, grabbing the paper files she’d bought to pore over again.

Sophie glanced up at the clock on the wall. It
was
late. She stifled a yawn. “I should be going.”

“I’ll follow you home,” Grady offered.

Sophie was unsure. “You don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine.”

“I’ll follow you home,” Grady repeated, this time more emphatically.

Sophie sighed. “Suit yourself.”

Grady walked her out to her car, cautioning her to wait until he could follow. The ride back to Sophie’s house was long – and silent. She’d tried listening to the radio, the nonstop series of love songs clouding her mind to the point where she’d turned the dial all the way down and erased the sounds.

She was a mess.

Sexual attraction and basic need were starting to turn her into a ball of hormones she was having trouble controlling. She wasn’t used to the feeling and, when she tried to get a grasp on the emotions bubbling beneath her usually staid surface, her mind zipped in thirty different directions.

Grady Hardy is not an option for me!

Sophie shook her head defiantly. She was convinced watching James and Mandy together had corrupted her heart, made her weak. She just needed some sleep, some time to regroup. The truth was, even if she gave in to her needs and pulled Grady into her bed, she would never have what James and Mandy made look so easy.

Grady wasn’t built that way either. He didn’t want the relationship his brother made look so simple to the outside world.
Why am I torturing myself like this?

When Sophie parked in front of her house, she took a few seconds to catch her breath. She was home. She was safe. Her bed was less than a hundred feet away. If she could make it inside of the house she would be able to burrow under the comforter and approach tomorrow with a clear head.

Sophie jumped out of her car and moved toward the front door of her house, door key already in hand. She ignored the sound of Grady’s voice behind her. She couldn’t understand what he was saying, the blood rushing through her ear canal serving as a deterrent.

She jerked when she felt a hand on her arm. She glanced around, realizing Grady had jumped out of his truck – leaving the ignition running – and chased her to the door.

“What are you doing?”

Grady’s face was a mask of unexpressed emotion. “What are you doing?”

“Going to bed.”

Grady’s hand didn’t move from her arm as he straightened, looking left and right. “I … .”

“I need to go to bed,” Sophie said, fighting the urge to grab his face and press her lips against his. “I’m tired.”

GRADY
was stymied. Somewhere between Hardy Brothers Security and Sophie’s home, this beautiful woman seemed to have lost her shit.

He didn’t know why.

Well, that’s not true. He had a feeling he knew why. It was the same reason he felt like his insides were trying to make their way to the outside of his skin. She wanted him.

Unfortunately, for him, want had somehow turned to need without his realization. Need was coursing through his body, though. Need was propelling him. Need was … overtaking him.

“Let me walk you inside.” His voice was hoarse.

“I’m fine.”

“I’ll walk you inside.”

“I’m not a child,” Sophie argued. “I can walk myself inside.” She was adamant.

She wrenched her arm away from him and moved toward the door.

Let her go. She wants to go. You want to let her go.

He couldn’t let her go. Grady grabbed her arm again, forcefully pulling her to him. She opened her mouth – some mean admonishment on her lips – but Grady didn’t let her utter it.

His mouth covered hers, instinct taking over. Her lips were firm, unmoving at that first explosive contact. Then she sighed, parting her lips so his tongue could enter her warm orifice. The kiss was hot, full of desire, and Grady sank into it.

It was like coming home.

First kisses were supposed to be awkward, uncomfortable, full of fumbling and searching. There was none of that here. Sophie’s hands moved up Grady’s shoulders, rubbing them lightly before moving higher, finally settling into his hair. They gripped him desperately, pulling his mouth harder against hers.

Grady’s arms encircled Sophie’s narrow waist, pulling her body flush against his, and allowing him to grind his erection against her before he registered what was happening. His mind was busy. He needed to get her into the house, up that short set up stairs, and naked. His truck was still running … but … screw it. He’d call Finn for a jump and can of gas in the morning. He needed to get Sophie inside. And he needed to do it in the next three minutes or he was going to explode in his own pants.

Sophie was making mewling sounds in the base of her throat, grunting as their tongues tangled and her lips furiously made contact with his. He wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her against him as he tried to grab the key from her hand.

Sophie let him take it, clearly focused on their passion. After three tries, Grady realized he would never be able to get the key in the lock without looking at it. He reluctantly pulled his mouth from hers and focused on the lock.

The sudden distance was a mistake. When Grady finally got the key to fit into the lock, pushing the door open, he realized that Sophie had pulled away from him.

He glanced up at her, his gaze falling on her swollen lips – which she was running a finger over contemplatively. He didn’t like the thoughts he saw reflected in those exquisite brown eyes.

“I can’t.”

Grady blew out a sigh. “Why?”

“Because I’m not a one-night-stand girl,” Sophie admitted.

“You don’t seem like a relationship girl either,” Grady replied.

“I’m not, to a certain extent.”

Grady swallowed his upper lip. “What kind of girl are you?”

“A confused girl.”

Grady nodded. “We both want this. Don’t deny it.”

“I
do
want it,” Sophie said. “What I don’t want is to watch you just walk away. I need time to think.”

Grady swore under his breath. “Are you sure?”

“No.”

Grady tried to move toward her again, but she stopped him with a hand on his chest. “I’m not sure I’m ready for this either.”

Grady exhaled deeply. He wanted to argue with her. He wanted to change her mind. One look at her conflicted eyes, though, and he knew he couldn’t. He didn’t have anything to offer her besides a few nights of passion.

She deserved more than that.

He took a step back, increasing the distance between them. “I’ll call you tomorrow and tell you what we’ve uncovered.”

It took every ounce of energy that he had to walk away, but Grady managed the feat.

“I deserve a freaking medal,” he muttered as he closed the vehicle door and shifted the truck into reverse. “A gold fucking medal.”