Deadly Reunion (Hardy Brothers Security Book 20) (14 page)

“I want to know if you know what’s in the safety deposit box,” Emma replied.

“All I know is what the kid said,” Sheila replied. “He said his mom left him treasure. I believed him because David said she was rich. I knew David wasn’t going to settle down forever so I searched the house for the safety deposit box keys. I thought I might be able to open the box and empty it without David being the wiser, but Owen refused to let go of his. I was going to steal it from him if I could find the other key, but I never got that far.”

“What happened?” James asked.

“I found a huge jar full of keys out in the garage and I thought I hit the jackpot,” Sheila admitted. “I made the mistake of telling David’s driver about what I found and asked to hide the jar in the car until he took me home that night. He agreed, but when I got in the car the jar was gone and the driver pretended he had no idea what I was talking about. I was never invited back to David’s house again.”

James rubbed his chin as he considered the information. “That’s all? That’s your entire part in this?”

“Don’t look so disappointed,” Sheila said, chuckling hollowly. “I was always after money. That shouldn’t surprise you. I knew David wouldn’t keep me so I hoped to pave my own way. Owen was a spoiled little brat. He bragged about all of his money. I thought I could get in the safety deposit box and run away to start a new life. That obviously didn’t happen.”

“Who was the driver?” James asked.

“I honestly don’t remember,” Sheila said. “You’ll have to figure that one out on your own. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I believe I have some money coming to my account and I want to spend it.”

“Knock yourself out,” James muttered, frowning until Sheila left the room and then turning to Emma. “You did a great job.”

“What does it mean, though?” Jeff asked, rubbing Emma’s shoulders.

“It’s just another step along the trail,” James said. “Come on. I want to get back home and talk to Peter about this. If anyone knows who served as David Barber’s driver during that time period, it’s him.”

“
H
ey
, love of my life, how are things going here?”

James dropped a soft kiss on Mandy’s mouth as he walked in through the garage door. The trip back from the prison was long and Emma was largely silent, which left James and Jeff to pick up the conversational slack. James liked Jeff, but it was still a long afternoon.

“They’re okay,” Mandy said, slipping her arms around James’ waist and offering him a warm hug. “I missed you, though.”

“That bad, huh?” James tipped Mandy’s chin up so he could study her face. “What’s going on, baby? Did Finn give you fits?”

“He was fine,” Mandy said. “We had a nice talk. His belief in Emma is … amazing.”

“Are you saying my belief in you isn’t amazing?”

“Why does everything have to be a challenge?”

James shrugged. “I like to win,” he said. “I feel like I won the jackpot with you, so I want to keep on winning.”

“Oh, that was a good answer,” Mandy said, rubbing her nose against his cheek. “I promise you’ll win later if you’re a good boy.”

“I plan on being a very good boy,” James said. “Where are Emma and Jeff? They hopped out in front of the house while I parked in the garage. Emma practically raced inside. Was that to see Finn or Avery?”

“Both,” Mandy replied. “Finn and Avery fell asleep on the mattress together an hour ago, though. It was cute. Finn propped Avery up and talked to him for like two hours straight. It was like two old men having a conversation on the front porch. All they were missing was rocking chairs.”

“That does sound cute,” James said. “Emma won’t be happy about that. I think she wants to hold the baby.”

“I think she probably wants to hold Finn, too, but she won’t wake them,” Mandy said. “What about Sheila? Did she give you anything?”

“Besides indigestion?”

Mandy waited, feigning patience. She was used to her husband’s dramatic flair.

“She gave us something,” James said, recounting the brief story about the keys. “Now we have to find out who this driver was. I called Peter on the way back. He’s coming over for dinner. Since he doesn’t trust our food choices, he’s making his chef cook for everyone and transporting it here.”

“Fancy,” Mandy said, grinning. “I guess that leaves me more time to spend with you since I won’t be slaving over a hot stove.”

“When have you ever slaved over a hot stove?”

Mandy scowled. “I cook you breakfast all of the time.”

“And you make a mean omelet, baby, but that’s pretty much the only thing you can cook.”

“Fine, then I won’t
cook
for you upstairs tonight,” Mandy huffed, crossing her arms over her chest.

“Oh, baby, don’t be like that,” James whined. “I’ve had a long day. I don’t need you to cook. Well, I don’t need you to cook food. I do need you to do that other cooking you were talking about, but that’s a whole other story.”

Mandy let loose with an exaggerated sigh. “What happened with Emma?”

“She was fine,” James said. “She was strong, in fact. She laid down the law and didn’t mess around. Her mother, on the other hand, told her she was fat and was really excited when she thought Emma traded up for me.”

“I hate that woman,” Mandy muttered, annoyed. “Emma is not fat.”

“What about the part about trading up for me?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Mandy said, her voice taking on a mischievous tone. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Oh, man.” James made a face as he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Baby, I can’t take deep questions right now.”

“It will just be a quick one.”

“Fine, baby. If it requires a drawn out answer, though, I’m running away from home for a few hours.”

“Okay.” Mandy licked her lips and pasted an enigmatic smile on her face. James had never seen it before so he had no idea how to read it. “Do you think I should cook for you tonight even though you’ve been complaining to your brothers about the questions I ask? Personally, I’m thinking you should starve.”

“Son of a … .” James pressed his lips together and glared in the direction of the den. “Everyone in this family has a big mouth.”

“Including you.”

“Oh, baby, you know I love your questions,” James said. “I just … would a massage and viewing of
Jaws
make you happy?”

Mandy patted James’ chest as he swooped in to give her a kiss. She knew it was an effort to distract her so she averted her mouth and sidestepped him. “It’s a start. We’ll see how the night goes from there.”

M
ANDY
found
Emma sitting on the back patio a few minutes later, the auburn-haired siren’s gaze focused on the trees behind the house. She looked lost in thought.

“Do you want company or would you prefer being alone?”

Emma’s smile was small but genuine when she flashed it in Mandy’s direction. “I would love company,” she said. “I ran into the house because I thought I would be able to see Finn and Avery, but they’re both down for the count.”

“You could wake Finn up. I’m sure he wouldn’t mind.” Even as she said the words Mandy knew Emma wouldn’t do anything of the sort.

“He needs his rest,” Emma said. “The doctor said the wound wasn’t serious, but he still has to take it easy. He can’t wear himself out. Worrying about me is taking a lot out of him.”

“You might not believe this, but he did very little worrying about you today,” Mandy offered. “In fact, I was the one worrying because I was afraid James would explode all over your mother and Finn was the one who said it would be fine.”

“Really?”

“Finn thinks you’re the strongest person he knows and he loves you more than anything,” Mandy said. “He said he wasn’t worried about you seeing your mother because he thought it would be good for you.”

“It
was
good for me,” Emma acknowledged. “Seeing her was … like closing a door and locking it. There’s no way she can shove a toe into my life again. There’s no way she can push her way through that door.”

“That’s good,” Mandy said. “I was a little worried, but the only thing Finn was upset about was not being with you. Oh, and he was a little agitated because he thought you asked me to hover.”

Emma snorted. “Did you hover?”

“I sat with him and Avery for a bit,” Mandy replied. “Finn is so good with that baby. He makes him laugh and he cuddles him all of the time. They’re beautiful together.”

“Does seeing them together make you want to have a baby?” Emma asked, genuinely curious.

“No. I’m pretty sure I don’t have a maternal bone in my body.”

“I don’t think that’s true because I’ve seen you with Avery,” Emma said. “If you don’t want a baby, though, you shouldn’t have one. They’re a lot of work. The reward is great, don’t get me wrong, but you and James seem happy with the life you’ve built.”

“We are happy,” Mandy agreed. “How was he with Sheila?”

“Mad.”

Mandy smiled. “How was he with you?”

“Wonderful.”

“How was he with Jeff?”

“He’s good with Jeff,” Emma said. “They talked about sports. I wasn’t in a chatty mood on the way home so he had to fill in all of the conversational gaps. He did well, though. He’s a good man.”

“He is a good man,” Mandy agreed. “I’m still going to make him pay for gossiping about my questions with Finn. I don’t like gossip.”

Emma’s laughter was so loud it jarred Mandy. “You don’t like gossip?” she challenged. “You just gossiped with me about what Finn said while I was gone.”

“That was different,” Mandy protested. “I didn’t want you worrying about him. I thought you should know he’s proud of you.”

“You also gossip with Ally every chance you get,” Emma pointed out. “You two can’t help yourselves.”

“Yes, well … that’s beside the point.” Mandy crossed her arms over her chest. “Certain gossip is okay. The stuff about my drooling and questions is not.”

“Whatever,” Emma said, giggling. “You just like having fake fights so you can make up. I think it’s cute.”

“Well, it won’t be so cute tonight when I make him massage me for an hour.”

“It will still be cute then,” Emma said, shifting her eyes back to the trees. “Did James tell you what my mother said?”

“He did,” Mandy confirmed, sobering. “What do you think?”

“I think if she’d gotten her way she would’ve taken off with Owen Parker’s money and Jeff and I never would’ve been born.”

“That’s not what happened, though,” Mandy said. “You’re here and you’re wonderful. You can’t focus on what-ifs because it will drive you insane.”

“I’m not focusing on it as much as I am pondering it,” Emma clarified. “If we were never born and my mother wasn’t around to cover for him, my father might not have hurt as many children as he did.”

“And if you were never born then Finn would never be happy and Avery wouldn’t exist,” Mandy argued. “If you were never born this world would be a much sadder place.”

“You’re good for my ego,” Emma said, squeezing Mandy’s hand. “I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“Well, you don’t have to worry about that because I’ll always be here,” Mandy said. “You remind me of James, though. I just now realized it.”

Emma arched a perfectly manicured eyebrow. “How?”

“He dwells on things like this, too,” Mandy explained. “He’s still asking himself what would’ve happened if he hadn’t left the day your father found us in the guesthouse. He blames himself for what happened.”

“Who do you blame?” Emma asked.

“Your father. There’s no one else to blame.”

“And see, if I was in your position, I’m not sure I wouldn’t blame me,” Emma said. “He was my father. He came for me. You delivered my baby and were willing to die for me. You had to kill him to protect us. How can you not blame me?”

“Because you didn’t cause any of this,” Mandy replied. “Emma, you can’t go through life wondering how things would be different if you changed one thing. You’ll drive yourself crazy. I don’t wonder how things would’ve been different if I didn’t go out on the driveway the day before the wedding to talk down the guy who was going to shoot James. I also don’t wonder if that girl we saved during the final fight at that drug house in Mount Clemens would’ve died if I hadn’t been drugged in that haunted house, which ultimately caused James to get fixated on the case.

“We don’t live in a world where you can change the past,” she continued. “You have to let that stuff go. You have to look toward the future. You and James struggle with that, and I really wish you would just let it go.”

“That’s an interesting way of looking at things,” Emma said, smiling. “I … .” She broke off when she heard Avery’s plaintive wail from inside the house. “My boys are up.”

“Go spend some time with them,” Mandy encouraged, keeping her smile in place until Emma was safely inside the house. Only then did she let it slip.

“You’re good with her,” Jeff said, appearing at the edge of the patio. Mandy had no idea where he’d come from – or how long he’d been listening – but his appearance surprised her.

“She’s good with everyone,” Mandy said. “She’s struggling a little bit right now. Everything seems overwhelming. She’ll be fine, though. She’s strong.”

“She is strong,” Jeff agreed, joining Mandy at the table. “I don’t think I realized how strong she was until I was forced to be away from her. Now I look at her and don’t even see the scared teenager I knew back before I went to prison.”

“She was strong then, too, but you were her rock,” Mandy said. “Emma has never said anything bad about you. You’re her hero. You made a mistake, Jeff. You were young and terrified. You were trying to do right by Emma. It’s okay to let that go. I have a feeling you hold onto things too long – like your sister – and that’s just going to haunt you if you let it.”

“I was only her hero because she had no one else to take care of her,” Jeff said. “You’re her hero now.”

“I wouldn’t go that far.” Mandy chuckled and shook her head. “I think Finn is her hero.”

“She loves Finn beyond words, but you’re still her hero,” Jeff said. “You saved her. You saved Avery.”

Mandy averted her eyes, uncomfortable with the sudden shift in the conversation. “Did she tell you about that?”

“Finn did,” Jeff answered. “James and I talked about it a little bit, too.”

“Do you have something you want to ask me?” Mandy asked, forcing her tone to remain even.

“Did he say anything before you killed him?”

“We were grappling for the knife and it went into his chest,” Mandy explained. “He made a gurgling sound and then died. He didn’t speak.”

“Did you feel … relief … when it happened?”

“I was more shocked than anything else,” Mandy said. “I was prepared to die to save Emma and the baby. I … told Emma to make sure James knew I loved him. I didn’t know what else to do.”

“You saved my sister and nephew,” Jeff said. “You did the only thing you could.”

“I still killed him.”

“Maybe you should let that go,” Jeff suggested, glancing up to find James watching the scene from the open doorway between the patio and house. “You should take your own advice and let the bad stuff go, because you did a good thing and it shouldn’t eat you up.”

Jeff squeezed Mandy’s hand as he rose.

“Just for the record, though, you’re my hero, too.” Jeff offered James a wan smile as he moved past him into the house.

James didn’t comment as he joined his wife, instead slipping his arms under her legs and tugging her onto his lap.

“I’m fine, James,” Mandy said. “I’m not going to cry or anything.”

“That’s good,” James said. “You know I hate it when you cry.”

“Yes.”

“Hey, baby?”

“What?”

“You’re my hero, too,” James said, tugging her close and rocking her small body as the tears she’d been fighting overflowed. “You can also ask me however many questions you want to ask tonight. I’ll answer every one.”