Read Deadly Reunion (Hardy Brothers Security Book 20) Online
Authors: Lily Harper Hart
“
H
ow is he
?”
Peter’s face was a mask of concern when he found James in the hospital lobby three hours later. Paramedics arrived on the scene quickly, transporting Jeff and Emma to safety in an ambulance while everyone else remained behind to wait for the police and answer questions. They’d only been released to check on Jeff thirty minutes before.
“He’s in surgery,” James said. “The doctor wouldn’t give us any promises, but his prognosis is good.”
“And Emma?”
“She’s strong,” James answered. “She’ll be okay.”
“You’re all strong,” Peter said. “Your strength comes from love, and that’s what a person like Sexton can never understand.”
“I hope so,” James said. “Emma may be stronger than most, but I don’t think even she can survive losing Jeff after everything that’s happened.”
“
W
OW
,
I can’t believe you all stayed.”
Jeff’s voice was thick with sleep and medication as he studied the assembled faces in his hospital room later that night. The doctor warned that the visit would have to be kept short, but when he tried to keep everyone out, the uproar was so loud he had no choice but to back down.
“Of course we stayed,” James said. “We had to make sure you were okay. You’re part of the family, after all.”
“Still? I wasn’t sure you’d want to keep me around.” Jeff looked exhausted, his features pale. The smile he flashed in James’ direction was full of hope, though.
“Of course I’m sure,” James said. “We all make mistakes. You’re going to be okay and we’re going to be okay. We’ll start anew when you get out of here.”
“We’ve already placed a call to your parole officer so he knows what happened and that you’re not skipping appointments,” Finn added. “He’s going to come here to check on you, but he was fine with setting up a new schedule when you’re well. We promised to keep an eye on you.”
“That’s good,” Jeff said. “What happened with Sexton?”
“He’s in custody, although I have my doubts he’ll survive until trial,” Peter replied. “I’ve been to see David while you were in surgery and explained everything that happened. He’s not pleased … to say the least.”
“What about the key?” Jeff asked, knitting his eyebrows together. “It’s still in the basement. I told you it was in the basement, right? I think I did.”
“You told me in the ambulance,” Emma said, clasping Jeff’s hand as Finn stood behind her and rubbed her shoulders. “I told James and Finn when they arrived.”
“And I had Sven and Rodrigo search the basement until they found the key,” Peter added. “I delivered it to David myself. I figured he should be the one to open the box, although he’s going to need to get Owen’s key from Sexton to do that.”
“Do you think he will?” James asked.
“I don’t know,” Peter replied honestly. “He may be curious, but there’s nothing that will bring his son back. He may just let it go. Perhaps the real treasure is in knowing that Owen got joy from the mere idea his mother left him something special.”
“I guess that’s something,” James said, resting his hand on Mandy’s back. “Don’t worry about work either, Jeff. We’ve got a plan in place for your recovery and you can take as much time as you need before getting back to work. Grady is going to do inventory.”
Grady groaned. “Great.”
“Yes, and I’ve even found a small house for you,” Peter said. “I sold it to James so there won’t be any issues with your parole officer.”
“I can’t accept that,” Jeff protested.
“Besides, he’s coming home with me for the first few weeks,” Emma argued. “I need to take care of him.”
“Ah, finally someone for her to hover over that isn’t me,” Finn said, flashing an impish grin.
“I can still focus on you while Jeff is in the hospital,” Emma shot back. “Don’t worry about that.”
“I can’t wait, sweetie,” Finn said, pressing his lips together. “I’m really looking forward to it.”
Everyone in the room chuckled but Jeff didn’t look pleased with the gentle teasing.
“I can’t let you buy a house for me to live in,” Jeff said. “That’s too much.”
“We bought the house as a safe house,” James clarified. “You can live there until you’re back on your feet. We won’t be needing it anytime soon. I hope that’s the case, at least. If we have a quiet few weeks that would be the best thing for everyone.”
“Indeed,” Peter said.
“What about Mom?” Emma asked, turning to Peter. “I didn’t even ask how things went with her.”
“She wasn’t pleased with the visit and she was downright hateful when she realized all of the money had been removed from her commissary account, but she came to see reason,” Peter answered, causing Sophie to snort. “I think she’s going to be extremely miserable going forward.”
“That’s good news,” Emma said. “Now we just have to get Jeff home so I can take care of him and Finn.”
“Oh, man,” Finn muttered. “I need a drink.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Emma warned. “I can only take so much.”
“Yes, sweetie.”
“You don’t have to take care of me, Emma,” Jeff said. “I don’t expect you to drop everything for me.”
“Why not? You dropped everything for me when we were kids.”
“Yeah, and look how that turned out,” Jeff said dryly. “You have a life now. You have a family.”
“And you’re a part of it,” Emma said. “You’re a big part of it. You’re my brother and I love you.”
“And that means she’s going to smother you with health food and attention,” Finn added, earning a reproachful glare from his fiancée. “Which is a good thing.”
“I don’t know what to say,” Jeff said. “I … you guys are amazing.”
“We’re just people trying to make it through the day,” James corrected. “Like everyone else … like you … we make mistakes. We move past them, though.” James ran his thumb down Mandy’s cheek as he smiled. “We let things go when it’s time to do it. You need to do that, too, Jeff.”
“That’s a good attitude to have,” Peter said.
“Besides that, Jeff, I’ve arranged for Emma to have help taking care of you once you come home,” James said, straightening. “As much as she loves to hover and dote, with a baby … and my baby brother … she’s still going to have her hands full so I hired a private nurse to give her a hand.”
“You did?” Emma looked relieved … and also a little excited. “Can I boss her around?”
“Sure, but she’s meant to be there for Jeff,” James said. “That’s why I hired someone with a tiny uniform and ample … um … assets.”
Mandy frowned when she realized what James was saying. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, baby, you can’t be angry,” James said, fighting the urge to smirk when he saw Jake, Finn, and Grady silently laughing into their hands. “When a man is shot he needs a sexy nurse to take care of him. Finn had Emma, and while Emma wants to take care of Jeff it’s not as much fun when the sexy nurse is your sister.”
“You’re sick,” Emma said, shaking her head. “I am not going to allow Jeff to get overly excited when he’s recovering. What were you thinking?”
“That the best part of being hurt is looking forward to someone taking care of you,” James replied, not missing a beat. “Finn had you. I had Mandy. Jeff needs someone, too. Since he doesn’t have a lady love to lock him down, I figured he needed someone … stimulating … to make sure he was focused on getting better.”
“That sounds good to me,” Jeff said, causing everyone to laugh.
“And how did you find this nurse with the ample assets?” Mandy asked. “Did you do interviews when I wasn’t looking?”
“Well, funnily enough, Peter helped me there,” James said, causing a multitude of heads to snap in Peter’s direction. “He’s the one man I know who can make anything happen with a snap of his fingers. I think you might’ve been right about that man crush, baby.”
“Oh, men are so gross,” Sophie said, shaking her head. “All of my illusions are shattered.”
“I took you to the petting zoo and bought you ice cream,” Peter pointed out. “What more do you want?”
“I met the nurse in the lobby to give her a few details and I think you’re going to be really pleased, Jeff,” James added, shifting uncomfortably as Mandy stared him down. “She’s blonde and has a mouth like a sailor. I’m a big fan of that type of woman … as you can probably tell.”
“You are in big trouble!” Mandy moved to chase James out of the room. “That’s right, you’d better run.”
“As long as you catch me, wife, that seems like the best offer I’ve had all day.”
The laughter that followed their antics was full and hearty … and so was everyone’s hearts. Things didn’t go as planned, but the future looked bright for everyone and that was all they could ask for.
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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
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