Deadly Secrets (Hardy Brothers Security Book 11) (9 page)

Jake let himself into Ally’s house a few hours later, his shoulders heavy from hours of research in front of the computer. Unfortunately for him, the work had mostly been in vain. He’d left the search engine running back at the office, hopeful something would pop up, but for now he was at a dead end.

The best thing for a bad mood was waiting for him when he entered.

“Hey, angel.”

“Hi,” Ally said brightly, throwing her arms around his neck. “I missed you all day.”

“I missed you, too,” Jake said, kissing her neck. “How was work?”

“Boring. How is the motorcycle? Did you fix it?”

Jake stilled. “I didn’t get a chance,” he said. “I ended up going into the office.”

“Why?”

“Well, Emma and Finn were there looking around, and I forgot I had some billables to enter … the day just kind of got away from me.” That wasn’t a lie, he told himself. It was mostly the truth. Oh, who was he kidding? He was lying to her. He didn’t know what else to do. If he told her the truth, he would have to tell her … everything. He’d promised never to tell everyone the true story regarding Cameron Mitchell. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to tell her. It was more that he didn’t want to see the disappointed look on her face when he did.

“You’re such a workaholic,” Ally said. “I guess you deserve the extra-special dinner I cooked for you.”

“You cooked?”

“I made seafood Alfredo, fresh bread, and a nice salad.”

Jake was impressed. Ally could cook whenever she wanted – and it was always delicious. She usually opted to call and task him with picking up takeout. “You went all out. Can I ask why?”

“I’m just … happy,” Ally said. “You caught me spying and bought me flowers instead of yelling. We took the best shower ever this morning. I wanted to reward you.”

“Life with you is a reward, angel,” Jake said. “You don’t have to cook for me.”

“Well, I did,” Ally said, grabbing his hand and dragging him toward the kitchen. “I can’t wait for you to try it.”

“I can’t wait to try it.”

After settling at the table and filling his plate, Jake watched Ally enthusiastically attack her own creation. Apparently she was happy with the outcome because she dug in with gusto. “So, how is the apartment looking?”

“It’s nice,” Jake said. “The pool table is still up there for a few days, but once they get that out of there it’s going to be a nice spot to raise the baby.”

“I thought that was already out of there. It’s such an eyesore.”

“They can’t until the storeroom is updated.”

“That’s just going to be a room where you guys hang out and talk about women all day, isn’t it?”

Jake snorted. “Probably.”

“As long as Emma is happy, it’s a good thing,” Ally said. “By the way, I’m buying two car seats for her. Do you want to put your name on the card?”

Jake was surprised by the offer. “Sure. I can pay for them.”

“I already reserved two,” Ally said. “I’ve got it.”

“That doesn’t seem fair,” Jake said. “Maybe I should get them something separate.”

“You don’t have to put your name on the card.”

Jake rolled his eyes. “That’s not what I meant. You have a big family, and you’re going to buy them a lot of stuff they’ll need. Emma doesn’t have a lot of family, though. If we spread it out between everyone, she won’t feel as bad for getting so many big gifts.”

Ally’s face softened. “You would really do that?”

“Of course I would,” Jake said. “I’m kind of excited to see the kid, too. I happen to love babies.”

“That’s refreshing given the disinterest of Mandy, James Grady and Sophie regarding children.”

“Grady and Sophie might still have kids.”

“I don’t think they’re going to,” Ally said. “If they have kids, I think they’re going to adopt.”

The statement surprised Jake. “Really?”

“Sophie keeps saying she doesn’t feel right adding to the world when there are so many unwanted kids out there,” Ally said. “She was a foster child, and if it hadn’t been for Peter, I shudder to think how her life would’ve turned out.”

“That’s some keen insight, angel,” Jake said. “I’ve never really considered that before. You’re probably right.” He watched Ally for a moment. “Would you ever consider adopting?”

It was a serious question. “Probably,” she said. “I would want to have children of my own, too, though.”

“You’re already beautiful, but I’ll bet you’d be something to behold while pregnant.”

“I’m something to behold regardless.”

Jake smirked. “You are at that.”

“What else did you do today?”

Jake pressed his lips together. “I ran a few errands. I didn’t do a lot.”

“What do you want to do tonight?”

He shrugged. “I’m honestly exhausted. I was hoping we could just watch some television and then go to bed.”

“That’s exactly what I had in mind,” Ally said, shooting him a flirty wink.

“I guess it’s good we’re on the same page then.”

“COME
on, angel,” Jake said, slipping his arms under Ally’s sleeping form and lifting her from the couch. “We need to go to bed.”

“I fell asleep,” Ally said, rubbing her eyes. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay. It wasn’t a very good movie.”

Jake carried Ally into the bedroom and settled her on the bed, pulling the covers over her before climbing in beside her and killing the light. “Goodnight, angel.” He kissed the side of her head.

Ally shifted so she was facing him, brushing her lips against his chin and wrapping her arm around his waist. “I didn’t mean to fall asleep.”

“I think I’ll forgive you, just this once,” Jake said, kissing her lightly.

Ally moved her hand across Jake’s chest, slipping it lower until she was at the lip of his boxer shorts. “I’m willing to make up for my lapse.”

Jake captured her hand in his and pressed her fingertips against his lips. “I’m exhausted,” he said. “Rain check?”

Ally stilled. He’d never turned her down before. Not once. “S-s-ure.”

“Good. Sleep well, angel.”

“I … you, too.”

Jake felt her relax in his arms, and he pressed his chin against her forehead as he focused on falling asleep. He was weary, but it wasn’t his body screaming for rest. His mind was busy. It was too busy. He couldn’t get the idea of Cameron Mitchell out of his head.

The more Jake thought about it, the more worried he was. If Mitchell could find Cara, he would eventually find Jake. If he did, the first thing he would figure out was that Ally was his Achilles heel. If he really wanted to hurt Jake, physical pain and death wouldn’t be the best way to go. No, the best way to go was through his heart.

Jake tightened his arms around Ally. He wouldn’t let anyone hurt her. That was the only thing he could say with absolute certainty right now. He would die to protect her.

ALLY
woke the next morning and immediately reached across the bed so she could feel Jake’s reassuring warmth. She found an empty spot instead. She rolled over, surprised.

“Jake?”

She listened but didn’t hear an answer.

“Jake?”

Still nothing. Ally climbed out of bed and headed straight for the bathroom, figuring she would find him there. The small room was empty, but evidence of a shower was damp and hanging on the towel rack.

Ally walked down the hallway, hoping to find him sitting at the kitchen table with the morning paper and a mug of coffee. He wasn’t there either.
Where is he?
Ally moved to the front window, her heart plummeting when she saw the empty spot in the driveway. His truck was gone, which meant he was gone.

He’d left her alone in bed. He’d left her without saying goodbye.

Ally wandered back into the kitchen, a sheet of paper on the counter catching her attention. She picked it up and studied it, gritting her teeth together as she read it.

I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t want to wake you. I’ll call you later. Jake.

Ally frowned, flipping the sheet of paper over, hoping against hope he’d left her a hidden message on the other side. There was nothing.

Ally tilted her head, cracking her neck as a new emotion washed over her. It wasn’t hurt, liked she’d expected. Well, a little of it was hurt. No, what she was feeling now was anger – and it was aimed directly at Jake.

“THAT
sounds … brief,” Mandy said, cradling her phone between her neck and shoulder as she arranged the files on her desk at the county courthouse. Since she was a clerk, she had to be at work early. Ally was still at home fuming when she called her best friend.

“Do you think?”

Mandy sighed. Ally was in a mood. She couldn’t see her, but she could sense the tension over the phone. “Maybe he had something he had to do. They’ve got some new cases they’re working on.”

“Well, he certainly didn’t do me last night.”

“It’s okay to miss a night of sex.”

“When was the last time you had your hand on James’ boxers and he told you he was too tired for sex?” Ally asked.

Mandy racked her brain. “Um … .”

“That’s right, never,” Ally said.

“We don’t have sex every night, Ally.”

“Really? How often don’t you have sex?”

Mandy licked her lips, buying time. “Whenever I’m on my period.” She didn’t tell Ally James was willing to ignore that little blip and she was the one who put the brakes on when the monthly inconvenience reared its ugly head.

“That doesn’t count,” Ally said. “I’m talking about a normal night. When was the last time you didn’t have sex?”

“I don’t know,” Mandy said. “I don’t keep track.”

“I’ve seen your day planner,” Ally deadpanned. “You put little smiley faces on every night when you do it. Most nights have more than one smiley face.”

“Oh.”

“You didn’t think I knew that, did you?”

“I think it’s weird that you know that.”

“You did it in middle school, too,” Ally said.

“I wasn’t having sex in middle school.”

“You did it for when you saw James in the hallway,” Ally said. “Don’t be ridiculous. You just drew little hearts when you saw him.”

Mandy faltered. “I honestly didn’t know you knew that. Why didn’t you say something?”

“I didn’t want to embarrass you,” Ally said. “You thought I didn’t know about your crush on James. It was kind of cute.”

“Ally, I think you’re reading too much into this,” Mandy said. “Maybe he really was tired.”

“He’s going to break up with me.”

“We’ve been through this before,” Mandy said. “You thought he was going to break up with you when he was working undercover at that warehouse, too. You thought he was cheating. He wasn’t going to break up with you, and he wasn’t cheating on you.”

“No, he was just lying to me.”

“About something totally innocuous,” Mandy pointed out.

“So, you’re saying he’s not going to break up with me,” Ally said. “You think he’s just lying to me.”

“That’s not what I said.”

“No, it’s fine,” Ally said, dismissive. “I know what’s wrong now. Jake is keeping something from me.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Oh, I know exactly that,” Ally said. “I cooked him a romantic dinner and tried to get into his boxers and he stopped me. There’s no other explanation. He’s either going to break up with me or he’s lying to me. I know what to do now. Thanks.”

“What are you going to do?”

Ally’s phone went dead.

“Crap,” Mandy muttered. “This is going to be a complete and total mess. I just know it.”

“I think we should put one of those gates at the bottom of the stairs,” Grady said, studying the stairwell that separated the first and second floors of Hardy Brothers Security.

“Gates?” James was confused. The construction workers were upstairs putting the finishing touches on the apartment, and now Grady was in “protective uncle” mode.

“You know, so they can’t wander out when your head is turned and get kidnapped or run over by a car.”

James balked. “What are you watching on television?”

“Nothing,” Grady replied. “I’ve just been reading the newspaper a lot more since I started living with Sophie, and there are a lot of bad people out there. There’s also a lot of tragic accidents.”

James arched an eyebrow. “You’re going to be one of
those
uncles, aren’t you?”

“What?”

“You’re going to be like an abrasive mother hen. It’s fine. That leaves the slot for the fun uncle open.”

Grady made a face. “Do you want the kid to tumble down the stairs and bash his head in?”

“Wouldn’t it make more sense to put the gate at the top of the stairs then?”

“Probably.”

“We’ll put two of them up,” James conceded. “We’ll build a corral for the kid.”

Grady smirked. “I hate to admit it, but I’m kind of excited for the baby to show up.”

“We still have a few months to wait.”

“I know. It’s just exciting. Emma has a human being inside of her. It’s going to be a little mixture of her and Finn.”

“I hope it looks like her,” James said.

“Me, too.”

James studied Grady for a moment. “Does Emma being pregnant make you want a kid?”

Grady shifted, uncomfortable. “If I say no, does that make me a bad person?”

“No.”

“I … the idea of having a nephew or niece to spoil sounds kind of fun,” Grady said. “I like the idea of being able to take it for an afternoon – maybe a trip to the zoo or something – and buying it a bunch of stuff.”

“But?”

“I also like the idea of dropping it back off with Emma and Finn and then going home and spending the entire night in the hot tub with Sophie and a bottle of wine.”

James smirked. “I know what you mean,” he said. “There are times when I look at Emma and Finn, how excited they are, and I think a kid wouldn’t be so bad. Then I take one look at my wife in her skimpy little outfits and I think, if we have a kid, naked Sundays are going to be off the table.”

“A niece or nephew is the best of both worlds,” Grady said. “You can play with the kid, fill it full of sugar, and then hand it off to the parents for the bad stuff.”

James grinned. “I already have one baby, and I don’t want another.”

“Speaking of, how did things work out when you wrestled her back into the house the other day?”

“Well, I had to take a bath and give her an hour-long massage … .”

“Ah, the classics,” Grady teased.

“Then she still wouldn’t stop ranting so I had to stick something in her mouth to shut her up,” James said.

“Chocolate?”

“Nope.”

“You two are so sick,” Grady said, but he couldn’t stop himself from laughing. “How is she now?”

“Happy that Cara is gone from our lives.”

Grady glanced around the office, making sure it was still just the two of them, and then lowered his voice. “Do you think there’s something weird about that woman?”

“I think she’s still carrying a torch for Jake.”

“What about him?”

“I think he’s a nice guy who doesn’t want to be mean to her,” James said. “I also think he’s in love with Ally, even if he hasn’t admitted it to himself or her yet.”

“That kills you to say, doesn’t it?”

James pursed his lips. “For a long time, I worried Ally would keep flitting around and wasting her time on the wrong guys,” he said. “Then, the minute she saw Jake, I started worrying about the exact opposite thing.”

“It was pretty instantaneous with her,” Grady said. “Within five minutes she had Mandy checking to see if he was wearing a wedding ring.”

“I thought I was imagining it at first,” James said. “Mandy was convinced they liked each other, but Jake was standoffish. I thought it would pass.”

“I think Jake was standoffish because of us,” Grady said. “You don’t want to date your new boss’s sister.”

“No,” James agreed. “I think it was more than that, though. I think Jake was living a shadow life when we first met him. He was haunted by stuff – we know how that goes – and he was just trying to get by. Ally made it impossible for him to keep living in that shadow world.”

“She doesn’t take no for an answer.”

“No, she doesn’t,” James agreed. “I think Jake fought it as long as he could, though.”

“And then he gave in and you saw them having sex,” Grady said.

“Thank you so much for reminding me of that.”

“You’re welcome.”

James shot Grady a look and then moved toward his empty office. “I guess I should catch up on some paperwork. We only have some minor stuff going on this week, which I’m thankful for. After working all weekend, I’m looking forward to spending some time with my wife.”

“If you two were any more codependent, you’d have to tie yourselves to one another,” Grady said.

“I know this is only giving you ammunition, but I actually considered doing just that after she was taken in New Orleans.”

“Well, that was different,” Grady said, his face softening. “If that happened to Sophie, I would tie her to me and hide in bed for a week. You got right back up on the horse and gave Mandy what she needed: a wax museum and a haunted bayou ride.”

James snorted. “She loved both of them.”

“She bounces back pretty quickly,” Grady said. “Even getting blown up didn’t stop her.”

“It almost stopped me, though.” James shook himself out of his melancholy. “Anyway, I’m going to get my work done and head home early to surprise her.”

“Are you going to be naked?”

“Probably.” James tapped a few keys on his computer and then peered closer to the screen. “Are you running a search?”

“Dude, the only thing I’m doing today is pretending to work. Why? What is it?”

“I’m not sure,” James said. “Have you ever heard of Cameron Mitchell?”

“No.”

“We don’t have any new clients no one has told me about, do we?”

“I haven’t taken any,” Grady said. “Maybe it’s something Jake is working on. Finn has been more interested in the new apartment than anything else, so I think it has to be him.”

“Speak of the devil,” James murmured, lifting his head as Jake stepped into the office.

Jake seemed surprised to see them. “Hey. I didn’t expect you guys in here so early today,” he said.

“I’m trying to get done early,” James said. “What are you doing here? I told you that we didn’t have a lot and you could take the bulk of the week off.”

“I just figured I would stop by.”

Grady’s gaze bounced between his brother and Jake. “I’m going to go,” he said. “I don’t feel like working.”

James waved him off, never moving his gaze from Jake. When it was just the two of them, James gestured toward the computer. “Are you running a search?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

Jake sat down in one of the chairs across from James’ desk, his face serious as he regarded the man who had come to be his best friend. “He’s a guy I used to know when I was in the military.”

James waited.

“He wasn’t a good guy, and I just wanted to see what happened to him,” Jake said, internally cursing himself for the lie. Part of him wanted to tell James what was going on. The other part didn’t want him involved. It wasn’t James’ battle to fight. “I’m sorry. I should have asked first.”

“I don’t care about that,” James said. “I’m just curious. What’s this guy’s deal?”

“He was running heroin in and out of Afghanistan in mail bins,” Jake said. “He was arrested and convicted, but I heard he ended up getting released on a technicality. I just wanted to see what he was up to.”

“This bothers you,” James said. “Why?”

“I’m not a big fan of guys abusing the system,” Jake said. “I … it bugs me. When I was with the military police, I was originally angry about being shuttled there. I thought I should be out in the field. In the end, though, it ended up being a good thing for me.”

“Why did they put you there?”

“I think they just wanted to give me some perspective,” Jake said.

“What happened?”

“I … it was just an op that went wrong,” Jake said. “Very wrong. I was in charge, and I was the only one who came back in one piece.”

“I know how that feels,” James said. “It’s hard to put behind you.”

Jake searched James’ face, momentarily conflicted. “Do you ever dream about it?”

“I used to,” James said. “I don’t now. Have you been dreaming about it?”

“I did last night,” Jake said. “It was the first time in months. I used to dream about it all the time. I thought that was behind me.”

“I used to dream about being overseas every night when I first got back,” James said. “I handled it the way any man would: I went out to bars and had sex with random women.

“It wasn’t until after I opened the security business that things started to shift,” he continued. “The dreams still came, but they were more … intermittent.”

“When did you finally shake them?”

“When I found something blonde to take their place.”

Jake rubbed his forehead, pushing his dark hair out of his face. “Are you saying Mandy cured all of your nightmares?”

“I’m saying that she somehow managed to fill what needed filling in me,” James said. “Once I had her, she started smoothing some frayed edges. I’m not saying I never have nightmares, but they’re not generally about the war now.”

“What are they about?”

“Well, she’s been stalked, kidnapped, blown up and almost died in a fire,” James said. “I usually have nightmares about her now, and in all of them the big problem is that I can’t keep her safe.”

“I have those nightmares about Ally, too,” Jake said. “I worry about her sometimes.”

“Because she’s so mouthy?”

“Because it would kill me to lose her.”

“Everyone has those nightmares,” James said. “The women do, too. After I was shot, Mandy was so worked up she slept on the bedroom floor. When I finally got her in the bed, she remained rigid and watched me all night. When you have something you don’t want to lose, that’s what takes over your subconscious.”

“When I first got back to Michigan after my tour, I didn’t know if I cared about anything,” Jake admitted. “Then I found that helping people – veterans who really needed it – gave me something to live for. So I took a step forward.

“I just kept stepping forward until I hit a brick wall,” Jake said. “She had wild hair, and big brown eyes, and she laughed more than I ever knew was possible. Suddenly, things just seemed better, and she helped me take the final steps.”

“Ugh, you’re so mushy,” James said, his smile belying the teasing words.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into me,” Jake said. “I think I just need a good night’s sleep.”

“You might try talking to Ally,” James said. “I know it might not seem like it, but she’s a good listener. She’s also well aware of the stuff that Grady, Finn, and I dealt with when we came back. She’d want to talk to you about this.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Jake said.

“Because Cara is the reason these memories are coming back to you?”

“Yes.”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” James said. “It will get better. Instead of dwelling on this, though, why don’t you go home early and spend some time with Ally? It will probably do you both some good.”

“Sure,” Jake said. “Just … I need to transfer that search to my laptop.”

“You still want to follow up on this?” James was surprised.

“I want to look at it and put it behind me,” Jake said. “Now that I know it’s there, I still need to look.”

James smiled. “I get that. Go ahead and look. It might make you feel better.”

Somehow, Jake doubted that. He kept that to himself, though.