Deadly Vacation (Hardy Brothers Security Book 10) (17 page)

“It’s not your fault,” Mandy said. “He tricked us. I was fine the whole time. I just sat in a chair.”

James ran his fingers down her bruised cheek. “He hit you.”

“It hurt more to be away from you,” Mandy said.

James pressed his lips to Mandy’s, sobbing as he felt her melt into him. “I’m definitely tying you to me for the rest of my life. That’s all there is to it. I hope you’re ready to quit your job because we can’t ever be apart again. My poor heart can’t take it.”

“I’m exhausted so that actually sounds nice,” Mandy said, laughing through her tears. “I’m sure we’ll both think that’s a terrible idea in a few hours. Until then, though, I’ll let you tie me to you.”

“God, I love you, baby,” James said. “I love you.”

“You can never understand how much I love you.”

“Everything is done,” Boyd said, walking into the suite’s kitchen and joining Grady, Sophie and Peter around the small table. “Davenport was taken into custody in Chicago.”

“What about his men?” Grady asked, his fingers restlessly massaging the back of Sophie’s neck.

“They say that most of them have been taken into custody,” Boyd said. “I believe some of them were killed during an exchange of gunfire. I’m told it didn’t last long, though, so that’s good. There were a lot fewer men there than they expected, which they’re still trying to figure out. I’m not there, so I can’t tell you.”

“It will be fine,” Peter said.

“How can you know that?” Sophie asked. “How do you know he won’t reach out to kill you from prison? He’s bound to have some loyalists. You could be in real danger.”

“I have very capable guards, Sophie,” Peter said. “Plus, he doesn’t have the manpower to do anything of the sort. Not now.”

“Where did his manpower go?” Boyd asked curiously.

“To his successor.”

“And who is that?” Grady asked.

“Davenport has been married twice,” Peter said. “His first wife was cast aside for a younger model almost thirty years ago. He had one child from that union. Her name is Mariella.”

“And Mariella is taking over?”

“Mariella does not have her father’s personality defects,” Peter said. “She’s a solid woman with a more … acceptable … code of ethics. She will eradicate certain aspects of her father’s empire as soon as she takes over – including prostitution and human trafficking. Her takeover of her father’s business has been in the works for quite some time. All the pieces were already in place.”

“I’m guessing Davenport didn’t know that,” Sophie said.

“He had no idea,” Peter said. “I helped Mariella get into position to take her father’s territory. The move was still supposed to be two months away, but she’s ready now. She will run the territory better than her father ever could.”

“Why would you help her?” Boyd asked.

“Because she’s not her father,” Peter said. “She’s someone who can run a criminal empire without losing her soul. That’s a rare commodity. What about Stevens?”

“He confessed,” Boyd said. “He wants to make a deal. He doesn’t want to go into the general population at the state facility. He wants to go federal.”

“He’ll die in a state facility,” Peter said. “That’s probably smart. How long will he get?”

“At least twenty-five years,” Boyd said.

“That’s good. What about the other three morons?”

“They’ll go to a state facility,” Boyd said. “Without Davenport’s financial backing, Shane, Kent and Philip will be on their own. I’m not sure a court-appointed attorney will be much help to them.”

“I’m glad.”

“What about the other individuals?” Peter asked. “The couple who approached Emma at the haunted house, did you find them?”

“We took a couple matching their description into custody at the airport,” Boyd said. “Their passports dinged. We’re pretty sure it’s them. That reminds me, though, I need you to look at some quick photos.”

Sophie waited for Boyd to pull the photos up on his iPad. “Do they look familiar to you?”

Sophie nodded. “That’s them. Who are they really?”

“Lillian and Martin Franz,” Boyd said. “They’re arms dealers with some interesting ties to China. They usually work in their own network, so they won’t be a threat.”

“What about the guy who stole Emma’s purse on the boat?” Grady asked.

Boyd shrugged. “I don’t know who he was. I don’t have any answers for you on that front. I’m sorry.”

“You can only do so much,” Grady said. “We’ve already accomplished a hell of a lot today. There’s nothing to be ashamed of, or to complain about. You can only do what you can do.”

“What about the chip?” Sophie asked.

“We handed it over to the feds,” Boyd said. “We’re not equipped to deal with it. They’re going to destroy it. My understanding is that the show at the convention center went off without a hitch today.”

“I forgot all about that,” Grady said, running his hand through his hair. “Crap. That is not the way for us to be doing business.”

“We ran the security. It’s fine. The convention wrapped up and there were no complaints,” Boyd said. “Everything was explained to Michael Prentiss, and he understands why you guys couldn’t be there. Don’t worry about it.

“We also asked him to keep future computer conventions clean,” he continued. “We don’t want weapons of mass destruction – or the computers that control them – bartered in our city. He understood my concerns.”

Grady chuckled. “I think James is going to be sticking close to home for the next few months,” he said. “I think out-of-town jobs are going to be off the table. He doesn’t want to be away from Mandy, and taking her has proven to be a little harder than he initially envisioned.”

“Where are Finn and Emma?” Peter asked, glancing around the room.

“Finn took her to bed,” Grady said. “She needs her rest, and she refused to sleep until Mandy was back with us.”

“And where are James and Mandy?”

Grady pointed into the adjacent room. Peter leaned back in his chair and smiled when he caught sight of them. They were asleep on the couch. Mandy was on top of James, and his arms were wrapped tightly around her – one hand lost in her hair, and the other resting against the small of her back.

“We should probably wake them up so they can go back to their room,” Boyd said. “They’re both exhausted, and there’s no way they can sleep that way comfortably.”

“Leave them be,” Grady said.

“You don’t want them to rest?” Boyd was surprised. “They’ve both been through it. The thing they need most is a good night’s sleep.”

“That
is
how they sleep,” Grady said. “It doesn’t matter if we wake them up and they go to bed in their own room. They’re still going to sleep like that.”

“How can they breathe?”

“I don’t have a clue,” Grady said. “They’ve slept that way for more than a year, though.”

“How do you know that?” Sophie asked.

“There was a fire,” Grady explained for Boyd and Peter’s benefit. “It was at Emma’s old apartment. It doesn’t matter how it started. Mandy was separated from everyone, though, and James thought she’d burned. He was screaming, and he was going to run into that building to find her – even though we all knew if she was still inside it was too late. When she showed up, he crawled to her. He was … beyond everything I’d ever seen. Well, up until that point.

“Anyway, the next day, he said he wanted to climb into her skin and the only way he could sleep without nightmares was to situate her on top of him,” he continued. “Then, after the explosion, they both had nightmares and meltdowns because she was too sore to be touched. Once he could touch her again, once they could sleep like that, everything was okay again.”

Sophie rubbed Grady’s hand encouragingly.

“The morning of their wedding, the morning after she volunteered to die to save him, I found them sleeping like this,” Grady said. “It’s just the way they sleep. They’ve been through the wringer. Leave them be.”

Boyd snorted. “I could never sleep like that.”

“I like to cuddle with my woman,” Grady said, winking at Sophie. “What they’re doing right now is something else. I think they need it, so I want them left alone.”

“Okay,” Boyd said. “Why don’t the rest of us clear out and leave them be then?”

When Peter got to his feet, he withdrew an envelope and handed it to Sophie. “I have to be going, too. I wanted to make sure to leave this with you before I go. Just … give this to James and Mandy when they wake up.”

“What is it?” Sophie asked, curious.

“Something to give them a happy weekend before they have to return to Detroit,” he said. “I would have gotten it for you and Grady, too, but I have a feeling James and Mandy need some time alone.”

“What is it?” Grady asked.

“Something to make a husband and the wife he loves more than anything very happy,” Peter said, smiling. “Trust me.”

“I DON’T
understand why everyone else flew out this morning and we’re still here,” Mandy said, resting on the edge of the bed and combing through her damp hair.

She and James had moved from the couch in the fourth suite to the bedroom in their suite late in the afternoon the previous day. Instead of leaving for dinner, they’d ordered room service and lived like hermits. Mandy hadn’t even realized everyone else had left until James had told her over breakfast.

“Peter left a surprise for you,” James said, poking his head out of the bathroom. “Look in the envelope on the dresser.”

Mandy hopped to her feet and grabbed the envelope in question. “What is it?”

“Look.”

Mandy couldn’t hide her smile when she joined James in the bathroom a few minutes later. “There are tickets for a bayou ride and the wax museum in here.” She waved the envelope in his face for emphasis. “What’s going on?”

“We’re staying through the weekend,” James said. “It’s going to be just the two of us. We’re going to do the things you had ruined for you, and we’re going to be alone the whole time.”

“Really?”

“Really.” James lowered his mouth and kissed her sweetly. “You just have to promise not to wander away from me for the rest of our time here. I’m not ready to be away from you yet.”

“Then you have to promise not to get distracted by wax figures and whether or not they’re anatomically correct.”

James grinned. “Baby, the only anatomy I want to see for the next two days is yours.”

“Does that mean we can finally use those cuffs I bought?”

“What do you think I’m going to use to tie you to me? In fact, I want to make sure they fit right now.” Mandy squealed as James chased her back into the bedroom.

It hadn’t been a great vacation, but things were finally looking up. Sometimes the road to happily ever after is rough, but James and Mandy were ready for a bumpy ride – as long as they made the trip together.

Jake Harrison is a happy man. He has a good job, great friends, and a girlfriend he just can’t get enough of.

Ally Hardy is one of those women who just can’t stop smiling. She loves her family, has the best friend in the world, and she spends her nights with a boyfriend who makes her dream of a wondrous forever.

Detroit’s comic book convention requires the services of Hardy Brothers Security, and everyone is excited. Emma is looking at her last job as a model, James is basking in professional glory, and Mandy is at her geeky best.

When an old military acquaintance surfaces with a ton of trouble on her heels, Jake is caught. His past deeds influence his current needs, and when he opts to help his choice sends the Hardys’ world into a tailspin.

Ally is insecure, and when Jake’s unusual behavior gives her the wrong idea, things spiral out of control.

Jake doesn’t want anything in this world but Ally, but he may lose her – and everything she represents – when his past catches up with their future.

Can Jake admit to a history full of mistakes? Can Ally forgive Jake’s penchant for secrets? Can this couple embrace love without losing themselves in the process?

Now is the time for everything to come out, and nothing will ever be the same again.

Deadly Secrets is available
here.

I’m a romantic at heart. A true romantic. I love the idea of a happy ending, so much so I have trouble writing a sad one. The world is sad enough. I like escaping in fiction. That’s just me. I like sarcasm and snark – but I’m not sure a sad ending is in me. If you’re looking for an edge like that, you’re probably looking in the wrong place. Just FYI.

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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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