“Where was I in my story?” Nadine asked, as if they were having a normal conversation and she hadn’t just admitted to being a murderer three times over.
“You were about to tell us what you have planned for Mark and Jessica,” Ally prodded. She was oddly calm – especially for her – but Mandy could see her mind working from across the table. She was trying to think of a way out. Mandy could only hope it wasn’t something that would get them both killed.
“Oh, right,” Nadine said, an evil grin moving across her features. “So, after I killed Charlie I realized that Mark and Jessica were in a real pickle. Mark doesn’t want to admit that Jessica is pregnant for obvious reasons and Jessica is too dumb to realize how dangerous I really am.
“I decided that since this land deal was obviously going to fall through again that I was done dealing with Mark and his stupidity,” she continued. “I knew he would be the prime suspect in Charlie’s death after what happened in North Dakota. I figured both he and Jessica would go away on this one because it wouldn’t take the police long to figure out what Jessica was hiding.
“Once Mark is out of my hair and in prison, I can start over again,” Nadine said. “This time I would be the bamboozled and put upon wife whose husband cheated on her and knocked up another woman. Can you imagine all the interviews I will get when I tell my story? I’ll bet Oprah even calls.”
Nadine looked smug.
“How are you going to explain our deaths?” Ally asked. “You can’t pin those on Jessica and Mark, too.”
“Why not?”
“Because Jake and James are at the hotel questioning Mark even as we speak,” Mandy supplied. “It’s going to be hard to pin our murders on Mark when his alibi is the men who love us.”
“Oh, you’re so naïve it makes me sick,” Nadine spat. “Your husband loves you right now. I will give you that. You’re not going to have your looks forever, though. Once you hit a certain age his eye will start to wander and you’ll be put out to pasture.
“And you,” she said, her eyes shifting to Ally. “You can’t even get your man to propose to you. At least the blonde locked in the money when she was still young. What are you going to do when your looks go and you don’t even have a ring on your finger?”
“I don’t care about money,” Ally replied stiffly. “Jake is the love of my life. I don’t need a ring or money to tell me that. We’ll get married eventually. It will happen in time. I have faith. There’s no reason to rush it now.”
“Then you’re as dumb as the blonde,” Nadine said, rolling her eyes.
“You still haven’t told us how you plan to get away with this knowing that James and Jake are with Mark,” Mandy said. “Your plan just went up in smoke.”
“Not if Jessica kills you,” Nadine countered.
“But … how do you know where Jessica is?” Ally asked. “She could be out in public right now.”
“I’ve had private investigators following her for almost a year now,” Nadine answered. “She’s at Charlie’s house playing the mourning fiancée. In actuality she’s trying to hide from me and knows I wouldn’t dare go out to the house.
“Once I kill the two of you I’ll have the investigator call in an anonymous tip from a burner phone and say that Jessica was sighted crossing the fence onto the Harrison farm,” she continued. “Voila. Two murders, one suspect, everything is all wrapped up. They’ll pin Charlie’s murder on her, too, and she’ll roll over on Mark. This actually works out better for me.”
“What is Jessica’s motive for killing us?” Ally asked. “We’ve never even talked to her.”
“No, but you have talked to Mark and your husband and boyfriend figured out that Mark was up to no good,” Nadine replied. “Jessica was trying to help when she came to talk to you and opted to kill you when she realized you knew too much.”
Mandy and Ally exchanged worried looks. Nadine had clearly thought this through.
“You don’t have to kill us,” Ally said, changing tactics. “We won’t say anything. You can leave town and no one will be the wiser. We’ll give you a head start.”
“I don’t need a head start if you’re dead,” Nadine countered. “I don’t want a head start because that’s going to ruin my plan of being a media darling when my story about twenty years of terror is revealed to the world. I just need to get another round of Botox first. I want to be camera ready.”
“I think you’ve had enough Botox,” Ally argued. “Your face is so frozen you look like a mannequin.”
Nadine frowned. “Do you think now is the time to insult me?”
“I don’t really care,” Ally replied, nonplussed. “You’re a sociopath. There’s no negotiating with you. You have delusions of grandeur that will never come true. James and Jake will know what you did. Mark will turn over on you to save himself. If you think he hasn’t amassed evidence against you in twenty years, you’re an idiot.”
“Ally,” Mandy hissed, her voice dark.
“Mark is too frightened to do anything but what I tell him,” Nadine argued. “I think I know my husband a little better than you two.”
“Maybe,” Ally said. “Or maybe Mark has been making plans to tell everyone you’re going over the edge so he can claim a future with Jessica. All of your rehab stays are on record. So are your appointments with your therapist.”
Nadine faltered. “How can you possibly know about that?”
“Our computer guy got the information,” Ally replied, growing bolder. “We know all about how crazy you are. Mark witnessed you killing your father. He would have no motive in that. He probably even knows where the gun you used to kill Garvey is.”
“You’re holding the gun that killed Charlie,” Mandy added, realizing what Ally was doing. “All the evidence to frame you is in place.”
“I know what you’re doing,” Nadine said, her demeanor slipping for a split second. “You’re trying to confuse me.”
“We’re trying to help you,” Ally countered, her gaze landing on a quiet silhouette moving in from the bathroom. It was Mary. She must’ve gotten in through the small window above the toilet. Ally was sure she saw her peeking in through the front window a few moments prior. That was why she pressed Nadine to keep the conversation going. She couldn’t tip Mandy off without giving Nadine a heads up, too, though.
“Why would you want to help me?” Nadine scoffed. “I’m here to kill you.”
“Let’s just say we don’t like men who cheat on their wives,” Ally said, unable to keep her gaze from moving to Mary again.
“What are you looking at?”
“Nothing,” Ally said, hurriedly snapping her eyes back. “I … .”
Nadine didn’t believe her. She stood, leaning around the end table to get a better view. When her eyes landed on Mary she was shocked. She raised her gun hand, her intentions clear. Mary didn’t give her a chance to pull the trigger.
Instead, Jake’s steadfast aunt with the kind eyes and big heart raised her own gun and fired first, hitting Nadine square in the chest and spinning her. Nadine got off one reflexive shot, but it careened harmlessly into the cabin roof before Nadine’s body hit the ground.
Mandy jumped to her feet, stunned, while Ally turned to Mary with wide eyes. “How … ?”
Mary shrugged. “I saw her hanging around the property earlier and came to check on you guys,” she said. “I saw what she was doing through the window. I knew there was something wrong with that bitch.”
Twenty-Five
James broke into a run when he heard the shot – which was almost instantaneously followed by another shot. His heart lodged in his throat as he bounded up the steps and threw open the cabin door, heedless of any danger that might be present.
He had to get to Mandy.
What he found inside stupefied him. Mandy and Ally stood in the center of the room, safe and unharmed. Mary, a gun clutched in her hand, leaned over Nadine’s prone body and studied the obviously dead woman with a grim form of detachment.
Mandy jumped at the sound of his voice, swiveling quickly and running to him. James caught her mid-air, hauling her in and pressing her tight as he kissed her cheek. “You scared me again, wife,” he growled. “I thought for sure I was going to have to come in here and beat up a woman to save you.”
“Mary saved us,” Ally said, her eyes wide. “She crawled in through the bathroom window and … Nadine was crazy, by the way. Did you guys realize Nadine was crazy?”
Jake pushed James out of the way to get to Ally, tugging her into his arms and kissing her forehead as he held her. “When I heard the sound of that gun going off I thought … .”
“I’m okay,” Ally said, rubbing his back. “Your aunt saved us.”
“Of course she did,” Ben said, moving into the cabin with Sam Taylor close on his heels. “My Mary has always been a hero.”
Mary smiled fondly at her husband, handing the gun over to Sam before offering Ben a big hug. “I told you there was something wrong with Nadine.”
“When you’re right, you’re right,” Ben said, kissing Mary. “I can’t believe you crawled through the window.”
“I knew Ally saw me from the front window when I peeked inside,” Mary responded. “She kept Nadine busy while I climbed in through the bathroom window. It was pretty easy actually. The toilet made a nice ladder.”
Ben chuckled. “You never cease to amaze me.”
“And I never will,” Mary said, rubbing her nose against Ben’s.
“You saw her in the window?” Mandy asked, James refusing to let her go. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“How was I supposed to do that when she was sitting right across from us with a gun pointed in our direction?” Ally asked, Jake vigorously petting the back of her head. “I had to play it cool.”
“You definitely played it cool,” Mandy said. “I had no idea what you were doing and I was starting to freak out.”
“You were calm and collected,” Ally countered. “If Nadine was an armadillo, I would’ve been worried. As it stands, I think we both handled the situation pretty well.”
Mandy scowled. “I’m never going to live that down, am I?”
“Don’t worry, wife,” James said. “We’re going to be teased about it together. I’ll look worse in the story than you will.”
“That’s something to look forward to,” Mandy replied, brightening.
“This looks to be open and shut,” Sam said, checking Nadine’s vitals before moving away from her. “You’ll still have to make a statement.”
“That’s fine,” Mary said. “Can I do it in the kitchen? I have pies and I don’t want them to burn.”
“Sure,” Sam said. “Pie sounds good.”
“WHERE is everyone?” Mandy asked, moving to James’ side as he watched the sun set from the Harrison’s front porch several hours later.
“They’re inside eating pie,” James replied.
“What are you doing out here?”
“What are you doing out here?” James countered.
“I’m thinking of going home tomorrow,” Mandy answered truthfully. “I wish we had another day. I never got to run through a meadow with you.”
“Yes, I’m sorry we missed that, too,” James deadpanned, causing Mandy to smirk.
“I’m going to kind of miss this place,” Mandy admitted, slipping her hand into James’ and linking their fingers. “We never got to enjoy it without something hanging over our heads.”
“And that’s why I called Judge MacIntosh and told him you couldn’t return to work until Tuesday,” James said.
Mandy stilled. “What?”
“Are you going to start a fight, wife?”
“I haven’t decided yet.”
“Ally and Jake want to stay one more day,” James explained. “I knew you wanted one more day, too, so I called the judge and explained what happened. That man is a saint. He didn’t even give it a second thought before he said it was fine if you stayed.”
“Still, James, it wasn’t your place to do that,” Mandy argued.
“I know,” James said. “I expect us to get into a huge fight. That’s why I didn’t tell you until all the police questions and dinner were over with. I figure we can go back to the cabin and scream at each other for a little bit … and then we can make up.”
Mandy rolled her eyes. “What about Sam? Did he say what was going to happen to Mark and Jessica?”
“Mark is an accessory to three murders,” James replied. “Even though he didn’t know about them until after the fact, he still hid them. He’s going away for a long time.”
“And Jessica?”
“Her status is trickier,” James replied. “She’s going to face some charges, but she’s pregnant so a judge will probably be lenient.”
“Well, at least she didn’t get any of Charlie’s money or his farm.”
“No,” James agreed. “That’s something.”
Mandy pursed her lips and stared at the horizon for a few moments before turning to James. “How come you didn’t tell me you were going to call the judge?”
“Because I know you’re diligent and you would’ve told me not to.”
“So you’re willing to risk a fight just to give us another day and a chance to make up,” she mused. “That’s what you’re saying, right?”
“What can I say? I like the way you make up.”
Mandy didn’t want to encourage him, but she couldn’t hide her smile. “We’re going to fight. Don’t let this grin fool you.”
“I’m looking forward to it.”
“What are we going to do with our last day here tomorrow?”
James winked. “We’re going to have a picnic in a meadow and then … .”
“We’re going to frolic like Little House on the Prairie,” Mandy finished.
“Yup.”
“So, just so I have the timeline correct, let me lay this out for you,” Mandy said. “We’re going to go back to the cabin … .”
“We actually have to move to another cabin,” James interrupted. “Our cabin is a crime scene now.”
“Okay, after we go to the other cabin we’re going to fight, make up, have sex, have some more sex, get up, have sex, have breakfast, go for a picnic, and then run through a meadow?”
James nodded. “Yup.”
“Well, in that case, I think we better get to the fighting,” Mandy said, hopping down the steps and moving toward the cabins. “We’ve got a lot to fit into the next twenty-four hours.”
“That’s it? You’re not going to start yelling at me here?” James was suspicious.
“What fun would that be?” Mandy asked, increasing the distance between them. “You know I prefer to yell when I’m naked.”
“You’d better start running now, wife,” James said, following her down the steps. “I have a feeling it’s going to be a short fight.”
“I have a feeling you’re right,” Mandy said, breaking into a run. “That doesn’t mean it’s not going to be a fun fight.”
James followed her, delighted in her giggles as she raced toward the cabin. He was looking forward to every single thing on their list – including the fight. That was why marriage was so great. Even when she yelled he loved her more than anything in this world. He knew he always would.
Up Next
The first Hardy baby is coming – and it’s coming soon.
Emma Pritchard is ready to pop and everyone is watching her as if she’s a bomb that’s about to explode. Finn Hardy is a ball of nerves. He’s excited for his baby to arrive, but he’s also terrified that he’ll somehow screw up things when Emma goes into labor.
James Hardy finds amusement in his brother’s panic, but that changes when Emma’s father, Lance Pritchard, escapes from prison and everyone suspects he’s coming after Emma.
The Hardys circle the wagons and put Emma’s safety above all else as they try to track Pritchard down and make sure he doesn’t go after the one thing Finn can
’t live without.
For her part, Emma is a mess. Not only are her hormones raging – and her body changing as it prepares to give birth – but now she has to worry about the man who abused her for years showing up to finish the job.
Things come to a head at the same time, and when Emma goes into labor there’s only one person there to deliver the baby. Lance Pritchard has something nefarious on his mind, and it’s not what anyone expected. Can the Hardys stop Pritchard in time to save Emma and their next generation?
In the end, someone is going to die. What happens next is anyone’s guess, but one member of the Hardy family is going to be left shaken to the core.
Deadly Arrival is available here.
Author’s Note
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.
If you’re interested in upcoming releases, follow me on Facebook and Twitter. I do not spam. I don’t believe it and, as a reader, I find it annoying. Only new release information and special sales promotions will be posted.
This book is available for lending. Please do so.
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.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the author, except for the inclusion of brief quotations in a review.
Books by Lily Harper Hart
Hardy Brothers Security
Deadly Intentions
Deadly Intuition
Deadly Illusions
Deadly Proposal
Deadly Prospects
Deadly Ever After
Deadly Honeymoon
Deadly Desperados Page 19
