“He upset you and he bugs me.”
James barked out a laugh. “I love you, wife. You are so … amazing.”
“I love you, too, but I’m still going to be mean to him until he apologizes,” Mandy sniffed.
“Jeff and Emma are dealing with something terrible so I think you should ease up,” James said, glancing down as his cell phone rang in his pocket. “Try to put yourself in their shoes. I’m fine, so you don’t need to protect me.”
“He’s still a butthead.”
“You really are the light of my life,” James teased, pressing his ear to the phone. “Hello?”
Mandy kept half an ear on James’ conversation while fixing the bulk of her attention on Emma and Jeff. Despite her insistence on coming to the house, Emma didn’t appear to be in a hurry to cross the front door threshold. That changed the second James disconnected.
“Everyone get inside,” he barked, causing Jake and Finn to swivel quickly. “That was Sven. Sexton was just sighted one block over … and he’s not alone.”
“Here we go,” Mandy muttered as James clasped her hand tightly. “I knew it would come to this.”
“And that’s why you insisted on coming,” James muttered. “You had a feeling the danger would come to us and you didn’t want to be away from me when it happened. You’re in big trouble, wife.”
“What else is new?”
21
Twenty-One
“Emma, hurry up.”
Finn was in pain, but that didn’t stop him from scurrying to her side and pushing his body against hers in an effort to protect her.
“You hurry up,” Emma shot back, helping him into the house and sucking in a breath as they walked through the front door. “Oh, man. It’s even worse than I thought. Look at this mess.”
The house – if you could call it that – had stains on the walls and empty beer cans tossed in the corner. Every inch was covered in dirt or garbage, and the few remaining furniture items had been ravaged by time and careless partiers.
“It looks as if this place has been the local loser party house for a long time,” James said, drawing his gun and pressing his body against the wall so he could watch through the front window without drawing attention to himself. He grabbed Mandy, who hovered in front of the window, and pushed her toward the floor. “Crouch in front of me, baby.”
“I am not getting on this floor,” Mandy said, wrinkling her nose. “You must be crazy. I’ll get salmonella … or scabies … or fleas.”
“I’m not crazy yet, but you’re driving me there,” James warned. “Why can’t you just do as your told?”
“Because … this is gross.”
“I’ll make sure you have an extra long bath when this is over … if you do as you’re told.”
“Fine,” Mandy grumbled, making a face as she knelt. “This sucks, though.”
“That’s what happens when you insist on going on a trip you know is going to turn bad,” James snapped. “I’m not going to forget that admission, by the way. I’m going to ask a series of my own questions tonight and you’re going to hate each and every one of them.”
“Good grief, do you two ever stop … doing that?” Jeff asked, his features pale as he glanced around. James couldn’t decide if he was more stricken by the news that Sexton was closing in or the fact that he was in the home where the worst moments of his life were spent. “Focus.”
“They are focusing,” Finn said, grimacing as he shifted his body so he could press his upper back against the wall. “This is just how they blow off steam. They’re fine. Don’t freak out or anything.”
“Yes, don’t freak out,” Emma agreed. She was remarkably calm given the circumstances. “Finn, how much pain are you in? Are your stitches going to rip if you squat like that?”
“Sweetie, I’m fine,” Finn said. “You need to stop worrying about me. I swear, if something hurts I’ll tell you.”
“And then you can kiss it and make it better, Emma,” James said, running his hand over the top of Mandy’s head as he continued to scan the front yard. “Jake, what do you see?”
Jake was known for being quiet, but Mandy had almost forgotten he was there because he hadn’t spoken in so long. His eyes were alert, his hand steady as he gripped his own gun and stared out of the window on the other side of the room. Mandy couldn’t be certain, but she thought it was probably the living room when Emma and Jeff lived there.
“I don’t see anything yet,” Jake replied. “The street is empty and I have a full view to the east. There is no one moving as far as I can tell.”
“I’ve got the same view from the west,” James said. “There’s nothing yet.”
“They’re probably coming in through the back,” Jeff said bitterly. “They’ll come up behind us and torture us for information.”
“You’re a regular bowl of sunshine, aren’t you?” Mandy was nervous and she displayed that emotion by picking at Jeff. “Why don’t you go out back and check? If you see anyone, try screaming before they kill you.”
“That will be enough of that, baby,” James chided, tugging on a strand of her hair. “We’re all in this together. Jeff is just as frightened as you.”
“I am not frightened,” Mandy shot back. “I’m pissed.”
“Me, too,” Emma said. “I hope they do come in. I have a few questions for this Sexton guy.”
“If they come from the back, they’re going to have a rude awakening,” James replied. “That’s the direction Grady, Sven, and Rodrigo are coming from. Apparently Sexton has two men with him. I’m guessing they’re hired thugs.”
“Which means they’re not trained as well as Sven and Rodrigo,” Jake said. “Those guys won’t hesitate to put Sexton’s men down without a second thought.”
“I’m not sure how trained Sexton is,” James said. “He was a driver for Barber. If he had other skills you would think Barber would put them to use.”
“You heard Peter,” Finn said. “Barber didn’t really rule his organization with an iron fist or attention to detail. He might not have known what Sexton was capable of.”
“That’s a fair point,” James said. “He’s still outnumbered … and badly. He thinks he has the upper hand, but he’s about to get a rude awakening.”
“I just want Sexton to live long enough for me to kick him or something,” Emma said, earning wide-eyed stares from the people in the room. “What? He shot my man.”
Mandy snorted. “Your man. Men love it when you get all proprietary like that. They think it’s cute.”
“We do indeed, baby,” James said, resting his hand on top of her head. “I’m going to get very proprietary with you tonight. I’m thinking the hot tub and a bottle of wine.”
“You do realize we’re still sleeping in your den for another two nights, right?” Finn asked dryly.
James shrugged. “Shut the blinds and turn on the radio. I’m feeling an adrenalin rush coming on.”
“Oh, that’s music to my ears,” Mandy said, shifting her eyes to Emma. To her surprise, even though Emma seemed reticent to enter the home, she didn’t appear bothered by what she saw. “How are you doing, Emma?”
“It’s weird,” Emma admitted. “I thought I wanted to say goodbye to this place – you know, put all of the bad memories behind me – but I think I’ve already done that.”
“I think you have, too,” Finn said, pressing a soft kiss to her cheek as he groaned. “Crap. I’m not sure how long I can sit like this. My back hurts.”
“Then sit on the floor,” James instructed.
“Hey, I don’t want to risk you mistaking me for a chick, but I’m with Mandy,” Finn said. “This floor is filthy.”
“I don’t understand why they haven’t torn it down yet,” Emma said. “The signs about it being condemned were up more than a year ago. Why is it still here?”
“There are a lot of condemned buildings in certain areas close to Detroit, like Eastpointe,” Mandy explained, taking solace in reciting facts eve
n as her heart pounded. “The cities are in financial trouble due to plunging home values and a dwindling tax base. The cities are supposed to tear the houses down, but they don’t have the money so they sit around attracting rats instead.”
“You always have the most interesting information, wife,” James said, understanding that nervousness forced her to chatter. “What else have you got?”
“That’s it.”
“It was still illuminating,” James said, rubbing his thumb against her cheek as she pressed her body against his legs. “It’s going to be okay, baby.”
“I already said I wasn’t frightened,” Mandy said.
James didn’t believe her for a second. “It’s okay. We’re together.”
Mandy made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat before turning her attention back to Emma. “Does it seem weird being here? Is it like visiting someone else’s house or do you remember what it was like living here?”
“I could never forget what it’s like living here,” Emma said, her smile sad.
“I’m sorry. That’s not what I meant.”
Emma waved off Mandy’s apology. “Don’t worry about it. I get it. It does sort of feel like being a stranger in my own house, though. I don’t think I would recognize the old me if she walked through that door.”
“I would,” Finn said, gripping Emma’s hand and flashing a warm smile. “You might not be the same girl, but you have the same heart. I would recognize your heart anywhere.”
“Oh.” Emma pressed her lips to Finn’s cheek. “You’re still going to rest until I’m positive you’re okay later. Don’t even think of arguing with me or trying to say sweet things until I let you off the hook.”
“I wouldn’t dare.”
“You guys are all really schmaltzy,” Jeff intoned. “You know that, right?”
“We’re fine with it,” Finn said, glancing at his brother-in-law. “How are you being back here? Emma managed to put this behind her because she’s moved forward since the trial. You’ve been stuck in limbo. You never had the chance to build good memories to eradicate the bad.”
“I don’t know how to feel,” Jeff admitted, pressing the heel of his hand against his forehead as he rested the back of his head against the wall. “When I was in prison people would talk about going home. Home. I didn’t really think I had a home, but when people said the word I always flashed on this place. That’s kind of pathetic, huh?”
“It’s not pathetic,” James corrected. “You essentially had to hit the pause button on your life. You’re moving forward again. That’s all that matters.”
“I don’t feel as if I’m moving forward,” Jeff said. “I feel as if I’m drowning in quicksand. I feel as if I’m making every wrong mistake in the book instead of one right one.”
“We all feel like that sometimes,” James said. “You can’t let guilt weigh you down. You made a mistake not telling us about Sexton, but everyone realizes why you did it. No one blames you.”
“I do,” Mandy argued.
“Wife,” James growled, shaking his head. “Don’t exacerbate this situation.”
“No, she has every right to be angry,” Jeff said. “She’s protecting you because she loves you. She’s angry about what I said and … .”
“She’s not the only one,” Emma said, her eyes flashing. “It was uncalled for and completely wrong.”
“It was,” Finn agreed. “None of us thought Mandy and Emma were in danger that day. We thought we were going to capture your father. That’s what all the information we gathered told us was going to happen. We had no idea how ingenious he was.”
“I don’t blame you,” Jeff said. “I don’t blame either of you. I lashed out and … I was wrong. I know you would die to save Emma. Heck, I know you would both die to save Emma. I shouldn’t have said it.”
“Don’t worry about it,” James said, ignoring Mandy’s pronounced eye roll. “We all say things we don’t mean. We all do things we regret. No one is perfect … and that includes you, baby.”
“I am perfect,” Mandy argued. “I’m going to prove it to you later.”
“That will be fun,” James said, forcing a smile. “I … .” He broke off when the sound of something hitting the floor in the adjacent room assailed his ears, exchanging a quick look with Jake.
Jake lifted his finger to his lips for a moment and cocked his head. There wasn’t a second sound, but that didn’t mean someone wasn’t in the house. Jack gestured toward the window and then took a step in the direction of the noise, using his fingers to mime chatting as he moved.
James nodded curtly as he shifted Mandy so she was behind him instead of in front of him. “I’m looking forward to our time in the hot tub tonight,” James said, lifting his gun as his eyes remained trained on Jake. “I’m going to do some really filthy things to you.”
“Nothing is filthier than this house,” Mandy said, her voice unnaturally high. “In fact … .”
Jake moved quickly, slipping around the corner and out of view as Mandy’s eyes widened.
Emma opened her mouth to ask the obvious question, but Finn silenced her with a small shake of the head. Everyone held his or her collective breath until a figure appeared in the doorway. It was Jake.
“No one is back there, but the door is open and I found a can rolling around on the floor,” Jake said, keeping his voice low. “How far out is Grady?”
“He should be close,” James answered. “Are you thinking it’s a distraction?”
Jake nodded. “Sexton is already here.”
“Where?” Emma jerked her head around. “How could he possibly be here?”
“Because he’s been watching the house and knows the ins and outs better than we do,” James replied.
“That’s a pretty good guess. Too bad you didn’t figure that out before you ran into the house, huh?”
The new voice took everyone by surprise, and when James shifted his eyes to the stairwell he found an evil looking man staring back. He recognized him from Peter’s photograph, although the years hadn’t been kind.
“Now, if everyone could kindly hand me their guns, we’ll get through this in an orderly fashion,” Sexton said. “If not … well … I’m going to start with the women.”
22
Twenty-Two
“We’re not handing over our guns,” James said, his voice calm. “If you think that’s going to happen, then you’re crazy.”
“Oh, look at you,” Sexton sang out. “I guess we have a standoff, huh? The problem is that you’re outnumbered.”
He gestured toward the room Jake checked moments before and a dark figure appeared in the doorway, forcing Jake to take a step back so he wasn’t in danger of being in the man’s line of fire. James caught a hint of movement out of the corner of his eye indicating the third man was outside the front door.
“I have three guns and you have two,” Sexton said. “You also have an injured man, a con, and two women. That means you have a lot of people for me to hurt if things go badly, which I can promise will happen if you don’t hand over your guns.”
“And yet we’re still not going to do it,” James said. “If you want to start shooting, I guess we’ll just see what happens.”
“Are you sure?” Sexton challenged, arching an eyebrow. “I promise I’ll aim at the blonde by your legs first if you force my hand.”
“If you think you’re going to touch my wife, I’ll rip your heart out and feed it to you,” James said. “Make your move. I guarantee you won’t lay a finger on my wife.”
“I don’t think you realize who you’re dealing with,” Sexton said.
“I know you don’t realize who you’re dealing with,” James shot back. “If you think you’ve got a handle on this situation, you might want to ask yourself how we knew to run into the house.”
The statement was simple, but it was enough to cause Sexton to be wary. The man glanced around the room, his eyes moving toward the window to scan the front lawn.
&nbs
p; “I don’t think we need to let this get out of hand,” Sexton said, licking his lips. “I know who you are and what you’re capable of. You’ve been in the news quite a bit over the past two years.”
“And just think about the things that haven’t made the news,” James said. “If you want to see how good I am at my job go ahead and threaten my wife again.”
Sexton swallowed hard. This clearly wasn’t the reaction he was expecting. “I have no desire to hurt anyone here,” he said. “I just want what I’m owed.”
“And what’s that?” James asked. “The key? Is that why you’re here?”
“I earned it,” Sexton said. “I’ve been waiting thirty years for this to come together. I’m not leaving without that key.”
“That seems like a long time to wait when you don’t even know what’s in the box,” Finn pointed out as he shifted his body to shelter Emma. She wasn’t happy with his movement, but she didn’t fight him given the pain he obviously felt. “How do you even know there’s anything in the box worth stealing?”
“Because Stella Parker was a rich woman and she wouldn’t lock worthless items in a safety deposit box and leave them for her kid.”
“A kid you killed,” Finn said. “How did you even know he was going to be at the casino?”
“Because I’ve been watching him for a long time,” Sexton replied. “Do you have any idea how annoying it’s been to wait? Trying to get Sheila to tell the truth is like trying to get a cat to love water. She lied to me for years and that guy she married was a real dick. He threatened to kill me every time I stopped by and wanted to talk to her.”
“Well, I guess the old man did something right,” Jeff spat. “That’s his lone good deed.”
“This is all your fault, Jeff, so you probably don’t want to speak,” Sexton snapped. “If you’d just given me the key that first night none of this would be happening.”
“If you’d just made your own money instead of trying to steal someone else’s none of this would be happening either,” Emma pointed out.
“You look like Sheila,” Sexton said, looking Emma up and down. “She was a beautiful woman back in the day, too. You’re even prettier. Things didn’t turn out well for Sheila. You might want to keep your mouth shut if you want them to turn out better for you.”
Deadly Reunion (Hardy Brothers Security Book 20) Page 18
