“Don’t threaten her,” Finn hissed.
“What are you going to do?” Sexton challenged. “I can’t even believe you’re on your feet. I knew you weren’t dead in the parking garage but to already be out playing treasure hunter with your family … well … that’s just stupid.”
“No, it’s loyal,” James corrected, drawing Sexton’s attention back to him. “If your man in the kitchen moves again Jake is going to shoot him. I’m not messing around.”
“And if Jake shoots that guy the one on the front porch is going to come running in to shoot him,” Sexton said. “Then I’m going to shoot you. What’s going to happen to these four when that happens?”
“Don’t threaten my wife!” James’ eyes flashed with anger. “More terrifying men than you have tried to hurt her, and it didn’t end well for any of them.”
“Like Lance Pritchard?” Sexton asked, shifting his eyes to Mandy. “She’s the one who killed him, right? I read about it in the newspaper. They said a woman who worked at the courthouse killed him. I’ve been watching all of you since Jeff got out because I wanted to be certain before I approached him and she’s the one who works at the courthouse. Did you kill Pritchard, honey?”
“Don’t call me ‘honey,’” Mandy said, making a face. “You’re gross and I don’t like it.”
“You heard her,” James said. “Don’t call her that. In fact, don’t talk to her.”
“What’s your big plan here, sport?” Sexton prodded. “Do you think we’re going to sit here swapping stories and somehow this situation is magically going to fix itself?”
“No, but I would like a little more information before I kill you,” James replied. “For example, why did you pick now to kill Owen … and how did you know he would be leaving the casino when he did?”
“Because I called him and told him there was a problem with his driver so he would come out and check on him,” Sexton replied. “As for why I picked now, that’s actually easy to answer. I had to wait for Jeff.
“When Sheila went to prison I waited for a few months before visiting her,” he continued. “I kept pressing her for the location of the key back in the day, but Pritchard kept getting between us. He was a pain in the ass, but you could tell there was something off about the guy.”
“There’s the understatement of the year,” Jake muttered.
“When that whole thing blew up I was stunned,” Sexton said. “I had no idea how to find the key, but I figured trying to approach Sheila when all of the press was camped out on the front lawn was a bad idea. She saw me one day, though, and I could tell she knew I was coming for her. Pritchard wasn’t around to protect her and she knew she was in trouble.
“Sadly, I misjudged that situation,” he continued. “I never thought she would abandon her kids and run. I knew she was a cold bitch but … come on. She just ran out and didn’t look back.”
“I guess that explains why she left the way she did,” Emma said. “She always did care more about herself than us.”
“Consider yourself lucky, girl,” Sexton said. “That woman has always been a viper. She disappeared, though, and I couldn’t track her down. I would try finding her once a year, though, but I kind of let things go while she was gone. Then, out of nowhere, she resurfaced and was all over the news again.”
“You figured you had something to hold over her when she went to prison,” James surmised. “You thought you could offer to bankroll a better prison lifestyle in exchange for the location of the key.”
“Pretty much,” Sexton confirmed. “She played a few games, but I knew she would. We both knew she had no power and she finally owned up to Jeff being the only one who could get me the key.”
“So then you were stuck until I got out of prison,” Jeff said. “You didn’t waste any time once I was out before approaching me.”
“I’ve waited long enough,” Sexton said. “I just want what I’ve been waiting thirty years for.”
“Did you really have to kill Owen?” James challenged. “Why not just rob him?”
“Because I couldn’t risk him recognizing me from his childhood and telling his daddy what happened,” Sexton replied. “David Barber may be a crappy mobster, but I knew he would kill to protect his son. I had no choice but to kill Owen.”
“You had a choice,” Mandy argued. “You just didn’t care.”
“You’re probably right,” Sexton said. “I don’t care about you people either. I have no qualms about killing you to get that key.”
“Do you really think Jeff will tell you where the key is if you kill us?” James asked.
“I think Jeff will do whatever it takes to keep his sister alive,” Sexton said. “I can kill you, the quiet one by the door, the blonde, and the invalid and then when it’s down to just Jeff and his sister he’ll have no choice but to tell me where that key is.”
“He won’t do it,” Emma argued. “I won’t let him. I won’t let a man like you benefit from threatening my family. I’m done being terrorized by the likes of you.”
“I like your spirit, girl, but you don’t have any power in this situation,” Sexton said. “I have three guns and we’re in better positions than your two guns. The gunshots won’t draw any attention in this area. The neighbors are used to it.”
“You may have a point,” James conceded. “You made one fatal miscalculation in this entire mess, though.”
“Oh, yeah, what’s that?”
“You forgot we were working with Peter Marconi and we’d never be stupid enough to go to the one place we knew you’d be waiting to find us without backup,” James answered. “You’re the one outnumbered.”
“Wait … what?” Sexton furrowed his brow as things slipped into place. He opened his mouth to warn the guy in the next room, but it was already too late.
Grady moved in behind the man and pressed the barrel of his gun to the back of the man’s head. “Drop it or I’ll drop you.”
“Carlos!” Sexton bellowed out the warning, but James didn’t even bother looking over his shoulder because he recognized the sounds of scuffling on the front porch. Sven was busy with the third man, which only left Sexton to worry about. “What’s going on?”
“We didn’t come alone,” James replied. “We figured it was a fair bet you would try to move on us and planned accordingly. Granted, you moved faster than we thought, but you never stood a chance.”
“You … son of a bitch!” Sexton lifted his gun and pointed it in James’ direction. James and Jake moved at the same time, launching themselves at the man and knocking him backward into the wall.
James reached for the gun to point it at the ceiling but Sexton got off a round during the melee before Jake slammed his fist into the man’s face. James rammed Sexton’s hand into the stair railing three times until he dropped the gun, the firearm bouncing against the floor.
James left Jake to wrangle Sexton into cuffs and turned, his eyes searching for Mandy first. “Is everyone okay?”
“We’re clear out here,” Sven called from the front porch.
“This one pissed his pants,” Grady added from the adjacent room.
“I’m good,” Mandy said, pushing herself up from the floor and hurrying to James. “I need a shower, though.”
“You won’t be doing it alone, baby,” James said, kissing her forehead before turning to Emma and Finn. “Are you guys okay?”
“We’re good,” Finn said, pulling Emma close. “Jeff, are you okay?”
Jeff gasped in response, causing everyone to turn in his direction. His fingers were covered in blood and an obvious stain was spreading across his T-shirt.
“Holy crap,” James muttered, pushing past Mandy. “Sexton’s round hit him.”
“I’m okay,” Jeff wheezed. “I … Emma, I’m sorry. I love you.”
Emma scrambled away from Finn and crawled in her brother’s direction, tears already streaming down her face. “Jeff!”
23
Twenty-Three
“How
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.”
“WOW, 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 wh
o 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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Acknowledgments
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.
Deadly Reunion (Hardy Brothers Security Book 20) Page 19
