Deadly Illusions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 3)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  “Okay,” Mandy said. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

  Finn still didn’t look convinced, but James forced him to leave anyway. He had no doubt that Mandy would succeed where his brother had failed.

  EMMA was so distracted with the gift the Aspen storeowner had given her – the jacket and pants at no cost – she didn’t notice Mandy approaching.

  “The outfit looks too good on you,” the man was explaining to Emma. “It’s like it was made for you.”

  Emma felt his hand brush her rear end. “Thank you, Mr. Anderson. That’s very generous of you.”

  “It is, isn’t it?”

  “I guess.”

  “How about you let me take you to dinner, and then I can be even more generous?”

  Emma stiffened. She was used to this. So many business owners had asked her out she couldn’t even remember all their faces – let alone their names. “I’m sorry, but I already have plans.”

  “With who?” Mr. Anderson clearly didn’t believe her.

  “With me,” Mandy interjected, stepping closer to Emma. “I was just waiting for her.”

  Anderson took a step back. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you standing there. And you are?”

  “Amanda Avery,” Mandy said, shooting him a dark look. “Are you ready for dinner, Emma? Everyone is waiting for us.”

  “Everyone?” Anderson pressed.

  “Yeah, there’s a whole group of us,” Mandy said.

  “Well, if there’s a group, maybe I’ll join you.”

  Emma was mortified. She was used to being degraded. Having Mandy see it, though, made her feel just about as low as any human being could get.

  Mandy’s smile was hard for Emma to read. “Okay. That’s sounds good. Just one thing, my boyfriend is crazy jealous. That last guy who showed up uninvited ended up dead behind the courthouse. You just need to let me warn him that you’re not really here to hit on me. It shouldn’t be a big thing.”

  Anderson took a step back. “Your boyfriend is the one who shot up the courthouse?”

  Mandy waved off Anderson’s comment with fake bravado. “He is crazy jealous. I can talk him out of beating people up more than fifty-percent of the time, though, so I wouldn’t worry. The odds are in your favor.”

  Anderson forced a smile onto his pinched, rat-like face. “You know what? I forgot that I already have dinner plans. I’ll just let you two ladies go on your way.”

  Mandy kept the fake smile plastered on her face until Anderson disappeared around the corner. “What a dick.”

  Emma realized she had been holding her breath. She exhaled heavily. “Thank you.”

  “No problem. I hate guys like that.”

  “How did you even know I was still here?”

  “I came to get you for dinner,” Mandy said. “I wasn’t lying about that.”

  Emma knit her eyebrows together, confused. “Dinner?”

  “You do eat, right? I would hate for you to reinforce that models-starving-themselves thing.”

  “I eat,” Emma hedged. “I just don’t know if … .”

  “It’s not open for debate,” Mandy said. “The restaurant is just around the corner – and you’re coming with me.”

  Emma sighed. “Finn said people didn’t tell you no.”

  “You should listen to Finn,” Mandy said. “He’s smarter than he looks. Well, most of the time.”

  Emma gave in and followed Mandy, letting the amiable blonde carry the bulk of the conversation over the course of the one-block sojourn. When they arrived at Charlie’s Tavern, Mandy scanned the crowd. She grabbed Emma’s arm and dragged her through the crowded restaurant until she found the table she was looking for.

  Emma wasn’t surprised to see Finn was already seated.

  Mandy gave Emma a small push, directing her to the open seat next to Finn, before sliding into a chair next to James.

  “I was about to come looking for you,” James said, running a hand through his tangled hair. The hat had done him no favors – not that Mandy seemed to mind. In fact, the messy hair and wide grin gave him a more approachable countenance.

  “I just had to talk Emma’s boss into letting her go,” Mandy said.

  Emma waited for Mandy to expand, but the blonde grabbed a menu and focused on it instead.

  “I’m glad you could join us,” Finn said, gracing Emma with a small smile. “I wasn’t sure you would … .”

  “Mandy wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Emma replied.

  “She never does,” James said, slinging an arm over the back of his girlfriend’s chair and winking. “Why do you think I’m always so tired?”

  “I think that Gwen wanted to tire you out herself,” Emma said. “She told me that she thought all of you were attractive, but she was particularly interested in the one in the hat.”

  “Yeah, Mandy handled her in just the right way,” Finn said. “I don’t think she’ll be wanting to play with any of the Hardy boys any time soon.”

  Emma glanced down to the opposite end of the table, where a striking brunette was sitting with the one Hardy brother she hadn’t met yet.

  “Oh, crap,” Mandy said. “We’re being rude. That’s Grady and Sophie. They’re probably debating which one of them has prettier hair.”

  Grady stuck his tongue out, blowing a raspberry in Mandy’s direction. “I’ve already won that competition, my dear.”

  Sophie rolled her eyes. “In your dreams.”

  Emma felt herself relaxing, even though social situations often freaked her out. “You’re the reporter for the Daily Tribune, right? I’ve read a lot of your articles.”

  Sophie beamed. “Yeah, that’s me.”

  “And you didn’t grow up with them like Mandy, right?”

  “No, I just met them a few months ago,” Sophie said. “I’m still trying to decide if it was a good thing or a bad thing.”

  Grady reached over to tickle her ribs. “I’m the best thing that ever happened to you, sugar, and you know it.”

  “Of course you are,” Sophie said, smiling and patting him on the arm. “He needs constant reinforcement,” she explained to Emma. “It’s weird.”

  “It’s the hair,” Mandy said. “It makes him forget he’s not a woman.”

  “Hey, don’t hate the hair,” Grady warned. “When you hate the hair, it gets a complex.”

  “Do you have any idea how creepy it is when you talk about your hair like it has feelings?” James asked.

  “You think it’s funny when Mandy wears those shark slippers and pretends they have feelings,” Grady countered.

  “I think that’s cute,” James replied. “It gets her all riled up – and I like her when she’s all riled up.”

  Despite the in-jokes, Emma couldn’t help but feel welcome. “Shark slippers?”

  “Mandy is infatuated with all things shark,” Finn explained. “It’s obsessive and weird.”

  “It’s adorable and sexy,” James argued. “Don’t make fun of my girl.”

  “Don’t worry, I’m still going to play avalanche with you later,” Mandy said. “You can tell the truth.”

  James’ eyes reflected doubt. “Well, in that case, it’s a little odd. What can I say? I like my women odd.”

  The table erupted into laughter. Emma felt her knee brush against Finn’s under the table. She fought the urge to yank it away and, instead, kept it snug against his. The warmth emanating from their small point of contact was enough to make her feel lightheaded.

  What is happening?

  Conversation progressed after the waitress took everyone’s orders, settling into comfortable chatter and mindless exchanges for the bulk of the meal. Emma relished the feeling of normalcy. This is how regular people live, she thought. This is how people who aren’t related to child molesters go about their everyday lives, with laughter and love.

  Emma glanced over to find Mandy studying her worriedly.

  “So, how many days a week do you work, Emma?” Mandy asked.

  “
I’m usually booked Saturdays and Sundays for festivals and events,” Emma said. “I have a standing gig at one of the casinos in Detroit on Fridays, too.”

  “So, you’re free during the week?”

  “I’ve been taking some classes online,” Emma said. “I usually focus on that during the week.”

  “You’re going to school? That’s great. What are you going for?”

  Emma bit her lower lip. “I’ve always wanted to be a teacher,” she said. “Right now I’m just taking basic stuff, though, until I’m one-hundred-percent sure. I don’t want to waste any money.”

  “And the modeling pays for your classes?”

  “That’s the only reason I do it,” Emma said. “It’s never exactly been a dream of mine.”

  “It sounds like you don’t have a lot of free time,” Mandy said. “What do you do for fun?”

  Fun? What’s fun? “I kind of keep to myself,” Emma said. “I honestly don’t have a lot of friends. The girls I meet at jobs are all superficial and obnoxious – well, you met Gwen, and she’s pretty much representative of all models – so I really just keep my nose to the grindstone.”

  Mandy tilted her head to the side, considering. “Are you busy tomorrow night?”

  Emma had no idea where Mandy was going with her line of questioning. “I have to be back at the festival during the afternoon,” Emma said. “I’m free after that. Why?”

  Mandy’s smile was wide. “I have a great idea. We should have a girl’s night.”

  Sophie perked up at the end of the table. “That’s a great idea.”

  James cleared his throat. “Do I have to remind you what happened at your last girl’s night?”

  “Do I have to remind you who handled that situation?” Mandy shot back. “Besides, what are the odds of us getting attacked by another knife-wielding maniac?”

  James balked. “Where are you going to go?”

  Mandy shrugged. “I don’t know. Out to a bar or something.”

  “Why don’t you have everyone over to our place instead,” James said. “I would feel better about it if I knew where you were.”

  “Because you and your brothers have a poker game at the apartment tomorrow,” Mandy said. “Did you forget?”

  James rubbed his chin. “Go over to Sophie’s then.”

  “You can’t just invite people over to Sophie’s house,” Mandy said. “That’s not fair.”

  “It would normally be fine,” Sophie said. “I’ve actually got construction going on right now. They’re building a sun porch. Sure, I picked the worse time of year to do it, but it’s already half done.”

  “Ooh, that sounds nice,” Mandy said. “I want to see it when it’s complete.”

  “Sure.”

  Emma wasn’t sure, but she made the offer anyway. “You could come over to my place.”

  Mandy’s smile was so wide it almost swallowed her entire face. “Sold.”

  And, just like that, Emma felt like part of the group.

  Eleven

  Emma was nervous the next night when the knock on her door came. When she’d initially offered her apartment, she hadn’t considered how bad it would look. They all lived in great places. Sophie was having a sun porch added on to an actual house, for crying out loud. She just knew that this place would depress her guests.

  She opened the door, an apology on her lips. That apology died, though, when Emma realized that Mandy and Sophie had brought a guest. She ushered the women into her apartment, staring at her shoes wordlessly as they entered.

  They would judge, she told herself. They couldn’t help it. She was used to people judging.

  “This is Ally,” Mandy said, introducing the striking brunette she hadn’t met yet. “She’s Finn’s sister.”

  Emma’s head snapped up. Finn’s sister? Oh, crap.

  “It’s nice to meet you,” Ally said, smiling warmly. “Mandy has told me all about you.”

  What was that supposed to mean? “She has?” Emma was worried.

  Ally smiled. “Don’t worry. It was all good.”

  Emma exhaled nervously. “Oh, okay.”

  Sophie handed a grocery bag to Emma. “We brought drinks.”

  Emma glanced into the bag, not recognizing the bottles inside. There were a lot of them. “What is this?”

  “It’s Skinny Girl margaritas,” Ally replied. “They’re low-fat and awesome. Since they’re low-calorie, though, we need a lot of them.”

  “I’ve never had them before,” Emma admitted. “How do you mix them?”

  “You just pour them over ice,” Mandy said. “That’s why they’re so easy.”

  Emma froze. “I don’t have any ice. I mean, I don’t have an ice machine or anything.”

  Ally lifted her left hand, which was holding a plastic bag filled with square, frozen cubes. “We thought ahead.”

  Emma smiled, the first real smile she’d mustered all day. “I guess you’ve done this before.”

  Mandy patted her shoulder reassuringly. “Don’t worry. You’ll catch on pretty quickly. There’s not much of a learning curve here.”

  TWO HOURS later, Emma wondered how she’d ever lived without Skinny Girl margaritas. “These are amazing.”

  “They’re good,” Ally agreed. “I’ve tried to make my brothers drink them, but they say they won’t drink chick liquor.”

  “Men are stupid,” Sophie said, slurring her words slightly. “If you don’t lead them to the trough, they won’t eat.”

  Ally giggled. “Trough? Did you grow up on a farm?”

  “No. That’s a saying,” Sophie said. “One of my co-workers always says it. He’s from Armada or something. He always says weird things like that.”

  “Do you like being a reporter?” Emma asked, stretching her legs out in front of her. Everyone was sitting on the floor around her small coffee table. And, while Emma had initially worried about the lack of seating in her apartment, the drinks had eradicated her fear.

  “Yeah,” Sophie said. “I really like it. I like to get in people’s faces.”

  “Does it pay well?”

  “Not at all.”

  “That’s too bad.”

  Sophie shrugged. “I get by. I have a trust fund from when my parents died. I try not to dip into it too often, though, in case I need it down the road.”

  Emma was horrified. “Oh, God, your parents died? That’s awful.”

  “It was a long time ago,” Sophie said. “I don’t even really remember them. I don’t even have a picture of them.”

  Emma glanced up at the frame on her dresser, Mandy following her gaze. Mandy got to her feet and shuffled over so she could get a better look at the photograph. “Is this your mother?”

  “Yeah. It’s the only picture I have of her.”

  “She’s pretty,” Mandy said. “You look like her.”

  “She left when my dad was charged,” Emma said. “I don’t even know why I keep the photo.”

  “That’s sad,” Ally said. “You don’t talk to her?”

  Emma bit her lip, unsure of what Mandy had told Ally.

  “It’s okay,” Ally said. “I know about your family. You don’t have any reason to be ashamed.”

  “I have every reason to be ashamed,” Emma bit back.

  Mandy returned the frame to the dresser and moved back toward the group. “Why do you think that?”

  “My father raped and abused more than fifty boys,” Emma said. “What am I supposed to think?”

  “Yeah, but you didn’t do that, Emma,” Mandy argued. “Why do you blame yourself?”

  “Who else am I supposed to blame?”

  “Your father,” Sophie said. “He was the bad man. You were a kid.”

  “I was a teenager at some point,” Emma countered. “I should have known what he was doing.”

  “Why? Did he do it in front of you?” Ally prodded.

  “Of course not.”

  “Then how were you supposed to know?”

  “Wouldn’t you have known
if your father was doing heinous things like that?” Emma said.

  “Not if he was trying to hide it,” Ally replied. “You can’t help who your father is, Emma. Blaming yourself for something you had no control over seems like a really stupid way to live your life.”

  “You don’t understand,” Emma said. “It was all there. It was right in front of me. I should have seen.”

  “I understand,” Sophie said, her voice low. “I may not understand exactly what you’ve been through, but it’s not like my father is perfect.”

  “But your father is dead,” Emma shot back.

  “My biological father is dead,” Sophie replied. “My foster father is very much alive. He was a wonderful provider, and he was always interested in my schoolwork and my day. That doesn’t mean he’s perfect.”

  Emma remained silent, waiting for Sophie to continue.

  “My foster father is Peter Marconi. Do you know who that is?”

  The name rang a bell, but Emma couldn’t quite grasp why. “No.”

  “He’s a mobster,” Sophie explained. “He’s one of the biggest runners in the area.”

  “Runners? Do you mean drugs?”

  Sophie shrugged. “I choose to believe he doesn’t run drugs,” she said. “I’m not naïve, though. Even if he doesn’t, he’s still a thief, and I’m fairly certain he’s responsible for more than a handful of deaths.”

  “And how do you live with that?” Emma asked.

  “That’s his life, not mine,” Sophie said. “We have dinner once a month. We talk. We laugh. I still love him. His misdeeds are not my misdeeds. And, if it came down to it, if I saw something I knew that was truly wrong … I would like to believe I’d do the right thing.”

  “You didn’t see anything,” Ally said, turning back to Emma. “You have to believe you would have done the right thing if you had seen something. That’s got to be the thing you hold on to.”

  Emma’s face crumpled, her eyes filling with tears.

  Mandy settled down next to her, wrapping her arm around the shaking girl. “I think you need to try and let this go if you can. If you keep holding it in like this, you’ll never be happy. Don’t you want to be happy?”

  “I don’t think happiness exists for people like me,” Emma admitted, her voice thick with tears.

  “I think you’re wrong,” Mandy said. “Let me ask you something. If you don’t think you deserve happiness, is that why you’re giving Finn the bum’s rush?”