Deadly Illusions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 3)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  Finn opened his mouth to say something, but Emma silenced him with a look.

  “I’m sorry for lying to you,” she said. “I’m sorry for not telling you the truth. I knew what would happen when I did. I was just being selfish. I didn’t want to let you go. And, the truth is, I knew that the minute you found out exactly how … ruined I was, that you would run. I was just delaying the inevitable.”

  Emma brushed her fingers against his arm lightly as she moved past him, casting one final glance over her shoulder as she paused at the front door.

  “I wish you all the best,” she said. “I really do.”

  With those words, she disappeared out the door – and Finn’s heart shattered into a million pieces, while Mandy exploded in rage.

  Twenty-Four

  “What is wrong with you?” Mandy’s was irate, her face flushing with abject fury.

  Taken aback, Finn flinched. “What?”

  “Why did you let her go?” Mandy pressed.

  “She didn’t give me a chance to do anything else,” Finn protested.

  “She gave you ten different chances, you moron,” Mandy said. “She was practically begging you to stop her.”

  Finn turned to James, bewilderment coursing through him. “What is she talking about?”

  James looked equally confused. “I’m not sure.”

  “You two are such … men,” Mandy said. “She wanted you to stop her. She wanted you to tell her it didn’t change how you felt about her. Instead, you just reinforced everything she’s been telling herself for a decade.”

  “And, just for clarification, that would be what?” James asked.

  Mandy’s face was dour. “That she’s worthless.”

  Finn stirred. “What?”

  “That’s how she feels,” Mandy said. “She feels worthless. You heard her. She thinks she’s ruined. She thinks her father spoiled her for the rest of her life. That no man could care for her because the one who was supposed to when she was a child used her and abused her.

  “She thinks she’s damaged goods, Finn,” Mandy continued. “You know, the night of the fire she said something to me that didn’t make a lot of sense then, but it does now. She said that she wasn’t good enough for you, and you would figure that out one day.”

  Finn swallowed hard.

  “Well, congratulations,” Mandy said, sarcasm dripping from her tongue. “You just told a woman who was finally starting to feel that she was worth something that she wasn’t worth shit. You deserve a flipping medal!”

  Mandy turned on her heel, stalking toward the door. James shot out an arm to stop her. “Where are you going?”

  “To take her to the apartment,” Mandy said. “She doesn’t have a car here. Do you think she’s going to just walk or something?”

  Sanity finally reclaimed Finn and he moved past Mandy, pushing her to the side so he could get to the door. “I’ve got it.”

  “Don’t go out there if you’re just going to hurt her again,” Mandy warned. “Don’t go out there if you’re just going to make things worse.”

  “I’m not going to make them worse,” Finn said. “I’m going to fix … I’m going to try to fix what I broke.”

  Finn pushed the door open, disappearing through it. As the door closed, Mandy turned to find James watching her suspiciously.

  “What?”

  “You did that on purpose,” James said.

  “What?”

  “You yelled at him on purpose because you knew that he would want to follow her,” James said. “You just kind of gave him a little push so he would do it sooner rather than stewing about it all night. You wanted to save him from groveling – and Emma from suffering any longer than she had to.”

  Mandy made a face. “I did not.”

  “You did, too,” James said. “You totally manipulated him.”

  Mandy shrugged. “I’m wounded by your words.” She started to climb the stairs.

  “Where are you going?” James asked.

  “I can’t see them make up from down here,” Mandy replied, taking the stairs two at a time. “The view is a lot better from the second-floor landing.”

  James shook his head but followed. He was kind of curious to see what would happen, too.

  FINN found Emma on the sidewalk in front of Hardy Brothers Security. She had her new iPhone pressed to her ear, and she was asking Information for the number of a local cab company.

  Finn reached over and took the phone out of her hand, pressing the button to disconnect the call wordlessly. Emma jumped when she felt his presence.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I want to talk to you,” Finn said. “I think … I think you may have gotten the wrong idea in there.”

  “And what is the right idea, Finn?” Emma asked. “You’re disgusted by me. I get it.”

  “I’m not disgusted by you,” Finn said, shaking his head for emphasis. “I’m pissed off because of what your father did.”

  “What he did to me,” Emma said. “He did it to me. He … ruined me. I know that. I’ve always known that.”

  “He didn’t ruin you, Emma,” he said. “He tried to. He could never ruin you, though.”

  Tears were falling freely down Emma’s face now. “You can’t tell me that you’ll ever look at me the same way again,” she said. “I see it on your face. You’re trying to be the bigger man here. You’re trying to pretend like I don’t disgust you. I know the truth.”

  Finn reached over to wipe one of her tears away with his thumb. “I may not look at you the same way anymore,” he agreed. “Things are different now.”

  Emma made a piteous whining sound in her throat.

  “Before, I didn’t know the truth,” Finn said. “I didn’t know the real you.”

  “The real me? You mean the girl who was used up by her own father before she even hit her teens? Is that the real me you’re talking about?”

  Finn tried not to let the bitterness in Emma’s voice break him. “No. I’m talking about the woman who overcame every rotten thing life ever threw at her,” he said. “The real you is sweet, and kind, and beautiful, and heartbreakingly sad sometimes.

  “The real you is brave, and fierce, and steadfast, and loyal, and pragmatic,” Finn continued. “The real you is a better person than you have any business being given the trash that raised you.”

  Emma shook her head, making a move to walk away from him. Finn wouldn’t let her. Not this time. He stepped in front of her.

  “The real you caught my attention the first second I saw you, Emma,” Finn said. “And I know you think it’s because you’re a model, and I just wanted to sleep with you. Part of that is probably true. The real me saw behind your facade, though, and the real me wanted the real you right from the beginning.”

  “It’s too late,” Emma said. “You’ll never be able to accept this and move on.”

  “How do you know what I’m capable of?” Finn asked. “How do you know what I want? Because let me tell you something, sweetie, I’ve wanted you from the second I saw you and nothing has changed. This hasn’t changed anything, except that I now think you’re even more amazing than I already did.”

  A small sob escaped Emma’s mouth. “You can’t mean that. I won’t hold you to that. You just don’t want to hurt me. That’s who you are. You’re kind and giving – and you try really hard to do the right thing. In the end, you’ll leave because you have no other choice.”

  Finn reached over, lacing his fingers with hers to buoy himself. “I don’t know what tomorrow will bring,” Finn said. “I can’t promise you forever. We haven’t known each other all that long yet,” he said. “I can promise you that nothing your father said, nothing he did, has changed the way I feel about you. That – all of that – is not going to be a consideration between us. I won’t let it, and I won’t let you let it either.”

  Emma’s face crumpled. Finn reached for her, pulling her into his arms as tenderly as he could manage. She melted into him, her legs going
out from under her. Finn held her up, tightening his arms so he could keep her tight in his embrace. His mouth found hers after a few seconds. He was tentative, waiting to see if she would respond. When he felt her lips move against his he sighed.

  He’d meant every word he said and, if it took days, weeks even, for Emma to have faith in his words, he would just have to keep repeating them until she believed.

  He could do that.

  He would do that.

  MANDY’S face was smug as she watched Finn load Emma into his Escalade. He hadn’t bothered to come back and say goodbye. His priority was clearly Emma now – as it should be – and the two of them probably had a long night ahead of them.

  “You’re pretty proud of yourself, aren’t you?” James said. He was standing behind her, his arms loose around her waist as he snuggled into her slight frame and watched his brother open his heart to a shaky woman a floor below.

  “I don’t think proud is the right word.”

  James kissed the tender spot behind her ear. “Well, you should be proud of yourself. You handled that exactly the right way.”

  “I know.”

  James sighed. “Has anyone ever told you that you’re full of yourself?”

  “If you play your cards right, I can be full of you in a little bit,” Mandy teased.

  James tightened his arms around her. “Your mouth is as dirty as your mind sometimes,” he said. “I find it to be incredibly sexy.”

  “Good,” Mandy said, swiveling around so she was facing him. She nipped his lower lip. “I just have one thing to check, and then we can go and be sexy together.”

  James was ready to be sexy now. “What’s the one thing?” He knew he sounded whiny, but he was beyond caring at this particular moment.

  Mandy pulled out of his arms. “The security office at the boat show is supposed to be sending us video of the acid attack on Emma,” Mandy said. “I just want to see if it has arrived.”

  “I checked with them the day after the attack,” James said. “They said it would be at least three weeks until they could get to it.”

  “Yes, well, Sophie and I didn’t think that was an appropriate timeframe,” Mandy said. “She called them and applied a little pressure, and we set up a drop box so they could send it to us digitally. I just want to see if they’ve sent it yet.”

  James followed Mandy down the stairs, curious. “And they just did this because they’re upstanding citizens?”

  “I think they did it because Sophie agreed not to publicize the attack at the boat show,” Mandy said. “She has a certain way with people.”

  “Ah.”

  Mandy settled into the chair behind James’ desk and flipped the laptop open. After a few seconds, she was smiling. “They sent it.”

  James moved behind her so he could watch the video over her shoulder, kneading his fingers into her back to loosen her up for later. The security personnel had edited down the footage to include the few minutes before and after the attack. After watching it three times, Mandy turned to James. “What do you think?”

  “I think we can try to run it through some facial-recognition software,” James said. “I don’t know if it will work, though. Maybe we should have Maverick look at it. That guy has a hoodie on. Maverick might be able to tweak it better so we can pick up more features on his face. All we can see now is that he has a big nose.”

  Maverick was the computer guru Hardy Brothers Security often hired for tech work. He was a weird night owl – but he was absolutely gifted in the computer world. His social skills, on the other hand, were decidedly lacking.

  Mandy started the video from the beginning one more time.

  “What do you see?” James asked.

  Mandy worried her bottom lip. “I’m not sure,” she said. “I just … this is going to sound weird … but there’s something about him that’s familiar.”

  “Yeah, he looks like any other hipster in the Tri-county area,” James said. “They’re a dime a dozen.”

  “Maybe … .”

  “How would you know him?”

  Mandy shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe he was in the courtroom for Pritchard’s trial.”

  “Well, I’ll send this to Maverick and see if he can make anything of it,” James said. “We’ll go from there.”

  Mandy’s gaze was still focused on the screen. James pushed the laptop closed, drawing her attention to him. “I believe you promised me some dirty talk.”

  Mandy forced the image from the video out of her head. “I did.”

  “Well, don’t keep me waiting, woman,” he said. “I need some loving.”

  Sometimes, when she looked at him, all she felt was overwhelming love – and now was one of those times. “Let’s go, gigolo.”

  James chuckled, hoisting her over his shoulder so he could carry her up the stairs. “If you want me to be a gigolo tonight, then you’re going to have to pay me.”

  Since she was hanging upside down, Mandy couldn’t read his face. “Do you take checks?”

  “With two forms of I.D.”

  “Done.”

  Twenty-Five

  The next morning, Emma woke up in Finn’s strong arms. She wanted to pinch herself to see if this was real. When Finn had brought her back to the apartment the previous evening, things were initially awkward.

  Then, without words, he’d pulled her to him. Their mouths found each other at the same time their hearts did. Their lovemaking had been gentle, beautiful almost. Every touch had been a revelation, every moan a confirmation. Emma had never felt so alive – or free.

  “What are you thinking about?” Finn asked, his tone sleepy.

  Emma smiled. “Nothing. I was just … thinking.”

  “Good thoughts or bad thoughts?”

  “Good thoughts.”

  Finn rubbed his nose against her neck, burrowing in closer. “I’m glad to hear that.”

  “What are you thinking?” Emma asked, her tone worried.

  “I was trying to decide if we should spend the day in bed or try to accomplish something,” Finn admitted. “It’s a tough choice.”

  Emma chuckled. “And what did you decide?”

  “I’m leaning toward the bed option,” Finn said, pressing his naked length against her rear.

  “Maybe we could do both,” Emma suggested.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “I was thinking that we could spend the morning in bed, and then maybe we could go out and run some errands,” she said.

  “What errands?”

  “I need to find a place to live,” Emma said. “I can’t live here forever.”

  “If it’s any consolation, I’m not sure Mandy wants it back right away,” Finn said. “I think you can stay here as long as you need to.”

  “I know,” Emma said. “I just think it would be nice to get a place of my own again. I can’t start putting a list together for the insurance agency until I have a place to put stuff.”

  “Ah, I didn’t think of that. Okay,” Finn said, brushing his lips against the hollow of her neck. “I’m up for that.”

  “It feels like you’re up for more than that,” Emma said, teasing.

  Finn rolled her over so she was facing him. “Let’s find out.”

  THE image in the video was still bothering Mandy when she let herself into her office Monday morning. She settled at the desk, trying to clear her mind so she could identify what was bothering her so much about it.

  She was so caught up in her own thoughts that she jumped when Judge MacIntosh poked his head inside her office. “Good morning.”

  “Good morning,” Mandy said. “Sorry, I didn’t see you there.”

  The judge walked into the small room, looking her over carefully. “It looks like you were lost in thought,” he said. “Are you still thinking about the fire?”

  Mandy shook her head. “No. And, I want to apologize again for what James did,” she said. “It wasn’t very professional.”

  Judge MacIntosh purse
d his lips. “It may not have been professional, but it came from a place of love,” he said. “You can say what you want about the boy, but he’s completely crazy about you. That makes me like him.”

  Mandy couldn’t argue with that. Her mind turned back to the video footage. “Do you remember the Pritchard trial?”

  “That’s not the kind of case you can just forget about,” he replied. “Why do you ask?”

  Mandy told the judge about Emma and her recent troubles, finishing up her tale with the footage and how she felt the hooded figure felt familiar. Judge MacIntosh tapped his chin thoughtfully. “Do you have access to the video here?”

  “It’s in a drop box,” Mandy said. “I can pull it up.”

  “Show me.”

  The judge joined Mandy behind her desk, waiting until she started up the footage, and then watching it – twice – from beginning to end. Mandy waited for his response.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “That could be anyone to me. You have a better feel for faces. You know me, I can’t see anything clearly without my glasses on. And, where the Pritchard case is concerned, I had trouble looking a lot of those boys and young men in the eye. That was a failing on my part.”

  “It was hard,” Mandy agreed. “Part of me doesn’t want it to be any of them.”

  “Because it would mean that you’re victimizing a victim again,” the judge supplied.

  “Yeah.”

  “On the other hand, if it’s not one of them, that means that Emma is still in danger and your boyfriend and his brothers have to start from scratch,” he said.

  “Exactly.”

  “Well, there is a third option here I think you’re overlooking.”

  “There is?”

  “We have security cameras in the building,” Judge MacIntosh said. “There’s a lot of video to go through, but I believe there’s a certain security guard who would be more than willing to try and find a face in a crowd for you.”

  Mandy frowned. Clint. He’d been hurt in the attempt on her life almost seven months before. Sadly, the attack hadn’t eroded any of the infatuation he seemed to harbor where she was concerned. If anything, it had only given it wings.