Deadly Honeymoon (Hardy Brothers Security Book 7)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  Mandy could hear him laughing as he moved down the hall.

  “WHERE is Ally?” Finn asked, glancing around Sophie’s front yard. He was waiting for the moving truck with James and Jake, and his sister’s absence had just hit him.

  “She’s in bed,” Jake said.

  “Hung-over?” James asked, arching an eyebrow.

  “I believe her exact words were ‘just kill me now,’” Jake said. “I actually felt a little bad for her. I poured some aspirin and water down her, and then left her there.”

  “Mandy was just as bad,” James said. “I took pictures.”

  Finn smirked. “You took pictures of your sick wife? That’s not nice. I guess the honeymoon really is over.”

  “First off, the honeymoon is never going to be over,” James said. “I won’t allow it. Secondly, she is not sick. She’s hung-over. She did it to herself. I wouldn’t take pictures of her while she’s sick. I’m not that kind of guy.”

  “Oh, well, at least you have your standards,” Finn teased.

  James pulled his phone out and showed the photograph to Jake and Finn. “I think she looks cute,” he said. “This is always the woman I dreamed about marrying.”

  Finn bent over at the waist, gales of laughter pouring out of his mouth. “Omigod!”

  Jake managed to refrain from laughing out loud, but amusement was brightening his dark eyes. “Ally looks just as bad.”

  “Isn’t Emma hung-over?” James asked. “She had just as much to drink, and she’s a lightweight compared to my sister and my wife.”

  “You just like saying ‘wife,’ don’t you?” Jake asked.

  “I do,” James admitted.

  “Oh, Emma could never look that bad in the morning,” Finn said. “It’s genetically impossible.”

  James rolled his eyes.

  “Besides, I didn’t get to see her this morning,” Finn said. “She refused to lift the covers. I had to leave her aspirin and water on the nightstand and promise not to look.”

  James snickered. “Is that the model thing?”

  “She says she doesn’t like people looking at her, and I believe her,” Finn said. “She’s got a surprising vain streak, though. She doesn’t like looking bad. She won’t even wear jogging pants in public, even if we’re just going to the store.”

  “She’ll get over that,” James said. “Mandy used to refuse to kiss me before she brushed her teeth in the morning. Now? Meh, she’ll wander around in almost anything – or nothing, for that matter.

  “Although, she was worried the neighbors could see her getting into the hot tub naked the other night,” James continued. “That was kind of funny.”

  “I bet that hot tub is fun,” Finn said, sighing.

  “You have no idea,” James said. “I’m keeping it going in the winter, too. That reminds me, I need to make a call to have that thing winterized before fall hits.”

  “You still have two months.”

  “I know, I just don’t want to forget,” James said. “I have very specific visions of naked Sundays with hot toddies and mountains of steam while it’s snowing around us.”

  “Stay classy,” Finn said.

  “Hey, what’s not classy about that?”

  “I think he’s taking about you telling us about your naked Sunday plans,” Jake filled in.

  “Ah.” James shrugged. “You’ll live.”

  “Here he comes,” Jake said, pointing as the moving truck trundled closer. “I’m glad he doesn’t have a lot of stuff. I hate leaving Ally home alone all day when she doesn’t feel good.”

  “She’s not sick,” James said, watching as Grady backed into the driveway. “She did it to herself.”

  “Is this your tough-love approach?” Finn asked, a grin splitting his face. “Because I seem to remember a guy who spent an entire night sleeping on the bathroom floor when his girlfriend had food poisoning.”

  “She didn’t do that to herself,” James said, stubbornly holding his ground.

  “So, you’re not going to go home and fawn all over Mandy?” Jake asked.

  “Nope.”

  “You’re such a liar,” Finn said, tugging on his work gloves as he moved toward the truck. “I see visions of blue roses, chocolate, and her favorite Middle Eastern food in her future.”

  “I told her to come here if she wants lunch,” James countered. “I am not babying her because she drank too much.”

  “Okay,” Finn said, holding up his hands. “I’m impressed with how strong you are. The old James would’ve rubbed her back while she threw up.”

  James scowled. “I did that one time.”

  “That we know of.”

  “Oh … just empty the truck,” James grumbled.

  “WHERE do you want this?” Jake asked, holding the box of books up so Grady could see what he’d carried in.

  “Put it in the office,” Grady said. “Is that the last of it?”

  “Yup.”

  Grady ran his hand through his hair as he glanced around the living room. He didn’t own a lot of furniture, and what he did bring had been easy to find a spot for. Sophie was something of a minimalist, and she wasn’t territorial, so Grady felt comfortable with the current placement of his things.

  James opened the refrigerator and tossed a bottle of water in Grady’s direction. “Where is Sophie?”

  “She’s in bed,” Grady said. “She feels like death.”

  “I think all of our women do,” Finn said, smirking. “Speaking of which, I should probably decide what I’m ordering so I can take it home to Emma. I don’t think she’s leaving the apartment today.”

  “Ally is probably still in bed,” Jake said. “What a way to waste a Sunday.”

  “Oh, did you two have plans?” Finn asked.

  “No, we were just going to … .” Jake glanced at James. “We were just going to watch some television.”

  Finn barked out a laugh. “Sure you were.”

  Thankfully for Jake, the sound of the bedroom door opening at the end of the hall caught everyone’s attention. The brunette reporter in residence shuffled down the hallway, her long brown hair piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She was dressed in plain flannel sleeping pants and an over-sized T-shirt.

  Since he’d only ever seen Sophie disheveled once since he met her – and that was under extenuating circumstances – James was mildly surprised by her appearance. “Hey, Sophie.”

  Sophie lifted her finger to her lips and shot James a withering look.

  She ignored the rest of the men as she rummaged through the refrigerator. Grady, standing at the counter, didn’t even bother trying to hide his smile when he saw her start guzzling a bottle of water.

  “How are you feeling, sugar?”

  Sophie scowled. “I’m going to kill Ally.”

  “Does your head feel better?” Grady asked.

  “No.”

  “Do you want to try and eat something?”

  “No.”

  “Do you want us to go outside and talk? Because we have one quick work thing to discuss before everyone goes.”

  “I thought they were helping you move,” Sophie countered.

  Grady faltered. “They did. I just have to take the truck back. We’re done.”

  Sophie’s angular face was awash with confusion. “How did you move everything so quickly? Were you up at the crack of dawn or something?”

  Grady pursed his lips. “What time do you think it is?”

  Sophie shrugged. “I don’t know, eleven?”

  “It’s almost three, sugar,” Grady said.

  “It is not.”

  “It is, too.”

  “No.” Sophie shook her head furiously, raising her hand to her forehead when the pain associated with the gesture hit her.

  “I’m sorry, sweetie, but it’s three,” Grady said, holding up his cellphone for proof.

  Sophie frowned. “You’re saying I’ve lost an entire day because of Ally’s blue drink of death?”

  “Pret
ty much.”

  “I hate her,” Sophie growled.

  “You’ll feel better when you’ve eaten,” Grady said, rubbing her back. “How about I pick you up something from that deli you like on Gratiot on my way back?”

  Sophie was still pouting. “I guess.”

  “Do you want us to go outside to talk so we don’t hurt your delicate ears?”

  Sophie made a face. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she said. “I am perfectly capable of listening to you talk without curling into a ball on the floor and crying.”

  Grady kissed her temple softly, exchanging an amused look with James across the counter island. “Okay. Just … drink another bottle of water and try to feel better.”

  Sophie rolled her eyes. “Do not treat me like a child.”

  Grady stood there, helpless. “You know, so far, this living-together thing isn’t working out so well for me.”

  Sophie didn’t respond, but her eyes softened as she pulled another bottle of water out of the refrigerator.

  Grady moved to the other side of the island. “Okay, so I talked to Maverick this morning,” he said.

  “And he still maintains that the file on the flash drive isn’t corrupted?” James asked.

  “He says it’s not,” Grady said. “He says that’s all there is. They’re numbers. He says he has no idea what they represent.”

  Grady flipped the file on the counter open before continuing.

  “So, we have nowhere to go until we know what these numbers represent,” he said.

  “I don’t like it,” James said. “Why would someone stick a flash drive with numbers that no one can read and a map into Mandy’s purse?”

  “Maybe they thought they could come back and get it later,” Jake suggested. “Maybe they were being followed or something.”

  “Didn’t you say the house was broken into the night before the body was found?” Grady pressed.

  “Yeah.”

  “What if the guy slipped it in Mandy’s purse, followed you home, and then came back to get it while you were gone,” Grady suggested. “Maybe someone followed him – or was with him – and when he couldn’t find it he killed him because he was a loose end.”

  “That makes sense,” James admitted. “I just … what could those numbers possibly mean?”

  “These numbers?” Sophie asked. She was studying the sheet of paper from Grady’s file.

  Grady nodded.

  “They’re dealer packs.”

  The four men in the room fixed her with identical puzzled expressions.

  “Did she just explain something?” Finn asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Grady said.

  Sophie made a face. “They’re dealer packs,” she said. “You see this right here? It says ten kilograms. That’s how much a million dollars in hundreds weighs.”

  “I don’t understand,” James hedged.

  Sophie sucked in a breath, forcing herself to remain calm even though her temper was bubbling at the surface. “When you’re dealing with large sums of money to trade, you can’t sit there and count it,” she said. “You don’t have the time. So, instead, men involved in certain … circles … weigh money instead of counting it. A million dollars in hundreds weighs ten kilograms, or twenty-two pounds.”

  Grady was trying to form words, but nothing was coming out.

  “So, that document says that there are eight packages, all weighing ten kilograms,” James asked, looking for confirmation. “That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

  Sophie nodded.

  “And I bet the map shows where those packages are,” Jake said. “That would make sense.”

  “And eight million bucks is definitely worth killing someone over,” Finn mused.

  James shifted his attention to Sophie. “How can you possibly know that?”

  “I know men from all kinds of circles,” she said.

  “Peter,” Grady said. “You know that because of Peter.”

  Sophie shrugged. “He does run in different circles.”

  James rubbed the back of his neck, considering. “Well, this changes things. Now what do we do?”

  “I have no idea,” Grady said. “Whatever it is, we need to be smart about it.”

  Finn glanced at his watch. “Speaking of, I have to go and feed Emma. I’d like to salvage the night if I can.”

  “I’m right there with you,” Jake said. “I need to go and get some Olive Garden for Ally. I’m guessing it’s the only thing she’s going to eat.”

  Finn smirked at James. “Are you still playing it tough and not coddling Mandy?”

  “I’m not rewarding her bad behavior,” James said. “I’m putting my foot down.”

  “I want to be just like you when I grow up,” Finn said.

  “But you’re still getting Emma dinner?”

  “Of course I am,” Finn said. “If I don’t feed her, there’s absolutely no way I’m getting sex. I’m willing to take one for the team.”

  James frowned. He hadn’t considered that. “Well … maybe I’ll get her a bag of chips or something.”

  Twelve

  “Hey, baby.”

  James found Mandy sitting at the small dining room table, a bottle of water in front of her, and a weary smile on her face.

  “Hi, husband.”

  “You’re calling me husband now?” James asked, dropping the bag of food he was carrying onto the kitchen counter as he looked her over. She seemed better. She didn’t look one-hundred-percent healthy, but she definitely appeared to be on her way to recovery. She’d showered, and her face had that “just scrubbed” look he loved so much.

  “I’m trying it on for size.”

  “How does it fit?”

  “It feels … awkward.”

  “Why are you trying it on for size?” James asked, pushing her blonde hair back from her forehead so he could replace it with a kiss.

  “I don’t know,” Mandy said, shrugging. “You call me nicknames, and they make me feel … special. I don’t call you anything but James.”

  “And you think that giving me a nickname will make me feel special?”

  “I … I just want to call you something that no one else calls you,” she admitted.

  “Husband works for me,” James said. “You could call me stud,” he suggested. “Although, that kind of defeats the purpose of the name being special. Any woman who has ever slept with me knows I’m a stud.”

  He expected her to smile, but she didn’t.

  “I don’t want to be picky,” Mandy said. “But most women don’t like their husbands talking about all of the other women they’ve slept with.”

  “I was doing no such thing,” James protested. “I was … .”

  “Did I ever tell you about my college boyfriend, Todd Marin?” Mandy cut him off. “He was hung like … .”

  “Don’t you dare finish that sentence,” James ordered. “I will never bring up any woman from my past again.”

  “You’re a peach,” Mandy said, mulling the word over in her mind.

  “You’re not giving me a nickname that can double as food,” James warned. “I draw the line at that. Just call me husband – or ‘love of my life.’”

  Mandy smirked, lifting her nose as the smell of dinner hit it. “What did you get?”

  “Well, I wasn’t going to get you anything,” James admitted. “I didn’t want to reward your bad behavior.”

  Mandy stuck her tongue out.

  “Finn informed me that if I didn’t feed you, I probably wasn’t going to get sex,” James said. “And, since last night was the first night we haven’t … um … basked in each other’s love since we got married, I didn’t want to let the streak continue.”

  Mandy lifted an eyebrow. “Basked in each other’s love?”

  “Do you prefer fornicated like fluffy bunnies?”

  Mandy giggled, but then her face sobered. “You’re right.”

  “I’m always right.”

  “No, you’re right about last nigh
t,” Mandy said. “I broke the streak. I ruined our ongoing honeymoon.”

  James made a face. She was so maudlin sometimes. It drove him crazy. “Technically, we had sex yesterday morning,” James reminded her. “Our streak is still intact. We just can’t let tonight slip away from us.”

  Mandy nodded, studying her cuticles. James knew what she was thinking.

  “If you sit there and pout about breaking the streak all night, I’m going to have sex with myself and call it good,” he threatened.

  Mandy’s chuckled, clearly amused with his empty threat. “I am sorry.”

  “Don’t be sorry,” James said. “I’m just giving you a hard time. It’s not like you were driving. The night just got away from you. I think we can blame Ally for making the drinks so strong. It’s not like you ever get falling-down drunk like that. It’s not a big deal.”

  “But … .”

  “Not buts – well, maybe later,” James said, pinching her rear for emphasis. “Now it’s time for dinner. Then we’re going to watch some television. And then? Well, then I’m going to be the one groping you in the hot tub tonight.”

  “I love you, James,” Mandy said, her voice small but warm.

  James leaned down and gave her a sweet kiss. “I love you, too,” he said. “And I don’t know why you can’t just call me James. When you say it, it makes me feel all warm and tingly.”

  “I think that’s because I have my hand in your pants,” Mandy teased.

  “Soon, baby,” James said, dropping the takeout container on the table in front of her. “Now, eat your dinner.”

  Mandy didn’t have to be told twice. The sound of her growling stomach told James this was the first nourishment she’d had all day. He was suddenly glad he’d given in and picked up dinner.

  “So, how was the move?” Mandy asked.

  “Quick,” James said. “Even with all of Grady’s stuff there now, the house still feels empty.”

  “They’ll fill it with stuff over time,” Mandy said. “I think Sophie doesn’t have anything sentimental because she lost it all once before.”

  James sat down at the table and opened his own dinner, transferring the beet sticks to Mandy’s box out of habit. He didn’t like them, and she loved mixing them in with her rice. “What do you mean she lost all her stuff?”

  “When she was a kid,” Mandy said. “They just stuck her in the foster system. She has no idea what happened to all of her parents’ things. She didn’t have any other relatives, so it’s just all gone. She doesn’t have any of her childhood dolls, or photo books, or tea sets. She just doesn’t have that stuff.