Deadly Waves (Hardy Brothers Security Book 23)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “I’m not asking you to do that.”

  “I don’t feel safe being away from you for long stretches right now,” James said. “If they can’t understand that … .”

  “I don’t want to be away from you either,” Mandy said, licking her lips as she searched for the right words to calm him. “It might not hurt to placate them a little during this trip, though.”

  James’ forehead creased. “How do you want to do that?”

  Mandy shrugged. “I don’t know,” she answered. “I could have a few drinks with Ally by the pool when it’s just us so we can talk. I’m sure she has a lot of plans for the wedding she wants to go over, and I haven’t been exactly open and available.”

  “I don’t have a problem with that,” James said. “Well, I don’t have a problem as long as I can see you.”

  Mandy rolled her eyes. “I was thinking you could shoot skeet with your brothers for an outing,” she said. “It’s right down the deck from the pool and we’ll still be close without being on top of each other.”

  “I’ve never been someone who enjoys shooting clay discs.”

  “Yes, but you love winning and you can turn that into a competition with your brothers and Jake.”

  James cupped the back of her head as they continued swaying. “I can see this is important to you,” he said. “I’ll agree to your terms under one condition.”

  “What condition is that?”

  “We leave this place right now and go back to our room so we can spend some quality time together.”

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

  James couldn’t help but match her grin. “Prepare yourself, baby. It’s time to play pirate captain and sea wench.”

  “Oh, I’ve always wanted to be a sea wench.”

  “And that right there is why you’re the love of my life. Prepare yourself, baby. We’re going to set sail for love. What? Too schmaltzy?”

  “Just a little.”

  7

  Seven

  “What are you doing?”

  James found Mandy sitting on the floor in front of the marine window when he left the bathroom a few hours later. He thought she was satiated after their romp and expected to have to slip underneath her to get comfortable before drifting off to sleep, but she surprised him by getting out of bed. She was completely naked as she stared through the window.

  “What?” Mandy jerked her head away from the window, which offered enough light for her to see a few feet out. Unfortunately for her, nothing was there to catch her interest.

  “You’re supposed to be asleep,” James chided as he moved to the floor with her. He didn’t bother grabbing a blanket to cover his nakedness because the room temperature was comfortable. “You promised to go out of your way to spend time with Ally tomorrow.”

  “I have every intention of spending oodles of time with Ally,” Mandy said, sighing as James rubbed his hand over her bare back. “I just wanted to look for a few minutes.”

  “Uh-huh.” James was understandably dubious. “You need your sleep. How is your foot?”

  Mandy made a face as she shifted her sea-blue eyes to him. Her hair was tousled from some vigorous sea pirating and the soft light from the marine window gave her a sexy appeal that had James reconsidering how important a good night’s sleep was to him.

  “My foot is fine,” Mandy replied. “I wish you would stop asking about my foot. The doctor says it is mostly healed. It’s not going to pop open when you’re not looking.”

  James tugged a strand of Mandy’s hair behind her ear. “I’m your husband. It’s my job to worry.”

  “You don’t have to worry about me,” Mandy said, her voice soft. “I’m okay.”

  “I know you are. That doesn’t mean I will ever stop worrying about you. I can’t seem to help myself.”

  Mandy’s expression softened and then another emotion James couldn’t identify flitted across her face. “Can I ask you a question?”

  James groaned as he leaned back and rested his shoulders on the mattress. He looked pained. “Do you have to?” He loved his wife beyond all reason, but she had a tendency to ask philosophical questions at the oddest of times.

  “No,” Mandy said, shaking her head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to ruin our night.”

  “Baby, you can’t ruin anything by asking a question,” James said, wetting his lips as he studied her profile. “What do you want to know?”

  “It’s not important.”

  “I don’t think that’s true,” James countered. “Tell me.”

  “It’s just … um … .” Mandy blew out a heavy sigh and shifted her eyes to the ceiling. Whatever plagued her tonight was heavier than one of her normal questions.

  “You can ask me whatever you want, Mandy,” James said. “That’s how this marriage thing works. We have to communicate to the best of our abilities to keep things working.”

  “Okay.” Mandy rubbed her palm against her cheek. “When I was gone, did you think I was already dead? Did you let me go?”

  She’d asked a myriad of questions over their two years together, but James honestly never expected that one. “I don’t … no. Why would you ask that?”

  “When you found me at the cabin, you said that you thought you lost me,” Mandy said, her eyes glistening. “Then at the hospital you said you didn’t do well without me. I’ve seen the way Grady looks at you and thought … I don’t know … maybe you let me go because you thought I was dead. If you did, I understand. I’m not upset.”

  “No, baby,” James said, his heart rolling at her sad expression as he slipped an arm around her waist and tugged her closer. “I never thought you were dead. Not for a second. It’s just … .” He wasn’t sure how to explain his emotions during her absence. He wasn’t exactly proud of the way he reacted.

  “It’s okay,” Mandy said, running her index finger down his cheek. “I shouldn’t have asked.”

  James cupped her hand and pressed it to his jaw line as he stared at her. “You’re allowed to ask whatever you want,” he said. “I’m just not sure I can explain what happened in an acceptable manner.”

  “Who says it has to be acceptable?”

  “Good point,” James said, exhaling heavily. “I didn’t think you were dead. I mean, I guess it crossed my mind because I was overcome by fear. I couldn’t function. My heart hurt and my head was fuzzy. I was convinced you were being hurt and I couldn’t stand the thought of it.

  “I didn’t let you go, though,” he continued. “I will never let you go. It’s not in me. I knew you were out there and I had to find you, but I was frozen because of fear. I was afraid I would make the wrong decision and that would somehow come back to hurt you. I’ve never had that problem before, but I was lost without you.”

  “You know, if something does ever happen to me, it’s okay to move on,” Mandy said, her voice wavering slightly. “The thing I want most in this world is for you to be happy. If I die … .”

  James immediately started shaking his head to cut her off. “You’re not going to die.”

  “That’s not the plan, but we both know I seem to attract trouble,” Mandy said. “If I die, I want you to move on. I want you to find someone to love. I don’t want you to be alone.”

  James instinctively wiped the falling tear from her cheek as he locked gazes with her. “No.”

  Mandy was surprised. “No?”

  “That’s never going to happen,” James said.

  “I’m not saying I’m definitely going to die,” Mandy argued. “I’m just saying that if I do, I want you to find someone so you can be happy.”

  “And I’m saying that’s never going to happen,” James said, holding firm. “You’re the love of my life, Mandy. For better or worse, you’re it for me. I’ll never love someone else. I’ll never want someone else.”

  “That’s sweet, but you deserve so much more than being alone.”

  “You don’t seem to understand what I�
�m saying to you,” James said, working overtime to control his notorious temper. “It’s not just that I’m against finding someone else to love – which I am, for the record – but it’s also impossible. I peaked with you. I’m done. I cannot love another woman after loving you. It will never happen. You need to let it go.”

  “But … .”

  “No.”

  “James, I think you’re being unreasonable.”

  “And I think you’re trying to push me to fight and it’s not going to work,” James said, shifting Mandy away from his side and flicking the light on the marine window, plunging the room into darkness. “Come on.”

  Mandy gasped when she felt James slip his arm under her legs. “We’re not done talking about this.”

  “Oh, we’re done,” James said. “I’m not saying something I don’t mean and that’s the only way you’re going to shut up. We’re at an impasse and I need some sleep, so we’re going to bed.”

  He lifted her onto the mattress and held up the sheet until she crawled underneath. She was dumbfounded when he settled in the spot next to her.

  “Are we fighting?”

  “Nope.” James drew her onto his chest and pressed her head to the spot about his heart. “There’s nothing to fight about. I can’t change who I am.”

  “But it will kill me if you’re ever unhappy,” Mandy protested.

  “And it will kill me if I lose you,” James said. “It’s a moot point and I refuse to fight about it. Now … go to sleep. If you want to pout, you can do it when Ally is around to reinforce your ridiculous position in the morning. Until then, sweet dreams, baby. I love you and I’ll see you on the other side of your dreams.”

  And just like that the potential argument was over. Mandy couldn’t help but wonder exactly what happened. She didn’t have long to fret, though, because sleep dragged her under a few minutes later. James was right. The pouting and fighting could wait. It almost felt good to disagree after so many days of walking around on eggshells together. The patterns of their normal life were beginning to reemerge, and Mandy couldn’t help but be relieved.

  JAMES still wasn’t talking about their potential fight the next morning. Instead he pretended as if he didn’t remember the spat that wasn’t really a spat. Mandy and James showered together – which resulted in another game of salty sea wench – and then headed toward the dining room. They planned to start their day with a family breakfast and then separate for a few hours. It was something of a test since they were surrounded by strangers, and Mandy was honestly curious how things would go.

  James pulled up short when he hit the deck outside of their private hallway. “What’s going on?”

  Mandy peered around his shoulder and found Grady and Jake standing with Will Davenport. They were staring at a spot on the railing.

  “Oh, good,” Grady said, running his hand through his hair. “I was just about to wake you.”

  “We’ve been up,” James said, keeping Mandy’s hand in his as he shifted her to the spot in front of him. It was a protective move and Mandy was fairly certain he didn’t realize he was doing it. Grady’s tone put him immediately on edge and he wanted to make sure nothing happened to her while he was distracted.

  Distracted. That’s the word he used when he blamed himself for not being with her when Clint grabbed her from the storage room at the courthouse. Even though he had no way of knowing what was happening – or just how dastardly Clint’s plan ultimately was – he still blamed himself. Mandy wanted to assuage that guilt, but she had no idea how. She was fairly certain that telling him to marry someone else if she ever died wasn’t the best way to go about it. She was going to have to rethink her tactics.

  “We might have a situation,” Jake said.

  “Might?” James arched an eyebrow. “I’m not sure what that means.”

  “It means that there’s blood on the deck and railing over here,” Grady said. “One of the janitors noticed it this morning and reported it to the other security team right away. They took a look and believe that it’s either a prank or accident. Will wanted us to look before writing it off.”

  “Okay.” James squeezed Mandy’s waist before moving her in front of Grady. He knew he had to look, but he wanted to make sure she wasn’t left exposed because he focused on something else.

  Grady shot Mandy a sympathetic look as he slung an arm over her shoulders and tugged her to his side. The duo watched James shuffle over to the railing, his face intent as he kneeled and examined the obvious stain on the corner of the deck.

  “He’ll be okay,” Grady whispered, making sure Mandy was the only one who could hear him. “He can’t help himself.”

  “I know.” Mandy was morose as she stared at her husband. “He blames himself.”

  “He’s doing his best.”

  “He has to let it go or it’s going to consume us,” Mandy countered. “What happened wasn’t his fault. It was mine.”

  Grady balked, pulling Mandy two steps back so he could talk to her without drawing James’ attention. “It was not your fault,” he hissed, darting a look in James’ direction before focusing entirely on his sister-in-law. “Clint was to blame. You couldn’t have known any more than James could’ve sussed it out. Let it go.”

  Mandy made a face. “That’s easy for you to say. Your friend isn’t dead.”

  Grady pursed his lips, annoyed. “Heidi would not want you carrying this guilt around with you. That’s not the kind of person she was.”

  “Was,” Mandy intoned. “That means she’s not here any longer. We have no idea what she would be feeling because she’s gone.”

  “Mandy … .” Grady felt lost as he stared at her and when he lifted his eyes he found James moving away from the railing and forced his attention on his brother even though he would rather shake Mandy out of her melancholy.

  “It’s a weird place for blood splatter,” James said. “I’m not sure I’m willing to call it foul play, but I’m certainly not ready to write it off as an accident.”

  “What do you think we should do?” Will asked.

  “You have medical staff on board, right?”

  Will nodded.

  “We’ll check with them and see if anyone was hurt and they forgot to report it,” James said. “Then we’ll instruct security personnel to be on the lookout for anyone who looks to have been injured. Other than that … I mean, I guess we could go room to room, but that seems both worrisome and invasive until we have more information.”

  “Yeah, I would rather not do that,” Will said. “We’ll go with your plan and see where it leads.”

  “We’ll talk to the security guards after breakfast,” James said, moving his eyes until they landed on Mandy. He extended his hand for her to take. “Are you ready to stuff your big mouth again, wife?”

  Mandy forced a smile. “Yes.”

  “What were you two talking about?” James asked, knitting his eyebrows together. He seemed to sense a vibe even though Grady and Mandy worked overtime to pretend nothing was wrong.

  “What makes you think we were talking about anything?” Grady challenged evasively. “Perhaps we were just staring at the early morning sun together because we enjoy the beauty of a new day.”

  “Yeah, now I know you were talking about something,” James said. “What was it?”

  “You always take it a step too far,” Mandy chided her brother-in-law. “You know that, right?”

  Grady shrugged. “Sometimes I can’t help myself.”

  “That’s because you’re a moron.”

  James narrowed his eyes at their banter. “Is this about our conversation last night? Mandy, I don’t care what you think you’re going to convince Grady to do, but I am never marrying someone else if you die. You can’t trick me into agreeing to that.”

  “What?” Grady wrinkled his forehead, confused.

  James was taken aback. “Wasn’t that what you were talking about?”

  “That was exactly what we were talking about,” Mandy sa
id, tugging on her husband’s hand. “Grady is just being … Grady. Ignore him.”

  “I’m going to ignore him,” James said, falling into step with Mandy. “I just want you to know that I meant what I said last night. I’m never going to agree to that so I don’t care how much you pout.”

  “We’ll see.”

  “There will be no seeing, wife,” James said. “I’m putting my foot down on this one.”

  “Oh, well, this should end well,” Jake said, shaking his head. “At least the fake fights are coming back. That’s a good sign.”

  Despite himself, Grady was relieved, too. “Yeah, it really is.”

  “Am I missing something?” Will asked. “I find your family so … confusing.”

  “Get used to that,” Grady said, clapping Will’s back. “Come on. We’ll get some breakfast and then get to work. I want to find out who that blood belongs to if we can. I think we would all feel better if we can officially rule it as an accident.”

  “That would certainly make my day better,” Will agreed. “Come on. There’s an omelet bar I think you’re all going to love.”

  8

  Eight

  After confirming with the medical staff that no one came in with a bleeding wound over the past twelve hours, Grady and James separated from Finn and Jake. They decided to quietly question a few of the guests to make sure no one had gone missing – or come up with an injury that seemed out of place – before joining their co-workers in the beginning stages of a walkthrough.

  James led the way, making sure to seek out the women from afar as he passed. Grady didn’t miss the way he watched Mandy and he decided now was as good a time as any to bring up a tough subject.

  “How are things between the two of you?”

  James jolted at the question. “I … we’re fine. Why do you ask?”

  “Because you were clearly upset with whatever stupid question she asked you last night,” Grady replied, not missing a beat. “You once told me those questions make your manhood shrivel up and want to die.”

  “It never wants to die,” James corrected. “It simply wants to hide at times.”

  Grady snickered. “Let me guess, she asked if you would ever consider marrying someone else if something happened to her.”