Deadly Memories (Hardy Brothers Security Book 18)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Even better,” Mandy said. “I’ll be able to step on you when I go to the bathroom.”

  “I need to think,” Grady said, his gaze distant as he moved toward the office door. “Peter was right. I should’ve left this alone.”

  “It’s too late now,” Mandy said. “You need to pull yourself together and be prepared to beg. Sophie isn’t going to be happy when you tell her what you’ve done.”

  “Yeah, and I deserve every harsh word coming my way,” Grady said, opening the door. “James, you need to catch a ride home with Mandy. I have some thinking to do.”

  “That’s fine,” James said.

  “You’re not riding with me,” Mandy argued, her eyes grim as they watched Grady’s retreating back. “You can walk home.”

  “Oh, don’t be like that,” James said. “I’m prepared to do whatever it takes to make you forgive me. What do you want? Crab legs? Lobster? A six-hour long massage?”

  “For starters.”

  James narrowed his eyes. “You’ve got me where you want me, wife,” he said. “You might as well start shaking me down.”

  “Oh, don’t worry about that,” Mandy said, an evil smile playing at the corner of her lips. “You’re going to be my slave by the time this is all said and done.”

  “You say that like it’s a bad thing.”

  “Not that kind of slave,” Mandy said, knowing exactly what he was referring to.

  “Bring it on, baby,” James said. “I’m confident I can make you forgive me.”

  “I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”

  11

  Eleven

  “Thanks for taking me to dinner,” Sophie said, smiling as Peter pulled her chair out and sat across from her in the atmospherically lit Royal Oak restaurant. “Grady didn’t call and tell me he had something going on at work until it was too late to make dinner plans. This is a nice change of pace.”

  Peter smiled, his love for his foster daughter momentarily overwhelming him, and then focused on her bright face. “So Grady wasn’t expected to work late?”

  “No,” Sophie said. “Stuff always comes up at the security office if they have a late client meeting, though. I’m used to it.”

  “I see.” Peter liked Grady. When he initially met the man he was convinced that would never be the case. On first appearances, Grady Hardy seemed to be a cocksure lothario out to charm women with his smile and then break their hearts when he grew bored of them. Grady proved Peter wrong, and Peter was happy to have him in Sophie’s life. That didn’t mean he wasn’t worried about Grady’s current course.

  “For all I know he got caught up in a pool game with his brothers,” Sophie said, happily chattering away. If she noticed Peter’s drab mood, she didn’t let on. “Ever since they turned the storage room into a game room, I think they’ve been having a few pool tournaments when they think no one is looking.”

  “That’s probably a good way for them to let off steam,” Peter said, half-heartedly engaging in Sophie’s mild dinner conversation. “They’re in a high-stress environment a lot of the time. James alone has to save his wife from imminent peril on almost a monthly basis now. A little boasting and fun never hurt anyone.”

  Sophie snorted. “I guess you’re right,” she said. “Still, I think Grady’s idea of relaxation is seeing how tight he can wind his brothers.”

  “Probably.” Peter’s discussion with Grady earlier in the day left him agitated for the bulk of the afternoon. In his heart, he knew Grady would never purposely hurt Sophie. In his head, he knew Grady’s curiosity and need to make things better for his foster daughter would bring him to ruin if he wasn’t careful.

  “Okay, what’s wrong with you?” Sophie asked, locking gazes with Peter. “You’re acting weird.”

  “I’m not acting weird,” Peter countered, glancing around the restaurant. He picked a quiet, upscale place for their dinner because he was about to broach something painful and he knew Sophie wouldn’t make a scene if they had an audience. “I’m just … thinking.”

  “About what?”

  Peter opened his mouth and then closed it, inhaling heavily as he decided how to proceed. He didn’t know what to do to make this easier for Sophie, but he also knew he couldn’t let Sophie walk into the home she shared with Grady without at least an inkling of what was to come.

  “Peter, you’re scaring me,” Sophie said. “What’s wrong? Has something bad happened? You’re not about to get arrested are you?”

  Peter smiled. It was just like her to worry about him when she was the one about to get blindsided. “I’m fine, my dear,” Peter said, patting Sophie’s hand as it rested on top of the table. “Business is fine. I am not about to get arrested. Don’t worry about things like that.”

  “What should I worry about?”

  That was the question, wasn’t it? “I had a talk with Grady after you left this morning,” Peter said, choosing to be direct. “He … brought a few things to my attention.”

  “Oh, good grief,” Sophie muttered, shaking her head. “Is this about the vandalism? I get it. It’s not a good thing. It’s not the end of the world, though, either. Much worse things have happened to me … and you.”

  “I’m not happy about the vandalism, but I agree it’s hardly the worst thing to ever happen to us,” Peter said. “That being said, I will have someone doing regular patrols around your house. Vandalism is distasteful and undignified. Putting a little fear into someone never hurt anyone.”

  “Tell that to Freddy Krueger,” Sophie muttered.

  Peter furrowed his brow. “I’m not familiar with that individual. Is that a story you’re working on?”

  Sophie pressed her lips together in an effort to keep from laughing and then gave in and graced Peter with a hearty chuckle. “No. It’s a horror movie franchise. Grady likes to watch the movies. He kills people with fear in their dreams … well, and razor sharp finger knives, but that’s a whole other issue. It has absolutely nothing to do with anything in the real world.”

  “Well, I’m glad you set me straight on that,” Peter supplied.

  “Peter, tell me what’s going on,” Sophie prodded. “I know you brought me here to tell me something. My mind is working overtime and I’m sure the things in my head are worse than what’s really going on. Please … just … tell me.”

  Peter blew out an exasperated sigh. “Grady asked me about the jewelry box.”

  Sophie stilled, stunned. “W-what?”

  “He told me everything,” Peter said. “He told me about Mandy insisting James find some of your childhood items. He told me about going to look through them himself because he wanted to surprise you. He told me about your reaction to the jewelry box, too. He’s extremely … concerned.”

  “He had no business doing any of that,” Sophie snapped, her voice jumping an octave.

  “Grady did what he did out of a sense of love for you,” Peter said, keeping his tone even. “I’m not going to pretend it was right … but I’m also not going to pretend that it was unforgivable. He thought he was doing a good thing.

  “The truth is, had I known that storage unit existed, I would’ve done the same,” he continued. “Of course, I would’ve sorted through every item myself. I would’ve known how upset the jewelry box would make you and discarded it before you saw it. Grady did not have the liberty of prior knowledge and I don’t think you can hold that against him.

  “You’ve gone out of your way to keep your childhood a secret from everyone – including Grady – and you can’t blame the boy for being curious,” he continued. “It would be more worrisome if he didn’t care enough to be curious.”

  “That doesn’t make him invading my privacy okay,” Sophie countered.

  “Grady doesn’t think what he did is okay,” Peter clarified. “He’s upset with himself. He’s naturally curious, though, and he can’t help himself from wanting to protect you. He knows something bad happened to you and he’s associated it with that jewelry box. His natural inve
stigative instincts led him to a conclusion he wasn’t ready to accept.”

  “I can’t believe this,” Sophie muttered, shaking her head. “What did you tell him?”

  Peter remained eerily calm despite Sophie’s manic emotional progression. “To mind his own business and he would regret it if he didn’t leave it alone.”

  “Well, great,” Sophie said, tossing her napkin on the table. “That means he won’t be able to stop himself from digging until he gets all of the information. We both know he’s like a dog with a bone when he wants to dig for information. Am I really going to have to go through this again?”

  “Sophie, I know you feel … embarrassment … when you remember what happened, but that is absolutely ludicrous,” Peter said. “You did nothing wrong. You were a child. There’s no reason for you to feel anything even akin to shame for what happened.”

  “And yet I do,” Sophie said, shakily climbing to her feet. “Thank you for the dinner offer, but I believe I’ve lost my appetite.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I have no idea,” Sophie said. “I love him too much to run, but … I don’t think I can go through this again. It’s not in me.”

  GRADY sat at the dining room table nursing a glass of bourbon when Sophie entered. It was dark, almost all the lights in the house save for the recessed lighting in the kitchen switched off, and when Sophie happened upon Grady after flicking the switch in the kitchen she almost jolted out of her skin.

  “What are you doing sitting here in the dark?”

  “Thinking,” Grady said, taking another swig of his bourbon. “What are you doing home so early? I thought you were having dinner with Peter.”

  “I didn’t feel well, so we cut the evening short,” Sophie replied. “I thought you were working late.”

  “Yeah, um … it turned out to be nothing,” Grady said, carefully resting his glass on the table and forcing a smile. “Do you still feel sick? I could cook you some dinner.”

  “I know you asked Peter about the jewelry box,” Sophie announced, opting not to play games. “I know you’ve been digging around.”

  “Did Mandy call you?”

  Sophie froze, confused. “Mandy? Why would she call me?”

  Grady’s cheeks flushed with color as he realized Sophie had no idea how duplicitous he’d really been. She was merely angry about collecting her private things without telling her and discussing his concerns with Peter behind her back. Things were about to get much, much worse.

  “It’s nothing,” Grady said, flustered. “I just … saw Mandy this afternoon and mentioned I was worried about you.”

  “You know you’re a terrible liar, right?” Sophie crossed her arms over her chest. “What did you do?”

  “Peter warned me,” Grady said, his voice cracking. “He said I should let you handle your past in your own time because I was going to do nothing but hurt both of us if I pushed it. I couldn’t help myself, though. I thought … I thought you were keeping something horrible from me.”

  “I was keeping something horrible from you,” Sophie said, her eyes glistening with unshed tears. “It wasn’t to hurt you, though. It was my choice and I don’t want to talk about it. I still don’t … so don’t push things. Don’t keep asking questions. Just … let it go.”

  “I don’t think you understand,” Grady hedged. “I … couldn’t let it go in the wake of Peter acting so strangely. I thought … I thought something happened to you like what happened to Emma. You hear horror stories about foster homes. Sure, there are good ones like you got with Peter, but there are terrible ones, too.”

  “Grady … .”

  Grady cut her off. “I ran your name through our security software because I thought I might be able to find a police report or something,” he said. “I thought if I understood why you were upset it would be easier for me to let it go. Instead I found a sealed file.”

  “You can’t get into that file, Grady,” Sophie said, her heart racing. “It’s against the law. If you had Maverick hack it, I’m going to be so angry … and broken-hearted … I’m not sure we’ll ever recover.”

  Maverick was the computer guru employed by Hardy Brothers Security on a job-to-job basis. He was young, brash, and never met a rule he didn’t want to break.

  “I didn’t even consider going to Maverick,” Grady said, the lump in his throat making it hard to swallow. “I did go to Mandy, though.”

  Sophie pressed her eyes shut as her tears finally escaped. “Grady.”

  “I’m so sorry,” Grady said, his own tears falling. “I shouldn’t have done it. I couldn’t stop myself, though. I wasn’t trying to invade your privacy. I just wanted to … understand. I wanted to help if I could.”

  “And you thought asking Mandy to break the law was the way to do it?”

  “Sugar, I didn’t … know,” Grady said. “I wanted to be able to understand what you went through. I thought it would make us closer.”

  “Did it ever occur to you that asking me might be the best way to go?”

  Grady didn’t like how much more distant Sophie felt with each passing word. Her tone was chilly, her eyes flat. He’d hurt her, and he was pretty sure he would never forgive himself. “I didn’t think you would tell me the truth.”

  “So you went behind my back, unsealed a file you had no business seeing, and now we’re … what?”

  “Sophie, I’m so sorry,” Grady said, his heart pinching. “I didn’t mean to hurt you. I didn’t mean to do any of this.”

  “And yet that doesn’t negate the fact that you did do it,” Sophie said, licking her lips. “God, Grady, I don’t want to talk about that. I don’t want to remember it. Why couldn’t you leave it alone?”

  “Because I love you.”

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll understand I don’t feel very loved right now,” Sophie said, clutching her purse to her chest. “I’m going to take a bath and … think. I would appreciate it if you would sleep on the couch tonight. We’ll … talk … in the morning and handle any decisions that need to be made then.”

  The words tore at Grady’s heart, stopping it as his head spun. “What does that mean?”

  “It means I can’t share a life with you if I don’t trust you, Grady,” Sophie said, a fresh crying jag overtaking her. “I don’t want to say anything I’m going to regret. I’m upset … and this caught me off guard … so I just need to think. I’m sorry.”

  Grady took a step toward her, reaching a hand out to touch her. When she shrank away from him and kept a wide berth as she circled on the way to their bedroom, he felt as if his heart was caught in a vise.

  “Goodnight, Grady.”

  “I love you, Sophie.” Grady didn’t know what else to say.

  “I love you, too,” Sophie said. “We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  12

  Twelve

  Grady was a mess.

  He paced the living room for hours after Sophie shut the bedroom door, his heart refusing to calm, his mind fighting the urge to rest. He knew looking into her past when she clearly didn’t want him to do it was a mistake. Now he worried he would have to pay the ultimate price for his transgression.

  He couldn’t lose her.

  Long after he heard Sophie leave the master bathroom and saw the light sliver beneath the door flash out, Grady settled on the floor, his back to the door, and waited. He would wait all night if he had to. He would wait forever.

  Even though he was exhausted, emotional turmoil making him overwrought, Grady could not turn off his brain. He wondered how he went wrong. Then he wondered if he went right even once since hearing about the storage unit.

  His back ached as he stretched, and he considered moving to the couch to ease his tired muscles, but the idea of being away from Sophie gutted him and he remained rooted to his spot.

  He lost track of time, his mind wandering to the happy days and nights spent with Sophie over the past year and a half. He thought about when they met. He thought about when he told h
er he loved her. He thought about every touch, laugh, and tear. And then he heard it.

  Grady tilted his head to the side, convinced he’d been mistaken about the sound emanating from the bedroom. It had to be a trick of his mind. Then he heard it again. It was Sophie, and she was sobbing.

  Grady’s heart shattered and before he realized what he was doing, he got to his feet and pushed opened the door. His eyes landed on the bed, expecting to find Sophie crying into her pillow. Instead he found her sitting against the wall by the door, her head buried in her knees.

  “Oh, Sophie.” Grady dropped to his knees and crawled to her, gathering her in his arms and tugging her on his lap as he held her. “I’m so sorry. You have no idea how sorry I am.”

  Sophie didn’t speak, instead burying her face in Grady’s shoulder as he rubbed her back and rocked her.

  “Oh, my Sophie,” Grady said, kissing her forehead. “I’m going to make this up to you. I don’t know how yet, but I am. I just … please forgive me. Please don’t walk away from me. I can’t live without you.”

  “I can’t be without you either,” Sophie said, her shoulders shaking. “I wasn’t really considering trying. It’s just … .” She broke off, returning to her tears.

  “You were hurt, and I did the hurting,” Grady finished, brushing her hair away from her face. The light in the room was limited to what the moon filtering through the bedroom window could offer, but Sophie’s swollen eyes were like a punch in the stomach. “Sophie, I love you so much. It’s okay. No matter what, nothing will change the way I feel about you.

  “I shouldn’t have done what I did, and I am very sorry for the way I went about gathering information, but I still want to know everything about you,” he continued. “Just because something bad happened when you were a child, that doesn’t mean you’re not the best person in the world now.”

  Sophie barked out a hoarse laugh through her tears. “You don’t have to lay it on so thick.”

  “I’m not laying anything on,” Grady said, pressing a soft kiss to the side of her mouth. “You’re the best thing that has ever happened to me. You’re my whole world. I hope you know that.”