“You’re expecting a baby,” Jake pointed out. “You moved into a new apartment with Emma, her mother tried to kill her, you’re trying to prepare a place for her brother to live when he gets out of prison in a few months, and you’re dealing with a hormonal woman. I think your hands are full.”
Finn scowled. “That’s no excuse. I feel really bad. You’ve had your hands full, too. Your ex-girlfriend came to town and tried to kill my sister. You two moved in together. I love Ally, but she’s as much work as Emma.”
Jake smiled at the mention of Ally. “My angel isn’t work.”
“You’re as lovesick as the rest of us now.”
“I do love her,” Jake agreed. “There’s Michael. Let me do the talking.”
Finn nodded wordlessly and followed Jake across the parking lot to where a man was standing with his hands in his pockets. Finn studied Michael as they got closer and found that he didn’t like the sallow tone of his skin, or the unhealthy build he was sporting. He looked malnourished.
“He’s an alcoholic,” Jake said, keeping his voice low. “He won’t last long. Don’t mention it and don’t offer help. He doesn’t care. He knows he’s not long for this world.”
“I … how did you know what I was thinking?”
“Because I thought the same thing when I first met him,” Jake said. He pasted a friendly smile on his face as he approached Michael, extending his hand in greeting. “Thanks for meeting me.”
Michael shook Jake’s hand, furtively glancing over his shoulder instead of making eye contact. “I owe you for the food you drop off every week,” he said. “I don’t mind helping but … this is a little open for me.”
“You’re not selling us anything,” Jake reminded him. “I’m giving you money for information. That’s not illegal.”
“Oh, right,” Michael said, relaxing marginally. “It’s a hazard of the business, man.”
“I know,” Jake said, his voice even as he regarded the sickly veteran in front of him. “I need to know what you know about Twilight.”
Michael’s blond eyebrows jumped to the middle of his forehead as surprise washed over his once-handsome features. “Twilight? How did you get involved with that?”
“Someone injected my boss’ wife with it at a haunted house the other night,” Jake said. “She was separated from us while we were going through and we got lucky that James discovered her right away and got her to the hospital.”
“You’re lucky she survived at all,” Michael said, running a hand through his greasy hair. “That stuff is lethal. You know she’s going to have night terrors for weeks, right?”
“The doctor warned us,” Jake said. “So far she’s not sleeping because she’s sick to her stomach. We’ll have to tackle the night terrors when they become an issue.”
“You’re lucky the husband found her before someone could grab her,” Michael said.
“What do you mean?”
“Word on the street is that women are getting dosed and taken,” Michael replied.
“Where?”
“I have no idea. If that information was readily available I’m betting a snitch would’ve told the coppers and it wouldn’t be a problem.”
Finn made a face. “I’d never considered why someone would drug Mandy,” he said. “I was fixated on the fact that she was drugged and almost died. I … good grief. What would have happened if James waited five minutes for her to come out of the warehouse on her own?”
“We’re lucky we don’t have to think about that,” Jake said. “She’s home.”
“The only thing we have to worry about now is Mandy and James killing each because he’s hovering.”
“They’ll be fine,” Jake said. “I have faith.” He kept his attention on Michael. “You have to have an idea on who is moving this stuff. I need a name.”
“I … .” Michael tilted his head to the side. “I’m not sure, man. These are bad dudes.”
“They very well may be bad dudes,” Jake said, refusing to back down. “I’m badder, though, and the man who almost lost his wife is going to be downright terrifying. I need a name. No one will ever find out that you’re the one who told us. I promise.”
Michael sighed, resigned. “I owe you so I’m going to tell you,” he said. “There’s a guy named Jasper Gunderson. His street name is Houdini. I know he’s peddling the stuff. I have no idea who his supplier is, though.”
“Where can I find him?” Jake asked.
“He sells out of a brick house over on Dickinson in the hood,” Michael answered. The house is missing windows on the first floor and there’s garbage all over the place. The brick used to be red, but it’s a more puke orange now.”
“How far down on Dickinson?”
“Close to that funeral home.”
“Thanks for the information,” Jake said, reaching into his wallet. He was surprised to find Finn handing Michael a fifty before he could pull his own money out.
“Wow, thanks, man,” Michael said, folding the bill and shoving it in his pocket. “That’s righteous of you.”
“You earned it,” Finn said.
“In that case, here’s a freebie,” Michael said. “I don’t know how true this is, but I’ve heard that one of the reasons the most recent batch of Twilight is so lethal is because whoever brought it into town cut it with a psychedelic.”
Jake furrowed his brow. “I understand in theory why someone would do that … I think.”
“It makes the women more pliable because they don’t know what’s real and what isn’t real,” Michael said, confirming Jake’s worst fear. “Tell your friend to watch his wife when she sleeps. She’s probably going to have some humdingers for nightmares.”
“He’s watching her when she’s asleep and awake,” Jake said. “It will be okay. Thank you, Michael.”
“Thank you for everything,” Michael replied. “I’ll see you in a few days.”
“You will indeed.”
“THIS has to be the house he was talking about,” Jake said, parking a block south of the brick house in question twenty minutes later.
“It’s a hole,” Finn said, staring at the front porch. “Wow. I mean … how has it not been condemned?”
“I’m sure the city workers know exactly what’s going on here,” Jake said. “They’re probably too scared to search it without a police escort and the police have bigger worries.”
“What do you want to do?”
“Nothing for now,” Jake said. “I want to watch for a little bit and see if we can get a feeling for the clientele and then I want to talk to James and Grady and form a plan of action. I wouldn’t mind getting Peter’s take on this either.”
“I think we’re going to need Peter on this one,” Finn said. “James is going to be … hard to contain … in a few days.”
“I agree,” Jake said. “He’s focused on Mandy right now. Once she’s feeling well enough to fight with him about the hovering, though, everyone better duck and cover. They’re going to have a screaming match.”
“It will probably do them some good,” Finn said. “James is a ball of nerves right now. He’s consumed with ‘what ifs.’”
“What ifs?”
“What if he had stayed with Mandy instead of separating from her? What if he hadn’t turned around and went looking for her? What if he had waited for the paramedics instead of taking her to the hospital himself? What if the doctor hadn’t flushed her system in time?”
Jake nodded sagely. “I don’t blame him. I keep wondering how things might have been different – and not in a good way – if Ally had stayed with Mandy. She was too scared, though. Hell House freaked her out to no end. She was at my side the entire time.”
“I’m glad I didn’t take Emma inside,” Finn said. “She would’ve been terrified and never separated from me, but … I still don’t like to think about it. Let me guess: Mandy was excited and not bothered by the gore in the least?”
“Mandy is … the strangest woman I’ve ever met,
” Jake said. “She had so much fun in that stupid haunted house that we could barely keep up with her. James was jumping right and left and she barely flinched.”
“That’s why she wasn’t scared of the guy in the mask and let him get close enough to drug her,” Finn mused. “She thought he was part of he show and never considered he was really … dangerous.”
“She’s okay,” Jake said. “We have to keep reminding ourselves of that. She could’ve died, but she didn’t. We all have a chance to continue living the lives we’ve come to love because she’s alive.”
“Ally would’ve been wrecked if Mandy died.”
“This whole family would’ve been wrecked if Mandy died,” Jake countered. “She’s Ally’s best friend, but Emma and Sophie love her, too. She’s James’ soul mate, but you and Grady love her because you all grew up together and she’s made your brother happy. Heck, I love her because Ally and James love her. She drives me crazy sometimes with her antics, but I still love her.”
“Sometimes it’s good to sit back and reflect on how lucky you are,” Finn said.
“It is,” Jake agreed. “It’s better not to dwell on it too long, though. It makes you forget that dangers are still out there and you’re not always going to be lucky.”
“You’re a real downer sometimes, man,” Finn said. “Has anyone ever told you that?”
“Most of the people I’ve ever met have told me that.”
“Has Ally told you that?”
Jake smiled mischievously. “Ally never says anything like that,” he said. “She’s an angel.”
“You’re going to make me puke,” Finn said.
“You can rest on the couch with Mandy when we get back to the house,” Jake said. “I … hmm, here comes someone.”
“Should we duck down?”
“That would be a little obvious,” Jake said. “Personally, I don’t care who sees us. If these jerkwads get nervous about the possibility of people watching them and close up shop or move it someplace else I’m not going to cry any tears.”
“That’s a woman,” Finn said, leaning closer.
“Are you sure?” Jake narrowed his eyes and focused on the figure walking up the front steps of the house. “You’re right. That hoodie is huge and she’s got it covering her face, but that’s definitely a woman.”
“That’s not Jasper Gunderson.”
“No,” Jake agreed. “She doesn’t look frightened, though, and she doesn’t look as if she’s particularly malnourished and addicted.”
“She is a little … broad in the hips,” Finn said.
Jake arched an eyebrow. “Broad?”
“When you’re living with a pregnant woman you learn pretty quickly never to say the word ‘fat.’”
Jake snorted. “Good to know. She’s not fat, though. That hoodie gives her the appearance of added weight. I think that’s on purpose. She’s not fat. I can tell from here.”
“Do you think about that?” Finn asked.
“Getting fat?”
Finn made a face. “You and Ally having kids,” he said. “You know Ally wants to be a mother, right?”
“Ally is going to be a great mother,” Jake said. “I actually think she’s going to make a beautiful pregnant woman, too.”
“And you’re okay with that?”
“When I picture my future, all I see is Ally,” Jake said. “I know there will be kids there and I’m fine with it. I love kids and I love Ally.”
“I’m glad you two found each other,” Finn said. “You’re calm enough to rein her in and she’s fun enough to knock you out of your shell. You’re perfect for each other.”
“I agree,” Jake said, guileless. “Okay, I think we’ve seen all we’re going to for now. Let’s go and report back to James. I want to see if anyone else has come up with something this afternoon.”
“I think you just miss your angel,” Finn teased.
“That, too.”
Seven
“What are you doing up here?” James asked, climbing the stairs that led to the reading nook on the second-floor landing and fixing Mandy with an unreadable look.
It was Sunday afternoon, and instead of a barbecue like the family used to enjoy on the patio when the weather was warmer, now everyone was at the house hanging out while Emma bustled in the kitchen. Mandy made herself scarce as soon as people started arriving, and James was worried when he couldn’t find her.
Mandy glanced up from the book she was reading. “I … .”
James feigned patience as he moved over and sat on the couch beside her. “You shouldn’t have climbed the stairs alone, baby. I would’ve carried you.”
“I don’t want you to carry me up the stairs,” Mandy said. “I let you do it last night – and then carry me down again this morning – because we were alone and I knew you needed it. I don’t need everyone else to see you treat me like I’m an invalid.”
James pursed his lips and reached over to brush Mandy’s hair out her face. She’d showered and let it air dry so it was bigger than normal. Even without makeup she was beautiful, but her face was marred with unhappiness right now and it frustrated James to no end. “I’m not treating you like an invalid. I’m treating you like my wife who almost died.”
“I know you think I’m being an unreasonable pain … .”
“I think you don’t like to be smothered and I can’t help myself from doing it right now,” James said, cutting her off. “I think I love you more than anything. I also think you still feel sick to your stomach and you’re worried you’re going to throw up in front of everyone. No one cares. They understand.”
“I care.”
“Baby, you’re going to be the death of me,” James muttered, slipping his hand under Mandy’s legs and tugging her onto his lap. “Everyone understands that you’re sick and you can’t help it. I still want you to try eating something tonight. It’s been almost forty-eight hours since you’ve kept anything down.”
“I’m not eating in front of them,” Mandy said, crossing her arms over her chest obstinately. “They’ll all stare at me and make a big deal … as if I’m a circus freak or something.”
“You are a circus freak,” James teased. “You’re the amazing Mandy, the most stubborn woman in the Midwest.”
“Ha, ha.”
“You don’t have to eat in front of them,” James said. “If you want, I’ll kick them out of the house and it can be just the two of us.”
“You can’t do that,” Mandy protested, making a face. “It’s rude and they’re our family.”
“And they’re here because they love you,” James said. “They just don’t love you as much as I love you.”
“I don’t want you to worry,” Mandy said, resting her forehead against his strong chin. “I see your face when you’re watching me. It’s like … you’re waiting for me to fall down. I’m not going to fall down.”
“I know you’re not,” James said. “I’ll always be standing by to catch you, though. That’s my job.”
“Ugh. It’s hard for me to be pouty and morose when I have the best husband in the world.”
“You do have the best husband in the world,” James agreed, kissing her cheek. “I have the best wife in the world, too. That’s why I want to take care of you.”
“You are taking care of me … maybe a little too much.”
“I know that,” James conceded. “I think it’s been something of a miracle that you haven’t snapped and killed me today. I have a compromise for you about dinner, if you’re willing to listen, that is.”
Mandy turned her expectant blue eyes to James.
“I’ll keep everyone away from you while you’re eating and even bring your food to you up here if you promise to let me carry you to bed tonight.”
“That seems like too easy of a compromise,” Mandy said.
“I think I’m willing to give you just about anything you want right now,” James admitted.
“Okay,” Mandy said, sighing dramatically. “Yo
u know Ally is going to fight this, right?”
“Ally is downstairs letting Jake distract her with his tongue right now because she doesn’t want to focus on how worried she is about you,” James replied. “She’ll live.”
“I love you more than anything, James.” Mandy snuggled her head into the hollow of James’ neck and let him pull her tightly against him.
“Baby, there are no words for how much I love you.”
“ARE you sure I shouldn’t go upstairs and eat with Mandy?” Ally asked, her expressive brown eyes focused on the stairs, which James kept cutting her off from every time she tried to skirt around him.
“Mandy is still sick,” James replied, snagging the back of Ally’s shirt and tugging her around to the other side of the table and planting her in the chair next to Jake. “She’s your responsibility. Make sure she behaves.”
Jake wrinkled his nose. “Yes, because she always listens to me.”
“Mandy shouldn’t be alone,” Ally tried again.
“Mandy doesn’t want to eat in front of anyone in case she gets sick,” James said. “Leave her be.”
“I don’t care if she gets sick,” Ally said. “I … I think she needs me.”
James wanted to yell at his sister, but he understood the sentiment. “Mandy is going to need you when she’s feeling a little better,” he said, tugging on his patience. “Right now Mandy needs a little space.”
“Just because you’ve been crowding her, that doesn’t mean she doesn’t want to see me,” Ally argued, crossing her arms over her chest.
“I have been crowding her,” James conceded. “I’ve been hovering and … watching … everything she does. I don’t need you to do it, too.”
“Who said … ?”
“Ally!” James yanked on his hair and pressed his eyes shut as he tried to rein in his temper. “Do not go up there.”
Instead of the anger he was expecting, Ally’s face reflected sadness. “Fine.”
“Great,” James said, slamming his plate down at the head of the table, glancing to his right – to the spot Mandy usually occupied during family dinners – and sighing. “It will better in a couple of days.”
Deadly Dealings (Hardy Brothers Security Book 13) Page 5
