Deadly Dealings (Hardy Brothers Security Book 13)

by Lily Harper Hart

  Mandy’s mouth dropped open as surprised washed over her.

  “James Hardy is a man who likes to take things head on,” MacIntosh continued. “He couldn’t fight to keep you alive because it was out of his hands. He can fight to keep you safe now. You should listen to him.”

  “You’re going to be James’ new favorite person when I tell him about this,” Mandy said.

  “I think he already has a favorite person,” MacIntosh said, his eyes softening. “Try not to give the man who loves you more than anything a hard time when he fights to keep his heart from breaking.”

  “Wow, that was profound,” Heidi said, moving up to the food truck. “What does everyone want? I’m buying.”

  “I’m buying,” MacIntosh corrected. “I want a roast beef on rye.”

  “That sounds good to me, too,” Mandy said.

  “Oh, hey, is everyone eating together?” Clint asked, appearing next to the judge. “Can I join?”

  “The more the merrier,” Mandy said. “I … .” She didn’t get a chance to finish her sentence because a body barreled into hers, pushing her in the direction of the food truck.

  Mandy swiveled quickly, her mind latching onto the fact that someone with blond hair and blue eyes was trying to wrestle her down. He had a syringe in his hand, and Mandy’s only thought revolved around not getting injected again. James was going to have a fit.

  Mandy sank her teeth into the man’s wrist, causing him to howl and jerk the syringe away from her neck. That’s when Clint jumped into the fray and tackled the stranger. Mandy tried to catch her breath, and the judge had his hands under her arms to haul her to her feet. “Someone call security,” he ordered as he tried to herd Mandy back toward the courthouse.

  “Clint!” Heidi was moving in the direction of the scuffle, worry for the man she loved overtaking rational thought.

  Clint was small and wiry, and the blond man was taller and he had more muscle on his side. He plunged the syringe into Clint’s arm, causing the security guard to cry out. The blond managed to extricate himself from Clint’s hands, and his blue eyes landed on Mandy. She recognized that blue from Hell House. She recognized those eyes from behind the mask.

  “That’s the guy who injected me.”

  The sound of running feet descending from the courthouse assailed Mandy’s ears, and before she could give serious thought to approaching the man, he turned on his heel and booked down the sidewalk.

  “Follow him,” MacIntosh ordered to the sheriff’s department deputies who approached. “He injected that man with a drug while trying to get to this woman. He’s involved in the Twilight trade.”

  The deputies didn’t have to be told twice and they broke into a run and followed. MacIntosh, always calm under pressure, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and lifted it to his ear. “We need emergency personnel at the county courthouse right now. A security guard has been shot up with Twilight. I want his system flushed in the ambulance, and I’m not kidding.”

  Mandy felt helpless as she watched Heidi cradle Clint in her lap, tears coursing down her face. It was then that she realized how James felt while she lay oblivious between life and death.

  She wanted to see her husband, and she wanted to see him now.

  Thirteen

  When Judge MacIntosh first called, James was convinced the man was messing with him. Mandy had an odd sense of humor. Scaring him to death would be something straight out of a horror movie – and she might think it was funny.

  Of course, the reality was Mandy would never really do something like that to him and MacIntosh would never play along. James couldn’t wrap his mind around what the judge was saying, though.

  When MacIntosh assured him he wasn’t joking and it was necessary to meet them at the same hospital he had taken Mandy only nights before, James wanted to scream. Unfortunately, the person he wanted to scream at was on her way to the hospital with Heidi.

  James hit the pavement in the parking lot at a run and didn’t stop until he was inside of the hospital. He scanned the lobby, his heart pounding even though intellectually he knew Mandy was safe. He wouldn’t believe it until … . There she was. He saw her blond hair as she bent over to place a hand on Heidi’s shoulder.

  James strode to the area where Heidi, Judge MacIntosh, and Mandy were waiting. He didn’t say a word before sweeping Mandy into his arms. “Baby.”

  Mandy hugged him back, relieved to be able to feel his heart pounding against her cheek. “I don’t know what happened. It … he was there … it all happened so quickly.”

  James stroked the back of her head as he rocked her. “I feel the incredible urge to pound someone.”

  “Join the club,” MacIntosh said, his eyes serious as they landed on James. “I’m sorry you thought I was joking with you.”

  “I didn’t really think that,” James said, pulling Mandy tighter against his chest when she started to pull away. “Not yet. You stay right there, blondie.”

  Mandy sighed but did as he asked, resting her cheek against his chest as he held her with one arm and stroked her back with the other.

  “I need you to go through everything that happened,” James said, his gaze fixed on MacIntosh.

  “I met Heidi and Mandy in the hallway upstairs,” MacIntosh replied. “Everyone was having a good time. We talked a little in the elevator on the way down. It was just the three of us.

  “When we got to the lobby, I looked around,” he continued. “I knew you were worried about someone going after Mandy and she pretty much said as much in the elevator.”

  “Did she burn my name in effigy?”

  MacIntosh chuckled hoarsely. “She expressed worry that you were so concerned about her,” he said.

  “And then he told me I was being a spoiled brat and I should look at things from your point of view for a change,” Mandy interjected.

  James shifted his eyes down to his wife and knit his eyebrows together. “I like spoiling you and you’re not a brat. You are a pain in the ass sometimes, though. Since you’re okay, I’m going to let it go.”

  “I was wrong,” Mandy said, her voice plaintive. “I didn’t think about anyone but myself.”

  James rubbed his thumb against her cheek, deciding how to respond. “You were wrong,” he agreed. “There was a reason I wanted you home with me. We can’t go back and change it. I should’ve fought with you the other night. I should’ve put my foot down. And, when that didn’t work, I should’ve begged. You would’ve given in if I begged.”

  “I’m so sorry.”

  “Baby, don’t be sorry,” James said, brushing his lips against her forehead. “You’re here, and you’re alive. That is the most important thing to me. That doesn’t mean we don’t need to figure this out, though.”

  Mandy nodded mutely as James turned his attention back to MacIntosh. “When did you know something was going to happen?”

  “Not until it was too late,” MacIntosh replied. “We were ordering sandwiches. Clint arrived and joined us. I have a feeling that was your doing. Mandy was standing there and the guy … I swear … he came out of nowhere.

  “He had a syringe in his hand and Mandy fought him off,” he continued. “She bit him, in fact. Clint jumped on him. I grabbed Mandy to pull her out of the way. The man injected Clint and then took off. I sent two sheriff’s deputies after him.

  “I then called the hospital and made sure they knew Clint’s system needed to be flushed as soon as possible,” MacIntosh said. “They started in the ambulance. They were there within three minutes. I’m hopeful that … .” He broke off, biting his lip as his eyes darted toward Heidi.

  “It’s going to be okay,” James said, reaching over and rubbing Heidi’s shoulder while he kept a firm grip on Mandy. “They acted fast. They knew what they were dealing with.”

  Something about MacIntosh’s explanation bothered Mandy. “Did you send Clint to watch me at lunch?”

  James froze at the question, pursing his lips as he glanced down at Mandy.
“Are you going to yell?”

  “I … .”

  “I asked him to watch out for you,” James said, refusing to lie. “You’re my wife and I love you. I had a feeling someone might come after you. There was a guy at the mall yesterday. I swear, he was watching us in Victoria’s Secret and then I saw him watching you when we were leaving.”

  “That doesn’t necessarily mean anything,” Mandy protested. “The clerk at Victoria’s Secret was watching you.”

  “This was different,” James said. “There was something about him that set me off … and it wasn’t just the fact that he was checking out my wife. People check you out all the time. He was watching you.”

  “Why didn’t you confront him?”

  “You were so happy,” James replied. “You were having a good time. I needed you to feel safe and I needed you to smile. I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to make a scene and ruin everything. Instead, I studied his features. I was going to have a sketch drawn up with Maverick’s software so we could run it.”

  “What did he look like?”

  James narrowed his eyes. “I’m waiting for you to scream and yell.”

  “Did you scream and yell when I told you I was going back to work?”

  James faltered. “No. I didn’t want you to tire yourself out yelling at me, though.”

  “I know what it feels like to be helpless,” Mandy said, glancing at Heidi. “I’m not going to yell at you.”

  James exhaled heavily and pulled her against his chest again. “That’s good to know.”

  “What did he look like?” Mandy repeated.

  “Oh, he was blond and had blue eyes.” James didn’t like the way Mandy stiffened in his arms. “Was the guy who attacked you today blond with blue eyes?”

  Mandy nodded. “I know this is going to sound weird, but I swear I recognized his eyes from behind the mask in Hell House.”

  Now James really wanted to punch someone. Unfortunately, there was no one present who fit the bill. “You can’t go back to work,” he said. “Not for the rest of the week at least. I … please.”

  “We’ll talk about this again on Sunday,” Mandy said. “I’ll stay home with you for the rest of the week, though.”

  “Thank you, baby.” James kissed her softly.

  “I didn’t just do it for you,” Mandy said. “Clint risked himself for me today. Heidi could’ve been hurt in the scuffle … or the judge. I can’t put others at risk because I’m feeling antsy.”

  “You don’t have to feel antsy, baby,” James said. “I will move my laptop to the saloon and you can paint to your heart’s content for the next few days. I’ll be there, but I won’t be on top of you. That can be our compromise.”

  Mandy nodded and then rested her cheek back against James’ chest. He rocked her in silence as everyone waited for an update. It was fifteen minutes before Dr. Livingston trudged out to talk to them. When she saw James and Mandy, she lifted her eyebrows in surprise.

  “I don’t know why I’m surprised to see you two here, but I am,” Livingston said.

  “The guard you have back there jumped in when someone tried to inject Mandy again,” James explained. “He saved her.”

  “She probably shouldn’t have been at work yet,” Livingston said.

  “That’s been addressed,” James said, refusing to make a big thing out of it. “Mandy is going to stay home for the rest of the week.”

  “How is Clint?” Heidi asked, gripping her hands tightly in front of her as she regarded the doctor. “Is he … going to be okay?”

  Livingston smiled in an attempt to reassure the usually boisterous clerk and nodded. “He should be fine,” she said. “He’s much better off than Mrs. Hardy was in the same situation. The drug never got a foothold because it was treated in the ambulance.”

  Heidi let loose with a shaky sigh while Judge MacIntosh slung an arm over her shoulders to bolster her. “Good. That’s good.”

  “I want him to stay overnight,” Livingston said. “You can stay with him if you want. He’ll probably be happy to see you.”

  “Can I see him now?”

  Livingston pointed to the hallway behind her. “He’s in the third room on the left.”

  “I’m glad he’s going to be okay,” Mandy said, reaching out for Heidi’s hand.

  Heidi jerked it away, taking both Mandy and James by surprise. “He’s only in this situation because of you.”

  Mandy felt as if she’d been punched in the gut. “I’m sorry.”

  “You should be.”

  “Wait a second,” James said, rubbing his hand over Mandy’s back to soothe her. “I asked Clint to watch Mandy. You should be angry with me.”

  “I am angry with you,” Heidi shot back. “Clint almost died because you and Mandy put your needs in front of everyone else’s. I know what happened here. Don’t bother denying it.”

  “Heidi,” Judge MacIntosh chided. “I know you’re upset. Mandy realizes she shouldn’t have come back to work so soon. There’s no reason to take out your anger and frustration on her, though. They’ve been through a lot, too.”

  “I need to take a few days off to take care of Clint,” Heidi said, ignoring the judge’s words. “Can I have the rest of the week off, too?”

  “Of course.”

  “Good. I would hate to think Mandy gets all the special treatment.” Heidi squared her shoulders. “Thank you for taking such good care of him,” she said to Livingston. “I’m going to take good care of him now.”

  Mandy watched Heidi walk away wordlessly, fighting hard to control her tears. James knew she was about to break down so he turned his attention to MacIntosh. “I’m really sorry about all of this,” he said. “I shouldn’t have let her come back.”

  “Mandy didn’t realize she was putting anyone in danger,” MacIntosh said. “There was no malice involved. When Heidi realizes that and has a few days to get over things she’ll be back to her regular self. She won’t hold a grudge.”

  James knew that in his heart, but Mandy’s eyes told him she wasn’t going to believe that until Heidi forgave her. “I’ll keep you updated on anything we get,” he said. “I’m taking Mandy home now.”

  MacIntosh nodded. “I think that’s probably for the best.”

  MANDY was silent for the duration of the ride home. James held her hand and let her mope, knowing there was nothing he could do to make her feel better. After locking the doors and making sure the security system was operational, he finally decided to break the silence.

  “What do you want for dinner, baby?”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Well, you’re going to eat,” James said. “You’re still too thin after going for so long without food. I don’t feel like anything fancy. How does pizza sound?”

  “Do you think Heidi is going to hate me forever?”

  James was expecting the question. “Heidi doesn’t hate you,” he said. “She loves you. She’s very upset. When someone you love is hurting you want someone to lash out at. She couldn’t lash out at the people responsible so that just left her with you.”

  “But … .”

  “No,” James said, wagging a finger in her face. “I wanted to hit someone when I heard what happened. I didn’t have that option. Heidi didn’t hit you, but she did kind of punch you in the gut with what she said. I know it hurts. She’ll be okay in a few days.”

  “What if she’s not?”

  “We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it,” James said. “Now, what do you want for dinner? If you don’t want pizza I can order some Chinese.”

  “Do you mind ordering the Chinese? My stomach is too unsettled for pizza.”

  “That sounds good,” James said. “In fact, that will allow me to order enough food to get us through tomorrow, too. I’m going to order about eight different things. Do you have anything specific you want?”

  Mandy nodded. James expected her to leave the food decisions to him, so he was surprised. “What?”

  “Can you le
t me sit on your lap and cuddle with you for a half hour before you order the food?”

  James’ heart rolled. She needed comfort. “Yes.”

  “Can we watch The Goonies after dinner?”

  James smiled. “Yes.”

  “Will you give me a massage while we watch it?”

  “Yes.”

  “Are you going to give me anything I want tonight to make me feel better?” Mandy asked.

  James nodded. “The sky is the limit, baby.”

  “Okay,” Mandy said. “I want sex in the hot tub, too.”

  “Oh, well, see. Now you’re thinking,” James said. “That’s a gift for both of us.”

  Mandy moved to him and wrapped her arms around his waist, giving into the tears she’d been fighting. James held her as she cried, knowing she needed to get it out of her system and there was nothing he could do to stop it. He lifted her in his arms and carried her to the big armchair at the edge of the living room. There, he proceeded to hold her for a full hour until she couldn’t cry any longer.

  Marriage was hard, and as much as he never wanted his wife to cry he’d learned sometimes he just had to let it happen. This was one of those times.

  Fourteen

  Grady and Sophie were snuggled up on the couch, Grady’s body spooned around Sophie’s, and he was debating how he was going to make his move when his cell phone dinged.

  “Great,” he grumbled, reaching around Sophie’s lithe body to collect his phone.

  “Now you’re going to have to start all over with your plan to talk me out of my panties,” Sophie teased.

  Grady licked the edge of Sophie’s ear. “I wasn’t planning on talking to you about it,” he said. “I was planning on using my tongue.”

  Sophie involuntarily shuddered. “What else were you going to use your tongue for?”

  “Hold that thought, sugar,” Grady murmured. “I will lay out all of my dastardly plans in exactly … crap!”

  Sophie sighed. She knew Grady’s tone. There would be no tongue fun in their immediate future. “What’s wrong?”

  “Mandy was attacked at the courthouse today.”

  Sophie straightened and pushed herself into a sitting position, swiveling quickly so she could face Grady. “What?”