Deadly Conflicts (Hardy Brothers Security Book 21)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Nope,” Jake intoned. “It was a robbery.”

  “Oh, wow, give the security guys a gold star,” Vince said. “They figured out the obvious … after I told them what was going on.”

  “Okay,” James said. “I really need to punch him now.”

  “I still can’t breathe,” Mandy complained.

  James relented and let his wife up, pulling her close for a hug. “I think our night just got shot to hell, baby. Everybody is okay, though. That’s all that matters.”

  Mandy didn’t appear surprised – or bothered, for that matter – by the admission. “It wouldn’t be the first time.”

  “Isn’t that the truth?”

  9

  Nine

  “No one was hit and the only thing missing appears to be the car.”

  James, Jake, and Grady met in the city’s centralized parking lot after dark. The fireworks went off despite the gunshots and theft, although a few people complained about rioting teenagers and how Mount Clemens had really gone downhill. Everything else went off without a hitch.

  “I don’t get it,” James muttered, rubbing the back of his neck. “Why steal a car in the middle of a festival? That’s freaking … ballsy.”

  “And it wasn’t even a good car,” Jake said.

  “Hey!” Vince made a face as he detached from the side of James’ truck and moved in the men’s direction. “That was a perfectly good car.”

  “It was a four-door sedan worth about fifteen grand,” James shot back. “Don’t pat yourself on the back too hard. It’s not as if it was a luxury automobile.”

  “You’re a dick,” Vince snapped.

  “I can live with that,” James said, scanning the dark and almost empty expanse. “Where is my wife?”

  “We’re right here,” Mandy said, peering over the hood of the truck. She looked exhausted but otherwise fine. “We sat between the vehicles and didn’t move, just like you asked.”

  “Yes, it was great watching the fireworks from in between cars,” Ally deadpanned.

  “I’m sorry, angel,” Jake said, shuffling over to his feisty girlfriend. “We had to watch everyone else and that meant we couldn’t give you guys the attention you deserved.”

  “It’s okay,” Ally said. “We got to see the fireworks.” She hiccupped, causing Jake to narrow his eyes. “And Mandy found a bottle of Lithuanian berry something or other in the truck. She bought it the other day and forgot about it.”

  “You’re drunk?”

  Ally shrugged. “Maybe just a little.”

  “Oh, well, great,” Jake muttered. “That’s exactly what this night needed. Drunk women.”

  “I am not drunk,” Ally clarified. “I’m tipsy.”

  Jake wanted to be angry – heck, even a little annoyed – but all he could muster was a smile. She was adorable when drunk. “Please tell me you guys have water to drink down there.”

  “We have that, too,” Mandy said, lifting a bottle. “I miss that berry stuff, though. We need to get more of that for the house, James.”

  “I’ll get right on it, baby,” James said, shaking his head. “Is the bottle empty?”

  Sophie held up the blue bottle in question and made a mournful face. “It died a good death.”

  “Oh, I need to get you home,” Grady said. “I love it when you’re drunk and sympathetic for no good reason. It means you’re going to be really pliable when we get in bed.”

  “You’re a sick man,” James said, making a face. “What is the matter with you?”

  “Oh, please,” Grady scoffed, pointing at Mandy as she made pretty faces in James’ direction. “Tell me you don’t want to take that home right now.”

  James considered arguing, but she too was adorable. “Drink some water, baby,” James instructed. “You don’t feel like you’re going to throw up, do you?”

  Mandy shook her head.

  “Good. I’ll be done here in five minutes.” James turned his attention to Vince. “Where were the keys to the car?”

  “Right here.” Vince dug into his pocket and retrieved the keys. “I don’t get how someone could steal the car without the keys.”

  “There are a variety of different ways,” James said. “We need to figure out exactly which one was used. I doubt someone took the time to hot-wire it with so many people around. That means that someone had a key cut.”

  “Or managed to get his or her hands on an extra set of keys from the dealership,” Jake pointed out.

  “That’s good thinking,” James said, rolling his neck until it cracked. “Okay, the sheriff’s department canvassed the crowd. They’re forwarding all descriptions and accounts that might be of use to us first thing in the morning.

  “We need a list of your employees, Vince,” he continued. “We need to know if you had an inside person on this job.”

  Vince balked. “Inside person? I’m not the one who did this job. I can’t believe you’re accusing me … .”

  “I wasn’t accusing you,” James said, cutting the man off before he could start in on a rant. “I want to rule out all of your employees if we can. If we can’t, they’re the easiest place to start.”

  Vince had the grace to look abashed. “Oh, well … okay. I’ll email that to you in the morning. What are we going to do until then?”

  “I don’t suppose the car had GPS, did it?” Grady asked.

  Vince shook his head. “It was a basic model.”

  “Meaning bottom of the line,” Jake surmised. “It wasn’t worth a lot, so why steal it in the middle of a festival? That’s just asking to be caught, and the parts aren’t going to be a premium on the secondary market.”

  “I don’t know the answer to that,” James said. “All we know right now is that three rounds were fired into the air. That seems like a weird thing to do given the fact that no one tried to stop this guy.”

  “Maybe he was trying to clear a path,” Jake suggested.

  James tilted his head to the side, considering. “That’s a possibility,” he said. “We don’t know. We’ll get video from the courthouse and see what that shows us.”

  Vince’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “Video?”

  “There are cameras covering the entire building now,” James explained. “There was an incident with an individual climbing on the roof and shooting people more than a year ago. Every angle is covered now.”

  “It’s not always monitored, but we have a computer guy and he can go through the footage,” Grady said. “We might be able to get a face out of it because it’s doubtful someone would be stupid enough to wear a mask with this many people around. That’s just asking for a panic.”

  “Well, that’s good, right? That means you’ll find the car quickly.” Vince glanced at James for confirmation. “You are going to find my car, right? I would hate to think you’d let a petty grudge stop you from doing your job.”

  “I’m going to find your car,” James said, working overtime to keep his hands at his sides instead of wrapping them around Vince’s neck. “I don’t care about you, but I do care about my reputation.”

  “Well, how great,” Vince said dryly. “Will you call me when you have an update?”

  James was grim. “It will be the highlight of my night.”

  “No, I’m going to be the highlight of your night,” Mandy said, appearing at his side and slipping under his arm so she could rest her chin against his chest. “Let’s go home and get naked.”

  James knew he shouldn’t smile, especially in front of a distressed client, but she was too cute for words. “You’ve got it, wife. Let’s get you home.”

  “UGH, I have the world’s worst headache!” Ally rolled to her side the next morning and rubbed her forehead. “Why did you let me drink so much?”

  Jake, still naked from the night before, clasped his hands behind his head as he regarded his ladylove. She was too adorable to ignore … even when she was battling a hangover. “I didn’t let you drink anything, angel,” he replied. “I found you drunk.�
�

  “Yes, but you left me with Mandy after people shot at us,” Ally said. “You had to know that was a bad idea.”

  “I didn’t think she had alcohol in the car,” Jake said. “You’re right, though. That is on me.”

  “Oh, don’t blame yourself,” Ally said. “I’ll be fine once I have a few aspirin and a bottle of water. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t even rank on the top fifty of my worst hangovers.”

  Jake chuckled. “You have a list?”

  “Doesn’t everyone?”

  “I put aspirin and water on the nightstand, angel,” Jake said. “I figured you would wake up feeling rough. I tried to get you to drink more water last night, but all you wanted to do was play under-the-covers monster hunter.”

  Ally snickered at the memory as she opened the bottle of aspirin. “I totally forgot about that,” she said. “You were a good sport.”

  “Yes, well, I’m still waiting for you to play genie for me so I figured I owed you,” Jake said. “Add another aspirin to that and take three. I want your hangover gone as soon as possible.”

  Ally grinned and did as instructed, swallowing half the bottle of water before returning it to the nightstand. “Do you have plans for me, love bug?”

  Her penchant for giving him cutesy nicknames used to drive Jake batty. Now, not only was he used to them, but he also found he kind of liked them. “I have plans for you,” he confirmed. “You’re going to be my wingman while we go through reports from last night’s festival.”

  Ally frowned. “That doesn’t sound remotely entertaining.”

  “We can be naked when we do it,” Jake offered.

  Ally pursed her lips as she considered the offer. “Fine, but I want regular breaks.”

  “Sold,” Jake said, grabbing her leg as he tugged her closer and rolled on top of her. “I was hoping to start with a kiss and then a shower, you know, just to start the day off right.”

  “I think that can be arranged,” Ally said, giggling. “Then what?”

  “Then I’m buying you breakfast because we need fuel and then we’re getting to work for a few hours,” Jake replied, adopting a serious tone. “If you’re going to be naked while we’re doing research you have to sit in a spot where I can’t touch you. The faster we get through our work, the faster we can enjoy our night.”

  “Then I’ll stay clothed.”

  “Well, let’s not be hasty,” Jake said, smacking a kiss against her neck. “I just said you couldn’t sit next to me. I didn’t say you couldn’t be in the same room offering me gentle encouragement and the occasional handful of … whatever strikes my fancy.”

  “You have a dirty mind,” Ally said, snuggling closer. “I like it. You didn’t have this dirty of a mind when we first got together, though.”

  “Oh, I always had it, angel,” Jake said. “I just kept it to myself because I didn’t want to offend you. Once I realized you weren’t the type of woman to get offended, you usually beat me to all of the dirty talk so I didn’t have to worry about it.”

  “I’m good that way.”

  “You are,” Jake agreed, pressing a soft kiss to her lips before turning serious. “Before we take our shower, though, I have to ask you a question.”

  “Are you going to ask me if I think Vince had something to do with stealing his own car?”

  Jake’s eyebrows shifted upward. “How did you know that’s what I was wondering?”

  “Because I was wondering it, too,” Ally admitted. “Right before it happened, Sophie said that Vince had ulterior motives for being over by us … like he wanted to pick a fight with James so he had an alibi.”

  “I noticed that, too,” Jake said, rolling slightly to his side so he wouldn’t crush Ally with his weight. “Do you think it’s possible?”

  Ally shrugged her bare shoulders and ran a hand through her wild hair. She looked like a crazy lion for a moment, and Jake was unbelievably turned on. “I don’t really know him,” Ally said. “That’s horrible to say, isn’t it?”

  Jake tore his brain away from the possibility of playing naked safari and focused on Ally’s somber face. “Why is it horrible?”

  “I dated him for two months,” Ally replied. “We spent practically every night together. Granted, it was just sex, sex, and more sex, but … .”

  “Let’s not go into the nitty-gritty details,” Jake suggested, earning a fond smile from Ally as she patted his morning mussed hair. “I’m not sure my poor heart can take it.”

  “I know that feeling,” Ally said. “I had it happen to me, too, remember?”

  “That was different,” Jake pointed out. “There was no real relationship between Cara and me. Sure, I guess there was in her head. For me, though, I was just going through the motions. You really cared about Vince.”

  “See, that’s the thing … .” Ally broke off, biting her lip. “At the time I thought I cared about him. What if I didn’t, though?”

  “What do you mean, angel?”

  “I was young and stupid, and I was annoyed because James kept trying to run my life,” Ally explained. “He wasn’t really trying to do that, mind you, but it felt as if he was.”

  “Okay, I get that,” Jake said. “I don’t understand what you’re trying to say, though.”

  “I was infatuated with his looks and the fact that he was important,” Ally said. “Now I realize he was only important in his own head, though. I also realize that my idea of what was important then is a lot different from now.”

  “I think that happens to everyone,” Jake said, brushing Ally’s hair away from her face. “When I was twenty-two I thought the only reason to love someone was because you had to once you reached a certain age.

  “That’s not exactly true,” he continued. “I thought you married someone because you had to. I didn’t think love – real love, at least – actually existed.”

  “And now?”

  “Now I love you more than I ever thought possible,” Jake replied, not missing a beat. “I wish I could go back in time and shake younger me. I would let him know what an idiot he is.”

  “Oh, that’s not a good idea,” Ally said. “If you wake younger you up to the possibility of love, he might find it with someone else.”

  “That’s not possible, Ally,” Jake said. “I think I was made to love you. No one else will do.”

  “Oh, that’s a really good answer,” Ally said, grabbing his naked butt and squeezing. “My hangover is cured. Get over here and wake me up properly.”

  Jake laughed as he rolled on top of her, pressing his lips to hers and cringing when the front doorbell rang.

  “Ignore it,” Ally ordered.

  Jake tried to do just that, but when the bell rang three times in quick succession he jerked his head in the direction of the front of the house and swore under his breath. “I’ve got twenty bucks that says Grady is here,” he said. “He’s the only one who does that doorbell thing.”

  “Ignore him,” Ally whined. “Come on. I’m ready for you to worship me.”

  Jake snickered as he rolled off of Ally and grabbed her pink robe from the floor. “I’ll get rid of him and be back in two minutes. Do not get dressed.”

  “I’m timing you,” Ally said, jutting her lower lip out. You’re going to be sorry if you’re not careful.”

  “Oh, angel, I have no intention of being sorry,” Jake said, cinching the fluffy pink robe around his waist. “I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

  Ally smiled as he darted out of the room, momentarily wondering how many men would have the inner strength to answer the door in a woman’s robe. As for Jake, he was a bundle of angry energy when he threw open the door.

  “This had better be good, Grady,” he groused. “I was in the middle of something important.”

  Instead of Grady, he found two older faces staring back at him. Unfortunately, he recognized them both.

  “Hello, Jake!” Rose Hardy, Ally’s mother, drew him in for a big hug the moment she saw him. “I can’t t
ell you how glad I am to see you.”

  “Me, too,” Jake said, his mouth going dry. “I … um … Mr. Hardy.”

  Louis Hardy wasn’t nearly as tickled to see Jake in his daughter’s robe. “Jake,” Louis said. “You’re here awfully early this morning.”

  “Oh, Louis, leave the boy alone,” Rose said, slapping her husband’s hand. “They’re living together now.”

  “You told me, but I chose to forget it,” Louis said. “That’s my baby.”

  Baby. Jake rolled the word through his mind and internally cringed. “I … were we expecting you?”

  “Nope,” Rose replied. “We like to surprise our children so they don’t have a chance to cover up what they’re doing before our arrival.”

  “Uh-huh.” Jake was completely thrown for a loop. “Um … Ally!”

  “Where is my little darling?” Louis asked, pushing past Jake and walking into the living room. “I’m dying to see her.”

  “She’s just getting up,” Jake explained. “We were at a festival last night. She was up late and needed her sleep.”

  “What’s going on?” Ally asked, appearing in the doorway wearing nothing but Jake’s T-shirt. “I thought you were going to get rid of Grady and wake me up good and proper?”

  “Oh, dear,” Rose intoned.

  Ally’s cheeks turned crimson at the sound of her mother’s voice and when she shifted her attention to the other side of the room and found her parents staring back she was mortified. “Omigod!” She jerked the T-shirt down to make sure everything was covered and then scampered in the direction of the bedroom. Everyone could hear her screeching as she slammed the door.

  Jake, for lack of anything better to do, tightened the sash on the robe and plastered a bright smile on his face. “So, who wants coffee?”

  10

  Ten

  “Oh, who is the cutest baby in the world?”

  Rose swooped in and claimed Avery from Emma’s arms before the new mother could even register her future mother-in-law’s presence. She handed the baby over willingly as she helped Jeff get settled in a chair and introduced him to a gushing Rose and smiling Louis.

  “I’m so happy to see you,” Emma said, offering Rose a hug. “Did we know you were coming?”