Deadly Forever (Hardy Brothers Security Book 24)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Let’s find him,” James said. “I want my baby.”

  “She’s with my angel,” Jake said. “They’ll be fine. They can take care of themselves. They’ve proven it over and over gain.”

  James forced a smile that didn’t make it all the way to his eyes. “I don’t want them to have to deal with that,” he said. “I want them both back. Heck, I want all four of them back. I’ll even buy everyone seafood if I can get my hands on a certain blonde in the next five minutes.”

  Jake didn’t want to laugh. It was a serious situation. He couldn’t stop himself, though. “I’m going to tell Ally you said that. She’s going to make you buy her lobster if you’re not careful.”

  “Gladly,” James said. “Let’s find our women … and then not tell them that I referred to them as if they were property.”

  “You’ve got it. Let’s do it.”

  “HOW LONG are we supposed to sit here?”

  The longer their forced sojourn in the darkened fitting room dragged on, the more irked Sophie Lane became. She wasn’t used to cowering in a corner when she could be kicking butt.

  “Until they come,” Mandy replied, pinching the bridge of her nose. She thought Emma’s whining or Ally’s insistence on being the center of attention was going to be the hardest part of her afternoon. She’d been wrong. Sophie’s refusal to sit still weighed on her far more than the other two combined. “Sit down.”

  “You sit down,” Sophie shot back.

  “I am sitting down,” Mandy said. “Now you need to do it, too.”

  “I … can’t,” Sophie said, frustrated. “I feel as if I can’t breathe when I’m close to the ground like that. I don’t know how to explain it.”

  Mandy furrowed her brow, confused. This was a side of Sophie she’d never seen. Heck, a year before when foreign drug runners invaded Mandy’s home and tried to kill them, Sophie remained calm and rational even when she had to fight off their enemies with a gun. This was something new.

  “Are you claustrophobic?” Mandy asked, something occurring to her. “Do you feel as if you’re going to pass out?”

  Mandy couldn’t see Sophie’s expression, but she could imagine the annoyed look on the woman’s face the second she heard her tone.

  “I am not claustrophobic,” Sophie snapped. “Besides, this store is huge. How can you possibly think I’m claustrophobic? I’m not weak.”

  “Being claustrophobic doesn’t make you weak,” Mandy said. “As for the size of the store, we’re cramped into a small area together and it’s dark. That enhances feelings of being closed in. I think … .”

  “I’m not claustrophobic!” Sophie’s annoyed yell echoed throughout the room, causing Emma to jolt.

  “Keep your voice down,” Ally chided, frustration practically dripping from her tongue. “You’ll lead them right to us if you’re not careful.”

  “They’re probably gone … or dead,” Sophie muttered, thumping her head against the wall as she made a big show of sinking to the ground. She was determined to eradicate all thoughts of claustrophobia from Mandy’s mind. “We’re just sitting in here twiddling our thumbs when we could be outside enjoying the fresh air.”

  “Yeah, you’re not claustrophobic or anything at all,” Mandy said, patting Sophie’s arm as she crawled through the doorway and into the main part of the store. “I’ll never accuse you of being claustrophobic again. You have my word.”

  “Oh, I’m never going to hear the end of this now,” Sophie muttered, crossing her arms over her chest. “You know I don’t believe you, right? Teasing is the Hardy way. You won’t be able to help yourself.”

  “Mandy, where are you going?” Ally asked. “You’re not supposed to leave.”

  “I’m not leaving,” Mandy replied, remaining on her hands and knees as she peered around a dress rack. “I’m just trying to see if I can see any movement on the other side of the display windows.”

  “Can you?”

  “I’m not sure,” Mandy hedged, narrowing her eyes. “I don’t think so unless … wait … I see something.”

  The women froze, the only sound in the room belonging to them as they tried to breathe quietly. Mandy didn’t move so much as a finger for what felt like forever, and then she finally heaved out a sigh.

  “I guess it was nothing,” Mandy said, her smile rueful as her heartbeat returned to normal.

  “Oh, I wouldn’t say nothing.”

  The new voice was male and close – like right next to her close – and when Mandy shifted her eyes to the right she saw a dark figure detaching from one of the other display racks. The sight of the shadowy figure – the limited light showing Mandy that the individual was wearing a knit ski mask – was enough to make Mandy’s blood run cold.

  “Hello, blondie,” the man said. He was clearly enjoying himself. “I think I lucked out when I decided to take my final stand in here with you, huh?”

  Mandy swallowed hard. “Uh-oh.”

  “THERE’S the bridal shop.”

  James’ heart flooded with hope when he saw the white dresses in the display window. The fact that the door to the store remained open – and nothing looked out of place between the security pillars – only added to his relief. Everything inside looked quiet, but it was dark in the back of the store and his sight was limited.

  “We haven’t found the fourth gunman yet,” one of the deputies reminded him. “We’re supposed to remain in formation until we do.”

  “Yes, but my wife is in there,” James said. “Plus, we have to search all of the stores anyway. Jake and I will take that one.”

  “We’re supposed to do it in an orderly fashion.”

  Jake put his hand on the deputy’s arm and gave him a small headshake. “Don’t argue with him. He won’t rest until he sees his wife.”

  “What about you?” the deputy asked.

  “I want to go in there, too,” Jake admitted. “My fiancée is in there and I desperately want to check on her.”

  The deputy look conflicted, but finally he heaved out a sigh and nodded. “You two take that store. We’ll take the one on this side.”

  “Thank you.”

  “YOU need to surrender.”

  Mandy did her best to remain calm as she studied the man to her right. He shifted from one foot to the other, a rifle loosely gripped in his hands as if he didn’t have a care in the world, but his dark eyes made Mandy unbelievably uncomfortable.

  “Why would I want to surrender?” the man asked. “How would that possibly benefit me?”

  “If you surrender, the cops won’t kill you.”

  “I don’t see how that’s much of a benefit,” the man said. “I don’t seem to have a lot of choices here. I can either die in a blaze of glory or go to prison and be some freak’s bitch. One involves a short death that will make me famous. The other is a long and torturous death where I’ll never get a good night’s sleep again.”

  Mandy remained on her hands and knees as she studied the man. He seemed resigned to his fate. She knew Sophie, Ally, and Emma were with Sally in the dressing room – probably controlling their breathing so they wouldn’t draw attention to themselves – but she was thankful they appeared to be safe for the time being and she was the only one in danger.

  “You don’t know that will happen,” Mandy said finally. “If you stay in here, if you hurt someone else … .”

  “Oh, I’m going to hurt someone else,” the man said, his eyes glinting under the limited light. “I’m pretty sure it’s going to be you.”

  Mandy’s stomach twisted and a short sob emanated from the dressing room. Mandy couldn’t tell if it came from Ally or Emma, but she refused to let the man see he’d rattled her. “If you hurt me, my husband will hunt you down and kill you. He’ll make sure to do it with pain, too.”

  “Your husband?” The man snorted. “Your husband isn’t here, honey. He might’ve convinced you that he’s a hero, but he can’t save you today.”

  “Guess again,” James announced, movin
g into the open space on the man’s left side. He had a gun in his hand and a hateful expression on his face. “Step away from my wife.”

  The man jolted at James’ arrival, clearly surprised. “How did you get in here?”

  “The door is open,” James said, never moving his gaze from the gunman’s masked face. “I’m assuming that’s the way you got in here, too.”

  “Yes, but … .”

  James didn’t have a lot of patience under normal circumstances. What he found in the dress shop was enough to tilt him over the edge to mania. “Step away from my wife,” he repeated. “She warned you what would happen if you touched her. Now I’m reiterating that warning. Don’t even think about touching her.”

  The gunman seemed to remember where he was – and exactly what he was doing. He shook himself out of his momentary reverie and moved to lift the rifle. “And what if I don’t?”

  James didn’t bother responding. He read the man’s intentions before Mandy could scramble under the rack in an attempt to shelter herself. James squeezed his pistol trigger, hitting the man square in the chest and causing him to spin. The rifle was heavy enough that the man couldn’t muster the energy to jerk it higher, and both the gunman and rifle smacked hard against the floor.

  Mandy widened her eyes as Jake stepped out from the shadows and leaned over the gunman, pressing his fingers to the man’s neck and shaking his head.

  James finally turned his attention to Mandy and opened his arms as he moved to help her up from the floor. She was shaking as he pulled her in for a hug and kissed her cheek.

  “You came for me again.” Mandy gave in and let the tears course down her cheeks.

  “Always, my baby,” James murmured into her hair, keeping her close even as the deputies rushed into the store with their weapons drawn. “You’re not allowed out of the house ever again, though.”

  Mandy giggled through her tears. “Okay.”

  “I’m not joking,” James said, tightening his arms around her. “You’re the only person I know who can turn dress shopping into a life or death situation.”

  “Whatever floats your boat,” Mandy murmured, pressing her face into the hollow between his neck and chest. “I knew you would find me.”

  “Never doubt that,” James said, rocking back and forth. “Never.”

  “WE’VE cleared the entire mall.”

  Lt. Michael Hicks strode into the dress store ten minutes later, Finn and Grady on his heels.

  Emma burst into tears when she saw Finn, racing across the room and throwing her body against his so he could hug her. Finn murmured something into her ear to soothe her, but whatever it was remained a mystery for everyone but the embracing couple. Grady opened his arms so Sophie could hug him, but she seemed more angry than frightened.

  “I don’t understand why this happened,” Sophie admitted, resting her chin on Grady’s shoulder. “Why did they think they could get away with this?”

  “We have no idea,” James answered, running his hand down the back of Mandy’s head. He was in no hurry to release her, and thankfully for him, she seemed content to let him hold her. “We’re not sure what they were after.”

  “We need to go through all of their bags and see what they were trying to escape with,” Hicks said. “We also need to get photos of their faces so we can start making identifications. We have four dead gunmen and three wounded mall visitors.”

  “Were they shot?” Ally asked, horrified.

  Hicks shook his head. “One injured her ankle while fleeing at the sound of the gunshots. Another is a potential heart attack. The third is a guy who was looking for Pokémon when it happened and he accidentally whacked his head against a window.”

  “Did the gunmen shoot anybody?” James asked, surprised.

  “No,” Hicks replied. “They hit three jewelry stores that we know of … and wandered into at least three other stores. So far we don’t have a motive.” He leaned over and lifted the mask off the dead gunman in the center of the floor, letting loose with a low whistle when he caught sight of the face beneath.

  “What is it?” Grady asked, looking around Sophie’s shoulder so he could get a gander at what had Hicks so worked up. “I … holy crap. Is that a teenager?”

  James’ heart sank to his stomach at the words, and when he risked a glance at the body on the floor he realized he was looking at a boy instead of a man. “What? No.”

  Mandy gripped James tighter, her heart going out to him. “It wasn’t your fault,” she whispered, kissing his cheek. “You couldn’t have known. I talked to him. I thought he was older, too.”

  “It’s definitely not your fault,” Hicks said, although he looked shaken. “He was a threat to your wife and everyone else in this store. It’s just … I didn’t realize we were dealing with kids. I guess that explains why this entire thing was so messed up and makes absolutely no sense.”

  James didn’t look convinced, but he faked a small smile for Mandy’s benefit as he pulled his head back. “What about the others? Were they teenagers, too?”

  Hicks shrugged. “We haven’t looked yet. I guess that’s the first thing we need to find out.”

  “And the second is why this happened,” James said, resting his hand on Mandy’s hip. “I don’t understand why these kids gave up their entire future for … nothing.”

  “Yeah, well, I wouldn’t mind figuring that out either,” Hick said. “First things first, though. We need to question everyone here on the record and then clear out this place for the forensic team.”

  “Yeah, first things first,” James intoned, although his heart wasn’t really behind the statement. He’d just killed a young man who couldn’t be more than eighteen years old. How did that even happen?

  4

  Four

  “I’m going to eat so much lobster you’re going to swear I taste like butter sauce tonight, sugar.”

  Grady was in a romantic mood as he slung an arm around Sophie’s shoulders and tugged her closer.

  After hours of questioning by the sheriff’s department, Lt. Hicks cut the Hardys loose so they could enjoy what was left of their day. Since he promised seafood before finding the women, James held up his end of the deal – even though his heart wasn’t really in it.

  James forced a smile for his family’s benefit as he watched them interact, keeping his emotions in check as he admired the way his brothers and friend soothed the women in their lives.

  Everyone was different.

  Ally needed a calm influence, so Jake whispered the occasional word of encouragement in her ear and rubbed her back as they waited for the hostess to return with a table for them.

  Emma remained nervous even though the ordeal was over – and from what he could tell she saw very little in the way of action because everyone kept her sheltered in the dressing room. She wanted to head straight home to see her baby, but Finn forced her to have dinner with everyone else because he thought it would be good for her. Besides that, Avery Hardy was with his grandparents Louis and Rose Hardy and they would pitch a fit if their time with their only grandchild was cut short.

  Sophie had a fiery personality and she was more miffed than anything else. She had a bloodthirsty demeanor when the mood struck, and she was merely irked that she wasn’t involved in the final takedown. She preferred a jocular mood to being doted on, so Grady gave her exactly what she needed.

  And as for Mandy? James smiled when he felt her hands slip around his waist. She rested her cheek on his back and hugged him from behind. She was far more interested in making sure James was okay after shooting a teenager than worrying about herself. She had an amazing capacity for recovery and James admired her for it.

  “What are you doing, baby?”

  “Holding you,” Mandy replied.

  “Why?”

  “I didn’t know I needed a reason.”

  James heaved out an exaggerated sigh. “You don’t need a reason,” he said after a beat, tugging on her arm so he could draw her around his body
and pull her flush against his chest. She seemed annoyed with the action, but James ignored her irritated expression. “You never need a reason to hug me.”

  “I wanted to hold you,” Mandy clarified. “You always hold me when I’m upset.”

  James stilled, momentarily transfixed by her sea-blue eyes. “Why do you think I’m upset?”

  “Because you are.” The answer was simple, but there was no way James was going to leave it at that.

  “Baby, I’m fine,” James argued. “I have you. I’m better than fine.”

  Mandy didn’t look convinced and James could tell he had a long night in front of him if he expected to wipe the dubious look off her face.

  “Why do you think I’m upset?” James repeated, running his index finger down her soft cheek. “I’m not thrilled with what happened, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not as if you could’ve known gunmen were going to head into the mall. I don’t blame you for what happened.”

  Mandy stilled, surprised. “I’m not worried that you’re upset with me,” she said. “I’m worried that you’re upset with yourself.”

  “Why would I be upset with myself? I got to you as fast as I could.”

  “That’s not what I mean,” Mandy shot back, frustrated. “You’re upset because … he was so young. I saw the look on your face when Hicks removed the mask. You were upset. There’s no reason to deny it.”

  “I’m not denying it,” James clarified. “I wasn’t upset, though. I was … surprised. There’s a difference.”

  “You seemed more than surprised.”

  “I guess that’s fair,” James conceded. “I didn’t expect to see a teenager under that mask. I can admit that. I wouldn’t have changed anything I did to keep you safe, though. I still would’ve shot him even knowing that he was a teenager. He was raising his gun in your direction.”

  “I know that.” Mandy’s voice was small. “James, I love you. I never doubt that you put my interests above all else. You’ve done that since the moment we hooked up.”

  “Except for that one time,” James clarified, hoping to point Mandy’s attention in a different direction. “You remember when I snuck out of your apartment after the first time we were together, right? I’m pretty sure that wasn’t in your best interests.”