Deadly Forever (Hardy Brothers Security Book 24)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Hey, I have an idea,” Finn said, his tone laced with exaggerated wonder. “Since we all would like our women to have perfect proms … and James is throwing a prom … .”

  James rolled his eyes. “I knew it!”

  “You knew what?” Grady challenged.

  “I knew you were going to make fun of me for doing this and then jump on the bandwagon,” James said. “You can make fun of me all you want, but I’m a genius.”

  “I think you just might be,” Peter said, grinning.

  “Yes, you’re a regular prince among men,” Grady deadpanned. “Are you going to let us join your prom or what? I need to find a dress for Sophie this afternoon if you are.”

  James let loose with an exaggerated sigh, although his eyes twinkled. “The prom is being catered for twelve people,” he said. “I knew you guys would invite yourselves once you figured out what a hero I was going to be. I wanted plenty of food because our women like to eat.”

  “Awesome.” Grady clapped James’ back. “Please tell me you got good food.”

  “Red Lobster.”

  “Oh, well, sold,” Jake said. “I need to get Ally a dress and corsage.”

  “I took care of the corsages,” James said. “I ordered five of them in different colors. I got the pinwheel roses.”

  Finn raised his eyebrows. “Why five?”

  “Because I invited someone else, too,” James admitted. “I had to text the floral shop on my way over here to add the fifth.”

  “Who did you invite?”

  “Maverick.”

  Grady made a horrified face. “Why would you possibly do that?”

  “Because he’s interested in Darcy and she didn’t have a prom either,” James replied. “She missed out because of what happened.”

  “Oh.” Grady’s eyes were soft when they locked with his brother’s soulful brown orbs. “I don’t think I say it enough – and if you ever tell anyone outside of this group that I said it, I’ll deny it – but you really are a genius.”

  “And you’re a good man,” Jake said, patting James’ shoulder. “Thank you for allowing us to attend your prom.”

  “Oh, I bet you thought you’d never say those words,” Grady teased.

  “You have no idea,” Jake said. “Now, let’s get this show on the road. What are we going to do about Kaspar?”

  “Luckily for us, I think he’s going to walk right into our hands,” Peter mused.

  “What makes you say that?” James asked, confused.

  Peter pointed to the front door of the hotel, where a familiar face strolled out and headed toward the parking lot.

  “It’s Kaspar,” Finn said, smirking. “I wonder why he’s outside.”

  “Perhaps he realizes you’re all good men and subconsciously he wants to make your day easier,” Peter suggested.

  “I doubt it’s that,” James said. “I’m not going to ignore a prime opportunity, though. Let’s do this.”

  “Indeed,” Peter said. “Let’s do this.”

  “HOW DO you think I should do it?”

  Maverick was quiet for so long – which went against everything Mandy knew about him – that the bored blonde practically forgot he was in the room with her. She looked up from the magazine she was flipping through and lifted an eyebrow. “How should you do what?”

  “You know … ask out Darcy.”

  “Oh, that,” Mandy intoned, smirking. “How do you want to do it?”

  “I was thinking I would text her.”

  The corners of Mandy’s lips tipped down. “If you do that I’m going to kick you in the ass.”

  Maverick made a comical face. “You’re mean … just like your husband. You know that, right?”

  “I can live with that,” Mandy said. “You can’t ask her out via text.”

  “Why not?” Maverick asked. “That’s how everyone else I know does it.”

  “Who do you know asking out women via text message?”

  “Dudes in movies.”

  “Oh, well, that’s realistic,” Mandy muttered, shifting her head toward the front door of the office when she heard the overhead bell jingle. She couldn’t see who entered the building from her spot in the chair. “We’re not done with this conversation. No matter what happens, do not text her. I’ll be back to discuss the proper way to do this in a second.”

  “I still think I should text her,” Maverick grumbled under his breath.

  “I heard that,” Mandy challenged, tossing the magazine in the chair she’d just vacated. “If you text her, I’ll smack you really hard.”

  “Just as long as you don’t castrate me.”

  “I’m not ruling it out,” Mandy said. “Let me see who this is. I thought they locked the front door, but I guess I was wrong. I’ll be back to discuss this in five minutes, so don’t get ahead of yourself and do something stupid.”

  “I would never do something stupid.”

  “I don’t believe that for a second and neither do you,” Mandy said, waltzing out of the office. “Hi, can I help you?”

  “WHERE ARE you going?”

  James slid out from between two sports utility vehicles and blocked Kaspar’s path as he headed toward his car. For his part, the guidance counselor looked stunned by James’ appearance and he took an inadvertent step away from the physically imposing security specialist.

  “How did you find me?”

  “I’m good at what I do,” James replied.

  Peter cleared his throat.

  “And he’s better at what he does,” James added, reaching for Kaspar’s wrist. “You’re coming with me.”

  Kaspar balked, hopping backward to avoid James’ hand. He slammed into a strong body when he did, his eyes widening when he shifted his head and locked gazes with the middle Hardy brother.

  “Boo.” Grady made a face, an evil grin spreading across his handsome features as Kaspar jolted and moved away from him. This time it was easy for James to slap a cuff around his wrist.

  “What are you doing?” Kaspar asked, jerking his arm away. “You’re not a police officer. You can’t arrest me.”

  “Well, that’s where you’re wrong,” James said. “I’m perfectly within my rights to take you into custody. The sheriff’s department has issued a warrant for your arrest and they’re actively searching for you. All I have to do is call them and hand you over.”

  “And then our day is done,” Finn said.

  “Huh,” Jake mused. “Does anyone else feel as if this was anticlimactic?”

  “Normally I would agree with you,” Grady said. “The faster this is over with, though, the faster I’ll be able to pick out a prom dress.”

  Kaspar made an incredulous face. “Prom dress?”

  “It’s not for me,” Grady explained. “I’m not going to wear it or anything. It’s for my girlfriend. We’re throwing a prom tonight … instead of a bachelor party. Oh, man. Mandy got her way after all. There will definitely be no strippers at the prom.”

  “There weren’t going to be strippers anyway,” James said, fastening the other cuff around Kaspar’s wrist. “I have no interest in seeing anyone but my wife naked.”

  “Then you don’t know what you’re missing,” Kaspar sneered. “You should go to a real prom and see those girls naked. It’s worth it. Trust me.”

  James didn’t respond with words, but he did “accidentally” slam his shoulder into Kaspar’s throat, causing the man to gasp and turn red.

  “I’d be very careful,” James said. “I’m in the mood to dote on my wife and one of the last things she asked me to do before I left the office was kick you in the balls. Now, that seems as if it would be a little mean considering how easy you were to catch, but I am a slave to my wife’s whims.”

  “He’s definitely a slave to his wife,” Grady said. “She gets whatever she wants out of him just by batting her eyelashes.”

  “If you kick me down there, you’ll be sorry,” Kaspar sputtered.

  “To be fair, Mandy asked you to c
astrate him first,” Jake pointed out. “If you truly want to be a good husband, you’ll do that.”

  “Now that’s an intriguing suggestion,” James said.

  Kaspar’s eyes flooded with fear. “Don’t … I … don’t! Please!”

  “I’m going to give you one shot at this,” James said. “It’s only going to be one shot, so make sure you think long and hard about what I’m going to offer you.”

  “I’ll do whatever you want,” Kaspar said, his shoulders going limp. “Just … don’t hurt me.”

  “You didn’t seem to have the same rule when you raped your students, did you?” James asked, his expression hard.

  “They didn’t even know what was happening,” Kaspar protested. “They were drugged. They had no idea. Is it really a crime if they don’t even know?”

  James felt sick to his stomach. “Darcy Sweetin knew. She knew something happened to her and yet everyone in that school turned on her because you used popular boys to get what you wanted. It’s definitely a crime.”

  “It’s a sick crime,” Grady added. “What’s wrong with you? Can’t you get a woman your own age?”

  “Yes, but who wants that?” Kaspar shot back. “It’s better when they’re young … and tight … and wowed by what you have to offer.”

  “Don’t you mean unresponsive and passed out?” Jake challenged. “I think that’s the only way you can get a woman.”

  “Oh, whatever,” Kaspar sputtered. “You have no idea what you’re even talking about. I didn’t hurt those girls. They didn’t even know what was happening.”

  “Save it for the police,” James gritted out, working overtime not to slam his fist into Kaspar’s face. He’d promised his wife he wouldn’t go to jail … and he meant it. “I have two questions for you, and you’d better answer them.”

  “Fine,” Kaspar huffed. “What do you want to know?”

  “Why did those boys go in that mall the day they died … and where is your son?”

  Instead of reacting out of fear or protection, Kaspar chuckled heartily. “Seriously? That’s what you want to know?”

  James nodded. “That’s exactly what I want to know.”

  “Well, then I guess I’ll tell you.”

  “DO YOU need something?”

  Mandy was confused when she shuffled into the lobby. She expected to find a potential customer waiting, someone she could take pertinent information from before allowing James to handle the customer when he returned. Instead she found a young man standing there, and he didn’t look happy.

  “I’m looking for James Hardy.”

  “He’s not here right now,” Mandy said. “He’s out on a case. He should be back shortly, though. If you want, I can take your information and have him call you as soon as he gets back.”

  “I’m not sure that will work for me.” The man, although he looked ridiculously young, glared openly at Mandy. “I need to see him right now.”

  Mandy wasn’t about to be bullied. “He’s out on a case. I’m not sure he’ll be back. I would offer to let you wait, but I honestly think it could be hours before he returns.”

  “Are you the secretary?”

  “I’m his wife,” Mandy replied. “I can take your information, though. I promise he’ll get it.”

  “You’re his wife, huh?”

  Mandy didn’t like the shift in the man’s demeanor. “I am.”

  “I guess you can take my information,” the man said. “My name is Jacob Kaspar … and I have a message for him.”

  21

  Twenty-One

  “It started out as a lark,” Kaspar said, grimacing as he tried to get comfortable. Leaning against a vehicle with his hands cuffed behind him was hardly conducive to fun storytelling. “After I got out of prison, the first thing I did was visit my son. He was the only one who kept in touch with me during those years.

  “His mother was always a bitch,” he continued. “Jacob couldn’t wait to get away from her. Laurie – that’s my ex-wife – didn’t put up much of a fight when I said I was going to take him. I thought she would, but she clearly knew something I didn’t.”

  “Are you honestly going to blame this on your son?” James asked, incredulous.

  “Oh, it wasn’t his fault,” Kaspar said. “He did make things more … interesting … though. I have to give him that.”

  “How so?”

  “I spent a lot of money getting us new identities,” Kaspar explained. “When I got the job at the high school, I thought I’d hit the jackpot. Have you seen the girls at that place? They’re all hot and worried about what other people think about them.

  “Jacob was initially uncomfortable with the new environment, but he fit in better than I expected,” he continued. “He’s always had the ability to fool people. Even when he was a kid, he could fit in with others and they never realized what he was really thinking.

  “He was the one who came up with the idea of drugging the girls and he even found a source through one of his old friends to get us the drug,” he said. “It was standard Rohypnol base with a few tweaks. It only stays in the blood system for six hours and you have to be directly testing for the strain if you want it to show up in a drug test.

  “Jacob started throwing parties and inviting kids over,” Kaspar said. “He would pick one girl and drug her and then take her upstairs so he and I could … play. I was happy with the situation because I knew no one would catch us. It was his idea to bring in his little friends. I knew it was a mistake, but I didn’t have a lot of choice in the matter.”

  “How did Jacob pick which boys to invite?” Jake asked.

  “I’m not sure,” Kaspar replied. “He can read people. It’s one of his gifts. He has a lot of them, including the fact that he can charm almost anyone. He picked the boys and for a few months things were fine. We didn’t overdo the parties and we made sure that every girl was drugged according to plan.”

  “All of that changed when Darcy Sweetin remembered what happened to her, didn’t it?” James prodded.

  “It definitely wasn’t a good thing,” Kaspar said. “She made a big stink about remembering Dakota being there and he was terrified. He thought it was going to ruin his future. Luckily for us, she recanted. I still haven’t figured out why she did that.”

  “Dakota’s parents paid off her parents,” James supplied. “It wasn’t her choice.”

  “Well, I guess that makes sense,” Kaspar said, tilting his head to the side. “Anyway, I thought things would go back to normal after that, but Jacob had something else in mind.”

  “What?”

  “The kid has always had a curious streak, but at a certain point I realized he wasn’t interested in what we were doing because of the sex,” Kaspar explained. “That’s why I was interested in it. That’s why the other boys were interested. Jacob was a different story.

  “Jacob hardly seemed interested in the sex, if you want to know the truth,” he continued. “He was much more interested in watching how everyone reacted. He was interested in how I would react when he added the other boys into our game. He was interested in how Dakota reacted when Darcy remembered what happened to her. He seemed to get perverse joy from watching the boys scramble.”

  “So … what happened?” Grady asked. “What made them go into that mall that day? You were all free and clear.”

  “That was Jacob,” Kaspar said. “He went through my files and stole the school letterhead. Then he wrote anonymous letters on it and instructed the boys to come up with a hundred thousand dollars if they wanted him to keep his mouth shut.

  “Of course, the other boys were nowhere near as smart as Jacob,” he continued. “They believed it. They thought someone in the administration knew what they were doing. They panicked and went to Jacob for guidance, if you can believe that. It was his idea to go into the mall.”

  “But he wasn’t there,” Finn protested. “He wasn’t with them that day.”

  “Oh, he was there,” Kaspar countered. “He just didn�
�t take a gun. He walked into the mall, took a seat in the food court, and watched the chaos erupt. He had a grand time of it, too. He couldn’t stop laughing when he was recounting it. He saw Dakota die and thought it was better than a superhero movie.”

  James’ stomach twisted at the admission. “So Jacob pretended to be an administrator and blackmailed the other students into doing what they did,” he said. “He had to know they would die for their efforts.”

  “I don’t think he cared,” Kaspar said. “In fact, I’m pretty sure he didn’t care. Er, well, he didn’t care other than for scientific reasons. He wanted to see what they would do. He knew they would die, but he reassured them it wouldn’t happen. He was done with high school, you see. He didn’t really like those boys so he had no intention of maintaining the friendships. The boys had outlived their usefulness.”

  “So he watched them die for sport?”

  Kaspar nodded. “He thought it was funny.”

  “What about the letters?” Jake asked. “Wasn’t he worried they would be traced back to him?”

  “He’s always been good with computers,” Kaspar said. “He spoofed one of the other teacher’s email accounts just in case. To my knowledge, none of that has come up, though. He got away with it.”

  “And he’s the one who tried to break into our system,” James said, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced at Peter. “Maverick said it felt as if it was someone who had some computer training but no real world experience. That would fit Jacob to a tee.”

  “I had no idea he did that,” Kaspar said. “He was interested in you right from the start, though, and that was before I told him you showed up at the school. When he heard private investigators killed Nate, he wanted to know more about you. He did tons of research, and you guys were all over the news so he had no shortage of stories to go through. It’s that curiosity thing again.”

  “Well, he sounds like a real peach,” James intoned, wrinkling his nose. “Where is he now? Is he in the hotel room?”

  Kaspar shook his head. “He’s gone.”

  “Don’t lie to me,” James said. “We’ll find him. We’re going to search your room no matter what.”