Deadly Payback (Hardy Brothers Security Book 22)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Where are you going?” Mandy bolted to a sitting position, panic etching her face. “I mean … are you leaving?”

  “I was going to go downstairs,” James hedged, his face unreadable. “I don’t have to, though.”

  “I … um … .” Mandy wet her lips and glanced around the bedroom. It seemed huge after her confinement. “Can you do me a favor and just hold me for five minutes? I mean … just until I fall asleep.” She felt horrible asking, pathetic even.

  James flashed a warm smile and immediately slipped under the covers with her, tugging Mandy to his chest and getting her comfortable as he kissed her forehead. “Baby, I’m going to hold you for the rest of my life. You don’t have to be ashamed to ask. I always want to do it.”

  “You’re not tired, though.”

  “Actually, I’m exhausted,” James countered. “Holding you and taking a nap seems like the best way to spend an afternoon.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m completely sure,” James replied, tightening his arm around her waist. “Sleep, my baby. You need it.”

  “I’m afraid.” The words were barely a whisper.

  “Of what?”

  “That if I fall asleep I’m going to wake up back in that basement and this will all have been a dream.”

  “That’s not going to happen, Mandy,” James said, his lips warm against her skin as he cuddled her as close as humanly possible. “This is real. We’re together. No one is going to separate us again.”

  “I hope so.”

  “I know so,” James murmured, rubbing her back as her eyes drooped. She was so whipped she would drop off in mere seconds. “I won’t fail you again, my baby. I promise you that.”

  19

  Nineteen

  “I’m sorry to disturb you, but … I heard you found Mandy.”

  Judge MacIntosh felt as if he was intruding on a private family moment, but that didn’t stop him from visiting the Hardy house. Nothing could stop him from doing that. He had to see Mandy with his own eyes.

  “Come in,” Grady said, gracing the nervous man with a warm smile. “They’re asleep, but you can eat sugar with us until they get up.”

  “I … don’t want to intrude,” MacIntosh hedged. “It’s not my place to burden you. I’ve just been so … confused.”

  “You’re not burdening us,” Grady said, clapping the man’s shoulder and ushering him into the living room. “In fact, you might be able to help us. You know Clint as well as anybody, as far as we can tell, at least. We need insight.”

  “I don’t feel as if I know him at all,” MacIntosh admitted. “I still cannot fathom how this happened.”

  “Join the club,” Ally intoned, holding out a platter of cookies. “Try one.”

  “Oh, they look lovely,” MacIntosh said, smiling at Ally’s beaming face as he surveyed the choices. “What do we have here? It looks like macadamia nut and white chocolate for one and traditional chocolate chip for the other.”

  “Yes,” Ally said, offering a pretty smile.

  “Before you choose one, you should know this is a trap,” Grady warned. “My mother and Ally went on a baking spree to see who could make more of Mandy’s favorites. Since Mandy was exhausted and needed a shower once she got home, they’re stuck waiting to see who won the competition. They’re using you as a guinea pig.”

  “That is an ugly lie,” Ally snapped. “Judge, I think you should throw him in jail for saying that to his sister.”

  MacIntosh chuckled, the simple display of family teasing causing some of the tension to leak out of his chest. “I’ll eat both,” he said, grabbing two cookies. “Truth be told, I haven’t been able to ingest anything since Mandy disappeared. I was so worried.

  “Then, when I heard who took her, I couldn’t eat again,” he continued. “This time it was for a different reason.”

  “We’ve all been doing the same thing,” Peter said, breezing into the room. If MacIntosh was alarmed about being in close proximity with a mobster, he didn’t show it. Instead the men clasped hands before Peter sat on the couch and cast Ally a dark look when she tried to force a cookie on him. “I’m not eating another ounce of sugar.”

  “You have to,” Ally said. She didn’t care in the least that Peter was known to kill people for arguing with him. Er, well, that was the rumor. “I have to win. I can’t help it.”

  “It must be those Hardy genes,” Peter complained, grabbing a chocolate chip cookie and shaking his head. “Every single one of you insists on being the best at everything.”

  “I don’t,” Finn said, bouncing his son Avery on his hip as he walked into the room. “I’m fine watching them duke it out.”

  “Yes, you are the lone tolerable one sometimes,” Peter teased, leaning back on the couch and pinching the bridge of his nose. “I find myself frustrated and I don’t know how to alleviate the tension.”

  “What’s going on?” MacIntosh asked, genuinely curious. “I thought Mandy was okay.”

  “Other than a cut on her foot – which she inflicted herself as she orchestrated her own getaway – she’s fine,” Peter said.

  “She’s not fine,” Ally argued, practically daring Peter to argue with her when she cast a dark look in his direction. “She’s upset. She has bruises all over her arms. She’s exhausted. He slapped her.”

  “He slapped her?” MacIntosh was appalled. “I just can’t picture that.”

  “I don’t think anyone knew Clint half as well as he led them to believe,” Peter said, offering Ally a wink. “As for the other things, my dear, you’re right. Mandy has a long road ahead of her before things are fine. I should’ve thought better about my word choice.”

  “That’s right,” Ally grumbled, sighing as Jake pulled her to his lap and snagged the cookie platter from her. “She’s sad, but she doesn’t want us to know she’s sad.”

  “Then play along with her game,” Peter said. “Right now, Mandy is trying to rationalize some pretty awful things. The worst of which still revolves around Heidi, mind you.”

  “What’s that?” Finn asked, making a face to entertain the baby. For his part, young Avery seemed to sense the adults were tense and wasn’t keen to smile.

  “Mandy now knows that Clint never loved Heidi,” Peter explained. “He didn’t date her because he wanted a soul mate. He was merely with her as a means to stay close to Mandy. In Mandy’s mind, that means she’s responsible for Heidi’s death.”

  “Well, that is just ridiculous,” Ally said, crossing her arms over her chest. “Mandy couldn’t control what Clint did. I met that moron several times and I never saw a criminal mastermind. I just thought he was stupid.”

  “That’s what he wanted us to think,” Peter said. “Clint was smarter than we all thought.”

  “I’m not sure that’s true,” MacIntosh hedged, drawing everyone’s attention to him. “I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes, though.”

  “On the contrary, we need to hear what you think,” Peter said. “Other than Mandy, you’re the only person here who has spent a decent amount of time with Clint. You read people for a living. I would love to hear what you think.”

  “It probably won’t gel with what you think,” MacIntosh said.

  “I am not infallible,” Peter said. “When I’m wrong, I admit it. Tell me what you think.”

  “I think that Clint is either smart or dumb,” MacIntosh replied. “I think he’s a product of a harsh environment. I believe his birth father was abusive and he mistreated Clint. I also believe his mother was something of a nut.

  “After I found out who took Mandy, I couldn’t stop myself from going through Clint’s personnel file,” he continued. “There were several reprimands for minor infractions. Then, because I didn’t feel I knew enough about the man, I typed his name into the family law database and unsealed his childhood records.”

  “Is that allowed?” Grady asked.

  “No.”

  “Good job,” Grady said, smirking. “What did you find
?”

  “Clint was an abused child who watched his father mistreat his mother on more than one occasion,” MacIntosh answered. “His mother was crazy and went to institutions several times during his youth, though. She was fine when on medication, but she often refused to stay on medication and did some really kooky things … like adopting an ostrich as a house pet.

  “Clint felt enough of a kinship with his father to pay to have his name switched back to his birth father’s last name when he was an adult,” he continued. “I don’t think he’s smart. I don’t think he’s dumb either. I think he’s a good actor who learned how to mimic true emotion from an abuser.”

  “That makes sense,” Finn said, tickling Avery’s ribs as the baby cooed. “Emma’s father could mimic emotion, too.”

  “That’s because he’s a sociopath,” Peter said. “I don’t know if I believe that Clint is a sociopath. Most sociopaths aren’t delusional.”

  “No,” MacIntosh agreed. “I’m not sure he’s truly delusional, though. What if he merely wanted Mandy to believe he was delusional so she wouldn’t suss out his true nature?”

  “And what would that be?” Ally asked.

  “I believe he’s a psychopath,” MacIntosh replied. “He’s even more dangerous than a sociopath.”

  “If you’re right, that means we have to find him as soon as possible,” Peter said. “I don’t believe he’s going to leave Mandy and flee. That would be the smart thing to do, but he’s more likely to sacrifice himself to win.”

  “And a win might not be claiming Mandy as his own,” MacIntosh said. “It might merely be killing James … or Mandy herself.”

  “Well, we’re not going to let that happen,” Peter said. “I refuse to let that man anywhere near this house. He won’t be able to stay away, though. My men will catch him the second he starts feeling bold.”

  “That’s a nice place to start,” MacIntosh said. “We need to figure out what Clint’s endgame is so we can finish this on our terms, though. That’s how we’ll truly beat him.”

  “HEY.”

  James woke a few minutes before Mandy, content to watch her slumber even though his bladder demanded a trip to the bathroom. He refused to leave her to wake up without him. He did that once a long time ago – which is why she slapped him the first time – and he would never do it again.

  “Hi.” Mandy nuzzled her face against James’ chest, taking a moment to inhale his raw masculinity as she pressed her hand to the spot above his heart. “You’re here.”

  “Baby, I know you can’t help yourself from worrying that this is a dream and somehow I’m going to be yanked away from you, but I’m not going to let that happen,” James said. “I made a mistake at the courthouse. I will not do that again.”

  Mandy knit her eyebrows together, confused. That was the second time he said something like that. “What do you mean?”

  “It doesn’t matter,” James said. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now, I really have to go to the bathroom and your stomach has been growling for twenty minutes.”

  Mandy pressed her lips together and raised her eyebrows. It was the face she always made when she was trying not to laugh.

  “That’s my favorite expression,” James said, giving her a gentle kiss. “That right there is the face I can’t live without.”

  “I thought you said you liked my smile best,” Mandy challenged.

  “I love them both,” James said. “That look, though, that one steals my heart each and every time.”

  “You’re cute,” Mandy said, struggling until she could balance herself on her elbow. “Go to the bathroom, though. I’m starving.”

  “You’ve got it, wife. I’m almost afraid to see what my mother and Ally have been cooking up while we slept.”

  “I hope it’s crab legs,” Mandy said. “We never got our seafood.”

  James grabbed the back of her neck and kissed the corner of her mouth. “You’ll get it a hundred times over. I promise.”

  “I know,” Mandy said, mustering a wan smile. “Go to the bathroom. I need you to carry me downstairs.”

  “Your wish is my command, my queen.”

  “Oh, we’re definitely going to turn that into a game later,” Mandy said, swinging her legs over the side of the bed. “I can’t wait.”

  Neither could James, but he didn’t have the heart to tell her that particular fantasy would have to wait until she was better. He had no intention of hurting her further, and no matter how she manipulated him, he refused to budge on that.

  “JUDGE MacIntosh?”

  Mandy tried to scramble out of James’ grip as they descended the stairs and her eyes landed on her former boss. Since she had nowhere to go but the floor, James fought the effort.

  “Careful, wife,” James chided. “You’re going to crack open your head on that ceramic tile if you don’t chill out.” He gently lowered Mandy to the couch so she could hug the relieved-looking judge. “I’m glad to see you, sir. I should’ve called when we found her but … .”

  “I told him all about your meltdown,” Grady said, wrinkling his nose when James scorched him with a glare. “Funnily enough, he wasn’t at all surprised. I think he’s suspected you’re likely to go bonkers for a long time now.”

  “Your brother is just being … well … a little brother,” MacIntosh said, pushing a strand of Mandy’s flyaway hair out of her face. She slept on it wet – which meant it had a mind of its own – but she looked remarkably good for a woman held captive. “I am so happy to see you.”

  “I’m happy to see you, too,” Mandy said. “I have so much I want to ask you.”

  “Ask me?” MacIntosh’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “What could you possibly want to ask me?”

  “Did you know Clint was crazy?”

  Her eyes were plaintive, her question serious, but MacIntosh couldn’t stop himself from chuckling. “No, sweetheart. I was just as surprised to find that out as you.”

  “We’ve been talking about Clint while you guys have been snoozing,” Grady said. “The judge thinks he’s a middle-of-road psychopath and Peter thinks he’s an above-average sociopath. What do you think?”

  “Does it matter?” James asked, making a face as he settled next to Mandy. He was still in his boxer shorts – although he tugged a T-shirt on before leaving the bedroom. He didn’t realize it was probably rude to converse with Peter and the judge dressed in such a manner until it was too late to do anything about it.

  “It does matter,” Mandy said, rolling her neck. James instinctively pushed away her hands so he could massage her sore muscles. “If he’s a psychopath, that makes him more dangerous. That means he was playing me in the basement.”

  “What do you mean?” MacIntosh asked. “Playing you how?”

  Mandy related her anemia story, causing the women to laugh when she mentioned the part about sending him to the feminine hygiene aisle for female iron capsules. When she was done, everyone was more confused than when she began.

  “I don’t think that speaks to a smart guy,” Grady said. “A smart guy would’ve figured out she was lying.”

  “Unless he wanted her to escape,” Jake suggested.

  “There’s no way,” James said. “He planned this out for years. He knew he was going to take her eventually. There’s absolutely no way he planned on holding her for twenty-four hours and then losing her.”

  “I have to agree with James,” MacIntosh said. “I think I might’ve been wrong.”

  “Maybe we’re all wrong,” Peter suggested. “Maybe Clint isn’t one thing. Maybe he’s a mixture of many things and that’s causing the confusion.”

  “I’m not sure that changes anything,” James said. “I think we all know he’s going to make a move on us. He won’t just let Mandy and me waltz off into the sunset.”

  “So … what do we do?” Mandy asked.

  “We stick close to each other and figure things out,” James replied, running his thumb over her cheek. “I need you not to worry, though
. I’ll take care of you. I’ll kill him before he ever lays a hand on you again.”

  “I’m not worried,” Mandy said. “I’m just … I don’t want to live our lives in limbo.”

  “That’s exactly what we’re trying to avoid,” Peter said. “For now, let’s focus on dinner. After that, we’ll come up with a plan of attack.”

  “Oh, what’s for dinner?” Mandy asked, turning to Ally. “Who won the dinner competition?”

  Ally flashed a wide grin. “Well, I made lobster tails, steak, and crab legs.”

  “And I made pot roast and corn,” Rose said. “I made comfort food.”

  “And yet somehow Ally’s food sounds more comforting,” Mandy said, clapping her hands. “I just told James upstairs that I wanted crab legs.”

  “I knew it!” Ally pumped her fist. “I won. Ha!”

  Rose scowled. “You had an unfair advantage.”

  “I still won,” Ally said.

  “No, I won,” Mandy corrected, elbowing James. “Carry me into the kitchen. I’m going to eat my weight in crab legs.”

  “Your wish in my command, baby,” James said, scooping her up. “As long as you eat, I win, too.”

  20

  Twenty

  “Where are you going?”

  James looked up from the dinner table as Mandy struggled to her feet. She leaned on the back of her chair to keep the weight off of her injured foot and hobbled away from the table.

  Mandy glanced around at the multitude of expectant eyes as they landed on her. She hadn’t been home a full day yet and she was already chafing under James’ stringent watch. “I’m going to the bathroom.”

  “I’ll take you.” James wiped his mouth with his napkin and stood, not catching the dark look on Mandy’s face until he already had his arm around her waist. “What?”

  “You’re not taking me to the bathroom.” Mandy was embarrassed to talk about her physical needs – especially that one – in front of Peter and her former boss, but she worked overtime to remind herself James was doing the best he could under difficult circumstances. “It’s right around the corner.”

  James licked his lips, sensing a potential fight. “Baby, you’re not supposed to walk on that foot for at least a week. Even then you’re not going to be back to your regular self for at least three weeks.”