Deadly Payback (Hardy Brothers Security Book 22)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “Well, then you’re missing out on something great,” Jake said, clapping the man on the shoulder. “When you look at them you see something mystical … perhaps even something odd. They are mystical … and magical … and genuinely happy and in love. That’s something to strive for.”

  “I don’t want there to be any misunderstanding … I mean, I love my wife … but that is just ridiculous.”

  Jake shifted his eyes to Mandy and James and found his boss rubbing his nose against her cheek as he squeezed her tight. Mandy giggled uncontrollably as James whispered something into her ear. Jake was convinced the secret message was of a filthy nature, but they were still adorable – and maybe a little over the top.

  “That is ridiculous,” Jake agreed. “It’s also a miracle. Three days ago a madman had her and we had no idea if we would get her back. Now she’s with her husband and happy. How can that not be something wonderful?”

  “I have no idea,” Bradshaw admitted. “I just feel as if I’m watching some weird television show and someone is going to hop out and tell me I’m on Candid Camera or something.”

  “Yeah, well, if you hang around us you’d better get used to it,” Jake said. “That’s the rule, not the exception.”

  “Duly noted,” Bradshaw said, his eyes traveling to the garage door as it opened. He wasn’t surprised to see the longhaired Hardy brother walk through the opening – or even the reporter Sophie Lane, who held Grady Hardy’s hand – but when he caught sight of Peter Marconi trailing behind the couple, he almost fell over. “Is that … ?”

  “I wouldn’t bring that up,” Jake said, his forehead creasing. “We’re all working together and if you don’t want to work with Peter, you’ll be the one ousted before him. We need his expertise on this one.”

  “I just … never thought I would meet him.”

  “He’s pretty normal and easy to get along with,” Jake said, locking gazes with Grady. “Anything?”

  “Clint’s mother is crazier than a Kardashian who can’t find a camera,” Grady replied. “She did give us an idea on the way home, though.”

  “What’s that?” James asked, lifting his head. “What idea?”

  Grady forced a smile. “It’s a great idea … but you’re going to hate it.”

  “I knew that was coming,” James muttered. “Lay it on me.”

  “You need a drink first,” Grady said, glancing around. “Where is the beer?”

  “I don’t need a drink,” James argued. “Just tell me.”

  “Fine,” Grady said. “I need a drink. If you hit me, I want to dull the pain.”

  “Grady!”

  “Two minutes,” Grady said. “Just give me two minutes to prepare myself for Armageddon. I wasn’t joking when I said you were going to hate this idea. You’re going to freak out. Trust me.”

  “ABSOLUTELY not.” James clutched Mandy tighter to his chest and vehemently shook his head. “If you think I’m using my wife as bait … you’re flipping crazy.”

  “It’s the best shot we have,” Peter said, adopting a rational tone. “She’ll never be in any actual danger.”

  “Oh, yeah?” James challenged. “That’s what I thought when she decided to pack up her office in a busy courthouse. That’s what I thought when she walked down a hotel hallway in New Orleans. Heck, that’s what I thought when she was standing next to me on a boat looking at swamp gas. Do you know what happened in all of those instances?”

  “Yes, she ended up in trouble,” Grady replied. “This will be different. Although … you really are a trouble magnet, Mandy.” He flicked her ear for good measure. He could tell she was intrigued by the idea even as James fought it tooth and nail.

  “I won’t do it,” James said, petting the back of Mandy’s head as he pressed her so close it almost looked as if he was smothering her. “I will not risk my baby.”

  “Okay, you’re going to kill her if you’re not careful,” Grady said, wrenching James’ arm from Mandy’s back. “I would like to hear what she has to say.”

  “No, you wouldn’t,” James said.

  Mandy ignored him and focused on Grady. “How would it work?”

  “Well, right now Clint thinks he’s watching all of us group together to protect you,” Grady replied, not missing a beat. “He thinks he has the upper hand so he can wait us out. If we invoke our plan, it will be pretty simple.

  “The sheriff will make an announcement that a body was found in the woods near the cabin and that he believes it’s Clint,” he continued. “We’ll put the story out there for a full news cycle just to be on the safe side. Then we’ll make a big show of leaving you and James in the house.

  “What Clint won’t realize is that we’re not really leaving,” he said. “We’re just moving out a ring. As it stands right now, you’re the center of our world. Then there’s a ring of family surrounding you. Then there’s a ring of Peter’s men surrounding us. We’re going to remove the rings.”

  “But … how are you going to do that?”

  “We’re going to make a big show of leaving,” Grady explained. “Clint will be focused on the house. He’ll only notice if we come back. He won’t notice if we take a step back and loosen the ring, only tightening it again when we’re behind him. He will be looking forward. He won’t be looking over his shoulder. We’ll still be here. We’ll still be close. We’re just making him think that you and James are in the house alone.”

  “But, why would he come into the house if he knows James is here?” Rose queried. “Wouldn’t that make him wait?”

  “We considered that,” Peter admitted. “The thing is, Clint knows he will never have what he wants as long as James is alive. It’s not just enough for him to take Mandy. As long as James is out there, she has hope. As long as James is out there, he’s always a threat.”

  “Mandy will never give him what he wants anyway, though,” Ally argued. “She’s never going to love him.”

  “Clint can’t see that, though,” Peter said. “He created an elaborate fantasy world where he was a hero. In his mind, the reason Mandy chose James over him was because James saved her that night at the courthouse. He thinks the job drew Mandy in.

  “That’s why he created a better job in his head,” he continued. “He’s someone in his make-believe world. He’s a hero and he’s going to save the world and get the girl. He cannot do that if James is still around. James remaining behind is just as important as Mandy being here.”

  “Also, Clint isn’t stupid,” Grady added. “Don’t get me wrong, he’s certainly not a genius or anything, but he’s not stupid. Even if the world thinks he’s dead, Clint knows James will not take off and leave Mandy alone when she’s injured. He would sense a trap in that instance.”

  “So what will happen when we do this?” Mandy asked, licking her lips.

  “We’re not doing this, baby,” James said. “I will not risk you.”

  “We are doing this” Mandy countered. “I want it done. I want Clint taken into custody. I want him in jail while we reclaim our lives.”

  “Baby, we’ll figure out another way.” James’ voice was plaintive. “Please.”

  “No.” Mandy held firm. “I love you, but I want to finish this as soon as possible. I want him to pay for what he did to Heidi … and me .. and you. We have to do this. We won’t get a better shot. I’m tired of the fear.”

  James pressed the heel of his hand against his forehead. He was resigned. Everyone knew it. “Fine,” he said, blowing out a sigh. “We’ll do it. I want every contingency covered, though. I don’t want Mandy in any form of danger. I won’t stand for it.”

  “We’ll plan for every scenario,” Peter promised. “We won’t go to bed until everything is set.”

  James nodded, his eyes focused on Mandy. “If you get hurt again, wife, we’re going to have a big fight.”

  “We’re doing this so I won’t get hurt,” Mandy said. “The only one who is going to be hurt is Clint.”

  “Because I’m going to k
ill him,” James muttered.

  Mandy made a weird face but didn’t fight the assertion. “We’re going to end this tomorrow,” she said. “We’re going to make him pay.”

  23

  Twenty-Three

  “I want to be absolutely sure there are no gaps in our security when this happens tomorrow.”

  James leaned over the dining room table later that evening, his palms flat on the wooden surface, and studied Grady’s plan. The middle Hardy brother used cereal and Pot Tarts boxes to represent the house, pool, and guesthouse. He also used canned goods to represent people. James was still annoyed Grady used corn for him, especially since Grady picked it on purpose because he claimed his brother was “corny.”

  “We’ve got it covered, James,” Grady said. “Everyone knows what they’re doing.”

  “Yes, well, we’re talking about the safety of my wife,” James snapped. “I’m sure you can understand that I’m not willing to risk her for anything. Go over it again.”

  Grady sighed as he tugged his hand through his hair. “You are a complete and total buttmunch sometimes.”

  James made a face. “Yes, and you’re a car fart.” He leaned back and glanced into the living room, making sure Mandy was still asleep on the couch. The medication did its job and knocked her out, but he wanted to make sure he was close when she woke.

  “If you want, I can carry her to that couch upstairs,” Bradshaw offered, studying James’ grim profile as he indicated the sectional on the second-floor landing. “She’ll still be close, but you won’t have to worry about waking her.”

  “Leave her there,” James instructed. “She’s fine.”

  “But you seem distracted,” Bradshaw prodded.

  “I am distracted,” James confirmed. “My wife watched her close friend have her head blown off in front of her. Then she found out she might’ve been the target. Then she was taken from me and tied to a chair in a dank basement, going without food and water for more than a day. Then she cut her foot open trying to escape. Oh, and she was smacked, too. That animal hit my wife. So, yeah, I’m distracted.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Bradshaw said, holding up his hands in a placating manner. “I just meant that you keep looking at her as if you’re worried she’ll wake up. You wouldn’t have to worry about that if you moved her upstairs.”

  “I’m not moving her anywhere,” James said. “I want her close. If she wakes up, she wakes up. She’s going to wake up before dinner regardless.”

  “Speaking of dinner, I thought I would make a nice chicken roast,” Rose said, hovering in the doorway.

  “Mandy wants pizza,” James countered.

  “Pizza?” Rose made a disgusted face. “She deserves a home-cooked meal.”

  “She deserves whatever she wants,” James said. “She said she wants pizza. That’s what she gets. We’ll order pizza, wings, cheesy bread, those cinnamon breadsticks she likes, some salad, and whatever else she could possibly stuff in her mouth.”

  Grady smirked at the unintended doubled entendre and opened his mouth to say something snide.

  “You can let some of them go,” James chided. “Go over the plan again.”

  “It’s simple, James,” Grady said, tugging on his limited patience. “We’re going to make a big show of leaving the house. Clint is going to think you and Mandy are alone. While he’s watching you, we’re going to go out a few blocks and then loop back.

  “Once you’re alone, you need to make it easy for him and go outside,” he continued. “You don’t want to give him anything to hide behind so keep him out of the house. He’ll come to you in the back yard.”

  “The second we see him Rodrigo and Sven will move into the house and cover Mandy,” Peter said. “Your brothers and Jake will come in from various angles in the back yard.”

  “I’ll have deputies there, too,” Bradshaw added.

  “It’s a good plan,” James conceded. “What happens if he makes it into the house, though?”

  “You get Mandy upstairs into the closet and we converge on the house,” Finn replied, not missing a beat.

  “What if he proves us all wrong and leaves me alone outside and goes after Mandy when she’s by herself in the house?”

  “We will have eyes on every single door and window,” Jake answered. “If we see him trying to do that, we’ll collapse on Mandy. She’s our top priority.”

  “Okay.” James rubbed the back of his neck, licking his lips as he studied the food goods on the table. “This is going to work.”

  “It is going to work,” Grady agreed, cocking his head when he heard a weird sound. “What was that? Did you guys get a cat?”

  “Of course not,” James scoffed. “I … .” He quickly realized the source of the sound and strode into the living room, kneeling next to Mandy as she made soft whimpering noises in her sleep. He gently kissed her cheek, collecting her hand and pressing it to the spot over his heart as she fretted in her dreams.

  “It’s okay, baby. I’m right here. You’re okay. You can sleep. You’re safe. I promise.”

  When she didn’t immediately quiet, James slipped his arm under her waist and lifted her so he could make room for himself on the couch. He placed Mandy on his chest, tucking the throw blanket snuggly around her thin frame as he cuddled her. He pressed his lips to her forehead as he rubbed her back.

  Bradshaw widened his eyes when he realized James was humming. “Why does he do that?”

  Grady shrugged. “I have no idea. He’s been doing it since they got together. She seems to respond to it.”

  “Look,” Jake said, inclining his chin. “She’s already settling.”

  “I just don’t get this entire family,” Bradshaw mused, shaking his head. “You’re all … so out there.”

  “You’ll get used to us,” Grady said, smiling. “You’re not exactly catching us at our best.”

  “You can say that again,” Jake said. “We’re off our game. That’s about to change, though.”

  “I’ll be interested to see how it all comes together,” Bradshaw said. “I’ll also be glad to get Clint off the street. I’m worried that he’ll hurt other people if he’s kept away from Mandy for too long.”

  “I’m worried about that, too,” Grady said. “Come tomorrow, it shouldn’t be a problem. We’ll bring it to a close and things will be better.”

  “Let’s hope so.”

  “SO, YOU all knew each other as kids?”

  Despite the serious nature of the planning, Bradshaw found he enjoyed spending time with the Hardy family.

  Ally nodded. “Mandy was my best friend and she was over at our house all of the time,” she said. “She had a huge crush on James back then and she used to doodle his name in her notebooks.”

  “Oh, that’s kind of cute,” Bradshaw said, offering Mandy a kind smile as she sat on the couch with James. “Did you two date back then?”

  “Sadly, he was out of my league,” Mandy said, her tone teasing.

  “That’s not true,” James countered. “I was never out of her league. She was out of mine a bit, I think, but it never rolled the other way. I was, however, far too old for her.”

  “Yes, he walked around with a cane and everything.” Mandy was in good spirits after her nap. She seemingly didn’t remember her nightmare. “He threatened kids to get off his lawn.”

  “Four years is not a big age difference now,” James explained. “When I was eighteen and she was fourteen, though, it was a huge gap.”

  “Ah.” Bradshaw smiled knowingly. “Still, it’s cute that you guys knew each other when you were that young.”

  “Yes, even when he was younger James felt the need to coddle and protect Mandy, though,” Rose offered, beaming at the couple. “I remember one day when Mandy and Ally decided they were going to learn how to rollerblade and Mandy took a tumble and skinned up her knee.”

  “Oh, that sucked,” Ally said. “Neither one of us was very coordinated on those things.”

  “I’m not
sure I remember that,” James said, tucking a strand of hair behind Mandy’s ear. “I do remember you guys being uncoordinated often, though.”

  “Oh, bite me,” Ally intoned. “You swooped in and picked her up from the pavement – and totally left me behind to fend for myself, mind you – and you put peroxide on her knee and bandaged her up while I sat there and bled.”

  “Yes, she cried,” Rose said, grinning. “You hummed The Rainbow Connection to her that day and it totally calmed her down. I remember because I couldn’t figure out why you picked that song.”

  James stilled. “That’s from that puppet show, right?”

  “Oh, holy crap,” Grady said, his eyes widening to comical proportions. “You may not remember that, but I’ve been trying to figure out what you hum to her when she’s upset for more than a year. It’s The Rainbow Connection.”

  “Is it?” Mandy couldn’t help but be surprised. “I’ve never recognized the song either.”

  “I had no idea that’s what I was humming,” James admitted. “I … huh.”

  “You hummed it to her back then and you did it earlier today,” Grady said. “I think that proves you two were always destined to be together.”

  James mustered an odd smile and glanced at his wife. “I’ve never doubted that.”

  MANDY licked her fingers, her stomach full of pizza and breadsticks, and shifted her eyes to James. He seemed happy, relaxed even. She knew that nothing was further from the truth. He was worked up about tomorrow. She could feel it.

  “Are you okay?”

  James turned to Mandy and forced a smile. “I have you. I’m perfect.”

  “Oh, that’s cute,” Mandy teased, rolling her eyes. “I know better, though. You’re worried about tomorrow. You don’t have to be. This is going to work and everything is going to be fine.”

  “I’m glad you believe that because I don’t want you to be afraid, wife,” James said. “I just … can’t stop thinking about it.”

  Even though the house was full of people, everyone left Mandy and James to spend quality time together alone as they talked and laughed in the adjacent room. James was secretly thankful because he didn’t want to put on an act for everybody. Trying to remain upbeat for Mandy was difficult enough.