James smirked. “Well, it’s Friday, and you’re off for the rest of the day,” he replied, pushing away from his desk and patting his lap enticingly. “Why don’t you come here and help us with some real work?”
Finn groaned. “Oh, please.”
“Do you have something you want to say?” James asked.
“This is just foreplay for the two of you.”
“Come here, Blondie,” James ordered.
Mandy obliged, even though she wasn’t keen on his bossy nature at times. “What are we doing?”
James settled her on his lap, making sure her back was flush with his chest, and then slid back in closer to the desk. “Sophie has some financial records we need to run.”
Mandy focused on Sophie. “Is this about the sheriff’s department corruption?”
Sophie looked unsure. “Um … .”
“You can trust Mandy,” Grady said, sliding into the space next to her and applying pressure to the small of her back to direct her further into the office. “Sit down.”
“Don’t worry,” Mandy said. “I won’t tell anyone what you’ve discovered. Their business is, well, their business. We kind of have an understanding where this stuff is concerned.”
Sophie nodded, handing the file in her hand to Grady. “These are the names you wanted.”
Grady opened the file, glanced at it, and then handed it over to James. He perched on the edge of Sophie’s chair – never touching her – but making sure to claim the space around her as his own.
Mandy dropped her head, brushing her temple against James’ hair before focusing on the file in his hands. James glanced at her but didn’t say anything, turning his attention to the file. “This is a lot of names.”
“Grady said to give you all the names of people who had access to county funds,” Sophie said, clearly unsure.
“You did good,” Grady assured her.
Mandy watched them, her eyes sharp with interest. She’d known Grady for so long she could read him like a book. As a teenager, he’d been a fun horn dog. As an adult, he was still a fun horn dog. She’d never seen him show more than one night’s interest in anyone – no matter how attractive.
Something was different here.
Mandy could read people. Sophie had always seemed aloof, like she was trying hard not to connect with people. She wasn’t unfriendly or mean – just distant. Grady, on the other hand, was overtly friendly. Although he never forged close bonds with people. He was also distant, just in a different way.
A serious study of Sophie and Grady together was telling.
There was sexual tension there – a lot of it. Mandy recognized the signs. She and James had fought the urges when they’d first found each other again. Neither Sophie nor Grady were about to admit their attraction. They were fighting it. It was kind of cute. She couldn’t help but wonder who would make the first move – because someone was definitely going to make the first move.
James shuffled the file in his hand. “This is going to take a while to go through.”
“How long?” Sophie asked.
James shrugged. “Less time now that someone isn’t puking every twenty minutes,” he said pointedly.
Mandy flicked his ear before kissing the ridge. He shifted underneath her weight. “Are you sure?”
James smiled up at her. “Behave yourself.”
Finn groaned. “Good grief. It’s like you two are in heat.”
Grady joined in with his brother’s laughter. “It’s hormones.”
Mandy watched Sophie, her curiosity getting the better of her. Sophie was uncomfortable with the overt affection – something that tugged at Mandy’s heart. She didn’t know a lot about Sophie, but she did recognize the emotion washing over the woman’s face. It was yearning.
“We’ll run the names,” James said. “We’ll keep you updated. I’m sure Grady will be in contact.”
Mandy glanced down at him. He definitely knew. He saw the attraction, too. “What are you going to do?” Mandy pointed the question directly at Sophie.
Sophie shrugged, her slight shoulders heaving. “I’m not sure. I don’t have a plan of action yet.”
“I can ask around at the courthouse,” Mandy offered. “That’s a huge gossip mill. I bet some of the prosecutors have some ideas.”
James squeezed her waist. “Do you think they’ll tell you?”
“The alphas will,” Mandy replied. “They like to boast. They think it impresses me.”
“That’s still days away, though,” Grady pointed out. “What can we do over the weekend?”
James shrugged “Run the list.”
“What else?”
“I have no idea.”
After a few minutes, Grady managed to isolate Sophie in the lobby while Finn disappeared upstairs. From her spot on James’ lap, Mandy couldn’t hear what they were saying, but she took the opportunity to watch them from afar.
James’ fingers were skillfully moving across the keyboard.
“He likes her,” Mandy said.
James glanced up, following her gaze. “I know.”
“No, I mean he really likes her.”
“I’ve noticed.”
Mandy turned her attention to James. “What are you going to do about it?”
James’ fingers stilled. “Nothing.”
“Nothing?”
He sighed. “Don’t meddle, baby.”
“You don’t want your brother to be happy?” Mandy pressed.
“I want him to be happy,” James said. “He’s not going to be happy if you meddle, though. Just leave it alone.”
Mandy chewed her bottom lip. “They need to have sex.”
James barked out a laugh. “How do you know that?”
“Look at them.”
James glanced up, snuggling closer to his girlfriend. “They’ll have sex.”
“How can you be sure?”
“Because he looks just like me when I was fighting to stay away from you,” James replied.
“That doesn’t mean they’ll have sex.”
James sighed, pressing his lips against her taut jaw. “Yes, it does.”
“How can you be sure?” Mandy’s mind was jumbled with ways of assuring Grady’s eventual seduction of the county’s top reporter.
“Because sometimes you can’t fight it.”
Mandy wrenched her gaze from Grady and Sophie, focusing on the man who had managed to claim her whole heart. “How can you be sure, really I mean? You fought it.”
James reached up, tweaking Mandy’s nose. “And I lost. You have to let them do it on their own time. You can’t force it.”
Mandy sighed. “You’re smarter than you look.”
James cupped Mandy’s jaw with his hand. “And that’s why I love you.” He captured her mouth with his, slipping his tongue beyond the barrier briefly before pulling away. “Now, focus on me.”
Mandy giggled. “What did you have in mind?”
“Why don’t you whisper dirty thoughts in my ear while I type?”
“How is that going to help you get your work done?”
“It’s not,” James admitted. “At a certain point Finn is going to get frustrated with all the sex talk and send us upstairs. That’s the ultimate goal here.”
Mandy smiled, a particularly filthy idea entering her head. She leaned in and whispered. James’ arms tightened.
“That’s my baby.”
Ten
Watching Mandy with James was … odd. Sophie had known the court clerk for more than two years, but she’d never taken the time to really engage with her – at least not on a personal level. She liked her. She was friendly and smart. Watching her and James through the office window seemed somehow intrusive.
You hear about magic occurring between people. When you’re guarded, like Sophie, that magic seems like nothing but a fairytale. One of those far-off dreams that’s never really attainable.
Mandy Avery and James Hardy had somehow captured that magic. They couldn’t
keep their hands – or lips – off of each other. They were absolutely, no-holds-barred, crazy about each other.
They were in love.
A part of Sophie was reassured by their affection. Another part was empty. She knew she would never have something like that – even though she desperately wanted it.
Grady was talking to her. She’d been listening with half an ear, but the happy couple in the other room was draining her attention. Finally, Grady ceased his verbal interlude and followed her gaze.
“They’re cute.”
Sophie sighed. “They’re happy.”
Grady’s eyes were searching. “Are you happy?”
Sophie shook off the haunting sentiment filling her lungs with invisible liquid. “Of course.”
Grady didn’t look convinced. “Are you really happy?”
“Are you?”
Grady smiled, the expression lighting up his handsome face. “I try.”
“That’s not really an answer.”
“From the queen of the non-answer? I’ll take that as a compliment.”
“You do that.”
Grady glanced back in the direction of the office. “Find a bed!”
Sophie poked him in the ribs. “Leave them alone. They’re … refreshing.”
“Why do you say that?”
Sophie shrugged. “I live in a world of … unhappiness. People don’t find their way to me until there’s no hope on the horizon, and the story they have to tell is so heartbreaking it will make you cry. Those two have hope. Those two have more than hope, they have … delight in each other. It’s beautiful.”
Grady’s gaze was fixated on Sophie, his voice raspy. “It is beautiful.”
“ALL RIGHT,” James said when everyone shuffled back into his office. “This is a lot of names to run, and we can only do so many at a time. I say we order some food and start running them.”
“How many searches can you run at one time?” Sophie asked.
“Only three,” James replied. “I suggest we break up into three teams.”
Finn barked out a laugh. “Puh-leez! The James and Mandy team isn’t going to get very much work done before they get distracted.”
James’ eyebrows knit together. “Are you saying I’m incapable of doing my job?”
“No,” Finn hedged. “Although, I think Mandy serves as somewhat of a distraction to you.”
Mandy moved to climb off James’ lap, biting her lower lip uncertainly. “I can go upstairs and leave you guys to it.”
James already missed her warmth. “No. You don’t have to go. I can do my job with you around. I think I’ve proven that over the past few months.”
“I didn’t mean anything bad,” Finn protested, his face coloring. “I was just teasing the two of you. I didn’t mean anything by it. Don’t get all worked up, bro.”
James knew he was being sensitive, but he prided himself on his work ethic. He’d built Hardy Brothers Security from the bottom up, and he didn’t want anyone calling his drive into question – even if it was his younger brother, and even if he was only joking.
“Let’s order some food,” Grady suggested as a way to ease the obvious tension. “I think everyone is just hungry.”
Finn nodded enthusiastically. “Yeah. Let’s eat.”
James felt Mandy’s hand rest on his shoulder. “Let’s order some food. You’re always crabby when you’re hungry.”
James purposely relaxed his shoulders. “What does everyone want?”
“Let’s just go simple with pizza,” Grady suggested. “Everyone likes pizza.”
James glanced up at Mandy. “I’m not sure she can eat pizza.”
“Oh, come on,” Mandy protested. “I’m starving. I haven’t had anything decent in days.”
“I made you soup.”
Mandy snickered. “Campbell’s made me soup. You just heated it up.”
James’ eyes narrowed.
“You did a really good job, though,” Mandy said hurriedly, patting his shoulder soothingly. “I’ve never had better chicken and stars in my life.”
Grady snorted out a laugh. “You made her chicken and stars? That’s what Mom used to make for us when we were sick.”
“The doctor said you should only have bland food for a week,” James reminded her.
“The doctor also said that, once the food poisoning shot through me, I would be better. I’m better. I want some pizza.”
James sighed. “Fine. Nothing spicy for you, Blondie. If I have to spend the next two nights sleeping on the bathroom floor again, I’m going to be grumpy – even grumpier than I am now.”
Finn blew out a relieved sigh as James shot Mandy a small smile.
“That’s fine,” Mandy said, trying hard to appease him. “What does everyone like?”
THE PIZZA arrived about thirty minutes later and everyone settled into various chairs as they ate.
“If you had to pick one person who you think is responsible for the money going missing, who would it be?” Finn asked, turning to Sophie.
She was surprised by the question. “I don’t usually approach things that way.”
“What way do you approach them?” James asked.
“In my line of work, it’s never good to go into an investigation with pre-conceived notions,” Sophie explained. “That’s why I take the information and whittle it down. I let the paper trail take me to the culprit. I don’t pick a culprit and then try to match up a paper trail. That’s how you make mistakes.”
“That makes sense,” Mandy said. “You’ve got a great reputation around the county. This must be how you got it.”
Sophie preened under Mandy’s compliment. “Thanks. I’ve tried to build a solid reputation so that, even if everyone doesn’t like me, they know I don’t have an agenda.
“There’s a saying in the news business,” Sophie continued. “If you tick off one side and not the other, you’re not doing your job. If you tick off both sides, though, then you know you’re doing it right.”
Mandy smiled. “That’s a good way to approach things. I’ve seen you in court a few times and, I have to say, all the stories you’ve written about cases in Judge MacIntosh’s courtroom have been more than fair.”
“Court is easy,” Sophie explained, wiping her hands on a napkin. “There’s not a lot of room for debate. You have evidence. You have counter-evidence from the defense team. You report on both, and let the chips fall where they may.”
“I would think that you would catch flak from the family of the victims if things don’t go their way, though,” Mandy pressed. “And, on the flip side, if someone gets convicted, I’ve seen their families rant and rave about it not being fair because there’s no way that the suspect could be guilty.”
“You can’t fight human nature,” Sophie agreed. “Most mothers will never believe their child is capable of doing something heinous. That type of stuff you have to ignore. You can’t let it get to you.”
“You do a lot of government stuff, right?” James said. “That’s got to be different.”
“It’s always different,” Sophie said. “Politicians are liars by nature. I don’t think they can help it. I’m sure a lot of them go into the system with the notion that they’re going to be different, that they’re going to be a good representative for their constituents.
“The truth is, the system fights that,” she continued. “The system is set up to make sure people like that fail. You must see that in the judicial system?”
Mandy shrugged. “I’m sure it’s there. We’re at the circuit-court level, though. We’re not making big decisions. We’re making a series of small ones for individual people.”
“Yeah, I wouldn’t think there are a lot of bribes on the circuit-court level,” Sophie agreed.
“Actually, you would be surprised how many people have tried to bribe the judge,” Mandy said, laughing. “The problem is, the majority of these people think ten thousand bucks can change an outcome. I think, if we were making decisions on the
big things – gay marriage, affirmative action, gun rights, you know, those types of things – then it would be a different story.”
The Hardy brothers seemed comfortable to just let Sophie and Mandy chat. They were interested in the conversation, but none of them interrupted or added to it.
“So, if I’m understanding you correctly, you’re saying that you go into the court system figuring that the truth will come out,” Mandy said. “When you go into the political arena, you assume everyone is lying and you have to follow the paper trail to figure it out?”
Sophie nodded. “Exactly.”
“You know all the players,” Mandy said. “You must get a feel for them.”
“There are things that tip you off,” Sophie said.
James stirred. “Like?”
“Well, for example, the relationship between Sheriff Morgan and his assistant John Madison gives me a funny feeling.”
“Funny like they’re secretly doing it, or funny like they’re secretly stealing money together?” Finn asked.
Sophie laughed despite herself. “I don’t get a gay vibe off of them, although now that thought is going to give me nightmares.”
“Then what did you mean?” Grady probed.
Sophie opened her mouth, unsure of how to give voice to her suspicions. “There’s something there that feels off. Morgan is the sheriff. He’s in charge. Yet there are times when it seems like Madison is the one wielding the power behind the scenes.”
“Give me some examples,” James said.
“Okay, well, about three months ago the two of them came to the office to meet with the editorial board,” Sophie said.
“What’s an editorial board?” Grady asked.
“It’s a bunch of editors and the publisher,” Mandy answered for Sophie. “They decide what position the newspaper takes on editorials, endorsements, things like that.”
James glanced at his girlfriend. “How do you know that?”
Mandy stuck her tongue out at him. “Because, during election cycles, all of the judges make appointments with the editorial board in the hope that the newspaper will endorse them.”
James wrinkled his nose. “Beauty and brains? You never cease to amaze me.”
Finn groaned. “So Morgan and Madison came into the office looking for an endorsement? It’s not an election year.”
Deadly Intuition (Hardy Brothers Security Book 2) Page 6