Deadly Intentions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 1)

by Lily Harper Hart

  “I still have some work to do,” Mandy said, hating the truth of her words.

  “Not anymore,” James said, taking the stack of fliers from her. “The judge told me to buy you an elephant ear and ravish you on the carousel, and that’s what I intend to do.”

  “He told you to ravish me on the carousel?”

  “I might have added that part,” James admitted.

  “Well,” Mandy bit her lower lip. “I do want to check out some of the art booths.” She was worried James would balk.

  “Okay, let’s go,” he said, taking her hand in his. “I’ll buy you an elephant ear after.”

  “Why after?” She narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

  “Because I want to make sure you’re in a good mood when I take you home,” James said. “And I want you in an even better mood when I just take you later.”

  Mandy laughed, the sound warming James’ heart. “Okay.”

  They made their way to the side street where the art-fair booths were located. James didn’t really care what they were looking at; he just liked having her near him. His attention was diverted when he saw a former client trying to get his attention from across the street. He held up a finger to still the client and then moved his lips to Mandy’s ear. “I see someone I need to go talk to.”

  Mandy shivered when she felt his lips brush against her. “Do you want me to go with you?”

  “There are so many things I want right now that my mind is a jumble,” he said. “How about you finish your shopping and I go find out what that moron wants and we’ll meet at the elephant-ear stand in a half hour?”

  Mandy turned to him with a smile. “Sounds good.”

  James glanced down at his watch. “You have a half hour, not one second more. If you take any longer than that we’re going to have to find a phone booth or something.”

  Mandy rolled her eyes. “They don’t make phone booths anymore.”

  “I have no modesty,” James replied. “I’m willing to do it in the street. I don’t care who sees – even a judge.”

  He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth and then moved away. Mandy’s cheeks were burning when she turned back and saw the jewelry artist in the booth staring at her.

  “I’m sorry.”

  The jewelry artist fanned herself. “Oh, honey, don’t be sorry. If I had a man that looked like that I would be making jewelry in bed.”

  Mandy wandered away from the booth, not even trying to hide the wide smile on her face. She’d experienced the heady infatuation that accompanies a new relationship before – but never like this. It might not work out. He might run again. Mandy pushed the thoughts from her mind. All she knew right now was that she was happy. She wasn’t ready to give that up until she had to.

  James watched her move through the crowd, warmth spreading through him every time he saw Mandy smile from the corner of his eye. Miles Davenport, a local businessman that utilized the security company’s services from time to time, was busy yammering in his ear – but James couldn’t muster the energy to listen.

  Mandy stopped at a stained-glass booth, her face lighting up as she reached up to tap a beautiful set of butterfly wind chimes. She grimaced when she saw the price tag. She had money, but she couldn’t justify spending that much when she only had a small patio to display them on and, given her neighborhood, they would probably be stolen.

  James said goodbye to Miles when he was still mid-sentence. He had no idea what the man was talking about and, frankly, he didn’t care. He made his way to the booth with the butterfly wind chimes, pulling them down without even glancing at the price tag. “I’ll take these,” he told the giggling girl behind the table.

  “They’re expensive,” she warned.

  “I don’t care,” he said, pulling his wallet out of his pocket.

  “They’re a hundred and fifty bucks.”

  James pulled two hundred-dollar bills out of his wallet and handed them to the girl. She took them with a gleeful smile. “Do you want them wrapped?”

  “Yeah,” James said. “Make sure they don’t break.”

  “You got it.”

  James stood next to the booth, watching as the girl wrapped the wind chimes and occasionally sent him a flirty smile. He ignored her rather obvious hints and waited patiently. He owed Mandy a gift. That wasn’t why he was buying them, though. He wanted to see her smile when she opened them. He loved that smile.

  “You don’t seem like the butterfly type,” the girl said.

  James’ mind traveled back to the sight of Mandy this morning, the happy curve of her smile as she slept, and shook his head. “I’m exactly the butterfly type.”

  When he looked back up, James realized he’d lost Mandy somewhere. She’d been swallowed by a sea of art enthusiasts. His heart jumped to his throat as worry washed over him. He immediately tried to calm himself. Someone would be pretty stupid to try and grab her in a crowd like this. He glanced down at his watch. She was supposed to meet him in front of the elephant-ear stand in ten minutes. If he couldn’t find her, he would just wait for her there.

  James started searching the crowd anyway. He was relieved when he saw a flash of purple. Mandy had been wearing a purple top. He sliced through the crowd, heading toward the purple shirt, letting out a small sigh of relief when he recognized her blonde hair from behind. She was fine.

  “So, Mandy, I heard you had a rough night the other night,” Chad Cooper said, sidling up to her.

  “It was just an accident,” Mandy replied, fighting the urge to roll her eyes when Chad cut her off from the final table on the street. “It was no big deal.”

  “I bet you were scared.”

  “It wasn’t that bad.”

  “If you had a man, you wouldn’t be so scared,” Chad said, taking a predatory step toward her. “If you had a man, you’d have someone to protect you.”

  James’ hand was shooting out, slamming into Chad’s chest before Mandy even realized what was happening.

  “She has someone to protect her.”

  Chad looked surprised at James’ arrival. He looked James up and down, taking a step back when he saw the fire reflected in his dark eyes. “Sorry, man, I didn’t know.”

  James pulled his hand back, wracking his brain for a name. He knew this guy, he just couldn’t place where. He slung an arm around Mandy’s shoulders, pulling her closer to him as he tried to remember.

  “I’m Chad Cooper.” Chad extended his hand for James to shake.

  James ignored it. “I know who you are. You’re a prosecutor.”

  Chad dropped his hand. “And you are?”

  Mandy shifted under James’ heavy arm, her eyes traveling up so she could see his face clearly. She wasn’t thrilled with what she saw reflected there. It was like he was marking his territory. “This is James Hardy.”

  “Your boyfriend?” Chad asked.

  Mandy stumbled over her words. “He’s a … a … friend.”

  “I’m her boyfriend,” James announced, surprising Mandy with the voracity of his words.

  Chad glanced between the two of them, reading the surprise on Mandy’s face. “I see. Well, um, try to keep your girlfriend safe. It would be a shame if someone ran her down in a parking lot or something.”

  James furrowed his brow. “I’ll do my best.”

  Chad took the hint and walked away, casting one more glance – and a saucy wink – in Mandy’s direction. It took all the self-control he had for James not to follow him.

  Once Chad was gone, Mandy turned on James. “What was that?”

  James feigned innocence. “What do you mean?”

  “You two were acting like dogs and I was your favorite chew toy.”

  James let a lazy smile spread across his face. “You’re my chew toy,” he replied. “I don’t like to share.”

  Mandy sighed. “Trust me; I don’t want anything to do with Chad Cooper. That doesn’t mean you can treat me like a possession.”

  James frowned, his lips going pouty – an e
xpression that managed to weaken Mandy’s resolve. “I’m sorry.” He tightened his arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. “I acted … .”

  “Like an ass?”

  “I was going to say rashly,” James countered. “But I’ll settle for ass if you stop being mad at me.”

  Mandy shook her head, biting her lip to keep from smiling. She didn’t want to encourage his behavior. Her eyes fell on the bag he was carrying. “You bought something?”

  James remembered the wind chimes. “I might have.”

  “What did you buy?”

  James handed her the bag. “Something for you.”

  “Really?”

  Mandy glanced at the bag, pulling the tissue paper to the side so she could see the gift. Her heart clogged in her throat when she saw a pink, stained-glass butterfly poking out. “James,” she breathed. “This is too much.”

  James shifted under the weight of her gaze, especially when he saw the sudden tears swimming in her eyes. “It’s nothing,” he muttered. “I saw you looking at them. I just wanted you to have them.”

  “They’re too expensive.”

  James smiled. “Nothing is too expensive for my favorite chew toy,” he said, pressing his lips to her forehead.

  Mandy relaxed, letting him pull her into his arms. “I don’t want to be the kind of woman that can be bought off with wind chimes,” she admitted.

  James cupped the back of her head and pressed his lips to hers, pulling away after a few seconds. “Good,” he said. “I plan to buy you off with an elephant ear.”

  Sixteen

  “I don’t understand what you’re saying.”

  James was still in bed, the covers pulled over his head, as he listened to Mandy rage from the hallway. “I don’t think I stuttered.”

  They’d spent half a day in bed after the art fair the previous day. And, although Mondays were his least favorite day of the week, this one didn’t feel so bad. He pulled the covers off his face and met Mandy’s angry countenance head on. Maybe he thought too soon – this Monday might not be as great as he initially envisioned.

  “I don’t need a babysitter,” Mandy said, trying to get a handle on what James had just told her. “You can’t sit in court and watch me all day.”

  “Don’t think of it as me watching you in court,” James countered. “Think about it as me checking out everyone else in the courthouse while you just happen to be there.”

  “How is that different?”

  James could barely move, his body tired from hours upon hours of sex. She looked so cute when she was angry. He might be able to muster the energy to … . One look at her face told him that wasn’t going to happen – at least not until later. He propped himself up on his elbow and regarded her seriously. “I just want to be able to watch the people in the courthouse.”

  “I still don’t understand why,” Mandy protested, her hands on her hips, her naked breasts jiggling.

  James dragged his eyes away from her chest reluctantly. “I might see something you don’t.”

  “Because you’re a big, strong man?”

  “Because it’s my job to notice things other people don’t,” James countered.

  “Judge MacIntosh isn’t going to like this.”

  “Then let me talk to him.”

  Mandy huffed, muttering something underneath her breath that he couldn’t quite make out as she swung around and stormed into the bathroom. James relaxed back against the pillow, listening until he heard the water start and the shower curtain sliding across the rod. He was going to give her a few minutes to calm down, but the idea of her rubbing soap all over her naked body had him on his feet.

  Despite her anger, she didn’t yell at him when she felt his arms tighten around her from behind. He was exasperating but, for some reason, she just couldn’t get enough of him.

  An hour and a half later James bought Mandy breakfast at the stand in front of the courthouse. She still wasn’t talking to him, despite the fact that he’d pleaded his case – on his knees in the shower, and then again against the shower wall – and tried to butter her up during their car ride.

  “So, you’re not going to talk to me all day?”

  “Nope.”

  James loved the obstinate tilt of her head and pronounced pout on her face. He was even starting to like all of her linen pants and matching tops, fantasies of ripping them off her later in the night dancing through his head. “Well, that’s good,” he said. “If you talk to me, people will think we’re a couple. I don’t want anyone to know who I am.”

  Mandy rolled up the wrapper from her breakfast sandwich and then turned on her heel, stalking toward the courthouse. She dropped the wrapper in the trash receptacle and continued up the steps to the building. She didn’t have to turn around to know that James was following her. She was keenly aware of his presence.

  She hurried through the security line, hoping she could make it to the sixth floor before James and warn Judge MacIntosh in regards to what he had in mind. James was right behind her when the elevator slid shut. Thankfully, there were two lawyers and two prosecutors in the elevator with them, because Mandy was worried she was going to explode at any moment.

  She jumped when she felt James’ hand rub across her rear end, glancing around to make sure no one witnessed his transgression. His sly smile was almost too much for her, but she bit her tongue to keep quiet. They were at the back of the elevator, so he hadn’t run the risk of anyone seeing. She was still pissed off.

  James followed Mandy to her office, waiting patiently as she unlocked the door. He sat down in one of the open chairs and glanced around her office. “This is nicer than I thought it would be.”

  Mandy continued to ignore him.

  James was better at the game than she was. “I’m thinking that desk is the perfect height for us to have some fun later. If you’re so inclined, I mean.”

  Mandy shot him a death glare as she started sifting through the files on her desk. “I won’t be.”

  “Never say never.”

  Heidi poked her head in the door, stilling when she saw James. “Oh, um, are you busy?”

  “Just ignore him,” Mandy said. “He’s not there.”

  Heidi glanced at James doubtfully. “He looks like he’s there to me.”

  “Well, you’re imagining things,” Mandy said, finally fixing her attention on Heidi. “So, what’s up?”

  Heidi shrugged. She couldn’t figure out what was going on with her friend and the hot guy sitting in the chair, but she had other things on her mind. “I’m going to ask Chad out.”

  Mandy shuffled uncomfortably. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

  “You don’t think he’s attracted to me?” Heidi looked worried.

  “I think he’s an ass,” Mandy countered. “I think you deserve a lot better.”

  “Are we talking about Chad Cooper?” James asked.

  Heidi turned to him excitedly. “Yeah, do you know him? Do you think I have a shot?”

  “I think Mandy is right,” James said. “That guy is an ass.”

  “How come I’m suddenly right now?” Mandy muttered.

  “Did you say something, dear?” James asked.

  He was enjoying himself, Mandy realized. He liked making her angry. “No.”

  “Good, focus on your work and let me talk to your friend.”

  Mandy’s mouth dropped open when he winked at her. James patted the seat next to him and Heidi obediently sat down. “Now, I don’t know a lot about you,” James said. “I do know that Mandy likes you, though, and that’s good enough for me.”

  Heidi smiled widely.

  “Chad Cooper is a total dick,” James continued. “You deserve better.”

  “Who is a total dick?” Judge MacIntosh poked his head in the doorway.

  “Chad Cooper,” Heidi replied.

  James got to his feet, extending his hand. “Good to see you again, sir.”

  “Mr. Hardy,” Judge MacIntosh shook James’ hand
warmly. “Twice in two days. This is becoming a habit.”

  “Tell him to go,” Mandy said darkly.

  The judge looked surprised at the vehemence in her voice. “Why do you want him to go? Did he do something to you?”

  Mandy opened her mouth, a lie on the tip of her tongue. One look at James’ serious face, and she snapped her trap shut. “He’s just bugging me.”

  “Why are you bugging her?” Judge MacIntosh turned to James questioningly.

  James wasn’t deterred by the judge’s serious expression. “I want to sit in court all day today,” James replied. “She’s not happy with it.”

  “Why do you want to sit in court?” The judge asked. “To watch her? Does this have something to do with what happened the other night? She said it was nothing.”

  James arched an eyebrow in Mandy’s direction, which she promptly ignored as she studiously flipped through her files. “It’s definitely something,” he said. “This isn’t the first time someone made an attempt on her life.”

  Judge MacIntosh didn’t even try to hide his surprise. “What do you mean?”

  “Someone tried to attack her in the parking lot last week,” James said, ignoring the dark vibes rolling off Mandy’s shoulders. “This was aside from the attempt a few days ago. Someone broke into her apartment, too.”

  The judge was flabbergasted. He moved to Mandy’s side. “Why didn’t you tell me about any of this? I would’ve helped.”

  “I didn’t want to make a big deal out of it,” she admitted.

  “If someone threatens your safety, young lady, it is a big deal,” Judge MacIntosh said, tugging his suit jacket down as he straightened and turned back to James. “What do you hope to uncover by sitting in court all day?”

  James shrugged. “Maybe nothing,” he said. “I just want to see how people interact with her. She might not notice if someone is showing her attention that they shouldn’t be. I don’t want to be overt. I just want to sit in the courtroom. I won’t be a problem. I promise.”

  The judge nodded. “I have no problem with it,” he said. “I’m glad someone is looking out for her, especially if she won’t look out for herself.”

  The judge left a few minutes later, leaving Mandy, James, and Heidi in the office.