Deadly Honeymoon (Hardy Brothers Security Book 7)

by Hart, Lily Harper

  “I have a job to do,” Sophie argued.

  “Do your job,” Peter said. “Just don’t die for it.”

  “He’s right,” Grady said. “You need to be really careful.”

  “Oh, now look who the bossy one is,” Ally said. “I guess it’s not just James, is it?”

  Grady got to his feet, grabbing Ally by the arm as he tossed her over his shoulder and marched toward the pool. “I’ve had just about enough of you today.”

  “Don’t you dare throw me in that pool, Grady Hardy!”

  “I think you need to cool off.”

  “Jake!” Ally was desperate.

  Jake looked conflicted. “I can’t get involved in your sibling squabbles, angel,” he said. “It’s just water. You’ll dry.”

  Ally’s face was mutinous as Grady launched her into the water. When she surfaced, her hair plastered around her face, she spat out a mouthful of water and glared at everyone in turn.

  “You’re all on my list!”

  “Everyone get on the roller-coaster,” Jake quipped.

  Twenty

  “How did you talk me into this?” James glanced down at Mandy, not missing the sly smile even as she tried to hide it.

  “You said I couldn’t leave the house without you,” Mandy said. “You said that was the rule, and I had to live with it. You said you didn’t want to fight, but you were putting your foot down.”

  James waited.

  “I wanted a spa day,” Mandy said. “We all did. This is just the price you have to pay to keep up your end of the bargain.”

  “But I didn’t agree to this,” James said, looking around the lobby of Heathridge Spa dubiously. “I didn’t want to come here.”

  “But you want to keep me safe, right?”

  “This is a trick question, isn’t it?”

  “No,” Mandy said, shaking her head. “We want a spa day. As part of a compromise with you, I agreed to let you come. I had no idea you were going to drag your brothers and Jake along, too.”

  “Yes, and we’re all really thankful for that,” Finn said, shooting his brother a scorching look. “So very thankful.”

  “You’re going to love it,” Emma enthused, clapping her hands together. “You can get a massage, and I’ve been dying to put a seaweed mask on you to clean out your pores.”

  Finn’s lips were tightly pressed together. “Fun.”

  Emma’s face faltered. “I … we can just go. I know you don’t want to be here.”

  Finn sighed. Emma asked very little of him, often sacrificing her own needs to try and make him happy. She’d never been to a spa before meeting Mandy, Ally, and Sophie – and now she was in love with her monthly visits. He couldn’t snuff the light in her eyes out. “I’m looking forward to the mask.”

  Emma worried her bottom lip with her teeth. “Really?”

  “Really,” Finn said. “Anything that makes you smile makes me smile.”

  “She also likes drag queen bingo,” Ally supplied.

  Finn balked. “What’s that?”

  “Oh, it’s this thing they have in Royal Oak,” Emma said. “We’re all going to go next month. You have to make reservations weeks in advance. Ally managed to secure us a table for eight in late July. We’re really excited.”

  “And, what? We just watch drag queens play bingo?” Finn felt like he was missing something.

  “We play bingo,” Ally said. “The drag queens call the numbers and insult us.”

  “And that’s fun?”

  “It’s amazing,” Ally said. “I know two people who have gone and they loved it.”

  Finn looked to his brothers for help. “And you guys are going to this?”

  “I’m fairly certain I’m going to have Ebola that night,” James said.

  “I’m going to lick your face so I get it, too,” Grady said, glancing at Jake. “What about you?”

  “I’m not licking either of you,” Jake said. “I plan on visiting my parents that weekend.”

  “Oh, you’re going,” Ally said, waving her finger in Jake’s face. “You owe me after you let my brother throw me in the pool yesterday. You’re supposed to be my protector, and you just sat there and watched someone attack me. I feel betrayed.”

  “Fine,” Jake said.

  “You didn’t even put up a fight,” Grady scoffed.

  “You’re going, too,” Sophie said.

  “You’re going to have to Kill Bill me to get me in that place,” Grady said.

  Sophie didn’t look worried. “We’ll see.”

  “Yeah, we will.”

  Sophie ignored him as she handed the pamphlet she was holding over to Mandy. “I want to get a seaweed facial, and I’d really like one of those scalp rubs and a deep conditioner under one of the dryers. What are you getting?”

  “I want a massage,” Mandy said.

  “I’ll give you a massage,” James replied.

  “Yours always lead to sex,” Mandy countered. “I want one that ends with a happy ending of a different sort.”

  James smirked. Her enthusiasm was hard to tamp down, and he really didn’t have the inclination to do it. “Go nuts.”

  “I booked couple’s massages for all of us,” Ally said. “I called this morning. We’ll all take turns.”

  “What’s a couple’s massage?” James asked.

  “You both go into a room together and strip naked,” Ally started.

  “Well, I like that.”

  “Then you lay on the table and cover your private parts with a towel,” Ally continued. “A female masseuse will come in for you, and a male will come in for Mandy, and you’ll both be rubbed at the same time. It’s supposed to be a bonding experience.”

  “So, you’re telling me another man is going to be rubbing my wife while I’m in the room?”

  “It’s not dirty,” Ally said. “Although, with the way Mandy moans when she’s being massaged, it sounds like it.”

  “I don’t moan!”

  “I’ve never seen someone love a massage as much as you do,” Ally shot back.

  “You do make some interesting noises, baby,” James said. “Why do you think all of the massages I give you lead to sex?”

  “Because you’re a pervert,” Grady suggested.

  “You should make sure that you don’t accidentally get a man rubbing you down,” James said. “They might take one look at that hair and get confused.”

  Grady paled. “That’s not a possibility, is it?”

  Sophie patted him on the arm reassuringly. “No.”

  “Okay, who wants massages first?” Ally asked.

  Mandy’s hand shot up in the air, causing James to scowl. “Can’t we be second or something?”

  Mandy shook her head. “No.”

  “Fine.”

  “I’M just warning you,” James said, his legs hanging over the edge of his massage table as he regarded the man approaching Mandy’s table worriedly. “That’s my wife.”

  The man stilled. “Okay.”

  “No funny business.”

  Mandy shot the masseuse an apologetic look. “He thinks you’re going to try and feel me up. He’s never done this before.”

  “Oh,” the man replied. “Don’t worry about that, sir. I’m gay.”

  James relaxed slightly. “Really?”

  “Really.”

  “Oh, well, that’s too bad,” he said. “I bet you could get a truckload of women into bed with your skill set. Women love a good massage.”

  “I’m not sure what to say to that,” the man said.

  “Just ignore him,” Mandy said. She was stretched out on her stomach, her arms pressed down at her sides. “I’m ready.”

  James watched as the man approached his wife, still suspicious. The masseuse avoided James’ stare as he started working on Mandy’s shoulders. “You’re very tense.”

  “It’s been a long two weeks.”

  “You’re very tan, too.”

  “We just got back from our honeymoon,” Mandy said. �
��We were in Bermuda.”

  “Oh, that’s nice.”

  When James realized that the interaction was innocent, he finally relented and stretched out in a similar position. The woman working on him wasn’t what he expected – and he had a feeling Ally was to blame. While the man booked for the couple’s massage looked like he’d stepped off the pages of GQ, the woman looked like she could model for an AARP brochure.

  “Lay down,” she ordered.

  “I am.”

  “Do it faster,” she barked out. “You’re wasting time.”

  James frowned, but he did as he was told. After an uncomfortable few minutes, James felt himself start to relax. The woman looked old, but she clearly knew what she was doing.

  “You’re one big ball of nerves,” she said, attacking the spot between his shoulder blades with vigor. “Why are you so tense?”

  “I’m married,” James joked.

  “Then consider yourself lucky,” the woman said, her hands digging in.

  “Oh, wow,” James said when he felt the spot begin to loosen.

  “I told you,” Mandy said, sighing in contentment.

  “I still think this is weird.”

  “Okay.”

  “I … holy … ugh.”

  Mandy giggled.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” James growled.

  “I’m thinking that I love you,” Mandy said.

  “That’s not what you were thinking.”

  “It is now,” she said. “You didn’t have to come here. You could’ve argued and just refused. I tricked you.”

  “You didn’t trick me,” James said. “Oh, yeah, right there. I knew you were manipulating me when you were doing it. I agreed to come because you seemed to need it – and I knew Ally was just going to have a royal fit if I didn’t agree.”

  “Still … thank you.”

  “You’re going to owe me later,” James said. “Ugh.”

  “I think we can work something out,” Mandy said. “Oh, yeah, right there.”

  “We’re definitely going to work something out,” James agreed.

  “HOW do you think they’re doing in there?” Finn asked. His face was covered with blue gunk, and he was sitting in a chair next to Emma as she underwent the same process. “Is this supposed to tingle?”

  The woman applying the mask to Emma’s face smiled. “It’s cleaning out the impurities. It’s supposed to tingle.”

  “It’s not like burning my face off, is it? I’m too handsome to not have a face.”

  “You’re fine,” Ally said, leaning back in her chair as the water bubbled in a bin around her feet. “You’re going to look even better when you’re done, and your face is going to be as smooth as Emma’s.”

  “I do like how smooth her skin is,” Finn hedged. “I’m just worried I’m never going to be able to look at myself again in the mirror.”

  “You and me both,” Jake grumbled, shifting his feet in the bin next to Ally’s. “Is this water supposed to be so hot?”

  “It feels good.”

  “I think my feet are boiling.”

  “Shh.”

  “Oh, now you’re quiet?”

  Grady staggered out of the room at the back of spa, his face ashen.

  “What happened to you?” Finn asked.

  “Sophie made me … I … there are no words.”

  Ally grinned. “Did you get your chest waxed? I don’t see why you’re being such a baby. You shave it all the time. This will last longer, and it feels better.”

  “It hurts,” Grady said, rubbing his tender skin beneath the robe he was wearing. “You didn’t tell me how much it hurts.”

  “I think I have some idea,” Ally said dryly. “Did you see what Sophie had to go through? I’m sure her wax hurt a lot more than yours.”

  “Yeah,” Grady said, sliding into the chair next to Jake. “I’m traumatized by that.”

  “What was it like?” Finn asked, worried. Emma had informed him they were doing the same thing later in the day.

  “It was nothing for her,” Grady said. “She just laid back and lifted her legs up. Then this woman … this horrible, horrible woman … she put wax that was as hot as lava down there and just … zip … ripped it off. Sophie didn’t make a sound. She didn’t even act like it hurt.”

  “That’s because we’re used to it,” Ally said. “It’s not like it’s some medieval torture.”

  “I’m going to buy that hot tub I promised her the minute we leave,” Grady said. “The pain that woman has gone through for me … .”

  “It’s not for you,” Ally countered.

  “It had better not be for anyone else,” Grady argued.

  Ally made a face. “You’re acting like a baby.”

  Sophie shuffled out of a room, a wide smile on her face. “Can we get our massages next? I think Grady needs to be rubbed. He’s in shock or something.”

  “I noticed,” Ally said.

  “You’re so brave, sugar,” Grady said, capturing Sophie’s hand and pressing it to his lips. “So brave.”

  Ally bit her lip to keep from laughing.

  “I’m not doing that,” Jake announced. “I don’t want to see that.”

  “I think you should,” Ally said. “Grady now has a better understanding of how much work we put into looking good for you guys.”

  “I don’t want to see. You’re already torturing me with scalding water.”

  “Fine,” Ally said. “Do what you want.”

  Jake scowled. “You’re going to pout if I don’t do this, aren’t you?”

  “Yup.”

  “For how long?”

  “Long enough that you’re not going to have any fun tonight.”

  “Fine,” Jake growled. “I just … you’re lucky you’re worth the effort, woman.”

  “Yay,” Ally said, clapping her hands together. “You know, when Mandy suggested we all do this together, I thought she was crazy. This was a great idea.”

  Grady shot Ally a hateful look. “If those Bermudian drug dealers don’t kill Mandy, I’m going to do it for them.”

  “I’m helping,” Jake said.

  “Wow,” Finn said, rubbing his face as the last of the blue mask was washed away. “I feel so soft. I want to keep touching myself.”

  “That’s great, dude,” Grady said. “If you’re going to touch yourself, though, can you do it in another room?”

  “You’re just jealous,” Finn said.

  “Yeah, that’s what it is.”

  A woman appeared from the waxing room, regarding everyone with serious eyes. “Who’s next?”

  Twenty-One

  When James walked into the lobby of the circuit courthouse he was taken aback. Security in the building had been increasing every day, but now it looked like a war zone. He’d never seen a police presence this large at the facility.

  He found Clint standing near the elevator. “What’s going on?”

  “The county is taking over security,” Clint said. “Well, actually they said they’re enhancing security. It’s a takeover, though.”

  James frowned. The situation in Macomb County had gone from bad to worse. When Peter said that the rival gangs would retaliate after the gunfight in Mount Clemens, he hadn’t been joking. Over the next week, not one day had gone by without some sort of massive shooting, and more than twenty men had died in five days’ time.

  Most of the action was localized to Mount Clemens – which just happened to be where the circuit court was located. While the downtown area was safe and clean, the neighboring areas were awash with small explosions and constant danger.

  James didn’t like the situation.

  “Why don’t they just shut the courthouse down?” James asked. “Or move the proceedings to some of the district courts? The northern suburbs are safe. Mount Clemens is a war zone right now. It’s worse than Afghanistan.”

  “The judges are having a meeting about that right now,” Clint said.

  “I want Mandy out of this,
” James said, tapping the call button to the elevator. “She’s not coming back here. I don’t care what she says. Enough is enough.”

  “You’re not supposed to go upstairs,” Clint said. “The upper floors are closed to anyone that doesn’t have court business.”

  James sent Clint a scorching look. “I’m going to collect my wife.”

  Clint sighed. “They’re locking down the front doors. They don’t need me here. I’ll take you.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I kind of want to see Heidi anyway,” Clint admitted. “Taking you up there gives me an excuse. I don’t want her to think I’m going up there just to see her. It’s good to keep some mystery in the beginning of a relationship.”

  James smirked.

  “I saw that on Dr. Phil,” Clint said.

  “Dr. Phil is a wise man.”

  “He’s amazing,” Clint said, leading James into the elevator. “Everyone is on the sixth floor. They’re in the meeting room, but we can wait outside.”

  “I thought you said the judges were meeting?”

  “All their personnel are involved, too,” Clint explained. “They want everyone to weigh in. The situation is getting serious. Someone was shot on the lawn behind the courthouse last night.”

  James gritted his teeth. “I hadn’t heard that.”

  “It was some kid from the Wayside Arms apartment complex,” Clint said. “No one knows why he was over here. It’s sad. He was only sixteen.”

  “That is sad,” James agreed.

  “I kind of hope they close the courthouse,” Clint said. “I don’t like the idea of Heidi having to walk from the parking lot to the building. It’s too dangerous. People are arriving two hours before work now just so they can get a spot really close to the doors. I just want Heidi to be safe.”

  “How is that going?” James asked. He found he liked the security guard a lot more now than he did when he was fawning all over Mandy. Now that his attention was focused on Heidi, he was almost likable.

  “We’ve had three more dates,” Clint said. “They’ve been good dates. I really like her. I never realized how funny she is.”

  “She’s definitely funny,” James said. “I think she’s one of the good ones.”