“And are we staying in regular rooms?” Sophie asked. “I read that cruise ship rooms are tiny.”
“We are not staying in regular rooms,” James replied. “This ship is brand new and has special suites. Our rooms will be bigger – especially my room.”
Grady was understandably suspicious as he increased his pace and moved to his brother’s side. “Why is your room especially bigger?”
James ignored his brother’s stare. “Because I’m the boss.”
“Yes, and I’ve mostly been the boss for the past few weeks,” Grady said. “I think the bigger room should be mine.”
“Well, that’s not going to happen,” James said. “Your room is plenty big. Don’t worry about it.”
“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Sophie said. “You always told me that size doesn’t matter.”
The men chortled as Grady’s face turned a mottled shade of red.
“I don’t need this abuse,” Grady muttered. “I just … I don’t appreciate this. I think that since I’ve been the boss thanks to James’ need to babysit Mandy over the past few weeks, the big room should be mine.”
James’ shoulders tightened at his brother’s words. He knew he meant them in jest, but he didn’t appreciate Grady putting the onus of recent events on Mandy. “Don’t go there.” His voice was low and full of warning and Grady didn’t miss the furtive look Mandy shot in his direction. She looked embarrassed, which was the last thing Grady wanted.
“I’m sorry,” Grady said hurriedly, holding up his hands. “That’s not what I meant. I … I’m sorry.” He knew exactly how wrecked James was during Mandy’s kidnapping and he would never purposely hurt his brother. He didn’t want to upset either of them. They’d been through enough and he had no intention of adding to their heartache. “That was wrong. I speak before I think sometimes. You know that.”
“Oh, we all know that,” Ally intoned, flashing a bright smile as she tried to calm the situation. She wasn’t known as the peacemaker, but when it came to Mandy she had no intention of letting anyone spoil this trip. She knew how much her best friend and brother needed it. “I think it’s your hair. I’ve come to the conclusion that your hair is so long it saps some of your intelligence. You should let me cut it.”
Grady self-consciously reached for his shoulder-length locks. His hair was something of a joke in the family, but he knew that the longer hair made him much more attractive than his brothers. “If you touch my hair, I’m going to shave you bald in the middle of the night. Mark my words.”
“Ooh, I’m shaking in my shoes,” Ally said, shooting him a pointed look. Out of all the Hardy siblings, Ally and Grady fought the most. They had a lot of the same mannerisms, which neither was particularly fond of admitting. “Jake won’t let you shave my head, will you, love bug?”
Jake was used to Ally giving him a different nickname every day so he didn’t balk at the new one. “I will kill him if he tries, angel.”
Ally shot a triumphant look in Grady’s direction. “Ha!”
“I’m not afraid of him,” Grady said. “I’m stronger than him. We’ve thumb wrestled. I know.”
This time the joke was enough to lighten everyone’s mood and James barked out a laugh as he relaxed his stance. “Everyone is going to have a good time,” he said. “I promise. This will be one of those trips we talk about for years.”
“Does that mean I get the big room?” Grady challenged.
“Nope,” James answered, not missing a beat. “The big room is mine. There’s a little something special in there for Mandy.”
Mandy’s eyes lit up at the news. “What?”
“It’s a surprise.”
“I hate surprises.”
James snorted. “You’re not going to hate this one, wife. Trust me.”
“OH, MY … wow.”
Mandy was positively breathless when James showed her into the suite. The room itself was beautiful, designed for big spenders and potential high rollers interested in gambling at one of the ship’s casino rooms. James didn’t care about that. He and his wife would’ve been fine with a mattress and each other. It was the window in the floor that intrigued him when the owner told him about the suites.
“What is this?” Mandy dropped to her knees and peered through the window. The ocean expanse spread wide beneath the large rectangular frame. “Is this like an ocean window? Is it real?”
“No, it’s fake,” James teased, leaving the garment bag on the bed and the suitcase in the middle of the floor as he joined her. “What do you think?”
“I … it’s amazing,” Mandy said, licking her lips. “Did you pay extra for this?”
“I’m here on a security job,” James reminded her. “I didn’t pay extra. I did, however, ask the owner for one of the window rooms when he told me about them. I thought you would enjoy it.”
“It’s beautiful.” Mandy leaned closer so she could stare out the window. Since the boat was still at the dock, there wasn’t a lot to see other than a few fish and assorted plant life. “Do you think we’ll be able to see bigger animals once we get out to sea?”
James smirked. He knew exactly what she was asking. “Do you mean sharks?”
Mandy nodded. “I mean, I think it would be cool to see whales, seals, turtles and other stuff,” she said. “I would love to see a shark, though.”
“The owner says that they regularly see sharks,” James said, loving the befuddled look on her face. “There’s a light.” He flicked a switch next to the window and the water beneath was illuminated thanks to a little help. “It’s a special light so we can look when we’re in here at night.”
When Mandy lifted her face to stare at James, his heart rolled because she had tears in her eyes.
“Why are you crying?” He reached for her, his stomach twisting. “Do you want to change rooms? I’m sure Grady will take this one.”
“Oh, you’re going to have to pry this room out of my cold, dead hands,” Mandy said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. “I just … this is so wonderful.”
“Baby, just for the record, I would appreciate it if you didn’t cry when you like things,” James said, rubbing her back. “That freaks me out.”
“You freak me out.”
“I think we both freak each other out,” James said, pulling back after a few moments and kissing her upturned mouth. “Do you like it?”
“Other than the shark tour on our honeymoon, this is one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen,” Mandy admitted. “Depending on what we see, this might move to the top spot.”
“Oh, yeah?” James loved a challenge. “What if I tell you that when we get to a stop at one of the islands – I can’t remember which one offhand – we’ll get a chance to go out onto a smaller boat to see Great Whites in a feeding area?”
James didn’t miss the uptick in Mandy’s heartbeat and he couldn’t stop himself from smiling when her cheeks flushed with color.
“I think you’re going to have to get naked really quickly,” Mandy replied, reaching for his shirt. “Take off your pants.”
James barked out a laugh as he wrestled her down, fighting off her busy hands as he pulled her close. “I would generally never say no to you, but I promised the owner we would meet him on deck for a tour once we get settled,” he said. “I can’t break a promise. This is a job, after all.”
“I’ll be quick.”
“Baby … .” James’ expression was pained. He would deny her nothing and yet duty weighed heavily on him. “I promise to take off my pants the second it’s feasible.”
Mandy blew out a long-suffering sigh. “Fine. I guess I’ll just have to busy myself with the cool window while you’re getting the tour.”
“Oh, no,” James said, shaking his head. “You’re going on the tour, too. As cool as this window is, I’m going to set some ground rules.”
Mandy’s forehead creased. “Ground rules?”
James nodded. “The first is that you cannot spend all of
your time in here staring out the window,” he said. “You have to go to the deck and drink frilly cocktails with umbrellas in them. You have to eat dinner and you have to spend time with me. This window is not an excuse for you to hole up here and never leave.”
“But I can still look out the window, right?”
“Definitely.” James pressed a firm kiss to her mouth, not breaking it until he heard footsteps at the open door. When he looked up, he found Ally barreling her way into their room. “Do you knock?”
Ally ignored the admonishment. “Aren’t these rooms cool?” she asked, moving closer to Mandy. “I heard horror stories about cruise ship rooms, but these are great. I … hey, what is this?”
“That’s Mandy’s surprise,” James replied, exchanging a quick look with Jake as the normally quiet man joined them. “This is why we got the bigger room.”
“It’s a marine life window,” Mandy explained, beaming. “It has a light and everything.”
Instead of being jealous – something James was legitimately worried about – Ally returned the smiled. “So you can see sharks.”
Mandy nodded. “Isn’t it cool?”
“It’s amazing,” Ally said. “You guys are going to have a ton of sex by this thing.”
James scowled as he glared at his sister. “Really? Do you have to take things to the lowest common denominator every single time?”
“It’s a gift,” Ally replied, shrugging. “Mandy gets turned on by sharks, though, and you get turned on by Mandy. You guys are going to be humping like … how do sharks hump?”
Jake chuckled as James shook his head.
“It is pretty cool,” Jake said, moving toward the window. “I can see why you wanted it for Mandy.”
“I knew she would be the one to appreciate it the most,” James said.
“You can come watch with me,” Mandy offered Ally. “It will be fun.”
“No offense, but I think James was right about this room being wasted on anyone but you,” Ally said. “I’ll watch for five minutes and then be bored. I don’t care about sharks. You, on the other hand, will have to be dragged away every afternoon when it’s pool time. I’ve already resigned myself to that.”
“And I think you’re the perfect person for that job,” James said. “You’re … uniquely qualified.”
“I’m a total badass,” Ally agreed, returning her attention to the window. “Still, it is kind of neat.”
“It’s freaking awesome,” Jake said pursing his lips. “Grady is going to pitch a total fit when he sees this. You know that, right?”
“I can handle Grady,” James said, pushing Mandy’s hair away from her face so he could study her profile. She was enthralled with the window. “As long as my wife is happy, that’s all that matters.”
“Your wife is happy,” Mandy said, kissing his mouth before leaning closer and whispering so only he could hear. “You’re going to get really lucky tonight because now your wife is horny, too.”
“And that’s why you’re the best wife ever.”
4
Four
Mandy’s smile was bright when James introduced her to the cruise line’s owner. Will Davenport was in his mid-fifties, but he looked younger. The only thing giving away his true age was the gray hair lining his temples. He gave Mandy an appreciative look as she shook his hand, lingering on her legs a little longer than James felt comfortable with.
James reminded himself that his wife was an attractive woman and it wasn’t unusual for men to stare at her. That didn’t mean he liked it.
“I’ve heard so much about you,” Will said, beaming as he pumped Mandy’s hand. “Your husband can’t stop raving about you.”
Mandy cast a sidelong look at James. “Yes, well, I think he might be fonder of me than other people are and he forgets no one other than him is interested in hearing about me nonstop. You’ll have to forgive him.”
“Oh, from where I’m standing, he sold you short,” Will said.
James didn’t like his smile. “I never sell my wife short.
“That was a joke,” Mandy prodded, slipping her hand into his as Will shot James an odd look. “You’ll have to excuse my husband. We’ve all been so excited for this trip that he didn’t get any rest last night. That makes him cranky.”
“Oh, I’m glad you’re pleased,” Will said, strolling down the deck and smiling at Mandy as he ran his fingertips over the railing. “Do you like your room?”
“I love it,” Mandy enthused. “That floor is … amazing. Do you really think I might be able to see sharks?”
Will chuckled, delighted. “It’s funny,” he said. “That was the first thing your husband asked me when heard about the rooms. He wanted to know if anyone saw sharks. We’ve only taken a few test runs – two overnight, in fact – but sharks have been sighted multiple times. Someone even saw a Great White shark.”
Mandy gripped James’ hand so tightly that she almost cut off circulation because she was so excited. Whatever mild annoyance James felt at Will checking out Mandy’s legs vacated when he saw her childlike smile. This trip was for her, he reminded himself. Sure, the money was nice. Ultimately he took the job because of the room, though. He couldn’t kid himself that it was for any other reason. He knew the window would be enough to make it a trip of a lifetime for her.
“I love sharks,” Mandy said. “I hope I get to see some.”
“Take some photos through the window if you do,” Will suggested. “I would love to use them for our brochures if possible.”
“Oh, I’m going to be taking photos. The Kardashians will be taking selfie lessons from me if I manage to get a shark close to that window.”
James pressed his lips together to keep from laughing as he turned his attention to Will. “This boat is magnificent,” he said. “You said this was something of a test voyage, though. How does that work? We didn’t really get into too many details over the phone.”
“Basically we’re dealing with family, friends, and contest winners,” Will replied. “The boat is about two-thirds full, but we have the entire staff handy. The entire point of this trip is to work out any kinks. That includes service and room kinks as well as security problems.”
“You had another security company handle things initially, right?” Grady asked, an arm around Sophie’s back as he ushered her forward. Despite himself, he was curious about the security set-up. He was eager for fun in the sun, but he also prided himself on a job well done.
“We did,” Will confirmed, bobbing his head. “We had a test run on another ship with that company.”
“What happened to them?”
Mandy glanced at James, unsure if Grady should be pressing the new boss in that manner. James didn’t appear bothered by the question, though, so she wisely kept her mouth shut. She was a little curious herself.
“We had a slight problem with the owner, Martin Kayhill,” Will replied. “Part of the job when running security on a cruise line is to protect the merchandise. There are a lot of jewelers who pay for the privilege to sell to a captive audience, so to speak.
“On our previous run, one of those jewelers had fifty grand in gems go missing,” he continued. “Now, I can’t prove it, but I think either Kayhill or one of his men left with the baubles. Even if they’re innocent, though, they were in charge of security and fell down on the job. I had to pay out of pocket to keep my insurance rate from skyrocketing.”
“What do you want Hardy Brothers Security to do?” Sophie asked, taking Mandy by surprise with her fortitude until she reminded herself that the woman was a reporter and that made her curious by nature. “Do you expect them to run security on every cruise? How is that going to work?”
“We’re not technically running cruise security,” James answered. “We’re here to detect faults in the security.”
“He’s hiring another security firm to run the day-to-day operations,” Grady explained. “That’s not technically what we do. We don’t provide protection in that manner. W
e do, however, run security system checks.”
“Think of us like a third-party fact-checker, so to speak,” James said. “Someone else is doing the security. They’re like the first party. Will here is the owner. He’s the second party. We’re the third party sent in to point out if we see any holes in the security and then recommend how we would fix them.”
“It’s honestly very important,” Will added. “With the amount of jewels we’ll be ferrying on and off, we need to make sure all of our bases are covered. The other issue we run into is crime. I’m sure you’ve seen some of those news shows where they covered murders on cruise ships, right?”
Mandy nodded. “I saw one where a woman was on her honeymoon and they think she had help tossing her husband off the balcony. His body was never found because the ocean is so big.”
“We would like to make sure that’s not possible,” Will said, his eyes twinkling. “We know that nothing is completely safe, but we want to be alerted to any problems so we can fix them before something happens. The sooner we know, the better.”
“I can see that,” Mandy said, turning her head to catch the sun as it rose high in the sky. It was a hot and humid day, but the wind on the ocean kept it tolerable. “It’s just beautiful out here.”
“It definitely is.” Will said, his eyes never leaving the angular planes of Mandy’s face. James cleared his throat to get the man to focus on him. “Where was I again?”
“You were going to give us a tour,” James answered, instinctively tugging Mandy a bit closer. If she noticed, she didn’t comment. He was thankful for that. “I think the women would like to know where everything is since they’ll be on their own a lot of the time while we do sweeps and checks.”
“We certainly do,” Ally intoned. She’d changed into a pink floppy hat once they unpacked in their suites. “I, for example, would love for you to show me where every deck cabana is located so I know where to procure a stiff drink.”
Mandy giggled as James rolled his eyes. “I can’t wait to have a piña colada,” she admitted. “I’ve never had one on a cruise and something tells me that’s going to make it better.”
James’ expression softened. “I’ll make sure I fill you full of piña coladas,” he said. “I might even drink one with you.”
Deadly Waves (Hardy Brothers Security Book 23) Page 3