Fourteen
Finn opened the bottle of aspirin and tipped two out into the palm of his hand. He regarded Emma with an upraised eyebrow and a half smile, and then added another pill to the mix. He handed them to the buxom brunette. “Swallow these.”
“My head is killing me,” Emma admitted, rubbing her forehead wearily.
“You’ll feel better in a few minutes,” Finn said, brushing his lips against her temple. “Take the aspirin. Once you have some food in you, things should be better.”
Finn shifted his attention to Ally. “Do you want aspirin?”
Ally shook her head, her wild hair flying about. “I feel fine.”
Finn glanced at James for confirmation.
“She’s fine,” James said. “She’s got a thirty-minute rebound rate. Once she had a bottle of water and a candy bar she was back to normal.”
Finn narrowed his eyes as he looked at Sophie. “You don’t even look drunk.”
“I had the least amount to drink,” Sophie said. “I’m fine.”
“My girl doesn’t get drunk,” Grady said, smirking. “She can hold her liquor.”
Finn stuck his tongue out at his brother. It was true that Emma couldn’t hold her liquor. She was a bit of a light weight compared to the other women. Mandy and Ally could throw down with the best of them when the mood struck, and Sophie never let herself get out of control. Emma, on the other hand, could barely walk after two beers.
“I can hold my liquor,” Emma complained, casting a hopeful look in Finn’s direction. “Right?”
Finn cupped the back of her head. “You’re very beautiful,” he said. “You have a great personality, and I love your smile.”
“That’s not what I asked,” Emma said, her eyes narrowing.
Finn swallowed hard and turned to the blonde standing by the counter. “What about you, Mandy?”
James chuckled softly as he took in the look Emma was shooting at his brother. “My wife-to-be is fine,” he said. “You might want to placate the brunette who looks like she’s going to try and murder you in your sleep tonight.”
Finn shot James a scorching look. “Thanks for feeding the fire.”
“You’re welcome.”
Jake let himself into the apartment, his arms laden with pizza boxes. James took the boxes from him and spread them out across the counter. “Did you lock up?”
Jake nodded. “I double checked.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.”
James hadn’t said a word since watching the video at the bridal boutique. Jake was beyond curious, but he didn’t want to press his employer. He figured James would tell everyone what was going on when he was ready. If he had to guess, Jake had a feeling James was trying to process what he saw, the presence of the figure throwing him for a loop. He was content to let the man process his own feelings – for now, at least.
“You have to get a new dress,” Ally said, popping a piece of pepperoni into her mouth.
Mandy shook her head. “I don’t want a new dress. I like that one.”
“James saw you in that one,” Ally countered. “It’s tainted.”
Mandy worked her jaw from side to side. “I … .”
“Ally, you leave her alone,” James instructed. “She’s not getting rid of that dress.”
“You’re the one who tainted the dress in the first place,” Ally said. “This is all your fault.”
Guilt roiled in James’ stomach. “I didn’t mean … I didn’t think she would still be in it.”
“You didn’t think at all,” Ally charged.
Jake shot her a look, flicking her on her arm to quiet her. “Don’t.”
Ally’s face fell.
“It’s fine,” Mandy said. “I don’t believe in bad luck.”
“How can you not believe in bad luck?” Ally asked. “Look at the last year. You two are cursed.”
Mandy’s eyes were glued to the kitchen counter as Ally’s words hit her. James sighed, dropping his slice of pizza onto a plate and shuffling around the edge of the island so he could wrap her in his arms. “We’re not cursed, baby,” he murmured, pressing his lips into her hair.
Mandy didn’t respond.
“And Typhoid Ally hits again,” Grady said, shaking his head as he regarded his baby sister. “Are you proud of yourself?”
Ally raised her fingertips to her lips, instantly contrite. “I didn’t mean to … .”
“Well, you did,” Grady said, tweaking her nose before moving out of the kitchen to settle next to Sophie on the couch.
Ally swiveled, her dark eyes swimming with tears as they met Jake’s serious expression. “I didn’t mean to.”
“You never mean to, angel,” Jake said, swallowing. “You still need to think before you speak.”
“It was a joke,” Ally said lamely.
Jake glanced at Mandy and James, tilting his head in their direction. “They don’t look like they think it’s funny.”
“They don’t have a sense of humor,” Ally said, lowering her voice to a hiss.
“Then I don’t either.” Jake’s face was drawn and sober. “I think that was uncalled for.”
Ally’s dramatic pout was almost comical. Almost. Jake somehow kept his expression stern.
Ally pushed out an exaggerated sigh and slunk across the room, not stopping until she was next to her brother and best friend. “I’m sorry,” she muttered.
“I didn’t hear you,” James said.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated.
“What?”
“I’m sorry!” Ally bellowed the words, her face flushed.
Mandy tilted her face out from James’ chest and burst into laughter.
“You’re laughing at me?” Ally was incensed.
Mandy pointed at James. “He made me.”
Ally narrowed her eyes until they were just brown slits as she regarded her brother. “I hate you.”
James tapped the top of her head with his plate. “That will teach you to say horrible things to your best friend.”
“It wasn’t horrible,” Ally argued. “I want her to have a perfect day. That’s my job as the maid of honor.”
“She’s going to have a perfect day,” James said. “And her perfect day is going to be spent in that dress. I love that dress.”
“Oh, please, you’d love her if she came out naked,” Ally scoffed.
“Now, see, that’s my kind of wedding,” James said. He reached into the pizza box and slapped two slices onto a plate before sliding it in front of Mandy. “You need to eat.”
“I’m fine,” Mandy said.
“You drank half the day away, and then got in a physical fight in front of a bridal boutique,” James said. “Eat.”
“I’m waiting,” Mandy said.
“What are you waiting for?”
“For you to tell me what you saw on the monitor at the store.” Mandy’s voice was soft, free of recrimination. Her face was blank. James knew without looking at her that she was upset.
“What makes you think I saw anything?” He purposely averted his gaze from hers.
“You didn’t? Oh, well then, you won’t mind if I walk to the gas station down the street by myself, right?” Mandy raised an eyebrow in challenge.
James sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “No, I don’t want that.”
“You wanted us all here so you could tell us together. We’re all here.”
“Eat your dinner first,” James said.
Mandy shoved a piece of pizza in her face and bit into it, chewing with pronounced vigor. “Happy?”
James couldn’t help but smile. “I particularly like the big smear of sauce on your cheek.”
Mandy was tempted to wipe it away. Since that was what he wanted, she fought the urge. Instead, she stared at him with unmoving eyes as she munched. At first, James met the stare evenly. After a few minutes, he started to feel uncomfortable.
“Okay,” he said, breaking eye contact. “I saw something on the
monitor. Jeez, that was creepy. Don’t do it again.”
Mandy relaxed her shoulders, taking the opportunity to wipe a napkin across her cheek. James lowered his mouth and kissed the spot she’d just cleaned. “I love you,” he whispered into her ear before straightening up. “Okay, I guess we’re going to have our discussion now, instead of over dessert like I planned.”
Ally lifted her head hopefully. “There’s dessert?”
Jake, who was sitting on one of the dining room chairs, wrapped his arms around her waist and tugged her down on his lap. “Are you trying to be difficult?”
Ally made a face before turning to focus on her brother.
James stared down at his hands, wiping them with a napkin as he tried to decide where to start. “His name is Anthony Anderson – or Tony Anderson, I guess. We all knew him as Tony.”
“How do you know him?” Ally asked.
Jake clamped his hand over her mouth to silence her, a glance at James telling him that the man needed to tell the story in his own time.
“He was under my command while I was in Afghanistan,” James said, leaning his back against the kitchen counter. “Things didn’t … end well.”
When no one voiced more questions, James pushed forward. “We were close to a small village named Khewa. It was about three months before I was supposed to rotate out. It was just a simple reconnaissance mission. We were just making our rounds.
“We were hit by a mortar round,” James continued, running his hand through his hair. “It flipped the vehicle. I lost two men in the ensuing fire. We managed to carry another two men out. One of them was a guy named Jeff Pace. He and Tony were best friends. The guys were inseparable really.”
Mandy had a feeling she knew where the story was going. James didn’t talk about his time in the service often – and when he did, it was with vague overtones. Mandy knew he didn’t want to talk about it, so she never pressed him. Hearing him open up now was hard – for both of them. Mandy took a step closer to him, close enough so he could feel her presence, but not so close that he would feel smothered. Instinctively, James reached out and grabbed her hand.
“We were stuck,” James said. “We had no transport, and no way of communicating with the base. Our radio was destroyed in the fire. We had to hunker down in an abandoned building on the outskirts of town to hide. There were only four of us, two of whom were seriously injured. We had no choice but to sit there and wait for another sweep. We didn’t know how long it would take.”
James cleared his throat, glancing at his feet before continuing. “Jeff Pace was delirious for most of the time. He was spouting off about nonsense, seeing his parents and stuff. Tony was desperate for us to do something for him, but there was nothing we could do. We couldn’t carry him back to the base. It was too far. We didn’t have enough men to put up a fight if we ran across insurgents. We were just … stuck.”
James’ voice broke off, causing Mandy to clutch his hand tighter.
When James started talking again, his voice was stronger. “Jeff died from massive blood loss early in the morning on the third day. By noon that day, we were picked up by another transport and taken back to the base. I never saw Tony again. He filed a complaint about my leadership and demanded a transfer. He said I purposely let Jeff die. Nothing ever came of it, and I honestly haven’t thought much about him in the years since I left the Marines.”
Grady leaned forward on the couch. “He’s obviously thought about you.”
James nodded, his face serious. “I have no idea why he’s come out of the woodwork now. He has to have a reason.”
“And we have to figure out what that reason is,” Jake said, rubbing his chin. “I have a few contacts with the state department. Let me see if I can come up with some military records.”
James inclined his head in silent thanks. “Yeah, I’m going to call some old buddies and see what they know about him.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s too late now, but I’ll make the calls tomorrow.”
“I’ll run a background check on him,” Finn said. “I’ll set it up to run through the night so we’ll have the information first thing in the morning.”
“That’s good,” Grady said. “Once we have more information, we can form a plan of attack. If the guy is staying in the area, he must be staying at a hotel or something.”
“I can have Peter try to run his credit cards,” Sophie offered, referring to her foster father, Peter Marconi, a man who had ties to organized crime in the Detroit area.
Grady opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. “That will probably help.”
Sophie shot him a dubious look. “You’re not going to argue?”
“Nope.”
“Oh, yay,” Mandy said, clapping her hands. “I want to go with you. I want to see that arboretum again.”
James grabbed the back of her neck, shaking his head dubiously. “Absolutely not.”
Mandy’s smile tipped down into a frown. “Why?”
“You know why.”
“But … .”
James shook his head more emphatically this time. “No.”
Mandy crossed her arms over her chest, pouting. “Fine.”
James dropped a kiss on her plump mouth. “Thank you.”
Mandy relaxed slightly, forcing herself to remember that James was going through a bout of inner doubt and turmoil. “You still owe me a massage from earlier,” she reminded him.
James’ eyebrows knit together in confusion. “What?”
“Oh, don’t even,” Mandy warned. “I looked the other way while you flirted with that clerk so you could see the video. You promised.”
James pinched her rear playfully. “I have no problem massaging you. I happen to like it. Besides, the clerk wasn’t interested in me.”
“She wasn’t?”
James glanced across the room. “Nope. She was interested in Jake.”
Jake scowled, moving his head swiftly as Ally reared around to fix him with a hard look.
“She asked if he was tied down,” James continued. “I told her he was still up for grabs.”
“Thanks, man,” Jake growled.
“What did you tell her?” Ally asked, focusing on Jake.
“I told her that I already had an angel,” he said, lacing his fingers through hers. “She was very understanding.”
James snorted, meeting Mandy’s conflicted gaze as she sidled up to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He knew what she was thinking. She was worried. She was worried about the story he had told, and the man out there stalking their present because of deeds long since forgotten in the past. He kissed her softly, rubbing his thumb over her cheekbone. “It’s going to be okay, baby,” he murmured. “I promise.”
Mandy nodded, resting her head against his chest. “I know.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt you,” James said.
“I’m more worried about you than me,” Mandy admitted.
“Why is that?”
“He’s scared of us now,” Mandy said. “We told him Ally had rabies. I don’t think he’ll be coming after us again. Hey, maybe you should tell him you have Ebola? Then he won’t want to come near you.”
James barked out a laugh. “God, I love you.”
Fifteen
“Do you want to talk about it?”
James glanced up from the magazine he was flipping through, finding Mandy’s blue eyes on him as she stood in the doorway between the bedroom and living room. He dropped the magazine on the nightstand. “Not really. You clearly do, though.”
“We don’t have to,” Mandy said, shedding her plush shark robe on the floor and climbing into the bed next to him. She was wearing his favorite panties, the cotton ones that had the word “Jawesome” spread across her rounded rear, and one of those knit tank tops that clung to her in such a manner that absolutely nothing was left to the imagination.
James reached over, tugging the thin strap of her tank top so he could get a peek inside. “Good.”
Mandy reached up, brushing his hair off his forehead. “You really do need a haircut.”
“I know,” James said, rolling over and resting his chin on her chest. “I’ll get one. I promise. Ally has threatened to do it herself if I don’t.”
Mandy smirked, her hand travelling down to his injured shoulder. He had stopped wearing the gauze two days before, and the wound was healing nicely. In two weeks, it would be nothing but a thin, white scar, and a huge bag of emotional turmoil. Mandy ran her thumb over it thoughtfully.
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking that you’ve had some hard times,” Mandy said. “I never really let myself think about what you went through when you were overseas. I guess I didn’t want to.”
“I guess we’re going to talk about it,” James said, sighing.
“We don’t have to.”
James’ shoulders shook with silent laughter. “If it’s one thing I know about you, you’re not going to just let it go. So, if I want to get you out of that tank top – you know that thing drives me crazy, by the way, so I know that was your plan – we’re going to have to talk about it.”
“If you don’t want to, I understand,” Mandy said. “I can take the tank top off right now. It’s not a big deal.”
James stilled her hands as she reached for the strap. He’d never be able to concentrate if she was naked. “What do you want to know?”
“What aren’t you telling me?”
James furrowed his brow. “I don’t understand.”
“There’s something else,” Mandy said softly. “You told us most of the story, but there’s something you’re holding back.”
“I’m not holding anything back,” James said. “I promise you that. It’s more … I feel guilty.”
“You couldn’t save him, baby,” Mandy said.
“I know that,” James said. “It was either one dead body or four. That’s not what I feel guilty about.”
Mandy waited, running her hands over James’ strong shoulders.
“It’s the other part,” James said. “The part where I haven’t thought about them in years. That doesn’t seem right to me. I mean, we were in a tiny room, practically on top of each other. Jeff’s head was in Tony’s lap when he died. I was holding his hand. How do I forget something like that?”
Deadly Ever After (Hardy Brothers Security Book 6) Page 11