“I know you are,” Finn said. “I’m not leaving your side, though. I promise.”
“I love you, Finn,” Emma sobbed. “If something happens to me, I need you to know that.”
“I love you more than I’ve ever loved anything in this world, Emma,” Finn said. “I won’t let anything happen to you. Believe me.”
“HOW are things up there?” James asked, arching an eyebrow as Mandy, Ally, and Sophie joined him on the main floor.
“Rough,” Mandy replied. “She’s so panicked she won’t listen to anything but her fear. Finn is doing his best, but … .”
James pressed his lips together, worry for his brother momentarily overtaking him. There was nothing worse than trying to protect the woman you love when she was terrified. It was a helpless feeling.
“Hopefully a good night’s sleep will help her,” Sophie interjected. “She’s overwrought right now. She can’t think straight.”
“Hopefully the police will catch up with Pritchard by morning,” James said. “That would be the best possible outcome.”
“The best possible outcome would be if Peter caught up with Pritchard first,” Sophie countered. “Then he’d know a little bit about pain and fear before he disappeared from the face of the Earth.”
James arched an eyebrow. Sophie’s bloodthirsty side reared its head occasionally. This was one of those times. He opened his mouth to say something, but snapped it shut when the bell over the front door rang and the door opened to allow Maverick entrance.
The twenty-year-old slacker didn’t look thrilled to be there. He was dressed down in pants that looked as if they were about to fall off his hips – and some gaming T-shirt James didn’t recognize – and his attitude was surly from the moment he greeted everyone.
“This had better be good,” he said. “I was in the middle of an important online tournament.”
“I don’t care,” James replied, straightening. “We have a huge situation. Have you been watching the news?”
Maverick shook his head. “The news is depressing. I don’t like to be depressed.”
“You make me tired,” James muttered. “You’re going to have to brace yourself to be depressed. Four men escaped from the Jackson prison. We believe one of them is on his way here. We need this building locked down. I want every window wired. We’re adding cameras outside. I want additional feeds to a monitor upstairs. I also want feeds to monitors at Grady’s house and mine.”
“That’s a lot of work,” Maverick pointed out. “I’m going to want a big paycheck.”
“I don’t care how much it costs,” James shot back.
“Why is this guy coming after you?” Maverick asked, casting a sidelong look at Ally. “You’re still as hot as I remember.”
Ally made a face. “Focus on your job.”
Maverick rolled his eyes until they landed on James again. “Who is this guy?”
“His name is Lance Pritchard,” James said, wetting his lips. “I … .”
Maverick tilted his head to the side, his greasy hair spilling over his shoulder. He looked as if he’d been too busy playing video games to shower … for at least four days. “Why do I know that name?”
“Because he was big news here several years ago,” Sophie supplied. “His trial was on every news channel. You were probably young enough that you only heard about him secondhand when you got older.”
“What did he do?”
“He’s a child molester,” James answered, opting not to mince words. “He molested like forty kids in Eastpointe, although he wasn’t tried on all of those counts because some of the victims didn’t want to testify.”
“Oh, yeah, I remember that guy,” Maverick said. “I was like thirteen at the time and my mother was scared for me to leave the house – even though we didn’t live anywhere close to Eastpointe – and everyone watched his trial on television every day. She was convinced I was going to be grabbed off the street.”
“Now do you understand why this is so important?” James prodded.
Maverick shook his head. “Why are you guys involved in this?” he asked. “You weren’t even in operation when that went down. You didn’t put him in jail, did you?”
James exchanged a quick look with Mandy, flustered. “I … .” Telling Emma’s secret pained him.
Mandy took the onus of the conversation off her husband and moved to Maverick’s side. “Emma is Lance Pritchard’s daughter,” she explained. “He went after his own kids, too. Emma is going to have a baby any day now. Do you understand how serious this is?”
Maverick’s mouth dropped open. “I … .”
“Don’t be a pain in the ass,” Mandy warned. “Emma is freaking out. She testified against her father. He wants revenge. He promised to kill her in court. I know because I was sitting right there when he did it.
“She’s got a baby inside of her and she’s extremely vulnerable right now,” she continued, her eyes narrow slits of blue. “If you say anything to her, I’m going to drag you to the salon and have them wax your whole body bare. It’s going to hurt and all the other nerds are going to point and laugh … even more than they already do.”
“I understand,” Maverick said, leaning away from Mandy. “You’re hot but terrifying, by the way. You’re the one who doesn’t wear underwear sometimes, right?”
James cleared his throat. “Don’t make me beat you.”
“I’m on it,” Maverick said. “You could’ve told me what was going on without the threats. I don’t want anything to happen to the hot pregnant chick. I don’t have any love for child molesters. There’s no reason to go all … Hulk … on me.”
“Oh, I won’t be as nice as the Hulk,” Mandy threatened. “If you piss me off, I’m going to turn into the shark from Jaws and there won’t be any pieces of you left big enough to identify when I’m done with you.”
Maverick swallowed hard. “So, I should probably get on this right now, huh?”
“That would be great,” James said, ceding his desk chair so Maverick could take over the computer. “I don’t want any mistakes. You make sure every angle is covered. I’m going to leave Jake here with you while I run an errand with Grady, Mandy, and Sophie.”
“As long as you take the scary blonde with you, I’m good,” Maverick said, casting Mandy one more nervous look. “Is it wrong that I’m more turned on now that I know you’re a badass?”
“That’s my wife,” James said. “I will thump you.”
“Man, you guys are wound up,” Maverick said, focusing on the computer. “I would hate to be this Lance Pritchard guy when you get your hands on him.”
“You have no idea,” James said.
Four
Peter Marconi, dressed down in simple trousers and a knit pullover, met James, Grady, Mandy, and Sophie at the front door when they arrived. His face was a mask as he ushered them into his arboretum.
“As good as it is to see all of you, I’ve been watching the news,” Peter said, affectionately petting Sophie’s hair as she sat next to him on one of the couches. “What do we know?”
“Not a lot,” James replied. “We’re expecting a call from the police. Eventually they’re going to come to the same conclusion we did. I don’t know if they’re caught up looking for the escapees in the area surrounding the prison or what else is going on, but we expect a visit.”
“Do we know anything about the men he escaped with?” Peter asked.
James and Grady exchanged a sheepish look.
“Um, we didn’t really think about that,” Grady admitted after a moment. “We were so focused on getting Finn and Emma back to the security building and locking it up that we didn’t even write down their names.”
“I understand the inclination to protect Emma at all costs,” Peter said. “I encourage it. With that in mind, I would like to put four men in vehicles outside of the building.”
“We were going to ask if you could spare someone,” James said. “We’re extremely worried. Lance threatened to
kill Emma in court. There were a bunch of witnesses.” He rubbed Mandy’s back, knowing her mind constantly churned with the memory. “We have no doubt he’s going to come after Emma.”
“A smart man would leave the area in due haste,” Peter said. “He would know that if he sticks around he’s likely to be caught. A pedophile is not a smart man. He’s a sick man. Everything I’ve read about Lance Pritchard leads me to believe he’s the sickest of the bunch.”
“We’re going to keep Finn close to Emma whenever possible,” James explained. “He’s going to want to be proactive, though. Emma is terrified. She’s … falling apart. He’s going to need breaks from her.”
“We’re going to make sure that Emma is never in that building alone,” Grady added. “Jake and Ally are staying there tonight, in fact. Any men you could spare would help us, though.”
“I’ll put Sven in charge of the detail,” Peter said. “His sister was murdered by a pedophile when he was younger. He’ll be … efficient.”
“Is that code for deadly?” Sophie asked, her eyes dark.
“Do you want him to be deadly?” Peter asked carefully. “If we can get our hands on him before the police, we could easily make him disappear.”
“I want him dead,” Sophie said, guileless.
Grady pursed his lips as he regarded his live-in love. She wasn’t joking. He could read the seriousness of her statement through the determined set of her shoulders. “We all want him dead,” he said.
“Don’t let your men put themselves in a position where they could get caught,” James cautioned. “If it comes down to it, let the police have him.”
“The police might kill him themselves,” Peter pointed out. “The guard they shanked on their way out died. Pritchard would not be the first man to face an unfortunate accident while in custody after something like this.”
“We can’t count on that,” Sophie said. “I think we should kill him.”
“Okay, sugar, you’re starting to scare,” Grady said. “I know you’re upset … .”
“Do you have any idea what he did to Emma?” Sophie shot back, refusing to back down. “He hung her from the rafters in their basement and raped her over and over again. He got off when she screamed. That made it better for him. He doesn’t deserve to live.”
James and Grady exchanged a wary look. The last thing they needed was for Sophie to go off the rails. Peter took the decision to say something away from them.
“I understand you want vengeance for Emma, my dear,” Peter said. “Do not turn yourself into something you’ll regret in the process. Lance Pritchard is sick and demented. His fate will be just … one way or the other. You do not need to involve yourself in that, though.”
“Whatever,” Sophie grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.
Peter lifted a dubious eyebrow. “Don’t take that tone with me,” he warned. “I’ve always taught you to speak your mind. I’ve taught you to protect yourself. I did not teach you to be a murderer.”
“It’s not murder when it’s justified.”
“Take a breath,” Peter instructed. “What happened to Emma was a travesty. Had I known what was going on back then I would’ve taken him out myself. Ask yourself what’s best for her, though. Is it you turning into a murderer? Somehow I doubt it.”
Sophie frowned. “I … .”
“Sit there and be quiet for a few moments,” Peter ordered. “Think about what’s best for Emma. Next time you speak, I want you to use your head instead of your gut.”
Grady was floored. He’d never seen Peter talk to Sophie that way. He was her foster father, but he loved her more than anything. He usually indulged her every whim. Grady was impressed – and relieved – that Peter was taking her in hand so he wouldn’t have to deal with the situation on his own.
“Now, I am running background checks on the men Pritchard escaped with,” Peter said, turning back to James. “We might find clues with them. They would only remain together if they were truly idiots, though. I won’t know anything about them until the morning.
“In addition to putting four men on the security building, I think I should assign details to Sophie, Mandy, and Ally as well,” he continued.
Sophie balked. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“What did I just say to you?” Peter asked, his voice dark.
Sophie furrowed her brow. “I … .”
“Shut your mouth, Sophie,” Peter said, waiting to see if she would offer more argument before swiveling back to James and Grady. “If Pritchard realizes he can’t get to Emma, he will try to take someone else as a bargaining chip to trade for her. That only leaves three options.”
“We kind of came to that realization ourselves,” Grady admitted.
“The last one he will try to get is Sophie,” Peter said. “My reputation will scare him off. As a predator, however, he is sick enough to go after her if he has no other options.”
“Why not just set a trap and use me as bait?” Sophie suggested.
Grady swore under his breath. “No.”
“Absolutely not,” Peter agreed. “I’m not using anyone as bait when a pedophile who has nothing to lose is our enemy. A pedophile does not think like a normal criminal, Sophie. A pedophile only cares about his urges.”
“As a pedophile, wouldn’t he try to go after another kid to … um … fill those urges?” Mandy asked.
James rubbed the back of her neck as he considered the statement. “She’s got a point,” he said. “We should keep our ear to the ground in case anyone tries to grab a kid in this area over the next few days. Pritchard preferred male victims – other than Emma – but I’m not sure how choosy he’ll be given how long he was locked up.”
“That’s a good suggestion,” Peter said. “We need one of these men to be captured. He will roll over on the other three as he tries to cut a deal. How much information he has cannot be ascertained until one of them is caught. That one, of course, will be the dumbest. I don’t foresee Pritchard being the first caught.”
“What do you think we should be doing?” James asked. “This is kind of new for us.”
“Watch the women,” Peter said. “Don’t leave them alone. I will make sure I put good men on each of them. That means, no matter how much you don’t like it, that I’m putting someone in the courthouse with you, Mandy.”
Mandy didn’t even bother putting up a token argument. “I understand,” she said. “Can you make him look like a lawyer or something, though? The judge will be suspicious otherwise.”
“I already have an idea for your man,” Peter said. “Sophie, I will have someone parked outside the newspaper office to follow you on assignments. If you try to shake him like you did when you were a teenager, I will put you in a safe house and lock you up.”
Grady pressed his lips together to keep from laughing at the murderous look on Sophie’s face.
“I will put someone at Ally’s office as well, although she’ll probably be the easiest to watch,” Peter said. “I suggest constant contact so we can keep each other updated.”
“That sounds good to me,” James said.
“Good,” Peter said, pushing himself to his feet. “Let’s catch this man and then decide what to do with him. The decision may be out of our hands.”
“That would almost be a relief,” Grady muttered, his eyes locking with Sophie’s. She was extremely unhappy, and he had a feeling he had a long night in front of him. “I hope we catch Pritchard soon. The longer this goes on, the more worked up everyone is going to get.”
“CAN I ask you something?” Mandy asked later that night, dragging a brush through her hair as she padded out of the bathroom and found James relaxing on the bed. He was naked, although Mandy barely registered it.
“Is this a question I can answer, or are you going to be philosophical?”
“Both.”
“No. You can’t ask me a question if it’s going to be deep and annoying,” James said. “I’m tired. I want to … .” He broke o
ff, unsure how to finish the sentence without sounding like a jackass.
“Cluck me?” Mandy suggested.
James pursed his lips. Despite the dire situation, she was so cute he couldn’t help but laugh. “Yes. I need a little tension relief. I hope that doesn’t upset you.”
“I would be a happy participant if you answered my question,” Mandy offered.
James sighed, resigned. “Fine. What is your question, baby?”
“Do you think love can overcome anything?” Mandy asked, not missing a beat.
“I knew it,” James hissed. “You’re going to be morose and drag me into a conversation I don’t want to have. Baby, I love you no matter what. You’re it for me. I will never want another woman. It’s impossible. I only want you.”
Mandy made an exaggerated face and tightened the sash on her shark robe. “Oh, good grief,” she muttered. “I wasn’t talking about us. For the record, that’s always nice to hear. I’m not trying to trap you into telling me you love me, though.”
“For the record, it’s not a trap when I tell you I love you,” James shot back, clasping his hands behind his head and focusing on his wife. “I like telling you I love you. If you weren’t talking about us, though, who were you talking about?”
“Emma and Finn,” Mandy answered, tossing the brush on the bathroom counter.
James gestured toward the bed. “Take your robe off.”
“You haven’t answered my question yet,” Mandy reminded him.
“I’m going to answer it while I’m on top of you.”
Mandy rolled her eyes but did as instructed, revealing her naked form to James and causing him to smile as she climbed onto the bed. “Emma worked so hard to get over what her father did to her,” she said. “Finn worked so hard to make her feel safe. All of that was wiped away over the course of one night.”
“They’re going to survive this,” James said, tugging Mandy on top of him and wrapping her in his warm embrace. He had ideas for what he wanted to do, but he knew she wouldn’t be a willing participant until they talked this out. “There’s nothing worse for a man than knowing the person you love most is terrified and there’s not a thing you can do about it. Finn and Emma will find a way out of this, though. I promise.”
Deadly Arrival (Hardy Brothers Security Book 16) Page 3