Deadly Conflicts (Hardy Brothers Security Book 21) Read online

  “Don’t tell me what to do,” Ally shot back. “You’re not important to me. You never were. Now get off my front porch and out of my life. I’m done listening to you. I don’t even have the energy to pretend to like you.”

  “Don’t you shut that door, Ally,” Vince hissed. “You’ll regret it if you do.”

  “And you’re going to regret the day you met me,” Ally said. “If you thought my brother hated you before, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

  Ally slammed the door as hard as she could and put the security chain in place before engaging the system James installed a year prior. She was pretty proud of herself … and amused. That emotion only lasted for a few moments and then she started looking for her phone.

  She couldn’t forget Vince’s threat. After what she did to him, she had a pretty good idea he would be looking for revenge. She had to be ready for him.

  21

  Twenty-One

  “What’s in there?” Jake asked, his world-famous patience wearing thin.

  “Nothing good,” MacIntosh replied, shaking his head. “Click on that, Mandy.”

  Mandy did as instructed, her face screwed up in concentration as she read through the file.

  “Mandy, I love you dearly and I’m really glad we made up, but you’re killing me here,” Jake said. “What is in that file?”

  “It’s kind of a mess,” Mandy replied. “It looks as if Vince was caught up with some bad guys out in California. He was running drugs out of his dealerships.”

  “Yes, look here,” MacIntosh said, pointing. “This says that Mr. Dawkins purposely hired two legitimate salesmen for each dealership, but the mechanical staff was made up of people who ran drugs rather than changing engine oil. The dealerships were covers.”

  “I don’t understand,” Jake said. “Why isn’t he in prison?”

  “I’m not sure yet,” Mandy replied. “Were still weeding through the details. This says that Vince did legitimate work through his shop, but the drugs were his bread and butter. The cops ran an undercover sting on him and got a man in place in his operation.

  “After the undercover operative got all of the information they arrested Vince and hauled him in,” she continued. “It looks like it was an absolutely huge arrest and almost a hundred people were taken into custody during various raids.”

  “Wouldn’t we have heard about this on the news if it was that big?” Jake was intrigued by the information but doubt clawed at the back of his brain. He was having trouble understanding what Mandy was telling him.

  “Not necessarily,” MacIntosh replied. “The reason these files are sealed is because Mr. Dawkins made a deal.”

  “What deal?”

  “He rolled over on bigger bosses in the area,” Mandy answered. “He put three of them away in exchange for probation. He also cut all of his employees off from any deal and they were locked up for long stretches.”

  “It sounds like this guy has a lot of enemies.”

  “I don’t doubt that,” Mandy said, reaching for the phone on her desk.

  “What are you doing?” Jake asked.

  “I need to talk to James. He has to know about this. I think I know what happened with the car.”

  “Of course you do,” Jake muttered. “You’ve always been smarter than the rest of us.”

  “And don’t you forget it.”

  JAMES almost ignored his ringing phone because he was so busy watching Maverick toil on his computer. On a whim he looked at the screen and realized Mandy was calling from the courthouse.

  “What’s up, baby? We’re kind of busy here. Just come straight home from work and we’ll order pizza.”

  “And hello to you, too, husband.”

  James sighed. “Hello, my beautiful wife. How are you this fine summer day?”

  “I think I solved your case,” Mandy replied, smugness seeping into her tone. “You’re going to owe me a two-hour massage in the hot tub … just as soon as we can get naked in our back yard without risking your parents seeing us, that is.”

  James could hear two men laughing in the background. He recognized Jake’s voice right away. “Who is with you?”

  “Jake came to apologize,” Mandy answered. “Judge MacIntosh is here, as well. He’s the one who helped me solve your case. You owe him a massage, too.”

  “If I thought I could get away with it without being creepy or sexually ambiguous I might just do that,” James said. “What do you have?”

  “Vince Dawkins had three sealed criminal files from the state of California,” Mandy said, returning to the business at hand. Flirting could wait for later. “He was tied up in a huge drug operation. When he was arrested he turned state’s evidence and was responsible for several big names going down.”

  “Please tell me the judge unsealed those files and you’re not going to jail.”

  “He did unseal them and I would never leave you like that,” Mandy said. “I would make you go to jail with me.”

  “As long as we’re together, I can live with that,” James said, running the new information through his head. “Hold on, baby. I’m going to put you on speakerphone.” James was silent for a moment and then the line came to life. “So Vince makes a bunch of money selling drugs and everyone working for him – and more importantly, everyone who he was working for – goes to jail and he gets away with what?”

  “Probation and fines.”

  “Were they big fines?”

  “Um … yeah, huge,” Mandy said. “I’m not sure how he would be able to afford these on a car dealership salary. My guess is that he would need another influx of cash somewhere.”

  “The big question is where,” James said. “Well, we have another little tidbit here. We tore the car completely apart and … .”

  “Who tore the car apart?” Sven interjected.

  “Fine. Sven and Rodrigo tore the car apart and found nothing missing,” James said. “Maverick, on the other hand, stuffed his face full of pancakes and found the car was missing a navigation chip. When he delved deeper he found that whatever chip was being stored in the car had been modified. We don’t know for what purpose.”

  “I have a theory about that,” Mandy said.

  “Of course you do,” James said. “That’s why you’re the love of my life.”

  “We’re trying not to puke over here,” Grady said. “I just thought you should be reminded that you’re not alone.”

  “I could never forget that with your big mouth on the premises,” James said. “Hit me with your theory, wife.”

  “Vince was in a pickle,” Mandy said. “He needed money to pay his fines. Sure, he got off light compared to everyone else, but he knew he was in danger because the people he put away had friends. He had to come up with a lot of money, but I don’t think he was doing it to pay fines.”

  “Go on.”

  “I think Vince moved back home because he knew that it would be easier to operate in this area,” Mandy said. “Think about it. Our police departments are already over-taxed. They were watching him in California. They weren’t watching him here and he had a legitimate reason to return.”

  “He said his mother was sick, right?”

  “Yeah. He probably told the judge that he would keep sending in payments but move home to take care of his sick mother. You know, that whole turning over a new leaf thing.”

  “I’m following you,” James said. “If he’s paying off his debts in California, what does that have to do with the car here?”

  “The California police only have jurisdiction over his businesses there,” Mandy replied. “I looked it up. He told Ally he had like twenty dealerships in a bunch of states. That’s total crap. He has eight dealerships. Seven are in California.”

  “And one is here,” James said, his mind clearing as he began to catch on to what his wife was laying out for him. “So Vince is using the money from his legitimate dealerships to keep paying off his fines, but the new one in Michigan is not under that umbrella.”


  “I’m guessing that he doesn’t believe the cops will catch on to what he’s doing until it’s too late,” Mandy said. “He has ties to this area. Ally said that he never really talked about himself and told her he had a business meeting when he took off and never came back.

  “He probably got into business with the California people and never wanted to return because it was big money,” she continued. “He only came back now because he was forced to. He chose Michigan because it wouldn’t alarm the judge in his case because this is where his mother lives.”

  “I’m not sure I’m following,” MacIntosh said, making James realize Mandy had put him on speakerphone. “Even if he opened the dealership here the police would eventually catch up to him. They would demand their fair share of his profits.”

  “Unless he’s running this dealership like he originally ran the ones in California,” James supplied.

  “Oh, you think he’s running drugs out of Detroit,” MacIntosh surmised. “That would make sense.”

  “It makes sense on multiple levels,” Mandy said. “He probably sold drugs here when he was dating Ally the first time. He moved to a bigger market, but I’m guessing he kept up ties here.”

  “That’s probably why I hated him,” James said. “I always knew there was something off with that guy. I should’ve done a background check on him then.”

  “It would’ve come up empty,” Mandy said. “He didn’t have a record before California. My guess is that he’s running drugs out of this new dealership and he’s socking a ton of money away. Instead of a long con he’s running a short one this time. He’s trying to put enough money together to get out of town. By the time the police in California realize what’s happening he’ll be gone … probably to a non-extradition country where he can live high on the hog for less money.”

  “You are brilliant, my baby,” James said. “I just … good job. I’m going to kiss you silly later.”

  “I’m not done,” Mandy said. “I told you I solved the car conundrum. You said you didn’t find any parts missing in that car and the navigation chip was gone. My guess is that the car was rigged for deliveries and Vince set it up so whoever was picking up or dropping off merely had to follow the GPS. The navigation card probably told his drivers where to go and then they took the card when they left. Each delivery resulted in a new card.”

  “Okay,” James said. “Why was the car stolen, though?”

  “Because Vince is greedy as all get out,” Mandy replied. “I will bet my Jaws movie collection that Vince had drugs in that trunk. You guys took it apart. You didn’t have it sniffed by dogs or anything, though.”

  “So you think Vince arranged for his customers to steal the car and dump it in a deserted garage? Why?”

  “I can think of two reasons,” Mandy answered. “The first is that Vince can make an insurance claim and get cash for a car that he knows the location of. The second is that he could sell it on the secondary market when no one was looking and essentially triple his money.”

  “Triple? How?” MacIntosh asked.

  “He would get paid for the drugs. The insurance company would pay him. He would get paid by the car choppers.”

  “Okay, now I’m starting to think you’re brilliant, too,” Grady said. “If you’re right about the choppers, though, why didn’t the car show up there?”

  “Because Peter put out feelers right away and whoever took the car is in deep enough he heard about it and got scared,” Mandy replied. “He put the car in that garage for safe keeping. He never expected it to be discovered.”

  “That’s pretty good, baby,” James said. “What do you think Vince’s next move is?”

  “That depends,” Mandy replied. “Is there any way he can know you guys have the car?”

  “Not that I can think of.”

  “That’s not true,” Sven interjected, taking everyone by surprise. “We never kept it a secret that we found the car. We didn’t think it was necessary.”

  “He’s right,” Rodrigo said. “We called the chop shops and reported that we found the car we were looking for after we confirmed it through the VIN. It was no secret we found the car.”

  “That means Vince’s partner knows,” James said.

  “Which means Vince knows,” Jake added.

  “So what’s his next move going to be?” James asked. “We have the car, which is going to screw up his insurance payout and the chopping money. I don’t think that’s going to be a lot in the grand scheme of things, but it’s going to make his wallet twenty grand lighter.”

  “It all depends on when he plans on running,” Mandy said. “I mean … where does a guy like that think he’s going to find a big chunk of money on short notice?”

  “I don’t know,” James replied. “I don’t like it, though. If we screwed up his plan that means he’s going to be desperate.”

  “Yeah,” Jake said. “I … hold on. My phone is buzzing.” James heard silence on the other end of the line and then Jake started swearing.

  “What’s going on?” James asked, instantly alert.

  “The security alarm at my house is going off,” Jake replied, his voice rigid. “Someone pushed the emergency button, but no one picks up the line when the security company calls the house. They texted my line as backup.”

  “Son of a … he’s got Ally,” James muttered.

  “Everyone get moving to my house,” Jake instructed. “The judge is going to call the police and send them over there. I’m heading there now. I’m closest.”

  “I’m coming with you,” Mandy said, her voice firm as it caused James’ heart to roll.

  “Mandy … .”

  “She’s coming with me,” Jake said. “She loves Ally, too. I don’t have time to fight with her.”

  “You stay in Jake’s truck, Mandy,” James ordered. “Ally is already in trouble. We don’t need you making a target of yourself, too.”

  “It’s going to be okay, James,” Mandy said. “Have a little faith.”

  “We’re on our way,” James said. “We’re ending this right now.”

  “As long as he hasn’t ended it first,” Jake said, his voice cracking. “I will kill him if he touched her.”

  “We all will,” Mandy said. “Let’s go.”

  22

  Twenty-Two

  “Jake and James are going to rip your heart out and feed it to you!”

  Ally rubbed her arm, glaring at Vince as he paced behind the couch. He broke through her front window minutes after she locked him out. She had time to press the panic button on the security system before he physically threw her into the couch, but she couldn’t find her phone in time to call for help. She had to hope the security company would call the police because Vince was obviously deranged.

  “Oh, your brother couldn’t find his own ass with both hands,” Vince snapped. “He’s not going to do anything to me.”

  “You’re dumber than you look,” Ally said, frowning at the angry red marks on her arm. They would eventually bruise, which ticked her off more than the broken window for some reason. “You’d better hope the police get you before Jake does. He’ll kill you.”

  “What is it with you and the carny?” Vince exploded. “He doesn’t even wear a suit, for crying out loud.”

  Ally rolled her eyes. Despite the surreal situation – and Vince’s erratic mannerisms – she didn’t believe he truly meant to harm her. That didn’t mean he wouldn’t if he was boxed in, of course. She had no idea what his agenda was, but she knew she had to keep him talking until help arrived.

  “I love Jake,” Ally said. “I love him with every fiber of my being. I don’t care that he doesn’t wear a suit. Who needs a suit? He looks great in his jeans and I like him even better when he’s naked.”

  Vince shot Ally a challenging look. “You used to like me when I was naked, too.”

  “Yes, well, I used to like soaking up the sun and the occasional cigarette back then as well,” Ally said. “That doesn’t mean any of those
things were good for me.”

  “Oh, come on, Ally,” Vince prodded. “We were great together.”

  “And then you left and I realized that I just thought we were great together,” Ally said. “The reality was something much different. You didn’t care about me. You didn’t even really care about yourself. We never had long conversations where we bared our souls and admitted what frightened us … or what the future held.”

  “And your carny does that?”

  Ally ignored the “carny” remark. She knew Vince was only using it to get a rise out of her and she didn’t want to give him the satisfaction. “Jake is my soul mate.”

  Vince made an incredulous face. “Your soul mate? Do you really believe in that crap?”

  “The fact that you don’t just tells me how stupid I was to spend time with you,” Ally replied. “I do believe that there is one person out there for everyone. Jake is that person for me.”

  “And why do you think that?”

  “He listens to me when I’m upset. He enhances my dreams when I tell him about them. He’s always excited to see me. He comforts me when I’m afraid.”

  “So he’s like a dog? Is that what you’re saying?”

  Ally scowled. “Jake is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

  “And yet he hasn’t married you,” Vince said, returning to his old refrain. “Doesn’t that tell you something?”

  “Yes, that it’s not time yet,” Ally answered, not missing a beat. “He’ll propose when he’s ready.”

  “And what if he never does?”

  “He will.”

  “How can you have blind faith in him like that?” Vince asked, leaning over the back of the couch and making Ally’s skin crawl. “If he loved you he would’ve already proposed.”

  “You can’t mess with my head where Jake is concerned,” Ally said, relieved to find she actually meant it. “I know he loves me. I feel it in my heart. I don’t know why you’re here … I don’t know what you expect to accomplish … but you can’t make me doubt Jake, so stop trying.”

  “Well, I guess it was worth a shot.” Vince didn’t appear overly upset by Ally’s admonishment. “As for why I’m here, I think you’re going to be pleasantly surprised.”