Deadly Payback (Hardy Brothers Security Book 22) Read online

  James cocked his head to the side, the words making him uncomfortable. He had no idea what to do about Clint’s attitude, though. The man had a right to feel what he was feeling. He probably didn’t realize how coarse he sounded.

  “I’m sorry about Heidi,” James offered. “She was an amazing woman. What happened isn’t … fair or right.”

  “We’re all sorry,” Grady said. “She always made me laugh, too. What you said was beautiful. I’m sure she’s looking down and smiling because she touched so many people.”

  “You’re sure she’s looking down and smiling, huh?” Clint’s voice was cold. “That’s a nice thought, isn’t it? She’s up there holding our baby and smiling because she’s in Heaven and we’re all stuck down here … in Hell.”

  “I … didn’t mean to offend you,” Grady said, mystified. He understood that people lashed out in grief, but whatever Clint was trying to do was beyond that. “We cared about her, too.”

  “Yes, you cared about her,” Clint deadpanned. “You cared about my future wife and baby. Except … you really didn’t, did you?”

  “I … don’t know what to say.” Grady slid a helpless look in James’ direction.

  “We don’t pretend to know what you’re going through,” James offered, purposely keeping his tone even despite the fact that a small seed of doubt niggled the back of his brain. “We’re trying to offer our condolences. We’re truly sorry about what happened.”

  “You’re truly sorry?” Clint sputtered, disbelief washing over his face. “What are you sorry about?”

  “I … .”

  Clint barreled on, ignoring the change in James’ stance. “What are you sorry about, Mandy? Are you sorry, too?”

  “Don’t get in her face,” James warned, extending a hand. “Just … I know you’re mourning, but do not crowd her. She’s grieving, too.”

  “I’m sorry,” Mandy said, her voice tiny. “I know you loved Heidi. I didn’t know about the baby. She didn’t tell me.”

  “We were keeping it a secret until after the wedding,” Clint said. “She just found out. She was over the moon. Me? I was a little frightened. I thought we would have more time before adding a baby. I was excited, though. I kept dreaming about sons and daughters. I had no idea which one I wanted. I thought I would have plenty of time to figure that out.”

  “I … .” Mandy shook her head as her lower lip trembled. “I’m so sorry.”

  “You’re sorry?” Clint’s voice hopped an octave as a loud rumble of thunder shook the ground. “Are you sorry because you miss your friend, or is it something else?”

  “I don’t understand what you’re asking,” Mandy replied, her hand shaking as she pulled away from James’ grip. “I don’t know what you’re saying.”

  “Oh, you don’t know?” Clint arched an eyebrow. He was beyond combative. “Have you really not figured it out? Your husband has. That’s why he has his brothers surrounding you like human shields. That’s why he has armed thugs watching his vehicle.”

  “W-what?” Mandy’s blue eyes widened as she jerked her head in the direction of the Explorer. She recognized Sven and Rodrigo almost immediately. “James?”

  “Baby, we need to go home,” James gritted out, glaring at the overwrought security guard as he tried to push past him. “Clint is understandably upset, but he shouldn’t be doing this.”

  “Shouldn’t be doing what, James?” Clint challenged. “Oh, you don’t think I should tell her the truth. Well, I’m sorry, but I’m not in the mood to play your games. You see, I lost the woman I loved. I lost my baby. I don’t much care about your feelings.”

  “Clint, you’re going to regret this if you keep pushing,” Grady warned. “We understand that you’re grieving, but … .”

  “No one asked you,” Clint spat, his nostrils flaring. “I don’t care what any of you think. I care that my future wife – my Heidi – died because whoever was out there that day was clearly gunning for Mandy. Heidi never found trouble. Mandy always found it. What are the odds Heidi was the intended target? Not great, I think. Heidi was killed because she was friends with … her.”

  James’ heart sank as he briefly pressed his eyes shut. When he risked a glance in Mandy’s direction he found realization setting in. She took an inadvertent step away from him as she mulled over Clint’s words.

  “Is that true?” Mandy asked, her eyes wild. “Do you think I was the target?”

  “We don’t know, baby,” James replied, choosing his words carefully. “We can’t know until we look into this further. I … you can’t blame yourself.”

  “You did know,” Mandy whispered, her hand shaking as she pressed it to her mouth. “You at least suspected. I didn’t even notice Sven and Rodrigo. I didn’t realize what Grady and Jake were doing until … right now.”

  “Baby, now is not the time for this discussion,” James said. “I … .”

  He didn’t get a chance to finish because Mandy’s hand shot out and smacked him across the face. The blow was hard, and he wasn’t expecting it so it caught him completely off guard.

  The second the slap hit, Mandy regretted her actions. Her eyes filled with tears and she shook her head. “I … shouldn’t have done that.”

  “Don’t worry about it,” James said, rubbing his jaw.

  “I am worried,” Mandy shot back. “You lied to me. What I just did was terribly wrong, but … how could you hide that from me?”

  “I was trying to protect you.”

  “Well, good job,” Mandy said, tears sliding down her cheeks as the sky opened up. “I’m still alive. I’m well protected. Heidi is dead, though.”

  “And it’s all your fault,” Clint spat, clearly relishing his job as spoiler in the Hardy marriage as he puffed out his chest and stared down James. “I hope you’re happy.”

  “Yes, I’m thrilled,” James retorted, his dark eyes flashing. “I’ve never been happier.”

  “I guess that makes two of us.”

  6

  Six

  Mandy refused to sit in the front seat with James for the ride home, ceding her spot to Grady as she remained angry and silent for the duration of the trip. She hit the ground in the garage before James had a chance to turn off the ignition and bolted into the house.

  James was morose as he climbed out of the vehicle, resting his hands on the hood as he met his brother’s worried stare from across the way. “That did not go how I planned.”

  “I can see that,” Grady said, his expression rueful. “She was just caught off guard. Give her a chance to calm down and then I’m sure she’ll see reason.”

  James’ expression was dubious. “Really? Did you just meet my wife?”

  “James, she’s upset,” Grady said. “She lost one of her best friends. It didn’t occur to her that she might’ve been the target. Her brain was too muddled for that. She’ll … be okay.”

  “She’s not going to be okay, Grady,” James said, pushing himself away from the vehicle and pocketing his keys. “She might eventually get over it – even start smiling a bit – but she’s not going to be okay. If it turns out that someone was after her instead of Heidi … .”

  “We don’t know that’s the case.”

  “No, we don’t,” James agreed. “We need to find out, though. I’ve been so wrapped up with her I haven’t even bothered to see if you guys have sussed out anything. Have you?”

  “We’re trying to get information from the sheriff’s department, but they’re in turmoil over there since Morgan’s resignation and I can’t get anyone on the phone willing to help,” Grady replied. “I’ve decided to employ … um … alternative forms of persuasion.”

  “Do I even want to know what that means?”

  Grady shrugged. “I’m taking Sophie over there with me this afternoon,” he replied. “I’m hoping a representative from the press will prove I’m serious. She’s got a way of threatening people that I find both terrifying and sexy. I can’t explain it.”

  “You’re a weir
d man,” James muttered, pushing open the door that led from the garage to the house and meeting his mother’s worried look with a weary one of his own. “What now?”

  “We tried talking to Mandy when she came in, but she blew right past us and raced upstairs,” Rose answered. “She looked … terrible. Was the funeral that bad?”

  “The funeral was nice,” James said, yanking his suit coat off and loosening his tie as he moved to the middle of the kitchen. “There were a lot of people there. Someone sang a nice hymn. Clint made a beautiful speech.”

  “Then what’s wrong?” Louis asked, not bothering to mask his concern. “Why is she upset?”

  “Because after the funeral Clint approached us and made sure Mandy was aware that she could very well have been the target instead of Heidi,” Grady answered for his brother. “He kind of … lashed out. I can’t say I blame him, but the way he took after her was unpleasant.”

  “It was mean,” James corrected. “I understand he’s grieving, too, but she didn’t deserve that.”

  “Mandy realized James was hiding the fact that he’d already come to that conclusion himself,” Grady supplied. “She smacked him across the face and then instantly felt guilty. Right now I’m guessing she’s suffering from a bad case of guilt over Heidi’s death and hitting her beloved. She was mortified.”

  “Well, I don’t condone hitting another human being, but I can’t say I wouldn’t have done the same thing in her position,” Rose said. “James, you should’ve told her what was going on.”

  “And how was I supposed to do that, Mom?” James challenged. “She’s a mess. Her heart is broken. I do not want to push her to the point where she shuts down. She does that occasionally. It’s my least favorite thing about her.”

  “I thought your least favorite thing was that she occasionally suffered from bouts of insecurity?” Grady challenged.

  “Don’t push me,” James warned, extending a finger. “I love that woman beyond … anything. I know how her mind works, though. She’s going to dwell on this for I don’t know how long. Things just got worse, and I wasn’t even sure that was possible.”

  “Well, it’s possible,” Grady said, pointing out the back window as a fleeing Mandy scurried toward the guesthouse, her head bent low as she fought the heavy rain from the storm. She’d changed into flannel pants and a T-shirt, and she didn’t bother to glance over her shoulder as she made her escape. “She clearly wants some time alone.”

  James sighed when he realized Mandy had a blanket, stuffed shark, and what looked to be her Kindle clutched in her hand. That meant she was obviously settling down for the night – and she was settling without him. “She’s trying to kill me. I just know it.”

  “She’s trying to get her head on straight,” Louis corrected. “She feels bad because she lashed out and hit you. That’s exactly what Clint did to her. I would expect he feels just as guilty for attacking her.

  “When you’re upset and can’t control your emotions, it seems like it will make you feel better if you make someone else feel worse,” he continued. “That’s never the case.”

  “So, what do I do?” James asked. “We’ve never been in this position before. We’ve fought and stuff, but … this is different. She’s so lost. Even after she killed Lance Pritchard she didn’t fall this far into despair.”

  “You can’t push her, James,” Rose said, resting her hand on her son’s shoulder. “You need to give her a little space to work this out herself. When she’s ready, she’ll come to you.”

  “I’m not known for my patience.”

  Grady snorted. “Isn’t that the truth?”

  James glared at him. “I want to hold her and make things better. I can’t do that if she holes up in the guesthouse and pretends I’m not a part of her life.”

  “She’s not doing that,” Louis argued. “She needs time to think. I love you, son, but you’ve been hovering. You’ve been working overtime to pretend that’s not what you’re doing, but it’s exactly what you’re doing. You have got to give her some time to herself.”

  “But … she might not be safe,” James pointed out. “What if someone is after her? It could be an enemy of mine. Heck, she’s been knee-deep in so much crap it could be an enemy of hers, too. I know she’s upset, but I have to keep her safe.”

  “Then keep her safe without crowding her,” Louis said. “The last thing you need is her mind crumbling at a time like this. She seems safe in the guesthouse. I doubt she’s going to try and come out. Ask Peter if he’ll put men at the back of the property just to be on the safe side. Other than that … you cannot push her. I don’t think either of you can take the ramifications if you do.”

  James opened his mouth to argue and then snapped it shut. His father was right. No matter how much he wanted to smother Mandy with hugs and kisses, that wasn’t what she needed right now. “I’ll give her some time.”

  “Good.”

  “I have no idea how long I can hold out, though. I already miss her.”

  “You can only do what you can do,” Rose said. “Just … take a breath. We’re all here to help.”

  For that, James was truly thankful. It was the one thing he had to bolster him as his wife fell apart.

  “IT’S A beautiful night.”

  James glanced up from the pool lounger he was trying to get comfortable on shortly before dark and fixed Peter Marconi with a quizzical look. The rain abated an hour before and it took twenty minutes for James to dry off one of the chairs, but he finally got comfortable before he heard the new voice. James struggled to get up so he could shake the man’s hand, but Peter waved him off.

  “Stay there,” Peter instructed, settling on the lounger next to James and fixing his attention on the guesthouse across from the pool. “I hear tell Mandy has holed up inside and your way of fighting the fact that she won’t talk to you is to camp outside so you can watch her like a hawk.”

  “The people in this family have big mouths,” James groused, although he didn’t look particularly perturbed by Peter’s presence. “I made a promise to her – and to myself, for that matter – that I wouldn’t spend another night away from her. Now, I can’t force her to forgive me, but I can be as close as possible in case she needs me.”

  “So you’re going to get a sore back sleeping on a lounge chair?”

  “Yes.”

  “You’re a good husband,” Peter said, reclining on his chair. He looked out of place in his three-piece suit, but James had no inclination to press him on the issue. “Mandy is a good wife, too. She’s just … stuck.”

  “She’s more than stuck,” James argued. “She’s mired in guilt and blaming herself for Heidi’s death.”

  “And what is she blaming you for?”

  “Lying to her.”

  Peter pursed his lips as he focused on the setting sun. It was a beautiful Michigan evening, the warm sun kissing his skin as it made its inevitable descent over the horizon. The beauty was lost on the Hardy family right now, and he couldn’t blame them even as he racked his brain for the best way to help them.

  “Did you lie to her?” Peter asked finally.

  “Not overtly,” James replied. “I just didn’t tell her the truth.”

  “And why not?”

  James felt as if he was on a therapist’s couch and Peter was plumbing the depths of his psyche to get to the heart of matters. It was both cute and annoying at the same time. “I didn’t think she could take it. She was so … not present. I didn’t want to push her over the edge.”

  “You didn’t want to end up where you are now,” Peter clarified. “That’s truly the case, right?”

  James shrugged. “I didn’t want her to shut down.”

  “Which is exactly what she did,” Peter said. “James, I’m not going to pretend to tell you how to conduct your marriage. I’ve never been in this position. I can tell you that Mandy is going through something truly terrible.

  “You said it yourself. She was already struggling,” he contin
ued. “By keeping something from her, you added to her misery. Hindsight is something that only comes into focus when you’ve already blown the problem out of the water, but she would’ve survived the truth.”

  “It’s too late now,” James said, rubbing his chin. “She’s in there and she wants to be left alone. Ally tried barging her way in, but Mandy put the security chain on the door and closed all of the curtains. She wants to be by herself.”

  “And what are you doing?”

  “I’m just waiting for her to need me.”

  Peter smirked. He couldn’t help himself. “She needs you now, James,” he said. “She’s not ready to admit it. One thing I can say about every member of this family without equivocation is that you’re a stubborn lot. You have a tendency to dig your heels in. You’re no different than your wife.”

  “It’s killing me,” James admitted. “I want to hold her so bad I swear my hands are twitching. I’ve considered kicking that door in at least three different times.”

  “If you do that, you’ll force a huge fight and it will take longer to claw your way back to each other,” Peter admonished. “Mandy needs sleep. Heck, Mandy needs a drink or two. If she’s smart, she’s drowning her sorrows in a bottle of bourbon and passing out early.

  “Then, when she wakes up tomorrow with a terrible hangover and an entirely new set of regrets, she’ll really start thinking things over,” he continued. “It’s only then that she’ll make the right decision. You sleeping out here isn’t going to make things move faster.”

  “I won’t leave her,” James said. “She might have a nightmare. She might need me and I have to be close.”

  “I knew you would say that,” Peter said, flashing a kind smile. “I admire your dedication to your wife. Have I ever told you that?”

  “A time or two.”

  “Well, keep it up,” Peter said. “I have hope that Grady will have the same dedication for Sophie when they stop getting in their own way and decide to marry.”

  “It will happen soon,” James said. “Grady is ready. I’m pretty sure Sophie is ready, too. It won’t happen right away because we have so much else going on, but it’s going to happen. Prepare yourself.”