Deadly Conflicts (Hardy Brothers Security Book 21) Read online

  James had the grace to look abashed, but only marginally. “I’m sorry about your mother. I never met her, but that’s always difficult.”

  “Thank you,” Vince said. “How are things with the security business? It was just taking off when I left town.”

  “They’re good,” James replied. “How are things in the … whatever it is you do?”

  “I own about twenty car dealerships all across the country now,” Vince answered. “It’s going well. In fact, I’m the one raffling off a new car here. It’s part of a publicity push for my grand opening.”

  “Awesome,” James intoned, utilizing his easygoing voice even though he was feeling anything but friendly. “That sounds neat.”

  Mandy pressed her lips together to keep from laughing at her husband’s fake act as Vince shifted his eyes to her.

  “And how are you?” Vince asked.

  “Oh, I apologize,” James offered. “This is Mandy Avery-Hardy. She’s my wife.”

  “We’ve actually met,” Mandy said, extending her hand to shake Vince’s even as James scowled.

  “You’ve met? When?” James didn’t appear happy with the development.

  “Ally and I ran into him at the mall yesterday,” Mandy explained.

  “You didn’t tell me that,” James said.

  “That’s because you were too busy carrying her craft treasures,” Vince said, chuckling lightly as James scorched him with a murderous look. “I saw you yesterday, even if you didn’t see me. I was talking to your sister at the time. She is so … great.”

  “And taken,” Mandy said, the words out of her mouth before she had a chance to realize how the simple statement might sound to Vince.

  “And taken,” James agreed, not for the first time silently thanking his lucky stars he found the perfect woman. She was playful and delightful one moment and loyal and fierce the next. He could never find a better match. “She’s moved up in the world from when you knew her.”

  “Oh, I don’t know,” Vince said. “She seems like the same old Ally to me.”

  “Well, she’s not.”

  “I think she might be.”

  “I think you’re a douche.” This time James was the one not mincing words and Mandy couldn’t stop her mouth from dropping open at his brazen attitude.

  “I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to talk to me that way,” Vince said. “I am one of the VIPs of the festival, after all.”

  “I don’t care if you’re the dark lord of the Sith,” James shot back. “I don’t respect you and I’m not going to pretend otherwise.”

  “That was a really cool reference,” Mandy said. “I’m hot for you again.”

  James didn’t want to smile, but he couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from quirking up. “I’ll get right on that, baby.”

  Vince looked James up and down, sizing him up. His disdain for the eldest Hardy brother was obvious. The feeling was clearly mutual. “I don’t want to get into a pissing contest with you,” he said. “I don’t see the need.”

  “That’s good,” James said, his voice breezy even as his eyes sharpened. “Keep away from my sister and we’ll be fine.”

  “Last time I checked your sister was an adult,” Vince pointed out. “She can make choices on her own. She doesn’t need you to do it for her.”

  “She can make choices on her own,” James agreed. “She won’t fall for your act twice, though. Don’t bother trying to snow her.”

  “She’s also taken,” Mandy said. “I … is something going on that I’m missing?”

  James finally tore his gaze away from Vince and focused on his blonde. “It’s nothing, baby. How about I take you over to the Coney Island for breakfast before this place opens up? It might be our only chance for some alone time until tonight.”

  Mandy was confused, but she didn’t hesitate to agree to his offer. “Sure. A farmer’s omelet sounds good.”

  “Great.” James linked his fingers with Mandy’s and shot Vince a challenging look before departing. “I meant what I said. Don’t think you’re coming back into Ally’s life and messing things up. She’s happy. If you ruin that I’ll … .”

  “I have no intention of ruining that,” Vince said, unruffled. “I want Ally to be happy, too.”

  “Well, the best way for that to happen is for you to disappear,” James said. “We’ll raffle your car off and you can slink back to whatever hole it is you crawled out of. How does that sound?”

  “Like you’re betting on the wrong horse,” Vince replied. “It wouldn’t be the first time you underestimated me, though, would it?”

  James pursed his lips, tamping down his irritation as he fought to remain calm for Mandy’s benefit. He didn’t want to frighten her and explode all over Vince when it would draw unnecessary attention to the trio. “Have a nice day.”

  Vince remained rooted to his spot. “You, too.”

  Mandy waited until they were across the street and halfway to the restaurant before speaking. “Wow. Do you want to tell me what that was about?”

  James pulled up short as he regarded her, unsure how to answer. “It’s nothing to worry yourself about, baby. I promise. He’s not dangerous.”

  “I know that,” Mandy said. “What’s the deal with you and him, though? I thought you were going to rip your shirt off and wrestle him right here. That would’ve been totally hot, by the way.”

  James made a face that would’ve been comical under different circumstances. “You are a laugh a minute, wife.”

  “Tell me,” Mandy prodded, refusing to let him derail the conversation. “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t like him,” James replied. “What did Ally tell you about him?”

  “Just that they dated for about two months and he took off for what was supposed to be a business meeting and never came back,” Mandy replied, not missing a beat. “Ally said she was confused at first … and then a little crushed … but she got over it.”

  “She didn’t just get over it,” James clarified. “She was upset and full of self-doubt because he didn’t bother calling. She was massively upset and thought she did something to warrant that treatment. It pissed me off.”

  “I get being upset about that,” Mandy said. “I just … that was a whole lot of hate going on there.”

  James blew out a sigh. Mandy was intuitive. He knew that. Trying to hide anything from her was a fruitless endeavor. “I knew he wasn’t good for Ally from the moment I met him,” he explained. “She was so excited when she showed up with him. This is when Grady and Finn were still finishing up their tours, so it was just Ally and me down here.

  “We didn’t have the tightest of relationships back then,” he continued. “We fought a lot. I warned her about Vince and she didn’t take it well. There was a fight and … she chose him over me.”

  Mandy’s heart rolled at the forlorn expression on her husband’s face. “And that crushed you.”

  “It didn’t crush me,” James argued. “It just … I was worried about her.”

  “I think you were worried about her,” Mandy agreed. “I also think it crushed you a little bit. It’s okay. I’m sure in hindsight Ally knows it was the wrong decision. You can’t help what your heart wants sometimes.”

  “Oh, yeah?” James ran his hand down the back of Mandy’s head. “Did you ever think I was the wrong choice for you? Did your head and heart ever argue?”

  Mandy’s head bob was enough to cause James’ stomach to flip. “My head told me that you could never love me like I loved you because I wasn’t … I don’t know … exotic enough,” she admitted. “My heart told me it didn’t matter because I had to try.”

  “Exotic?” James was annoyed. He hated it when she put herself down. “How can you think you’re not exotic? You get turned on by sharks and dressed up like a filthy librarian last night. That’s exotic, baby.”

  Mandy grinned. “I know you love me now and my head and heart agree,” she said. “Ally’s head and heart probably didn’t ag
ree back then, but she didn’t know how to read the signs. She said she was young and confused. I hope you don’t take it to heart that she chose Vince over you. She loves you.”

  “Ally and I have survived our fair share of growing pains,” James said. “I don’t hold anything against her. I’m just glad she has Jake around, because he won’t put up with that douche for five seconds.”

  “I think you’re just happy because you know you’ll have an ally should things get ugly between you and Vince,” Mandy said. “Either way, though, I’m on your side.”

  “Oh, wife, you’re always on my side,” James said, smacking a loud kiss against her lips. “Now, come on. I’ll stuff your face with food before I set you loose on the craft show. You know I can’t spend the day carrying items around for you, right?”

  “Oh, I know,” Mandy replied, nodding her head. “I figure I’ll just let them stack up in one place and when you get a chance you can come over and collect them for me. You don’t have to follow me around today. You can just make the occasional trip to check on me.”

  James sighed. “Love is a funny thing, baby,” he said. “A little over two years ago that sentence would’ve caused me to run in the opposite direction. Now it doesn’t even make me blink.”

  “Love is a funny thing,” Mandy agreed. “It’s also a dirty thing. Did I tell you about the funky wetsuit I found yesterday? Did you know they make a naughty aquatic animal trainer outfit?”

  James barked out a delighted laugh. “And that right there is why I will always love you more than anything.”

  “Right back at you.”

  6

  Six

  “So … James almost punched your ex-boyfriend and I’m dying to hear the real back story on it.”

  Ally glanced up from her green tea, the afternoon sun high in the sky as Mandy and Ally took refuge under an umbrella, and widened her eyes. “What?”

  The women sat close to one of the drink kiosks, nursing green tea as the men worked about fifty feet away. Since the job came out of nowhere – and they had nothing better to do – Mandy and Ally opted to hang out at the festival all day. It was a mixed bag. They could spend a stolen few minutes with James and Jake when the opportunity arose, but they also had to watch women fawn over and throw themselves at the men on more than one occasion as well.

  “James saw Vince?” Ally didn’t appear thrilled with the revelation. “How did that go?”

  “Well, James kept his hands to himself – but just barely,” Mandy replied. “There was something extremely unpleasant about the interaction.”

  “I don’t doubt that,” Ally said, playing with the ring of condensation her cup left on the tabletop. “Did you ask James about it?”

  Mandy nodded. “He said that you chose Vince over him and he always knew that Vince was a loser. He didn’t really want to talk about it, though.”

  “I did choose Vince over him,” Ally admitted, rolling her neck until it cracked and staring up at the umbrella canopy. “I thought I really cared about Vince, but it was one of those relationships that didn’t last very long. It burned bright but fast.”

  “I worried that would happen with your brother,” Mandy said. “I thought he would walk away within a few weeks. Then it stretched out to a few months and I was convinced he would take off. I don’t know when I realized it was forever but … somehow the pain in my chest lessened over time. I stopped worrying he would leave and embraced the fact that he would stay.”

  “I think you worried James would leave because you loved him,” Ally said. “I never worried Vince would leave because I was young and delusional. There’s a difference.”

  “Did you love him?”

  Ally was surprised by the question but immediately started shaking her head. “No. I thought I could’ve loved him at one point, but … no. I didn’t know what real love was until I met Jake. What I felt for Vince was … like puppy love more than anything else. It wasn’t real. It was a façade.”

  “It was real to James,” Mandy said. “He won’t admit it, but you choosing Vince still irritates him.”

  Ally wrinkled her nose. “What did he say? We’ve never really talked about what happened.”

  “What did happen?”

  “We got into a huge fight and I told him I never wanted to see him again,” Ally answered honestly. “Then Vince and I had two more weeks together before he split. I ran crying to James five minutes after I realized what happened.”

  Mandy smirked at the admission. “Did he make you beg for forgiveness?”

  “No. He just hugged me and bought me Olive Garden.”

  The response made Mandy smile even broader. “He’s a good man,” she said. “I can’t believe I ever thought he would leave me.”

  “He did leave you,” Ally pointed out, referring to the night James and Mandy got together for the first time – and he proceeded to sneak out in the middle of the night rather than face her the next morning. “He thought he was that guy and then it turned out he was a different guy. That’s okay. He realized his mistake and came back.”

  “How do you think your life would’ve been different if Vince realized his mistake and came back?” Mandy asked, genuinely curious.

  Ally shrugged. “I don’t know,” she said finally, tilting her head to the side. “I wouldn’t want it to be different from what it is now but … I just don’t know.”

  “Well, it doesn’t matter,” Mandy said. “We have the lives we want. That’s the most important thing.”

  “It is the most important thing,” Ally agreed. “Let’s finish our tea and shop. Then we can surprise the guys with lunch later. I think everyone is coming down for the fireworks tonight.”

  “That sounds like a plan.”

  WHEN SOMEONE came up behind James and hugged him from behind, he was surprised. He hurriedly took a step forward because he would recognize Mandy’s hands – her very embrace – anywhere. The woman hugging him was clearly not his wife. It took him a moment to realize it was his sister.

  “What in the hell are you doing?”

  Ally knit her eyebrows together, annoyed. “And a happy Saturday to you, too.”

  James scowled. “I’m sorry,” he said. “You took me by surprise. I know how Mandy’s body feels against mine and I thought … .”

  Ally waved off his apology. “I get it,” she said. “I would hope Jake would do the same thing.”

  “Okay.” James studied her for a moment. All of the Hardy siblings boasted the same high cheekbones, brown hair, and chocolate eyes. Even Ally, who had delicate features and most closely resembled Grady, couldn’t be mistaken for anyone other than James Hardy’s sister when they were standing together, though. “Why did you hug me?”

  “Because I love you, although I often forget why,” Ally replied, irked. “Can’t a sister just hug her brother?”

  James shrugged. “I guess.”

  “You guess?”

  “I don’t know, Ally,” James replied. “This conversation is making me really uncomfortable. What’s going on?”

  “Nothing is going on,” Ally spat, her notorious temper coming out to play. “I just thought you might want a hug and to hear that … um … I love you.”

  James furrowed his brow. “Have you been talking to Mandy?”

  “I have and you’re lucky to have her,” Ally said, not missing a beat. “She’s one in a million.”

  “She is one in a million,” James agreed. “You’re also one in a million … although not in the same way for me because that would be gross.”

  Ally giggled, her eyes somber. “I wanted to apologize.”

  “Oh, geez.” James pinched the bridge of his nose. “I love my wife, but she is such a busybody.”

  “She is, but she’s also a good friend,” Ally said. “She pointed out that I might’ve treated you poorly when that whole Vince thing went down.”

  “Ally, that was years ago,” James said. “We don’t need to rehash it.”

  “I just want you
to know that I appreciate what you tried to do for me back then,” Ally said. “I know you were trying to protect me and I was too young and stupid to see it. You’re a good brother … and I love you.”

  James pursed his lips as he regarded his sister. He wasn’t one for mushy pronouncements and exchanges, but he couldn’t ignore the earnest expression on her face. “I love you, too. What happened back then was just … our family finding its footing. We’re okay. We’ve moved on and you’ve picked a much better guy this go around.”

  “I have.” Ally bobbed her head up and down. “Still, I never apologized for yelling at you. I waited until Vince ran out on me and then raced to your doorstep so you could slap my life back together. It was … wrong.”

  “It wasn’t wrong,” James argued. “You’re my sister and that’s my job.”

  “Well, I still think I owe you an apology,” Ally said. “So … I’m sorry.”

  James didn’t want to laugh because it was a serious moment, but he couldn’t help himself. “Should we hug?”

  Ally nodded as she stepped into his embrace, taking a moment to bask in his warmth before retreating. When the siblings separated, things were a bit awkward.

  “So, um, where is my wife?” James asked finally. “She created all of this trouble so I figure she has to be watching from afar.”

  “She’s picking out a bracelet for you from one of the kiosks over on crafts row,” Ally replied. “It has a shark charm and is woven and you need to pretend to like it no matter what.”

  “I don’t have to pretend,” James said. “I’ll wear whatever she gives me.”

  “I know you will.” Ally’s smile was so soft and pretty it almost hurt James to look at her. “You turned out to be the best husband in the world. You know that, right?”

  “That’s because I have a wonderful wife,” James said. “You know … .” He broke off, unsure how to proceed. He would never ruin Jake’s surprise, but he had no doubt that Ally would make just as wonderful of a mate for Jake as Mandy did for him. “You’re going to make a wonderful wife and mother, too. I hope you know that.”

  “I know that,” Ally said. “I just wish Jake would get off his butt and propose. I’m ready for a baby. Every time I see Avery my ovaries hurt.”