Deadly Addition (Hardy Brothers Security Book 9) (13 page)

“I don’t know,” Finn said, biting his lower lip as he regarded the two rings on the counter in front of him. “Which one do you think she’ll like better?”

Mandy cocked her head to the side, torn. “They’re both beautiful.”

“You’re supposed to be the one who knows what she’s doing.”

“They’re both great, Finn,” Mandy said. “They both have certain … strengths.”

The clerk behind the counter had been more than patient, but Finn could see boredom starting to wear on her. “I’m sorry,” he said. “I just want this to be right.”

“It’s fine,” she said. “An engagement ring is a big deal. Take your time.”

“Which one says ‘I love you’ more?” Finn asked, holding up the two rings so the clerk could get a better view.

“Honey, if a man gave me either of those rings I would be his sexual slave forever.”

Mandy snorted. Finn had spared no expense when it came to picking out a ring, and she admired his enthusiasm. He was so excited to get something tangible in his hand that Mandy was having a hard time reining him in.

“Okay,” Mandy said, exhaling heavily. “We’re down to an emerald cut and a princess cut.”

“What do you have?” Finn asked, clearly out of his depth.

“I have an emerald cut,” Mandy said.

“Why did you pick that?”

Mandy shrugged helplessly. “I saw it in a magazine when I was a teenager. It was just what I always wanted.”

Finn faltered. “You dreamed about your engagement ring for more than a decade?”

“That’s what girls do, Finn.”

Finn looked to the clerk for confirmation.

“It’s true,” she said.

“What if Emma has a dream ring?”

“We can’t ask her without tipping her off,” Mandy replied.

“But … .”

“Finn, I’m going to be honest, even though it’s probably not what you want to hear,” Mandy said. “I think … I think Emma’s childhood dreams probably didn’t include rings.”

Finn sobered. “You’re right.”

“Was she a circus kid?” The clerk was deadly serious.

“No,” Mandy said, shooting her a look. “Emma was worried about surviving. I don’t think the idea of happily ever after ever entered her mind.”

“So, what do I do?”

Mandy shrugged, conflicted. “What does your gut tell you?”

Finn furrowed his brow. “You said one of them was a princess cut?”

The clerk nodded.

“Which one is that?”

The clerk pushed the ring forward. “And this is platinum, right? Why do we want platinum instead of gold again?”

“Yellow gold is ugly,” Mandy said. “It’s a throwback, but it’s still … gross.”

“Emma will think that, too, right? That’s not just something you and Ally dreamed up?”

“Emma is a model, Finn,” Mandy said. “She knows what’s attractive.”

“Let’s go with the princess cut,” Finn said decisively.

“I think it’s a good choice,” Mandy said. “Can I ask why you picked that one?”

“Because Emma is my princess.”

Mandy smiled, love for her brother-in-law bubbling up. “You’re such a good guy.”

Finn scanned Mandy’s expressive face. “I love her.”

“I know.”

“I love you, too.”

Mandy impulsively hugged him. “I love you, Finn Hardy. You’re going to make the best husband.”

“Better than James?”

Mandy stilled. “You’re both good men. You’re also different men.”

“Meaning?”

“James is a hothead,” Mandy replied. “He flies off the handle, and he loves completely. You’re the patient one. You’re the thinker. You never fly off the handle – that whole cheating thing notwithstanding.

“You still love with your whole heart,” Mandy continued. “That’s a Hardy thing. You all bury yourselves in love. That’s why you’re special. You’re going to be the best husband Emma could ever dream of.”

Finn’s eyes clouded with tears. “I want her to be happy.”

“She will be,” Mandy said.

“You’re happy, right?”

“I never knew this much happiness existed before your brother, Finn,” Mandy said. “I had a happy childhood, and yet your brother gave me … everything. Emma never knew happiness, and you’ve give her more than she’s ever imagined.”

Finn nodded, lowering his gaze.

“You’re her Prince Charming,” Mandy said. “You picked the perfect ring, and you’re going to have the best life. Just believe in yourself. I believe in you. James believes in you. Emma is going to get the fairytale, and you’re giving her that.”

“Thank you.”

“You doubt yourself too much, Finn,” Mandy said, fighting to hold back tears. “That’s your weakness. You have more strength than Emma could ever need. Now you just need to give it to her.”

“You have strength, too,” Finn said. “A man could never want more from a sister-in-law.”

“Buy the ring,” Mandy said. “I’m going to start bawling if you don’t.”

“WHAT
do you think?” James asked.

“I think I’m glad you installed that detection software on your home computer,” Grady said.

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know,” Grady said. “I … this is bad.”

James shifted, fixing his attention on Jake. “Can you think of any other reason someone would try to access my home computer?”

“The easiest answer is usually the right one,” Jake replied.

“I know,” James said. “I just need you to tell me that I’m not jumping to the wrong conclusion.”

“We all know it’s her,” Jake said. “We suspected her from the beginning. There’s no other explanation.”

James sighed, running his hand through his hair. “Dammit!”

“She didn’t get anything,” Grady said. “The firewalls held.”

“That’s not the point,” James said.

“We all knew that Sheila was up to something,” Grady said. “This just proves it.”

“What does it prove?” James asked. “It just proves that she tried to get on my computer during the barbecue. She’s a liar. She could say she was trying to check the weather or something.”

“We don’t have to tell Emma anything yet,” Grady said.

“I hate this,” James admitted. “Emma is so … sweet. Whatever her mother is up to, it’s not good. Especially given what the background check has yielded.”

“We can’t say anything until we have facts,” Jake said. “That’s the last thing Emma needs.”

The three men stilled when the front door of the office opened. An excited Mandy and Finn entered moments later.

“Mission accomplished?” James asked.

Finn held up the jewelry bag as confirmation. “Now I just need to plan the perfect night.”

“The perfect night for what?” Grady asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” James shot back.

“I’m going to ask Emma to marry me,” Finn said. “What? Even if he did tell Sophie, she wouldn’t say anything. She wouldn’t want to ruin Emma’s big surprise.”

“Congratulations,” Grady said, beaming. “That’s great. Why are we keeping this a secret?”

“We’re not worried about Sophie,” James said.

Four sets of eyes shifted to Jake, who held up his hands in protest. “I won’t tell Ally.”

“You tell her everything,” Grady countered.

“I tell her everything she needs to know,” Jake corrected. “She doesn’t need to know this. And, yes, I know she won’t be able to keep this to herself. This won’t hurt her. She’s actually going to be really excited about it.”

“Are you sure you can lie to her?” James queried.

“It’s not a lie,” Jake said. “I’m just not volunteering information. She’s not going to ask me if Finn is going to propose to Emma.”

Finn didn’t look convinced.

“I would never ruin this for you,” Jake said. “I can keep this from Ally. It won’t be as hard as you guys seem to think. I’ll take as much joy from Ally’s reaction when she finds out as Emma will probably take.”

“He won’t tell,” Mandy confirmed. “It’s not in his nature.”

“What about you?” James pressed.

“I want Emma to get a great proposal,” Mandy said. “I don’t want to tell because it will ruin the best moment of her life.”

James smiled. “Was my proposal the best day of your life?”

“Until that moment? Yes.”

“What’s your best day now?” James was honestly curious.

Mandy tilted her head, considering. “The day you took me on the shark tour.”

Her answer surprised James. “Really? Why?”

“Because you gave me what I’d always wanted.”

“Sharks?”

“Love. You booked that tour because you knew I’d love it. You didn’t care about it. You got joy from watching me.”

James smirked. “I did,” he said. “You were so excited that day.”

“Ugh, do you want us to leave you two alone?” Grady asked.

James shook his head, regaining his composure. “We actually have something to share.”

“What?” Finn asked.

“Someone tried get on our private server at the home office on Sunday,” James said, keeping his voice purposely neutral.

“How do you know that?” Mandy asked.

“We set up traps,” James said. “Just in case. It was a security measure.”

“Well, that was smart,” Mandy said. “It’s obviously Sheila.”

“There are no other suspects,” James confirmed.

Finn balked. “But … shit.”

“We don’t know what she wanted,” James cautioned. “Maybe she was just trying to get on the Internet.”

“Mandy’s office would have been the more obvious choice for that,” Finn said. “There aren’t the same security measures on her home computer.”

“I know.”

Finn growled. “What could she possibly hope to gain from our computers?”

“It’s anyone’s guess,” Grady replied. “We knew she had an end game. We still don’t know what that is.”

“There’s more,” James said. “We got some additional information from the background check. It’s still running, but we got an interesting blip.”

“Just tell me,” Finn said. “I can’t form a plan until I know what’s going on.”

“It seems that Sheila Pritchard changed her name in Ohio,” James said. “She went back to her maiden name there. She kept the name Archibald in Florida and Texas. She changed her name again in Nevada.”

Finn was confused. “To what?”

“Davenport.”

“Why?”

“She got married,” James said. “Two and a half years ago, she secured a divorce from Lance Pritchard. One day after that divorce was finalized, she married Nathan Davenport.”

Finn stilled. “Why does that name sound familiar?”

“Because he’s up on charges in Nevada for racketeering,” James replied. “He’s the guy who is in the news because he’s a suspect in three different homicides.”

“He’s the guy who supposedly buried a bunch of bodies in the desert,” Finn said, realization dawning. “They couldn’t get him on murder, so they’re trying get him on money laundering and racketeering.”

“That would be him.”

“He’s a big-time player,” Finn said. “He has money. He has connections. Why would his wife come back to Michigan now?”

“That’s a very good question,” Jake said.

“That’s the question we need answered,” Grady said.

“That’s the answer to the riddle,” James said.

“Shit,” Finn grumbled. “I cannot propose to Emma with this hanging over our heads.”

“You can’t let whatever Sheila is up to affect your lives,” Mandy countered.

“Mandy, Sheila is up to no good,” Finn said. “Emma is going to be crushed. She wants her mother to be … a mother. This woman is a derelict. She’s going to break Emma’s heart. Again.”

“We can’t save her from everything,” Mandy said. “Emma is strong. I don’t think she’s as oblivious to her mother’s machinations as you guys think she is.”

“She wants to believe in her,” Finn said.

“That doesn’t mean she does,” Mandy said. “Give Emma some credit. She knows what betrayal is. She may want to believe in her mother, but that doesn’t mean she does.”

“For now, we’re keeping this quiet,” James said. “We can’t do anything until we know more. So, for now, we pretend that Sheila is a great person.”

“I don’t like her,” Mandy grumbled.

“None of us do, baby,” James said. “We need her to think we trust her. We can’t figure out what she’s really up to until she shows her hand. She’s a Vegas woman now. She’s bluffing. We just need to call her bluff.”

“No,” Finn said. “We need to up the ante.”

“It’s small.”

Finn pursed his lips as he regarded Sheila. Since Emma was so excited about the prospect of moving – and painting – Finn had agreed to bring both of them to the apartment to look around. Sheila was doing her best to rain on Emma’s parade, even though Emma seemed oblivious, and Finn was forcing himself to bite his tongue.

“We’re enlarging it,” James said, taking the onus of the conversation off Finn while he looked over blueprints with the head of Rossi Construction. “That’s why the construction guys are here.”

“How are you going to enlarge it?”

“There’s a storage room behind that wall,” James replied, pointing. We’re going to knock down the wall and turn it into a bedroom for the baby.”

“Well … that seems efficient.”

James and Finn exchanged a look.

“It will be great,” Emma said. She’d missed the look between brothers because she was too busy studying a paint wheel.

“Where did you get that?” James asked.

“Mandy gave it to me.”

James scowled. “She just had one of those hanging around?”

“What is it?” Finn asked curiously.

“It’s color samples for paint,” Emma said, beaming. “Look, every color you can imagine is here.”

Finn smiled. “Have you found something you like?”

“Don’t get involved with that thing,” James warned. “It’s a trap.”

“How can paint be a trap?” Emma scoffed, batting her brown eyes in James’ direction.

“Oh, you’re cute,” James said. “My wife is cute, too, and that didn’t work on me when she did it – and I had the promise of sex after that particular paint interrogation.”

“Interrogation?” Emma asked, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, and Mandy pulled out the big guns and use enhanced techniques,” James deadpanned, causing Emma to giggle

“I don’t understand what the problem is,” Finn said. “It’s just paint.”

“Oh, go ahead and tell yourself that now,” James said. “When Ally gets involved, and they start showing you the exact same shade of blue, both pretending it’s a different color, and then ask you to choose between them? Don’t come crying to me, because I warned you.”

“I think you’re overreacting,” Finn said.

“Just wait,” James said. “And remember, I told you so.”

Mandy chose that moment to join the party. “Oh, hey, I wondered where everyone went.”

“We’re getting an estimate for the contractor,” James said, leaning down so he could give her a kiss. “Where have you been?”

Mandy held up her hand. “Picking up some furniture catalogs.”

James groaned. “No more furniture. We don’t need any more furniture.”

“Not for us,” Mandy said, poking him in the ribs. “Emma and Finn are going to need a few things.”

“You just can’t help yourself, can you?”

“From what?”

“Shopping,” James said, kissing the tip of her nose.

Mandy rolled her eyes. “You’re such a killjoy.”

James patted her rear affectionately. “I’ll fill you with … joy … later,” he said. “Don’t get too comfortable. We’re all going out to dinner when we’re done here.”

Mandy looked surprised. “All?”

“All,” James confirmed. “Sheila has been dying for a good steak. We’re going to take her to the chophouse over on Groesbeck.”

Mandy wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want steak.”

“You don’t have to eat steak,” James replied. “They have chicken and pasta, too.”

“I love steak,” Sheila said.

Mandy ignored her. “How about a place with seafood?”

“I love steak,” Sheila repeated.

“They have crab legs on special tonight,” James said. “I already checked.”

Mandy perked up. “Good boy. I shall be willing to partake of your joy because of this knowledge.”

James smirked. “You were going to partake of my joy regardless. Now, be quiet and do something to entertain yourself while Finn and I deal with the contractor.”

“Ah, man work,” Mandy said, tapping her heels together and saluting. “I shall take to the couch to cluck with the other hens.”

James couldn’t resist the sass. He grabbed her by the front of her shirt and dragged her over to him. “If you keep that up, you’re not getting dinner at all.” He graced her with a smoldering kiss.

“If you two do it in front of me, I’m going to be scarred for life,” Finn warned.

“Then turn around,” James said, not moving his lips from Mandy’s mouth. He took the opportunity to pull her close enough to whisper in her ear. “If you keep Sheila away from us for twenty minutes, I promise to massage you for an hour.”

Mandy glanced over at Sheila dubiously. “I might need more return on my investment.”

James loved it when she negotiated. “I’ll do it in the hot tub, and you can put your iPad on a chair and put
Jaws
on.”

“I’m your woman,” Mandy said.

“Yes, you are,” James said, giving her one more kiss.

Mandy joined Emma on the couch. “Ooh, paint. What do you like?”

“I like this for the bedroom,” Emma said, pointing at a dark panel.

“I like that color, but I think it’s too dark for the bedroom,” Mandy said. “It’s too small for such a bold color.”

Finn moved closer to James. “Let’s finish with the blueprints. I think Sheila is going to gnaw Emma’s arm off if we don’t get her a steak.”

James held up a finger to still his brother.

“The room isn’t that small,” Emma protested.

“There’s only one window.”

“So?”

“You’ll think you’re in a cave,” Mandy said, peering closer at the paint wheel. “I think that one is better.”

“I don’t like that one,” Emma said.

“It’s just one shade off from the one you picked,” Mandy said. “It’s just lighter, and richer.”

“It is not,” Emma said. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“No, you don’t know what you’re talking about,” Mandy countered.

“Finn, which color is better?” Emma looked to Finn with expectant eyes.

“They both look fine to me,” Finn said. “They look the same.”

Emma rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me?”

Finn looked to James for help. “What do I do?”

“Take Emma’s side no matter what,” James whispered. “Oh, and I told you so.”

“OKAY,
I think that’s it,” James said, glancing down at the final sketch for the expansion to make sure he hadn’t missed anything. “Are you happy with it?”

Finn nodded. “The baby is going to have a nice space,” he said. “That’s all I care about. I’ll fax this over to Rossi tomorrow morning.”

“When are you going to find out what it is?” James asked. “The construction on the room is going to be done in about a month, but we need to know what color to paint it.”

Finn shrugged. “I’m not sure.”

“Well, we can just have it primed until we know,” James said. “If it comes down to it, we can paint the baby’s room ourselves. It won’t be that hard.”

“That sounds good,” Finn said. “Hopefully Emma will pick out the color for the baby’s room on her own.”

Both men turned in unison to focus on Emma and Mandy, who were still sitting on the couch arguing.

“It’s too dark,” Mandy said.

“Did I try to paint your house?”

“You sided with Ally on that whole olive-bathroom debacle,” Mandy pointed out.

“I just said it was a nice color.”

“It was a terrible color.”

“This is horrible,” Finn said. “They’re fighting.”

“They’re not fighting,” James said. “Paint just makes them all … territorial and weird.”

“Yes, apparently you think it makes us deaf, too,” Emma said, shooting Finn an irritated look.

Finn took an involuntary step back. “I think the hormones are swinging.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Emma said, her face crumbling.

“Yup, definitely swinging,” Finn groaned.

“Don’t say stuff like that to her,” Mandy said, rubbing Emma’s back. “It upsets her.”

“I thought you two were fighting?” Finn was incredulous.

“We weren’t fighting,” Mandy shot back. “We were discussing paint. Grow up.” Mandy got to her feet. “Make her feel better.”

“Why me?”

“Because you upset her,” Mandy said, moving to James. “Are you guys done being all manly?”

“We were just about to take our shirts off,” James replied. “We might need a few more minutes.”

“Well, if you’re going to do that, we’re going to need a few more hours – and opposite rooms,” Mandy said.

James couldn’t stop the smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. “I love you so much it hurts sometimes.”

Mandy’s previously teasing face softened. “Right back at you.”

“Come here and kiss me, wife.”

Mandy acquiesced. After a few moments, the couple separated. “Let’s get dinner,” Mandy said. “I’m starving, and I believe I have a special date in my future.”

“Where’s Sheila?” Finn asked.

James glanced around the apartment. “Yeah, where is Sheila?” He gave Mandy a pointed look.

Mandy furrowed her brow. “I … crap … I’ll find her. You still owe me.”

“You’re lucky I enjoy paying,” James said. “We’re going to lock this place up. If you don’t have Sheila in hand – and you’re not both waiting by the front door in exactly two minutes – you’re going to be massaging me in the hot tub tonight.”

Mandy’s mouth dropped open, but she scampered toward the stairs. “You can’t go back on a negotiation.”

“You didn’t hold up your end of the negotiation,” James called after her.

“What negotiation?” Emma asked.

James had lost track of Emma and Finn’s fight while playing with his wife. He was relieved to find them cuddling on the couch. “Nothing,” James said. “It’s just for a game we’re playing later.”

Emma looked intrigued. “What game?”

“Shark.”

“How do you play that?”

James pursed his lips. “Well … .”

“Think about it, sweetheart,” Finn said, stifling a laugh.

“Is it like Hungry Hippos?” Emma wasn’t catching on.

“It’s exactly like Hungry Hippos,” James said, striding toward the door. “Let’s get out of here.  I need to feed my hippo – so I can feed my hippo again later.”

Finn and Emma followed James to the door, pausing when he stilled in the archway.

“Don’t ever tell her I called her a hippo,” he said.

“Your secret is safe with us,” Finn replied, grinning.

Once they got downstairs, James found Mandy and Sheila standing by the front door as instructed. Sheila was busy yammering on about something – and Mandy was making an effort to look interested – but there was an odd look on his wife’s beautiful face.

“We’ll meet you there,” James said, holding the door open so Finn, Emma and Sheila could file out ahead of them. “I just want to make sure I didn’t forget anything in the office.”

Finn sent him a look. “We can wait.”

“We won’t be long,” James said. “We’ll be two minutes behind you. Go ahead and order appetizers.”

“We’re still getting steak, right?” Sheila pressed.

“Yes,” James said, his voice tight. “You’re getting steak, Sheila. You can have two of them if you want.”

“And you’re paying, right?”

“Yes.”

James watched them leave, finally focusing on Mandy once they were safely in Finn’s vehicle. “What happened?”

Mandy raised an eyebrow. “How do you know something happened?”

“Because I know every expression your face makes,” James said. “I prefer the dirty ones, but I know the worried ones, too. Spill.”

“She was in your office,” Mandy said, moving to the room in question. “She was on your computer.”

James stepped behind his desk and focused on his laptop. “Did you see what she was trying to do?”

“I surprised her,” Mandy replied. “She jumped. She closed out of whatever she was looking at. I’m sure of that.”

“What did she say she was doing?”

“Looking for a menu for the restaurant online,” Mandy said.

“She does love her steak,” James mused.

“Can she get into any of your private stuff on that?”

James shook his head. “It’s all password protected,” he said. “I’m still curious what she was looking for.”

“Is there any way to find out?”

“I’ll call Maverick and have him come down here tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry,” Mandy said, her eyes wide. “This is all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault,” James said. “We know she’s up to something. I should have been more careful.”

“You told me to watch her,” Mandy said. “I couldn’t even do that right. I would make a terrible spy.”