Deadly Illusions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 3) (3 page)

“Why are you up so early?”

James glanced back to his bed wistfully. Mandy was there, shrouded under a mountain of covers, but still naked from their night together. If there were any way around it, James would have stayed there with her for another hour – or all day, if he could have talked her into it.

Since Finn was returning to the boat show, James felt he should offer some moral support. And, the truth was, he wanted to meet Emma Pritchard for himself. “I’m going to the boat show.”

Mandy peeked out from under the covers, her blonde hair tousled in a hundred different directions. She was beautiful every time of day, but James loved her best in the mornings – when she was all soft and warm from sleep, her face bare of makeup, her mind sloppy with the previous night’s memories. “You’re going to the boat show? Are you going to buy a boat?”

“I’m going to offer Finn some moral support,” James said. “He’s going to be focused on Emma, which means someone else needs to be focused on the diamond.”

“And you’re that someone else?”

“I figured I would let Grady and Sophie have their Sunday,” James said. “She’s been working some late hours.”

Mandy smiled. “You’re a good brother.”

James dropped down on the edge of the bed, reaching under the covers so he could feel her bare skin. “I feel like being a bad brother right now. What does that tell you?”

“What time are you supposed to be there?”

“The doors open in about two hours,” James said. “I figured I would get the lay of the land. I need to get in the shower.”

“You want to get the lay of Emma,” Mandy countered. “You want to see why Finn is all aflutter.”

James grinned. “Am I that transparent?”

Mandy cocked an eyebrow. “Are you going to be checking out all of the other boat models?”

James smirked, feigning like he was really considering the question. “Well, they will be there – and in bikinis.”

Mandy smacked his hand away when she felt it groping her breast. “You’re cut off.”

James was still in his boxer shorts, the shower he’d been planning turning into a distant notion. He lifted up the covers, sucking in a breath when he saw her spread open in all of her glorious nudity. “I could probably spare a few extra minutes for my baby.”

Mandy shot him a dark look. “Minutes?”

“I’ll make them good minutes,” he promised, climbing back into bed with her and snuggling close. “I’ll make them the best minutes of your life.”

“I hope you realize that I’m only doing this to tire you out for the boat models,” Mandy said, dipping her hand inside James’ boxer shots. He groaned appreciatively when he felt the warmth wrap around him.

“Honey, you’re the only woman I care about,” he said. “I can promise you that. I can promise … oh, God, keep doing that.”

Mandy rolled closer to him, pressing her lips against his ear. “I better be the only woman you care about.” She squeezed him tighter.

James wrenched an eye open, shifting so he could climb on top of her. He met her gaze evenly. “I love you,” he whispered, lowering his mouth to hers.

He could be late. It would totally be worth it.

FINN
was surprised when he saw James strolling through the door of the boat show about fifteen minutes after it opened. It was a Sunday, and James and Mandy usually spent Sundays pawing each other in each room of the apartment – multiple times.

“What are you doing here?”

“Serving as backup,” James said, grabbing a chair and pulling it up beside Finn. “You don’t seem happy to see me.”

“It’s not that I’m unhappy to see you,” Finn countered. “It’s just that I thought you and Mandy would be playing Hump-or-Seek all day. Isn’t that your usual Sunday schedule?”

“We have brunch, too.”

Finn scowled. “So, why are you here?”

“I figured I could watch the diamond while you watched Emma,” James said.

“Isn’t Mandy upset about her day being ruined?”

“Who says her day is ruined?” James asked, winking.

“You two are so gross.”

“I promised I would be back to take her to dinner,” James said. “This thing closes down at six, so it shouldn’t be a problem. I left her with something to think about all day.”

“Seriously gross, bro.”

“She’s fine,” James said, his tone matter-of-fact. “She and Ally are going to go and get pedicures and some other girly crap. I can’t remember everything she said.”

“Well, I guess that’s good,” Finn replied, smiling when he thought about his baby sister. “I know Ally likes it when they get to do stuff. It’s like they’re kids again.”

James frowned. “You did that on purpose.”

“What?” Finn asked with faux innocence.

“You know I don’t like getting reminded that Mandy and Ally were kids together,” James said. “It makes me feel all dirty.”

“Weren’t you already dirty with her today?”

“Twice.” James looked smug.

“You seem to have gotten over the dirty feeling,” Finn said, rolling his eyes at his brother’s wide smile.

“I had a good morning,” James said. “It’s hard to feel guilty when I think about all of the … joy I showered her with. And, yes, there was some action in the shower.”

Finn groaned. “Why are you telling me this?”

“I’m trying to distract you.”

“From what?”

“Fixating on the model,” James said. “If you start obsessing about her, things are just going to get tougher.”

“I’m not obsessing.”

“Is that her?”

Finn’s head snapped in the direction James pointed. “No,” he said, shaking his head irritably. “You did that on purpose.”

“Payback is a bitch.”

Despite his brother’s jovial attitude, Finn was busily scanning the crowd. He wasn’t sure Emma would be back. If he was her, he would have dropped the second day of the boat show altogether. He wasn’t her, though.

He blew out a relieved sigh when he saw her walking in their direction, his body stiffening. James followed his gaze, whistling low in appreciation.

“Good grief, man. Is that her?”

Finn nodded mutely.

“She is really hot,” James said.

“You have a girlfriend,” Finn reminded him, never taking his eyes off of Emma. “One you love dearly.”

“I do,” James agreed. “That doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate how hot
that
woman is.”

“Are you trying to piss me off?”

“Is it working?”

“You have no idea,” Finn replied.

James was silent for a minute, watching Emma. Her eyes landed on Finn briefly, her expression unreadable. Then she’d moved to the back of the display so she could change her clothes. When she stepped back out, James felt like one of those cartoon characters with bulging eyes.

“Holy crap.”

“You have a girlfriend,” Finn repeated.

“Dude, I’m not moving in on your turf,” James said. “She’s just … incredible.”

“I’ve noticed,” Finn replied dryly. “If you don’t stop staring at her, I’m going to tell Mandy.”

“No you won’t,” James scoffed. “You know I would never cheat on Mandy, and you’re too good of a guy to hurt her like that.”

“Fine. Will you just stop staring at her?”

“I’m looking at the diamond.”

Finn shifted his eyes to his brother, noticing the smirk playing at the corner of his lips. “You weren’t even really looking at her, were you?”

“I looked at her,” James said. “She is very pretty.”

“You’re so far gone that you don’t even care about a model,” Finn said. “How does that happen?”

James shrugged. “I don’t want anyone else.”

“Ever?”

James stilled, his face conflicted.

“Hey, I didn’t mean to put you on the spot,” Finn said. “I’m not asking if you’re ready to propose anytime soon or anything.”

James remained silent.

Now it was Finn’s turn to smirk. “You’re thinking of proposing, aren’t you?”

“Not yet,” James said. “I think it’s still a little early. We’ve only been together about seven months.”

“You’ve considered the timing of it, though,” Finn said. “That’s … that’s huge. How do you feel about it? Are you freaked out?”

“No.”

“Really?”

“Really.”

Finn shook his head, glancing at Emma for a second. “How do you go from never wanting to settle down to not being freaked out by the idea of settling down?”

“I think you’re missing the point,” James said. “I’m already settled down. I go to bed every night with one woman. I wake up with that same woman every morning, and I’m perfectly content. Sometimes, when it happens, you just know.”

“And you know?”

James shrugged. “I’m getting there. I’m not quite ready yet. I don’t think she is either. I guess you could say I’m getting ready to be ready.”

“That’s great, man.”

James shifted next to him uncomfortably. “You can’t tell anyone, especially Ally. She won’t be able to keep her mouth shut.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” Finn promised. “When do you think you’ll be ready?”

“I don’t know,” James admitted. “I figure, just like everything else, I’ll know when I know.”

“And you know she’s the one?”

James shifted his brown eyes to his brother’s matching set. “I know she’s all I want in this world.”

Finn couldn’t keep the silly grin from his face. “I think that’s really great. She’s always been a part of our family. It’s nice to know, somewhere down the road, she’ll be a part of our family for real.”

“It is,” James agreed. He inclined his head toward Emma. “What about her? Can you see trying to make something with her?”

“I barely know her,” Finn said.

“You still feel … something.”

Finn sighed. “I feel confused.”

“Why?”

“I feel a
pull
toward her,” Finn said. “I can’t explain it.”

“I know that feeling.”

“She’s different,” Finn said. “Mandy was willing and open to the suggestion. Emma seems to really dislike me.”

“I think Emma has been through so much she doesn’t feel like she can trust anyone,” James said. “You have to decide if you want to try and chip away at that wall.”

Finn considered the statement. “Let’s say, just for the sake of saying, I do feel like chipping at the wall. How should I start?”

James rubbed his jaw thoughtfully. “I’m not sure. I don’t know her. You need to figure that out for yourself.”

“You’re not being much help.”

“In situations like this, you have to help yourself.”

Finn sighed, getting to his feet. “I really hate you when you get all … smart and stuff.”

“Mandy says the same thing,” James said, chuckling.

“Mandy is playing you,” Finn said, moving away. “She knows she’s smarter than you, and she just lets you think you’re even in her league.”

James shot his brother the finger, but the grin on his face was genuine. Finn turned his attention to Emma, slowing his approach as he regarded her. She had a soft smile on her face, but it was fake, forced even. Finn wasn’t sure how he knew that – but it was something he felt in his very core.

A hint of movement caught Finn’s attention out of the corner of his eye. A man was approaching Emma. Finn didn’t even think about his next move. If it was a mistake, he would pay for it later. His hands were out, grabbing the outstretched hand that was reaching for Emma, before Finn even had a chance to realize what he was doing.

Emma reared back when she saw that the man was almost upon her, her brown eyes expressing fear as they briefly met Finn’s. Finn hated that fear. He wanted to eradicate that fear. He clamped his hand around the man’s shoulder, using his leg to knock the man down with a swift kick to the back of the knee.

No one was touching that woman on his watch. No one.

Finn’s grip on Emma’s unknown assailant was so fierce the young model was worried he was going to snap the man’s neck in his anger. She reached out a shaky hand, wrapping it around Finn’s wrist. “What are you doing?”

Finn shifted his gaze from the man on the floor to Emma. “He was coming after you.”

Emma wasn’t sure Finn understood the absurdity of his words. She glanced at the man standing behind him, a man who shared Finn’s dark eyes and impressive stature, but who was looking at Finn with the same concern she was sure was mirrored in her own eyes. “I think he was just coming to look at a boat,” Emma said. “This is a boat show.”

The man who shared Finn’s eyes reached down, grabbing Finn’s elbow and tugging him back. “Let him up.”

“Let him up? He was going after her,” Finn argued.

“I’m not saying he wasn’t. Let’s just search him to be on the safe side.”

Finn blew out a sigh, but he did as instructed. Emma watched the other man – one of Finn’s brothers, she was sure of it – grab the suspect’s neck from behind and haul him to his feet. Finn searched the man, patting down his pockets, and finally pulling out a thick envelope – but no weapons.

Finn glanced at his brother, unsure. “I … I … .”

Emma fixed her eyes on the brother. “I’m Emma Pritchard,” she introduced herself. “You look too much like my psycho friend here not to be related to him. I’m guessing you’re one of his brothers.”

“I’m James,” he replied, gritting his teeth as the man struggled under his grip. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Emma forced a fake smile onto her face. “Yes, it’s certainly been the highlight of my day.”

James shoved his tongue in his cheek and smiled at his brother. “I can see why you like her. She makes a strong first impression.”

Emma glanced over at Finn, whose cheeks were turning red under her scrutiny. “Don’t you think you should let him go?” She gestured at the man James Hardy continued to hold in his steady grip. “I don’t think he was doing anything.”

“He was going right for you,” Finn argued, looking at his brother for help. “You saw him, right?”

James shrugged helplessly. “I was looking at you.”

“He was going after her,” Finn said, his tone obstinate. “Tell them you were going after her.”

The man, barely more than a teenager really, scowled at Finn. “You are psycho, dude. I’m so going to have your ass arrested.”

Finn shot him a scorching look. “Why were you going after Emma?”

“Who says I was going after Emma?”

“I saw you,” Finn pressed. “I know that you were going after her. I’m not an idiot.”

Emma didn’t think he was an idiot – but she was starting to wonder if he was unhinged. She smiled at the young man in a placating manner. “Did you want your photograph taken with me or something?”

Finn snorted. “Why would he want his photograph taken with you?”

“You’d be surprised,” Emma growled. “I take fifty photos a day. The good news is, I only end up seeing twenty-five of them show up on Facebook – where I find out I’m apparently dating these men. Of course, during the other twenty-five I have to pretend that wandering hands on my ass aren’t an issue.”

Finn frowned – but the smile on his brother’s face was bordering on legitimate amusement. James shook the man’s neck harshly as he focused on him. “Were you trying to get your photograph taken with the pretty girl?”

“What kind of loser posts pictures of a woman he doesn’t know on the Internet and claims her as a girlfriend?” Finn asked, although Emma thought he was mostly talking to himself.

“I don’t want my picture taken with that whore,” the man announced.

Finn narrowed his eyes, causing James to shake his head in warning. “Then why were you approaching her?”

“I wanted to give her that,” the man said, inclining his head toward the envelope still resting in Finn’s hand.

“What’s in it?” James asked suspiciously.

“It’s a letter,” the man replied. “I wanted her to have it.”

“Are you some kind of freaky stalker or something?” James pressed. “Because, if that’s the case, I’m going to let my brother take you outside and beat the crap out of you.”

“I’m not a stalker,” the man argued. “I wouldn’t touch that woman with a ten-foot pole – not after the way her father ruined my life.”

Emma sucked in a breath. Her father. It always came down to her father. She shouldn’t have been surprised. She’d thought about changing her name after her dad was incarcerated – but she’d been under the mistaken impression that people would eventually forget what he’d done.

She’d never been more wrong.

James and Finn exchanged unreadable glances. Emma had no idea what the looks meant – but she could read their body language. They felt bad for the guy and thought she deserved what he wanted to give her. She couldn’t argue the point.

She reached her hand out stiffly, motioning for Finn to hand her the letter. She accepted it wordlessly.

“You don’t have to take that,” James said. “You’re not your father.”

Emma ran her tongue over her teeth. “My father was a monster,” Emma replied. “He hurt a lot of people. If people want to blame me so they can feel better, that’s their right.”

“And what about your rights?” Finn asked.

Emma shook her head. “My rights aren’t important.” She glanced down at the man, who was still at James Hardy’s mercy. “I’m sorry for everything he did. I’ll read your letter this evening.” Emma kept her eyes averted from James and Finn. “I’m going to go and get a bottle of water. I would appreciate it if this little
incident
were over with when I get back.”

With those words, she gathered as much dignity as she could muster, and turned on her heel and stalked away.

FINN WAS
dumbfounded. “What just happened here?”

“You attacked a guy with a letter and she handled the situation a lot better than I would have if I was in her position,” James replied.

“That’s what I thought happened,” Finn said, rubbing the back of his neck thoughtfully. He had no idea how Emma had managed to take vitriol and respond with grace. She had, though, keeping her pride intact for the duration of the uncomfortable altercation.

James finally released their guest, fixing him with a hard stare when the man swiveled. His hands were balled into fists, and he was ready for a fight. Since James was six inches taller – and boasted about fifty more pounds of solid muscle – the man wisely opted against attacking the bigger man.

“What’s your name?” Finn asked.

“What business is it of yours?” The man challenged.

“If you tell us your name, we’ll probably let you go,” James said.

“You have no authority to stop me,” the man challenged. “I’m a United States citizen – and you guys are rent-a-cops or something.”

James quirked an eyebrow in his brother’s direction, causing Finn to sigh, but he reached into the man’s back pocket and hauled out his wallet anyway. The man squealed, clasping his hands over his rear and firing a hateful glare in Finn’s direction.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?”

Finn ignored the question, pulling the man’s driver’s license out of the wallet and studying it. “His name is Charles Evans. It says he’s a resident of Harper Woods.”

Charles reached over, snatching his license out of Finn’s hand and fixing him with a set of angry green eyes. “That’s private.”

“You’ll live.”

Charles tilted his head, shooting a look in James’ direction. “Can I go now? Or do you want to manhandle me some more?”

“You can go,” James said. “Just be aware, we’re going to be running a background check on you. If there’s something in your past I don’t like, I’ll be in touch.”

Charles furrowed his brow, raising the middle finger on his right hand in a single-digit salute as he trudged off. Once he was gone, James turned to his brother. “Well, that was … .”

“Stupid?” Finn supplied.

“After yesterday, I can understand why you overreacted,” James said. “It’s not a big deal. Most people didn’t even notice.”

Finn didn’t say the words, but James could practically read them in his mind: Emma had seen him overreact. Emma had seen everything.

“She seemed to handle it really well,” James said. “In fact, I was impressed with how well she handled it.”

“I’m guessing it happens all the time,” Finn said. “How else does someone get good at handling a situation like that?”

“I don’t know,” James said. “I don’t know what to tell you.”

Finn didn’t have any answers either.

WHEN
James arrived home a little after six, he found Mandy sitting at the dining room table staring at her laptop. She was dressed in comfy pajama pants and a tank top.

“I thought I was taking you out to dinner?” James said, dropping a kiss on the top of her head as he stripped off his shoes and coat. They obviously weren’t going anywhere.

“I ordered Chinese,” Mandy replied, never moving her eyes from the screen. “It should be here in about five minutes.”

“I thought you wanted an expensive dinner to make up for me ogling boat models all day,” James teased.

“I’m willing to settle for Chinese, the new episode of
The Walking Dead
, and a massage,” Mandy replied. “Not necessarily in that order.”

“I can live with that,” James said, sliding into one of the open chairs next to her. “What are you looking at? I haven’t seen you this focused since they put that real-life shark attack video up.”

“I ran the name you texted me,” Mandy said.

James leaned forward, his interested piqued. “Charles Evans?”

“Yeah. I’m glad you thought to get his street address,” she replied. “You have no idea how many Charles Evans live in Macomb County.”

“I didn’t think about that,” James said. “What did you find?”

“Well, I can’t double-check the files at work until tomorrow,” she said. “I did find that the Charles Evans who lives on Privet Street in Harper Woods also lived on the same street as the Pritchard family in Eastpointe about twelve years ago.”

“Which would seem to confirm his story,” James mused.

Mandy finally glanced in his direction. “Did you doubt his story?”

James shook his head. “No. I think Finn wanted to, though. It’s hard to be mad at a guy who was abused as a child.”

“You said he just wanted to give Emma a letter,” Mandy said. “Did you get to see the letter?”

“No. Emma took it and left. When she came back, the letter was gone.”

“Maybe she burned it.”

“She doesn’t seem like the type who would burn something like that,” James said. “She seems like the type who will go home, take the onus of the message to heart, and then spend the next week hating herself because of what her father did.”

Mandy’s eyes were soft as she reached over and squeezed his hand. “You feel bad for her.”

“I feel bad for them both,” James said.

Mandy turned back to the laptop. “You should also know that Charles Evans is losing his house,” Mandy said. “It’s in foreclosure.”

James pinched the bridge of his nose. “Did you have to tell me that?”

“It’s a mess all around,” Mandy said. “How is Finn?”

“How is Finn after he caused a scene and took down a sexual-abuse victim in front of everyone? He’s just peachy.”

“How did Emma react?” Mandy asked, ignoring the sarcasm.

“She was just really … stoic.”

“How did you react?”

James winked. “I was my usual cool and collected self.”

“Did you play dumb?”

“Woman, who are you calling dumb?”

Mandy wrinkled her nose, a gesture James often found endearing. Before he could think further on her cute, little face, there was a knock at the door. “Am I buying dinner?”

Mandy pointed to her purse, which was sitting on the counter in the kitchen. “You can get money out of there.”

James shook his head. “I think I’ll just pay for the food so you’ll owe me in bed tonight.”

Mandy rolled her eyes. When he returned a few minutes later, James dropped the box of food on the table incredulously. “How much food did you order?”

“I wanted choices,” Mandy said. “Plus, I figured we’d eat off the leftovers for a week. You know I only like to cook breakfast.”

James shrugged. That actually wasn’t a bad idea.

“What kind of payment are you expecting for this food?” Mandy asked, her eyes bright as she shut the laptop.

“Well, after you’re done stuffing your mouth out here, I figured I could stuff … huh, you know, that sounded better in my head,” James said.

“You’re not going to finish your dirty thought?”

“Nah. I think you know where I was going with it.”

“I do.” Mandy’s eyes filled with concern as she looked James up and down. It wasn’t like him to just let a dirty thought go. “What’s really bothering you?”