Deadly Adventure (Hardy Brothers Security Book 19) (16 page)

“You can’t mean that,” Jesse protested. “We’re friends.”

“You’re nothing to me,” James said. “You’re less than nothing. Only a disgusting piece of filth would go after a woman like you just did. Don’t even think about looking at her again, by the way, because I’ll kill you if you do.”

“So, that’s it?” Jesse was flustered. “You’re choosing her over me?”

“There is no choice,” James replied. “She’s my heart and you’re a guy I don’t even recognize. Now, get out of here. I don’t ever want to see you again.”

M
andy and James
woke the next morning tangled in each other’s arms, Mandy’s face pressed securely to James’ chest as he clung to her. They slept hard. After a day of nonstop playing – and then cutting loose an old friend – they were both exhausted.

“Ugh. I don’t want to go to work,” Mandy complained, sighing as James petted the back of her head. “I wish we could stay here forever.”

“Don’t go to work.”

“James, I can barely walk now,” Mandy countered. “Everyone is going to know what we were doing. You’re a sexual god. Everyone knows it.”

“I don’t care about that,” James said, his lips brushing Mandy’s forehead as he talked. “I just want another day with you. Don’t go to work.”

“I have to go to work,” Mandy argued. “I just got back from vacation. I can’t do that to the judge. It’s only a few more months and then I’ll be out of there.”

“Come on, baby,” James prodded. “Call in sick.”

“I can’t. It’s not fair to everyone else.”

“You’re such a goody-goody sometimes,” James groused. “You were in a car accident Friday. You have a perfectly reasonable excuse not to go to work. Besides that, you don’t have a car yet. You jumped me in the parking lot yesterday and we told the sales guy we would be back to finish the deal later in the week.”

“I didn’t jump you.”

“You put your hand in my shorts pocket,” James said. “That’s pretty much mounting me in public as far as you’re concerned.”

“I think you’re insinuating I’m a prude,” Mandy sniffed.

“You’re not a prude, baby,” James said. “You’re just … pragmatic.”

“Is that code for boring?”

“Oh, you’re never boring,” James said. “You excite me every moment of our lives. That’s why I don’t want you going to work. I want another day with you. I … need it.”

Mandy’s heart rolled. “What about you? You fired Jesse. You can’t dump all of that work on Grady.”

“I’m the boss, wife,” James said. “I delegate, not dump.”

“I would really love to spend the day with you,” Mandy said. “It’s not fair, though.”

“I wasn’t fair to you last week and I really need to spend the day with you,” James said, appropriating a needy and pathetic tone Mandy knew was for show but couldn’t ignore all the same. “I love you and want to spend one more day with you. Please.”

“James … .”

“Please.”

Mandy blew out a frustrated sigh, resigned. “Fine. You have to call the judge, though. He knows when I’m lying. You’d better be really convincing, too. If he knows what we’re really going to be doing I will be forever mortified.”

“Oh, baby, he already knows,” James said, chuckling as he relished his win and snuggled her closer. “I don’t even care about that today. I just want to hold you.”

“Make the call,” Mandy said, grazing her teeth over his neck and causing a shiver to run through his body as she slipped her hand beneath the covers and cupped him. “I want to hold you, too.”

“Oh, wife. You never cease to excite me. Where is your phone?”

“
J
AMES
isn’t coming in
,” Grady announced to Jake and Finn as he walked into his brother’s office shortly before nine. “He claims he’s sick.”

Jake smirked. “Yes. He has a fever for love.”

“Pretty much,” Grady said. “I would generally say something about him shirking his duties, but I have a feeling he thinks it’s important to spend time with Mandy so I’m going to let it go.”

“She was definitely upset the other night,” Finn said. “I don’t understand how James let things get so far out of control so fast.”

“I don’t want to take his side on this, but I don’t think he realized what he was doing,” Grady explained. “Jesse has been pestering him … and calling him whipped … and generally making a mockery of his life with Mandy. I think James thought he was joking when he was serious.”

“James is going to have to talk to Jesse,” Jake said. “He can’t let his relationship with Mandy slide because Jesse doesn’t understand it.”

“I don’t think that will be an issue,” Grady said. “In addition to telling me he was sick – he faked a cough and everything, although I could hear Mandy giggling in the background – he also told me Jesse has been fired.”

Jake’s eyebrows flew up his forehead. “What? He can’t fire him because he got in a fight with Mandy. Jesse could sue.”

“James didn’t have a lot of time to explain, mostly because he was moaning and pretending it had nothing to do with Mandy and everything to do with his illness, but Jesse showed up at the house Saturday and James found out something that upset him a great deal,” Grady said. “Apparently that night we left him at the bar Mandy called for James and Jesse told her he was hitting on a woman and then never told James she called.”

Finn let out a low whistle. “Seriously? Why didn’t Mandy say something?”

“Mandy didn’t want to be seen as the nagging wife,” Grady replied. “She told me that herself. Apparently it came out Saturday and James had a meltdown and threw Jesse out of the house. He told him he could keep his job but the friendship was over.”

“Good for him,” Jake said. “How did Jesse end up fired if that’s the case?”

“Jesse approached Mandy when she was taking out the garbage yesterday and physically put his hands on her when she refused to listen to his excuses,” Grady answered. “James caught him doing it and threw him across the driveway.

“Jesse had some choice things to say about James’ relationship with Mandy and that’s how he got fired,” he continued. “James messaged me to send him two weeks severance at the hotel and he’s not allowed in this building.”

“That means we have to change the codes,” Jake said, tapping on the laptop keyboard. “I’ll do it right now and then have Maverick do an entire system check.”

“That’s a good idea,” Grady said. “I normally wouldn’t suspect Jesse of something terrible, but I wouldn’t have guessed he’d put his hands on Mandy either.”

“He’s lucky he’s still alive,” Jake said.

“I think the only reason he is alive is because Mandy begged James not to ruin their day,” Grady said. “He gave in because he’s upset about hurting her and didn’t want to do it again.”

“I don’t understand why Jesse would do this,” Finn said. “He’s never been one for relationships, but to go after Mandy like that … .”

“James feels guilty for bringing Jesse into their lives,” Grady supplied. “I’m not a psychologist, but I think Jesse saw James and Mandy together and realized James had moved on while he was stuck in the past. I think he was jealous.”

“Because he wanted Mandy?”

“I think that’s too simple of an answer,” Grady replied. “He saw James happy in a life they both swore they didn’t want. We’ve all seen Mandy and James together. They’re sick and gross. Magnify that by adding a vacation.”

Jake snickered. “I’m sure they were hot to trot.”

“I’m sure they were, too,” Grady said. “Jesse followed James back here for a job. He wanted James to embrace the old life, though, so it wouldn’t be as if he was left behind. What he didn’t realize was that James would die for Mandy – and kill for her, too. Jesse doesn’t understand about true love, so he had no way of anticipating James’ reaction.”

“At least Mandy and James are back on track,” Jake said. “Ally was going to kill him. She was making up elaborate plans to sneak into the house and torture him. Instead she cooked their anniversary dinner and made up with James. It was kind of sweet when she came home and told me what happened.”

“Ally has a heart of gold,” Finn said. “She didn’t cook that dinner for James, though. She cooked it for Mandy.”

“Mandy and James have clearly made up,” Grady said. “We need to handle Jesse’s payment and change all the security stuff here. I’m willing to give James today to frolic with his wife. I’ll kick his ass tomorrow if he tries it again, though.”

“You will not,” Jake countered, smirking. “I saw you with Mandy the other night. You were worried.”

“I love Mandy and she was really upset,” Grady clarified. “After that lunch with her … I realized just how hurt she was. She deserves another day with James.”

“You’re such a softie,” Finn cooed, grinning.

“I am not a softie,” Grady shot back. “I’m … crap. Mandy picked out a car and I need to finish buying it, too. They filled out most of the paperwork and then got distracted by each other so I need to handle that before I forget.”

Finn and Grady locked eyes as the youngest Hardy brother worked overtime to swallow his gales of laughter.

“Fine,” Grady snapped. “I’m a softie. I like both of them better when they’re happy. Sue me.”

“
W
HAT
did the judge say
?” Mandy asked, shifting her legs over James’ lap on the couch and letting him slide a blanket over both of them. “Did he know you were lying?”

“Baby, I’m a master at these things,” James said. “He had no idea you weren’t really sick.”

Mandy wasn’t convinced. “You didn’t tell him I had some weird female disease, did you?”

James chuckled. “I told him you were still sore from the accident,” he said. “He understood.”

“That’s a relief.” Mandy rested her head against James’ shoulder and turned her attention toward the television. “Let’s watch
The Shining
. That always puts me in a romantic mood.”

“You’re a morbid little thing, wife, but I can live with that,” James said. “By the way, just because the judge understood, that doesn’t mean he’s a stupid man. He knows exactly what we’re doing today.”

“Oh, crud,” Mandy muttered, poking James’ side. “You suck.”

“I’m going to in a few minutes,” James said, grabbing her finger and kissing it. “I have big plans for you today, wife. If you thought you were sore this morning, you’re going to be on crutches tomorrow.”

“Oh, you two are so filthy I can’t even stand it,” Grady intoned, taking the couple by surprise as he walked into the living room.

James scowled as he made sure the blanket covered both him and Mandy. “Do you knock?”

“No,” Grady replied. “I was worried that in your weakened condition you might not hear me. If you were sleeping off your illness, I didn’t want to risk waking you.”

Mandy giggled as James made a hilarious face. “He’s messing with you because he knows what you’ve got planned for the day, too.”

“Yes, I noticed that,” James said, shifting his eyes to Grady. “I’m sorry for sticking you with the work – especially the payment for Jesse – but Mandy isn’t feeling well after the accident and she needs me to take care of her.”

“Oh, good,” Mandy deadpanned. “Blame it on me.”

“Shh, wife,” James said, kissing her cheek. “Your fatigue is clearly making you delirious.”

“You guys are sick,” Grady said, shaking his head. “Mandy hasn’t looked this good in days. Her skin is glowing and she can’t stop smiling.”

“That’s because I’m an excellent nurse,” James said. “I’ve been doting on her.”

“Yeah, you’re an excellent doter,” Grady said. “I know you’re naked underneath that blanket, by the way, so please refrain from sudden movements.”

“You’re in a mood,” James said, nuzzling his nose against Mandy’s cheek. “What’s wrong? Did Jesse show up and cause trouble?”

“No,” Grady said. “Not so far, at least. We do have another problem, though. I didn’t want to bother you with it, but I’m not sure I have much choice.”

“Okay. Lay it on me.”

“I went to the car dealership to finish the purchase of Mandy’s car and Maverick alerted me to stop what I was doing right away because someone was trying to piggyback the transfer,” Grady said. “We stopped it before anything happened and the dealership is going to hold her car, but someone is close to hacking your financials.”

“I don’t understand what that means,” Mandy said, confused.

“It means that whoever stole our identities in London is trying to get at our money over here,” James said. “This is officially serious now.”

“What do we do?”

“Don’t worry,” James said, kissing her forehead. “We’re well protected.”

“Maverick is strengthening that protection right now,” Grady said. “He wants to come out here and check your computer to make sure there hasn’t been a breach from this location. I told him I needed to feel you out first … mostly because I figured you were busy feeling Mandy up.”

“It’s okay,” James said, glancing at Mandy. “Send him out. We have to make sure this is taken care of. I don’t want to risk losing everything we’ve built.”

“I thought you would say that,” Grady said. “Maverick is in the driveway.”

“Criminy,” James muttered. “Baby, you need to get dressed. We can’t sit under a blanket while Maverick is here because it will distract him.”

“He’s a pervert,” Mandy supplied.

“He’s a total pervert,” James agreed. “Get dressed and we’ll order lunch. Then I’ll get you naked again. I’m the only pervert allowed to see you without your clothes on in this house.”

“Ah,” Mandy sighed, smiling as she stroked James’ cheek. “My knight in shining armor.”

“And don’t you forget it.”

“
I
have the sandwiches
,” Mandy announced an hour later, carrying a bag into the kitchen and exchanging a warm smile with James.

Grady rolled his eyes as James opened his arms so Mandy could step between them for a hug. “You guys have been apart for three minutes,” he said. “Do you have to fondle each other in front of us?”

Maverick glanced up, his eyes busy as they roamed Mandy’s bare legs, her cutoffs giving him a nice view. “I like it,” the computer hacker said. “It’s … hot.”

“Focus on your work,” James chided, kissing Mandy’s cheek. “Don’t stare at my wife’s legs.”

“Then maybe she shouldn’t have them out,” Maverick suggested. He’d just turned twenty-one and was infatuated with the Hardy way of life – and especially their women. “They’re really nice, by the way.”

“Thank you,” Mandy said, grinning as she poked James’ stomach. “Did you hear that? They’re very nice.”

“I know they’re nice,” James said, cupping her rear end. “They’re also mine. He shouldn’t be looking at my property.”

Mandy arched a disgusted eyebrow.

“Okay, that came out wrong,” James conceded, earning a chuckle from Grady. “I don’t think you’re my property. It’s more like … you’re my heart and it wounds me to think someone else would look at you the same way I do.”

“Nice save,” Mandy said, tapping his chin. “Very smooth.”

“Yes, it was one for the ages,” Grady said, snagging the bag. “What did you get?”

“Corned beef and fries for everyone.”

“Great,” Maverick said, rubbing his hands together. “I’m starving. Looking at your legs causes my heart to race so I burn calories.”

“You’re a putz,” James muttered, although he couldn’t help but smile. “Have you found anything?”

“I have,” Maverick confirmed. “Someone has tried to access your accounts from this computer three times over the past week. Whoever it was used an anti-encryption device. My firewalls held, though. I’m much smarter than whoever tried this.”

“Are you saying they did that in my house?” James asked, irritation bubbling up. “Did someone come into my house and try to steal from me?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying,” Maverick said. “They didn’t get in, though, so pull your panties out of your butt and take a chill pill.”

Mandy pressed her lips together to keep from laughing while James shot Maverick a murderous look.

“It can only be one person,” Grady said. “You know that, right?”

James nodded, idly running his hand down Mandy’s back. “Jesse.”

Mandy widened her eyes. “But … would he do that?”

“It has to be him, baby,” James said. “No one else was in this house. According to that login attempt there, it was done the night we passed out on the couch. Apparently I was drunker than Jesse. He waited until I passed out and went upstairs.”

“How could he know you would pass out that hard, though?” Mandy asked. “I … you don’t think he came down to our bedroom or anything, do you?” She was horrified by the thought.

“I hadn’t considered that,” James said, cupping the back of her head. “I’m going to ask him, though. If he set foot in our bedroom while you were asleep … .”

“I think he might’ve drugged you,” Grady said, cutting his brother off before he could say something truly ugly. “You’re not known for getting soused and passing out. Maybe you lost track of things because he made sure your mind would be muddled.”

“Oh,” Mandy murmured, realization dawning. “Then I was angry with you for no reason. You were a victim.”

“I wasn’t a victim,” James argued. “I didn’t have to drink with him in the first place. I was still in the wrong and you had every right to be angry.”

“I agree,” Maverick interjected. “I think you should still be angry and leave him for me. I’ve got great prospects … once I get out of my mother’s basement, that is.”

“Focus on your work,” James ordered, shaking his head as he hugged Mandy again. “If he was creeping around this house while you were asleep … I’ll kill him.”

“James, I know you’re upset, but … nothing happened to me,” Mandy reminded him. “I’m fine. I’m right here.”

“It’s still not right,” James said. “He could’ve … touched … you and I wouldn’t have been around to stop it.”

“He’s not interested in me, James,” Mandy said, squeezing his hand. “He’s interested in your money.”

“It looks as if he tried to install tracking software on your computer,” Maverick said. “Do you want me to get rid of it?”

“Yes.”

“I think that would be a mistake,” Maverick offered.

“Then why did you ask?” James was irritated. He knew taking it out on Maverick was the wrong way to go, but frustration and betrayal threatened to overwhelm him.

“He thinks he has good tracking software,” Maverick said, unruffled by James’ tone. “We can screw him and track his software.”

“Why would we want to do that?” Grady asked.

“Because he’s not working alone,” Mandy supplied, things coming together in her head. “Whoever is trying to use our identities overseas is clearly working with him.”

James stilled, momentarily marveling at the way his wife’s mind worked. “That’s smart, baby,” he said. “That’s very smart. Our problems didn’t start until after we ran into Jesse at the pub. He was interested in my business and how I was doing financially.”

“What about the guy at the Roman Baths?” Grady asked. “Do you think he was working for Jesse?”

“I think it’s a distinct possibility,” James said, rubbing the back of his neck as he pondered the ramifications. “I didn’t want to leave Mandy. He said he would watch her while I went to the restroom. Mandy was attacked and Jesse swooped in and saved her.”

“And before that Mandy didn’t like Jesse,” Grady surmised. “After he saved her she softened up toward him.”

“Exactly,” James said. “Son of a … .”

Mandy knew James was hurt more than anything else and she sympathetically pressed her hand to his chest. “It’s okay. He didn’t get any of your money.”

“For the hundredth time, that’s
our
money,” James said, although he softened his expression. “He’s not going to get the money. The money is the least of my worries. He could’ve hurt you and I was too blind to see it.”

“The car,” Grady said, shaking his head. “You think he ran into her, don’t you?”

“Who else?” James asked. “Mandy called me at the bar the night before but he answered. He told her I was hitting on someone else. He thought Mandy would tell me – which she should’ve done right away – but instead she kept it to herself.”

“Thanks,” Mandy said dryly. “You’re saying this is all my fault.”

“No,” James said, cupping Mandy’s neck and forcing her to meet his gaze. “This is my fault. I let him manipulate me. I let him hurt you. I’m so sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.”

“Then stop thinking it’s your fault,” James said, pressing a soft kiss to her lips before hugging her tight against his chest. “He wanted to kill Mandy. He must have scoped out that parking garage and figured that wall was low enough he might be able to dump her over the side and escape.”

“Then you would’ve been prostrate with grief over her death and Jesse could’ve waltzed in and stolen the money,” Grady said. “He’s been playing you from the beginning.”

“And I didn’t see it,” James said, exhaling heavily. “We need to find him. Do you think he’s still at the hotel?”

“We can find out,” Grady replied, pointing toward Maverick. “He was at the Best Western out on Gratiot.”

“Okay,” Maverick said. “There’s one other thing, though. On Thursday night someone tried to hack your financials from your phone. They got close but quit right before they hit pay dirt.”

James knit his eyebrows together. “Thursday night? That was the night of the barbecue.”

“How did he get your phone?” Grady asked.

“James left it on the counter,” Mandy answered, a memory pushing to the forefront. “I came into the kitchen to put the flowers in water and Jesse was on James’ phone. He said he was looking up information because the two of you had a bet.”

“Why didn’t you say something?” James asked, tugging on his limited patience. Now was not the time to yell at his wife.

“I didn’t think anything of it,” Mandy replied. “I was angry … and he immediately started pushing my buttons about not liking him. Then he twisted my words to get you to go to the bar with him.”

“And then you were hurt because I went,” James surmised. “Crap! If I hadn’t been such an idiot that night we would’ve figured half of this out then. You wouldn’t have been run off the road. You wouldn’t have been miserable. I’m going to kill him.”

“We have to find him first,” Grady said. “Start looking, Maverick.”

“Keep his software on the computer and try tracking him, too,” James added. “I want to nail whoever he is working with.”

“
T
HE
concierge says
Jesse checked out yesterday afternoon,” Jake announced, trudging into the kitchen two hours later with Finn at his heels. “I talked to the woman who was behind the desk and she said he seemed … panicked.”

James arched an eyebrow. “Panicked?” Mandy sat in one of the kitchen chairs as James rubbed her shoulders. “Maybe he didn’t come here to go after Mandy yesterday after all. Maybe he was doing something else.”

“What?” Finn asked.

“Maybe he was hoping to sneak into the house,” Grady suggested. “He was probably lurking, maybe even hoping Mandy and James were out in the guesthouse grinding on each other because of the shark projector.”

“Thank you, Grady,” James intoned, making a face. “Although, he did ask about the shark projector. He also wanted to know what was upstairs. I told him it was Mandy’s studio and he wanted to check it out, but I told him that was her private space and to stay out.”

“I wonder why he would care about the studio,” Jake mused. “He was trying to put a wedge between you and Mandy. I guess he could’ve been looking for ammunition up there, but I’m not sure what he expected to find.”

“So Jesse is in the wind and he obviously doesn’t care about his final paycheck,” James said, pressing his thumbs into the tender spots next to Mandy’s shoulder blades and causing her to moan. “You can’t make that sound in front of people, baby. You know I can’t control myself.”

“You’re so sick,” Grady said, offering a hollow chuckle as he shook his head. “You just found out a guy you thought was your friend probably tried to have your wife killed and you still can’t stop thinking about sex.”

“My wife has a unique effect on me,” James replied, unbothered. “I’m not ashamed to admit it.”

“You know Jesse best, James,” Jake prodded. “What would he do?”

“I have no idea,” James answered. “I thought I knew him, but it turns out I didn’t know him at all. I thought he was joking around about all of the marriage stuff, but now I see it a little differently.”

“James, if we’re right, he was willing to kill Mandy to get money from you,” Finn said. “He’s dangerous. You need to think.”

“I’m trying to think,” James spat. “I just … that’s not the guy I knew. The guy I knew saved my life twice. The guy I knew was funny and never hurt anyone. He was a stand-up guy. I have no idea who this Jesse is.’

“Maybe something happened to him,” Mandy suggested. “Maybe he’s in trouble and needs money for something we don’t understand.”

“You have a beautiful and giving heart, baby, but that’s no excuse,” James said. “He could’ve asked me for money if he was in trouble. He tried to kill you. He tried to ruin my marriage. There’s no excuse for any of that.”

“I wasn’t making excuses,” Mandy clarified. “I was just pointing out that he may be desperate for a reason we don’t understand. That might make him act in a specific way.”

“She’s right,” Finn said. “We need to look into Jesse’s background and see if we can figure out what’s going on.”

“Of course she’s right,” James said, kissing Mandy’s cheek. “She’s beautiful and wise.”

“Oh, gag me,” Grady muttered.

“We need to find Jesse,” James said. “We don’t want him to know that we’re onto him, though. Maverick is working on tracking him through the program he put on the computer. Jesse shouldn’t know what’s happening.”

“I hate to say it, but we need to pretend life is normal and that things are going back to the way they used to be,” Grady said. “Jesse has to think your guard is down. He put too much work into this to just let it go. He’ll be back.”

“I know,” James said, shifting his eyes to Mandy. “We’re going to need help. I can’t leave Mandy unprotected at the courthouse, but we need people Jesse doesn’t recognize watching her.”

“Did you tell him about Peter?” Grady asked.

James shook his head. “It didn’t come up and that’s not something I generally volunteer.”

“You’re sure, right?” Grady pressed. “You didn’t tell him when you were drunk at the bar or anything, did you?”

“No. I’m certain I didn’t tell him about Peter.”

“Then we can use that,” Grady said. “You’ll drive Mandy to and from work tomorrow. It won’t make Jesse suspicious because he knows she doesn’t have a car. Once in the building, Sven and Rodrigo can watch her. He’ll just think they’re in the building for business of their own.”

“I don’t know,” James hedged. “I don’t want her out of my sight.”

“If you do that, you’ll tip Jesse off,” Jake said. “He’ll know you’re onto him and we might never catch him. He knows how to disappear … and come back. Do you want to spend the rest of your life looking over your shoulder?”

“No,” James said. “I trust Sven and Rodrigo to watch Mandy. If Jesse is busy watching her and makes a move, they’ll stop him. While that’s happening, we’ll track Jesse.”

“It’s a plan,” Grady said.

“Yeah.” James leaned forward and exchanged a soft kiss with his wife. “I’ll keep you safe, baby. I promise.”

“It’s going to be okay, James. I have faith in you.” Mandy gripped his hand. “Everything is going to be okay.”

James didn’t tell her that Jesse’s machinations had shaken his faith in himself. He didn’t want to frighten her. “We’re going to be okay. I won’t let you down again.”