Deadly Conflicts (Hardy Brothers Security Book 21) (18 page)

T
he afternoon court
session ended early, but Mandy remained busy at her desk. She finished her legitimate work an hour before and could’ve left early, but instead she focused on the task James gave her the day before. She kept running into roadblocks, and the inside of her head wasn’t a pretty place to visit right about now.

She was so lost in thought she didn’t notice a quiet figure standing in the doorframe until the sound of a clearing throat wafted through the room and interrupted her steely concentration. She was surprised to find Jake standing there when she lifted her head.

“Am I interrupting?” Jake looked nervous but resolute.

“It’s okay,” Mandy said, motioning for him to come closer. She couldn’t remember him ever stopping in at her office before. He probably visited a time or two with James, but if he did, she couldn’t recall the nature of the visit. “Is something wrong?”

“Yeah,” Jake said, bobbing his head. “I was wrong.”

“About what? Oh, please tell me you haven’t changed your mind about proposing to Ally,” Mandy said, tears filling her eyes. “You’re going to break my heart and then I’m going to have to break your neck. James isn’t going to like it if I go to prison.”

Jake chuckled at her dramatic reaction. He should’ve expected nothing less. “I haven’t changed my mind about that,” he said, closing the remaining distance between them and resting his hands on top of her desk. “I’ll never change my mind about that.”

“Oh.” Mandy was relieved. “What were you wrong about?”

“You,” Jake replied, not missing a beat. “I was wrong for suspecting you were the one to mess with Ally’s head about getting married.”

“Oh,
that
.”

“Yeah,
that
,” Jake said. “I wasn’t worried that you told her on purpose or that you were trying to ruin things. I want you to know that I would never think that about you. You’re a good person. In fact, you’re one of the best people I know.”

“We don’t have to get into this, Jake,” Mandy said, averting her eyes. “Everyone made mistakes. I made a big one.”

“You did, but you were upset and I can’t blame you for that,” Jake said. “For what it’s worth, I don’t believe Rose will tell Ally. Even Grady can keep his big mouth shut. Rose is just like you in the fact that she would never want to ruin Ally’s surprise.”

“I still should’ve kept my big mouth shut,” Mandy supplied. “I didn’t mean for things to get so out of hand. That wasn’t fair to you. Heck, it wouldn’t be fair to Ally if it got out because of me. I would never forgive myself.”

Jake tentatively reached out his hand and rested it on top of Mandy’s. “I know you’re the one person who loves Ally almost as much as I do.”

“I think you’re forgetting about her brothers and parents.”

“They love her in a different way,” Jake said. “You and I love her in different ways, too. That doesn’t mean they’re not equally strong.”

“You’re going to make me cry,” Mandy said, fanning her face with her free hand. “I know you love Ally. I have never doubted that. For some reason I knew the day I met you that you were going to become important to this family.”

“I remember that day,” Jake said. “You came into the kitchen to check me out and admitted you were looking to see if I was wearing a wedding ring. James thought you were looking for yourself, but then Ally gave me the most adorable wave.

“Before that point in my life I didn’t think love was in the cards for me,” he continued. “I was wrong. I was so wrong. I felt some of the ice in my chest melt that day. A few weeks later it was all gone.”

Mandy smiled. “Because of Ally.”

“Mostly because of Ally,” Jake clarified. “The rest of you had a part in it, too. I love watching you and Ally together, Mandy. You love each other so much … you’re like sisters. I love watching Ally with her brothers, too, don’t get me wrong. You guys, though … you’re magic.”

“Now I’m definitely going to cry,” Mandy said, working overtime to control her sniffles. “Since we’re being honest with each other, I need you to know that I wasn’t really angry at you yesterday. I wasn’t happy with you, but I was really upset over something else and I took it out on you.”

“Well, that’s what happened to me, too,” Jake said. “I wasn’t angry, though. I’m terrified and nervous. I want Ally to be my wife more than anything. I’m afraid she’ll turn me down, though. If that happens … we can never go back.”

Mandy barked out a hoarse laugh, catching Jake by surprise. “She won’t say no.”

“She might.”

“You just said we’re close like sisters,” Mandy reminded him. “I can guarantee she won’t say no. The only thing she can think about right now is you proposing to her. She’s convinced you’re not doing it because you don’t love her.”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“That’s what I told her before butthead Vince showed up,” Mandy said. “Before he showed up, though, she let it slip that he’s the one who put that idea in her head.”

Jake stilled, anger sweeping through him. “What do you mean?”

“It was the day he found her at the office,” Mandy explained. “He told her that if you really loved her you would’ve already proposed. She was fine waiting before then. He just stoked her insecurities, making it seem as if she wasn’t enough for you.”

“I’m going to kill that … .” Jake pressed his lips together and tugged a restless hand through his hair. “What did you tell her?”

“That Vince wasn’t to be trusted and you love her more than anything.”

“I do love her more than anything,” Jake said. “I should propose now.”

Mandy immediately started shaking her head. “You can’t. You can’t propose until this is over with. Don’t do it out of a place of fear. Do it out of a place of love.”

“She has to know.”

“She knows in her heart,” Mandy said. “She just wants what she wants. She’s ready for the next step. Her worry is that you’re not ready. You have the same fear when it comes to her. It’s going to be okay.”

“You sound like James.”

“Yes, well, I’m starting to think he’s wiser than I give him credit for,” Mandy said. “Go with whatever plan you had before. You know in your heart it’s right. Don’t let Vince screw things up. He’s already screwing up my afternoon. Don’t let him screw up your future, too.”

Jake knit his eyebrows together. “How is he screwing up your afternoon?”

Mandy told Jake about the favor James asked and then admitted to curiosity getting the better of her and not being able to let it go. “He has three sealed files from California and it’s driving me crazy to know what’s in them.”

“Can’t you open them?”

Mandy rubbed the heel of her hand against her cheek. “That’s technically illegal.”

“Oh, sorry. I didn’t know,” Jake said. “I thought any court employee could legally do that.”

“Only a judge.”

“Can’t you ask your judge to do it?”

“I would never do that,” Mandy said, shaking her head. “That’s unethical.”

“What’s unethical?”

Mandy froze when she heard Judge MacIntosh’s voice, waiting a beat before swiveling her head so she could look around Jake and plastering a smile on her face. “Don’t worry,” she said. “We were just talking in hypotheticals. No one is doing anything illegal or unethical.”

“Uh-huh.” MacIntosh didn’t look convinced. “Mr. Harrison, it’s good to see you here. I hope nothing is wrong.”

“No, I just owed Mandy an apology and wanted to get it out of the way as soon as possible.”

“I see,” MacIntosh said, shifting his eyes to Mandy. “Do you want to tell me what’s going on?”

“I swear we weren’t doing anything,” Mandy said. “Well, that’s not technically true. I used work time to run a background check for James. I stopped when I found the guy had three sealed files, though. I didn’t open them or anything.”

“Even though we really want to,” Jake muttered under his breath.

Instead of reprimanding her like she expected, the judge moved behind Mandy’s desk and glanced at her computer screen. “Who is Vince Dawkins?”

“He’s this guy Ally used to date,” Mandy explained. “He moved back to town and has been following her. He’s the guy who had the car stolen at the fireworks last weekend. James found the car, but he thinks there’s something weird going on. I swear I didn’t open the files.”

“Why not?” MacIntosh asked.

“Because it’s illegal.”

“You could’ve opened them and said I ordered it,” MacIntosh pointed out. “Why didn’t you?”

“Because that’s unethical.”

MacIntosh chuckled. “You are a stickler for rules, young lady,” he said. “While it’s true that anything we look up can’t be used for investigative purposes by law enforcement, that doesn’t mean we can’t bow to our own curiosity.”

Mandy was floored. “Are you honestly giving me permission to unseal these?”

MacIntosh nodded. “I’m kind of curious to see what’s going on myself.”

“Do it,” Jake said, tapping the top of Mandy’s desk. “Do it now.”

“Chill out, drama queen,” Mandy said, typing on her keyboard. “It’s going to take a second.”

“There,” MacIntosh said, pointing. “Open that one first.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s red,” MacIntosh replied. “That’s bound to be where the real dirt is.”

“You’re my favorite judge ever,” Jake said.

MacIntosh chuckled. “I do have my moments, don’t I? Let’s see what we’ve got here, shall we? I have a feeling we’re about to get very … enlightened.”

“That would be a nice change of pace,” Jake intoned.

A
LLY FELT
much better by mid-afternoon, and even though Jake left for work she was happy with her decision to stay home. She needed time to think, and it wasn’t about the big life events she thought she needed to dwell on but the smaller ones instead.

Jake loved her. She didn’t doubt that in the least. She felt it every time he looked at her. She absorbed it every time they kissed. She had no idea why she’d become so manic about marriage all of a sudden, because until a few days before she was more than happy to let Jake take his time and do things on his own timetable.

Well, mostly.

In truth, Ally was ready to get married. She was also ready to start a family. Avery’s arrival started a clock ticking in her heart. She didn’t know how many kids she wanted – although the idea of having a large family like the one she grew up with appealed to her – but she knew she desperately wanted to be a mother. She had plenty of time, though. She wasn’t even thirty yet.

When it came down to it, Ally knew how she’d gotten so far off track. It was Vince. He was purposely manipulating her. She couldn’t figure out why, though. How could making her feel insecure about Jake’s love possibly benefit him?

Someone knocked on the front door, drawing Ally out of her reverie and forcing her up from the couch. The hangover would’ve been a lot worse if Mandy hadn’t stopped her from ordering that last pitcher of margaritas. She owed her friend a big “thank you” next time she saw her.

Ally opened the door, expecting to find the UPS man or postal delivery carrier with a package, but instead she found Vince.

“What are you doing here?” Ally was incensed.

“I’m not here to fight, Ally,” Vince said, holding his hands up in a placating manner. “I’m here to apologize.”

“Great. You’ve apologized. Have a nice life.” Ally moved to shut the door, but Vince wedged his foot between the door and the jamb to stop her. “Stop it!”

“I need you to forgive me, Ally,” Vince said. “I’m not leaving until you do.”

“Fine. I forgive you.” Ally didn’t mean it, but she was desperate to get rid of him. Now that she knew he’d been following her – and in the light of day she realized there was no other explanation – she couldn’t bear the sight of him.

“Can I come in?” Vince asked, a plaintive expression on his face. “I just want to talk. I swear it.”

“No.”

“Ally, we’ve been friends for far too long for you to just shut me out of your life like this,” Vince said. “It’s not fair.”

“That’s where you’re wrong, Vince,” Ally countered. “We’ve never been friends. Not even a little.”

“Ally, that’s not true.”

“It is true,” Ally argued. “We met at a bar and had sex that very first night. I’m not proud of it, so I wouldn’t puff your chest out like that if I were you. We kept having sex for a week and then kind of started dating. A week after that we were practically living with each other.

“Through all of that, though, we didn’t know each other,” she continued. “I thought you were hot, but I didn’t love you. I didn’t even like you because you never gave me anything to like.”

“There’s no need to be rude,” Vince said, his smile faltering. “I know you’ve pledged yourself to the carny … .”

Ally lashed out with her knee, taking Vince by surprise as she slammed the hard joint into his groin.

“Oomph.” He tried to lean forward, to keep his body in the open doorway, but he was in too much pain and he fell backward instead.

“Now that was me being rude,” Ally said. “If I were you, I’d start running right now. The first call I make is going to be to Jake. The second is going to be to James. They’re both going to be in a race to see who can beat the crap out of you first.”

“Don’t do this, Ally.” Vince’s face was red and tears leaked out of the corner of his eyes as he held his groin. “Don’t do this.”

“Don’t tell me what to do,” Ally shot back. “You’re not important to me. You never were. Now get off my front porch and out of my life. I’m done listening to you. I don’t even have the energy to pretend to like you.”

“Don’t you shut that door, Ally,” Vince hissed. “You’ll regret it if you do.”

“And you’re going to regret the day you met me,” Ally said. “If you thought my brother hated you before, you haven’t seen anything yet.”

Ally slammed the door as hard as she could and put the security chain in place before engaging the system James installed a year prior. She was pretty proud of herself … and amused. That emotion only lasted for a few moments and then she started looking for her phone.

She couldn’t forget Vince’s threat. After what she did to him, she had a pretty good idea he would be looking for revenge. She had to be ready for him.