Deadly Dealings (Hardy Brothers Security Book 13) (19 page)

“Thank you for the call,” Judge MacIntosh said, forcing a tight smile for James’ benefit as the worried man let him into the house a half hour later. “I … where is Mandy?”

“She’s upstairs fighting with Ally,” James replied, seeing no reason to lie. “She’s wallowing in guilt right now and Ally is trying to snap her out of it.”

“Why aren’t you with her?”

“Because even on a good day I can’t crush my wife,” James said. “This is pretty far removed from a good day. We need Mandy down here, but she can’t get out of her own head long enough to help us and I can’t go up there and scream at her until she does what I want when she’s this upset.”

MacIntosh smiled at the words, although the expression didn’t make it all the way up to his eyes. “And can Ally scream at your wife until she does what she’s supposed to do in this situation?”

James shrugged, helpless. “If anyone can get Mandy moving it is Ally,” he said. “She won’t be swayed by the tears. I’ll give in and coddle her and I can’t do that right now. We have a regular … meeting of the minds … going on in this house.”

“I don’t know what that means.”

“Come into the living room and find out,” James said, ushering the judge inside. MacIntosh followed James wordlessly, and when he walked into the busy room at the end of the hallway he was stunned to find the sheriff sitting in a chair next to the area’s biggest mob boss. “Welcome to the party.”

“I can see that,” MacIntosh said. “Well … I … wow.”

“If you want to leave I understand,” James said. “I … we need information on how Heidi will react in this situation, though. I can talk to you outside if you’re more comfortable doing it that way.”

“I don’t care about my comfort,” MacIntosh replied. “I care about getting Heidi back. Also, truth be told, I’ve always wanted to meet Peter Marconi.”

James clapped MacIntosh on the back. “I have a feeling you’ll probably like him.”

James introduced the judge to everyone, casting the occasional glance toward the top of the stairs. He was desperate for a glimpse of Mandy. With a full house, he couldn’t leave to check on her. She wasn’t far away and yet the distance felt monumental. He needed her.

“I’m not sure how to even process what we’re doing here,” Morgan admitted, nodding a silent “thank you” as Sophie handed him a bottle of water. He was the only one not taking the edge off with alcohol, but he didn’t comment on it.

“We have a situation,” Peter said. “In the interest of saving time, I’m opting not to mince words or … hide anything. Technically, though, I haven’t done anything illegal. I want to make that very clear.”

“I’m not here to arrest you,” Morgan said. “I hate to admit it but … well … I think I might need your help. If Heidi dies … .”

“We can’t let that happen,” MacIntosh interrupted. “That girl is pure of heart and soul. She’s exactly the reason most of us do the type of things we do. She’s an innocent. We have to find a way to save her.”

“That’s why we’re here,” James said. “We need to come up with a plan and we have to do it in a way where we can get our hands on Heidi without killing Jasper if at all possible. I think there’s a good chance there are at least a few other women alive out there. We can’t just abandon them.”

“James is right,” Peter said. “When we met with Gunderson the other day I got the distinct impression that he thought he was pulling one over on us until I demanded the return of the girls. That’s when I noticed things … shifting.”

“You met with Gunderson? How did that go?” Morgan asked, surprised.

“The man has all of the appeal of a ten-day-old turd on the bottom of my shoe,” Peter replied, causing Grady to snicker as James shot him a quelling look. “He thinks of himself as a player in the Detroit game and he’s not even good enough to sit on the bench.

“The problem with someone like him is that he can do a lot of damage to the balance of an area in a short amount of time,” he continued. “He’s a rat, and it’s not hard to exterminate the rat. It is hard to stop the rat from doing damage on its way down, though.”

“You said your men were watching Jasper and Winona,” Finn said, rubbing soothing circles across Emma’s back as he considered the problem at hand. “Do we know anything yet?”

“They’re running circles in the neighborhood behind the bowling alley over on Dickinson,” Peter replied. “They’re trying to ascertain if they have a tail. They’re being very cautious.”

“Have they spotted your men?” Morgan asked.

“My men aren’t novices,” Peter replied. “We do rotating tails. When Sven realized what they were doing he called for reinforcements. I currently have ten vehicles out there dropping and picking up surveillance.”

“Holy crap,” Morgan said, not even bothering to hide his surprise. “That’s … ingenious.”

“This isn’t my first rodeo,” Peter replied, nonplussed. “They are being overly careful right now. They will give in and lead us to where they’re holding Heidi at some point. We must be ready to move when that happens.”

“I can have a SWAT team ready within the hour,” Morgan said, reaching for his phone.

“By all means, get them ready,” Peter said. “I think Heidi would be better served if my men were the first through the door, though. They know how to handle a situation like this.”

“I can’t authorize that,” Morgan replied.

“I understand,” Peter said, unruffled. “We have to come to a compromise, though. This will be a fluid situation and we need people who understand what’s happening. My men are better trained for the particular operation we will be conducting.

“I understand your reticence,” he continued. “You’re not used to working with someone with my … background. However, that doesn’t change the fact that my men are Heidi’s best shot.”

“I still can’t authorize that,” Morgan said.

“What if we come up with a compromise,” James suggested, licking his lips and glancing around the room. “What if we put a team together that consists of two of Peter’s best men, two of your best men, and … well … two of my best men.”

Morgan arched an eyebrow as he considered the offer. “How would that work?”

“We all work in conjunction with each other,” James said. “Your men get credit for the arrest. In fact, if you never want to mention anyone else being there, I don’t think you’re going to get complaints from anyone here.”

Morgan pursed his lips. “I need a second to think.”

“That’s fine,” James said. He turned his attention to MacIntosh. “I need to know how Heidi will react in this situation. Is she going to panic? Is she likely to run in front of gunfire? All I know is that she’s giddy every time I see her and she usually loves Mandy. She seems a little spastic, though.”

“Heidi is a capable worker and pragmatic in certain situations,” MacIntosh replied, choosing his words carefully. “She’s also prone to histrionic fits. She will be a wild card.”

“Does that mean she’s likely to run into gunfire?” Grady asked.

“If she gets flustered, I have no idea what she will and won’t do,” MacIntosh said. “She’s … a wonderful woman. She’s not good under pressure, though.”

James rubbed his forehead. “We need to come up with another plan to make sure she’s safe then,” he said. “No matter what, we need to get Heidi out of that building – and she needs to be alive when we do it.”

“I suggest we expand on your previous plan,” Peter said. “Instead of one team, though, we need two.”

“Explain how that’s going to work,” Morgan pressed.

“We will have one team to go in the front and another to eradicate possible escape from the back,” Peter said. “The front team is the tactical team. They should be the best with weapons and hand-to-hand fighting.”

James nodded silently.

“The second team should be the stealth team,” Peter continued. “We need a face Heidi is going to recognize in that group. She has to be able to trust the people coming for her so she doesn’t panic. That puts my men and the sheriff’s tactical team members out of the running.”

“Heidi will recognize any of us,” Finn said. “She knows us. She’ll trust us.”

“Will she?” Grady pressed. “Last time I checked she wasn’t talking to Mandy. She was angry. This situation is only going to exacerbate that problem.”

“I didn’t consider that,” James said, frustration rolling through his stomach. “I need to be the one who goes in through the back. Whether Heidi is happy to see me or not she’s bound to trust me more than anyone else. She knows me best.”

“Okay,” Peter said. “I will send Sven with you and whatever tactical team members the sheriff deems fit. Heidi has seen Sven before when he was watching Mandy at the courthouse. Hopefully, she will recognize him. You will go in through the back when we get a location. You must wait until everyone is converging on the front before you move, though. That will be key to the plan.”

James nodded in silent agreement.

“That leaves us with the front team,” Grady said. “Who is going?”

“I will,” Jake said, immediately raising his hand. “You stay here and keep the women safe.”

“Finn can do that,” Grady said. “I think I should be with the team that goes through the front.”

“Why?” Sophie asked, her voice pained.

Grady shot her a reassuring look and reached out so he could snag her hand. “We have no way of knowing if Heidi will be in the front or back of whatever building they’re in. She’s not going to necessarily trust Jake. It has to be me.”

“She would trust me,” Finn said, his face serious. “She knows me as well as she knows you, Grady.”

Emma immediately started shaking her head. “No. You have to stay here with me.”

“Emma … .”

Grady cut off whatever argument Finn was about to make. “You’re going to be a father. You’re not even a consideration for this. I owe these people. They tried to drug my girlfriend. They had plans for her and Mandy. It should be James and me.”

“I can go with you,” Jake offered.

“You should stay here with the women,” Grady said. “Finn is going to have his hands full trying to control four of them.”

“I’m not staying here,” Sophie said, crossing her arms over her chest. “If you’re going, I’m going.”

“No, you’re not, sugar,” Grady said, his brown eyes serious. “You’re not going anywhere near that house.”

“Yes, she is,” Peter interjected, causing Grady’s eyebrows to fly up his forehead.

“You want to put her in danger?” Grady was incensed.

“She’ll be with me,” Peter said. “I know my daughter well enough to know she won’t be separated from you by three cities when this goes down. She’ll be safe in the limo with me. I promise.”

“But … .”

“I’m going, Grady,” Sophie said, her tone firm. “I put myself in danger without you and you didn’t like it. You can’t have things a different way when you put yourself in danger.”

“Sugar … .” Grady sighed, resigned.

“I’m going, too.”

Everyone shifted their attention to the top of the stairs where Mandy was standing. She’d changed into jeans and a T-shirt, and even though it was obvious she’d been crying, she was stoic.

“Baby, I think you should stay here,” James said, searching for a way to argue with his wife without causing a scene.

“I’m going,” Mandy said. “I have to be there when you get Heidi back. I … need it.”

James pursed his lips and glanced at the assembled group. “Will you excuse me for a second?” He didn’t wait for an answer. He was already bounding up the stairs in Mandy’s direction before anyone had a chance to react.

“Batten down the hatches,” Grady said. “Things are about to get loud.”

“YOU’RE
not going!”

“Yes, I am!”

“No, you’re not.”

“Yes, I am!”

“Mandy!” James howled loud enough to cause everyone downstairs to lift their eyes to the ceiling.

“I have to go, James,” Mandy said, forcing her voice to remain even as she faced off with her husband. She knew James was about to explode, but she was putting her foot down. “I’ll stay in the limo with Peter and Sophie. I’ll be safe.”

“You’ll be safer here,” James charged. “I want you here.”

“You’re going into a dangerous situation to save my friend,” Mandy countered. “You’re going to avenge what happened to me, too. Don’t bother denying it. I am as much of a part of this as you are. You can’t keep me here under lock and key while you go and risk your life. I won’t stand for it.”

“Do you know what I won’t stand for, wife? Losing you!” James’ eyes flashed as he worked hard to tamp down his anger. As terrified as he was for Mandy’s safety he’d made a promise never to scare her with his anger. Not again. “I don’t have a life without you. I will not drag you to a potential war zone and hope that you’ll be safe while I’m off trying to get Heidi. I won’t do it!”

“And I won’t sit in this house – the house we built together – and hope that you’re not out there dying on me,” Mandy replied, refusing to rise to the bait and scream back at him. “I love you. You’re my heart and soul. Heidi is also my friend. I need to see her, and I need to know you’re safe.”

“I’ll be safe.”