Deadly Intuition (Hardy Brothers Security Book 2) (13 page)

Sophie was afraid to move. Her body was sore, stiff. Her head felt like it was too big for her body. The feeling of Grady’s body behind her almost made the pain worth it. Almost. The realization of exactly how sappy she was feeling filled her with shame. She was not the type of woman who got all moony over a man. No, she really wasn’t.

“I know you’re awake.”

“How do you know that?” Sophie asked sleepily.

“Because I can hear your mind working from here,” Grady said. “If you think any louder, you’re going to wake up everyone in the neighborhood.”

Sophie rolled over carefully, groaning as she did. She met Grady’s concerned eyes and forced a smile on her face. “Good morning.”

“Yeah, you don’t have to fake it for me,” Grady said. “And now that I said that out loud, I mean it in more ways than one.”

Sophie giggled.

“I know you’ve got to be stiff.”

“I’ve felt better,” Sophie admitted. “As bad as I feel, though, your face makes me feel worse.”

Grady pulled back slightly. “I’m not sure I know how to take that. I think that’s worse than the faking-it comment.”

Sophie raised her hand, pressing it against his chest so she could marvel at his hard muscles and warm skin in the early morning light. “I only meant that, when you look at me like I’m going to break, it makes me feel bad.”

Grady rubbed his thumb against Sophie’s waist, considering. “I was really … .”

“I know you were worked up yesterday,” Sophie said. “I feel bad about it. You don’t have to be worked up anymore. I’m okay.””

“I wasn’t worked up,” Grady said. “I was scared.”

His honestly touched her – and freaked her out at the same time. “I was a little scared myself.”

“If Mandy hadn’t been at the hospital to stop me, I probably would’ve ended up in jail,” Grady admitted.

“Why?”

“Because I needed to see you and they wouldn’t let me.”

“I think they were doing their job.”

“Rational thought wasn’t my friend yesterday,” Grady said. “All I could focus on was making sure you were okay.”

“That’s sweet.”

“It’s the truth.”

Sophie shifted closer to him so she could press her head to the side of his chest. His heart was beating, soft and sure, and his arms tightened around her. “This is nice.”

“It is.”

“Can we stay here all day?”

“If you want.”

“You’re not going to try and make me watch shark movies?”

“No.”

“If I want to watch shark movies are you going to watch them with me?”

“I cleared my schedule.”

“Okay.”

“Okay you want to watch movies?”

“Okay I want to just lay here with you for a while.”

Grady brushed a kiss across her forehead. “Good.”

HE JOLTED
awake two hours later. Sophie was trying to slip out of bed without waking him.

“What is it? What do you need?”

“I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“Just tell me what you need,” Grady said, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. “I’ll get it for you.”

“I don’t think you can,” Sophie hedged.

“Try me. If it’s not here, I’ll go buy it for you. Although I think Mandy bought everything in the free world last night. Just tell me what you need.”

“I need to go to the bathroom.”

“Oh. You can probably do that on your own.”

“I think that would be best.”

“Are you coming back when you’re … um … done?”

“Actually, I was going to head downstairs,” Sophie said. “I’m kind of hungry. I haven’t eaten since lunch yesterday.”

That thought hadn’t occurred to Grady. “I’ll go start breakfast. What do you want?”

“I don’t know,” Sophie said. “I usually just have a piece of fruit.”

Grady rolled to a sitting position. “Eggs it is.”

Sophie smiled. “Go nuts.”

WHEN
she made it downstairs – which was a more painful trek than she imagined – she found Grady standing in the kitchen with a spatula and two frying pans. His hair was messy, his face screwed up in concentration, and he was wearing only black boxer shorts.

Sophie had never seen anything more breathtaking.

“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to lose my mind and forget you’re not hurt.”

Sophie made a face. “How do you know I was looking at you? Your back was to me.”

“I can read minds.”

That was a scary thought. “I think you have a pretty high opinion of yourself for a guy trying to figure out how to open the bag of already shredded potatoes.”

Grady stuck out his tongue. “I was reading the directions.”

“You just rip the corner of the bag and dump them in the pan. Do you want me to help?”

“You’re injured,” Grady said. “You need to go and plant your ass on that couch and, when I am done, I will bring breakfast to you.”

“Not that I’m complaining, but how long are you going to be like this?”

Grady tilted his head to the side. “As long as I feel like it.”

“Okay.”

Grady narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to stand there watching me?”

Sophie shook her head. “No. I’m going to go sit on the couch and watch the news.”

“Why don’t you try watching a soap opera or something,” Grady suggested. “Watching the news is just going to get you all worked up. I think the news is to you like shark movies are to Mandy.”

“Like an aphrodisiac?”

“I hope not,” Grady said. “You can’t do anything like that for at least twenty-four hours.”

Despite her aches, Sophie was willing to test that theory – after she got some breakfast in her, of course.

“Well, I’ll leave you to your culinary delights.”

Sophie settled on the couch, searching through the paper bag on the table as she flipped on the television. News of her accident was the top story on Channel 4. She watched the coverage for a few minutes, a scowl on her face.

“Well, I know a few sheriff’s deputies who are probably throwing a party about this,” she said.

“Because of the coverage on the missing money?” Grady asked, not looking up as he cracked eggs into a pan. “I would think that they would be happy you’re trying to find the money.”

“That’s not how they see it,” Sophie said. “Two of them approached me at the funeral yesterday to make sure I knew that they considered my coverage a witch hunt.”

“They approached you at the funeral? Why were they even there?”

“It was a firefighter, there were a lot of representatives from law enforcement there,” Sophie said. “It’s just what they do.”

“What did they say to you?”

“Just that I might want to watch myself.”

Sophie was so focused on the television that it took her a few minutes to realize Grady was being unusually quiet. When she glanced over, she found him staring at her, hands on his hips, from his spot next to the stove.

“What?”

“You’re just telling me now that two police deputies threatened you?”

“They didn’t really threaten me,” Sophie said. “They were just kind of rude.”

“You had a spat with two deputies, and then were run off the road two hours later,” Grady said. “That doesn’t strike you as odd?”

Sophie’s mouth dropped open in surprise. “Why are you so mad?”

“Because you were almost killed yesterday and you’re waiting until now to tell me pertinent information.”

“I don’t really consider it pertinent information,” Sophie said. “I assumed the guy who came after me was the same one from the newspaper that day. A cop wouldn’t be stupid enough to use his personal vehicle to run me off the road in broad daylight. That makes no sense.”

“That’s neither here nor there,” Grady said. “You still should’ve told me.”

“Well, forgive me for being distracted,” Sophie snapped. “I didn’t realize I had to report my every move I make to you.”

Grady moved his head like he was having a silent argument with himself, and then turned back to the stove.

“Are you over there calling me names in your head?” Sophie asked.

“No.”

“Are you sure?”

“No.”

Sophie couldn’t fight her smile. “Is my breakfast almost done?”

“Yes.”

“Are you going to stay over there until you aren’t mad anymore?”

“Pretty much.”

“Okay. Just checking.”

AFTER
breakfast, Grady cleaned up the dishes and joined Sophie on the couch. He was still angry, but he was trying to pretend otherwise. Despite his best efforts, he was certain Sophie could read his mood.

“Do you want to watch a movie?”

“Sure,” Sophie said. “What did she bring?”

Grady reached into the bag and looked at the three movies, surprise on his face. “She is a sick woman.”

“What are they?” Sophie peered over, dissolving into giggles when she saw the titles. “All chick flicks, huh?”

“We have
The Notebook
,
When Harry Met Sally
, and
Pretty Woman
.”

“Those are all good movies,” Sophie said.

“I don’t understand why she would pick these,” Grady said. “I’ve seen her movie collection. It’s filled with science fiction, fantasy, and horror.”

“Maybe she was trying to go mainstream?”

“I think she was trying to torture me,” Grady said. “That’s the only explanation I can come up with.”

Sophie’s smirk was obvious. “Let’s watch
The Notebook
. I love that movie.”

Grady didn’t argue, instead getting to his feet and popping the movie into the Blu-Ray player. He settled back on the couch, leaning back to lounge against the pillows, and then opened his arms.

“Do you need a hug?”

“Get over here,” Grady growled. “If I have to watch one of these things, I at least get to cop a feel.”

“I thought sex was off the menu?”

“Maybe I changed my mind.”

Sophie shuffled along the couch and settled on Grady’s chest. Grady took the remote from her and started the movie, smoothing down her hair so he could see the television over her head.

As the credits started, Grady glanced at the table where Sophie had spread the rest of Mandy’s goodies. “I get why she sent the movies and magazines,” he said. “I get why she bought chocolate. Why did she send the nail polish?”

Sophie laughed, remembering Mandy’s admission from the bar a few nights before. “I think she knew you wouldn’t be able to keep to the no-sex promise.”

“But what does nail polish have to do with anything?”

Sophie shrugged. “You’ll have to ask her.”

“You know something, don’t you?”

“You’ll have to ask her.”

“Does my brother have some freak foot fetish or something? Wait, don’t tell me. I don’t want to know.”

“Watch the movie,” Sophie murmured, resting her head in the crook between his neck and shoulder, wrapping her arm around his waist. “You might actually like it.”

Grady has his doubts, but he turned his attention to the television. He just knew he was going to be haunted by thoughts of nail polish when this was all said and done.

After a full day of rest, Sophie was ready to go back to work. When Grady told her that wasn’t an option – she proceeded to pout.

And complain.

And pace.

And glare at him.

And then she pouted some more.

Grady couldn’t take much more of it. “What do you want from me?”

“I feel better,” Sophie said, clutching the sides of her flannel sleep pants desperately. “I need to do something.”

“The doctor said you were to remain quiet for a few days,” Grady said. “It hasn’t even been forty-eight hours and I’m ready to kill myself.”

“You?” Sophie’s eyebrows shot up. “I’m the patient here. I should get what I want.”

“You’ve got magazines, movies, and nail polish,” Grady said. “What more do you want?”

Sophie scorched him with a look. “You don’t know me at all, do you?”

“I know you’re seriously starting to piss me off,” Grady replied. “I know that.”

Grady was relaxing on the couch, flipping through the newspaper, and watching her freak out from the corner of his eye. As annoying as he found her little tirade to be, he also found her delightfully endearing to watch.

A dramatic sigh escaped Sophie’s lips as she settled on the couch next to him. Grady tried to ignore her, but it was difficult when she started running her fingers up and down his arm suggestively. “We could find something to do in the bedroom.”

Grady tried to inch away from her. “The doctor said you had to rest,” he said. “That’s not resting.” The truth was, after two nights of his body being pressed against hers – with no way to find relief – Grady was on edge and open to suggestion. Her flirty voice and full, pouty lips, were enough to make him forget the doctor’s orders.

Sophie brushed her lips against his ear. “I have some news I could share with you.”

Grady lowered the newspaper, fixing her with a hard look. “I know what you’re trying to do.”

“I should hope so,” Sophie said. “I wasn’t trying to be subtle.”

Grady smirked. “Why can’t you be a good little girl and just sit there and watch television?”

“Maybe I’d rather do something else.”

Grady sighed. “You know, when Mandy was sick, she watched the entire run of
Lost
.”

“Mandy seems very entertainment oriented,” Sophie said.

“You’re not?”

“I like real life.”

“How about a book?” Grady suggested.

Sophie rolled her eyes.

“There are non-fiction books.”

“My head hurts too much to read,” Sophie said. “What else do you have?”

“We could play a game,” Grady said. “I could go and buy a Monopoly board or something.”

Sophie’s face scrunched up. “Monopoly?”

“What? You like Battleship better?”

Sophie considered the question. “Why don’t you go and buy Twister.”

“Okay … I … wait a second,” Grady said, eyeing her suspiciously. “You’re an evil woman.”

“So I’ve been told,” Sophie said, sighing. “I’ve never known a man to complain, though.”

“I’m not complaining.”

“I’ve also never known one to shoot me down.”

Grady faltered. “I’m not shooting you down. Trust me. I just think you should take it easy. What’s one more day?”

“You should know, if I’m going to have to sit here in this house with nothing to do – including you – I’m going to go stir crazy. It’s not going to be pretty. There could be some property damage involved.”

Grady shook the paper, straightening it, so he could pointedly return to his reading. “I’ll try to find a way to survive.”

Sophie ran her tongue over the front of her teeth. “You’re really not going to give in?”

“I’m really not.”

“Even if I do this?”

Grady jumped as Sophie’s hand moved over his thigh and settled between his legs. He could feel himself stiffening under her touch.
Crap.
“Nope.”

“Really? Because you seem distracted from the newspaper now.”

“I’m not falling for this,” Grady warned. “You’re purposely being a pain –
oh, crap
, you need to stop doing that.”

“Doing what?” Sophie’s face was all faux innocence and light.

Grady dropped the newspaper. “You’re asking for it.”

“Asking for what?” Sophie purred, rubbing his erection while a small smile played at her lips.

Grady was going in for a kiss when the doorbell rang, causing both of them to jump and scatter apart. Sophie broke the silence first, giggling as she tried to catch her breath.

Grady ran a hand through his hair, his chest heaving. “Are you expecting anyone?”

“No. It’s probably just James or Mandy checking on us.”

“Probably,” Grady growled, getting to his feet. “Remind me to tell them what great timing they have.”

When he threw open the door, Grady was surprised to find an unfamiliar face staring back at him. The man was older – in his late sixties or so, if Grady had to guess – and his dark hair was shot through with more gray than color. The man was wearing an expensive suit and leather loafers – and the Ray Ban sunglasses perched on the edge of his nose were supposed to make him look cool, but they made Grady suspicious because they hid the man’s eyes.

“Can I help you?” Grady asked.

“Who are you?”

“Who are you?”

“I asked you first.”

“I asked you second – and I’m the one holding the door.”

The man narrowed his eyes. “Is Sophie here?”

“Maybe. Can I tell her who’s dropping in – unannounced?”

“Do you think you’re funny?”

“I often do,” Grady replied. “If you ask my family, though, they would probably argue the point.”

“Is Sophie here or not?”

“Who is it?” Sophie asked, moving in behind Grady. Grady didn’t move his gaze from the man. He didn’t trust him.

“Peter,” Sophie squealed, moving around Grady. “I can’t believe you’re here. I didn’t think you were in town.”

Grady watched Sophie hug the man, a mixture of amusement and mistrust floating across his face. “Do you want to introduce me?”

Sophie ushered the man into the house. “Of course. Grady Hardy, this is my foster father, Peter Marconi.”

Grady stiffened, forcing a hand out in front of him in an effort to pretend he wasn’t caught off guard by the presence of the alleged mobster in Sophie’s home. Peter’s smug smile cut into Grady’s chest like a knife. He already didn’t like this guy.

Once everyone was settled back in the living room, Peter laid into Sophie for not calling him after the accident. “I had to hear about it from an associate,” he said. “That’s not very nice, young lady.”

“I’m sorry,” Sophie said. “I really thought you were in New York for the month. That’s what Beth said when I called the house about a week ago.”

“You have my cellphone,” Peter reminded her. “I’m always available for you on that.”

Sophie bit her lip. “I know. I just always feel funny calling you on the cellphone, in case you’re in the middle of business or something.”

Grady tried to look relaxed as he settled on the coach. Sophie was using the word “business,” but Grady was sure she meant something else. The relationship between Peter and Sophie felt weird – and yet comfortable. Sophie wasn’t putting on an act because Grady was there – she was genuinely happy to see the man.

“There is no business that’s more important than you,” Peter said. “Don’t you ever forget it.”

“I’ll try to remember.”

“You do that.”

The room lapsed into silence for a minute, and then Peter focused on Grady. “Sophie introduced you as Grady Hardy, correct?”

Grady nodded.

“Of Hardy Brothers Security?” Peter pressed.

“Yes.”

“James Hardy is your brother?”

“He is.” Grady was trying to play it cool. He didn’t like sharing information with a mobster, whether he’d been convicted of a crime or not.

Peter leaned back in the armchair, his face unreadable. He was feeling Grady out. “Your brother has a good reputation,” Peter said. “I especially liked it when he shot out the front door of the courthouse and then killed a guy to save one of the clerks.”

“Yeah, he’s getting a lot of attention for that,” Grady agreed.

“What did the gentleman in question do to the girl that so infuriated your brother?”

Grady didn’t like Peter’s imperious tone. “He stalked her, tried to run her over with a car – twice, and then tried to gut her with a knife.”

Peter’s eyebrows jumped. “Well then, good on your brother.”

“I agree.”

“And the girl? She’s okay now?”

“She’s fine,” Grady said.

“We’re talking about Mandy, right?” Sophie asked, knitting her eyebrows together.

Grady nodded.

“You know the girl?” Peter asked.

“I’ve known her for a few years,” Sophie said. “She’s the clerk in Judge MacIntosh’s courtroom. I’ve gotten to spend a little more time with her over the past few days, though, and I think she’s really great. She’s funny and down-to-earth.”

Peter pulled his gaze from Grady so he could focus on his foster daughter. “You’ve never really been one for making friends with other girls,” he said. “I’m glad you’ve finally gotten over that little … aversion.”

“She kind of made me,” Sophie admitted. “She just told me we were having a girl’s night out, and I really couldn’t say no.”

Peter laughed. “I like her already.”

“Me, too,” Sophie said.

“Me, three,” Grady said, refusing to avert his eyes from Peter’s probing stare.

“And, Mr. Hardy, how do you know my Sophie?”

“We met at the newspaper last week,” Grady said. “She was rude, and I was placing an ad, and we just clicked.”

Sophie wrinkled her nose. “There was a little more to it than that.”

“I’m all ears,” Peter said.

Before he could stop her, Sophie launched into the entire story – not omitting a single detail – leaving Grady totally flummoxed. He couldn’t believe she was telling him everything. The only thing she didn’t touch on was the sex, which he was grateful for. When she was done, Grady watched Peter process the information.

“You were shot at?”

“I’m not sure I was a target,” Sophie said. “The sheriff and Madison were there just seconds before.”

“Still,” Peter said. “Bangers don’t usually shoot up the courthouse. That draws unnecessary attention to their operation. If they’re going to shoot at something, it’s usually each other. There’s not a lot of cause for them to be shooting at reporters. There’s no profit – or street cred – associated with it.”

“You seem to know a lot about gangs,” Grady said.

“I know a lot about everything, son,” Peter replied, turning back to Sophie. “So, you’ve been shot at, followed, and purposely ran off the road. Have I missed anything else?”

Sophie shrugged. “No. It’s been a slow week.”

Grady frowned, the expression deepened when he saw that Peter was actually smiling. “You’ve always been a magnet for trouble, my little bambina. Now is not the time for you to be stupid and stubborn, though.”

Well, Grady could agree with that sentiment.

“You have become a target,” Peter said. “You are obviously on to something big – even if you don’t know what that is yet.”

“I’m being careful,” Sophie said. “I even have my big, strong protector staying here with me to make sure no one comes near me.”

Peter pursed his lips. “I would rather not hear about that, if you don’t mind,” he said. “What I’m interested in hearing about is how you plan on keeping yourself safe.”

“By using my head,” Sophie said. “Like always.”

“That’s fine … to a degree,” Peter cautioned. “I think I would feel better, though, if you would let me position two of my men at the house.”

Grady leaned forward. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“I wasn’t asking you.”

Sophie put her hand on Grady’s arm to calm him. “While I appreciate the offer, the last thing I need is more babysitters. I can promise you that I’m in good hands here.”

Peter inhaled deeply. “I guess you know best.”

“I do.”

He got to his feet. “I did arrange for another gift.”

Sophie’s eyes brightened. “A gift?”

“I have a car being delivered for you within the hour,” Peter said, holding up his hand to ward off her protests. “You don’t have to keep it. I know how you
worry
about those things. It’s just until you find another car of your own. You just have the option of using it if you need it.”

Sophie smiled, moving closer so she could give Peter a hug and a kiss on the cheek. “Thank you. I’m really glad you stopped by.”

Peter kept his arm around her back as he regarded Grady. “Is he a good one?” He whispered in her ear.