Deadly Questions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 8) (18 page)

“She’s the one who orders me around,” Christian said. “She’s the one who organizes the trips over the bridge. She’s the one with the connections.”

Grady stilled. “Wait. What?”

“She’s the boss.”

“Oh, shit,” Grady said.

“This makes absolutely no sense,” James said, reaching into the refrigerator and pulling out a beer.

“Are you just saying that because we look like idiots for following the wrong men for a week and a half, or are you saying this because Lily has made us look like fools?” Jake asked.

The men were back at James’ house, worry and embarrassment washing over all four of them.

“Both.”

“Are we sure that Christian isn’t lying?” Finn asked. “I have a hard time believing that Lily could be in charge of anything. She doesn’t seem like a criminal mastermind. She doesn’t seem like anything but a pain in the ass, quite frankly.”

“Maybe she’s just a good actress,” Grady suggested.

“Maybe,” Finn conceded. “That still doesn’t explain why she was working as a model. If she really is the one trafficking women across the border, why would she freelance as a model? Why would she live in that hole where Emma and Sophie found her?”

“We don’t know that she’s trafficking women,” James cautioned. “We know that Christian said she was in charge. She could just be in charge of the pot runs.”

“He also said that she was only involved with
this
run,” Jake said. “Maybe she was just looking for extra money.”

“She still lied,” James said. “She said that she was kidnapped and someone tried to transport her over the border. She said Christian mistreated her and made her turn tricks on the street to earn room and board. Why would she do any of that?”

“To draw people in,” Finn replied.

“What do you mean?”

“Think about it,” Finn said. “What better way to find premium girls? They’re models. They’re pretty. They’re going to be far less likely to have diseases – or emotional problems. She’d be able to get more money for them.”

“They’re also more likely to be missed,” Jake pointed out.

“Not necessarily,” Finn said. “What if she tells people her story to get their defenses down? Emma said that she just volunteered her story out of nowhere. Emma was suspicious of it because of her past. She was raised by liars and … bad people. She thought Lily was lying from the start because she already knew what a liar looked like.

“The only reason Emma changed her mind is because someone else repeated the story,” Finn continued. “She felt guilty. She started looking at Lily as a victim she overlooked, and instead of keeping her defenses up, she dropped them all the way down. Lily was counting on that.”

“You know, Finn has a point,” Grady said. “Think about it. Lily tells this story to feel people out. She’s looking for sympathetic women. She doesn’t have to worry about how they look. They’re models. She’s got an open pool there. She needs to read them.

“Every gambler knows it’s not about the cards in your hand,” Grady said. “It’s about the cards everyone else thinks you have in your hand. Lily knows how to read people. When Emma and Sophie came to her door, she realized she had an opening. She knew they were investigating.”

“And there’s no way better to figure out what people know than to get in the inner circle,” James added. “So, Lily made up a story about people coming after her. People being able to track her down – especially since we never mentioned her name – threw us all for a loop. It never made any sense, and yet we believed it.”

“So, Emma took her in,” Finn said, gritting his teeth. “And Lily heard everything that was going on.”

“When you had a problem with Lily staying, and Sophie came up with the Peter solution, Lily realized how deep our resources ran,” Grady said. “The second she could manage, she snuck out and disappeared. We went back to her apartment. No one has been there.”

“Yeah, I’m starting to think that’s not her real home,” James said. “I’m betting she makes her presence known there. She picks up her mail, she talks to her neighbors, she drives to and from there on a regular basis … but her home base is someplace else.”

“Where?” Jake asked.

“I have no idea,” James said. “We may never know. All we know now is that Lily is the one in charge, and we have to plan our new attack around that.”

“She knows our faces,” Finn said. “She may have only met a few of us, but Emma has pictures all over that apartment. She knows what each and every one of us looks like.”

“Including me?” Jake asked.

“There’s a picture of you, Ally, James, and Mandy on the bookshelf in the living room,” Finn said. “She knows.”

“So, you’re done downtown,” James said. “It’s a waste of time.”

“Well, that’s a relief,” Jake said. “We’re still not done here, though.”

“We’re nowhere near done,” James said. “We just have to adjust our thinking. Lily is a predator, not the prey. That throws everything we’ve learned out the window.”

“What?”

James swiveled, his eyes landing on Mandy as she let herself into the house from the glass doors that led to the back yard. “Where have you been?”

“I was out in my studio,” Mandy replied. “I bought a few canvases today.”

James arched an eyebrow. “You did? You’re finally going to start painting something?”

Mandy scowled. “Don’t push me.”

“How are you going to fit painting in with your gay correction classes?” Grady asked.

Mandy cuffed him on the back of his head as she shot a disdainful look in James’ direction. “You told them?”

“It’s funny, baby,” James said. “I just want you to know, if you ever feel the need to explore those feelings, feel free to do it when I’m in the room. I’d love to join in.”

“You’re sick.”

James gave her a quick kiss. “I was just joking. I’m fine just watching.”

Mandy made a face. “It’s good to know I’m not enough for you.”

James paled. “That’s not … oh, now you’re just messing with me.”

“You were messing with me,” Mandy countered. “I just gave you a taste of your own medicine.”

James graced her with a lazy smile. “You’re all I want. Ever.”

“He’s telling the truth,” Grady said. “He’s so disgustingly in love with you that he won’t even look at another woman. It’s sad. He used to be the belle of the ball, and now he’s the wallflower.”

“Oh, like you should talk,” Mandy said. “You don’t look at anyone but Sophie, even if you are too stupid to tell her you love her.”

Silence descended on the room.

“Who told you that?” Grady asked, shooting an accusatory look in James’ direction.

James shook his head, raising his hands to indicate innocence.

“He didn’t tell me,” Mandy said. “He didn’t betray your little brotherhood of trust, so don’t worry about that.”

“Then who told you?” Grady pressed. “No one knows that but me and him. I didn’t tell Jake or Finn. So, who told you?”

“Sophie knows,” Mandy said, taking James’ beer from his hand and taking a drink before passing it back.

“She … she told you that?”

Mandy looked Grady up and down. “She did.”

“When?”

“I shouldn’t have said anything,” Mandy said, turning toward the stairs. “I’m going to go up and change.”

Grady grabbed her arm. “No, I need you to tell me what she said.”

“Grady, this is between you and Sophie.”

“And you, apparently.”

“I … .” Mandy looked to James for help.

“Maybe you should just tell him what you know, baby,” he suggested. “You’ve already opened the door.”

“I really do have a big mouth,” Mandy grumbled. “You keep telling me I do, and I keep telling myself it’s not true. It’s totally true, though. I have a huge mouth. If I was a spy, I would be the one they’d torture for information.”

James smirked. “I’d just tickle you until I got the information I needed.”

Mandy groaned. “Fine. Yes, Sophie and I had a discussion the other day.” Mandy yanked her arm away from Grady. “She said you haven’t told her you love her.”

“She hasn’t told me either,” Grady protested.

“She’s afraid to tell you.”

“Why?”

“Because she thinks you won’t say it back,” Mandy replied.

“But … I will.”

“I told her you would,” Mandy said.

“You did?”

“I don’t know who you think you’re fooling, Grady Hardy, but you’re not fooling me,” Mandy said. “It’s obvious you love her. It’s written all over your face every time you look at her. It’s written all over her face when she looks at you, too.”

“I don’t see that.”

“That’s because you don’t know where to look,” Mandy said.

“See, I told you,” James said.

“You did?” Finn arched an eyebrow, his gaze bouncing between his two brothers. “How long have you known about this particular problem?”

“A few weeks.”

“Why don’t you just tell her?” Finn asked.

“Have you told Emma?” Grady challenged.

“Of course he has,” Mandy scoffed.

“Well … actually … .”

Mandy made a face. “You, too?”

“I’ll bet Jake hasn’t either,” Finn protested.

“Jake and Ally have been together for a few months,” Mandy replied. “That’s different. You and Emma have been together for a year.”

“The timing hasn’t been right,” Finn said.

“The timing is never going to be right,” Mandy said. “You just have to speak what’s in your heart. You love Emma, right?”

Finn’s mouth dropped open. “I’m not having this discussion with you.”

Mandy’s eyes narrowed. “Are you saying you don’t love her?”

“No!”

Mandy rolled her eyes, turning back to Grady. “I can only deal with one of you at a time. You’re the first.”

“Why am I the first?” Grady asked.

“Because you’re the one tied up in knots over this,” she said. “You want to tell her. That much is obvious. Just tell her.”

“It’s not that easy,” Grady grumbled.

“Why?”

“What if she doesn’t say it back?”

“She’ll say it back,” Mandy said. “The only reason she hasn’t said it to you is because she’s scared to say it. She said that she couldn’t live with a man who doesn’t love her. So, if she says it to you, and you don’t feel the same way, she’s caught. She doesn’t want to lose you.”

Grady groaned. “This is a mess.”

“Just tell her,” Mandy said. “Your brother managed to find the words, why can’t you?”

“Maybe James is braver than I am,” Grady challenged.

“James ran away and left me naked in bed after the first time we had sex,” Mandy reminded him.

“Thanks, baby,” James said. “I always love hearing that story.”

Jake patted his shoulder sympathetically.

Grady rubbed his forehead with the heel of his hand. “It’s funny that this is coming up now,” he said, planting his hands on his hips. “Just today … I just decided I was going to do it. I wanted this case done so everything was solved. I want everything perfect when it happens.”

“Life is never going to be perfect, Grady,” James said. “Do you think it was perfect the first time I told Mandy?”

“Wasn’t it?”

“I told her after three hours of questioning by the police,” James said. “We were both exhausted. She’d been stalked and almost killed. I’d been panicked and convinced I was going to lose her. There was nothing perfect about that day, and yet everything was perfect about the moment.”

“Was it perfect for you?” Grady asked, focusing on Mandy.

“Yes.”

James moved up behind Mandy, wrapping his arms around her waist as he kissed her head. “You make the moment perfect, Grady. You don’t wait for the moment to be perfect.”

Grady sighed. “You’re right. I’m telling her tonight.”

“Good,” Mandy said. She glanced over at Finn. “Now we can talk about your problem.”

“Oh, great,” Finn mumbled.

The sound of Grady’s phone ringing cut off the chuckles in the room. Grady frowned when he looked at the screen.
Why would Peter be calling him?

“Hello?”

“Grady?”

“Yeah.”

“We have a problem,” Peter said.

“What problem?”

“It’s Sophie. She’s been … she’s been taken.”

“Where is he?”

Sven, one of Peter’s bodyguards, ushered everyone into Peter’s grandiose Grosse Pointe mansion. “He’s in the arboretum. He’s been trying to secure the funds.”

“I can’t believe this,” Grady muttered, stalking through the house.

Peter looked up when he heard everyone approaching. His hair was disheveled, and his ashen face looked ten years older than the last time Grady had seen him. “Any word?”

Grady shook his head. “No one has tried contacting me. They went straight for you.”

“Because he’s the one with the money,” Mandy said.

Peter forced a tight smile onto his face as he greeted the blonde court clerk. He was fond of her, and her presence was calming. James had tried to talk her out of coming, but arguing with her was going to take too long, so he’d finally acquiesced. Quite frankly, he knew there was no safer place in the world for his wife right now than Peter Marconi’s house.

“How much did they ask for?” Grady asked.

“Five million.”

Grady stilled. “Do you have that?”

“I have it.”

“In cash?”

“We’re trying to get our hands on the funds right now,” Peter said. “I have two million in the safe upstairs. The rest is tied up in other stuff. I’m calling in some markers. I’ll get it.”

“And you’re really just going to hand over five-million bucks?” Jake asked.

“I would hand over everything I own for Sophie,” Peter replied grimly. “Once she’s safe, though, all bets are off. I’ll hunt this animal down to the ends of the Earth. No one – and I mean no one – touches my family and lives to tell the tale.”

“We have some information on that,” James said.

Peter listened as James related their evening, frowning when he got to the end of the story. “Well, this makes so much more sense now.”

“It does?”

“I knew there was something wrong with Lily,” Peter said. “Sophie was so insistent, and Emma was worried about Finn’s dislike of the girl. I just let their big eyes convince me to take in that … harlot. I should have followed my gut.”

“If you had, she might have gone a different route,” James said.

“Such as?”

James slid a worried look in Finn’s direction before continuing. “I think her initial mark was Emma.”

Finn balked. “What?”

“I think she had Emma in mind when she approached her at that modeling gig,” James said. “Emma’s past makes her look like an easy mark. No one would miss her. She has no family.”

“I would miss her,” Finn said.

“Maybe that’s what made Lily change her mind,” James said. “Or, maybe when Emma didn’t believe her story, Lily wrote her off. I don’t know. All I do know is that Sophie and Emma dumping Lily here changed things for her. She realized this was a whole new ball game.”

“I thought she was under the impression that Peter distributed purses?” Mandy interjected.

“Only an idiot would believe that,” Peter said. “Unfortunately, that’s exactly what I thought she was. I didn’t look at her hard enough. She was cold and calculating, and there were signs. I purposely pushed them out of my mind because I wanted to make Sophie happy.”

“That’s what a good father does,” Mandy said.

“Not at the expense of his child,” Peter replied harshly. “And look what I’ve done to Sophie.”

“I don’t understand how Lily got her,” Grady said. “Lily didn’t know where we lived.”

“She took her from the newspaper,” Peter said. “I sent my men out after I got the call. Sophie’s car was at the newspaper. Her purse and keys were on the ground by the door. I had it all transported back here, by the way.”

“Sonofabitch,” Grady muttered. “Why did she go there?”

Peter shrugged. “I have no idea. She said she was working on missing-person files from Detroit. She said she felt like she was drowning. I think she was … obsessed.”

“She always gets obsessed when she’s on a big story,” Grady said.

“This was different,” Peter said. “She also seemed distracted.”

Grady exchanged a quick look with Mandy. “Did Lily let you talk to her when she made the call?”

“I did not talk to a woman,” Peter said. “It was a man.”

“You’re sure it wasn’t just a voice-modifier?” James asked.

“I think I know the difference,” Peter said.

“So, you didn’t talk to her?”

Peter shook his head. “I demanded proof of life. They let me talk to her briefly. It was only two sentences. She didn’t have time to send me a message.”

“A message?”

“I instilled certain … skills … in Sophie when she was a child,” Peter said.

“Like how to use a gun,” Grady said, his mind wandering to a few weeks before when Sophie had held off ten armed thugs with nothing but a handgun and her mouth.

“Yes.”

“You taught her how to talk in code in case someone took her?”

“I did.”

“And she didn’t this time?” Grady’s heart clenched.

“She didn’t have time,” Peter said. “She said she was fine. I believe her. She sounded pissed off more than anything else.”

“That sounds like her,” Grady said, running his hand through his hair. “She’s going to be okay, right?”

“Of course she is,” Peter said, clenching his jaw. “She’s the strongest person I know. I will not let anyone hurt her, and I will kill anyone that tries.”

“You’re going to kill Lily?” Mandy asked.

“I’m going to send a very distinct message,” Peter said. “No one touches my family and lives. Only an idiot would try something this … stupid. No one in the actual game would do this.”

“Lily must have realized that we were going to find out the truth,” James said. “That’s why she changed her plan. She knows Peter has money. She’s smart enough to know he doesn’t distribute purses, but she’s obviously too stupid to realize what she’s gotten herself into. She’s hoping to get enough money to run. She’s just going to abandon her operation here.”

“That doesn’t mean she won’t set it up someplace else,” Jake said. “There are a lot of different border crossings.”

“She won’t get the chance to do that,” Peter said. “She’s not leaving this state.”

“Peter,” Grady warned.

“No,” Peter snapped. “We’re getting Sophie back. We are. As soon as she’s safe, though, Lily is a dead woman.”

Grady exchanged a look with James, who could only shrug in response. His message was clear: What else could they do?

“I HAVE
to say, I’m impressed,” Sophie said, fixing Lily with a hard look as she watched the blonde woman pace in front of her.

They were in a fleabag hotel on Detroit’s south side. Lily hadn’t bothered blindfolding her, which made Sophie nervous. That seemed to indicate Lily either didn’t care about Sophie knowing her identity – or she didn’t think it would be a problem because she planned on killing her. Sophie was banking on the latter.

Lily ceased her relentless movement. “Why? Because you thought I was an idiot?”

“I didn’t think you were an idiot,” Sophie corrected. “I did buy your story, though. You fooled me. Very few people can do that, so bravo.”

Lily took a seat at the small table by the lone window in the room, crossing her legs as she regarded Sophie. “You’re pretty full of yourself, aren’t you?”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you’re surprised I bamboozled you,” Lily said. “You’re one of those people who thinks she knows everything, when you really know nothing.”

“I don’t think I know everything.”

“Of course you do,” Lily said. “You’ve got your important job, and your pretty boyfriend, and your mansion in the richest suburb of the state. You’re just so … special. You have no idea what it’s like to be on the outside looking in.”

“Is that how you see yourself, like an outsider looking in?” Sophie asked. She knew she had to keep Lily talking. She hadn’t been bound, and Lily wasn’t armed – although she’d placed a handgun on the table within reaching distance – but from her spot on the bed, Sophie knew she was still at a disadvantage. Lily hadn’t been alone when she approached her outside of the newspaper building. If it had just been her, even with a gun, Sophie would have fought back. The two men with her had given Sophie pause, and the reporter knew those men were outside of the hotel – within hearing distance – even now. Running would be a mistake. For now, Sophie had to keep Lily talking. She needed time to form a plan.

“I’ve always been an outsider,” Lily said. “Always.”

“Why don’t you tell me about it?”

Lily narrowed her eyes, suspicion flitting through their green depths. “Why would I want to do that?”

“Because it’s going to take Peter some time to put five-million bucks together in cash,” Sophie replied.

“I’ve seen that house,” Lily said. “Five million is pocket change to him.”

“He has assets,” Sophie said. “That doesn’t mean he has that much cash in his house. It takes time to liquidate.”

“Well, he’d better hurry,” Lily said. “I’m running out of patience.”

Sophie pursed her lips, an idea starting to form. “Well, we have nothing but time right now,” she said, shuffling herself back on the bed so she could rest against the headboard. “Why don’t you tell me something true about yourself for a change.”

“You just can’t stop being a reporter, can you?”

“No,” Sophie said. “Plus, if this is going to be the end for me, I want to know why.”

Lily sighed. “Fine. I guess it can’t hurt. Where do you want me to start?”

Sophie dug her cellphone out of her pocket, keeping it hidden beneath the pillow behind her as she made a big show of getting comfortable. “Why don’t you start at the beginning?”

“WE’VE
received a call,” Peter said, marching back into the arboretum. “They’ve set up a meet for five tomorrow morning.”

“Where?” James asked.

“Riverwalk Park.”

“Why not until then?” Grady was desperate.

Peter shrugged. “I told them I could have the money by midnight, but the man on the phone insisted on the place and the time.”

“I don’t like it,” Grady said, pacing. “Why would they tell us where the meet is when there’s so much time between now and then?”

“Because they’re going to change it at the last minute,” Peter replied.

“What? How do you know that?”

“Because it’s the smart way to do it,” Peter said. “For an amateur.”

“You’re going to have to explain that,” Mandy said, grabbing Grady’s arm to still him. “You’re making me dizzy. Sit here next to me.”

“I don’t want to sit next to you,” Grady grumbled.

“I’ll have you know that people from all around the world want to sit next to me,” Mandy said. “You should feel lucky.”

Grady rolled his eyes, but he took the open spot on the couch anyway.

“They set the meet so early because they expect me to take all of my men and stake out the park,” Peter said. “They probably already have someone watching it. Then, twenty minutes before the meet, they’re going to change the location to a place my men have no chance of getting to in time. Then she’ll ambush me there and try to kill me.”

“I guess this isn’t your first rodeo,” James said.

“No,” Peter said.

“So, what are you going to do?”

“I’m going to let her think she’s winning,” Peter said. “I’m going to send five men to the park to do just what they expect me to do.”

“You said that was a waste, though,” Grady said.

“I have a lot more than five men,” Peter said. “In fact, I don’t even plan on sending my men to the park. I have an associate in that area. He’ll send his men to keep up appearances. My men will be with me when they call with the real location.”

“And where do you think that will be?”

“I have no idea,” Peter said. “If I did, I’d have Sophie now. We just have to wait.”

“They won’t be expecting you to come alone,” James said.

“Yes, but they won’t expect me to have an army either,” Peter said. “I’m bringing an army.”

James nodded, absentmindedly reaching over and rubbing Mandy’s shoulders as she tried to keep Grady still. “I’m glad we have someone who knows what they’re doing in this situation. We would’ve fallen for the first drop.”

“As you said, this isn’t my first rodeo,” Peter said.

“Hey, I have something,” Finn said, walking into the room.

Everyone turned to him.

“I had Maverick track Sophie’s phone.”

“How did he do that?”

“And what made you think to do it?” Peter asked. “Only law enforcement has access to those records.”

“They still do,” Finn said. “Let’s just say that our computer geek knows how to hack law enforcement, and leave it at that.”

“He found her?” Grady asked, getting to his feet.

“He found her phone,” Finn cautioned. “It’s at a hotel in Detroit.”