Deadly Illusions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 3) by Lily Harper Hart Read Free Book Online Page A

bridge of his nose. “Did you have to tell me that?”
    “It’s a mess all around,” Mandy said. “How is Finn?”
    “How is Finn after he caused a scene and took down a sexual-abuse victim in front of everyone? He’s just peachy.”
    “How did Emma react?” Mandy asked, ignoring the sarcasm.
    “She was just really … stoic.”
    “How did you react?”
    James winked. “I was my usual cool and collected self.”
    “Did you play dumb?”
    “Woman, who are you calling dumb?”
    Mandy wrinkled her nose, a gesture James often found endearing. Before he could think further on her cute, little face, there was a knock at the door. “Am I buying dinner?”
    Mandy pointed to her purse, which was sitting on the counter in the kitchen. “You can get money out of there.”
    James shook his head. “I think I’ll just pay for the food so you’ll owe me in bed tonight.”
    Mandy rolled her eyes. When he returned a few minutes later, James dropped the box of food on the table incredulously. “How much food did you order?”
    “I wanted choices,” Mandy said. “Plus, I figured we’d eat off the leftovers for a week. You know I only like to cook breakfast.”
    James shrugged. That actually wasn’t a bad idea.
    “What kind of payment are you expecting for this food?” Mandy asked, her eyes bright as she shut the laptop.
    “Well, after you’re done stuffing your mouth out here, I figured I could stuff … huh, you know, that sounded better in my head,” James said.
    “You’re not going to finish your dirty thought?”
    “Nah. I think you know where I was going with it.”
    “I do.” Mandy’s eyes filled with concern as she looked James up and down. It wasn’t like him to just let a dirty thought go. “What’s really bothering you?”
    James shook his head, his eyes clearing. “I’m just glad you’re you.”
    “Meaning?”
    “Emma seems broken,” James said. “Like she doesn’t know how to laugh. My favorite thing to do is watch you laugh.”
    Mandy moved from her chair and slid onto James’ lap. She kissed the side of his cheek as he wrapped his arms around her. “Maybe Finn will be able to help Emma find her laugh.”
    “Or maybe Emma will crush Finn and take his away,” James countered.
    Mandy rested her forehead against James’ jaw. “We can’t jump to any conclusions.”
    “I know.”
    “Let’s eat dinner and go to bed,” Mandy said, suddenly changing the subject.
    “I thought you wanted The Walking Dead and a massage?” James asked, raising an eyebrow in her direction.
    “I want you more,” Mandy admitted.
    James tightened his arms. “How about we have dinner in bed and cut down on the lag time?”
    Mandy giggled. “Deal.”
    Yeah, James thought. There’s no way he could live without that laugh.

Seven
    “So, how was the boat show?” Grady asked, his eyes twinkling as he lounged in an office chair lazily. He’d clearly had a relaxing weekend – a fact that was aggravating Finn and his frayed nerves.
    It was Monday morning, and the three Hardy brothers were sitting in James’ office discussing the weekly schedule. Grady obviously hadn’t heard about Finn’s weekend.
    “It was busy,” Finn replied shortly.
    “The boat show was busy? People probably just wanted a reason to delude themselves that it would be warm again,” Grady said. “How were the boat models? That’s the only reason to go to one of those shows.”
    Finn gripped the arms of his chair and pursed his lips. “Can we talk about something else?”
    Grady glanced over at James. “What’s his problem?”
    “He had a rough weekend.”
    “Did the boat models give him a run for his money? That doesn’t sound like a rough weekend to me.”
    “Will you stop talking about the models like they’re inanimate objects and try to remember they’re people?” Finn barked.
    Grady’s eyes opened wider as he mouthed the word “wow.”
    James shook his head in warning. “You probably don’t want to go there.