Deadly Intuition (Hardy Brothers Security Book 2) (12 page)

The SUV smashed into the tail end of her car, spinning her. Sophie had one second to think she was okay, that the SUV was done and was leaving. Then another car hit her from the other direction – and light exploded all around her.

The last thing she heard before she lost consciousness was Grady’s frantic voice yelling from the phone.

When James got to the hospital, the first person he searched for was Grady. The first person he found was Mandy. After his initial shock wore off, he realized the man she was comforting was his brother, not a random stranger, and he headed toward them.

“Any news?”

Mandy shook her head silently, her lips thin and tight. James realized that Grady was about to blow. He put his hand on his brother’s shoulder to calm him.

“What do we know?”

“We know she was brought to the hospital unconscious,” Mandy said. “I was about to go and try to get some more information, but I was waiting for reinforcements.”

James nodded. “Why don’t you see what you can do. I’ll … handle this.”

Mandy raised her eyebrows, doubt reflected back at him, but she did as he asked. When she was gone, James focused on his brother. “Do you want to sit down?”

Grady’s face was swimming with rage. “What do you think?”

“I think you should sit down.”

“I think you should … .”

They were interrupted by the arrival of a middle-aged man and a plump blonde as they rushed to the information desk a few feet away.

“We just got a call,” the man said. “A friend of ours was brought here after a car accident.”

“Name?”

“Sophie Lane.”

James exchanged a look with Grady, who shrugged in response.

“Ms. Lane is still being looked at by our doctors,” the receptionist said. “You can take a seat in the waiting area with your other friends.”

“You must be able to tell us something,” the man pressed.

“We’re still evaluating,” the receptionist replied.

When the man and woman turned, James found he recognized something familiar about the woman. He’d met her before. He just couldn’t remember where.

The man took a few steps, joining them by the chairs. “You’re waiting for information on Sophie Lane?”

James extended his hand. “I’m James Hardy. This is my brother, Grady.”

“And how do you know Sophie?”

“Mr. Hardy is one of our advertisers,” the woman said, smiling brightly. “One of our best advertisers.”

“Hardy Brothers Security?” The man asked.

“Yes.”

“I’m familiar with your work. You’ve got a good reputation. My name is Conrad Malcolm. I’m Sophie’s editor.”

“Someone from the hospital called you?” James asked.

“Actually, one of the reporters heard it over the scanner,” Conrad replied. “We had to call around to find out what hospital she was being transported to so it took me longer than I would’ve liked to get here. How did you find out?”

James shifted his gaze to Grady. “She was on the phone with my brother when it happened.”

Conrad’s eyes narrowed. “Did she say anything?”

Grady shook his head, refusing to speak. James wasn’t sure how to answer. Sophie hadn’t said a lot about her editor and what he knew about the investigation. “He’s a little … worked up right now.”

The blonde woman next to Conrad cleared her throat.

“Oh, I’m sorry, this is Marge Sandusky,” Conrad said. “She works for the Daily Tribune, too. We came together.”

“Mr. Hardy and I are old friends,” Marge said, smiling widely.

That’s where I know here from.
“That’s right. You work in the front lobby, right?”

“That’s right,” Marge purred.

James was uncomfortable with the way she was looking at him. “Um, we were just going to sit down and wait for an update. Why don’t you join us?”

Marge immediately took the chair to James’ right, pressing her thigh against his. “So, you’re here to offer moral support to your brother?”

“I’m here to make sure Sophie is okay,” James said, shifting uncomfortably. Marge’s arm was taking over his armrest and invading his personal space.
And why was she smiling like that?

“That’s so nice of you,” Marge cooed. “You have a big heart.”

James exchanged a glance with Grady, who had stopped pacing long enough to stare at Marge. “I guess.”

“Where is Mandy?” Grady finally spoke. “I thought she was going to get an update?”

“Give her a second,” James said. “She’s only been gone a few minutes.”

“Who is Mandy?” Conrad asked. “Does she work for you?”

“She’s my girlfriend,” James said, feeling Marge stiffen next to him. “She’s trying to get an update.”

“Your girlfriend?” Marge asked. “Is that an official title, or just a temporary position?”

James was definitely uncomfortable now. “I’m not sure I understand the question. Oh, look, here she comes.”
Thank, God.
James stood. “What did you find out?”

Mandy glanced at Conrad and Marge, clearly unsure of how to proceed.

“This is her editor and a friend from the office,” James said.

“I’m not her friend,” Marge replied. “I just came because I wanted to see if she survived.”

Yeah, that was odd.

“You’re Conrad Malcolm?” Mandy asked, reaching out to shake his hand. “I’ve heard a lot about you.”

“You have?”

“You have a good reputation,” Mandy said. “I clerk for Judge MacIntosh. He has a lot of nice things to say about you.”

“Oh, that’s right,” Conrad said. “I know who you are. You’re the clerk who was attacked a few months ago.” He moved his eyes to James. “Which would make you the man who shot out the front door to get to her. You’re famous.”

“So I’ve been told,” James deadpanned.

“So, this is one of those brief but intense things that just burns out after time, right?” Marge interjected.

Mandy cocked her head to the side, sending a silent question to James. He didn’t know how to answer, so he merely shrugged helplessly in response.

Grady exploded. “What did the doctor say?”

Mandy turned to him. “He said that she has a concussion and she’s going to be sore for a few days,” she answered. “She’s going to have some bruises and a bump on her head, but she should be fine.”

Grady exhaled shakily. “Are you sure?”

“As sure as they can be until she regains consciousness,” Mandy said.

“And when is that supposed to happen?” Grady’s voice was sharp.

“Soon.”

Grady ran a hand through his hair, his expression still drawn. “Can I see her?”

“Are you going to be calm?”

“Are you trying to piss me off?”

Mandy shook her head. “No. I did manage to get you clearance to go into the room, but only if you’re calm.”

“How did you do that?” James asked.

“I told the nurse that Grady was her boyfriend and he was going to have a heart attack if he didn’t get to see her,” Mandy replied, watching Grady closely. “That means you can’t freak out when they call you her boyfriend.”

James was tense as he watched his brother. He almost jumped out of his skin when Grady reached for Mandy – worried his brother was going to shake her due to his frustration and emotional turmoil – but he relaxed when Grady pulled her in for a quick hug.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Mandy patted his back soothingly. “You’re welcome. She’s in room 218.”

Grady disappeared down the hall. Once he was gone, James turned to his girlfriend. “You managed to get all of that done in five minutes?”

“I’m efficient.”

James wrinkled his nose. “I was going to say awesome, but we’ll go with efficient.”

Mandy rolled her eyes. “We need to order some food and call Finn.”

“Order food? We’re staying?”

“Are you really going to leave him here alone?”

James shook his head, considering. “Actually, I figured I would stay and you would go home. I can leave long enough to follow you back and make sure you get settled.”

“You’re going to follow me home and then come back here? Why?”

“Because Sophie was run off the road on purpose,” James replied, already knowing that Mandy was going to balk at the harsh tone of his voice. “Forgive me if I don’t want that to happen to you.”

“Why would it?”

“You’ve been seen with her,” James said. “You and Ally were with her when that guy attacked her the other night. And, let’s be frank, he’s our prime suspect here.”

“He has no idea who I am.”

“It’s not hard to find out,” James shot back. “I’m not negotiating on this, so don’t even try.”

Mandy’s face hardened. “I wasn’t planning on leaving at all. I would appreciate it if you didn’t take that tone with me.”

James blew out a frustrated sigh. “I’m sorry. I just … I just can’t help thinking about if that had been you.”

Mandy reached out, squeezing his hand. “I know. Let’s not fight. Let’s think about getting some food, updating Finn, and then we’ll go from there. I’m not even sure if they’re going to keep Sophie overnight.”

James wrapped his hand around her wrist and yanked her over to him so he could give her a hug. “I don’t like this,” he said. “I don’t like this at all.”

“I know,” Mandy murmured against his chest. “We need to just calm down and figure it out.”

Conrad cleared his throat. “I think we need to talk.”

James glanced over at him. “About what?”

“What you’re working on with Sophie,” he replied.

“What makes you think we’re working on anything with her?”

“You seem to have a certain amount of … information.”

James pursed his lips and sat back down – making sure to pick a chair away from Marge – tugging Mandy down into the seat next to him. She was protection from the other blonde in the room, and he wasn’t embarrassed to admit it. “I’m not sure how much I should say.”

“I’m her editor,” Conrad replied. “I’m aware of what she’s working on.”

“No offense,” James said. “I don’t know you.”

“I understand your suspicion,” Conrad said. “I think we can both agree that Sophie has exposed a nerve here. She’s in real trouble.”

“She’s going to be under our protection from now on,” James said. “I can promise you that.”

Mandy groaned.

“What?” James lifted an eyebrow.

“You guys are going to smother her now, aren’t you?”

“You say smother like it’s a bad thing.”

“Sophie is a grown woman,” Mandy said. “Maybe we should talk to her and find out what happened before we fly off the handle?”

James thought that was a terrible idea. “Or maybe we can be proactive and make sure nothing else happens.”

Mandy swallowed her bottom lip with her upper one. “You can’t force her to change her life because it’s what you guys want.”

“You’re going to make this a
thing
, aren’t you?”

“No. I’m just trying to rein you in before Grady handcuffs her to a bed,” Mandy said. “Although, she might like that.”

James smirked. “I get what you’re saying, but let me tell you something, missy,” he said. “If someone had tried to run you off the road and kill you, I would’ve beaten every nurse in this place to get to you – even if it meant going to jail. And then? The minute I got out of jail I would’ve locked you in the apartment – using both wrist and ankle shackles if I had to – and made sure you were safe.

“And, yes, I would’ve made it fun,” he continued. “An angry and smothered you is better than no you at all. I have a feeling Grady will feel the same way.”

Mandy fought the smile, ultimately giving up the battle. “You’re lucky you’re so cute.”

James kissed the tip of her nose. “I’ll watch that shark movie in the mall later, if it makes you feel better.”

“That movie is amazing,” Mandy countered.

“That movie is stupid,” James said. “I love you enough to watch it anyway. The shackles can be optional for tonight.”

Marge huffed, pulling James’ attention to her.

“Sorry,” she said. “I had something caught in my throat.”

Mandy was shaking with silent laughter.

“What?” James asked.

“I think you have a fan,” Mandy whispered.

James cast a dubious look in Marge’s direction. “She makes me feel uncomfortable.”

“I’ll console you later.”

“You bet your Jawesome ass you will.”

The first thing Sophie felt when she woke up was pain. The first thing she heard was a buzzing in her ears. The first thing she saw was Grady’s concerned face as he watched her regain consciousness.

He leaned forward when he saw her eyes were open. “Hey.”

“What happened?” Her voice was raspy, causing Grady to push a cup of water in front of her face so she could drink from a straw.

“What do you remember?”

“I don’t … I remember being on the phone with you,” Sophie said, searching her memory. “I remember I was being followed. The rest is a little fuzzy.”

“Whoever it was hit you,” Grady said, a muscle twitching in his jaw. “You got spun out into traffic and hit by another car.”

Sophie was horrified. “Was anyone else hurt?”

“The driver of the other car had minor injuries,” he said. “They were treated at the scene and released.”

“What about the driver of the SUV? Did the police catch him?”

Grady shook his head. “He got away.”

“How?”

“I’m not sure,” Grady said. “We’ll deal with that later.”

Sophie sighed, running her hand up her head. She winced when her fingers detected the pronounced bump at her hairline. “Ouch.”

Grady shifted closer to the bed, capturing her other hand between his shaky fingers. “Do you want me to get a doctor?”

“I don’t think so,” Sophie said. “I’m just a little achy.”

“The doctor says you need to take it easy for a few days,” he said.

“The doctor talked to you about my case? What about medical ethics? That could be a story.”

Grady groaned. “Leave it to you to think about work at a time like this.”

“Well, I’m just saying.”

“The doctor told Mandy,” Grady said. “I think she sweet talked him.”

“Mandy was here?”

“She’s still out in the lobby with James,” Grady said. “I think she’s been trying to keep Marge off of her man.”

Sophie knit her eyebrows together – immediately regretting the facial movement associated with the expression. “Marge? What is she doing here?”

“Other than tracking James like a bloodhound in heat? I think she came with your editor,” Grady explained.

“Conrad is here?”

“Yeah. I guess they heard about the accident on the scanner.”

Sophie considered the newsy tidbit. “I still don’t understand why Marge is here. She hates me. I was really mean to her earlier. She probably came in the hope I would die.”

“Let’s not mention the possibility of you dying right now,” Grady said, pressing her fingers to his mouth. “Not even as a joke.”

“Too soon?” Sophie teased.

“Never is too soon.”

THE DOCTOR
reluctantly agreed to let Sophie leave against medical advice. Grady promised she would stay in bed, and that he would check on her regularly. He had no intention of leaving her side, so the promise wasn’t a hard one to make.

James and Mandy stopped at an area market to buy food supplies and reading material (Mandy insisted gossip tabloids were a must) and then left the duo alone. James had made noises about sleeping on the couch to stand guard, but Mandy had managed to talk him out of it, which Grady was eternally grateful for.

Grady was convinced there was more talk of underwear in that little manipulation than he’d been privy to – but he didn’t want to find out.

Once they were gone, Grady made sure the doors were locked and climbed the stairs to Sophie’s bedroom. She’d stripped out of the scrubs provided by the hospital (her clothes had been ruined) and Grady had drawn her a warm bath while he dealt with the groceries downstairs. She was out of the tub and wrapped in a robe, standing next to her bed with a lost look on her face, when Grady entered the room.

“What’s wrong?”

Sophie jumped at the sound of his voice. “Nothing. I was just kind of … zoning out.”

“That’s just the medication,” Grady said, swinging into the room. “You’ll feel better tomorrow.”

“I hope so.”

“You’ll probably be sore tomorrow, too,” Grady said. “The doctor wants you to stay in bed.”

“We still have all those documents to go through,” Sophie replied. “We should be looking at those.”

“All you’re looking at is the television and those trashy magazines Mandy picked out,” Grady said. “James and Finn are going through the documents.”

“What if they miss something?”

“Then hopefully Mandy will catch it,” Grady said. “The only thing you’re thinking about tomorrow is getting better.”

Sophie bit the inside of her lip. “I don’t think I can do that.”

“Well, you’re going to.”

“No, I mean I
really
don’t think I can do that,” Sophie said. “What about my car?”

“Tell me who handles your insurance and I’ll deal with that tomorrow. Finn is picking up a police report, and that will tell us who took your car and where it ended up.”

“And there’s no chance of fixing it?”

Grady shook his head. “I haven’t seen it, but I’m guessing no.”

Sophie pinched the bridge of her nose. “I liked that car.”

“I’ll help you pick out a new one,” Grady said. “It will be fun. We can be rude to the salesperson together.”

“What about the calls I have to make?” Sophie asked.

“They can be put off for a few days.”

“What about my other work?”

“Conrad said you could have the rest of the week off,” Grady said. “If he’s not worried about it, why are you?”

Sophie looked unsure of herself. “I won’t know what to do with myself if I don’t have work to do.”

Grady smiled – the first real smile to grace his face in hours – and stepped toward her. “I’ll find a way to keep you busy.”

Sophie narrowed her eyes suspiciously. “What way?”

Grady winked in her direction. “We’ll talk about that tomorrow but, if you’re interested, I believe Mandy bought about eight trashy magazines and she picked up a few movies, too. The bag also had nail polish, Hershey’s Kisses, and a few books.”

“Shark movies?”

Grady shrugged. “I have no idea. She’s fairly pragmatic, though. I guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

Sophie sank down onto the bed. “I am kind of tired.”

“Then let’s get you ready for sleep.” Grady stepped over to the dresser and opened a drawer. What he found inside was confusing.
What does a woman sleep in when sex is off the table?
He’d never had to deal with this problem before.

When he glanced back in her direction, Sophie was watching him curiously. “What are you doing?”

“I’m not sure what you want to sleep in,” Grady admitted.

“Pajamas would be good.”

“You need to be more specific,” Grady said. “Your idea of pajamas and my idea of pajamas could be totally different things.” Truth be told, his idea of pajamas was nudity. He wanted her to be comfortable.

Sophie laughed lightly, the sound refreshing to Grady’s exhausted soul. “There are some plaid, flannel sleeping pants in the bottom drawer. Just grab those, a pair of underwear, and a tank top,” Sophie instructed. “I hope you don’t take this personally, but I would rather go casual tonight.”

That sounded good to Grady. He found the flannel pajama pants easily enough, even selecting a gray tank top to toss onto the bed next to her without incident. When he opened her underwear drawer, though, that’s where he ran into a problem.

The left side of the drawer was filled with lacy offerings that left little to the imagination. When he thought about it, they didn’t look particularly comfortable. On the right side, there was a small pile of underwear that looked like mini boxer shorts instead of women’s underwear. He picked up the black pair on top of the pile, holding it with one finger as he considered them.

“Are you trying to decide if you’re going to wear those?” Sophie asked.

“No,” Grady said, his mind traveling to his conversation with James earlier in the week. “I was just thinking about Mandy’s underwear.”

“Excuse me?”

“Huh?” Grady shook himself out of his reverie. “I wasn’t thinking of Mandy’s underwear like that,” Grady said. “It was something James said.”

“What did he say?”

“He has a theory about women and comfortable underwear,” Grady said, gripping the black panties in his hand and shoving the drawer shut before moving back over to Sophie.

“I think I heard part of this theory the other night,” Sophie said, her eyes twinkling. “Isn’t that what caused your brother to have to watch endless hours of shark movies?”

“Don’t kid yourself,” Grady said. “He likes those movies.”

“He doesn’t act like he likes those movies,” Sophie countered.

“Some of them are complete crap,” Grady said. “She had one on about a week ago – something called
Shark Night
– and it had all these sharks in a freshwater lake because some idiots were trying to make a reality television show. It was stupid.”

Sophie waited.

“
Jaws
is really good, though, and a few of the others aren’t bad,” Grady continued. “And, the truth is, no matter how bad a movie is, if it has sharks eating people guys are probably going to like it.”

“So why does he pretend to hate them?”

“It’s part of the game,” Grady said, handing her the panties. “If James pretends like he’s giving in on the movies, then Mandy pretends she’s making a big sacrifice going to a Pistons game with him – even though she loves basketball.”

“And what’s the point of that?”

“You’ll have to ask them,” Grady said. “They seem to have fun playing the game, though.”

Sophie stripped off the robe, grimacing as she did. Normally, the sight of her naked body would’ve driven Grady to distraction. The bruises coloring her chest where the seatbelt had snapped her lithe frame back into the car seat were enough to make him cringe.

Grady knelt in front of her, taking the panties back, and slipping them over her ankles, shimmying them up until she had to lift herself off the bed to finish the job. He did the same with the flannel pants. He was gentle when it came to the tank top, moving slowly and trying not to jostle her too hard. Once he was done, he gave her the once-over.

“You look kind of cute.”

Sophie scowled. “I don’t feel that way.”

“You look comfortable,” Grady said. “And that’s the most important thing.”

Grady took the opportunity to strip out of his own clothes and then climbed into bed wearing nothing but his boxer shorts. He watched Sophie get comfortable, plumping a few pillows so they would support her neck and head, and then he scooched in close, resting his arm around her waist and his head against her shoulder. “Get some sleep.”

Sophie was quiet for a second. “You didn’t finish the story.”

“What story?”

“About the great lesson James imparted on you regarding women’s underwear,” Sophie pressed, her voice sounding tired.

Grady chuckled, brushing his lips against the tender spot behind her ear. “If you go to sleep, I promise to tell you the underwear theory tomorrow.”

“Okay,” Sophie said. “I’m going to remember that promise.”

She dropped off quickly, her body going heavy in Grady’s arms. He used the time before sleep claimed him to think. He’d almost lost her today – and that idea terrified him. He was getting closer to her with each passing day – with each passing minute – which terrified him on a whole other level.

And, worst of all? James had been right about the underwear. He was perfectly content to snuggle up next to her and not try to strip them from her body.

“Crap,” Grady muttered, drifting off to sleep with his strong body protectively draped over Sophie’s damaged one.