Deadly Memories (Hardy Brothers Security Book 18) (19 page)

“No,” Grady said, shoving open the door. “I think that was justice.”

“
I
’m not getting
in that car, Daryl,” Sophie said, rebounding against her fear. “You can’t make me. It’s not going to happen.”

“You were always so full of yourself,” Daryl said, pulling the knife back slightly and shaking his head. “You always thought you were better than me. Admit it.”

“Gladly,” Sophie said, keeping her eyes locked on Daryl’s. “What are you doing here? Why would you come after me now? It was so long ago, Daryl. What’s in it for you?”

“Well, I couldn’t justify going after you before because you were Peter Marconi’s daughter,” Daryl replied. “You really fell up, didn’t you? How did you convince a guy like that to adopt you? What, did you have sex with him?”

“You’re sick,” Sophie said, her stomach rolling. “Peter is a good man and he took me in out of the kindness of his heart. He’s been a true father to me.”

“I had a true father,” Daryl said. “Do you remember my father? You sent him to prison.”

“He sent himself to prison because he was covering for you,” Sophie countered. “I didn’t send him anywhere. That’s on you.”

Daryl slammed his hand against the car, causing Sophie to jolt. “It’s on you,” he hissed, his eyes dangerous green slits. “You told the cops to arrest me and my father protected me because that’s what good fathers do. Do you know what happened to my good father?”

“Hopefully he’s dead,” Sophie replied, not missing a beat. She refused to back down and let Daryl intimidate her.

“He
is
dead,” Daryl confirmed. “Two days before he was due to be released from prison, some guy serving a life term shanked him in the back. He died on a bathroom floor.”

Sophie couldn’t muster any sympathy. “Bummer.”

Daryl grabbed the front of Sophie’s shirt and slammed her into the car, eliciting an involuntary whimper. “Your father had him killed. He murdered my father.”

Sophie opened her mouth to argue, but when she searched her heart she knew it to be true. Peter would never admit it, and she would never ask, but Peter’s weird code of ethics would ensure that Will Jordan would never see freedom. Peter would’ve let him rot in jail forever as punishment, but walking free was another story.

“What? Cat got your tongue?” Daryl challenged. “I’ll bet you didn’t know your daddy was a murderer, did you?”

“If Peter did arrange to have your father killed, I’m going to have to thank him the next time I see him,” Sophie said.

“You’re never going to see him again, you bitch!”

“
W
E HAVE
to get over to the sheriff’s department right now,” James said, disconnecting his phone and grabbing Mandy’s hand. “There’s a situation in the parking lot.”

“What kind of situation?” MacIntosh asked, concerned.

“I don’t know how much of this I should tell you, but Sophie Lane is in trouble,” James explained, causing Mandy to squeeze his hand. “That was Jake on the phone. A woman came into the office claiming her son was going to kill someone. Her son is Sophie’s former foster brother.”

“Oh, no,” Mandy said, her hand flying to her mouth.

“It’s okay, baby,” James said, pulling Mandy to him. “It’s a long story, but this foster brother tried to kill Sophie when she was a child. His father went to prison in his place, and apparently died there.

“Chuck Foley somehow found out about Sophie’s ties to this guy and hired him to kill Sophie,” he continued. “My guess is that Foley was hoping this Daryl guy would die in the process or no one would believe him because of his history with Sophie.”

“Okay,” MacIntosh said. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“Peter Marconi had a man following Sophie to make sure she was safe,” James said. “Someone vandalized her car and Chuck Foley showed up at the house. Peter didn’t tell Sophie he was having her tailed.

“When Sophie was leaving the sheriff’s department, a man approached her and pulled a knife,” James said. “He’s been trying to get her to drive off in her car, but she’s refusing. Peter’s man is watching the situation, but he’s afraid of approaching in case Daryl gets nervous and kills Sophie.”

“Does the sheriff know?” MacIntosh asked.

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Well, I don’t think we have a choice but to place a call over there,” MacIntosh said. “Take Mandy and go. She has my cell phone number. Keep me apprised of what happens. The state police will be here very soon and I will make sure they’re the ones who take Foley and Humphrey into custody. We’ll deal with Morgan after this … incident … is taken care of.”

James nodded. “Thank you for all of your help.”

“It’s my job,” MacIntosh said. “Now, go and save Ms. Lane. I have a feeling she will be missed if something bad happens.”

“You have no idea.”

“
I
F YOU
want
me to apologize or feel sorry for you, go someplace else because that’s not going to happen, Daryl,” Sophie said, rubbing the spot on her cheek where Daryl struck her moments before. “I’m not afraid of you. I’ll never be afraid of you again.”

“Oh, now, come on,” Daryl prodded, his earlier anger fit subsided. “You can’t tell me I didn’t terrorize your nightmares for a few years there. You were such a baby that day, begging me to let you go. I wish I would’ve killed you.”

“You’re going to wish you’d never found me when Peter’s men get done with you,” Sophie said, opting to bargain from a position of power instead of weakness. “Do you have any idea what they’re going to do with you? Whatever it is, it won’t be quick.”

Daryl hopped from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable. “I’m not afraid of him.”

“You should be,” Sophie said, unruffled. “I once heard a story about a guy and they cut all of his fingers off and made him eat them … no ketchup or anything … and then they did the same thing with his toes.” Sophie was making that up. Peter never allowed business conversations to be conducted in her presence. She gleaned the details from a crime show she once watched.

“I’ll run,” Daryl said. “They’ll never catch me.”

“You have a problem, Daryl,” Sophie said. “You’re in a public parking lot. No one has noticed yet because I’m not making a scene. If you make a move on me, I’ll scream. People will see you. You won’t get out of this parking lot.”

“If that’s the case, then your foster father won’t be able to get me because the police will have me,” Daryl sneered.

“Do you really think Peter can’t get to you in prison?” Sophie challenged. “You just told me he got to your father. I can just imagine what other inmates would do to you for a promise of regular care packages to the prison. Peter can have you killed for a carton of smokes a week.”

“Shut up!” Daryl slammed his hand against the car again, his anger issues on display.

“Do we have a problem?”

Sophie froze when she heard the voice, finally wrenching her eyes away from Daryl and focusing on the man standing about five feet behind him. It was the last person she expected.

Aaron Morgan held his hands up and regarded Daryl with an open smile. “How can I help end this without anyone getting hurt?”

“You can’t,” Daryl said, grabbing Sophie around the neck and jerking her in front of him as he pressed the knife to her throat. “I’ll kill her. I swear I will!”

Morgan briefly let his gaze touch Sophie’s before turning his attention to Daryl. “You can’t hurt her, Daryl. If you do, your life will be over. You still have a chance to get out of this.”

“Who are you? How do you know my name?”

Sophie could feel Daryl’s heart pounding through her back. “He’s the sheriff, Daryl. You need to do what he says.”

“How do you know my name?” Daryl was beside himself.

“Your mother is in town,” Morgan replied, his voice soothing as he spoke in weighted beats. “She went to Hardy Brothers Security to ask for their help finding you. She’s worried you might do something you’ll regret.”

“I’ll never regret killing Sophie,” Daryl snapped, tugging on Sophie’s hair and causing her to yelp. “She’s got it coming after what she did to my dad.”

“I’ve only been briefed on the situation with your father, so I don’t have all the details,” Morgan said. “I do know that the man who hired you doesn’t have your best interests at heart.”

“How can you possibly know about that?”

“I know a lot of things that would surprise you, Daryl,” Morgan said, inching forward slightly. “I know that Chuck Foley is not a good man. I know that he wanted to hire you because he thought you would go down for Sophie’s murder alone and he would be free and clear.”

“That’s not true,” Daryl protested. “He’s going to pay me. He told me Sophie is out to ruin his son, just like she ruined my father.”

“Sophie isn’t trying to ruin Nate Foley,” Morgan said. “She’s trying to get justice for three dead boys. She’s doing what I should’ve done from the beginning.”

Sophie was stunned by Morgan’s words. “It’s all true, isn’t it? You’ve been stealing money and Foley blackmailed you to keep his son out of prison.”

“Not exactly,” Morgan clarified. “Madison stole a lot of money. I didn’t realize he had a deal with the former prosecutor. They were in it together, and the prosecutor had no intention of giving the funds he stole back.

“I didn’t think the department could take another hit, and I did something illegal and I will always regret it,” he continued. “I needed money to cover the funds the prosecutor was still taking and I needed to put the money back quietly. I blackmailed him into giving up his position. In return, Chuck Foley agreed to help me with my money problems in exchange for helping get Eric Humphrey elected. They’ve been close friends for years and they had some … plan … or taking control of accounts in the courthouse.”

“But why?” Sophie asked. “Why not tell the truth? Why cover it up? You put yourself in a terrible position. You can never take it back. It’s over now.”

“I know it’s over,” Morgan said, nodding. “It would’ve been over sooner if I told the truth. That’s no excuse, but … I made a mistake. I’m sorry for how I treated you earlier, but I’m really sorry I let things get to this point. This is all on me.”

“Wow, it’s really great hearing you guys talk to one another,” Daryl said, tugging Sophie’s hair again. “Pay attention to me!”

“I am paying attention to you, Daryl,” Morgan said. “You don’t have any options here. My deputies are on the other side of that wall. The Hardy brothers are on the other side of that prison van over there – and one of them is probably having a heart attack right about now. You don’t have a way out of this situation.”

“I am not going to prison!” Daryl howled. “I didn’t do anything.”

“You have a knife to a woman’s throat, Daryl,” Morgan said. “You’ve done something. From what I understand, you did something pretty despicable a long time ago, too.”

Sophie’s cheeks burned as she realized Morgan knew the secret she worked so hard to put behind her.

“You’re going to prison, Daryl,” Morgan said. “I can promise you solitary confinement so you don’t have to worry about retribution, but that’s all I can offer you. This will be my last official act as the sheriff of Macomb County, and I want it to have a good ending.”

For one brief moment Sophie thought Daryl would give in and take the deal. Instead he pulled his arm back to get leverage, clearly intent on slashing her throat. He didn’t get a chance, though.

While Morgan distracted Daryl from the front, Sven got into position from the back and he caught Daryl’s arm as it was on its downward trajectory. Sven re-aimed the knife tip, and the forward momentum of Daryl’s arm caused the knife to plunge into Daryl’s shoulder as Sophie ducked to avoid the blow.

Morgan moved fast, grabbing Sophie’s arm and pulling her out of harm’s way as he closed in on Daryl.

“Oh, Gawd!” Daryl screamed at the pain.

“You’d better start praying now,” Sven hissed, reaching for Daryl’s throat.

“Sven, no!” Sophie shook her head, causing Sven to still. “Let Sheriff Morgan have him. He’s his responsibility now.”

“But … .”

“No, Sven,” Sophie said, her tone firm. “It’s over.”

“Sophie!”

Sophie snapped her head in the direction of the prison van, relieved to see Grady racing across the parking lot. He pulled her into his arms, burying his face in her hair as he held her.

“I thought I was going to lose you,” Grady said, openly weeping as he rocked the love of his life.

“I was worried for a second, but I knew I would make it back to you,” Sophie replied, refusing to wipe away the tears cascading down her face. “I’ve already survived the worst thing possible, and losing you would top that.”

“Oh, sugar.” Grady hugged Sophie so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe, but she did manage to muster a smile when she saw James and Mandy standing behind Grady.

“We need to get a paramedic out here,” Morgan said, straightening after cuffing Daryl. “His wound isn’t life-threatening.”

“You can’t put me in jail!” Daryl howled. “I’ll die there.”

“Maybe you will,” Morgan said. “I can’t help but wonder if you deserve it.”

“
A
re
you sure you want to do this?”

Grady reached for the storage locker’s handle, waiting for Sophie to give her okay to open the door to her past.

It had been three days since Daryl’s attack, and while Sophie was healing, the bruise on her cheek was still visible. It made Grady furious every time he saw it.

“I’m ready,” Sophie said, giving him an encouraging head bob. “Let’s do this.”

Grady pulled open the storage locker, watching Sophie’s face for hints of distress as she took in the mountain of boxes. Instead he saw serene calm as she stepped forward and picked up a stuffed turtle.

“Mr. Snuffles.”

Grady smirked. “Mr. Snuffles?”

“I loved him when I was little.”

“Then I think he definitely needs to go home with us,” Grady said, glancing around. “Where do you want to start?”

“Let’s just pick a box and go,” Sophie said, grabbing the closest one and peering inside.

The past few days had been brutal on both of them as they sat through multiple interrogations from the state police. Humphrey and Foley denied every charge levied against them, but Morgan told the truth in exchange for a deal.

Humphrey and Foley were locked up in the Macomb County Jail awaiting trial after bail was denied, and Morgan was on house arrest with a tether because locking him up in the place his former employees worked wasn’t an option.

“What are you thinking about?” Grady asked, watching as Sophie pulled an old quilt out of a box. “Are you okay?”

“I’m good, Grady,” Sophie said, lifting the quilt to her nose and inhaling. “My mother put this on the end of my bed when I was little. I swear it stills smells like the lemon verbena she used to spray on it. I forgot about it until I saw it.”

Grady smiled. “I’m glad you’re happy to see it,” he said. “I know you were thinking about something else, though.”

“I was thinking about Morgan,” Sophie admitted. “He burned his future to hide a mistake he didn’t make. If he’d just followed the letter of the law, none of this would’ve ever happened.

“Instead he blackmailed the former prosecutor, who fled the country when he heard Morgan was arrested, and he helped elect an awful man to a county position knowing he was probably going to steal more funds,” she continued. “He then allowed himself to be blackmailed to protect a kid who made a horrible mistake and no charges will ever be filed against Nate Foley anyway. It was all for … nothing.”

“I’m not sure what to say about Nate Foley,” Grady admitted, absentmindedly fingering the jewelry box in his pocket. He had no idea why he grabbed the ring at the last moment before they left the house. “He’s never going to be the same. He’ll be in an assisted living center for the rest of his life. There is no other form of justice for him.”

“I know that,” Sophie said, shaking her head. “If his father had been honest about his condition, though, he’d probably still be a county commissioner and his family would be safe. Now they’re all screwed. He had two daughters, too. What’s going to happen to them while their parents are in prison?”

Grady shrugged. “You can’t save everyone, Sophie.”

“I know,” Sophie said. “It’s just such a tragedy. Morgan will go to jail for two years. Foley will go for the rest of his life. Humphrey will do at least ten years. Who won in this situation?”

“I think we won, sugar,” Grady said. “You survived. Daryl is going to prison. Everything is out in the open. We have nothing holding us back. We have everything ahead of us and nothing weighing us down.”

As if reading his mind, Sophie reached over and grabbed Grady’s wrist, stopping him from pulling the ring out of his pocket.

“Not yet, Grady,” Sophie said, causing his heart to roll. “Soon, but not yet. I want to get over this and have fun for a little bit before we do something really big. I’m not saying no. I’ll never say no. Not yet, though.”

Grady was dumbfounded. “How did you know?”

“Don’t hide rings in your shoe on garbage night because I’m too lazy to put my own shoes on when I can slip into yours,” Sophie replied, her smile rueful. “It’s a beautiful ring. We have all the time in the world, though. You’ll know when it’s the right time. You don’t have to force it.”

Grady sighed as he released the ring, leaving it in his pocket as he cupped Sophie’s chin and offered her a soft kiss. “I’ll never love anything as much as I love you.”

“That’s good,” Sophie said, gracing him with a heartfelt smile. “I feel exactly the same way. We have forever, Grady. I know in your head you want it to start today, but it already has. A ring won’t change that.”

“I’ve been tying myself in knots over this for months,” Grady admitted. “I didn’t understand why I was so afraid to ask.”

“Because it’s just not time yet,” Sophie replied, rubbing her nose against his. “I have a feeling it will be very soon, though.”

“I have a feeling you’re right,” Grady said, giving her one more kiss before turning back to the boxes. “Let’s get to work, shall we?”

Sophie nodded. “Just one other thing, though.”

Grady glanced up. “What?”

“You have to ask Peter’s permission before you ask me,” Sophie replied. “He won’t take it well if you don’t.”

Grady hadn’t even considered that bit of forgotten etiquette. “Good tip, sugar. I would hate to die before I get a chance to marry you.”

“That goes double for me.”