Deadly Memories (Hardy Brothers Security Book 18) (7 page)

“
H
ello
, my lovely.”

Grady greeted Sophie with a kiss when she walked into the house shortly before seven. He was in a good mood as he prepared to dole this evening’s dinner concoction onto plates, and Sophie couldn’t help but marvel at how much better he was at the cohabitating thing than she was.

“What did you cook for me, my love muffin?” Sophie asked, taking a moment to wrap her arms around Grady’s waist as he toiled away over the stove. “I missed you today.”

Grady stilled, surprised by the naked emotion rolling off her. “What’s wrong, sugar? Did something happen?”

“Nothing happened,” Sophie said, pressing her ear to Grady’s back so she could hear his heartbeat. “Well, I mean some stuff happened, but I just like hugging you. Can’t I just want to hug you?”

“I encourage you to hug me whenever the mood strikes,” Grady replied, shifting so he could slip his arms around Sophie. Her smile was open and earnest, but he couldn’t shake the niggling trepidation at the back of his brain. He’d been worried about her emotional state all day, hurrying to pack her childhood boxes away in the linen closet so she wouldn’t have to see them when she got home. He hoped she would bounce back quickly – and it looked as if she was trying – but she also looked tired. “You look exhausted again, by the way. You need more sleep.”

“Then you should stop molesting me when the lights go off in the bedroom,” Sophie teased.

“Hey! I don’t reserve that behavior for when it’s dark. I’m an equal lighting situation offender.”

Sophie giggled, the sound warming Grady’s heart. “I love you, Grady.”

Grady pushed Sophie’s long hair away from her face and locked gazes with the most important person in his life. “I love you.”

Sophie tilted her chin up and exchanged a soft kiss with him before turning her attention to the stove. “What’s all this? I can’t believe you cooked again.”

“Well, I didn’t really cook,” Grady clarified. “I tossed pasta in a pot and bought some Ragu. I also bought a rotisserie chicken because I felt too lazy to do a lot of work.”

“That sounds like my kind of cooking,” Sophie said, shrugging out of her blazer jacket and resting it on the back of one of the counter stools. “So … I had an interesting day.”

“I’ll bet,” Grady said, pouring a glass of wine and handing it to her. “Drink that and relax while I finish dinner. Tell me about your interesting day. I saw that news on Nate Foley broke all over the place this afternoon, by the way. Did you get flak for getting the story before everyone else?”

“There were a few digs at the press conference, but it wasn’t too bad,” Sophie said. “I kind of went out of my way to force Morgan and Humphrey to publicly commit to a plan of action in case they were considering backdoor deals when they thought no one was looking.”

“I never really considered it before because you’re such a joy as a girlfriend, but you’re a pain in the ass when it comes to work, aren’t you?”

Sophie chuckled. “You managed to suck up wonderfully with that statement.”

“I’m not an idiot,” Grady said, moving the pot of pasta to the sink so he could drain it. “Do you really think they were planning on brokering a deal with Chuck Foley so he could get his son out of this? That would be incredibly stupid on their part if they did anything of the sort.”

“I think they’ve met with Chuck Foley,” Sophie confirmed. “I don’t think it matters what they talked about, because now they have no choice but to move forward with full prosecution. If they don’t, every television station will show the footage from today on an endless loop while calling them liars. Their political careers would be over.”

“That can’t make them happy,” Grady said. “Were they angry with you?”

“They weren’t happy with me, but they never really are,” Sophie replied. “Morgan and I have a chilly relationship because of the John Madison thing. Once your top aide tries to kill someone, there really is no going back.

“As for Humphrey, I’ve heard rumors about him being a snake in the grass and he pretty much confirmed that today,” she continued. “He wanted dirt on Mandy and said he heard gossip about her. I told him I heard gossip about him and the secretarial pool at the courthouse. He stormed off pretty quickly after that.”

“Yup, you’re definitely a tiger in the bedroom and at work,” Grady said, grinning as he doled the pasta out. “How much garlic do you want?”

“A lot.”

“That’s going to put a damper on my plans, sugar,” Grady whined.

“Not if you put a lot of garlic on your pasta, too,” Sophie pointed out.

“Fine,” Grady said, giving in. “We’ll stink up the hot tub together. It will be a bonding exercise.”

“We’re getting in the hot tub tonight?” Sophie’s eyes sparkled. “How did you know that’s what I wanted to do?”

“Because it’s what I want to do and we’re always in sync,” Grady replied, grabbing the plates. “Move your cute behind to the table, please. Then you can finish the story of your day.”

“There’s not much else to tell,” Sophie said, getting comfortable in the seat next to Grady before pouring him a glass of wine. “Oh, well, maybe one thing.”

Grady lifted his eyes, the tone of Sophie’s voice tipping him off that he wasn’t going to like what she was about to tell him. “And what would that one thing be?”

“Well, I had lunch with Mandy at the Coney Island restaurant downtown,” Sophie said.

“Are you about to tell me you had onions, too?”

“No … well, yes … but that’s not the point of the conversation,” Sophie said. “While we were there Chuck Foley stormed in. I’m not sure how he knew where to find us, although there aren’t many restaurants in downtown Mount Clemens so he might have lucked upon us.”

“Get to the point of the story, Sophie,” Grady ordered. “You’re babbling and it’s making me nervous.”

“He kind of got loud and threatened me about writing anything else about his son,” Sophie admitted.

Grady stilled. “Threatened how?”

“He said he would sue the paper and go after me personally if I wrote another story,” Sophie answered. “He also brought up Peter … and might have called Mandy a bimbo and told her to shut her hole. He was really worked up.”

“And?”

“And I explained that I was going to continue on the story and if he threatened me again I was essentially going to tell my mafia daddy and let him deal with it,” Sophie said. “I actually used those words because he was belligerent and annoying the crap out of me.”

Grady barked out a laugh. “Well, I usually don’t condone that sort of thing, but in this case it’s probably not a bad idea to remind him who you are.”

“And who am I?”

“The best person I know,” Grady replied, squeezing her hand. “Now eat your garlic-infested dinner so we can retire to the hot tub for some vigorous … cuddling.”

“Cuddling?”

“There are different ways to cuddle, sugar,” Grady said. “Tonight I’m going to show you one I just invented.”

“You really are the perfect man,” Sophie said.

“I know.”

“
S
O
,
you would tell me if this Chuck Foley was a threat to you, right?” Grady asked, digging his fingers into Sophie’s sore shoulders as they canoodled in the hot tub after dinner. They were both naked – bathing suits unnecessary thanks to the privacy fence shutting out the neighbors – and Grady was ready to make his move as they settled on their knees in the middle of the round tub. He just wanted to make sure Sophie wasn’t hiding something before he forced the woes of the day out of her mind.

“He’s not a threat, Grady,” Sophie said, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips as she tilted her head back and moaned. “Oh, that feels good.”

“I’ll keep doing it if you promise me that you’re telling the truth,” Grady prodded. “I don’t want to worry about you, Sophie, but I don’t want you pretending everything is fine if it’s not either.”

“He’s a worried father fretting about his son’s future,” Sophie said. “Nate Foley is still in the hospital and Morgan said the kid’s recovery wasn’t certain. I guess that means he could still die … or maybe have a head injury that changes his capacity for charges. We just don’t know.

“Foley was upset when he came into the restaurant, and even rude, but I don’t think he would be stupid enough to go after me given his standing in the community and my … studly boyfriend,” she continued. “I’m sure he’s had time to cool off and things will be fine.”

“Studly, huh?”

“Incredibly studly.”

“I’m going to show you how studly I am right now,” Grady said, flattening his tongue and licking the gentle slope of Sophie’s neck, causing her to involuntarily shiver. “I’m going to wow you with my studliness, in fact.”

“Less talk and more … studding,” Sophie ordered, giggling as Grady cupped her breasts. She moved to turn around, but Grady forced her to remain where she was, pressing his chest to her back as he lowered his free hand down her flat abdomen and slipped a finger inside of her. “Oh.”

“Am I studly enough yet?” Grady whispered.

“Close … but I might need a little more convincing.” Sophie was breathless as Grady rubbed her, lost in euphoric bliss even as he positioned himself for entry behind her. “I … oh … wow.”

“Shh,” Grady whispered, pressing his lips to her neck. “If you don’t quiet yourself, the neighbors are going to think we’re doing lewd things in the back yard.”

“We
are
doing lewd things in the back yard.”

“Well, as long as you’re fine with them knowing,” Grady said, moving one of his hands to Sophie’s hip to steady her as he rubbed his length against her ready opening. “I love you, sugar.”

He slid inside, groaning in time with her welcoming moan and sinking lower in the water so the refreshing warmth could cover more of their bodies. It was spring, but the nights were still cool. He didn’t want her catching a cold when he was determined to heat her up.

Sophie leaned her head to the side, meeting Grady’s lips over her shoulder as he shifted his hips. Grady picked a slow pace, teasing Sophie with a deliberate tempo as he continued to rub her warm core.

Before Sophie, he never thought it was possible to find one woman to fulfill his every need. Sophie did that and more for him, filling his heart with love and his body with passion. He would never get enough of her. There would never be enough days – or nights – of laughter and love. If they had nothing more than this for the rest of their lives, he knew he would be a happy man.

Sophie whimpered as an orgasm claimed her, biting her lip to keep herself from crying out. Grady softly sucked on her neck as he increased his pace, tripping into nirvana before he even realized what was happening.

His heart pounded as he held her, the water in the hot tub rushing around them as he clung to the only woman he would ever love.

“
G
OOD
morning
, stud,” Sophie teased, handing Grady a mug of coffee as he trudged out of the bedroom the next morning. Neither one of them were morning people, but Sophie felt invigorated after their night together and she was in a surprisingly good mood. Grady was another story.

“Morning,” Grady muttered, taking the coffee. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost eight,” Sophie replied, fighting the urge to laugh. His usually pristine hair – which he fussed over more than any man rightfully should – was scattered in eighty different directions and he still looked half asleep. “Why don’t you go back to bed? It looks as if you need a bit more rest.”

“That’s because you woke me up twice last night.”

“I didn’t hear you complaining then.”

“That’s because I enjoyed how you did that waking,” Grady said. “This waking up is not the same. Give me five minutes and I’ll be back to my charming self. I can guarantee it.”

Sophie grinned. “As much as I would like to hang around and watch you slowly climb out of your funk, I have to get to the office early today,” she said. “I don’t want to stay late tonight, so I need to get moving now.”

“Fine,” Grady said, blowing out a dramatic sigh. “I should be rested and rejuvenated by the time you get home in case you’re in the mood for a repeat.”

“I’ll consider it,” Sophie said, placing her empty coffee mug in the sink and leaning over the counter to give Grady a kiss. “Try perking up. You’re depressing me after our very … vigorous … evening.”

“I’ll do my best.”

Sophie hummed as she walked out the front door, her eyes focused on her purse as she searched for her keys. She was almost on top of her car before she lifted her gaze and stopped in her tracks.

The car wasn’t anything special, a simple blue Ford Fusion with limited bells and whistles. Still, the condition of the vehicle threw her. Sometime during the night someone crept onto the property and spray painted a message for Sophie, and it wasn’t a welcoming note.

Sophie didn’t know what to do, her heart racing as she scanned the street. It was empty, though. It was late for the neighbors who drove to work and early for the mothers who walked their kids to the bus stop. Sophie was at a complete and total loss, so she did the only thing she could do.

“Grady!”

“
T
his is just unacceptable
.”

Peter Marconi, his expensive Italian suit out of place in the simple cul-de-sac where Grady and Sophie resided, paced in front of Sophie’s car as his bodyguards looked on.

“Who would do something like this?”

Grady fought the urge to laugh as he watched Peter’s temper flare. When he first met the man, he’d been intimated. For weeks after their introduction, Grady was determined to keep Sophie in his life and Peter out. It didn’t work out – and Peter’s guidance and friendship had proven invaluable – but there were times Grady still marveled at Peter’s station in their lives. He was the one who insisted on calling Peter after seeing Sophie’s car, and she wasn’t happy with his decision.

“Was it kids?” Rodrigo, one of Peter’s bodyguards, hunkered down so he could study the paint. “We should be able to get this out with minimal effort. We can probably do it in a few hours.”

“That’s not the point,” Peter hissed. “I don’t care about the paint on the car. I think we should throw the car away and take Sophie to a dealership and get her something fun … like a Mercedes.”

Peter was rich and he didn’t understand why Sophie wanted to live on a budget of her own making. He would’ve gladly funded a more extravagant lifestyle for her, but she explained the only thing she needed from her foster father was love and he acquiesced. Grady was convinced he was secretly tickled by Sophie’s independent streak, but he kept that to himself.

“You don’t throw a car away,” Sophie challenged. “That car is only a few months old. It’s fine. I just don’t want to drive around with the word ‘whore’ painted on the side of my vehicle. It’s not going to look professional when I show up for stories.”

“Yes, that’s the great travesty here,” Peter deadpanned. “I don’t understand why someone would paint that on your car. Have you been having trouble with a man? Other than this one, I mean.” Peter jerked his thumb in Grady’s direction, winking to let him know he was merely joking. “You didn’t paint it, did you?”

Grady rolled his eyes. “Yes. I often get out of my warm bed in the middle of the night to paint derogatory comments on my girlfriend’s car. It’s just a little quirk of mine.”

“I don’t find you funny,” Peter chided.

“I don’t find your suggestion that I would do something like this funny either,” Grady shot back.

“Well, I didn’t really think you did it,” Peter said, tugging on his suit vest to smooth it. “I just … this is so juvenile. Even when Sophie was in high school things like this never happened.”

“That’s because she was the only kid at Grosse Pointe South with bodyguards.” Sven, another one of Peter’s bodyguards, kept his gaze on the road in case trouble approached while also keeping one ear on the conversation. “No one would’ve dared messed with her car.”

“I never thought about that,” Grady mused. “I’ll bet you were the only teenage girl in the history of teenage girls to never be bullied. Everyone was probably too frightened to say anything to you because they didn’t want to wake up in cement boots at the bottom of the Detroit River.”

“That was a double-edged sword,” Sophie said. “While it’s true no one picked on me, it’s also true that no one wanted to be my friend because everyone was afraid of me. I never had sleepovers, I was never invited to dances or parties, and I was often pointed in the direction of the library rather than the coffee shop where everyone hung out.”

Grady ran his hand over the back of Sophie’s head, the admission making him inexplicably sad. “I guess I never thought about that either.”

“Oh, don’t get morose,” Sophie said, smirking. “I had plenty of people to hang around with at home. Peter made sure to employ a bevy of hot security people to keep me entertained and busy.”

“That’s still not funny,” Peter said, shaking his head. “I remember the day you tried to convince that new one … what was the poor boy who came from Wisconsin’s name?”

“Teddy,” Sven said, smiling at the memory. “Sophie kept calling him her teddy bear and making him really uncomfortable when she paraded around the house in her bikini.”

“Yes, Teddy,” Peter said, making a face. “You told Teddy that I had a rule requiring anyone in the pool area to take his shirt off. Poor Teddy believed you. You were a pain when you were a teenager.”

“And what happened to poor Teddy?” Grady asked.

“Oh, don’t worry, he’s still alive,” Peter said, waving his hand. “He wasn’t cut out for security work, but he was perfect to take care of the gardens at my Tuscany home. He’s still there.”

“You have a house in Tuscany?” Grady was flabbergasted. “How come I didn’t know this?”

Peter shrugged. “You never asked. If you can get Sophie to take some time off, I’ll arrange for you to stay at the house for as long as you wish. It’s quite lovely.”

“It is quite lovely,” Sophie agreed. “Can we go back to talking about my car? I cannot take this thing to work. People will talk.”

“That’s not my biggest concern,” Peter said. “I want to know who would paint the word … well, you know what word … on your car. Do you have any suspects?”

“I have no idea,” Sophie said, her face smooth as the lie slipped off her tongue.

Grady frowned as he studied her and the expression wasn’t lost on Peter.

“Something tells me Grady feels different,” Peter prodded. “What aren’t you telling me?”

“You’re a terrible liar,” Sophie said, wrinkling her nose at Grady. “I’m guessing you got caught all of the time when you were a teenager.”

“I did get caught a lot,” Grady confirmed. “I got away with a lot, too. I just can’t figure out why you’re trying to hide this from Peter. It’s not like it makes you look bad.”

“It’s not like it makes me look good either,” Sophie pointed out. “I don’t want to worry him.”

“Well, I’m already worried,” Peter said. “It can do you no harm to tell me what’s going on.”

“Ugh.” Sophie made a disgusted sound in the back of her throat. “I’m going to blame you for this when it blows up in my face, Grady.”

“I can live with that.”

“It’s nothing really,” Sophie said, turning her somber brown eyes on Peter and flashing her best “I’m your daughter and you can’t yell at me” smile in his direction.

“Don’t do that,” Peter chided. “That’s your puppy dog face. I don’t like your puppy dog face.”

Grady snorted while Sophie’s face fell.

“It really is no big deal, Peter,” Sophie said. “I got assigned to the accident out at Stony Creek the other day. The father of the boy driving the car had an issue with me printing the full story and came after me in a restaurant while I was having lunch with Mandy. He said some nasty things and stormed out. He’s the one who probably did this.”

“I see.” Peter’s face was unreadable.

“What kind of nasty things did he say?” Sven asked, causing Sophie to shoot him a dirty look. She’d purposely glossed over those details because she didn’t want Peter to flip his lid and go after a county commissioner on her behalf.

“It doesn’t matter,” Sophie said. “Words can’t hurt me. Peter always told me that.”

“Let me be the judge of that,” Peter said. “Tell me.”

“He just made mention of my mafia daddy, called Mandy a bimbo and told her to shut her hole, and then threatened to sue the newspaper and get me fired if I wrote another story about his son,” Sophie said, opting to lay everything out at once.

“Your mafia daddy?” Peter cocked a challenging eyebrow. “What did you say to that?”

“I said if he approached me again I was going to have my mafia daddy have a talk with him,” Sophie replied, resigned to telling the truth. “That upset him and he took off right after.”

“And the stuff he said to Mandy? Was she upset?”

“I don’t think she was happy, but she didn’t cry or anything,” Sophie said. “She was laughing about it after lunch. I’m sure she’s fine.”

“Don’t worry,” Grady interjected. “I’m sure James soothed her hurt feelings with chocolate … or a massage in the hot tub … or his penis. She bounces back quickly. Don’t worry about Mandy.”

“I already don’t like this man,” Peter said, wrinkling his nose. “I understand being upset because of something your child does, but I do not understand threatening the person doing her job in the aftermath.”

“I think that’s easy for you to say when you’re not the father of a drunk kid who just burned his entire future and killed three of his friends,” Sophie said. “It’s really not a big deal. I don’t want you getting worked up about it.”

“But … he wrote ‘whore’ on your car,” Peter protested. “That can’t be ignored.”

“Technically we don’t know it’s him,” Grady cautioned. “It could’ve easily been some of Nate Foley’s classmates. This is probably more a teenager’s speed than an adult’s form of payback. I’m going to put some cameras out here this afternoon just to be on the safe side, though.”

“I’ll put someone on the street to watch the house, too,” Peter said.

“No way,” Sophie protested, vigorously shaking her head. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

“Fine. I won’t put someone on the street.”

“Oh, good grief,” Sophie muttered. “That really means you’re going to put someone on the street and pretend you didn’t. I’m not an idiot.”

“I never said you were,” Peter said. “I’m glad you agree with my methods, though.”

“I don’t agree,” Sophie argued. “I simply don’t have time to fight with you. I need to get to work.”

“You can take my truck,” Grady offered. “I’ll handle getting your car detailed this afternoon.”

“Are you sure?”

“It will be fine,” Grady said.

“Wait, why don’t you take my car instead, Sophie?” Peter suggested, pointing toward his Mercedes. “Grady might need his vehicle and your car could be in the shop for more than one day. I have four cars. I can have a driver over here to pick me up in less than a half hour.”

“Really?” Sophie eyed the Mercedes. “That’s an expensive car. What if I get in an accident?”

“Then I’ll buy a new one,” Peter replied, unperturbed. “It will be fine. Take the car. I’ll catch up with Grady over coffee while I’m waiting for another one to be delivered.”

Sophie wasn’t big on ostentatious showings, but the idea of driving a Mercedes for the day held a certain amount of appeal. “Sold.”

“
T
ELL
me what you really think,” Peter prodded once Sophie was gone and it was just Grady and him sitting next to the counter in the kitchen. “Sophie made light of this commissioner going after her, but she does that all the time. Do you think he’s a threat?”

“I don’t know,” Grady answered honestly. “I’m going to ask some questions and try to ascertain that myself. Mandy might know a few things, too. She works in that circle. The judge might be able to help us.”

“I don’t know you as well as your brothers do, but I think I know you well enough to read you most of the time now,” Peter pressed. “Something is bothering you, and if it’s not concern for Sophie’s safety, it has to be something else.”

“It’s just … Mandy got it in her head a few months ago that she needed to find some photos of Sophie’s biological parents because she was sad Sophie didn’t have anything to remember them by,” Grady said. “Mandy conned James into hiring someone to see if he could find something … old photographs … anything really.”

“Did he?”

“He found a storage locker her foster care advocate rented,” Grady replied. “It had a lot of old stuff in it.”

“And Sophie doesn’t want to see it?” Peter was confused.

“Well, instead of asking her, I stuck my nose where it didn’t belong and James and I opened the locker,” Grady explained. “I thought for sure it would be two old boxes or something. The thing is full, though.

“I brought two of the boxes back and told Sophie what I did,” he continued. “She wasn’t upset. She was a little nervous, but it went well at first. I gave her a framed photograph of herself from when she was little and she was kind of awed because she didn’t remember what she looked like.”

“I would like to see that when she’s ready,” Peter said, the corners of his mouth tipping up. “I don’t know what she looked like either.”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy to show you,” Grady said.

“What’s the problem?”

“There was also a gray jewelry box in with the other items, and when I handed it to Sophie she reacted … badly,” Grady said. “Her face went white and she jumped up from the couch as if the box was infested with bugs or something.”

“I see.”

Grady narrowed his eyes. Peter usually had a masterful poker face, and yet for a moment, when he mentioned the box, Peter’s infamous cool slipped. It was brief, but for a split-second Grady saw regret and heartbreak reflected on the man’s face. “You know what’s in the box, don’t you?”

“Of course not,” Peter said, clearing his throat and hopping up from his stool. “Look at the time. I’ll handle Sophie’s car so you don’t have to worry about it. I’ll keep you abreast of the situation.”

“Peter?”

Peter refused to meet Grady’s eyes, but he stilled before striding toward the door. “I know you love Sophie, Grady, but perhaps some things are better left forgotten.”

“But … what is so important about the box?”

“Life throws everybody curveballs, Grady,” Peter said. “Sophie had her fair share before I found her. Sometimes you can’t fix everything.”

Grady opened his mouth to ask another question, but Peter was already at the door.

“Don’t push this one, Grady,” Peter said. “You might regret it if you do.”