Deadly Secrets (Hardy Brothers Security Book 11) (17 page)

Ally turned swiftly, concerned and hopeful. The sight that greeted her was confusing. She recognized the man with his hand around Cara’s neck, although his cohort was something of a mystery. It didn’t take her long to figure the situation out.

“Sven?”

“Ally,” he replied evenly. “You’re safe.”

“But … are you going to kill her?”

Sven shrugged, tightening his hand around Cara’s throat. “It’s been left up to me.”

“Wait,” Ally ordered. “Just wait.”

“Are you sure? She wasn’t going to wait for you.”

“I know that,” Ally said. “I’d rather see her rot in prison than die quickly.”

Sven tilted his blond head to the side, considering. “Fine.” He slammed his hand against the back of Cara’s head, knocking her out and letting her drop to the pavement with a sickening thud. “She is not a good person.”

Ally smiled, relieved. “You are, though.” She threw her arms around his neck. “You’re my hero.”

“Not yet,” Sven cautioned, holding her stiffly. “We still have to deal with Mitchell.”

“I’LL
knock on the door, and when he answers, you grab him.”

Sven regarded Ally doubtfully. “I think you should sit in the car. Mr. Marconi won’t like you being involved in this. He’s going to be very angry.”

“No way,” Ally replied. “He threatened to rape me. He threatened to … bite me.”

Sven scowled. “I will knock on the door and hold him down. When I nod, you can do whatever you want to him. I’ll keep him alive until your brother and Jake show up.”

“He won’t open the door if he sees you.”

“I’ll cover the peephole.”

“Come on,” Ally pleaded. “I want to make him suffer.”

Sven groaned. “If something happens to you, I will be killed.”

“Let’s make sure something doesn’t happen to me then,” Ally said, batting her eyelashes.

“I can see why the men in your life never tell you no,” Sven grumbled. “Let’s move.”

“HERE
it is,” James said, pulling in. “Be calm.”

“I am calm,” Jake said. “I’m … .”

“Your hands are shaking,” James said. “We’ll see her soon, and your hands need to be steady when we kill Mitchell.”

“I know this sounds awful, but I’m more interested in killing Cara.”

“We’ll both do that,” James said. “Mitchell is yours, but Cara is both of ours. I hate that bitch.”

“Join the club. Hey … what is going on there?”

James leaned forward, relieved to see Ally standing next to Sven. “She’s okay.”

“Are they knocking on that hotel room door?”

“I’m going to fire him,” Peter spat.

“Why would they do that?”

“I’m guessing it was Ally’s idea,” James said. “Sonovabitch!”

“ROOM
service.”

“This isn’t the type of hotel that has room service,” Sven said, pragmatic.

“Shh.”

Mitchell opened the door, his eyes widening when he saw Ally. “Did you change your mind about spending time with me?”

Ally nodded, her eyes bright. “I’ve been dying for this moment for hours.” She lifted her leg and drilled Mitchell in the nuts. Hard. “You’re a piece of … .”

“Ally!”

She swiveled, surprise washing over her features as she saw Jake jump out of James’ Explorer. The vehicle was still moving, but Jake didn’t care. He hit the pavement with heavy feet and raced toward her.

“Harrison,” Mitchell groaned, his hand rising as he reached for Ally.

Sven grabbed Mitchell’s hand and jerked his fingers back. The sound of breaking bones jolted Ally, and she turned back toward the man who had terrorized her for hours. “Do it again,” she ordered.

Sven obliged, ripping another digit back and grimacing as it broke.

“Shit!” Mitchell dropped to his knees, surprised. “Who the hell are you?”

“Your worst nightmare,” Sven said.

“I’m his worst nightmare,” Ally said, raking her fingernails against Mitchell’s cheek and drawing blood. “I’m the boss now.” She ripped a chunk of hair out of Mitchell’s head, discarding the dark locks on the ground as she slapped him across the face for good measure. “You can’t live in my kingdom!”

She reared her foot back and kicked him in the nuts again, just because she could. “I’m the princess, and you’re going to wish you’d never entered my kingdom.”

Sven held Mitchell steady as Ally unleashed a week’s worth of misery on him. She was relentless, and Sven found he enjoyed watching her work.

“Ally!”

Jake was desperate to touch her, but her flailing arms and vulgar insults were holding him back. She was like a whirlwind, an out-of-control tornado, an angry tempest. He loved her more than he ever thought possible.

“Ally, please … .”

Ally ceased her assault on Mitchell, and when she turned to face Jake he didn’t miss the tears in her eyes. “Angel.” He yanked her to him, engulfing her in a warm hug. “My angel.”

Jake’s arms were insistent, and his mouth was on Ally’s before she could utter a word. Ally returned the kiss, warmed by Jake’s arrival. When their mouths finally parted, Ally’s eyes were sparkling. “Sven knocked Cara out and then he held Mitchell so I could kick him.”

“That’s nice,” Jake said, running his hands over Ally’s hair as he checked her over. “Are you okay?”

“I feel great,” Ally enthused. “I was really scared at first. Cara said she was going to torture and mutilate me. Then she said she was going to leave my body at our picnic spot. They were watching us yesterday, by the way, and I’m a little grossed out by that.”

“Uh-huh.” Jake pressed his lips to Ally’s jaw, his hands busy as they checked her slight body for signs of mistreatment.

“Mitchell threatened to rape me, but Cara stopped him,” Ally said. “She was working with him back then, too. She was the one who traded the drugs. She’s the one who got Mitchell out of jail.”

“Okay,” Jake said, kissing her again. “We’ll make sure they pay.”

“We can lock them both up now.” Ally was excited. “I’ll bet I get to testify in court. I’ll be on television.”

“Awesome,” Jake said, clutching Ally’s wriggling body against his chest. “You’ll be a star.”

“Where is Cara?” James asked, averting his eyes from his sister and Jake as they mauled one another two feet away.

Sven pointed to a nondescript sedan three spots down. “She’s in the trunk.”

“Fun.”

“She’s a bitch,” Sven said. “I let Ally kick her, too. She was already knocked out, but it was important to Ally. She probably has some broken ribs. I heard something snap when Ally kicked her. Oh, and then she stole Cara’s shoes and slapped her in the face with them. I’m not sure what happened to the shoes.”

“They were bargain-basement knock-offs,” Ally said. “I threw them in the trunk with her.”

Peter smiled, despite himself. “Cuff this one,” he said, rubbing the sole of his shoe against Mitchell’s face. “We’ll put them both in the trunk and then let James and Jake call the police once we’ve gone. I’d rather not be here to explain … well … all of this.”

Sven nodded obediently. “I didn’t want to let her go up to the door. She insisted.”

“She’s not good with being told what to do,” James said.

“I promised to hold Mitchell and let her do whatever she wanted to him,” Sven said, his eyes busy as they bounced from face to face. “I … she really wanted to do it.”

Peter waved off his concerns. “She appears to be fine.”

James grinned. “She’s kind of excited.”

“Ally, stop moving,” Jake ordered, fighting to contain the endless energy Ally was expelling. “I need to hug you.”

“You are hugging me.”

“You’re not making it easy.”

Ally finally relented and rested her head against Jake’s chest. “I was worried I would never see you again.”

“I would never let that happen,” Jake said, sinking to the pavement and pulling Ally onto his lap. “I can’t go a day without seeing you. Never again.”

“Really?” Ally seemed surprised.

“I love you, Ally,” Jake choked out.

“You do?” Now she was on the verge of crying.

“I’ve loved you since the moment I saw you,” Jake said, pushing her wild hair back so he could study her face. “I’ve loved you since the first moment you wouldn’t shut up. I’ve loved you since the first moment you touched me, and that was long before your fingers grazed my face and we kissed.

“I’ve loved the idea of you since … forever,” he continued. “I’ve never loved anything in this world like I love you. You’re my everything.”

Tears slid down Ally’s face as she ran her fingers over Jake’s mouth. “I love you, too.”

“Good,” Jake said, kissing her. “I would hate to think that we’ve gone through all of this and you didn’t love me.”

“I’ve wanted to tell you for a long time,” Ally said. “I … .”

“I’ve wanted to tell you for what seems like forever,” Jake said. “I had these big plans. I was going to take you out for dinner, and I was going to take you for a walk, and I was going to make a big deal out of it.”

“I don’t need a big show,” Ally said, running her fingers through Jake’s hair and tugging him close. “I just need you.”

James was uncomfortable with the heated kiss, but he couldn’t hide his smile as he watched Ally claim her forever.

“I think you should call the police,” Peter said. “Then I think you should give Jake the rest of the week off. I think he’s going to be busy.”

“Thanks for that,” James said, his tone dry. “Seeing it wasn’t enough. Hearing it makes it just that much more horrifying.”

Peter snickered. “You should call the rest of your family, too. They’ll want to know what happened, and that Ally is safe.”

“That will be fun.”

“I want you to move in with me,” Ally said, gasping as Jake kissed her senseless. “I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up with you every morning.”

“Done,” Jake said, caressing her face. “I’ll move in tomorrow.”

“I don’t want to do manual labor tomorrow,” Ally said. “Let’s stay in bed all day tomorrow. We can move you in this weekend.”

“That’s good,” Jake said, shoving his tongue into her mouth.

“That way everyone else can help us move,” Ally said when he was done tonguing her. “We can start everything over then.”

“I don’t want to start anything over,” Jake said, his dark eyes flashing as he rested his forehead against hers. “I just want to make everything perfect from here on out.”

“Then we’ll start now.”

“I love you, Ally,” Jake said, pressing her close.

“I love you.”

They loved each other and forever had a new face as they enjoyed it.

James Hardy is a happy man. His business is thriving, his family is happy, and he’s married to a woman he just can’t get enough of … that is until she decides cooking is the best way to his heart.

That’s right, Mandy Avery-Hardy is taking a cooking class – and everyone needs to duck and cover, because she’s serious about getting it right. When an old foe shows up in the class, and Southeastern Michigan is inundated with a series of storms, though, things swiftly get out of hand.

James is a man happiest when he has his wife on his lap and a takeout menu in his hand, but he would never deny Mandy what she truly wants – even when he’s afraid the endeavor might leave her a little crazed.

When danger converges on the Hardy family in the form of a deadly storm, James will do anything to get to his wife while the other family members struggle to stay safe on their own. Between a cooking instructor that seems a little too interested, and a dead body in the school, the Hardys have their hands full – especially when they become suspects in the murder.

When things come to a head, it’s going to be all hands on deck to make sure everyone makes it out alive.

Deadly Storm is available
here
.

I’m a romantic at heart. A true romantic. I love the idea of a happy ending, so much so I have trouble writing a sad one. The world is sad enough. I like escaping in fiction. That’s just me. I like sarcasm and snark – but I’m not sure a sad ending is in me. If you’re looking for an edge like that, you’re probably looking in the wrong place. Just FYI.

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This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

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