Hardy Brothers Security: Deadly Proposal Part 28

"Jake is very attractive," Mandy agreed. "Your mom thinks so, too."

"My mom? How would she know?"

"I emailed her a picture."

Ally was scandalized. "Why would you do that?"

"I thought she'd want to see him," Mandy said, selecting a bright shade of blue nail polish from the rack next to her. "Plus, I figured I owed you for the whole misunderstanding thing."

Ally scowled. "I said I was sorry."

"I know."

"Are you going to keep holding that against me?"

"No," Mandy said. "I was really just bored. That apartment is really small when you can't go anywhere else."

"Well, the good news is, you guys will have a house soon," Ally said. "Hopefully even that one you already saw. It sounds amazing."

"I want it," Mandy admitted. "There's just something about it. It was like I could picture us there. It just ... fit."

"I'm sure it will work out."

"I hope so."

Ally held up two bottles of nail polish. "Which one do you think Jake will like better?"

Mandy looked at them, considering. "Go with the black. He's got that black leather jacket, and he wears black boots. I think he's just a black kind of guy."

Ally nodded, pushing the red bottle back onto the rack. "I bet he likes black lingerie, too. What kind of lingerie does James like?"

"He doesn't really care about the color," Mandy replied. "He loves my garters, though. They really get him going."

"Are they comfortable to wear?"

"It's kind of like wearing a thong," Mandy said. "The first time you do it, you think that nothing could be more uncomfortable. Then, by the fifth time, you don't even notice it."

"Good to know," Ally said. "We should go lingerie shopping this week. We haven't been in forever."

"That sounds good," Mandy said. "Maybe we can bring Sophie and Emma with us. And maybe even Heidi. She's been feeling neglected."

"Heidi?"

"I want to see if I can pair her up with Clint."

"The security guard with a crush on you? Why?"

"Because Heidi has a thing for bad boys who treat her terribly, and Clint needs to find someone else to fixate on," Mandy explained. "They're both lonely. I'm hoping they can distract each other."

"That's a really good idea," Ally said. "Now that all of my brothers are spoken for, she's been kind of depressed."

"It doesn't help that the only time I've spent with her over the past month has been at work or raving like a madwoman in her car," Mandy said.

"We're almost there," Ally said. "It could even be over today, if we're lucky."

"G.o.d, I hope so," Mandy said. "I love your brother, but there have been a few times over the past few days where I've imagined being able to pop his head like a zit."

Ally giggled. "He's overbearing on a normal day. When he goes into protection mode, he's just unbearable."

"I'm trying really hard not to snap at him," Mandy said. "And, you know, I like s.e.x as much as the next person. I don't know how long I can distract him with it, though. Every once in a while, it would be nice to shower alone."

Ally tilted her head, snorting. "s.e.x in the shower is fun sometimes, but other times you just want people to stop touching you so you can wash your own hair, for crying out loud."

"That's it exactly," Mandy said, glancing up when the bell over the front door of the salon jangled. A woman entered, and even though she couldn't see her clearly, there was something familiar about her.

"Just tell him," Ally said. "He'll understand."

"Yeah ... I ... Ally."

"He might pout a little," Ally said. "He'll get over it."

Ally glanced up, her body going still when she saw all of the color drain out of Mandy's face. "What is it?" She shifted so she could look over her shoulder, her heart filling with dread when she saw the gun in the woman's hand. "Who is that?"

IT TOOK Anna longer to get the information than Grady was comfortable with. He was worried she was going to try and weasel out of it, but when she finally returned to the office, she had a puzzled look on her face.

"Did you find it?"

Anna closed the door, making sure to give them privacy. "I did, but this doesn't make any sense."

"What doesn't?" Sophie asked.

"You said that whoever wired that money tried to kill Amanda Avery," Anna said. "That's what you said, right?"

"Yeah," Grady replied, getting to his feet. "Why? Who wired the money?"

"Sheryl Avery," Anna replied. "Isn't she Amanda's stepmother?"

All of the air whooshed out of Grady, realization washing over him. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

Grady exchanged a worried look with Sophie. "Get James on the phone. Now!"

Twenty-Six.

"Sheryl."

Shock wasn't the right word for what Mandy was feeling. Never, not during the entire time she was recovering, did her stepmother being responsible for the explosion enter her mind. It hadn't even been a curious consideration. Now, with the woman standing in front of her, gun in hand, she felt like an idiot for not seeing the obvious answer to the question.

"Sheryl? Your stepmother, Sheryl?" Ally furrowed her brow. "Oh, well, this can't be good. James is going to kill me."

Sheryl looked different from the last time she'd seen her. Her face was haggard and drawn. Her dark hair, which was usually dyed and coiffed to perfection, had gone completely gray.

She looked ... unhinged.

"h.e.l.lo, Mandy."

The other women in the beauty parlor were suddenly screaming and rushing to the back of the salon. Sheryl didn't even glance in their direction. She was focused on Mandy and Ally, who stayed in their seats.

"What's going on?" Mandy asked.

"What? You don't know?"

"Well, I have an idea," Mandy said, swallowing hard. She forced her attention from the gun, focusing on Sheryl's face. She didn't know which one was scarier. "I'm guessing you tried to have me blown up, and now you've decided to just do it yourself."

"I don't have a lot of options," Sheryl said. "Thanks to your boyfriend and his meddlesome family, it's only a matter of time until I'm discovered. I guess I should have taken that into consideration."

"Then you should probably run," Ally said. "Why waste your time here?"

Sheryl ignored Ally. "You can't be surprised to see me," Sheryl said. "You had to know I wouldn't let the murder of my son just go. Of course, you never bothered to check in with me after your boyfriend killed him, so I shouldn't be surprised that you've been so caught up in yourself that my misery wasn't even on your radar."

"Troy wasn't murdered," Mandy said, slipping her feet out of the basin and leaning forward. "Troy tried to kill me, and James did what he had to do to stop him. It wasn't murder. And, as for the other stuff, I wasn't sure what I should say to you. It wasn't exactly a normal situation."

"Yes, well, James is going to get what's coming to him, too," Sheryl said, her evil tone causing Mandy's blood to run cold. "I figure I'll let him mourn you for a few days, really feel your loss, and then I'll let him join you in the hereafter. Then maybe I'll check in on him, see how he is doing, and finish him off."

"Do you think you're going to get close enough to him to try?"

"I think that grief does funny things to people," Sheryl said. "Look at me. He'll be too distracted to even see me coming."

"The cops will catch you," Mandy said. "The wire transfer into Cole's bank account is being tracked right now."

Sheryl scrunched her face up. "That information is private."

"Not if you know the right people," Mandy said. "Grady is at the bank right now, and he just happens to know the right people."

"It will still be too late for you," Sheryl said. "At least I can watch you die."

Mandy wasn't sure what she should do. Talking to Sheryl seemed like the best option, but the woman standing in front of her seemed lost to the world. Mandy didn't want to press the wrong b.u.t.tons.

"Are you sure you really want to do this? I mean, you told me that you didn't agree with the things your family did to survive when you were younger, that's why you changed your name and escaped from them," Mandy said, trying to appeal to Sheryl's sense of humanity. "Why would you embrace this lifestyle now? I mean, this is so much worse."

"You killed my son!"

"He was trying to kill me," Mandy argued. "Should I have just stood there and let him kill me? Should James have?"

"You didn't have to kill him," Sheryl said. "What Troy did was wrong ... but what you did, well, that was just cold."

"Mandy didn't kill him," Ally interjected. "James did."

"Yes, James is the one who killed him," Sheryl agreed. "He did it to protect her. I want James to feel what it's like to lose the woman he loves. He killed my son to protect you, and now I'm going to kill you. He'll see it all was in vain."

"That's not going to bring Troy back," Mandy said. "He's gone. He's never coming back."

"And your father is gone, too," Sheryl said. "They've left me alone, so I have nothing to live for."

"You can find something to live for," Mandy pressed. "You've done it before. You donated your time, you helped people. Why not do that again?"

"Do you really think that's going to be an option for me after all of this?"

"I don't know," Mandy said. "You could run. You could try to get away."

"While that does hold a certain appeal, the idea of you looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life could be fun, I don't have the money or the inclination to spend the latter years of my life on the run," Sheryl replied. "I don't want to live in this world anymore."

"Then just kill yourself," Ally said. "Why try to make Mandy pay because your son was an idiot heathen?"

Mandy wanted to smack Ally or at least gag her but sudden moves were out of the question.

"My son was a troubled boy," Sheryl said. "He had some issues. He did not deserve to be shot down like a dog."

"Neither did Mandy," Ally said. "Troy gave my brother no choice. James offered to let him surrender. He chose to try and kill Mandy anyway."

"Your brother didn't give Troy a choice," Sheryl said. "That's a lie he told the police to get away with murder. How dumb do you think I am?"

"I don't know," Ally said. "How dumb was Troy? I think you can give him a run for his money."

Sheryl frowned, scalding Ally with an angry look. "Apparently you want to die, too."

JAMES and Jake were at the back of the beauty parlor listening. They both had guns, but they had to get inside if they wanted to use them. All of the patrons of the establishment had fled out the back door, leaving it open in their wake, and the police were on their way. James couldn't wait, though.

"I don't like this," Jake said. "Your sister is purposely baiting her."

"My sister doesn't know when to shut up," Jake agreed. "I think she's baiting her so she'll keep her focus on her instead of Mandy. She's trying to protect her."

"Will Mandy let her?"

"Not for a second. They'll both bait her to death trying to protect the other. We'll lose them both."

Jake shook his head. "We won't lose them. We need to think."

"No, we need to split up," James said. "I'm going to go in through the back door and try to draw her attention to me. When it's time, you need to go in through the front and try to get them out."