Deadly Secrets (Hardy Brothers Security Book 11) (5 page)

“His girlfriend doesn’t dress up for him.”

“She does so,” Grady said. “I just prefer it when she looks like a naughty librarian.”

“Thanks for sharing that,” Sophie said, her face drawn.

“No problem, sugar.”

“Come and sit over here with me,” Sophie ordered. “Stop bothering your sister.”

“I’m not bothering her.”

“You’re totally bothering me,” Ally countered.

Grady scowled, but he shuffled over to Sophie and dejectedly sat down next to her. “You’re being mean to me.”

“I’ll spank you with my ruler later.”

Grady brightened considerably.

Mandy turned her attention back to Ally and Jake briefly, her decision to keep quiet about Cara’s admission resting easier on her diminutive shoulders. They were happy. They were content. Nothing could tear them apart.

She was sure of it.

“Don’t worry, I’ve got your back,” Mandy whispered. “You can feel free to set your phasers on stun.”

When his phone rang during dinner, Jake recognized Cara’s number as it popped up on the screen. She had called him twice since he’d given her his cell phone number out of courtesy. Given Ally’s reaction to all things Cara, Jake opted to step away from the table and answer the call inside the house.

“Hi, Jake,” Cara said when he answered. “Is this a bad time?”

“We’re having dinner.” Jake watched through the window as Ally and Grady cavorted. Whatever they were doing had the rest of the table laughing.

“Who is we?” Cara asked.

“Everyone.”

“Everyone?”

Jake sighed. “I’m with Ally and her family.”

Cara made a derisive sound on the other end of the call. “Doing what? Are you guys having a family game night?”

“We’re having a barbecue,” Jake said. “What do you want?”

Cara was silent for a moment. “Are you angry with me?”

Jake pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to calm himself. “I’m not thrilled with you,” he said. “You’ve been condescending and obnoxious to people I happen to care about.”

“Oh, when did you become so sensitive?” Cara scoffed.

“When I found people I don’t want to hurt.”

“You mean Ally,” Cara said.

“I mean all of them,” Jake said. “Ally is definitely a big part of it, though.”

“I can’t believe you’re with her.”

“Listen, my dinner is getting cold. Is there something you want?”

“Actually, it’s more like something I need,” Cara said.

“And what is that?”

“Someone to talk to. I need some … guidance.”

Jake stilled. “About what?”

“About … everything,” Cara said. “I just need someone to talk to.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“Are you worried you can’t trust yourself around me?” Cara teased.

“I’m worried because I don’t want to upset Ally,” Jake replied honestly. “I’m also worried because you seem to be going out of your way to cause problems.”

“I’m sorry you feel that way,” Cara said. “I was just … having a little fun.”

“I don’t think you need to upset others to have fun.”

“I think you’re being sensitive,” Cara said. “If your girlfriend is so worried about losing you, maybe she has something to worry about.”

“She doesn’t.”

Cara sighed. “You really have forgotten how to have fun, haven’t you?”

“What do you want, Cara?”

“I need your help.”

“With what?”

“I … we really shouldn’t talk about this over the phone,” Cara said. “Can you meet me in person?”

“I have plans tonight.”

“Jake, I’m not joking,” Cara said. “About this one thing, I’m being serious. Can we please meet? I think you owe me at least that after all we’ve been through together.”

Jake was torn. He would never turn down a former comrade in need, but he also wanted to spend the night cuddled up with Ally and her endless enthusiasm.

“Please, Jake.”

“Fine,” he said. “If this isn’t real, though, you’re going to find out just how far gone my sense of humor is.”

“WHAT
do you mean?” Ally’s face was a mask of concern and confusion as they sat in Jake’s truck in front of her house. “I thought … you said … you’re not coming in?”

“I have something I have to do,” Jake said. “It just came up. I’m really sorry.”

“It was the call you got during dinner, wasn’t it?”

“I have to go talk to someone,” Jake said carefully.

“About what?”

“Someone needs some help.”

“Cara?”

“Ally, please, you don’t have anything to worry about,” Jake said. “Can we not do this?”

“Fine,” Ally said, reaching for the handle of the door. “Have a nice date.”

Jake grabbed her arm to still her. “Don’t say that.”

“What do you want me to say?”

“I’m sorry you’re upset,” Jake said. “I had every intention of playing dress-up with you tonight and just … hanging out. She needs help with something.”

“And, of course, you’re the only one who can help her,” Ally said. “I get it.”

“Angel, I do not want to fight with you,” Jake said. “I promise this won’t take long. I’ll be back in a few hours. I’ll spend the rest of the night doing whatever you want.”

Ally flinched at the words.

“What did I say?” Jake asked, helpless.

“Nothing,” Ally said, pulling her arm away. “Nothing. It doesn’t matter.”

“I clearly said something,” Jake said. “You’re not getting out of this truck until you tell me what I said and let me fix it.”

“I don’t want to force you to sit around and do what I want to do,” Ally said, averting her gaze. “I thought … well, I thought we were doing what we both liked to do. I see I was wrong on that front.”

“You know damned well that’s not what I meant,” Jake said. “I love spending time with you. I don’t care what we do.”

“You should probably get going.” Ally’s voice was soft, and Jake could hear the hurt emanating from her as she spoke.

“Ally, I don’t want to leave things like this.”

“It’s fine,” Ally said, pushing open the door. “I’m fine. Have fun.”

“Angel, I’ll be back in a few hours,” Jake said. “We can talk about this then.”

“You don’t have to come back,” Ally said, climbing out of his truck. “I know you have more important things to do.”

“Ally.”

“Have a nice night with your friend.” Ally slammed the door shut and walked to her front door, refusing to turn around. She knew she was being petulant, but Jake opting to spend time with Cara instead of her was painful. She was having trouble fighting off the tears as she fumbled for her keys.

She jumped when Jake’s hand covered hers. “Ally.”

“I can’t look at you right now,” Ally said, her voice breaking. “You should get going.”

“I’m not leaving you like this,” Jake said. He grabbed her shoulders and pulled her to him, burying his face in her hair. “I’m sorry I hurt you. I would never do that on purpose. Cara just needs help with something, and I’m the only one in the area she knows. Please don’t read more into this.”

“It’s fine.”

“Stop saying that,” Jake said, kissing the side of her face and pulling her tighter against his chest. “I see you’re upset. I’m sorry. I can’t tell her no if she’s really in trouble.”

“I noticed.”

“Ally, dammit.” Jake grabbed both sides of Ally’s head and forced her face up so she had no choice but to meet his gaze. The unshed tears swimming through her brown eyes almost brought him to his knees. “I won’t be long. I’ll be back with you as soon as is humanly possible.”

“You don’t have to … .”

“Don’t finish that sentence,” Jake ordered. “I know I don’t have to. I want to. I want to be with you.”

“Are you sure?”

“I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life.” Jake kissed her softly. “One hour. I’ll be back in one hour.”

Ally nodded, refusing to speak in case her voice betrayed her.

“Angel, don’t cry.” Jake kissed her again. “I’ll be back in one hour. I promise.” Jake pulled her in for another hug. “I’m so sorry. Just … you have to trust me. I would never purposely hurt you. I’m not going to meet Cara because I have feelings for her. I’m going because she needs help. You’re the only one I have feelings for.”

Ally nodded again.

Jake pressed his lips to her forehead. “I promise I’ll be back in one hour. Nothing will keep me away from you. Nothing.”

“CALM
down,” Mandy said, rolling over on her back as she listened to Ally rant on the other end of the phone call. “You’re not making a lot of sense.”

“Jake is on a date with Cara.”

Mandy, who was studying her feet as she half-listened to her friend, raised herself up on her elbow. “Excuse me?”

Ally told Mandy about the rest of her evening, and when she was done Mandy was furious on her friend’s behalf. “I’m going to beat the shit out of him.”

“I said I was sorry I called it a whip,” James said, breezing through his bedroom and heading straight for the master bathroom. “If you want to beat me, though, I’m up for playing that game in a few minutes.”

Mandy ignored him. “I knew this was going to happen,” she muttered. “I just knew it.”

“What do you think I should do?” Ally was beside herself.

“How did you leave things?”

“He said he’d only be gone for an hour and then he promised to make it up to me when he got back.”

“And you’re the one calling it a date, right? He didn’t call it a date.”

“He said I was reading it all wrong and that he only wanted to be with me,” Ally said.

“Do you believe him?”

“I do,” Ally said. “But then I start wondering if I only believe him because I want to believe him.”

“Well, I’m not sure if I should tell you this, but I think you should know given what you’ve just told me,” Mandy said. “When Emma was sick this afternoon, she heard Cara on the phone with someone. She was talking about Jake, and how she wanted to get you out of the way.”

“What?” Ally’s voice was so shrill Mandy had to pull the phone away from her ear. “Why didn’t you tell me earlier? Is that why Emma was so morose?”

“She was worried about you,” Mandy said. “I didn’t know if I should tell you. I knew you were already feeling vulnerable where Cara was concerned. I thought I would be making things worse.”

“And now?”

“Now I think you and Jake should know exactly what you’re up against,” Mandy said. “Look at it this way, if she tried to suck Jake in with some ‘poor me’ story, she’s going to have a rude awakening. I don’t think he’s going to have a lot of patience with her.”

“What if she does suck him in?”

“Then you and Jake are going to have to have a long talk.”

“Oh, well, that always goes over splendidly,” Ally grumbled.

“Ally, when it comes down to it, you’ve got to trust your heart,” Mandy said. “I believe that Jake would never betray you. You’re the one who ultimately has to believe it, though.”

“I know.”

“Just … try to keep calm and relax. You’ll know better what’s going on when Jake gets back. Can you hang on that long?”

“I don’t have much of a choice, do I?”

JAKE
found Ally on the couch when he let himself into her house exactly one hour after he left her. Cara had been angry when he insisted on leaving, but after promising he would help her with her little problem the next day, she’d reluctantly let him go. And it had been a
little
problem. It certainly wasn’t something that needed his attention in person – and he’d let Cara know he didn’t appreciate her manipulation.

Despite that, she’d still tried eight different ways to get him to stay – including flirting and degradation – but he’d ignored every one. The only thing he could think about was getting back to Ally.

“Hey, Angel.”

Ally lifted her head. “Hi.”

Jake shrugged out of his coat and kicked off his shoes before removing his jeans and shirt and climbing onto the couch with her. She had changed into a pair of shorts and matching tank top, and she was watching some reality show on the television.

Jake lifted the blanket she was cuddling under and edged her forward so he could wrap himself around her. She was quiet as he pulled her close.

“Are you still mad at me?” Jake asked.

“I’m not mad.”

“Are you still upset?”

“I’m … fine.”

Jake didn’t like her tone. She was being purposely aloof. He missed the giggles and warmth she usually greeted him with. “She just needs help with a security program for the big
Vampire Garden
program tomorrow,” he explained. “I’m going to help her with the computer system and that’s it.”

“Okay.”

“Ally,” Jake growled, snapping her body as close to his as he could manage. “Don’t be mad at me.”

“I’m not mad.”

“Well, you’re certainly not happy.”

Ally sighed. “I talked to Mandy tonight.”

“Is she mad at me, too?”

“Emma overheard Cara on the phone in the bathroom earlier today,” Ally said. “Cara didn’t see her because she was on the floor in the stall after she’d been sick.”

Jake lifted his head. “So she eavesdropped?”

“I guess.”

“What did she hear?”

“Cara said that she was going to get you to help her,” Ally replied. “She also said she had to get around me to do it.”

Jake smiled. “She probably didn’t mean what you think she meant.”

“I think she meant a whole lot more than you seem to think she did,” Ally countered.

“It doesn’t matter, angel,” Jake said. “She can’t get between us. I won’t let her. I’m going to help her with one computer program. Tomorrow is the last day of Detcon. That means I’ll probably never see her again.”