Deadly Secrets (Hardy Brothers Security Book 11) (6 page)

“I hope so,” Ally said. “If you do, I’m going to have to beat her ass. I don’t care how big her muscles are.”

Jake tickled Ally’s ribs, relieved when the rigid set of her shoulders gave way and she snuggled back against him. “You don’t need to fight for me,” Jake whispered in her ear. “I’m already yours.”

“Do you want to tell me what we’re really doing?”

Ally ignored Mandy’s question and straightened her costume, staring at herself intently in the convention center’s bathroom mirror. “What do you think?”

“I think you look like a naughty nurse from
Star Trek
,” Mandy said. “I don’t get the wig, though.”

Ally ran her fingers down the blonde hairpiece, studying the fake hair dubiously. “I’m trying to be incognito.”

“You look like a geeky stripper,” Mandy replied. “The vinyl boots are a nice touch, though.”

“They’re vintage,” Ally said.

“They make your legs look long and sexy.”

“They’re vintage and flattering,” Ally said. She turned to her friend. “Do you want to explain your outfit?”

“I’m a sexy Han Solo.”

Ally narrowed her eyes as she studied Mandy’s dress. “And he’s the dude from
Star Wars
, right?”

Mandy nodded.

“But he was a man.”

“So?”

“You’re a woman.”

“But it’s a manly costume turned into a sexy dress,” Mandy said. “See, I have vinyl boots, too.”

“Yours look … clunkier.”

“Don’t hate on the boots,” Mandy said. “They’re authentic.”

Ally made a face. “Where did you get that wig and costume on such short notice?”

“Don’t ask questions you don’t want to hear the answer to,” Mandy warned.

“Does this mean James dresses up like Princess Leia?”

“No, I do that, too.”

“You have the slave costume, don’t you?”

Mandy shrugged.

“You two are so freaking sick,” Ally said.

“Says the woman wearing a vintage
Star Trek
uniform so we can spy on her boyfriend without him noticing,” Mandy said.

“That’s not what we’re doing,” Ally said.

“You told me to make sure no one could recognize me,” Mandy replied. “This is the last day of Detcon, and I know Jake is doing something to help Cara this afternoon. What else would we be doing?”

“Who told you that Jake was doing something to help Cara?”

“He called James this morning and told him he needed a little time to help Cara with a computer project.”

“Did he say if they would be clothed?”

Mandy made a face. “I thought you two made up.”

“We did make up,” Ally said. “It’s just … .”

“You don’t trust Cara,” Mandy supplied. “You just want to see for yourself that she’s not throwing herself at Jake.”

“Oh, I know she’s throwing herself at Jake,” Ally said. “I just want to see what he’s doing while she does it.”

“I’m guessing he’s ignoring her,” Mandy said.

“Probably,” Ally said. “I just want to make sure.”

“You know, if he catches us, he’s going to be mad,” Mandy pointed out.

“He won’t catch us. We’re sly.”

Mandy glanced down at her dress. “You realize we’re at a comic book convention, right?”

“So?”

“We’re dressed up in sexy costumes at a comic book convention.”

“So?”

“We’re going to draw a lot of attention,” Mandy said.

“Oh, get over yourself,” Ally said. “You’re cute. It’s not like men are going to be falling all over you just because you’re dressed up in some sexy, nerd dress.”

“When this comes back to bite us, just remember I told you so,” Mandy said.

“WELL?”

“Fine, you were right,” Ally said, sighing as another man in a furry costume approached them. “Who is he supposed to be?”

“He’s Chewbacca,” Mandy said, blasé. “He’s clearly here for me.”

“He looks like Bigfoot.”

“Don’t make eye contact,” Mandy warned. “If we don’t make eye contact he might … oh, well, crap. Here he comes.”

“Hi,” the man said, smiling shyly. “Are you looking for someone to take you to a galaxy far, far away?”

“We’re good,” Ally said.

The man looked crushed. “But our costumes match.”

“Not really,” Mandy said, flipping her dark wig over her shoulders.

“But … .”

“Dude, you’re so not their type,” another guy said, sidling up next to Ally. Mandy recognized the costume, but she was mildly curious if Ally would. “I’m their type.”

“You’re a Borg,” Ally said, not missing a beat.

“I am.”

“I’m a good guy … from a whole other series. We can’t hang out.”

“We’re from the same universe, though,” the man pressed.

“Not even remotely,” Ally said, rolling her eyes until they landed on Mandy. “Why didn’t you warn me about this?”

“I did warn you.”

“No, you didn’t.”

“We spent twenty minutes in the bathroom talking about just this,” Mandy said. “Don’t you dare deny it.”

“Have you ever noticed that you always have to be right?”

“The only reason you notice that is because you can’t be wrong,” Mandy countered.

“That’s not true,” Ally argued. “I’m always the first one to admit when I’m wrong.”

“When have you ever admitted you were wrong?”

The Borg watched their interplay, his interest ramping up. “Do you want to know what we could do?”

“Not really,” Ally said.

“We could make an interstellar sandwich,” he said. “I could be the creamy middle.”

Mandy made a face. “That is the most disgusting thing I’ve ever heard.”

“So, is that a no?”

“I’m married.”

“Of course you are,” the Borg said, dejected. “Some rich guy probably snapped you right up when he found out how cool you were.”

“He did,” Mandy agreed.

The Borg turned to Ally expectantly. “I guess it’s just you and me then.”

“Not even if this was the final frontier,” Ally said.

“I don’t need to take this abuse.”

“Then go.”

Mandy and Ally watched the Borg shuffle off, his face a pathetic mixture of disappointment and poutiness.

“I feel kind of bad,” Mandy said.

“I don’t,” Ally said. “He was being annoying.”

“I told you this was going to happen,” Mandy reminded her.

“I got it. You’re always right. There’s no need to keep telling me.”

Mandy reached over and pinched Ally’s arm.

“Ow! What was that for?”

“You’re being mean to me when I’m going out of my way to help you spy on your boyfriend,” Mandy replied.

“I’m sorry,” Ally said. “Do you want to know what’s funny, though?”

“What?”

“When we were in high school, we were always looking for ways to attract boys,” Ally said. “Who knew we just had to dress up like geeks to do it?”

“We definitely could have saved ourselves some time,” Mandy agreed.

“And push-up bras.”

“Those, too.”

“Speaking of Jake, have you seen him yet?” Ally asked.

“No, but I do see Emma.”

Ally peered over Mandy’s shoulder. “What is she wearing today?”

Mandy pressed her lips together to keep from laughing out loud. “Something we desperately need a photo of.”

Ally studied Emma for a moment. “I don’t get it.”

“She’s a zombie.”

“Oh,” Ally said, tilting her head to the side. “I wasn’t sure. I thought maybe she was an emaciated alien.”

“No, she’s a zombie.”

“Oh, duck your head.” Ally grabbed Mandy’s head and pushed it toward the ground.

“Why are we hiding?”

“Finn is over by Emma.”

“So?”

“What if he sees us?”

“We’re wearing wigs,” Mandy pointed out.

“Oh,” Ally said, straightening. “I forgot.”

“Just don’t stare at him … or do anything that’s going to draw attention to us,” Mandy said. “That would include trying to make me crawl along the ground.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Always Right.”

“Don’t make me show you why
Star Wars
is better than
Star Trek
!”

“What are you two doing?”

Mandy and Ally jumped when Emma appeared in the space next to them. They hadn’t even seen her cross the room.

“Um … do we know you?” Ally asked.

Emma narrowed her eyes. “Are you making fun of me?”

“We’re … undercover,” Mandy explained. “You look cute, by the way. We totally need a photograph.”

Ally pulled out her cell phone. “Three-person selfie.”

Emma and Mandy crowded closer to Ally and smiled for the photo. When they were done, Emma fixed Ally with a worried look. “Did Mandy tell you something she said she wasn’t going to tell you?”

“Smooth,” Mandy said.

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

“Mandy told me what you overheard in the bathroom,” Ally said. “We’re just here to … see how things are going this afternoon.”

“We’re here to spy on Jake,” Mandy said.

“I figured. He’s down that hallway over there.” Emma pointed across the busy room.

“How do you know?” Ally asked.

“Because that’s the direction I saw him go about ten minutes ago.”

“Was he alone?”

Emma bit her bottom lip. “I didn’t see.”

“That means he wasn’t alone,” Mandy said.

“You’re a horrible liar,” Ally said, patting Emma’s arm. “You’re a cute zombie, though.”

“This is it,” Emma said. “This is my last day doing … this.”

“Oh, I forgot about that,” Mandy said. “You must be really excited.”

“I am,” Emma said. “I’m also a little nervous.”

“Why?”

“I won’t be bringing any money in for the next six months … at least.”

“You’re worried because Finn is going to be providing for both of you, aren’t you?”

“Since everything happened with my family, I’ve never had to rely on someone else,” Emma said. “I’m desperately afraid that he’s going to get bored with me and just walk away.”

“Then you don’t know him at all,” Ally said. “He would never do that. He loves you too much.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I think you’re going to feel better when you guys get settled in the apartment and get into a new routine,” Mandy said.

“I agree,” Ally said, grabbing Mandy’s arm when she caught sight of a familiar face as he peered out into the room and then disappeared back down the hallway. “There he is. We’ll talk about your problems later, Emma. We have to deal with mine right now.”

Emma waved her hands, shooing her two future sisters-in-law away. “Have fun.”

“Make sure you don’t tell anyone about this,” Mandy said. “I will die if James finds out.”

“Your secret is safe with me.”

“Come on!” Ally yanked on Mandy’s arm viciously. “Move faster. I want to see what they’re doing in that room, and if it’s what I think it is, I’m going to kill them both.”

“ARE
you sure this is set up correctly?” Cara asked, leaning over Jake’s shoulder as he worked on the laptop.

“I’m sure,” Jake said, shifting forward so Cara’s breast wasn’t resting against his shoulder. “You should be able to operate it from anywhere in the convention center now.”

“That’s great,” Cara said.

“It is,” James said, strolling into the room and fixing Cara with a tight smile. “Now, if you’re done, I need to reclaim my employee.”

“Oh, sure,” Cara said, taking a step back and giving James room to move in behind Jake.

“I see you got my text,” Jake muttered under his breath.

James clapped him on the shoulder. “I’m always ready to save another man from a … problem. She looks like she smells blood in the water and is beginning to circle.”

“I had no idea what a problem this was going to be.”

“Well, it’s almost over with,” James said. “After this, we can just put Detcon in the rearview mirror and having a nice, relaxing week.”

“I thought you and Mandy were having fun playing dress up,” Jake teased.

“We don’t need Detcon for that,” James said. “And, truth be told, I’ve missed lazing around with my blonde this weekend. I’ve barely had any time to spend with her.”

“I know the feeling.”

“What are you two whispering about over there?” Cara asked.

“Just … stuff,” James said.

“Is everything set?”

The man who walked into the room looked vaguely familiar, but Jake couldn’t figure out where he knew him from. He was dressed up as a vampire, though, which should have been a dead giveaway.

“This is Clive Washington,” Cara said by way of introduction. “He’s the star of
Vampire Garden
.”