Deadly Intentions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 1) Read Free Page B

couldn’t figure out why. She hadn’t even told him why she was here yet.
    “What’s wrong?” Finn asked.
    Mandy moved to the open chair beside Grady and sat down, rubbing her hands in her lap nervously as she regarded the three suddenly serious faces in front of her. “This is probably going to sound weird,” she admitted.
    “Is someone stalking you?” Grady asked.
    “Why would you naturally assume that?” James chimed in, the look he shot Grady unnecessarily harsh.
    “Look at her,” Finn supplied. “Who wouldn’t stalk her?”
    Mandy’s face colored under Finn’s compliment. It made James remember the shy girl trying to flee Ann’s wrath in the hallway eleven years before. It only made her more appealing. Dammit!
    “I don’t think it’s a stalker,” Mandy hedged. “I’m not quite sure what it is.”
    James sat down behind his desk, watching Mandy warily. She was clearly worked up about something – and it unfortunately wasn’t him. “Why don’t you start from the beginning?”
    Mandy twisted her hands in her lap as she nodded. “Well, the thing is, I’ve had a feeling someone has been watching me for about two weeks,” she explained. “I have no real proof, just a feeling. I kept telling myself that I was imagining it.”
    “But something happened?” Finn prodded, putting his hand on Mandy’s shoulder to comfort her.
    James suddenly wanted to slap that hand away, but he kept his face placid. “Why don’t you give her some air, Finn?”
    Finn glanced over at his brother and raised his eyebrows in silent question. Something unspoken passed between them, but Finn finally removed his hand and took a step back so he could lean against the back wall. He had no idea why James was such a bundle of nerves, but it was an interesting phenomenon. As the eldest sibling in the family, he’d always been the even-tempered one. He didn’t seem so even-tempered right now. He seemed like he was ready to jump into action to fight some enemy only he could see.
    James kept his gaze trained on Mandy, ignoring the obvious curiosity being exuded by Grady and Finn. “Did something happen?”
    Mandy shifted her gaze between Finn and James uncertainly. “Um, well, I was leaving court the other day … .”
    “You’re a lawyer?” Grady interrupted.
    Mandy blew out a sigh. “No. I’m a clerk in the county courthouse,” she said. “I work with Judge MacIntosh.”
    “He’s got a good reputation,” Finn supplied.
    “He’s very nice,” Mandy agreed. “Anyway, I stayed late to get some work done, and when I was in the parking lot, well, someone tried to run me over.”
    James straightened in his chair. “What do you mean someone tried to run you over?”
    “Did they just not see you?” Finn asked. “Was it dark?”
    “What were you wearing?” Grady asked.
    The energy in the room was suddenly intense, which made Mandy uncomfortable. She felt like she was being smothered with questions, but she answered anyway. “It was just in a gray suit,” she said. “I’m not sure why that’s important. It was dark, but the parking lot is pretty well lit. I’ve never had a problem before.”
    “Are you sure they were trying to hit you?” James asked pointedly. “Are you sure it wasn’t just an accident?”
    “I have trouble believing it was an accident,” Mandy replied. “It would be nice, but they actually forced me to jump in some bushes to get out of the way. That doesn’t seem like much of an accident.”
    “No,” Grady agreed.
    “And then, when they couldn’t get their car to go up on the curb … .”
    “They followed you up on the curb?” James was alarmed.
    “Um, yeah.”
    “Did you call the police?” Finn asked.
    “I did,” Mandy replied. “They said there wasn’t much they could do without a license plate. I think they thought I was a bit of an alarmist.”
    “Do you know what kind of car it was?” Finn asked.
    “Just that it was a dark, four-door sedan,” Mandy answered.