Deadly Reunion (Hardy Brothers Security Book 20) Read Online Free Page B

said, puffing her chest out in victory as Jake kissed her cheek.
    “I am curious why you guys are fighting,” Jake admitted. “You’ve been pawing each other every chance you get since you made up after the last fight. Why are you fighting now?”
    “We’re not fighting,” James answered. “We got our wires crossed and now she’s just digging her heels in to be a pain. She’ll get over it when I kiss her senseless in the hot tub later. I haven’t been able to do that all afternoon because we’ve got the kid.”
    “Ooh! Avery!” Ally abandoned Jake and moved toward the living room. “Where is he? I want to hold him.”
    “He’s asleep and you’d better not wake him up,” James warned, slipping his hand down Mandy’s slim back. “Baby, I’m sorry for what I said about the snoring. I love the fact that you snore. It’s very cute.”
    “Oh, is that all?” Ally was on the prowl for her nephew, but she kept half an ear on the conversation in the kitchen as she searched. “You can’t be mad at him for talking about your snoring. He finds everything you do cute.”
    “That’s not all he said,” Mandy argued. “He also mentioned he’s woken up on more than one occasion afraid we sprung a leak because I drool so much.”
    “Oh, well, that’s rude and mean,” Ally said, returning to the kitchen with a petulant frown on her face. “Avery is out cold. What did you do to him?”
    “Nothing,” James said. “I bounced him around and talked to him because Mandy spent the entire afternoon ignoring me.”
    “I couldn’t hear him through all of the drool,” Mandy explained.
    “You guys are just fighting because you’re bored,” Ally said, “You want to fight over something little so you can make up once everyone is gone. This is like foreplay to you guys.”
    James tried to hide his smirk … and failed. “That’s completely untrue.”
    “Then why are you smiling?” Jake asked, amused.
    “By the way – and don’t take this as me forgiving you because I don’t – but I have to ask you a question,” Mandy said.
    “Oh, baby, I can’t answer any of your philosophical questions if you’re not going to let me cop a feel under the table during dinner,” James said. “You have to forgive me if you want to ask a question.”
    Mandy was caught. They were embroiled in a game they both enjoyed playing, but she had no interest in ceding the win quite yet. “But … it’s an important question. Please?”
    Now James was the one caught. He liked the game as much as Mandy, but he would never deny his wife anything. “Okay,” he said, giving in. “You can ask one question and then we’ll return to the fight.”
    “Should we ask Jeff about being in prison or completely avoid the topic?”
    “Seriously?” James was used to Mandy asking random annoying questions about their life together, usually right before they went to bed. “That’s what’s on your mind?”
    “I’m a little worried,” Mandy admitted. “I’m not worried about him being here or anything, but I am worried about sticking my foot in my mouth. I’m not known for being tactful sometimes.”
    “You? Not my baby,” James said, grabbing her cheeks and planting a wet kiss on her mouth even as she struggled. “We’re still in our ceasefire so that didn’t count as you forgiving me. Don’t worry.”
    “Mandy has a point,” Ally said. “I mean … I don’t think ‘were you someone’s prison bitch’ is going to be a happy conversation topic for a guy who was already raped by his father and stole to keep his sister alive.”
    “Yeah, if you say anything like that you’re sleeping alone tonight,” Jake said, tweaking the end of Ally’s nose. “Don’t bring up anything like that. In fact, maybe you shouldn’t bring up prison at all.”
    “I’m fine with that,” Ally said. “I just don’t want to come off as rude. If we don’t mention his time in prison is he going to think we don’t care?”
    “Huh.” James