Page 55 of Deadly Forever

Sixteen

“Where’s Mandy?”

James pulled up short when he found Grady instead of his wife next to the office’s front door twenty minutes later.

“I didn’t realize it was my turn to watch her,” Grady said dryly. “I’ll try to keep on top of things for the next time I’m left with babysitting duty.”

James ignored the sarcasm. “I’m serious. Where is my baby?”

“I don’t know,” Grady said, making a face. “I thought she was with you.”

“No, we were grabbing a few things from the storage room. She’s not with us.”

“Come to think of it, where is Ally?” Jake asked, glancing around. Ally barreled into the office five minutes after they finished their conversation and then proceeded to distract everyone for another ten minutes before disappearing. “She was here a few minutes ago.”

“Well, they must be together,” James said, resting his hands on his hips. “The question is: Where?”

“Well, don’t go crazy,” Grady said, wrinkling his nose. “I’m sure they’re just upstairs with Emma or something. They’re not in danger so there’s no reason to go all Hulk or anything.”

James ignored the dig. “Avery is sleeping. This is his normal naptime. There’s no way they would risk waking him by going up there. They know how valuable quiet time is to Emma.”

That’s true,” Jake said, his stomach flipping. “I … maybe we should call them.”

“You guys are being ridiculous,” Grady said, making a face. “I guarantee they’re doing chick stuff in the bathroom or something. There’s nothing to worry about.”

As if on cue, Mandy and Ally picked that moment to stroll out of the bathroom together. They’d both tied their hair back in ponytails and seemed excited to converse with one another.

“Where have you been?” Jake asked, drawing Ally’s brown eyes to him. “We were worried.”

“You were worried because we were in the bathroom?” Ally didn’t appear impressed with the admission. “Why would you possibly be worried about that? We’re too big to fall in and accidentally drown.”

James smirked as he shook his head, capturing Mandy’s neck and tugging her close with a gentle hand. “I didn’t want to leave without kissing you goodbye. I couldn’t figure out where you went. Just for the record, I wasn’t worried about you falling in.”

Mandy’s smile was so wide it almost swallowed her entire face. “That’s good,” she said. “I haven’t fallen in since the last time Ally and I got drunk and you left up the toilet seat.”

“Yes, that was one of our earliest marriage battles, wasn’t it?” James eyes were full of mirth. “I forgot about that. You were mad … and cute … and ridiculously sexy as you yelled at me.”

“Oh, you guys are so sick,” Grady muttered, shaking his head. “Just for the record, Sophie and I are never going to be as schmaltzy as you guys.”

“I think it’s impossible to be as schmaltzy as them,” Jake said. “I’m willing to try for the crown once I get to marry my angel, though.” Jake’s eyes were filled with adoration as he looked Ally up and down. “Now give me a kiss because we have to get going.”

“I figured you guys could go to the store and get everything we need for the barbecue tonight,” James said, reminding Mandy of the family party they’d agreed to throw more than a week before. “I’ll do all of the grilling if you pick up all of the ingredients.”

“I forgot about that,” Mandy admitted, chewing on her bottom lip and glancing at Ally.

“It’s okay,” James said. “Pick whatever you want. It’s not a fancy affair. Just make sure you get good steaks and corn. Don’t skimp on the meat.”

“I was thinking we could go shopping together,” Mandy said, her expression unreadable. “I know how particular you get about your meat … in more ways than one.”

James ignored the dirty double meaning of her words. “I would like to, baby, but Jake and I have to talk to Kaspar,” he said. “I don’t have time.”

“It’s still early,” Mandy prodded. “We could go to Kaspar’s house and then go shopping together on the way home.”

James stilled. “We?”

Mandy nodded, refusing to wait for him to have some sort of meltdown. “We,” she confirmed. “Ally and I have been talking and we want to go with you when you question Kaspar.”

James was already shaking his head before she finished the statement. “Absolutely not. He’s a rapist. There’s no reason for you to go with us.”