Page 56 of Deadly Forever

“We’re not teenagers,” Mandy pointed out. “He’s not interested in us.”

“That’s not how it looked last night.”

“Definitely not,” Jake intoned, his voice dark. “You guys don’t need to come with us. Go shopping. Have fun.”

Ally’s expression was so dark Jake took an involuntarily step back. “Are you insinuating that, because we’re women, we’re only capable of shopping and food preparation?”

“Absolutely not,” Jake answered immediately.

“I know my baby isn’t capable of food preparation,” James said. “She’s got many wonderful qualities, though. That doesn’t mean she needs to go with us for an interrogation.”

“You don’t need to talk about me as if I’m not here,” Mandy chided. “As for the rest, well, I want to go with you.”

James licked his lips as he regarded her. “Why?”

If Mandy was surprised by the question, she didn’t show it. In fact, she seemed prepared for the query. “Because I want to watch him when you ask about Darcy. I want to see his face. I want to get a feel for him myself – and I want to do it when I’m not pretending to be some giggling airhead.”

James’ expression softened as he regarded her. “No one would ever mistake you for an airhead.”

“Kaspar might,” Ally argued. “We both pretended to be idiots last night. That’s why we dropped stuff so much. Did you really think we were bending over that often for our health?”

Jake scowled. “Ally, why do you have to go? Why can’t you let us handle it and stay here … where it’s safe?”

“Because we feel responsible for Darcy and want to see this through until the end,” Ally answered, not missing a beat. “You can think of it as my wedding gift. You don’t have to get me another thing if you let me go with you.”

Jake pinched the bridge of his nose as he stared at the ceiling, shaking his head. “Yeah, like I’m really going to take back the wedding present I bought you. That sounds just like me, doesn’t?”

Ally smiled. She’d already won. “Thank you.”

“Oh, you’re so pathetic,” James groused. “You gave in without a fight.”

Jake shot him a challenging look. “Oh, yeah? Tell your wife no. We’ll talk after you explain why she’s not going.”

James squared his shoulders as he swiveled back to Mandy, his bravado immediately slipping when he locked gazes with her. “Fine,” he said, exhaling heavily before she even opened her mouth to utter a word. “You and Ally have to do everything we say, though.”

Mandy’s smile was pretty as it tipped up the corners of her mouth. “Absolutely.”

“Oh, such big, strong men,” Grady teased. “Way to show me how it’s done.”

James made a disgusted face as he cuffed his brother. “You’re my least favorite person right now.”

“I can live with that,” Grady said, ruefully rubbing the back of his head. “As for the rest … good luck. I almost wish I was going with you because this is bound to be funny.”

James didn’t feel the same way. “If we get arrested, you’re going to have to post bond.”

“I’ll make sure I know where my ATM card is.”

“THIS WAS a terrible idea,” James muttered, climbing the front steps of Kaspar’s home and glancing over his shoulder to where Mandy and Ally stood. They’d promised to be quiet and not make a scene. He loved them both dearly, but he wasn’t sure they were capable of keeping their promises.

Jake didn’t seem nearly as annoyed by the turn of events as James. “I’m glad they’re with us. At least this way we know what they’re doing. If they get in trouble, we’ll be close so we can stop it.”

“If?” James arched a challenging eyebrow. “We both know they’re going to cause trouble.”

“You know we can hear you, right?” Mandy pursed her lips as she narrowed her eyes. “Knock on the door. We have a lot of shopping to do this afternoon.”

“Fine,” James muttered, rapping his knuckles against the metal door three times in quick succession. “Don’t forget your promise, though.”

“The one where I promised to love you for better or worse?” Mandy challenged. “This is feeling like one of the ‘worse’ times.”