Deadly Reunion (Hardy Brothers Security Book 20) by Lily Harper Hart Page A

pushed me away and essentially told me to go to bed, as if I was a child and you’d had a long day babysitting.”
    “Well, I can’t help the way you see things, Mandy,” James said. “That wasn’t my intention. I do have a job to do here, though. I know you don’t understand it, but that doesn’t change the fact that I have responsibilities.”
    “Oh, that’s such a load of crap,” Mandy said, wrinkling her nose. “You feel guilty about sending Finn on that job. Whether you checked into this Owen Parker’s background as thoroughly as you should have is beside the point now.
    “You blame yourself for Finn getting shot and you’re going to be a bear because you want to punish yourself,” she continued. “There’s a problem with that scenario, though. I haven’t done anything to be punished for and yet you’re hurting me, too.”
    “Dammit, Mandy!” James slapped his hands down on his desk and hopped to a standing position. “Do you want me to go to bed so you don’t have to sleep alone? Is that it? Let’s go. We both know you’re going to get your way eventually. I might as well give in now. You always get your way.”
    Mandy reared back, almost as if he slapped her. James immediately regretted his harsh words.
    “Baby, I didn’t mean that,” James said, holding up his hand. “I don’t know why I said it.”
    “I know why you said it,” Mandy volunteered. “You’re a martyr.”
    All the regret he’d been feeling seeped out of James. “Excuse me?”
    “You’re a martyr,” Mandy repeated. “You take everything this world has to offer on yourself and then you just … I don’t know … flog yourself until you’re bloody and wounded. You didn’t shoot Finn. If you made a mistake and didn’t check out your client as well as you should have then you’ll learn from it and move forward.”
    “That’s easy for you to say, isn’t it?” James challenged. “When you make a mistake someone doesn’t die.”
    “Finn didn’t die.”
    “Owen Parker did,” James snapped. “He died and Finn almost died trying to save his wife. I’m not a martyr, Mandy. I’m a man who made a mistake and knows he can’t make another one if he wants to keep his family safe.”
    “And is making yourself sick and going without sleep part of keeping your family safe?”
    “What do you want from me?” James asked, gripping his hands together tightly enough that his knuckles turned white. His temper flared to life and he fought his inner demons hard. The last thing he wanted to do was throw something … or punch a wall. He wouldn’t frighten his wife. He didn’t care how angry he was. “I’m doing the best I can.”
    Mandy’s expression softened as she lowered her voice. “James, you always do the best that you can,” she said, moving toward him and resting her hand on his forearm. “Unclench your hands. I know you’re fighting a fit of rage – like you’re the Hulk or something – but I also know you’ll never hurt me. So … chill.”
    “I don’t want to frighten you,” James admitted. “I’m not sure you should be around me while I come to grips with this. I love you, but this is my fault. You can say it wasn’t all you want, but I know differently.”
    “I love you, too,” Mandy said. “No matter what you say, though, I’ll never believe this is your fault. People make errors all of the time. You’re not infallible.”
    “Finn could’ve died.”
    “But he didn’t,” Mandy said. “He’s alive. I’m going to bet he’s asleep, with Emma wrapped in his arms. I will not sit by and watch you make yourself sick over this. I also won’t sit by and watch you pick an unnecessary fight because you don’t know what else to do.”
    James pressed his eyes shut as he fought the urge to yell at her. What she said made sense in his head. His heart was a mess, though. “Baby … .” James opened his eyes again and sucked in a breath when he realized Mandy’s tank top and shorts were