Page 36 of Deadly Forever

Eleven

“I don’t wantto send her home.”

Mandy watched Grady and Maverick entertain Darcy through the glass window that separated James’ office from the rest of the Hardy Brothers Security office. Her face was pensive when James walked up behind her and slipped his arms around her waist.

“Do you want to tell me something?” James asked, his tone teasing. “Are you saying you want to keep her?”

“No. I’m saying … .” In truth, Mandy had no idea what she was saying.

“We decided not to have kids, baby,” James reminded her. “I think a teenager – even one as sympathetic and seemingly easygoing as Darcy – is going to tax our happy home.”

“I don’t want to take her home,” Mandy said, shifting in James’ arms so she could see his face without pulling away. “I don’t want to send her back to those people either, though. We should be able to figure out a way to make her comfortable and safe.”

James pursed his lips as he tugged a strand of his wife’s blond hair. She was so earnest it almost pained him to look at her. “Baby, she’s not our child,” he said. “She’s a teenager who has been through something terrible, but we can’t fix this for her. All we can do is figure out why the boys did what they did and hope that gives her some closure.”

“I get that, James,” Mandy said, her eyes flashing. She wasn’t a fan of his tone. “I’m not asking you to take over as her emotional support system.” Mandy moved to pull away, but James stopped her.

“What do you want to do?” James asked, refusing to let Mandy put distance between them and start a fight he had no intention of finishing. “Do you want to take her home for the night? We can take her home if you want. You know I’m not going to deny you so … just tell me what you want.”

Mandy opened her mouth to respond and then snapped it shut. She had no idea what the right answer entailed.

“Why are you two fighting?” Emma asked, appearing at the bottom of the stairs with Avery in her arms. The infant, a goofy grin on his face, squealed when he saw Mandy and extended his arms. “Oh, you’re such a traitor,” Emma complained to her son. “I swear you wish Mandy was your mother instead of me.”

“No, he doesn’t,” James countered, reluctantly shifting his arms so he could take the baby from Emma. Avery loved his uncle, but he was far more interested in Mandy. Of course, she was agitated with James so she could only muster a wan smile for the infant’s benefit.

“You know Avery loves you, Emma,” Mandy chided. “He just likes James and me because we give him sugar when you’re not looking.”

Emma made a face. “Yes, you guys are the world’s most indulgent aunt and uncle. It’s probably good you’re not having kids.”

“That’s what I thought until Mandy decided she was going to adopt a teenager,” James said, chuckling as Avery tried to chew on his chin. “I think this kid might be a zombie or something.”

Emma ignored the joke and focused on Mandy. “You want to adopt a teenager?”

Mandy shook her head and pointed toward the office. Emma shifted her gaze there, her eyes landing on Darcy for the first time.

“You want to adopt her?” Emma asked, confused.

“She was gang raped,” Mandy said, keeping her voice low. “She went to a party and the boys drugged and then raped her. Then the father of one of the boys offered her parents money to make the charges go away. They pressured her so she recanted.”

“That’s awful,” Emma said, disgusted. Her own father raped her for years and her mother knew it was happening and didn’t lift a finger to stop it. She knew a little something about parental betrayal.

“The boys who raped her were the ones in the mall,” Mandy added. “We figure the two things must be related … although we can’t figure out how.”

“Well, now I don’t feel so bad about them dying,” Emma admitted, her expression thoughtful as she watched Darcy. “I want to adopt her, too.”

James made a groaning noise – which made Avery giggle – and shook his head. “She’s strong, you guys,” he chided. “She’ll be okay. She already survived the worst this life has to offer. She doesn’t need you hens clucking her to death.”

Emma and Mandy ignored James.

“You know, Jeff moved into his new place yesterday,” Emma pointed out. “We have that empty room at the back of the office. It’s not exactly a house, but Darcy would probably be put off if we offered to bring her into one of our homes anyway.

“I remember after I finally got away from my father,” she continued. “All of these nurses and social workers offered me spots in their homes, but I felt uncomfortable, like it was charity. Darcy might feel the same way.

“If we offer her the office and give her a key so she can sleep there whenever she wants, she might take it as a safe haven,” she said. “She might look at it as a place where she can get away from her parents.”

James’ eyebrows flew up his forehead. “You want me to give her a key?”

“What do you think she’s going to do?” Mandy challenged. “You’ve got eight firewalls on your computer. You can lock your actual office. I happen to think it’s a great idea. Emma will be right upstairs if she needs to talk.”