Free Deadly Dealings (Hardy Brothers Security Book 13) by Lily Harper Hart

about me.”
    “Can we please not talk about throwing up while I’m eating my breakfast?” Grady asked.
    “I will thump you,” James threatened.
    “You’re going to have to hold off until I tell you the information I have.”
    “I … .” James cracked his neck. “I will refrain from killing you long enough to see what information you have.
    “While you’re doing that I’m going to take a shower,” Mandy said, pushing herself up from her chair.
    “Do you need me to … help you upstairs?” James felt guilty for asking the question.
    Instead of snapping at her husband, Mandy leaned over and gave him a soft kiss. “I can handle it. I’ll be fine.”
    “I love you, baby.” James grabbed her hand and squeezed it, exhaling heavily as he realized how much worry had been weighing down his shoulders.
    “I love you, too.”
    “And everyone loves me,” Ally chimed in.
    “And everyone loves Ally,” Mandy said, her eyes twinkling.
     
    “I CAN’T believe the guys are letting us do this,” Ally said, clapping her hands together a few hours later as she and Sophie trudged up the front sidewalk of the Night & Day Spa in Sterling Heights.
    “You need to be chill here,” Sophie warned, stilling the rambunctious brunette before Ally could open the door and enter the spa. “I know you want to help Mandy. The only reason Jake agreed to let you be part of this is because they didn’t want me going in here alone. You can’t do anything wonky when we find this woman.”
    “I don’t do wonky things.”
    “You’re the queen of wonky,” Sophie shot back.
    Peter’s efforts to track down a lead on local Twilight manufacturers uncovered one name: Winona Sanders. Peter didn’t know much about her – other than she had her finger in eight different drug manufacturing pots throughout the tri-county area. Peter also found that Winona’s credit card was being used for multiple purchases at the spa. Since a male presence would stand out at a business dominated by women, Sophie volunteered to go. And, since Grady balked at the idea of letting her go alone, Jake finally acquiesced and allowed Ally to go with her.
    No one except Ally was happy about the situation.
    “Mandy is my best friend,” Ally said, crossing her arms over her chest and fixing Sophie with a hard look. “I want to find out who tried to hurt her. If this woman had a hand in it … bam!” Ally mimed a violent act.
    Part of Sophie wanted to laugh. The other part wanted to carry out the violent act on Ally. “We have to be low key,” she said, forcing herself to remain calm. “If we tip our hand that we’re up to something we could ruin this case and this woman could get away forever. I need you to keep that at the forefront of your brain when we’re in there.”
    “I’m. Not. Stupid.” Ally spoke in an exaggeratedly slow manner.
    “This is going to suck,” Sophie muttered, pulling open the door and ushering Ally inside.
    The receptionist greeted the two women with a smile that was wide enough to convince Sophie she was on uppers and then led Ally and Sophie to the back so they could change into robes.
    When they entered the main spa area, Sophie spotted Winona almost immediately. The woman was tall, and she had blond hair straight out of a bottle. Her fingernails were long and acrylic, and she was wearing enough makeup to make a clown think she’d gone overboard.
    Ally and Sophie settled in chairs, and Ally immediately started chatting away. It took Sophie a moment to realize what she was doing, and when she did, she was happy Ally was the one with her. Ally might not be great at undercover work, but if it was one thing she knew, it was how to talk “girl.”
    “So, I was like, Jake … I can’t put up with this macho crap of yours,” Ally said, effortlessly slipping into her part. “If he thinks I’m going to spend my day cleaning the house and cooking dinner for him while he’s out running around and having fun without me … well