Deadly Memories (Hardy Brothers Security Book 18) Read Online Free PDF

said, refusing to back down. “The question is: Are you going to try and stand in my way? If you are, that’s going to be part of the story, too. We all know that residents aren’t going to be happy if they think you’re hiding information … again.”
    “I was not hiding information before,” Morgan said, wagging a finger in Sophie’s face for emphasis. “I had no idea what was going on.”
    “And yet you were the sheriff and should’ve known.” Sophie was eerily calm. She knew that threw people off their game. Peter taught her how to read people at a young age and then he taught her how to interact with certain personality types to get what she wanted. That’s what she did now. “I’m not sure your reputation can take another hit.”
    Morgan blew out a frustrated sigh, resigned. He scanned the park and the assembled crime watchers as he rubbed the back of his neck. “I guess you’ve got this all figured out, huh? I don’t really have a choice.”
    “You have a choice,” Sophie countered. “You just have to decide what outcome is the best for everyone involved and go from there. I will follow up my own way if it becomes necessary, though. You can count on that.”
    “Fine,” Morgan muttered. “What do you want to know?”

4
    Four
    S ophie was exhausted by the time she got home and she was almost relieved to find Grady sitting on the couch with a pizza box in front of him. It was closed, paper plates stacked on top, and he flipped through a magazine as he waited.
    “Hey,” Sophie said, sinking down on the couch and leaning to the side so she could hug him. “I’ve never been happier to see anyone in my entire life.”
    Grady gave her a sweet kiss before pulling back, brushing her hair out of her face as he studied her weary features. “You look exhausted, sugar.”
    “I had one heck of a day.”
    Grady rubbed his thumb over Sophie’s cheek. “Do you want to tell me about it?”
    “Yes,” Sophie said. “I’m starving, though. How long has the pizza been here?”
    “Only twenty minutes. It should still be warm. We can heat it up if you want, though.”
    “I can deal with lukewarm pizza as long as I have you heating up my life,” Sophie teased, pushing herself to a standing position so she could shrug out of her coat and shoes. She moved to sit again and then changed her mind, unsnapping her pants and letting them pool around her ankles before settling next to Grady. “Why are you smirking like that?”
    “Because that was pretty much the hottest thing I’ve ever seen,” Grady replied, grabbing the blanket from the back of the couch and resting it on Sophie’s lap. He was sad to cover her, but he worried he wouldn’t get through dinner if he didn’t and she seemed to need talk before romance this evening. “You’re the only woman I know who would strip half naked for pizza.”
    “I wanted to be comfortable,” Sophie protested.
    “Oh, I’m going to make you comfortable once your belly is full,” Grady said, reaching for the pizza box. “Eat up, sugar. I’m going to rub your back until all the kinks are out after dinner … and then I’m going to rub something else.”
    Sophie made a face as she reached for a slice of pizza. “You’re a smooth talker.”
    “Just wait until I start whispering in your ear in the bedroom,” Grady said, grabbing his own slice. “Tell me about your day. I have some things to tell you about my day, too, but I have a feeling your day is more important.”
    “I don’t suppose you caught any news reports today, did you?”
    Grady shook his head. “I was in Dearborn for most of the morning and then James made me do inventory all afternoon because he’s a slave driver. Did something big happen?”
    “Something huge happened,” Sophie answered. “There was an accident out at Stony Creek last night.”
    Grady knit his eyebrows together. “The park?”
    “Yeah. Someone decided to drive a car down that narrow bridge and ran it through a