Deadly Illusions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 3) by Lily Harper Hart

what he was thinking. If she wasn’t outside, she was gone. The mere thought sent James into a tailspin.
    Suddenly, James was screaming. “Mandy!”
    Finn and Grady exchanged helpless looks.
    “Mandy!”
    Neither brother released James’ waist. They were too worried he would race into the fire after her.
    “Mandy!”
    Then she was there, standing before him, a blanket draped over her shoulders. Her face was streaked with soot, her eyes glassy from the smoke. “I’m here,” she rasped.
    Grady sighed, relieved. He loosened his grip on James.
    James shook off Finn and crawled the two feet that separated him from her. Mandy dropped to her knees, exhausted, letting James engulf her in his arms. He showered the side of her head with kisses, not caring how ridiculous he looked. She was here. She wasn’t in the building.
    “I’m okay,” Mandy said. “I’m okay.”
    She was crying, her tears mingling with the ones James unabashedly shed. His arms were so tight around her she could barely breathe.
    “Sir, you have to let us check her out,” a paramedic said, gingerly touching James’ arm to get his attention. “She needs oxygen.”
    “I’m okay,” Mandy protested.
    “Ma’am, you inhaled a lot of smoke,” the paramedic explained. “Let us give you some oxygen.”
    Mandy coughed roughly, finally acquiescing. The paramedic led her to the back of an ambulance, letting her sit on the stairs instead of settling on a gurney when she balked.
    James never left her side, petting her head and pulling her in close as he sat beside her. After a few minutes, Ally, Emma, and Sophie joined the group.
    “What were you thinking?” Emma asked. “Did you go back inside?”
    Mandy shrugged, the oxygen mask secured over her mouth. She mutely reached to the back of her jeans and pulled something out, handing it to Emma.
    When the picture frame – the one holding the only photograph Emma had of her mother – landed in her hands, Emma burst into tears. “You went back for the photo?”
    Mandy pulled the oxygen mask away for a moment. “It’s all you have of your mother.”
    Emma reached in, hugging Mandy as fiercely as she could. After a few seconds, Finn pulled her away so James could have a few moments alone with his girlfriend.
    When it was just the two of them, James fixed her with a hard look. “I love you more than life itself. If you ever do something like that again – risking your life for a photo – I’ll kill you myself.”
    Mandy rested her head against his shoulder, relishing the feeling of his lips as they settled on her forehead.
    She couldn’t help but feel that it had been worth it – although she would never admit anything of the sort to James.

Thirteen
    “I don’t have any idea where I’m going to sleep tonight,” Emma admitted when the police were done questioning the group.
    After James’ outburst, two members of local law enforcement were threatening to take him into custody for disturbing the peace and interfering with a police investigation – but Sophie jumped in their faces and threatened to publish a story about the police department trying to lock up a worried boyfriend and they backed off.
    No one had said it, but everyone was secretly relieved that Sophie managed to manipulate the situation to their advantage.
    After Emma’s announcement, Finn rubbed her shoulders thoughtfully as he moved in closer behind her to ward off the cold. “You can stay at my place.” His face colored when five heads swiveled in his direction. “I mean, you can stay in the guest room at my house.”
    Emma pulled back slightly, her eye makeup running down her face due to the tears she’d been shedding. “Maybe I should try and get a hotel room – that might be the safest bet – although all of my identification and credit cards went up in smoke in the fire.”
    Mandy stirred from her spot on the ambulance step, pulling the oxygen mask away from her nose and mouth while James made a face and reached for