Deadly Questions (Hardy Brothers Security Book 8) by Lily Harper Hart Page B

James asked.
    “I’m uncomfortable with Emma going into the neighborhood where Lily lives,” Finn said. “I also don’t like the memories it’s stirring up for Emma. She never wants to talk about … that … but I can tell she’s been thinking about it. She looks haunted. I just don’t think hanging out with Lily is going to help her.”
    “Tell her.”
    “Yeah, I’ll just tell her I forbid her to go into bad areas,” Finn deadpanned. “I’m sure she’ll take it well.”
    “Don’t forbid her,” Grady said. “Just explain. Emma is rational.”
    “Sophie is rational, too,” Finn said. “How well did she take it when you tracked her down on the street the other day?”
    Grady scowled. “Not well.”
    “Yeah, women don’t like it when we get bossy and territorial,” James said. “I have no idea why. I love it when Mandy bosses me around.”
    Finn snorted. “I think you’re talking about something entirely different than we are,” he said. “Women just think differently than men. It’s like their brains are broken or something.”
    “Oh, please let me be there when you tell that theory to Emma,” Grady said.
    Finn made a face. “You know what I mean.”
    “Well, Emma and Sophie aren’t the only ones worked up about this,” James said. “Mandy was in a mood last night, too.”
    “Because of this? She wasn’t an at-risk teenager,” Grady said. “She was as far from at-risk as it comes.”
    “I think it’s the idea of women being sold,” James said. “I’m not particularly thrilled with it either. It’s just harder for us to imagine the realities involved. People aren’t grabbing men off the street and selling them into sexual slavery.”
    “We don’t know that’s happening here,” Finn said. “We have rumors and questions, but we have no answers.”
    “That’s what we’re doing down here,” James said, parking his Explorer on the street. “We’re looking for answers.”
    “Should we do it together or split up?” Grady asked.
    “Split up,” James said. “Just … don’t go too far. I think people will be more willing to talk to us one-on-one. If something goes south, I want everyone in shouting distance. Keep your phones on you, too.”
    “This is a horrible area,” Finn said.
    “Yeah, as if having to live down here isn’t bad enough,” Grady mused. “These women also have to worry about being grabbed and abused. This is just … .”
    “We’re working on it,” James said. “We can only do so much.”
    “I know.”
    “So, let’s do what we do,” James said. “Let’s find some answers.”
     
    “I’M really not interested in … that,” Grady said, fighting to keep his features even as he questioned the two prostitutes loitering on the corner. They were chain smoking, blowing a steady haze into his face, but they appeared open to conversation. “I have a girlfriend.”
    “And where is she?” Pansy asked.
    The woman had introduced herself as Pansy – and her friend as Violet – but Grady had serious doubts those were their real names. He couldn’t fault them for lying about their identities, or trying to pretty up a harsh situation.
    “She’s at work,” Grady said.
    “You should tell her that letting a man as fine as you wander around in an area like this isn’t in her best interests,” Violet said, shaking her brown hair for emphasis. “You’re prime for the picking.”
    “I’ve already been … picked,” Grady said.
    “Then what are you doing down here?” Pansy asked.
    “I’m looking for information.”
    The women exchanged a worried look. “What kind of information?”
    “We’ve heard some rumors about women disappearing,” Grady explained. “Do you know anything about that?”
    “That’s none of our business,” Pansy said.
    “But you have heard something, haven’t you?” Grady pressed.
    “There are always rumors down here,” Violet said, her interest in the conversation waning. “You get used to it. Most of them