"I do love you, baby," he said. "Sometimes you need to be really clear with me. Like really clear. Drawings in crayon couldn't possibly hurt."

Mandy laughed, the sound warming James' heart. He pulled her into his arms completely, resting his forehead on hers. After a few minutes, he reluctantly pulled away. "So, I'm guessing dancing is the next order of business?"

"You hate dancing," Mandy said.

"I'm not going to be twerking anytime soon," James said. "I don't mind dancing."

Mandy arched an eyebrow. "Really?"

James grabbed her hand, twirling her out onto the dance floor before pulling her back to him so they could sway to the music. After turning her around the dance floor twice, Mandy suggested taking a break so they could get a drink.

James was relieved that the tension seemed to have vacated her body, so he was willing to agree to anything. He left her at a small table, returning to find Judge MacIntosh sitting next to his girlfriend.

"Mr. Hardy," the judge said, extending his hand. "It's good to see you."

"You, too," James said, sliding Mandy's drink on the table in front of her. "You throw quite the shindig. I didn't think the courthouse could clean up this well."

"It was a joint effort amongst all of the judges," MacIntosh said. "We're trying to raise funds for the new drug court."

"And what does that do?" James asked, sipping from his gla.s.s.

"It gives teenagers a chance to work off their debt to society without putting a permanent black mark on their record," he replied.

"That sounds good to me," James said. "I guess I'm glad I wrote that check when I was coming in."

"You already donated?" Mandy asked, surprise evident on her face.

"Well, since my date had already entered and I didn't have an invitation handy, I had to bribe my way in," James admitted. "Luckily, the woman working at the table was easy to persuade."

Mandy rolled her eyes. "That infamous Hardy charm is your best weapon, isn't it?"

The hot look James shot Mandy told her that he thought one of his other weapons was more powerful. Mandy had trouble disagreeing with him, especially given the shot of warmth that was pulsing through her body and settling between her thighs.

The shared look wasn't lost on the judge. "Ah, to be young and in love."

Mandy stiffened, embarra.s.sment washing over her. James merely shrugged as he shot MacIntosh an apologetic look.

The judge chuckled. "Don't be sorry, son," he said. "If my wife and I were forty years younger and looked like the two of you, we would never leave the house."

Mandy's mouth dropped open in surprise.

"Shut your mouth, dear," Judge Macintosh chided her. "Everyone is young once. Speaking of that, if the two of you wanted to sneak out early before all the boring speeches started I wouldn't be offended."

Mandy worried her lower lip. "That doesn't seem right."

"What's not right? We've already drained Mr. Hardy's bank account. I think you two have earned an early exit."

Mandy smiled. "Thank you."

He winked. "I'll see you Monday." He got up from the table, pausing next to James before joining another group of people beckoning to him from across the dance floor. "She seems much happier now than she did when she first arrived. Try to keep her that way."

James saluted. "That's on the top of my to-do list."

Judge MacIntosh smiled. "Make sure it stays there."

After the judge left, James was nervous. He wanted to take MacIntosh up on his kind offer but he was worried suggesting anything of the sort would erode all of the good will he'd managed to build up over the past hour.

"Are you ready?"

James squirmed. "I thought ... ."

"You thought I wanted to stay here when I didn't have to?"

"I don't know," James hedged.

Mandy slipped out of her chair and sidled up to him, pressing her lips to the ridge of his ear. "Did I tell you why I picked this dress?"

James ran his hand up and down her hip, fighting the urge to see if he could slip it beneath the slit without anyone seeing. "No."

"Because it's designed in such a way that it makes it impossible to wear underwear."

James' mouth went dry. "Are you telling me you're going ... commando under there?"

"That's exactly what I'm telling you."

James gripped her hand. "We're leaving. Right now."

Mandy giggled as he pulled her through the room and out the front door. Once they were safely outside, away from prying eyes, James yanked her to him. He captured her mouth with his, pulling her hips flush against his pelvis so he could grind himself against her. He risked a feel inside the slit, gasping when he realized she wasn't lying about the underwear situation.

"Let's go," Mandy whispered, breaking the kiss.

"Tell me one thing," James said.

"What?"

"What is your bra situation?"

Mandy c.o.c.ked an eyebrow suggestively. "You're going to have to find that out on your own."

James practically raced her to the parking lot, pulling up short when he realized they had two vehicles to consider instead of one. Mandy pulled her keys from her clutch and moved toward her Ford Focus. "I'll meet you at home?"

She was only twenty feet from him, but the distance was already too much for James to bear. "Why don't we ride together?"

"Because then we'll have to come and pick up the car tomorrow," Mandy said. "That seems like a real waste when we could have a naked Sat.u.r.day."

She had a point. Still ... .

"What if I just bring you to work on Monday," James offered. "Then we wouldn't be wasting anything."

Mandy was at the driver's side door of the car, her key in the lock. She stilled. "Are you sure?"

"Honestly? I want to figure out the bra situation before we get home," James said. "We can't do that in separate cars."

Mandy smiled, taking a step away from the car. "Okay. I don't want to hear any complaints Monday morning."

"You won't hear a peep from me," James promised.

Mandy started moving in James' direction, the smile on her face small and warm. James decided he was going to solve the bra conundrum before he loaded her into his Explorer. A bright flash of light and a thunderous explosion interrupted his reverie.

As he was flying backwards, James only had a brief moment to register what was happening: Her car had exploded!

Three.

James. .h.i.t the ground. Hard. His ears were ringing, the ambient sounds of the night m.u.f.fled from the noise of the explosion. He shook his head, trying to force the dark edges threatening to creep into his mind away. He could not lose consciousness. Not now.

James tried to stand, but his legs were wobbly. After trying and failing a second time, he resigned himself to crawling. The wreckage of Mandy's car was scattered, leaving the two vehicles parked on either side mangled.

James scanned the ground, looking for any sign of his beloved blonde. His gaze finally fell on a shiny piece of a fabric. He recognized it as her purse, and nudged himself in that direction. The purse was charred on one end; meaning fire had actually touched it.

James fought the urge to panic. She had to be here somewhere.

That's when he saw her. Well, he saw a ma.s.s of blonde hair, to be exact. James ignored the broken gla.s.s and hot metal in his path as he crawled the five feet that separated them.

She was lying p.r.o.ne on the ground, blood soaking into the blonde locks he loved so much. Her eyes were closed, and there was a dark gash on her cheek. James moved around her, pausing before he tried to touch her. If she was dead, he would never get over it. If he lost her ... .

James pulled himself together and pressed his fingers to the pulse point on her neck. He cried out in relief when he detected the faint beat of her heart. He reached underneath her, pulling her to him so he could cradle her in his lap.

It didn't take long for emergency personnel to arrive. James was still in a weird limbo, so he slapped away the first set of hands that reached for her. That's when another figure knelt down next to him. It was Sophie.

"James."

He didn't answer.

"James!"

James shifted his cloudy gaze to Sophie's worried brown eyes.

"You have to let them help her," Sophie said, tears running down her face. "Please."

James loosened his grip, remaining on the ground and watching helplessly as she was loaded onto a gurney and rushed toward a waiting ambulance. "Where are they taking her?"

His voice was dull, flat. His eyes weren't much different. Sophie was worried he was nursing a few injuries of his own.

"Will you let them look you over?"

James finally focused on Sophie. "I need to go with her. She needs me."

"You'll go with her," Sophie said. "You'll be in the ambulance right behind her."

"She can't be alone," James argued, trying to get to his feet and toppling over again. "She can't be alone."

"They've already taken her, James," Sophie said. "She's on her way to the hospital. They'll take care of her there."

"I need to be with her."

"You're going to be with her," Sophie said. "I promise." She glanced over at the paramedic who was inching closer to James. "Be careful. He's in shock or something. His eyes are unclear and he seems confused."

"If he was close to that explosion, it's a miracle he's even alive," the paramedic replied. "I'm sure his bell is rung."

A glance at the still burning sh.e.l.l of the car told Sophie the paramedic was right. "Just be careful with him."

"You know him?"

"We're family."

GRADY and Finn pushed their way into Mercy East hospital at a run. Sophie's call had been hard to understand at first, sirens drowning out her first attempt to relate the evening's events.

When he finally grasped what she was saying, Grady snapped into action. It had only taken the brothers eight minutes to make a twenty-minute drive across town. Now they were on a hunt to find their brother. It didn't take long.

"I want to see her now!"

Grady bypa.s.sed the scared-looking receptionist at the front desk and moved toward the voice. He found his brother standing in the middle of the lobby, hands on hips, arguing with two men in scrubs as they tried to restrain him.

"Sir, Ms. Avery's injuries are severe," one of the men said. "She's being treated in the ER right now. We can't have you in there."

"I don't care what you want," James seethed. "She needs me, and I need to be with her."

"Sir ... ."

Grady put a tentative hand on James' shoulder, causing his brother to swivel to see who would dare touch him. He let out a sigh when he saw Grady. "Tell these a.s.sholes that I need to be with her."

Grady glanced at the two men. He wasn't sure if they were nurses or doctors, but he understood the worried glances they were exchanging. James was coming across as deranged.

"James, have you been checked out?"

"I'm fine."

Given the ashen color of his features, and the three layers of grime hiding potential injuries, Grady had his doubts. "You need to be checked out ... and cleaned up."

"Mandy was right there when the car exploded," James said. "She was closer. I'm fine."