Dark Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 1) (49 page)

“No.”

Well, he did. It put it all into perspective.

“Let me give you the same advice you gave me, Chris. Get back on the horse. You need to keep moving forward. If you let one hurdle stop you, then you’ll never have happiness. My wife was murdered, I was accused of doing it, and then of falling for a woman immediately after the fact. That’s one hell of a shit mess. Only, you can’t let it get to you. You have to block out the crazy and listen to your gut.”

God!

He really wanted to.

Only, he was scared.

“I know but I wish I knew more. I don’t like surprises. I don’t like walking into a room and being shocked. I hate when people whip out that wild card. I’m a straight shooter. I want all the details, I want to analyze them, and then I want to decide. That’s just how I work up here,” he said, tapping his head.

“What do you need to know?” Curtis asked. “If I have the answer, I’ll tell you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, we’re a family. If you genuinely like her, and you won’t use it to hurt her, I’ll share what I know.”

“I don’t understand why.”

“It’s simple. For your happiness and for Natasha’s too, I’d step in and give you what you need. Katerina told me a few things about her sister’s past. I can’t pass on much, but it might help you see the bigger picture. It might help you trust her.”

Chris watched her dive into the pool.

She was gorgeous.

His heart raced around her, and that one kiss spoke to parts of him that had been dead for years. He wanted to find that happiness. He wanted to feel that love.

He wanted to be alive once again.

Yes, he had his family, but for the first time, in a long time, Chris wanted a relationship.

He wanted love.

“Tell me.”

Curtis gave him everything he had. He told him about Natasha, Kat, and Dimitri’s father. Curtis explained how he was a horrible killer, working for the KGB. He told him how he raped Natasha’s mother, and countless others. No one knew how many kids there were with those same aqua eyes.

It could be countless.

Then he told Chris about Natasha—how she’d been neglected for most of her childhood. Curtis told him all about how Dimitri had found her, and how she’d weighed less than a five year old, even when she was ten.

That horrified Chris.

“Jesus.”

“Yeah, tell me about it.”

That wasn’t the worst. Curtis told him about the mental abuse.

The torment.

The torture.

He held none of it back.

Chris stood there, his stomach heavy like a lead balloon. He’d never thought…

“She’s overcome a great deal. Natasha is one of the sweetest people in the world. She knows what it’s like to be hurt. She knows what it’s like to die inside. If you don’t like her, and I mean genuinely like her, Chris, tell her and walk away. She deserves kindness. What you see with her is what you get. She’s a lot like Emma. She likes taking care of people, she’s a romantic at heart, and she wants that happy ever after for those around her.”

“And herself?”

“She doesn’t think she deserves it. She needs someone who will give her that. Stay or walk, it’s your choice, but don’t hurt her. Dimitri will kill you.”

Shit.

He forgot about that man.

“He hired me to work for him.”

Curtis laughed. “You are already in the thick of this, Chris. Instead of running more, why don’t you stop, think about what it is you could have, and what it is you’re giving up.”

Chris didn’t know what he should do, and his face must have said it too.

“Why don’t you talk to Emma? You trust her, right?” Curtis asked.

“Of course I do.”

In fact, she was the only one he genuinely trusted. Family was great, but with her, it was different. They had that bond that made it even deeper.

“Maybe I will.”

“Good idea.”

Curtis grabbed the two bowls of cereal he’d made for him and Kat, and headed out. “You’ll do the right thing. I have faith in you. You’re a decent guy.”

Was he?

Could he give Natasha enough, especially since he was damaged too?

Chris couldn’t help but think back to what she had said.

She was right, and now he got it.

Some people’s scars were worse, and they couldn’t be fixed.

Natasha deserved the best.

Chris had to figure out if he was it.

 
                          
* * *
  G r e y s o n   C r o f t   * * *

Emma had five minutes to get up, brush her teeth, and hurry to get dressed.

While Greyson lounged in bed, naked, arms behind his head, Emma wanted nothing more than to stay there.

Only, they had a job to do.

“You better hurry,” she said, with the toothbrush still in her mouth. “We need to get this done and back here. I want to start going over everything that the team finds on the women in these men’s lives.”

He smiled at his wife.

She was a beautiful, wild storm.

“Dimitri and I have business this morning.”

It stopped Emma in her tracks. She exited the bathroom, wearing nothing but panties and a bra. “What?”

He wanted to laugh.

She was weighing the options in her mind. He could see it. Emma was trying to figure out how she could do the interview with the shopkeeper, and then get to his side to keep him safe.

She was so protective, and that made his heart skip.

No woman ever loved him to the depth that his Emma did, and he appreciated that.

Still…

His wife wasn’t going to be part of what was happening today. She’d sacrificed enough. She’d suffered enough. If he was going to darken his public perception more, it was going to be on his own.

Vegas called him dirty, and maybe he was, but Emma…she was going to be the good one. Let them think she was clueless about the dirty dealings of her mob boss husband.

He’d be fine.

As long as he had Emma, and her goodness, she’d be his salvation when the darkness threatened to bury him.

He may be the mob, but his wife…she wasn’t going down with that title on her tombstone.

He hated the way the cops treated her.

He loathed how she’d sold her soul to be a Croft.

Today, he was handling it.

“What do you mean I’m not going? You’re my partner, Greyson. We do this together.”

“Not this.”

“Grey.”

“No, Emma. That’s final. I know you don’t want to hear it, and you think you can fix everything that comes up in this world, in our world, but you can’t fix this. I have to handle it.”

She was scared.

“Come here.”

At first, she didn’t listen.

She couldn’t. Her heart was pounding. All she could think about was all the times someone had tried to kill him.

She couldn’t live without him.

That was the one constant.

Screw being a cop, a good person, or anything else the public dropped on them. She had to be Greyson’s wife.

That had to be first.

“Emma, I said come here.”

She moved toward him, taking his hand. When he tugged her toward him, she straddled his hips as she stared down at him.

“I need you to trust me. I need you to find that emotion deep down that was once there and believe I can handle this. I need to believe you value my ability to take care of our family.”

“Are you going to kill him? Are you going after the cops or the commissioner?”

He touched her cheek.

“I’m not going to kill anyone, and before you ask, neither is Dimitri. No one will die today, but I do have to send a message, Emma. I do have to strike back. They came at my family. They assaulted an innocent woman in Dimitri’s bar. They’re placing FBI vans all over the city to eavesdrop on us. This is a war, Emma. Things have changed, and I have to change with them. We’re different. Well, I am.”

She stared into his eyes.

Before, there’d be remorse. Now, there was anger.

Greyson was pissed.

His body proved it. He was hard, vibrating, and tight beneath her. He was micro focused on this, and she knew that being the man he was, there was no way he was turning back.

She had to trust him.

Or battle him.

There would be only one winner, and honestly, she didn’t want to divide his focus. It could get him hurt.

No, she’d stand with her husband.

“Promise me that you’ll be safe. You have to promise me that Dimitri will have your back. You’re not allowed to let anyone put holes in you. I love my husband as is. I don’t need him a mess.”

He smiled in peace.

She wasn’t going to argue.

She was going to trust.

“I swear that I’m just going to get coffee and have a talk with the man. That’s it. No guns, no knives, and I won’t even let him pay for my coffee—not until the second date.”

She tried to laugh.

It was locked in her chest.

“Let me be this man, Emma. I know you are afraid of it, but we can’t go back. Good Greyson died when they took his badge. We all knew it would happen. It died the day Marianna was killed.”

“You didn’t kill him, Greyson. I know you.”

He didn’t confirm it. He didn’t deny it. A sniper didn’t talk about his targets, just like a mercenary didn’t talk about his kills. He and Dimitri had made a pact.

It died with them.

“Just let me run this family. Let me be the man they have already accused me of, Emma. It’s the only way we’ll survive in this city. It’s the only way I’ll survive.”

She knew he was right. Greyson Croft had to evolve once more. He wasn’t the soldier, or the Fed. He was something new, and they’d see where it took them.

“Bugsy, if you get shot, I’m going to be pissed.”

He laughed. That was what Commissioner Jeffrey Raye liked to call him behind his back.

Little did the man know…it wasn’t an insult.

Long ago, Vegas was law abiding.

Why?

The families kept the peace. They’d ruled over the city, and this type of bullshit wasn’t tolerated. Well, he was bringing that back. He was going to show the world that Vegas wasn’t going to be the cesspool of the West.

Not on his watch.

“Call me when it’s done, okay? I’ll meet you for a drink and cigar at
‘Aquarius’
.”

He knew what that cost her.

Emma wasn’t like him inside. She handed in her badge to stand by him.

One of them was an angel.

One was the devil.

“I’ll meet you there. Will you sit in my lap? If I’m really good, will you play for me, kitten?” he asked, sitting up. They were mouth to mouth, and he wanted to know his wife was truly okay with this.

So, he kissed her.

It was hard.

Brutal.

Controlling.

Greyson didn’t leave anything to the imagination. Emma didn’t fight, instead, she let him lead. His woman let him have this one.

He’d never forget it.

When he broke the kiss, they were both breathing heavily as they stared into each other’s eyes. That serene green met the molten silver.

There were no lies there.

He saw the truth.

Emma was choosing her side, and once more, as always, it was at his back. His woman would do her job, be his wife, and make sure the family remained intact.

He had her support, and that was all he ever really wanted. With that, he couldn’t go wrong.

“I love you, Emma.”

She touched his scarred cheek. “I love you, Bugsy. If you’re going to strike, make it count.”

Oh, he would.

He was done fucking around.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The Hood

When she arrived at the little family mart on the corner of the bad street, she wasn’t sure what she was going to find. It was early in the morning, but the hookers were already out trying to find the last calls of the day.

Business must be slow.

As she hopped out, she heard her name being called and it grabbed her attention.

Well, not really her name but she knew it was addressed at her.

“Hey, babe!”

It was Sam.

When she stopped, he approached her. “What are you doing back in this slum? Where’s the scary man?” he asked.

“He’s got some business to attend to, but what are you doing here? He’s right. You should be at school.”

The boy shrugged. “I’m not going. What’s the point? I’m too dumb to learn anything.”

She wanted to mother him.

“Sam, do you need my help? I can get you removed from whatever situation you’re in, and I can save you.”

He laughed. “Why? So they can send me to a worse place? This lady is clueless. She gets her money, and she leaves me alone. I can fend for myself. I’m tough.”

She didn’t buy that. He looked beat down. He looked like he was ready to cry.

“She took your money, didn’t she?”

Again, he shrugged. “I ate a meal. It’ll hold me off.”

No ten year old should be feeling like this, let alone dirty, hungry, and unloved.

“Come with me.” She held out her hand.

He looked at her like she was crazy.

“Trust me, Sam.”

“Where are we going?” he asked, looking afraid. “I gotta stick close. If she calls, and I don’t come help her, I’m screwed.”

Emma wanted to hurt the woman.

Sam was clearly a smart boy.

He could go far.

He just needed…
love.

Finally, he took her hand. Emma had a solution. She’d feed him. If she had to come down there every day, she would.

“I can’t go in there,” he said, trying to free his small fingers from her hand.

“Yes, you can.”

As they headed inside, the man behind the counter began freaking out. He picked up a crowbar and started waving it around, threatening the boy, who was now hiding behind her.

Emma got it.

Someone had stolen some food before. The way he was pressed to her back, genuinely afraid, she knew he’d been a victim of this too.

“Hey! Put that down or I’m going to kick your ass,” she stated. “I’m here to talk to you and do a little business.”

That seemed to calm him down.

“Are you Bryan Calhoun?” she asked.

“Yeah, what’s it to you?”

“I’m investigating a case. I need to ask you some questions. Can you take a minute to chill out and lose the weapon?”

He stared at it and then laughed. “I wouldn’t have used it on you. Him…well, that’s another story. I don’t hit girls. Little street brats…they get what they have coming to them.”

Yeah, she’d wipe that smirk off his face later. After she got her information.

“Great. Let’s talk first, and then we’ll deal with my friend, Sam. Got it?”

He shrugged. “Sure. Shoot.”

“You called in a bunch of reports about hookers bothering your customers. Can I show you some pictures?”

He didn’t know where this was going, but he could play along. “Yeah, you can. I call every week. The cops don’t come anymore. They don’t care that honest people are being screwed by the scum of this city.”

He was focused on Sam.

“Hey! He’s a kid. He’s not your concern. I am. Focus.” Emma got him to look at her. She showed him the pictures. “Yeah, they’ve all been here turning tricks. The last one is the one I called the cops on the most. She was always flashing titties to everyone. No one wants to see that. I have people who need to get their food here. The nearest store is a long ride by public transportation.”

She got it.

“How about him?” she asked, showing him Seth Bell’s picture.

“He’s the dick who wouldn’t take her in. He watched her turn a trick and get paid, and he had the balls to tell me he wasn’t arresting her because she’d be out in an hour.”

He had a point.

She would be.

In Vegas, hooking was barely a blip on the radar. It happened so often that the cops sometimes let it slide. They had enough criminals in the system. It bogged down the jail at night.

There were priorities.

Murder.

Assault.

Drugs.

Then tricks.

“Did you see this man with him?” she asked, pulling up his picture. It was his partner, Jesse Post.

“Yeah, he didn’t get out of the car. He was just as useless as the other one. Those two were peas in the incompetent pod.”

This was going nowhere.

“Did any of the girls say anything to him, or maybe a pimp?” she asked, pulling up one more picture. It was Gerald Darden.

“Never seen him. The girls always ask the same thing. It involves sex and nothing more.”

Emma was frustrated.

She couldn’t figure out what the hell was going on. She had to be missing something. What wouldn’t she do for some good forensic clues?

“Hey! Hands off the candy!” he suddenly yelled, making Sam jump. He’d been looking, but not touching.

Emma reached into her pocket. It was time to deal with the other issue.

Here’s where she wiped the smirk off this asshole’s face. Anyone who couldn’t see the boy was hungry was a dick. Anyone who could turn a blind eye to that needed a lesson in life.

She was handing them out today.

“I want to run a tab for my friend here. I want him to be able to come in, get whatever he wants, and never to be hungry. What’s that going to take?” she asked.

“More than you have, sister,” he said sarcastically.

It was clear he didn’t know who she was.

“Name a price.”

“I’ll do it but it’ll be five hundred just to run a tab because that’s an inconvenience, and another five hundred to cover his food.”

She pulled out her credit card and handed it to him. “Make it five hundred for your help, and a thousand for his shopping needs. If he wants food, you cover it. When he runs out of money, you call me, and I’ll give you more money. That’s our deal. If I find out you’re swinging that crowbar at him, I’ll make sure you bleed from the crack to the skull you’ll have.”

He stared at her like she was insane.

Then he laughed. “You’re funny.”

She leaned forward. “I’m not kidding. Run it through, I’ll sign it, and you’re going to let Sam come in here every day to get whatever he wants. It’s paid for in advance. Deduct it, call it a day, and stop being a douchebag. He’s a kid, and he’s hungry. Have some fucking compassion.”

The man swiped it.

The smirk on his face said it all. He never expected it to go through. When it did, he looked at the name on the card.

Then he looked at her.

“Wait, you’re Greyson Croft’s wife.”

She laughed. “I like to think he’s Emma Croft’s husband, but same difference.”

“I didn’t know.”

Why wasn’t she shocked? Once he knew, the doors opened. Sam wasn’t going to be picked on anymore.

“Sam eats whatever he wants. You let him get candy, Pop Tarts, whatever. I mean it. If you fuck with him, I’m not coming back. Greyson is. He likes Sam, and he’ll be pissed that you hassled him. In fact, his buddy Rocco will be coming along for the ride. You don’t want to meet him.”

It was hard to keep a straight face. Both Bryan Calhoun and Sam had the same look on their faces.

They were shocked.

Finally, Sam spoke, “I can have whatever?”

“Here’s how it works, Sam. You come in here, you pick what you want.”

He grabbed a candy bar.

“You walk it over to Mr. Calhoun, and you put it down. He’s going to deduct it from your tab, aren’t you?”

The man had her sign the slip before he’d answer.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Sam did as she instructed.

Bryan Calhoun scribbled something on a paper.

“Now it’s yours. You say thank you, and you eat it.”

“Thank you, Mr. Calhoun.”

“No problem, kid.”

Emma watched him inhale it.

“See how easy this was?”

“Yeah, thanks, babe.”

“Emma.”

He winked at her. She didn’t know what to do with this boy. He was right about being taken from one home to another. A part of her, the old cop part, wanted to call CPS, but the new part of her wanted to make sure he had food first, and she’d go from there—baby steps.

“Anything else for now, Sam?”

“Can I get a soda?”

“Try juice. It’s better for you and grab an apple.” This time she threw cash down so he didn’t have to use his money while she was there.

The man rang it up and smiled. Apparently, both parties were happy with this arrangement.

Still, Emma gave him a warning. “If you screw him out of a penny of that, Mr. Calhoun, you’re dead. Keep thinking Rocco.”

He got it.

“I won’t. I take care of my paying customers.”

Emma scribbled her cell number down. “Call me if you need me to put more money on his tab.”

They headed out.

Sam happily munched on his apple and chugged his juice. “Thanks. I was hungry.”

“I can tell,” she offered. “If you want my help,” Emma offered, “you call me.”

He shook his head. “Thanks, Babe, but it’s the best place I’ve been in years. If I leave here, who knows what I’ll get? I have food now. Thank you.”

That broke her heart.

She heard wailing from one of the apartment windows.

“I have to go. She needs help with moving around. She’s too fat to get out of bed, and her boyfriend isn’t home.”

He ran off.

Then he stopped and came back.

Emma didn’t expect it, but he hugged her. “Thanks, babe. Your old man is a lucky guy.”

He took off, and Emma’s eyes filled with tears.

Shit!

These streets always did get to her. It looked like somethings never changed.

Ever.

                
         
* * *
  G r e y s o n   C r o f t   * * *

Steele located it.

Dante had helped.

It was right there. They found ketamine in all of the women. It was buried in Lawrence Filmore’s personal files. They’d had to call in for help.

What they were seeking wasn’t going to be out in the open. That said it all. The city of Las Vegas had buried this by way of crooked ME.

In less than an hour, Curtis had found what they’d missed.

They were on the right track.

“I don’t get what Ketamine and tea leaves has to do with this,” Curtis asked.

“Ketamine is a drug mostly found on the street.”

Curtis stared at him. “This is Vegas. Everyone knows what
‘Special K’
is, Steele. We saw it all the time.”

“Yes, but this was the purest form. I didn’t see these trace reports. That’s why I missed this. Lawrence Filmore must have had the techs reroute them right to him.”

“I have no clue what you’re talking about,” stated Dante.

“It’s pure ketamine. It’s not cut with anything else. Drug dealers on the street don’t use it pure. It’s pricey.”

“Who uses it pure?” he asked.

“Veterinarians do. It’s used on animals.”

They stared at the list of suspects.

Curtis said what they were all thinking. “None of them are vets. None on the list work with animals.”

Steele knew there had to be more.

“Keep looking. Run everyone. It’s there, Curtis. I’m telling you. I didn’t miss this. There was a police cover up. Someone wanted this buried, and that’s what put Seth Bell in jail. If we find that, I’m willing to bet it clears this up.”

Tessa had bad news for them.

“Seth Bell volunteered at a vet clinic. He helped take care of the animals. This isn’t clearing him. This is making him look worse.”

Steele didn’t care. If the man did it, he did it. This was about making sure they did the right thing.

Chris knew what they needed to do. “We keep digging. Emma will want it all when she gets back. Run everyone to see if they can tie to that clinic beside him. If he’s the only one, then we know Seth is full of shit. His sister is trying to get off a guilty man.”