“It’s nice to meet you, Sheriff.” Gail put out her hand. She studied the woman closely. It wasn’t like Agent Croft to get that look on his face--at least he never did with her.
“Same here, Agent.” She shook her hand and smiled at her. “Thank you for coming to Celestia.”
Gail was cut off before she could continue.
Croft kept Emma tucked into his side. “What’s on the agenda, Em?”
She thought about it. “I’m planning on talking to the ladies who worked with Connie Hart. I need to see if she was dating anyone, or if anyone saw or heard her say anything about someone bothering her.”
“Want a partner?” he asked, tucking a stray curl behind her ear.
Emma grinned up at him. “Are you that partner, Grey?”
“Possibly,” he answered.
She laughed. “I could always use some big scary man to intimidate a bunch of hair dressers.”
Gail stood there watching the interaction as a volatile brew was churning in her gut. In all her years chasing down Greyson Croft, she’d never seen this side of him. He was always aloof and steely.
Croft glanced over at Gail, surprised she was still there. “Get the address and get processing. Also contact Doctor Brooks and get me the DNA on the zygote she was carrying. It might help us find the father OR the killer.” They headed to her vehicle, missing the icy glare aimed at the sheriff behind their backs.
“What will you do while I ask around?” she asked Croft. “Because you can’t stand there and intimidate. The women won’t gossip in front of a man. I need to find out if they knew she was pregnant without bringing it up.”
“Don’t worry about me, Sheriff Baby, I’ll keep busy.”
“Croft!” she objected, staring at him over the roof of the vehicle.
“What, honey?” he replied innocently, as if he didn’t know what she was protesting.
“You’re fortunate we’re out in public,” she hissed.
He wasn’t in the least. If fortune was on his side, at that very moment, they’d be alone and in bed. “That’s perspective, Sheriff,” he answered, grinning wickedly.
She stared at him, not sure what he was talking about.
Inside the salon, the mood was somber and shrouded in grief. They’d lost a friend and were mourning her loss. At her station, they’d built a makeshift memorial with flowers and pictures of the deceased co-worker. Sitting with the women, Emma listened to them tell stories about Connie, sharing her life and an insight into the friend taken too soon.
Emma learned a great deal about her, but nothing that they didn’t already know. As to a pregnancy, it was never brought up, but they did make mention of a mystery man.
It appeared that Connie had alluded to hooking up with a really ‘hot’ guy. It was typical girl gossip, but when they tried to get his name, apparently, she wouldn’t spill that little detail to anyone.
It was frustrating to say the least because that tiny little piece of the puzzle could break it all wide open. Even as she dug deeper into the stories, she could tell it was a dead end. Constance Hart never told a single soul whose bed she was warming.
Emma replayed it all over and over in her head, trying to string together anything to make the last hour not a colossal waste of time. She began picturing all the possible eligible men in town as she strolled back to where she’d parked. Her mind was lost on the mystery man when she walked smack dab into a very sexy bachelor herself.
“Oomph,” she mumbled, staring up at him. He was grinning at her, and she suspected he planned it all.
“Hello, beautiful. Come here often?”
Emma rolled her eyes. “I hope you didn’t enjoy that, Croft.” she stated, trapped against his body.
“I absolutely am enjoying it.”
She could feel his body going hard against hers, and everything in her flushed at the reaction it evoked from her. Emma decided to change the subject, and fast. This man was a wild card, who knew what he’d do next. “Were you waiting long?”
“Yes and no,” he smiled, brushing the hair out of her face and tucking it behind her ear.
“Excuse me?” she questioned.
“Yes, I was waiting, and no, it wasn’t for long. I’m a very patient man, and can wait without getting bored.” Greyson enjoyed the flustered look on Emma’s face. “Learn anything new from the ladies?” he asked, switching topics to keep her off-balance.
She popped on her sunglasses, and shook her head. “Nothing except they had suspicions she was dating someone. When she’d come into work, she was bouncing around like she was in love.”
“Never gave a name?”
“No, she only stated he was ‘hot’. No one said a word about the pregnancy.” Emma hopped into the Jeep and handed him the keys. “Want to drive? I need to think a little bit.”
“Sure thing, Sheriff Baby,” he whispered in her ear, and then leaned back, saluting her. Croft was finding that teasing her was satisfying his other urges that he couldn’t fill out in public. What he wouldn’t give to have a few hours to kiss her.
“Agent Croft, you’re a laugh a minute. So what did you do while I was gossiping with the hens?” she questioned.
“I swung over to Connie Hart’s apartment and monitored the techs pulling all evidence. Then I went to the store and bought supplies for tonight’s dinner.”
“There better not be meat in my vehicle,” she warned, laughing. “What are you making me?”
“I figured that we’d be starving after the town meeting, so I decided on something substantial.”
“Like?” Emma didn’t enjoy the sound of that.
“I thought we’d have a steak with a side of bacon, and for dessert more bacon.”
She stared at him mortified, and then realized he was simply teasing her. “Not funny, Greyson. There better not be meat crossing the threshold into my home.”
“I promised there wouldn’t be, and I’ll keep my word.” Croft wondered what life would be like if they lived together.
Would she let him eat meat?
Ever?
“What are you thinking about?” she asked, pulling off her sunglasses. Emma could tell he was lost in thought as he drove them back to the station. It made her nervous to think she’d offended him in some way.
“I have a hypothetical question that I need to throw out there. If you and I were to go out on a date, and I ordered a steak, would you be completely and totally turned off?”
She stared at him. This was what was going on in his mind? “Seriously?”
Croft didn’t mention the living together part. Why freak her out, over the little details, especially since they’d yet to even have sex? “Yes, seriously.”
“I don’t know. I don’t date many men, and I certainly don’t watch them eat cow. I think we’d have to test it and go from there. The last man I dated ate a burger in front of me, and I was fine with it. But I didn’t have to watch him cutting into it. I know that it’s a bit wussy, but the dead hunk of meat thing really makes me ill.”
He thought about it. “I can lose the steak if I can keep the burgers.” Croft decided to not dwell on the ‘last man dated’ part.
Emma was beginning to get nervous over the entire conversation. It was very…‘permanent’, and that made her feel completely off kilter in a good and bad way.
Croft grinned at the look on her face. He knew what she was thinking. This was all part of his master plan of to make her see him as a fixture, one that she couldn’t live without.
“I may need a vacation when this is done,” she mumbled. Her nerves were shot.
“Where do you want to go?” he asked, terrorizing her more. “I like the beach. How about we head there?”
“Greyson, you don’t even know me. It’s day three and you want to go away with me on a trip?”
He shrugged and focused on the drive. “Just think about it.” He wasn’t going to inform her that he always went by his gut, and right now, it was demanding he never leave her side.
Emma stared out the window, feeling a mix of giddiness and sheer terror. Around this man, she simply couldn’t get her footing. The butterflies in her stomach drew her attention. Oh hell, they only popped up when she was falling in love.
Damn it!
It was only day three and the man had her completely turned inside out. This was horrible timing. Emma closed her eyes and tried to meditate and stay calm.
Croft was lost in his own thoughts as he sat beside her, enjoying the moment. He was dead serious. He’d love to go to the beach with her just to listen to her laughter and see the peace on her face.
Okay, and watch her in a tiny bikini. He was man enough to admit it. He wanted to watch a very sexy half-naked woman frolic in the waves with him.
His whole body went hard. It had been a long time between women, and none had ever had this effect on him. In his mind, he pictured her lying beside him after a night of passion. Something told him it would be the best moments of his life.
Glancing over, he watched Emma pulling her hair back to keep the wind from blowing it into her eyes. He could smell lavender floating in the air, and he knew that it was the bath stuff she had used the night before and her shampoo. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on her tonight after dinner. She would be the tastiest dessert that he could ever whip up. The heat began to rise in his neck and run deep to the core of him. Greyson knew he needed to focus. There was still an afternoon of work, a town meeting, and getting her to relax during dinner.
For now, he needed to focus or he’d be driven to madness. Who knew there was such a thing as lavender scented insanity?
Arriving back at the sheriff’s station, just before four in the afternoon meant that she would have a little time to prep before the town meeting. Soon, she’d be forced to stand in front of the people she’d sworn to protect and inform them they had some whack job running lose among them.
Great!
It was certainly going to be a fantastic start to her evening. Everyone knew that the person they blamed was the one who ran the show. Emma had no doubt she was about to get her ass handed to her by the townsfolk of Celestia.
Emma thought about all the victims and couldn’t help but dwell on the next poor woman. She was feeling helpless to stop someone else from losing their life. That out of control feeling made her edgy.
Sitting in her office, she was mulling over the information that was floating through her brain. The notes indicated The Hunter was killing whores, but none of the women were in committed relationships. Each one was just enjoying their lives, and trying to find the one who made them genuinely happy. What was the connection?
As for suspects, they were few and far between. There was the obvious person on her list. Michael Parks drew her attention when it came down to being over the edge, temperamental, and possibly jealous. Did he kill Megan Landry because she wouldn’t marry him? By his own statement, she was sleeping around had cheated on her husband. That could be the definition of a whore.
But how was he connected to the other women? Could they prove he was acquainted with the two women in Philly and what about Constance Hart? Did he know her?
She thought about the look on the mayor’s face when they confronted him with the photographs of the dead women. There was horror, but so much more. It tickled her senses and made her believe that where there was smoke, there was a smoldering fire. Something had to be there, and she’d bet on it.
Emma began thinking about the unborn child that was killed. It might be the key, and she needed to start to focus on that piece of the puzzle. If they could get the father locked down, that might help them find the killer. Connie Hart was butchered, and she didn’t doubt that all that anger stemmed from the baby she was carrying in her womb. Emma bumped it up on her priority list as something she deemed significant to the case.
They both found her sitting silently in her office, lost in thought over what they suspected was some part of the case. Her brow was furrowed and the stare was reminiscent of someone lost in deep contemplation.
Finally, Briggs broke the silence. “Hey, Sheriff, are you ready to roll?” he asked, watching Emma snap back to reality. “We’re here to be your official escort to the party. We have some time to go over the FBI suggested topics,” he smiled warmly at the woman.
“Yeah, I am ready. Let’s get the official sheriff lynching done for the day, and then call it a night.” She tried to smile and make it sound like a joke. Somehow, she doubted anyone was actually buying her attempt at being funny.
“No one’s lynching you while I’m here. This isn’t your fault, Emma, and we’ll stop this guy,” Greyson reassured. He turned to his partner. “Can I speak to Emma in private for a few minutes?”
“I’ll go wait out there.” With that, Briggs disappeared into the crowded room outside her office, giving them their privacy.
Croft closed the office door and moved to her side, putting his hand out to her. “You’ll be fine, honey, I swear. If you want me to do this instead, I will. I’m used to being the ‘hated’ FBI guy. I actually look forward to it.” He pulled her up and into his arms, protectively encasing her body against him.
“No, I can take it. I’m just feeling beat down over the next victim. I hate sitting here knowing she’s out there and tagged to be slaughtered by this animal. Right now, he could be watching her and lying in wait. It makes me feel helpless and edgy.”
“I know how you feel. I deal with that same feeling every day of my life.”
She stared up into his eyes. “How do you do it, Grey? How do you live this daily and not let it consume you?” Emma knew she couldn’t pull it off as a detective, and she knew he probably saw ten times the death she did on a daily basis.
He thought about it. “I’m really good at not letting it become personal. I perfected my coping mechanism and block it out. I guess that has a lot to do with my past. I was a soldier and needed to be objective. In my head, I’m still on the battlefield and that makes it easier for me. Everyone has a different technique. You’ll find yours and get through this.”
In her heart, she already believed she found the one thing that scared away the evil and helped her cope. He was holding her in his arms. Emma laid her head on his shoulder. “Sometimes, I miss it.”
Croft suspected as much. “You’re really good at your job, Emma. I can tell just by watching you.” Now, he needed to know. “Would you ever go back?”
He could feel the change in her body.
“I don’t know.”
It was something he’d have to consider and accept as he planned out what he believed was coming for them both.
“There are days I miss thinking and solving, and then there are days where I don’t miss the sights, sounds, and smells of death.”
Greyson changed the subject for her. “At the town meeting, focus on me beside you and pretend you’re relating the incident to your deputies. Don’t think of it as anything other than that.” He pulled her closer and kissed her neck until she shuddered beneath his lips.
Again, he proved her theory right. Just simple kisses from this man and leaning against his body made Emma feel calm, at ease, and relaxed. If she could find a way to keep the demons at bay, she’d love to start living again. She wanted to love, laugh and be whole again. Emma wanted him, and it scared the hell out of her.
There wasn’t anything he wouldn’t do to help her.
Emma paused, and then spoke, “Let’s go and get this done.” She walked to the door. Turning around, she stared at him. “Grey? Will it ever go away?”
He melted some more. “Yes, baby, it will eventually.” Croft knew damn well he was lying, but Emma needed to believe that one day it would end. It had been years, and he still always saw the blood that he’d spilled.
She held out her hand, her eyes watching him with nothing but affection. “I’m ready.”
Croft accepted the precious gift of their joined hands. In the back of his mind, he knew it was because she needed his strength, but
he didn’t care. It was a start, and he’d take it.
They both walked out to see Briggs perched on the side of Lila’s desk. There was plenty of flirting going on, and it reminded Emma of the morning’s scene but with a different man. She was about to clear her throat to get Briggs’s attention when something moved just off to her left. Before she or Croft could react, an arm shot out and landed directly on Briggs’s cheek, knocking him backwards to the ground.
Everything in the room went dead silent, right before hell broke loose. Lila screamed in horror, jumping back, and knocking her chair into the fax machine. It crashed to the floor. Agents all went for their guns as deputies did the same.
Lila looked embarrassed and had tears in her eyes. “Billy, what the hell are you doing?” she demanded, her voice raised an octave higher than normal.
“I could ask you the same thing, Lila. I come in here to pick you up and here you are batting your eyelashes at this asshole,” he raged, pointing at Briggs.
At the name calling, Briggs was off the floor pushing towards the man. Billy lunged back, and Greyson jumped between them.
Emma whistled and the room went silent again.
Croft pushed Billy back, and braced his hand on the man’s shoulder. “Don’t do it,” he warned.
Billy had venom in his eyes, doing the worst thing possible. He swung out trying to punch the bigger, tougher man.
Greyson Croft dodged the punch and took the man down with a shot to the gut. The boy crumbled to the floor at his feet, wheezing and gasping for air.
Emma stood in front of the other agent, who was trying to get past her. “Curtis, get into my office NOW!” she ordered.
He stared at her angrily, but then his control was back and he eased up.
“Agent Croft, can you explain to young Billy here the consequences of punching a federal agent for no reason in a sheriff’s station full of cops. Then explain to him how long he can sit in jail for being a dumbass.”
“Sure can, Sheriff.” Greyson glared down at Billy. “Son, if I let you up will you behave, or are you going to try and punch someone else?”
Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Page 20
