Billy nodded, still unable to talk.
“Get up and keep your hands where I can see them, or the next punch is going to hurt a lot more than just your pride.”
Emma made a pit stop at the freezer to get some ice for the FBI agent’s face. Heading to her office, she hoped he had enough time to cool down. Before getting there, she glanced over at the bullpen, making sure it was all being handled. When her eyes met Greyson’s across the room, Emma’s heart skipped in her chest. When he watched her like that, everything in her went all haywire.
Croft found it all ironic. He assumed if someone was going to start a brawl over a woman in the office, it would have been him. Good to see he had more control than a bunch of twenty-year-old boys. Maybe being his age had some merit after all. He watched her enter her office and went back to the angry man beside him. Now that Emma was safely away from Billy, he could take care of business.
Emma found him sitting on the couch in the corner. He was bright red and gingerly touching his lip. The anger was still rolling from him in waves as he rode out the adrenaline high.
“Curtis, are you ok?” she asked.
He stared up at Emma. “Sucker punches are always the most painful. Damn! He got me good.” He shook his head to get rid of the ringing in his ears.
Emma got down on her knees in front of Briggs and moved his hand. “Let me take a look at your face.” When he moved his hand, Emma saw the bruise already starting to spread across his cheek and under his eye. “Yeah, he got a wicked shot in there. Here, hold this on your cheek.” She twisted the ice pack and handed it to him.
“Yeah, when I fell, I bit my damn lip too.” He flinched as the cold touched his cheek.
Emma went for the first aid kit and dug out the bottle of antiseptic.
“What are you going to do with that?” he queried, warily.
“You’re kidding me right, Agent.” She shook the bottle and grabbed some gauze. “I’m going to put this on that split lip of yours. You know, the one that’s bleeding all over you shirt.”
He looked down.
“It’s going to hurt isn’t it? I’m betting more than the sucker punch.” Curtis eyed the bottle warily and the way she was grinning manically.
“Oh yeah, Briggs, this is going to burn and feel like the devil himself has taken up camp on your lips.” She was smiling getting ready to dab his lip.
“Oh shit. At least you could try to not enjoy this.”
Emma laughed. “You just took a face shot, Curtis. You’re man enough to get through this,” she paused. “Will it make you feel better if I let you hold my hand?” she laughed, holding it out to him.
He stared down at her fingers. “If I break anything, I apologize in advance,” he replied, holding her hand and closing his eyes.
“Just squeeze it instead of screaming like a girl, or you’ll get your ass busted big time by Grey and the rest of your team. You don’t want them riding you over a split lip.” Emma dabbed at it, watching him shake at the stinging.
“Son of a bitch! That hurts, Emma!”
Neither heard nor saw the man standing in the doorway observing them.
She laughed. “I know it does, Curtis.” She remembered an incident that occurred in her past and it might make him feel better. “I remember once, I was out with my partner in Philly. He was this giant ox of a cop. I always felt safe next to him because he was a house.”
Briggs opened his eyes and listened to her trying to distract him.
“That was his nickname. It was very appropriate, trust me.” She continued cleaning the wound.
Curtis continued to hold onto her hand, fully forgetting the pain in his face.
“One day, House and I had a call to a domestic dispute in Center City. We all know how dangerous they are. You never know if it’s a wife calling to get even, or if it’s a husband holding a gun to her head.” Emma dabbed antiseptic on his lip.
He flinched but didn’t squeeze her hand.
“We rolled up in the car and went to the front door. House was edgy, and it was as if he knew the shit was about to hit the fan. The man liked to pretend he was my shield.”
“It’s what a partner does,” he offered.
Emma dabbed it again. “When we got to the apartment, and we identified ourselves as we knocked on the door.” She lifted the ice pack to look at his cheek. Emma released his hand to touch the forming bruise with her fingertips. “The wife let us in and before we knew it, the husband charged us both, knocking House right to the ground. He fell like a ton of bricks, and I took a sucker punch to the face. Damn! I saw stars, and it was the worst pain ever.”
He knew that was an exaggeration, and her future would hold a far worse pain when her brother was murdered.
“I had to put this shit on my own lip, and that’s hell,” she grinned, stepping back. “Looks like you’ll live.”
“Did you scream like a girl?” he asked, trying not to smile.
“Hell no, princess. I can take a sucker punch and the antiseptic.”
Croft grinned from the door. He was sure she could.
“What happened to the husband?” asked Briggs, touching her arm.
“Before he could hit me again, I shot him. I wasn’t taking any chances.” She ruffled his hair and changed the subject quickly. “All done, Curtis. You’ll be hurting for a while, but you’ll heal before you know it.”
“Good to hear,” stated Croft.
They both stared over at him. He was leaning on the door frame with a blank look on his face.
“You hanging in there, Briggs?” he asked, trying to remain completely calm. The story fired him up and made him want to hurt something. The mere idea of someone putting his or her hands on Emma set him into a rage.
“I’m good now,” he answered.
“Just let me go wash my hands.” Emma headed out to get cleaned up.
Briggs walked over to Croft and looked him in the eye. He paused as if he wanted to say something.
“Spill it, Curtis.”
“Don’t you dare hurt her, Grey, or so help me God, I’ll kick your sorry ass all the way back to Philadelphia myself. Don’t screw with her heart. Get in or get the hell out. She doesn’t deserve to have her life upheaved if you walk away.”
Croft stared after the man as he sauntered away. That outburst was shocking for his partner. Generally, Briggs was easy going and laid back. He understood his attachment to Emma because he’d found himself hopelessly smitten too. Greyson thought about his game plan to make himself more permanent in the woman’s life. Going to the refrigerator, he grabbed the food that he’d purchased for the dinner he was making. Tonight, he’d start with his well-planned out scheme. Heading outside, he found Briggs standing next to the Jeep touching his lip.
“What did you do to the bastard who hit me?” he asked Croft.
“I told him he was lucky that you weren’t pressing charges. He hauled ass out of here pretty damn fast. I think he was worried that the sheriff was going to come out and toss him in jail after the fact.”
Neither man spoke, but there was definite tension that normally wasn’t there.
“You pissed at me, Curtis, or do you have something else you feel the need to get off your chest?”
Briggs paused, debating on what he should do and finally he went for it. “I read her file, boss, and it made me sick. Did she tell you everything?”
“Yeah, and that’s why I stayed there with her. I couldn’t leave her alone after forcing her to dredge it all up again.” Greyson stared at his partner. “If she finds out you researched her, she’ll be pissed off,” he added.
“You aren’t going to break her heart more, are you?” he asked, not wanting to see the woman damaged further.
The older agent sighed. “Curtis, I didn’t even sleep with her yet. I’m going as slow as humanly possible to not hurt her.”
“I can’t believe you just confirmed that to me. You’re either all stirred up or you’re getting old and losing your mind.”
He lifted an eyebrow in warning.
It was time to dig himself out of that hole. “I’m just saying you wouldn’t know it. You two seem to fit together. I watch you and there’s this intimacy that connects you.”
Croft was well aware of it because he’d experienced it when he first saw her across the field.
“Well at least there’s time now.”
He didn’t understand what Briggs was talking about now. “Time for what, exactly?”
Curtis smiled wickedly. “There’s time for me to move in and steal her away from the old man, while you’re dragging your feet.”
Greyson began laughing. “I wish you’d try, and I dare you to call me that in front of her. Remember the last time,” he reminded him.
“Shit, no way.”
Both men were laughing as Emma crossed the parking lot.
“What’s so funny?” she inquired, looking back and forth between them both, suspiciously. She’d obviously missed part of a joke.
“He called me old.”
Briggs stopped laughing fast. He couldn’t believe his partner just threw him to the wolves. “What?”
Emma placed her hands on her hips. “I know he’s got to be teasing me because if he’s not, I’m going to seriously inflict some pain.”
Croft grinned victoriously. Heading around to the driver’s side, he paused, waiting for his partner. “That’s for telling me you planned on stealing her away.”
“You’re evil.”
He winked at Briggs. “When it comes to her, yeah, I am.”
Once inside the vehicle, Croft turned in his seat. “Curtis, you’ll have to get a ride back here with one of the other agents or deputies. I’m taking Emma home and cooking her dinner.”
“Good, she looks like she could use some food and down time. The sheriff didn’t stop all day.”
“That’s my plan.”
She stared at them both incredulously. “You both see me right? I’m sitting right here and can hear you talking about me.”
The men started laughing.
“For your information, I eat plenty. I had a smoothie and granola bar,” she stated, popping gum in her mouth. “Oh, and now gum.”
Greyson leaned over to kiss her. “Mmmmm. Minty.”
She slapped him on the arm. It was best to change the direction of the conversation. “How’s the lip?” she asked, turning to look at Agent Briggs’s wound.
“Not too bad.” he lied. It was burning like a bitch, but he refused to be marred with sissy-dom, especially in front of his partner and a hot woman.
Croft turned the key in the ignition. “We have to get moving, that little brawl shut out our prep time.”
As they drove to the fire hall, Briggs began a quick breakdown and prep for Emma. He also reassured her that both he and Croft would be right there if she needed them to take over for her. Pulling in, it looked like the whole town had shown up and rightfully so. This was a very serious matter.
“Well, gentleman, shall we get this over with?” Emma took a deep breath and headed into the building, only pausing at the bottom of the stairs when Croft touched her arm.
“We have your back, Emma,” he stated, following her up the stairs. What she was about to face could shake the strongest. It was hard enough to stand in front of a room full of people and answer questions, but toss in a murder and the stress was piled on tenfold. This would either make Emma stronger or break her more. Either way he’d be there for her.
She stood there for a second looking out at the sea of people from her town. They ranged from concerned citizens to the media. When they finally noticed her take the stage, the silence, the ‘shhhhh’, and the hushing began to spread until the room was quiet.
“Thank you for joining me tonight,” Emma spoke, beginning her discussion. “I know that quite a few of you came here today with one concern on your mind. You’re scared and worried that someone is preying on the women in our town.”
There was agreement from the crowd.
“I want to assure to you that I hear each and every one of your concerns. Our team is doing everything that can be done to keep you safe. At the first sign of trouble, we proactively brought in the FBI. In conjunction with them, we’re working on this around the clock. Evidence is being amounted, data is being processed, and we’ll find the person responsible for killing two of our citizens.”
Croft scanned the audience, scrutinizing the faces of the people in the crowd. Everyone was watching Emma carefully as if afraid to miss a single word. He knew that the killer was most likely in the sea of speculative and afraid citizens.
“I can’t go into too much detail on the investigation, but I will try and answer any questions that you have at this time.”
Someone shouted from the front row. “Are you scared, Sheriff?”
Greyson tensed at the implication of that sentence. He tried to locate who shouted it, but the flashing of lights as pictures were taken was obstructing his view.
Emma thought about it. “Yes, I am. I’m afraid I can’t keep you all safe. I’m afraid that the killer is going to keep killing,” Emma paused. “I’m not afraid for my own safety.”
There were murmurs and talking in the audience.
“I don’t plan on living my life in terror, but I will live it with the mission of ending this as soon as possible,” she answered.
Briggs glanced over at Croft, motioning to the opposite side of Emma. The men moved closer, knowing she’d just thrown down her own challenge to the killer by stating she wasn’t scared.
Croft could feel his temper spiking. She’d made herself a target, and now, he’d really have to worry. The killer was most likely taking this all in with perverse glee.
Emma looked around, listening to random questions being called out. Most of them she couldn’t answer without compromising the investigation.
“My suggestion for everyone is to be aware of your surroundings. All the women in Celestia should make sure they aren’t wandering the streets alone. By taking a few extra measures you can remain safe.”
The angry taunts began.
“You’re not doing your job!” shouted someone.
Emma simply let it go. “If there are no other questions, I have work to do,” she said, walking towards the edge of the stage and down the stairs.
Croft and Briggs were right on her tail as the mayor took over with Will Taylor to smooth over the waves.
Emma made her way out of the building, stopping dead in her tracks. Before her was Mrs. Landry, holding a handful of tissues and looking very distraught.
“I want my daughter released,” she ordered, pointing at Emma. “You’ve had her long enough!”
Emma knew there was nothing she could do about it. “I’m sorry for all this, ma’am, but it’s out of my hands. The FBI has jurisdiction, and they need to keep your daughter for a little while longer.”
“She’s not some lab specimen. I want her back!”
Again, she apologized. “I’m sorry,” Emma replied.
“You have no idea how it feels to know she’s gone forever. I’ll never hold my baby again. She was sliced apart and discarded. You have no clue,” she shouted, drawing everyone’s attention.
“You're right. I don’t know what it feels like, but that doesn’t make me care less,” she answered, defending herself.
The woman’s face was filled with rage.
Emma saw it coming and braced for it. The slap stung wickedly, but she didn’t flinch. The cameras began flashing and only added to it.
Croft made it to Emma’s side just as the woman struck her. The anger he was feeling threatened to overflow. “Curtis, move the media back,” he ordered, pulling Emma behind him and dropping his voice incredibly low to speak to Mrs. Landry. “You want us to help you find your daughter’s killer, then how about you give us something to work with? You were interviewed twice and no one in your family can give us anything. How about you head home and think about that? You want a miracle, but we d
on’t work them here. We’re dealing with facts and details. Give us something more than what your daughter wore, and maybe we can give you a killer on a silver platter.”
She stared at him, turned on her heel, and stormed away.
Pulling Emma against his side, he ran his fingers over the red mark on her cheek. “Let’s get out of here,” he said, finally.
Emma nodded, allowing him to lead her away. All she wanted was to escape.
And she didn’t mean just from the town hall meeting.
She meant from it all.
The entire ride back to her place, Emma remained silent. Croft held her hand in his, trying to offer her support and get her through what happened. He was beginning to believe the evening was shot, and maybe he should simply tuck her into bed and watch over her.
“Honey, are you going to be fine?” he asked, concerned.
“I never want to do that again. All I kept seeing was the blood. It was all over my hands and the podium. Then there was Mrs. Landry.”
“She was wrong to put her hands on you, Emma.”
“I don’t know what kind of company I’ll be tonight, Grey,” she warned.
“Don’t worry about it. You go shower and meditate, and I’ll start dinner. It’ll be ready in an hour and a half, so take your time.”
They entered the cabin and Emma walked off to her room for some alone time.
As soon as the bedroom door closed, he began prepping for dinner. He chopped the vegetables for the salad and grated the cheese for the lasagna. While he was cooking, Greyson poured himself a glass of wine from the bottle that was breathing on the counter. Adding the finishing touches to the salad and garlic bread, Croft looked up as he heard her approaching.
“It smells really good in here.” she stated, walking into the room. She had changed into a slip like dress and had her hair plied onto the top of her head. A few stray pieces were left loose, framing her neck and face.
He watched her intently. She was barefoot and he noticed her toes were painted a glossy pink. His whole body reacted to such a little feminine thing.
“Thank you. It’s my mom’s secret recipe,” he responded, smiling at her. “Want to know what we’re having for dinner?” He poured her a glass of wine and carried it to her.
Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Page 21
