“This one?” he asked.
She stared at him as he held it out.
The little girl nodded.
Then he reached into the bag and pulled out a puppy. It had floppy ears and big button eyes.
She smiled and held out her hands.
“Do you want him?” he asked.
She nodded.
Okay, they were getting through the language barrier. Ethan handed the toy to her, and she held the puppy like it was going to be taken from her.
He picked up his phone and began typing.
“Can you get dressed?” he asked.
It read her the words.
She nodded.
“Director, I have some hair ties in my pocket,” the agent stated. “I can fix her hair.”
He pulled a brush out of his briefcase. Natives always traveled with a brush. When you had longer hair, like Callen did, you needed to detangle every so often.
It was a fact of life.
The little girl watched them, and then she pointed.
“Brush?” Ethan asked.
She nodded.
He handed it to her.
She brushed the dog.
Ethan wasn’t surprised. This little one reminded him of Cat.
“How old is she, sir?” the agent asked, handing him the two hair ties.
“The official report said twelve-ish, but I don’t think she’s even close to that. I think more like eight-ish.”
Ethan typed.
“Can I brush your hair?”
She nodded.
She turned around but held the dog. He was accustomed to brushing little girl hair. He did Cat and Charlie’s all the time. Before them, he couldn’t braid for his life.
Gently, he brushed her hair and parted it down the middle. Then he made ponytails.
It didn’t take long, and she sat still like a trooper. Honestly, she was a sweet little kid.
“All done.”
Ethan stood.
She grabbed his hand. He typed with one hand, so he didn’t have to let go of her.
“I’m going to turn around, so you can get dressed in privacy. The agent will help you. She won’t hurt you. I promise.”
She listened and let his hand go.
Then, he stood.
He stayed nearby and waited, but true to his word, he gave her privacy.
“That’s right, honey,” the agent said, pulling out a pair of shoes and then another, and another.
“Director, can you tell her to try them on and pick which ones fit?”
He typed and hit play.
She listened.
Then she sat on the seat and tried them on. Finally, a pair of black ones fit.
“She’s dressed,” she said.
He turned.
“I have my go bag in the car, sir. Don’t make her take her things to her new home in plastic bags. That’s horrifying.”
“Yes, please,” Ethan stated. Then he thanked her as the agent hurried out of the plane.
“You look pretty.”
She said something.
He hit the record button, and then it translated for her.
“They won’t hurt me?” the app asked.
He smiled and shook his head.
“No.”
The agent came back carrying a bag, and then she knelt and began folding the girl’s things and placing them into it. When she was finished, she zipped it up and handed it to her.
The entire time, Ethan watched, admiring the way the woman had been so cautious of this child’s few possessions.
That spoke a lot about her.
“Can you tell her I hope she has a beautiful life from here on out?” she asked.
That touched Ethan even more.
This woman didn’t know the half of what was going on, but here she was, trying to be kind.
Blackhawk appreciated that in an agent.
“I’m sorry, Agent, but what’s your name? I recall you, but not enough to have total name recall.”
“It’s Aria Goodwin, sir.”
“You’ve been a Fed a while, haven’t you?”
Oh, she had.
“Long enough, sir, to know that someone hurt this child, and they should be shot for being scumbags,” she stated. Then added, “Twelve years, sir. Like I mentioned, I went through training with your wife. She kicked my ass once. Literally.”
That made him laugh.
“Welcome to my world. She kicks mine on a daily basis,” he offered.
The little girl tugged on his hand.
“Yes?”
She said something in Romanian. Before he could hit the app, she pointed at the door.
He typed in a message and waited for her to listen.
“Ready to go?” he asked, holding out his hand.
She nodded.
The child took it.
Aria Goodwin helped her into the backpack and gave her a kiss on the forehead.
“Be safe, little one.”
And then she was gone.
From the window of the jet, she watched as the deputy director helped the little girl into the limo and out of that place.
“I hope you find your way,” Aria Goodwin stated to no one in particular.
There were too many lost souls.
Vegas was full of them.
She knew because she was one of them.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
Sky Villa
When Greyson and Chris arrived back at the penthouse, they notified the guards that Ethan Blackhawk would be arriving with a child and to let them through security.
Greyson took the time to also inform them she was Dimitri’s new child, and not to touch her.
They didn’t like that.
He insisted.
Still, they tried to remind him of the policy, and when he pulled out cash, they got it.
“She’s been abused. If you touch her, she’s going to freak out. Let me have this one. She’s little. Trust me when I say she’s not dangerous. Okay?”
They took the money and agreed.
No one wanted a screaming kid. Sky Villa had enough drama since the Crofts had moved back in. They had tenants moving out.
In droves.
“Thank you for understanding,” Greyson stated, as he and Chris headed for the elevator.
Upstairs at the penthouse, they headed in and found Emma sitting there with Dimitri and Sam. They were watching movies, and Sam was in swim trunks.
“Well, I missed the fun,” Chris stated.
“Yeah, me too,” Greyson added, noticing his best friend looked much better. Dimitri didn’t relax often, and it was good to see him calm.
Emma laughed.
“Yes, yes, you did. Since I was here by myself, they were kind enough to let me hang out with them.”
“Emma let me have cake,” Sam said proudly. “It was all frosting and chocolate.”
Greyson gave his wife a kiss on the lips.
“You’re lucky. How come I didn’t get cake?” he asked. “I had to suffer with a salad.”
She stared at him.
“What?” Croft asked.
“Really, Greyson?” she asked, calling his bluff.
He looked confused.
“What?”
“Fries? Burgers? Shakes?”
He tried to look innocent. It wasn’t easy since Chris was laughing behind him. This was why Dimitri was his wingman. He didn’t give him up.
Chris was a traitor to the male species. His allegiance lied with Emma.
Damn him.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he said, moving back from her so she couldn’t keep sniffing him. His wife had a better nose than a freaking bloodhound.
“I smell fries. I just kissed you and tasted chocolate and salt. You are full of crap with that salad.”
“Emma.”
“You had fries, yes?”
He sighed.
The jig was up.
“Yes, I had fries.”
“You have NEVER ordered just fries. So, I know there was a burger with it.”
He rolled his eyes.
“And you are a glutton. You had to take it over the top and add a shake since I wasn’t there.”
Chris found all of this amusing. Why the man even tried, it was beyond him.
He gave Emma a kiss on the lips.
“You had mint gum.”
“Yep, because I’m not an idiot. I know you, and you’d think he would too. Sucker.”
Greyson punched him.
“Traitor.”
Emma laughed.
“What happened with your meeting? Care to share with your wife?”
Oh, he could do that.
Greyson dropped onto the couch and cuddled his wife. He stared at Sam as he weighed his options.
The boy saw it coming.
“You’re going to send me out, aren’t you?” he asked before Greyson could even say it.
Dimitri hugged the boy.
“That’s up to your dad. Dimitri?” he asked.
“No, you can stay. You’re going to run my business one day. You’re my son. The only thing is what happens in a meeting stays in a meeting, okay?”
Sam grinned at the huge gift his dad was giving him. He’d had the best time with him, and it wasn’t going to end.
“I promise!”
Greyson knew there wasn’t anything that Sam hadn’t seen in a movie or his life, so he continued.
“Well, Abby McCoy was scared shitless, so it took us a half an hour to calm her down.”
“He gave her a job,” Chris stated.
No one there was shocked.
“And?”
“It seems her sister was afraid of her husband. Raye scared her too. She also said that there was a good chance he was abusing her. She had bruises on her body in places that ladies get them,” he said, trying to keep it PG for Sam’s sake.
Immediately, the boy went there.
“Ladies get bruises?” Sam asked. “How?”
Greyson smiled at his best friend. The best part of their relationship was how they tried to embarrass the hell out of each other.
“Yeah, how, Dad?” he asked Dimitri.
Oh, he wasn’t going to freak out.
There was a simple answer that Sam, at his age, would accept.
“It happens during sex. Do you want to know how?” he asked, already knowing what an eight-year-old boy thinks about sex.
He’d been there.
“Oh,” Sam said. “I don’t think I want to know. That’s gross!”
Dimitri smiled right back at Greyson.
“Wait until your son comes to Uncle Dimitri and asks me things. I’m going to have some fun.”
Greyson laughed.
He didn’t doubt it.
“Anyway?” Emma prompted.
“Libby was heading out to meet her girlfriends for brunch on a Sunday. Her husband wasn’t home, so she went out. Unfortunately, she never got there.”
Emma grabbed the tablet that the Blackhawks had left them. She sent the woman’s name to the screen, and it pulled up her picture.
“She was pretty,” Sam said. “She’s dead, isn’t she?” he asked.
“Yes, son. Most likely.”
“That’s too bad. Vegas is shitty,” Sam offered. He’d seen a lot while he was in foster care. He wasn’t shocked.
“Language,” Dimitri stated.
Sam grinned.
He said it in Russian.
Emma laughed when Dimitri sighed.
“We have the names of the three women she was supposed to meet for her Sunday brunch.”
Emma waited.
“Who?”
Greyson pulled out his phone and began reading the names off to her, so she could punch them in and see what came up.
“Her best friend is Marcella Lamb. Another friend is Jeanette Weis. The last of their party was a work associate. She worked at the same financial company as Libby. Her name is Emily Bauer.”
Emma put them all into the system. She was so damn grateful that the Blackhawks had never had the access revoked. They were going to use it for as long as they could.
Their pictures came up on the screen.
“Tomorrow, we start there,” Greyson stated. “They were the last three people who were supposed to see her. They might be able to give us something on her husband.”
They were good with that.
Before anyone could continue, Heath entered the room and cleared his voice.
“Mr. C,” Heath said, coming to a stop behind the couch. “Mr. B is on his way up, and he’s got the girl. Do you want me to meet him?”
“Yes, Heath. Bring him in.”
“She’s here?” Sam asked.
“Yes, son.”
He smiled.
“How old is she? She’s not ancient like you, is she?” he asked, pointing at his dad.
“How about I ground you until you’re this old?” Dimitri stated, pointing at Greyson.
The man laughed.
“Some of us didn’t lie about our ages. I know how old I am. Can you confirm your age?” he teased.
He grinned.
Dimitri liked it like that. Big Brother was always watching.
Before he could comment, they heard voices. It didn’t take long for Ethan to walk in with a small child beside him.
Emma spoke first.
“She’s so little. She can’t be that old. There’s no way she’s twelve. She’s Sam’s age—if that.”
Dimitri’s mind began working.
If that were true, the timeline was way off, but he’d worry about that much later. This was about assimilating her into their clan.
Hopefully, they could.
Ethan shook hands with Greyson and Dimitri, and all the while, the little girl hid behind him. She was peeking out at them with those aqua eyes.
Dimitri’s eyes.
They’d never seen that color before, and it was pretty much a definite that she carried the Marchenko bloodline.
“Welcome back to Vegas,” Greyson stated.
“Yeah, I’m back again. I should have a house here,” he teased since this had been his place.
Well, Callen’s.
“How was your flight?” Greyson asked.
He knew he wasn’t talking about turbulence.
“It was rough at first. She’s afraid. She understands a few words in English. I think it’s because she was with some tourists,” he said, hoping they got it. He didn’t want to say it outright in front of Sam.
‘With’ equaled sex.
“I hate people,” Emma stated.
Dimitri got down on his knees and kept a little distance between them. Softly, he spoke in a language they didn’t understand. It wasn’t as smooth as the app.
She nodded when he finished, as she peeked around Ethan’s trousers.
He touched his chest.
“Dimitri.”
She nodded again.
He pointed at her.
“Petra.”
She stared at him like she was trying to understand. He repeated both actions.
“Dimitri.”
She watched him.
“Petra.”
Greyson went to the bag he and Chris brought in with them, and he pulled out a big fluffy cat and handed it to Dimitri. It matched the fluffy dog.
Now she’d have two stuffed animals.
“Cat,” she stated.
He nodded.
“Cat.” He pointed at the cat. “Dimitri.” He pointed at himself. “Petra.” He pointed at her.
She immediately got it.
He said something in Romanian. Then he pointed at his son. “Sam.”
Sam came forward, and he pulled a shiny bauble out of his pocket.
“Here.”
He held it out.
She didn’t hesitate to reach for it. It was clear she was kid friendly. There was no fear there. She was more scared of men than anyone, and that they got.
She s
aid something back.
“Petra said thank you,” Dimitri stated. “I don’t speak much Romanian, but I do know some words. Anastasia was Romanian, so I was trying to learn.”
They all knew who that was—his first wife, who he’d killed.
Dimitri got up and stood by Greyson.
He spoke and then said his name a few times. Finally, she repeated it.
He smiled.
Then with Emma and Chris.
After introductions were made, and Petra seemed calm, Dimitri asked Heath to call Kat. She needed to meet their sister. The whole family needed to be there.
As they waited, she played with Sam and the two stuffed animals. The boy was trying to help her.
It was so sweet to watch.
When Katerina came in with Curtis, Petra grabbed her stuffed animals from where she’d been playing and ran to hide behind Ethan again.
Immediately, she tried to disappear.
Sam, like a champ, headed her way to protect his ‘sister’. He took her hand, and she moved to stand behind him.
It was sweet to watch him guarding her. Without hesitating, Petra wrapped her arms around his waist and peeked over his shoulder.
Kat came toward her, and she got down on her knees. She remembered Natasha being this child. She knew how to do this. It was so long ago, but yet so recent. It was hard to forget those moments.
“Katerina,” she said, pointing at herself.
“Petra,” she said, using her new name the first time.
Ethan patted Greyson on the back.
His work there was done. Petra was clinging to Sam, and he was free to go.
“You guys have this. If you need anything, let me know. Elizabeth got her a few things.”
Dimitri stood.
“Thank you for bringing her here. I’m sure it wasn’t easy getting her out of Romania.”
He pulled a packet of papers out of his pocket.
“We bought her.”
Dimitri was still angry over that. It was like the people in his bloodline didn’t get that you DIDN’T sell kids.
Ever.
“What is her name going to be?”
“Petra Natasha Gideon,” he said. “My sister will carry part of our sister that she never got to meet.”
Well, this child. Dimitri didn’t believe she was his sister. He suspected otherwise, but he wouldn’t discuss it in front of the Fed.
Ethan patted him on the back.
“I’ll have a passport and social security card sent to her. I know you can do it but let me work it out as our gift to her new life.”
Mob Justice Page 10
