“I’m sorry. I was lost in thought.”
“It’s okay, Mom. I understand,” he said, taking a seat beside her.
Emma returned the grin because it was infectious. It was hard to not like the guy. Special Agent Curtis Briggs was sweet, and Emma really didn't mind his silly term of endearment. It was as close to the real deal that she was ever going to get. She and Greyson had adopted him as their adult child, and it was their little family. Besides, his grandmother did a damn good job at raising him. Curtis was a gentleman, and truth be told, he reminded her of her husband.
“I was thinking about this case,” she said, sliding the file toward him.
Briggs leaned over, checking it out. Of course it was going to be the Booker file. It had become the thorn in their sides. Since he was given the job of ‘babysitter’, he had watched Emma struggle with it.
Every turn lead to nothing but a dead end.
“Still nada?” he asked, sipping his coffee. His eye caught one of the cops flipping the channel on the TV across the room, as they bitched and moaned. Captain Brunhilda had made the tech department block out all the non-work channels. Now, they were only allowed stations which reported the news.
“No. It’s cold and dead. The few fibers that were found on the body were from the home. One was a hair from Booker’s wife, which was transferred as she held his body in her arms. The other was from the sweater she was wearing.”
“The killer is good at his job.”
Emma sipped her coffee. “Yeah, unfortunately.”
Curtis patted her on the arm. “You’ll catch him, Em. I don’t doubt it. You’re damn good at your job too.”
Staring down at the photos, she examined them for the millionth time. It still felt like she was missing something in them. Unfortunately, she didn't know what.
“Do you think that the boss man will take me to his poker game?” Curtis asked, dropping his voice. He knew that Croft was trying to infiltrate the seedy side of Vegas, as protégé to Randall Mason.
Emma didn't even look up.
“I wouldn’t bet on it. He’s planning on going alone.”
He wanted to go in the worst way. To him, a night out with his idol would be one hell of an adventure. “Do you think you can convince him to let me?”
Now, he had her attention. “Curtis, you know I can’t talk him into anything. Greyson is stubborn and has his mind set in his ways.”
It was time for a different route. “I don’t want him to get hurt. He’s like a big brother. I love you both, and I’m worried about him going alone.”
She patted his cheek lovingly. “He doesn’t know this yet, but I’ll be there. I’m just waiting for the right moment to broach the topic. I’ll make sure he’s safe. I promise. Besides, it’s hard to look shady when his shiny, above the law partner is right there.”
He grinned. “Yeah, I am kind of awesome.”
Emma snorted as she continued drinking her coffee.
Someone cleared their voice. “Awww, isn’t this sweet? Look at the love birds,” teased Detective Heath Spencer.
Emma let it go. If you gave her co-workers the ammunition, the men in the squad would use it.
It was a given.
Unfortunately, she’d been unable to get that into Curtis’s skull.
“Shut up, Heath,” he muttered.
“It’s cute how sweet you two look together,” he added, winking at Emma. “When’s the wedding, and can I be your best man?”
Briggs sputtered. Ever since he and Brynn had broken up, Curtis had been celibate. Yeah, he was madly in love with Emma, just not like that. This woman was his family, and it pissed him off to hear anyone tormenting her. In a way, she was like his little sister, and he was protective.
“Heath, knock it off. I’m not in the mood today,” answered Emma.
Immediately, the man slid his chair the distance and dropped his elbows on her desk. “Want to talk about it? I have a couch at my place. We can play Doctor Heath and needy patient.”
Briggs went to stand, only to have Emma’s partner step in and run interference.
“Yeah, then maybe you can play find the teeny tiny dick, Emma! Can I watch?” She hated seeing her friends being tormented. “I’ll bring the magnifying glass, and you bring the camera, so we can post the pictures online.”
It was effective.
It shut the man up as Emma offered a high five to her partner.
“Hey, Croft!” yelled a detective from across the room. “Ain’t that your old man?” he asked, pointing at the TV.
That had Heath Spencer’s attention. He’d heard the rumors, but as of yet, he hadn’t seen Emma’s husband. All he got were the warnings from the other cops to back way off.
Yet, he didn't get why.
So what? A cop was a cop, was a cop.
Right?
Emma focused on the TV and the figure the detective was pointing at. As she saw the telltale stony stare and the speckle of grey above his ears, she smiled.
“Yeah, that’s my husband.”
Getting up from her seat, she crossed the bullpen to lean against a desk to watch the news. All the detectives, who weren’t on duty, joined them.
To them, Croft was an enigma.
To Emma, he was her heart and soul.
As she gazed at the man on the screen, her heart skipped in her chest. There stood her caveman in all his sexy glory. He normally wore a tailored suit everywhere, but today he’d lost the jacket and was wearing a dark blue FBI pullover with gold lettering across the back.
He was standing there, pointing in various directions, and giving orders. The media was commentating as he leaned over Steele Bentley, and they were discussing something. Then, the cameras panned back as he walked away from the tech teams and pulled out his cell phone.
“So, that’s King Croft,” stated Detective Spencer. “I thought he’d be younger.”
Emma glared at him, pointing ominously. “I’ll knock your balls into your throat if you even go there.”
Wisely, he raised his hands and let it go. Obviously, that was a point of contention, since Emma rarely got angry. Now, she was definitely shooting ice daggers his way.
Emma went back to grinning at the screen. Yeah, the detectives were teasing her, but she was thinking about that morning and the incredibly hot shower sex.
She couldn’t wait until tonight.
The reporter’s voiceover had her attention.
“The FBI is once more on the trail of a would-be killer. Director Greyson Croft has been called to the scene and is currently hunting someone down. God help them,” stated the woman on the camera. She and her co-worker began laughing. There was banter between them, and Emma stopped listening. She was focused on one thing, and one thing alone.
Greyson Croft.
When he glanced over his shoulder to give the media a dirty look, she wanted to giggle. Then, he went back to talking to the man in front of him. All was going smoothly, and then, she heard it.
The sound was unmistakable.
There were screams as the cameras shifted, now suddenly focused on the ground.
“Someone just shot at us!” yelled a reporter, informing the viewing audience of what was happening.
Emma stood, her heart pounding in her chest.
“I think someone’s dead!” the reporter lying on the ground added, trying to lift the camera up to get more.
Another voice could be heard beside the woman. “I think Director Croft is dead!”
Emma couldn’t breathe.
The entire squad room went silent, as there was a collective gasp. Each and every one of them turned to stare at the redhead in horror. The looks on their faces said it all.
She’d just watched her husband’s murder.
“Grey,” she whispered, as her entire life slammed to a stop.
Curtis jumped into action, pulling his keys from his pocket as he grabbed Emma’s arm. “Let’s go!”
Everyone moved out of her way as she raced behind Curtis out of t
he precinct. Emma replayed the last few minutes over and over in her head. There was the sound of gunfire, the falling camera, and the ominous words of the reporter.
Greyson Croft is dead.
Greyson Croft is dead.
Greyson...
Life as she knew it, ended.
The entire ride there, sirens screamed as Curtis Briggs drove like a maniac around the Vegas traffic. At one point, he was even up on the curb trying to miss the morning rush hour.
“It’s going to be okay, Emma. I swear,” he vowed.
She couldn’t even speak. There were a million things going through her mind, and none of them were good.
“He’s going to be okay. There’s been some sort of mistake. Once we get there, you’ll see.” Briggs kept trying to reassure her, even when his own gut was sick from the possibilities. Maybe bringing her there was a bad idea…
As the alert went out over the FBI radio, Emma couldn’t breathe. It felt like she was stuck in a vacuum and all the air was being sucked from her lungs. Her whole life was over if anything happened to her husband. How could she go back home to their condominium without him?
Just that morning, they made love and promised each other the next fifty years.
And now…
She swallowed as tears pooled in her eyes.
More sirens filled the air, as the growing line of Denalis followed behind them. Obviously, the FBI was calling out the entire team.
That did little to comfort her.
If everyone in the big, shiny FBI building was rushing there, then that meant an FBI agent was down.
Oh God!
Her husband was gone!
As Curtis followed the vehicle in front of him, he took her hand in his. It was hard not to think back to right before Christmas, when Greyson pulled him aside for their talk.
At the time, they had a conversation which he believed was over the top. It was the one where he made Curtis promise to take care of Emma if he died. He never believed it would happen. The ‘Ice King’ was indestructible.
Wasn’t he?
Now, Briggs was sick to his stomach.
In the back of his mind there was hope, but there was also the beginning stages of preparation to begin following up on Greyson’s request. If his partner was dead, he was getting Emma out of there ASAP.
As they pulled up to the scene, there were tons of agents milling around.
Emma knew it had to be bad. The Feds were literally making a barricade with their bodies to block out what had happened behind them.
That wall meant one thing.
Someone didn't make it, and they were trying to block out the intruding media.
She swallowed, pushing the door open. Even trying to move was difficult. Her entire body felt like lead. Now, Emma had to face her worst fears as she rushed toward the line of Feds. Unfortunately, it meant crossing through the media hounds. The second she was seen, the frenzy picked up around her.
“Mrs. Croft!”
“Mrs. Croft! Is your husband dead?” someone callously called out to her.
She nearly puked.
“Can you confirm that the shooter was after your husband?”
She ignored their words or she would break right there.
“Mrs. Croft? What will you do now if he’s gone?”
She glanced over at the heartless bastard who would even ask someone that. If her husband was murdered, she was a victim. God, she loathed the media now, more than ever.
Pushing through the throngs of reporters, she finally got to the FBI agents. At the line, a big burly Fed stopped her.
“I’m sorry, ma’am. You can’t go through. This area has been cordoned off from anyone not in the FBI.”
Emma wasn’t having it. Nothing this side of hell was keeping her away from her husband. When the man wouldn’t relent, putting his hand on her body, she moved into action. With her foot, she slammed it down on his instep, kneed him in the gut and took him to the ground.
It gave her the opportunity she needed to squeeze through the line. As Emma pushed past his fallen form, she was grabbed by someone else, trying to get her arms behind her back to arrest her for assault.
Curtis finally made it through the crowd and pulled his badge. “That’s the boss’s wife, you moron! Let her go!”
As if touching her had scorched the man skin, he released her immediately.
It was all Emma needed. She began scanning the area. On the ground, there was a bloody sheet covering a form. For the second time that day, her life came screeching to a dead stop.
That body couldn’t be…
This was where her husband was standing. Emma recognized it from the news reports.
Oh God.
Someone stole the love of her life right out from under her.
“Greyson,” she whispered, the tears filling her eyes. Finally, she was helpless to stop them from spilling over.
Briggs pulled her into his chest as he too searched the area. “Emma,” he began. “I have you. It’s okay. I’ve got you.”
Her tears overflowed as she clung to Curtis in pure agony. Granted, as a cop, you risked this outcome, but she never really believed that losing her husband was a possibility.
“We have to get you out of here, Em. I have to get you to safety.” Now, he’d do the job for the man he loved too.
Before he could move her, he heard it.
“Curtis, get your hands off my damn wife.”
Emma spun toward the voice. Behind the S.W.A.T van stood her husband. He was being worked on by an EMT, and looked irritated as hell.
She began breathing again.
“Give us a second,” he ordered, as he stood. His heart finally began beating normally, now that she was near. When he heard the shot, felt the drag of bullet, and the sting of it cutting his flesh, he thought he was a dead man. His only worry, the entire time, was his wife.
He prayed she wasn’t in the squad room. By now, this was all over the news, and she would be forced to live sheer hell.
Emma raced at him.
Croft stood, holding his arms open as she crashed into him. When she buried her face in his neck and began openly sobbing, he held onto her.
“Emma, my sweet, it’s okay. I’m fine. I’m so sorry you had to live this.”
She kept weeping.
This had been too close for her. Screw the world in that moment. Emma didn't care if the media watched her break down, or every agent believed she was a wussy girl. Right then, emotions overwhelmed her, and she had no choice.
“Shhhhh, honey.”
“Oh, Grey! I saw it all on the news. I was watching you, heard the gunshot, and then they said you were dead.”
Yeah, this was one more reason to despise the media. They terrorized his poor wife. He couldn’t imagine what she was feeling the entire trip there. If it had been him, he would be weeping too. Then, to see the body covered with the sheet. It all had to be terrorizing.
Croft stared over at his dead co-worker. There were twin pangs of remorse and anger at what had happened. Yet, now wasn’t the time. He had bigger issues to worry about.
“I had an agent send you a text, honey. My phone is logged in the evidence right now. I couldn’t call you.”
She breathed in the scent of his cologne and let it offer her peace. There was also the scent of blood all over him. Pulling away, she realized he had to be hurt somewhere. There had to have been blood, after all, he was standing in a field shirtless.
“I didn't have my phone. I wasn’t at my desk,” she answered, releasing him to check his body. “Why are you half naked, Grey?” she finally asked, when she was able to think straight.
Then she noticed that there were techs surrounding him.
Waiting.
Watching.
Her heart skipped in her chest.
“Blowback,” he simply said, his cheek twitching in anger. His wife was in law enforcement, so Croft was pretty sure that one word painted a clear enough picture.
Oh God! Her poor husband! He had been standing in close proximity to the victim.
“What happened?” she asked, as the tech team moved back toward him to finish their job. Emma noticed that they were pulling things from his white dress shirt, which was lying on a tarp on the ground. The state of his blue FBI jacket was appalling.
Christ! She may retch yet.
“I was standing there sending an email, and I heard the shot.” He turned his head and showed her the flesh wound across his neck on the opposite side. “Someone killed the agent standing in front of me.”
She could hear the emotion in his voice. He was barely in control. Her husband was at a slow simmer and this had to offend everything that he stood for. Greyson was going to lose it, and when he did, it was going to be epic.
“Oh, Grey! I’m so sorry.”
Just then, the EMT slapped a bandage over his neck. “Director, keep it dry and clean.”
He nodded, taking a t-shirt one of the techs held out to him.
Before he could pull it on, Emma was back against his chest. There was a part of her that knew she should be grossed out that he had just been covered with remains, but that paled to her need just to have the simple contact. Instinctively, her hands wandered, making sure there was nothing else wrong with him.
Where he wasn’t a big believer in letting his wife feel him up in front of his entire team, Croft knew what she had just gone through. Emma had been forced to head there, believing he was dead. He swallowed his anger.
“Oh, Greyson. I thought I lost you,” she whispered, placing her palms on either side of his face as she stared up into his stormy gray eyes.
Greyson ran the pad of his thumb across her lower lip, as he saw the emotion on her face. “I’m never leaving you, Emma. I’ll always be here.”
She couldn’t speak.
Finally, they realized that someone was right behind them.
Curtis swallowed his own fears as he cleared his throat. “I’ll run this for you,” he stated, trying to get his own heart to stop pounding in his chest. When he saw the news, he nearly lost his mind, too. These two people were his adopted family, and had shared their lives willingly with him. Not to mention their home and hearts.
He saw the fear in the young man’s eyes. Gently, he placed his hand on his shoulder. “I’m good, Curtis.”
Love is Bleeding (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 4) Page 3
