Emma could see him struggling.
Dimitri was that child to her. On top of being a man, who she felt was sent to her to fill the gap that Gage had left, she saw him as that scared, broken soul.
Now more than ever.
He was damaged, and she’d helped cause it. Instead of staying calm, she had lost her cool.
When Poppy ran, they were all exhausted. They were all carrying the battle wounds from that round, and she’d slipped. For that, she owed him the apology.
He fell through the cracks.
“You don’t need to apologize to me, Emma. I am the one who is the sinner. In that rage, I beat on the people I love. I used violence, and that’s unacceptable. It’s proof I’m so far gone. I’m no longer redeemable.”
She didn’t believe that at all.
Everyone deserved a second chance or a third.
Hell!
Even a fourth.
“You love her.”
He knew who she was talking about because she was the only one—other than Emma—that he loved. Yes, he knew the woman she was referring to, and his already squeezed heart tightened to the point he wished he would just die.
Dimitri wanted to end it all.
He was tired of being lost.
“Dimitri?” she asked, waiting for him to say something.
Anything.
“I did. I mean, I do. She’s gone, so what’s the point? For three months, I’ve searched. She’s hiding, and what can I do to change that? Instead, in my anger and frustration, I took my hands and, repeatedly, battered the face of a man I love. I hurt my brother. I tossed Kat around. I even hurt Chris. I’m that monster and telling me to leave is the best thing for everyone. I can’t be saved. Here’s the proof.”
She didn’t buy that.
Not at all.
“I’m sorry I told you to go. I’m sorry I got angry with you. I was wrong.”
She moved toward him, and again, he stepped away, afraid to have her touch him. This was hard enough. Dimitri didn’t want to remember that feeling of her warm hand on his ice-cold flesh.
Memories hurt.
Compassion hurt.
Love hurt.
He’d learned that.
“I’m sorry. I won’t touch you,” she offered.
He didn’t speak, but his face had that fear and terror written all over it. He was broken again.
That trust was gone.
She understood.
“I’ll pack up and be gone,” he said, turning to pull a few more shirts from his closet.
It was now or never.
Emma knew that if she didn’t stop him from leaving Sky Villa, he’d be gone, and that was the worst thing for her family. Dimitri was part of them. You couldn’t remove one person from their unit without it suffering. He brought something to it.
He brought tenacity.
“We found her.”
He stopped moving, his hand paused inches from a hanger as he listened to her words.
Could she be serious?
Was that possible?
“What?” he asked, afraid to face her to see it was only some cruel joke.
“Ethan Blackhawk came through,” she stated, running her hands over her baby belly. “He sent us the information, and we know where she is.”
His heart skipped at the revelation that they might be able to bring her back.
Then reality set in.
What did it matter?
Poppy had left.
She’d run.
While he hated himself, there was only one person he loathed more at that moment.
HER.
With his emotions in this storm, he couldn’t focus past the fact that she’d bailed on him. Everyone always ran. She knew about Marissa Pierce and what she’d done to his soul. Poppy was aware that his one weakness was this.
Yet, she’d bailed on him.
Still…
He was curious.
Dimitri turned, wondering why she was telling him. Was this some way to hurt him?
Punish him?
“She doesn’t want me around her. I can’t blame Poppy. I wasn’t in time. He was in her,” he said, tears filling his eyes. “He violated her, and that’s on me. I have to live with that every day of my life. I was supposed to protect her. I failed. This is my punishment.”
She went to speak to tell him that wasn’t true, but the pain was so intense. She actually gasped and grabbed her belly. It nearly took Emma to her knees. She’d never felt anything like that in all of her life.
Dimitri was worried.
He immediately went to her side, helping her sit on the bed.
“Do you need a doctor?” he asked, concern in his eyes.
“Braxton Hicks,” she muttered. “Fake contractions. Jesus freaking Christ! If they hurt, what are the real ones going to be like?” she muttered, trying to breathe through them.
It wasn’t easy.
“Can I get you something?” he offered. “Do you need some water?”
She shook her head.
This could wait.
Dimitri and Greyson?
No, that couldn’t.
“He’s going after her,” she muttered.
“Who?” he asked.
It was clear she had to back up and tell him what they knew—what they’d just found out.
“Greyson is going after her. Commissioner Raye put a hit out on her. He’s going to go after her to bring her home. There’s a killer tracking her by the name of Claude Black.”
The name registered.
He cursed in Russian.
“What?” Emma asked. “You have to slow down. My Russian isn’t that good.”
He stared into her eyes.
This was bad, and he knew it.
Dimitri couldn’t save Poppy, but he could save a man who had always had his back.
“You have to do something. Greyson needs to avoid him. He’s not the average killer, Emma. He’s sick. He’ll retaliate and come after all of you if Greyson wades into it. I’ve been careful enough to keep myself out of his business for a reason. Claude is a dangerous mess because he has no code. Don’t let him do it! You’ve finally been safe. He shouldn’t…”
Emma understood, and this was the perfect time to do some healing.
“He’s going for you, Dimitri. He’s doing it for you. He can’t walk away from all of this unless he fixes the mess. This is his way of repaying what is owed.”
Dimitri held her hand.
He didn’t know how to articulate what he was feeling. He’d hurt him. He’d physically abused the people he loved, and Greyson the worst. He’d not even fought back as he struck him.
Emma saw him struggling.
“Go with him. Get Poppy and bring her home. If you love her, then you need to be with her.”
If only he could.
“I have no home, Emma. I never have.”
She picked up his hand and placed it on her heart. He could feel the beating beneath her chest.
“There is your home, Maximillian. You always have that home with me. I love you, and I’m sorry I was angry. Fix it with Greyson. I have to meet with your call girl to take on Zachary Lipton.”
He stared at her.
Well, that cat was out of the bag.
Clearly.
“Chris has a very big mouth.”
“You do, too, and so does Greyson. I’m thinking the men in our family have that one trait in common next to stubbornness.”
She tried to make him laugh.
It didn’t work.
“Emma.”
She took his face between her palms and kissed him gently on the mouth. When she set him free, she told him what he needed to do. Dimitri was confused, so she guided him.
Like a mother.
“Go get her, Dimitri. We found her. You said you were no one’s hero, but that can change. Be her hero. Be mine. Bring Greyson home in one piece. Have his back.”
He stood.
There was a storm in him. I
t wracked his body, as he fought what was wrong with what he knew to be right.
Deep down, Dimitri knew it wouldn’t be better until he fixed this with Greyson.
Before he committed to Poppy, he needed to know one thing. It would be the deciding factor. He could live without the love of a woman. He had for so long.
He couldn’t live without the people who gave him a family when he had nothing to offer back.
“How much does he hate me?” he asked.
That he even had to ask that broke her heart.
“Oh, sweetheart, he doesn’t. Greyson loves you. You’re his best friend in the whole world, Dimitri. He chose you. Out of everyone, even his own blood, he chose you to be that role in his life. Not his wife. Not Dante. You.”
His heart skipped.
And that was how he felt. When he’d met Greyson, something clicked. He’d been able to be himself. When something was bothering him, he was able to just tell him. The man had a calmness about him that gave him the ease to be himself.
Greyson was peaceful.
When the world was going to Hell, he was calm enough to weather the storm, and Dimitri needed that in his life. He didn’t have a brother—well, a non-serial killer one—and Greyson fulfilled some deep need in him.
“Fix this and heal our family.”
He would.
Dimitri would give up sex and love, but he couldn’t give up on family. Greyson had taught him that.
“I’ll bring him home.”
Emma saw the victory in this.
They wouldn’t be leaving Las Vegas. If Dimitri healed this rift, as only brothers could, they would stay.
This one had been won.
Only, he had to hurry.
Time was of the essence.
“He’s getting ready to leave. Hurry up,” she said. “Katerina will handle the kids with the new nanny. Just go. Poppy needs you. Don’t give up on her. Fight, Dimitri. Fight.”
Yeah, and Greyson did too.
It lit a fire under him.
Dimitri knew what he had to do.
Fix his mess.
Heal his heart.
Find the girl.
BE THE HERO FOR A CHANGE.
Oh, he would.
This was yet another miracle, and he wouldn’t let it go. He couldn’t.
You didn’t often get one—let alone two.
The Crofts had given him that.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
Parking Garage
Greyson was in his gear and ready to head out to handle this mess. He’d changed into cargo pants and grabbed some camouflage gear just in case they needed it on the mountain.
He was ready for the worst-case scenario.
Whatever went down, he’d be prepared. It was like being back in the military.
Been there.
Done that.
He was willing to do anything to finish this up.
Even taking a life.
That meant getting up high and taking out a hired gun. He was three-days past caring about right or wrong.
This was about saving the ex-detective, delivering her to Dimitri, and walking away. Until he finished this, he wouldn’t be able to rest.
Greyson knew himself.
If he wanted a clean break, he had to leave on these terms. A soldier finished the job, and after all, wasn’t that what he was?
This was war, and he was ready to fight.
Yet, there were limits.
There had to be.
While he loved the man, he couldn’t hold up Dimitri too. It was a burden too heavy for him. Greyson was only one man, and he was tired.
“Are we ready?” he asked as they tried to covertly load the weapons and gear into the trunk of a car that Heath had ‘borrowed’. Curtis was helping him out from upstairs as he looped the same footage so there would be no evidence of what they were doing.
Just in case.
CYA.
ALWAYS.
“Yes, Mr. C. The ride will slip below the radar,” he stated as he saw his boss checking out the vehicle. “I went with nondescript.”
Well, that was good—not like it mattered. Greyson wasn’t asking questions.
Where Heath did his ‘car shopping’ was none of his business. All he hoped was they didn’t get caught.
If a cop looked inside the trunk…
Yeah, they had an issue.
Well, not them, but the cop.
Heath would definitely kill anyone at this point. He was well aware of that.
All of the killing…
Then again, that was the story of his life. So, of course, he’d save a cop only to have to kill one. Why would fate make his life any easier?
Yeah, that wouldn’t happen.
Greyson, as of late, had shitty luck, and he was blaming it on Sin City.
The only good thing about the parking garage was that it was hidden from the media who were always lurking outside the building, and it also was only filled with family vehicles.
They should be safe from wandering eyes, coming and going in the parking garage.
Once the Crofts moved back to Sky Villa, people began selling off their condos like rats abandoning a ship. There weren’t many people willing to buy them, so they’d bought up quite a few. Still, they had some ‘outsiders’ living there, but they left them alone.
Which worked for them.
Out of sight.
Out of mind.
Owning the top seven floors had made it easier for Heath to do his job—and for the Crofts to stay safe.
What Greyson had originally wanted was for the owner of the building to just sell them the building. Now, he was glad he’d not pushed the issue.
They wouldn’t need it.
When Heath began talking to him, it snapped Greyson back to reality.
“Pardon?” he asked.
“I have your special gun,” he said, patting the case of the Barrett M-eighty-two. “She’s brand-new and ready to go. I shined her up.”
“Uh, shining in the distance is bad, Heath.”
“It was a figure of speech for ‘I lovingly talked to her so she gets the job done’.”
He laughed.
“You’re insane.”
“You don’t say?” he asked, pointing at the trunk of guns. “I wonder where you came up with that conclusion. For the record, Elizabeth always says cuckoos like company,” he offered, pointing at Greyson.
That was amusing.
He was aware.
Greyson patted him on the back.
“No clue, son. No damn clue,” he offered, leaving the last part off. Yeah, he was in damn good company. Greyson was glad to have Heath with him on this. The man was invaluable and a great asset to their family.
And loyal.
That was a HUGE perk.
While he might not need his gun, at least the man had the fortitude to bring one that would do the job.
“Are you really leaving?” Heath asked.
“Yes.”
“Can I come with you?”
Greyson looked over at the man.
“Why would you want to do that?” he asked.
“I don’t have a family, Mr. C. I mean, I could go back to Washington, but I really dig working for you. Mrs. C is an angel. I love her to pieces.”
“I’m hoping for a low-key life.”
“You’re rich. You’ll always need security. Let me come.”
He had a point.
Greyson suspected everyone would be coming. He knew his family. Well, everyone but Dimitri. The man hated his guts.
“Deal, son. You’re family. You’re invited.”
Greyson knew he couldn’t leave Chris behind either. He was sure the man would be riding shotgun.
Heath grinned and tossed the gun into the trunk.
“You have our other gear?” he asked.
“Yeah, Mr. C. We have provisions, but we should be okay to get in by tonight and out in the morning. I worked the distance and mountain range
into the plan. We can get in, and we can get out if we do this right.”
Yeah, if no one came at them.
That was what he was not saying, but it was a distinct possibility. They didn’t know how much of a head start they had on Claude Black. For all they knew, it could be zero.
That would be bad.
“I want to have her back here and to Dimitri by then. Leaving Emma alone doesn’t make me happy—especially if she’s going to start digging into Zachary Lipton’s life. That makes me all kinds of nervous.”
Yeah, Heath too.
“Plus, call me crazy, but Nikita Petrova is something.”
Heath laughed that laugh that said it all. It was filled with masculine approval.
“Yeah, I know.”
Greyson heard it.
Since Heath had his back, he’d have his.
“Tread lightly there, son. She’s a two-headed cobra in a nest lined with razor blades. Someone’s going to get bit or bleed to death.”
He knew, and that was what made her even more alluring. Heath liked a challenge. He liked a woman who would give him something to work for and make him sweat.
Call him a masochist, but he had a type.
She was beyond it.
“She’s spicy. I like that.”
He laughed.
He knew what that was like. Emma was just as spicy when they met.
“Let’s roll,” he stated.
Greyson waited for Heath to close the trunk, and they were about to get into the ride and head out.
That’s when he heard him.
“Holdup!”
Greyson turned.
Heading their way was Dimitri. He had a go-bag slung over his shoulder and his own case with a gun.
Yeah, what the hot Hell was this?
Then, it hit him.
Now Greyson knew where his wife had wandered off to, and it was clear why.
She’d told the man what was going on.
Great.
“What do you want?” Greyson asked as Heath, protectively, placed himself in front of him.
“I’m coming,” Dimitri stated.
“Mr. C?” he asked, waiting for his boss to give him the okay.
Greyson hesitated.
This was likely going to be hard enough. He didn’t need to worry that Dimitri would turn on him.
Again.
He was about to tell him to pound sand.
He would deserve it.
No Justice_A Croft Mob Family Book Page 11
