For once, someone had caught him off guard.
BIG-TIME.
Ten Minutes Earlier…
Poppy was having fun.
She had the kids sitting at the island, and they were talking as she cooked. She’d even given Petra a plastic knife and a potato to help play cook with her. Poppy recalled her grandmother doing that for her and her sister when they were Petra’s age.
The little girl was all smiles, and she was a darling little kid. She was gentle and sweet, despite what she’d lived through, and that was a testament to the human spirit.
It gave her hope.
If Petra, who had been sexually assaulted by adults, sold by the people who ‘bought’ her, and neglected could bounce back, so could she.
Love could heal anything.
She was sure of it.
Only, Petra wasn’t the only one who gave her strength. Sam did too.
He was a damn good kid. He’d had a rough life, and she could see the emotional scars. Only, he didn’t let it hold him back from happiness.
He fought for it.
You could learn a lot from children. They were the most resilient creatures on Earth.
When he showed her love and wanted to help, she was helpless to his charm.
She let him make a salad.
Why?
He might not be Dimitri’s biologically, but he’d mastered that Gideon charm. She was wrapped around his little finger.
“I’m hungry,” Sam said, eyeing up the candy on the counter.
“If you go for that, I will beat you to it,” she stated, “and shove it down the disposal.”
He laughed.
“Babe, a man has to eat.”
“Do you shave yet?” Poppy asked.
“Uh, no.”
“Then you’re not a man. Nice try, kiddo, but you have a few years before that will work. Get some chin hair and we’ll talk.”
He liked her.
Sam could tell she was kind and that was important in a person. She’d helped him with his homework, and she’d played dress up with Petra.
There wasn’t a mean bone in her body.
Like Emma.
Sam was comfortable around her.
“So, where did you go the last three months?” he asked. “Did you and my dad breakup?” Sam asked, trying to get the details. His father had been closed lipped about all of it.
Only, Sam knew something had happened.
He could tell.
She stopped stirring the pot.
He watched her.
“I know something is going on,” he admitted. “I can tell. What aren’t you and my dad telling me? You can trust me. I can keep a secret.”
It wasn’t about it being a secret. It was about how much did he understand about sexual assault.
After all, he was a boy.
“Did you leave because of me?” Sam asked, that fear appearing in his voice.
There were those emotional scars, and once you got to know him, you saw them as clear as day.
“No, Sam. It didn’t have anything to do with you. I promise.”
That wasn’t good enough for him.
Sam kept digging.
“Then why? My dad is a good guy. I know he comes across all broody and dickish,” he began.
“Sam, not in front of your sister.”
“Okay, PENIS-ISH.”
She sighed.
This boy was a handful. She wanted to laugh, but that would be rewarding questionable behavior.
Poppy knew better.
“But he really digs you,” Sam said, continuing to push. “I’ve never seen him with another babe. You rock his world.”
Tears filled her eyes.
Sam’s eyes got huge.
“I’m sorry! Don’t cry! I’ll shut up! Please don’t leave again! He was sad without you! I’ll be good!”
She wiped her eyes.
If she didn’t tell him, he’d think it was because of him, and no child should carry that.
“I didn’t leave because of him, you, or Petra,” she stated, trying to figure out how to do this.
“You can tell me, Poppy. I promise I can handle it.”
She hoped so.
Poppy was between a rock and a hard place. Well, here went nothing.
“We were chasing that serial killer.”
“The one who killed your mom and sister?” he asked.
Clearly, the walls had ears.
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
“I was assaulted.”
“My foster father broke my arm. Like that? I would have signed your cast. You didn’t have to stay away.”
Well, she had no choice.
“I was raped, Sam.”
His eyes showed so much mercy that it undid her. He hopped off the stool and came around the counter to her. When he reached her, he hugged her tight.
That was exactly what she needed.
That hug…it meant the world to her. That hug undid that fear in her that she’d always be made to feel like she was broken. From a child, she’d received that understanding, and it healed something in her.
“I’m sorry, Poppy. I’m sorry some asshole hurt you like that. You didn’t have to leave. I would have kept you safe.”
Oh, in that moment, Poppy fell in love.
Sam had stolen her heart.
“I know you would have, Sam, but I was scared. The man who pointed him at me said he would hurt all of you. I couldn’t let that happen. I would die if you or Petra were hurt.”
He kept hugging her.
“Don’t leave again. If you stay, I’ll keep an eye on you. I’m going to take over for my dad one day. I’ll fight for you.”
She gave him a kiss on the top of his head. Before she knew it, Petra was heading her way, tugging on her apron.
She picked her up.
In all of her life, she never wanted kids.
Now she realized why.
She was waiting for these two.
She genuinely loved them—and their father.
“I won’t leave again. I promise. I was scared, but when I was away, it was worse. I shouldn’t have left. It made your dad upset, and I hurt him.”
Sam smiled at her.
“He’s a softie. You can fix it.”
“I’m trying,” she stated.
Sam could tell. Dimitri always told him if you did something shitty, you fixed it. That was the most important part—other than apologizing.
Poppy was trying, and that mattered most.
He went back to his seat and she held out her hand for the absconded candy bar.
Sam sighed.
“Babe, do you have eyeballs in the back of that skull? I didn’t make a peep. The wrapper didn’t even rustle.”
She laughed as he handed her the candy.
“No, but I know you. Rule one, Sam, is to always know your opponent. You are weak around candy.”
He smiled.
“If you stay, I’ll be good.”
“Sam, you’re already the best,” she said, putting Petra back in her seat and handing her a carrot to butcher.
They heard the door opening, and Poppy braced for it. She was smiling and trying to put on a brave face for Dimitri and his kids.
When Dimitri came in, he was clearly shocked by what he saw.
The look on his face said it all.
“Uh, something smells good,” he said, once he’d regained his composure.
He was trying to figure out what was going on. He was going to order pizza, feed the kids, and sit down to talk to Poppy. He wanted to give her another chance, and he was willing to discuss it like an adult.
“I made dinner for the family,” she stated.
Yeah, he could see that.
Their table was set, and she was keeping his kids occupied. This was…odd.
At one time, Poppy had told him she never thought about having kids. Now she was playing mommy?
The family?
And cooking
?
This smelled like one hell of a set up to him.
“I made stuffed cabbage rolls and pelmeni,” she said, lifting the lid off the borrowed pot.
They were two of his favorite Russian foods. Now, he knew without a shadow of a doubt, she was up to something.
There was no way this was genuine.
That pissed him off.
Dimitri hated games.
“Go wash up,” Dimitri said. Sam and Petra obeyed, heading toward their bathroom to get ready for dinner.
Dimitri saw that they had been doing homework and she was letting Petra play.
Okay.
Someone was buttering him up.
It was time to call her on it.
“What are you trying to do? What is this?” he asked, suspiciously.
She was caught off guard.
“Nothing. I made dinner. We all had to eat, right?” she asked, trying not to get upset.
“Russian food? Really. What do you want?”
That hurt.
Did he think he had the exclusive rights to being Russian? How many times had she mentioned her grandmother was Russian? It was her heritage too.
This food gave her comfort.
“Dimitri, I don’t want anything. I was just making dinner,” she offered.
Clearly, the way to forgiveness wasn’t through the man’s stomach.
Of course not.
Why would her life be easy?
He stared at her.
Until she tried to bullshit him, he’d wanted to try. Until she tried to scam him by being nice to his kids, he wanted to give her a second chance.
Now?
No.
“Right, Poppy. Right. You should go. I don’t think you should stay here. This was too much.”
Her heart sank.
And broke.
Only, Poppy didn’t have the energy to do battle. She couldn’t fight him. If he wanted her gone, so be it.
“Okay, Dimitri. That’s okay. I wasn’t hungry anyway,” she offered, trying not to cry. “I’ll go.”
And there it was.
The end.
Poppy had lost the fight.
Chapter Ten
D imitri watched her leave. His heart hurt being mean, but he wasn’t going to let his kids be used as a pawn. Poppy was lucky he didn’t put a bullet in her. There were lines, and she’d crossed it. Anything he’d felt for her was gone in that moment. Sam and Petra weren’t a game.
She couldn’t pretend to like them, play mommy, and expect him to swallow it.
He knew what would happen.
The game would get old.
Then she’d run.
Look at his sham first marriage. Anastasia didn’t love him. She’d turned him into Nikita. Now he’d pined away for a woman for three months, and she was yanking his chain.
Enough was enough.
As Sam returned, Petra following, he was looking for her. He scanned the room.
“Where’s the babe?” he asked. “She didn’t run away again, did she?” he asked.
Well, that said it all.
“Sam, we don’t call women babes,” he offered. Yeah, and especially one who would stoop so low.
Sam got it.
“Okay, okay! Where’s Poppy? We were going to eat the food, and I’m starving.”
He would order pizza and feed his kids. He didn’t need her kissing ass with food.
“Poppy is packing,”
Sam looked worried.
“Why? What did I do?”
This was exactly why he didn’t like this situation. Sam was blaming himself when it was his fault.
Oh, and hers.
“Nothing, son. She isn’t staying here anymore. She’s moving on. It wasn’t meant to be.”
Yeah, he’d screwed-up and chosen wrong again.
Sam didn’t give up. He told Poppy he’d fight for her, and he would. She had to stay.
They were a family.
“But she cooked the food her grandmother taught her to make. She said it made her feel safe like she did long ago.”
That had his attention.
“What?”
“Poppy said food was love. She said her grandmother would cook those things for her when her mother would dump her off there so she could see men. She said she would make her those things to heal her heart,” he stated, pointing at the kitchen. “When she was scared that she’d never come back, her grandmother occupied her with how to make them.”
Oh, shit.
Dimitri got that feeling in his gut like he’d really done something stupid.
Uh, that didn’t sound like something a person would tell kids when she was playing them to get to him. That sounded like someone who was hurting and trying to survive.
Like he had.
Like Sam had.
Like Petra had.
It was time to dig. Clearly, Sam knew a lot more than he did about Poppy.
“What else did she say?”
“That she was sorry she hurt all of us by leaving. She told me that the man who wanted to hurt her threatened to come after you and then us.”
Jesus.
She hadn’t told him that. He’d assumed he’d threatened her, and she ran.
What the hell had he done? If that was true, she’d been protecting him, and his kids.
Oh, Christ!
This was a mess.
Dimitri had jumped the gun. The worst part? He never did that. He knew sometimes things didn’t look like what they were. He judged her.
“She cried. I think she’s really broken inside, Dad, like I was, and like Petra was. She needs us. We have to put Poppy back together again. She’s meant to be with us.”
Christ.
Dimitri felt like an asshole.
“Sit down at the counter, and I’ll go talk to her,” he said, knowing he needed to fix this.
IF he could fix this. He’d just kicked a victim out of the ONLY safe place she knew.
Dimitri had made a huge mess.
“Dad, don’t be hard on her. She’s sad. Poppy is a good person. I can tell.”
From the mouths of babes.
And he was a horrible human being.
That was clear.
Anger had ruined this, too, the same anger he vowed he’d get under control.
Well, he was an idiot.
First, he jeopardized Greyson and his family, and now he did this to Poppy. He’d lashed out, been an asshole, and damaged her.
It was time to make it right.
Hopefully.
She had never been more humiliated and hurt by someone in all her life, and that was saying a lot. She’d been sexually assaulted by a crazy.
Now she got it.
Oddly, it all made sense.
When she’d left, he’d felt hurt like this, and this was Dimitri’s way of paying her back. He found her, dragged her back, and then tried to make her suffer like he had. This was his way of getting revenge.
Well, he’d succeeded.
She had nowhere else to go.
He knew it.
She was at his mercy, and that made his payback even better for him, and worse for her.
Well, she didn’t have anything left to live for anyway. Let Jeffrey Raye win. Poppy was packing it in.
This hurt way too much. There was no way she could keep doing this day in and out.
She’d made a mistake, but she was trying. This wasn’t easy on her either. Her whole life was gone. She’d lost her job, she’d been raped, and now this.
She lost Dimitri and his kids.
Damn him.
Damn the universe.
Poppy wiped her eyes on her sleeve as she packed her things. All she had left was one bag.
One.
Measly.
Bag.
Poppy wanted to cry rivers of tears, but she couldn’t. She’d go back to being a cop. She had enough money left to rent an apartment. Tomorrow, she’d go beg for her job, and go back to work even though she was wearing a
target.
Was she ready to go back?
No.
Did she have a choice?
No.
If Jeffrey Raye killed her, so be it. She’d go down on her own accord, and without being someone’s emotional punching bag.
Poppy could only handle so much.
This was the end of it.
At the knock on the door, she didn’t stop packing her things. In fact, she kept going to keep herself busy. She didn’t even stop to acknowledge him being there.
She knew it was him.
Dimitri would come to finish her off.
When the door opened behind her, she gave him what he wanted. Dimitri won. She’d lost.
“I’ll be gone in a few minutes. I don’t have much to pack,” she said, tears dripping onto her bag as she fought not to sob in front of him.
Dimitri felt like the biggest asshole. That had been happening a lot lately.
“Poppy, I’m sorry.”
It was too late.
There was nothing left here. She could see that. She left, trying to protect them, and because she was afraid, and he was going to crucify her over it.
She couldn't change it.
She couldn’t undo it.
All Poppy could do was try to rectify it, but he wouldn’t let her. Dimitri was hell-bent on making her pay.
So, all Poppy could do was leave.
It was time to walk away. She was doing the walk of shame, but for worse reasons.
She’d fallen in love, made a mistake, and was now nothing to him.
“Don’t worry about it, Dimitri. It’s fine. I left, and you’ll never forgive me. I was trying to make this better. I can see you’ll never cut me a break. I’m the enemy. I get it.”
He hated he’d done this.
He’d kicked her when she was down. She didn’t leave again today, and she was only trying to make a family dinner to offer him an olive branch.
And find peace for herself in a meal.
Regretfully, he’d overreacted, and he’d slapped that down.
“I’m almost done. I need to find somewhere else to go. I get this hurt you,” she stated. “I get that I left you and that damaged you, but I was damaged too.”
The anger was there.
Poppy was ready to snap too.
Dimitri needed her to stay and talk.
He wondered why she didn’t just tell him that Jeffrey Raye had threatened his kids. He wondered why she didn’t just tell him that. That changed everything.
No Justice_A Croft Mob Family Book Page 35
