“Pardon?” Ilan asked.
“Miss Wayne was just attacked in her home! Where the hell are you?”
The man’s face said it all.
He hadn’t known.
“Sir, I followed her all day. She arrived home twenty minutes ago, went in, and I’m sitting in the parking lot. No one came out the door.”
“Go check the windows!”
He hung up.
“Relax,” Chris said. “You’re freaked out. I’ve never seen you like this. It’s okay. She’s okay.”
Yeah, but she almost wasn’t.
That was the point.
No one had ever made him feel before.
EVER.
Poppy was the first person who had ever given him those feelings, and he didn’t want to lose them—or her. She was special, and he knew it.
“I now know how Greyson feels all the damn time when Emma is in danger,” he muttered.
Croft would have laughed had this been a better time. This fear was the story of his life.
“Uh, what am I missing?” Chris asked. “You’re a little over the edge for just a cop. In fact, that’s weird. You dislike cops.”
It was time to let the other man in on it.
Chris didn’t know what was going on with Poppy. He’d been MIA and mourning Natasha’s death. Dimitri hadn’t confided in him. Chris figured she was just the cop.
“She saved my life. She’s more than just a cop. She saved Sam too. I owe her everything.”
Yeah, and he wanted to give her his heart. Dimitri knew she was likely the one.
“Oh,” Chris stated. “Someone should tell me what went down. I’m in the dark here, and that makes it hard for me to do my job.”
He was right.
Dimitri drove like a bat out of Hell and told him everything.
“On the mountain, she kept me warm and kept me alive. Then she got me off the mountain. She’s the one who killed Viktor. She saved Sam by following him.”
Chris understood that part, but this was irrational, a man in love, behavior.
He knew.
“What aren’t you saying?”
Greyson began making kissing sounds from the back seat. Chris stared at him like he was batshit insane.
“He was making out with the woman. He’s got it bad for this cop.”
Chris laughed.
“Oh, that’s priceless.”
Dimitri was well aware.
“And he was making out with her a few times IN a church too.”
Chris gasped for dramatic emphasis.
“It was a chapel.”
He gasped again.
Greyson laughed at that. The best way to defuse fear was humor. Chris was trying to calm him down. They all knew a riled-up Dimitri was a shitstorm in the making. You didn’t piss off a Russian killer by fucking with the woman he wanted.
That was dangerous.
“Say it ain’t so,” Chris teased. “You were swapping spit with the sexy detective. I may ask her out.”
He growled.
“Chris, love yourself,” Greyson stated.
He knew the man wouldn’t. Chris and Dimitri rode each other’s asses on a daily basis. Chris would use this to torment him and defuse the situation.
“It looks like someone’s days of ‘loving himself’ are just about over,” he stated.
“I hate you,” Dimitri stated.
Chris snorted.
Then made kissy sounds.
“Seriously? Now, Chris? Do you have a death wish?” Greyson asked.
Chris laughed.
He knew Dimitri would never hurt him. Since Natasha’s death, Dimitri had been wearing kid gloves. He appreciated that, so he’d do his best to help him through this.
“Well, my day just got infinitely brighter by this new information. I heard from Emma that she saved you and Sam at Terrace Glen, but this…”
He glanced over, and his face said it all.
He wasn’t pissed.
Dimitri was suffering. There was that bleakness and pain in his eyes. He recognized it.
This changed everything.
Chris stopped laughing.
“You genuinely like her.”
“She wants nothing to do with me. Until this call, she has been avoiding me.”
Greyson explained the box, the date request, and the turndown that he’d overheard.
“Oh. So, what were you planning to do?”
“Go after Raye and wait until she was safe. Then I was going to ask her out for a drink. AGAIN.”
Chris stared out the window.
“What?” Dimitri asked, taking another corner practically on two wheels.
“You have nothing to worry about, Dimitri. She’s into you. That’s clear.”
“How does everyone know this but me?” he asked.
Chris explained, “She called you. So, I’m going to say that she’s waiting for the commissioner to go down, and once he does, it will happen. She reached out to you, Dimitri. That says it all. Have faith.”
It calmed him down.
Then it stirred him right back up.
“I’m going to eviscerate the asshole for attacking her!” he said, as they pulled into the complex where Poppy lived. They saw Ilan waiting.
The car was barely off before Dimitri was out of the driver’s seat.
“What did you find?”
“Someone left the bedroom window open, so it’s safe to say that’s how he got out. I’m telling you that NO ONE came out that door,” he said, pointing at it.
From where they stood, by Ilan’s vehicle, they could see the doorway. He would have seen it.
“The window is most logical,” he said, “It’s in the back by the trees. Whoever did this used the fire escape. I didn’t get too close. She’s armed. I didn’t want to get shot in the face or scare her.”
That was all he had to hear. Dimitri ran toward the building.
Chris took the security guy and headed toward the woods. They’d see what they could find. Greyson followed Dimitri, knowing he’d need backup.
He was a mess.
When he got to the door, Dimitri was banging on it like some freaking lunatic. They were already the media’s favorite bitches.
They didn’t need more screen time.
“Making a scene,” he hissed.
Before Dimitri could say anything, the door opened, and Poppy was there. She was wet, in a robe, and shaking. She was also holding her gun.
“I’m okay. I’m sorry I bothered you. I’m good,” she said. “You shouldn’t be here. The commissioner…”
She didn’t get to finish. Dimitri headed in and pulled her against his body.
She clung to him.
“Do you need a doctor?” he asked, holding her tightly to his chest. “I’ll get you one. I’ll get you anything you need.”
“I’m just scratched up,” she whispered.
Dimitri wanted to kill.
Poppy was shaking, and that told them everything. She was tough, and this had scared her stupid.
Yeah, him too.
“What happened?” Greyson asked Poppy as he entered her home and closed the door behind him. They needed to have privacy.
“I came home, I put away my gun, and I jumped in the shower. I was washing my hair when he jumped me.”
“Who was it?”
“I couldn’t see him. I was washing my hair. I tried to see him, but my eyes were full of soap and water.”
She held out the rope.
“He used this.”
Greyson saw the look on Dimitri’s face. He was about to blow. He knew that feeling.
“Did he…did he sexually assault you?” Dimitri asked, trying to stay calm.
Greyson knew how hard it was for Dimitri to ask that. Somehow, he managed. Kudos to him. He wouldn't have been as magnanimously calm.
“No. I’m scared. I thought the commissioner did this,” she whispered, still shaking. “Now I’m not so sure.”
They didn’t under
stand.
“What do you mean?” he asked.
She stared up at him, and he gently touched a scratch on her cheek. That one mark made him want to kill. The fact that some asshole used a rope…
Dimitri was seconds from losing it.
“He said some things.”
“Like?” Greyson asked.
“I’ll have to show you.”
Greyson cleared his throat.
“Dimitri, you need to let her go. She can’t walk with you attached to the front of her like a conjoined twin.”
He realized that he was staring into her eyes, and gently set her free.
“Sorry,” he muttered.
Poppy took his hand. He hadn’t offered it, but she needed that connection. She was terrified.
“Lead the way,” Greyson offered.
She led them through the small apartment, and toward the bedroom. When Dimitri saw what she needed to show them, he nearly shit himself.
Someone was going to die.
“I didn’t do that,” she said, pointing at the bed, the roses, and the sick and twisted way it was laid out like some offering to a lover. “It wasn’t there when I went into the shower.”
Dimitri pulled her back against his body.
For a few seconds, she clung to him.
“It’s okay,” he reassured softly in her ear. “It will be fine. I promise.”
She wanted to believe that, but the rose petals weren’t the worst part. Poppy couldn’t believe this part herself.
“It’s not,” she said. Reluctantly, Poppy pulled away from him and went to the nightstand beside her bed. She opened the drawer and pulled out a file. She handed it to Greyson and actually went back against Dimitri.
Immediately, he held her.
“What is it?” Dimitri asked.
Greyson looked up.
“It’s the file on her mother and sister’s murder. I just don’t know what you’re trying to tell me, Poppy,” Greyson stated.
“Look at page four.”
He went there, and he looked at the bed. The pictures matched up. The crime scene photos from her mother and sister’s murder had one-bed shot.
It was exact—right down to the scrawling of ‘you’re mine’ on the wall above the bed.
Uh oh.
Greyson glanced up. Dimitri was really going to lose his shit now. They had a bigger problem than Commissioner Raye.
“I don’t think the commissioner had anything to do with this,” Greyson stated.
“Why?” he asked.
He showed him.
Dimitri released Poppy and took the file. As soon as he saw it, he began cursing loudly in Russian.
Greyson and Poppy understood almost everything he said, and it was NOT pretty.
Hell!
Half of Vegas heard him freaking out.
Poppy didn’t want him in danger. She didn’t want him to get hurt. Her whole intent of staying away from him had been to keep him safe. Dimitri had been through enough. She wanted to protect him.
“I’m okay,” she said. “I’ll lock the window, clean this up, and I’ll be okay,” she said. “You should go home. I’m sorry I pulled you into this.”
Oh, they didn’t think so.
That was definitely not going to happen. They weren’t bailing on Poppy.
“Over my dead body,” Dimitri stated.
The second she heard that the tears came. Poppy couldn’t hold them back. Unfortunately, she was worried about exactly that.
She headed toward the wall, leaned against it, and then slid down to sit on the floor.
She looked so vulnerable.
“I’ll go see what I can find,” Greyson said, giving the woman privacy, and Dimitri time to help her.
As soon as they were alone, Dimitri joined her and draped his arm over her shoulder.
“He called me her name, Dimitri. He called me Eloise. That was my mother’s name.”
He let her talk.
“I’ve never been so scared in my life,” she said, not looking up. She couldn’t do it.
“I didn’t know who to call. I’m sorry.”
He lifted her chin.
“I was scared once. Then this angel of mercy rode in and saved me. When my brother was pointing that gun at me, I was fine. I was good with dying and meeting my maker. When I thought Sam was dead, I was so scared. Then you saved me. Let me save you, Poppy.”
She stared at him.
Poppy knew he was offering her that choice.
“Please save me, Dimitri.”
He held her as she cried. He understood why she was so scared. She lived with the memories of her past, but they had been just that.
Memories.
Now it had become real. Too real.
“We’ll get you somewhere safe.”
“I’ll be okay,” she said, sniffling. “I can stay here. I know how to defend myself.”
Yeah, that wasn’t happening.
Not on his watch.
Only, he knew he had to convince her.
Gently, Dimitri lifted her chin again, but this time, he brought his mouth to hers in a soft kiss. She didn’t fight. Instead, she let him lead. She let him soothe her.
That light touch of lips to lips threw his world upside down. He was right. She was the one. He’d never felt this before. Emma had called this one.
This woman was going to one day be his wife.
Dimitri could feel it to the depths of his cold, dead soul. She breathed life into him.
She was going to be the woman he made his for the rest of his life. Only, they had a ton of hurdles in the way.
He had kids.
He was a killer.
She was a cop.
Someone wanted her dead.
In that minute, he silently vowed to fight for her. Poppy Wayne was worth it.
When he set her mouth free, she was steadier. Unfortunately, he was not. That light kiss was enough to make him want so much more. He hadn’t thought about women the last few weeks. After Marissa Pierce had destroyed him and made him feel worthless, he’d assumed that part of him was dead.
Oh, it wasn’t dead.
He was very much alive.
That need, want, and lust was there, reminding him that he was very much a man and she was definitely a woman. He could see the soft swell of her breasts in the opening of her robe, and it took all he had to look away.
She was a lady.
She’d be treated like one if it killed him.
For now, he needed to switch focus. A nearly naked Poppy was too much for him to handle. His nerves were already frayed.
“How badly are you scratched up?” he asked, trying to focus on her injuries.
She lifted her head and pulled her robe open even more, and Dimitri was struggling to keep his face neutral. It wasn’t easy. Now he saw more lovely curves that he desperately wanted to touch.
Jesus.
It was a damn bad time to get his libido back.
“My back is scratched up too.”
He was going to hate to do this. It was going to kill him, and he knew it.
“Let me see your back.”
Poppy untucked herself from his body and turned to face the wall. Carefully, she held her robe in front of her breasts, but let it drop off of her shoulders.
Dimitri stared at her back and the claw marks all over it. She was more than ‘a little’ scratched up.
Then he saw it.
There, on her back, was a sweet butterfly tattoo. It stole his breath. He’d once called Marissa Pierce his butterfly, but he’d been so very wrong.
This was the universe confirming it.
His heart was meant for her.
Gently, he ran his finger over it.
“Babochka.”
She glanced over her shoulder at him as soon as he said it. “My grandmother called me her butterfly. When I was old enough to get a tattoo, I did.”
His heart skipped.
“In Russian lore, the butterfly was a witch. S
he would float around doing good deeds, and sometimes stealing the hearts of men in the process,” he stated.
She laughed.
“Well, my grandmother told me I was bold and wicked, so that fits. I was a tough little kid to handle. I always asked a lot of questions and got into trouble.”
Jesus.
He’d been waiting for this woman forever. Here was more proof.
“How bad is my back?” she asked.
That was enough to finally get his attention.
“Well, you’re ripped up. We’ll get those cleaned up. There’s some blood.”
She nodded.
“I fought hard.”
Oh, he was grateful for that. From here on out, he’d fight hard for her.
“I need you to pack a big suitcase. Take everything you’ll need for a few days.”
“Where am I going?” she asked. “I don’t have anywhere to go. This is my home.”
He almost said his condo.
His bed.
Only there were two kids there, and he couldn't risk them. While he was sure about her, she didn’t know much about his children. Yes, she saved Sam, but she was a cop. That was what they were supposed to do.
Shit.
He tried to behave like a gentleman, and that meant not thinking about his libido. Dimitri knew he’d only get one shot at Poppy. He’d only get one chance to get to know her.
So, he had to be careful. While he trusted her, his fate was in her hands, and he knew it. She knew he killed people, but she didn’t know the scope of what he’d done.
He’d killed Mace Bristol in cold blood to avenge the people he loved.
That would be a turning point, and he knew it. Once she knew, everything was in her hands.
With Marissa, he used sex to build a gap between them. He knew instinctually that he couldn’t do that with Poppy. What they could have would be too important to go that route.
He’d get one chance to make a first impression.
He’d get one shot at this woman.
Already, the odds weren’t in his favor, so he needed all the help he could possibly get at this point.
“I’ll take you to the hotel. We have a penthouse there. It’ll be a safe place for you. The family is at Sky Villa, so it’s not being used.”
She was disappointed.
That was NOT where she wanted to rest her head. Poppy wanted to cuddle up with this man. She was drawn to him, and now he was dropping her at a hotel.
Poppy realized that he might not feel anything toward her. After all, he’d asked her out for drinks, and she never took him up on the offer. Maybe he moved on.
Mob Justice Page 13
