He was tired of surprises.
When the door opened, he’d been wrong.
The surprises kept on coming.
There stood a rail thin black man in heels. Half his face was painted, and he was in underwear.
Not his underwear, but a woman’s.
Only in Vegas.
Why was he shocked?
“Yes, can I help you?”
“Daniel McNally?” Croft asked, hoping they had the wrong address.
“Yes, that’s me. Wait a minute, you’re Greyson Croft! I’ve been trying to get in to see you for weeks!”
“Uh, why? Did you break the law?”
“I want to audition for one of your shows. ‘A Night in Transvestvainia.”
He was going to kill someone, if not himself.
Surely, that wasn’t a real show.
Then again…
He was wearing women’s underwear.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know what you’re talking about? I’m guessing my wife and I own that show?”
Dan led them in. “It’s about three men who go to this castle and they become…women!” he said, singing the last word.
“Dimitri, did Randall have a transvestite musical?” he asked.
“Yep, and now it’s allllllllll yours.”
Apparently, Dimitri was having a good time.
He was going to kill Dante.
“If I make time for you to personally interview with my brother, who runs things, will you talk to us as Daniel?”
He kicked off the heels. “Hell! I’ll talk to you about my dead grandmother, Ethel.”
“We’re here about Lucilla Rosetta.”
He blotted a non-existent tear. “We worked together. She bailed, leaving me this rent. Her boyfriend used to pay it.”
“Dominic Marianna?”
“No clue. She was dating someone with money. We didn't pay jack shit here.”
Greyson pulled out his phone and called Tessa. When she answered, he could hear typing in the background. His people were working.
“I need you to find out who owns this place,” he said, rattling off the address. “Then I need you to find out who paid the rent up to the day Lucilla disappeared.”
“Gotcha, boss.”
Croft hung up.
“Okay, what else can you tell us about that night?” he asked Daniel.
“She was my bestie, and she went out and I never saw her again. That’s all I can tell you.”
“Did she ever hang out with Marianna?”
“No way. We couldn’t get in to see him. She went once, and was turned away. No one gets past his lawyer. The man is the boss behind the scenes.”
Yeah, they were aware.
Greyson stood. “Thank you for your help.”
“Do I still get that meeting with the man in charge? I really need to get into some serious acting roles. I could be a leading man!”
Greyson laughed. “Not only are you getting in to see him, I’m going to make him hire you.”
“You can do that?”
“Yes, I can.”
Daniel rushed him, kissing him on the mouth.
Dimitri laughed as Greyson tried to get away from the Amazon octopus in woman’s panties.
When he was finally free, Greyson could get mad, or have fun with it. “When you meet my brother, do that to him too. He’ll love it.”
“He’s the sexy one who looks like you, right?”
“Yeah, and he’s gay.”
“Yippee!”
They headed out. “You’re a dick. You just threw your brother under the transvestite bus.”
“Jealous?”
“Yeah. I want to see it go down. It would be fun to watch.”
Croft laughed as he texted his wife.
“She’s nearly at the Morgue. Let’s meet her there.”
“Anything you say, boss.”
He gave him the look. “Remember that.”
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
He’d given them nothing. After everything they did to his body, he’d die before Steele Bentley ratted them out.
Dominic hated people like that.
Integrity sucked.
“What do we do now, Dom?” the one man asked. “Should we dump him?”
“Are you sure he’s dead?” Marianna asked.
The man put his cigarette out on Steele’s leg. “There’s no way he wouldn’t flinch. He’s a doornail.”
“Good. Take his body to the outskirts of the city and dump him. Put him in a shallow grave—not too deep. We need the vultures to get him. I want his fag body eaten by the wildlife.”
They wrapped him up in the linens and carried him out to the trunk of their car.
“Well, Croft, you’re safe for now, but I will get into that house.”
Kenneth James just stood there.
“We need to find someone else to do the deed.”
He nervously took out his phone. “I’ll search for someone inside the police to do it. They’ll get inside. Money will buy a way in.”
“You have two million more. That’s it. I’ve already given you enough money to kill that asshole. If you don’t pull it off, you’re next!”
Kenneth headed out, got in his car, and began searching. He booked his flight, and knew it was time to go. When Greyson Croft found that body, Dominic was going down, and he didn't want anything to do with it.
At all.
He was in enough shit.
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
FBI LV
Morgue
When she got there, no one was working on Lucilla Rosetta. In fact, she was still in the bag. As Emma asked around, looking for Steele, she got that sick feeling.
She’d dropped him off almost four hours ago. She’d left him by the backdoor.
Pulling out her phone, she dialed her husband. She could hear his ringtone from outside the door. When he came in, he and Dimitri were smiling.
They saw her and stopped.
“What happened?” he asked, rushing to her side.
“I can’t find Steele.”
“You dropped him off, right?”
“I did. We used the backdoor. His team said they haven’t seen him since the dig site.”
That made him sick.
Pulling out his phone, he called his brother. “Call the house and see if he got a ride there,” he told Dimitri
When his brother answered, he sounded busy. “What’s up, Grey?”
“Is Steele with you?”
“No. I was going to grab lunch and head there in an hour. I figured we’d do a late one, since I knew he had an autopsy. Why?”
This was going to freak him out.
“We can’t find him.”
“WHAT?”
“We’re looking for him now. I’ll call you back. Don’t worry. I’m sure he’s fine.”
He lied.
He was pretty sure the man was anything but fine. There was no coincidence that he’d gone missing as Dominic was in the middle of his siege against his family.
He’d bet money on it.
“Grey!”
He hung up. It was a horrible thing to do, but every second counted.
“Let’s get to security.”
Dimitri called Katerina, sending her to babysit Dante. If he was going to head out, they needed him to be safe too.
As they stormed through the halls, it didn't take long to get to their destination. Once inside, he ordered the security team to pull up the outside of the building.
“When did you drop him off?”
“It had to be around nine. We weren’t at the crime scene long.”
They pulled up the footage.
That’s when they saw it.
Two men were waiting.
Then Steele walked up the stairs.
Greyson had them focus on the vehicle. He didn't want to think about what was going on, or how he caused this.
“Can you see the plate?”
“No.”
Shi
t!
“Oh, God!” Emma said, watching them beat Steele like he was nothing but a piece of trash.
Tears filled her eyes. “This is my fault. I should have escorted him into the building.”
They knew the truth.
“It’s not your fault,” Dimitri stated. “Had you gone with him up those stairs, they would have taken you both. Then we’d have twice the issue to deal with.”
“He’s right. This is Dominic’s fault—not ours.”
Then they watched him get dumped into the trunk of the vehicle.
Then he was gone.
Greyson closed his eyes.
“We’ll find him,” Dimitri offered. “Let’s head back to the house. Katerina will pick up Dante.”
“We’re not going to find him alive. If Dominic took him, he’s already dead.”
Emma knew.
“Oh, Grey,” she whispered.
Yeah, he felt the same way.
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
They were talking about his death.
He could hear them. Steele was wrapped in something, but he couldn’t move much. His whole body hurt, and he was in and out of consciousness.
He knew he was dying.
As he lay there on the ground, he knew he had one shot.
They’d untied his arms.
They left him his watch.
Moving slowly, not to give himself away, he pushed the stem in. As soon as he did, he was lifted from the ground and dumped into the shallow grave.
So, this was his fate.
At least he knew they’d find him before the vultures did. Being buried alive wasn’t how he thought he’d go.
As his body hit the ground, he could feel the shovelfuls of dirt being thrown over him. They covered his lower body first, and then his back. As the dirt rained down on the back of his head, he formed a little pocket to breathe.
It was his only chance.
As they tossed the last of the dirt onto his head, he closed his eyes and began counting. Maybe he had two minutes’ worth of air.
He only hoped they’d leave.
When he heard the tires squeal, he slid his one arm through the dirt to break the surface.
He could see the sun.
Even with his eyes closed, he could feel it touch his cheek.
‘Please hurry,’ he thought.
He wanted to see Dante.
He’d make it better.
He needed his fiancé.
God!
He needed his family.
They were almost home when Dimitri’s phone went off. He grabbed, and read the information.
“Your watch went off.”
“What?”
“The tracker is active. We are about five minutes away from it. It’s going off in the hills behind the house.”
Greyson whipped the Navigator around, nearly hitting three cars.
“Put in the coordinates,” he said, flooring it. “We’re getting there in less than that.”
When they were set, Emma leaned forward.
“Grey, hurry!”
Yeah, he had to.
Every second would count.
When they pulled up, they could see the tire tracks. All three jumped out, with no concern for themselves. Now it was all about Steele and finding him.
As they raced into the desert, Dimitri led the way. The tracker was strong.
“He’s here somewhere.”
They all looked around.
That’s when Emma saw the fresh dirt.
Then she saw fingers.
“He’s there!”
They all raced toward it, dropping to their knees. As the men began digging, Emma grabbed his hand. His fingers were so cold.
“Hurry!”
They worked fast, scooping the dirt off him.
When they hit his body, Greyson reached into the shallow grave to pull him out.
Steele was a mess.
He was bloody, battered, and damaged. They’d tortured him to the point he’d never be the same again.
“Steele, come on! It’s Greyson.”
Dimitri felt for a pulse.
“He’s alive, but barely. We have to get him to the hospital.”
They knew they’d get there before an ambulance got to them. They had to give Steele a fighting chance.
“You drive, Dimitri. Emma, call Dante and have him meet us there. Then call the hospital and tell them there’s a Fed coming in in critical condition and to be ready for us!”
He carried him to the Navigator and held him in his arms. The man’s head lolled back and forth. “Steele, open your eyes. Come on. Just once open your eyes for me.”
The man didn't obey.
He was dead weight, barely clinging to life.
Dimitri drove them there as fast as he could. The entire time, he knew the look on Greyson’s face. He knew what it meant.
The man was done.
This had been the final straw. As he held his brother’s damaged, naked fiancé in his arms, Croft was plotting Dominic Marianna’s death.
He’d seen that face a million times before. He’d seen it when he looked in the mirror, right before he did something illegal.
This wasn’t going to end with law and order. It was going to be the dark side of justice—revenge.
Emma made the calls.
“Dante and Katerina are heading there. He’s going to live.” She pulled off the jacket she was wearing and laid it over his naked torso to help keep him warm. Meanwhile, they cranked the heat in the navigator.
He was in shock.
As soon as it got unbearably warm, Steele’s teeth began chattering.
What was left of them.
He started crying.
In Greyson’s arms, the man started weeping like a child.
“Who did this, Steele?”
The voice came out barely a whisper. “Dominic.”
“Was he there?”
“Yes.”
They had him. They could do this through the courts. They were going to bury the man.
When Emma touched his arm, he flinched, trying to move further into Greyson’s body. She could see from the blood on his legs why he was afraid of touch.
Greyson did too.
They’d sodomized and ruined him.
This was a big fuck you to Greyson, and they all knew it. They destroyed the man so his brother would suffer too.
“We’re here.”
“Dante. I need Dante.”
“He’s coming, Steele,” Greyson said, carrying the man into the ER. As people stared, he didn't care. He stormed right behind the desk.
Emma pulled her badge. “I just called. He’s a Fed. He’s been tortured and buried alive. We need help, NOW!”
Greyson tried to put him on the gurney, but Steele wouldn’t let go.
“I’ll stay with you until Dante gets here.”
“He’s going to need surgery, sir. He’s got some damage that we need to fix.”
Greyson knew what he needed to do. “Put the IV in, and sedate him.”
Steele screamed for Dante.
“Shhhhh, I’m here, Steele. Dante is coming. I have you.”
“Make him pay. I’m never going to be the same. I’ve lost everything,” he whispered.
Greyson could do that.
And he would.
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
Tessa and Paris were chasing leads.
They’d heard what had happened, and they were sick about it. Now they needed to do this for Steele and Dante. There had to be something there.
As they pulled up Dominic Marianna’s financial records, using Dimitri’s computer, they saw lots of money being transferred.
Only, he was leaching more money out. Looking at the times, it was clear that the rat was transferring funds to accounts to make an escape.
Well, that wasn’t going to happen.
“Let’s see where the money goes,” Paris said, as Curtis came in.
“Still working?” he a
sked, yawning. “Where’s Kat?”
They told him what had happened.
“Holy shit! I have to get to the hospital to be with my family,” he said, pulling on his shoes.
Tessa stopped him. “You can’t. If he’s waiting for us to leave, he’ll grab one of us. Kat is safe. She’s bringing Dante to Steele.”
“What did he do to him?”
“He’s been sexually assaulted.”
“Oh, Jesus.”
Curtis knew that both Crofts were going to be on the edge. He couldn’t blame them.
“Okay, what can I do? Give me something to help you with so I can stay busy. We have to find something.”
That was the plan.
“We’re chasing money,” Paris said, rolling over to make room. He knew Curtis was faster when it came to electronics.
“Where’s the money going?”
“I can find it.”
He began working.
“I want to pull the Marshall file,” Tessa said.
Paris glanced over. “Okay, why?”
“He was in a safe house. He wasn’t out in the open. Someone had to know where he was. Who worked the safe house?”
He read off the names.
None rang a bell.
Shit!
“Who did the DA give the location to? It should be listed.”
Paris scanned the document as Curtis worked his magic. He was talking to the computer, so he was getting somewhere.
“The attorneys for both sides knew, but it’s illegal for them to share that with their client.”
As soon as Paris said it, he realized that wouldn’t matter to Marianna. He’d have paid off his attorneys. They’d be in his pocket.
“Who worked that case on Marianna’s side?” Tessa asked.
“Lana Dumas, our favorite attorney.”
“Well, she’s dead now, so we need more. She might have leaked it to Marianna. After all, she bribed Hardy Dallas to keep his mouth shut.”
“True.”
Curtis glanced over. “Kenneth and Lana worked together. I remember Emma telling me that they visited her office on another case, and they were partners.”
Justice is Dead (Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 7) Page 45
