The bet was fifty bucks that he couldn’t stay on his feet against Greyson. To sweeten the pot, the loser had to do something the other person picked out.
He swore that he would be pissed if Croft made him shave his head. Chris wouldn’t put it past the man.
He was sadistic.
But, Chris wasn’t one to welch on a bet, so he was in.
There was no way he was going to lose. This was a matter of masculine pride, and it was also a matter of being in the best shape of his life.
He had to be.
Emma’s life depended on it.
Since being hired by Dimitri, he was Emma’s security detail. His sole job was to tail her all over the place. They went shopping, they caught some movies, and all the while, he was on duty.
It was fun.
Being paid to do the things he liked made his day go by pretty damn fast.
Spending it with Emma…it was awesome.
Here he was, riding with his ‘sister’ and getting paid to do it. As of yet, no one was taking shots at them, and they were relatively safe. Being Greyson’s wife, the seedy element was scared shitless to mess with her.
This assignment was a cakewalk, and Chris knew it.
The media was his biggest pain in the ass, so he’d take it and be damn grateful. It was nice not to have to be worried twenty-four-seven.
This was the life.
As Chris focused on his workout, he saw Greyson slowly moving toward him, he figured out his strategy and went left.
Well, so did the boss man.
So much for that bet.
Chris was taken to the mat in a sweaty pile of limbs.
It stole his breath.
“I hope you didn’t think I was going to be gentle,” Greyson said, grinning at him when he finally pushed off the downed man’s body.
“Your knee was on my junk. That’s way too up close and personal for my liking, Grey. Send Emma over. She can put hers there.”
Greyson was surprised by that comeback, and it was all Chris needed to break his concentration. He was off the ground and onto the man before he could utter a reply.
Chris foot swept him as soon as he righted himself.
Greyson landed with a thud.
Emma laughed from the bench.
“Way to use his wife to distract him, Christopher. You won’t get away with that one again. The caveman doesn’t fall for it more than once.”
He didn’t care.
It worked, and that’s all that mattered. They’d both hit the mat, and they’d both lost the bet.
Greyson began laughing from his back. They were a hot sweaty mess, and he needed a break from the hand-to-hand combat. If Dimitri wanted Chris in better shape, he was free to take a spin on the mat.
He was getting too old to be kicked around. Then again, Emma would kiss his bruises later.
That was well worth it.
“Want to go another round?” he asked, hoping Chris felt the exact same way as he did.
“Uh, no. I’m happy with getting my ass beat as little as possible.”
“Well, you’re getting better,” Croft stated. “The last couple of days have been hard to take you down.”
Chris helped the man to his feet. “My shoulder’s good, my chest doesn’t hurt, but my ego…yeah, it’s toast.”
Greyson took his hand. “I do believe I won this one. We did have a bet.”
He rolled his eyes. “Uh, you went down too, Grey.”
He laughed even more.
“Yeah, but you went down first. The bet was first to the mat. Technically, you need better listening skills.”
He was well aware.
Well, this sucked.
He’d lost again.
“Fine, you won. I should know better to bet against the Devil. What do I have to do? Make out with your wife?” he asked, wiggling his eyebrows.
Emma snorted. “You’re a dead man next time in the gym. He has one hell of a memory.”
“Yes, yes, I do,” Greyson stated, and he would make him pay for that—in a friendly, love him as family, kind of way.
It was good to be king.
Honestly, Greyson didn’t mind the teasing. In that house, he trusted each and every male who was around his woman. They’d never betray him.
Never.
They were family.
Besides, Emma was precious, and the more the men focused on her, the safer she’d be.
Ultimately, that was his goal. Emma was off limits in Vegas, and he’d made that perfectly clear. He wasn’t taking any chances with her life.
As the center of the mob in the city, he was always being gunned for, but his wife…
No.
It wasn’t happening.
That’s why he’d had Dimitri pushing Chris to get in better shape. The man was watching over precious cargo.
Emma was his center.
His all.
If she went down, so would he, and the assholes in Vegas knew it. There was no doubt that they’d take shots at her to get to him, and Chris wouldn’t let him down.
Why?
Chris loved Emma like a sister. While he may bust ass, he wouldn’t cross that line. They were a family, and they had a bond.
Greyson knew what he really wanted to see happen.
He was going for it.
“Oh, you’re going out on a date.”
Chris glanced over at Emma. “Please tell me I’m not taking you to some frou-frou play, where I’m going to have to sit in some cramped seat and watch shit. If you have to go to one, you should have to take him,” he said, pointing at Greyson. “I’m not doing his shit work as a husband without getting any of the perks.”
She snorted. “Now he’s going to hurt you for saying you want to sleep with me.”
“If you make me go to a musical, I deserve to,” he teased, knowing he’d never go there.
What they had was special.
“If I have to watch grown men dance around in feathers—and I don’t mean Dante—I’m going to flip my shit all over the place.”
She was amused.
Even Croft found the man funny. In his head, he was picturing his brother dancing like a girl in feathered finery.
It was a sight to behold.
Emma shook her head. “Seriously, Christopher. One time in two weeks that I make you go to a musical, and you’d think it was the gallows. I had to check out the show. You know…since we own it.”
Whenever the Crofts said ‘we’, in reference to owning something, it made his heart skip. They truly shared everything with the family—equally. They all owned the businesses, and that meant a lot to him.
They were a family.
He couldn’t help but laugh at his sister. “Oh, I get that, but next time, do it without me. I’m not the musical type, so if that’s the bet, I’m out. I did my turn in Hell.”
Really.
He insisted.
“It wasn’t that bad.”
“Emma, it was called ‘A night in Paradise’. You told me it was about sex. That was a bold-faced lie. That was no damn picnic. You didn’t tell me it was going to be interpretive dance where the watcher had to imagine the act.”
She laughed.
As did Greyson.
He and Dimitri had been working on the Commissioner Raye situation, and he didn’t want Emma digging in the muck. They were still working on finding the skeletons in the man’s closet that Elizabeth Blackhawk had said were there.
So, they were digging in their downtime.
“I bought you popcorn and shared my soda.”
“You should have bought me a tranquilizer and a bottle of Jack. I was the ONLY man there.”
“Dante was there.”
“Like I said—I was the ONLY MAN there. I’m not doing it again. You can’t make me.”
She smiled.
Oh, she could. As her personal bodyguard, if she went, he went. To be further amused, Emma made a mental note to drag Chris to any musicals that popped up.
> It would keep her entertained.
Despite him being too manly.
She smiled at him. “Don’t worry. You’re not taking me out anywhere,” she offered. “I’m not part of the bet.”
He relaxed.
“Wait. Who is?”
“Natasha,” they said together.
He went pale. “What? Why? What are you talking about?” he asked.
“We have a function this weekend at that art gallery, and you need to pony up, ask the girl out, and be her date. There’s dinner and dancing. We’re buying that one painting, and you need someone to go with you.”
“Emma.”
“Hey! You can back out of the bet, Chris. I mean…it’s not like you have to have integrity.”
“You are such a bitch.”
She smiled. “Yeah, I know.”
Truthfully, she and Greyson were doing this for both him, and Natasha. The two of them were dancing around a relationship, but too afraid to take that step. Well, Natasha wasn’t. She was told to back off.
Chris needed to make the next move, and this was her grand plan to make him shit or get off the pot.
The ball was in his court.
She blew him a kiss.
He growled at her.
Chris didn’t know what to do. A part of him wanted to kiss them both, so he could get the nerve up to ask Natasha out, but a part of him was scared stupid.
“Spill it,” Greyson said, handing him a bottle of water as he took a seat beside Emma.
“Is she around?” he asked, scanning the room. With Natasha, one could never tell.
She could appear out of a corner that you swore was empty a minute before. She had crazy mad blending skills.
“No, she’s with Katerina. They are getting their dresses for the wedding.”
Yeah, that was coming up too.
Shit.
Chris probably needed a date to that too. It was like the universe was trying to tell him to get his ass moving.
“You’re safe, Chris,” Emma promised.
Chris stared at Greyson.
“What?”
“Uh, can you give us a few?” Chris asked. While he didn’t mind talking to Emma, he was going to ask her some personal things. Greyson was the last person who should be listening in on the conversation.
It was awkward.
He needed some ego left after getting beat down in the workout.
“I can do that,” Greyson stated before patting the man on the shoulder. “Emma, I’ll see you at the pool,” he offered. “Wear the white bikini. It’s my favorite.”
Yeah, she knew why.
It left nothing to the imagination. That meant Greyson was going to spend some time molesting her.
She couldn’t wait.
Chris watched his friend leave.
He didn’t say a word until he was gone. With the click of the lock, they were alone.
Emma slid over on the workout bench. “Talk to me, Christopher.”
“I need to know everything you can tell me about Natasha. You know me, Emma. I hate surprises. If I’m going to ask her out, I can’t be worried something is going to bite me in the ass.”
She was aware.
Emma knew no man like being hijacked, but Christopher Ford moved so damn slow that any bump in the road would shut him right down.
So, he needed a push.
This was it.
“Please, Emma.”
She wanted to help them both, so she opted to share all she knew.
“Natasha grew up in a house where she was invisible. Her mother forgot to feed her, she didn’t have clothes, and she was beat—from what Dimitri said—a lot.”
Emma watched his eyes.
They were the window to the soul, and Chris’s were filled with emotion.
“That’s horrible.”
She was aware.
“Apparently, her mother didn’t want a kid, but she was afraid of the asshole who raped her, so she didn’t terminate the pregnancy.”
“Dimitri’s father?”
“Yeah, what do you know about him?”
Chris shrugged. “Not a lot. I hear he was a bad guy, and the US government made sure he didn’t live to continue his misdeeds.”
Basically.
“He was KGB. He was a sick bastard who liked to hurt Dimitri and let his buddies use Katerina for sex. They raped that poor girl.”
“Jesus!”
Yeah, he could say that again.
Emma knew what was next. She knew where his head went, because she’d thought the same thing too. It was a cop thing.
“Did he let those assholes...?”
She cut him off. “As far as we know, no. That’s something you’d have to ask Natasha. Only she can tell you that. I don’t think she’s ever even told Dimitri if she was raped.”
He prayed she was never abused like that.
“How did Dimitri get her away?”
Emma knew there was a fine line. Dimitri was part of their family, and so was Chris.
“He bought her.”
That made him ill.
She wasn’t a piece of furniture, or something to be sold. She was a woman. Natasha didn’t deserve that kind of life. Already, he could feel his heart defrosting.
Chris wanted to protect her.
He wanted to take her into his arms, wrap himself around her, and never let her be afraid again.
“Dimitri had to move fast. He didn’t doubt that her mother would sell her to some man at some point, so he pretended to want her for sex, and he purchased her. Then they left Russia to hide out in Europe for a while.”
The magnitude of that soaked in.
He’d saved her.
“I never thought I’d say this, but I’m glad Dimitri is the man he is. That had to be so hard. He’s not that much older than her. He would have been a child, too, at the time. It couldn’t have been easy.”
Emma knew what he’d sacrificed. He’d been in the military and came home only to learn his sisters were being abused. He took control, became their father, and got them out.
She knew what he had to do to survive, and it didn’t make her sick. It made her want to love him even more. Dimitri, while he thought he was rescuing abused children, didn’t realize he was just as battered and broken.
She’d seen his back.
Greyson had too.
The man had been tortured at some point, but that was his secret to carry, and none of Chris’s business unless Dimitri wanted to share. Up to that point, she hadn’t brought it up. When he wanted to let them in on it, he would.
If he didn’t, that was fine with them.
“My heart aches for her.”
Emma’s too.
“When she was ten, he was barely nineteen,” Emma offered. “He was definitely a child raising children. Because of his military discipline, he was able to hold it together, and because of his love.”
“I have a new-found respect for the man. At nineteen, I was wearing a uniform and having beers with my buddies.”
Yeah, Dimitri was taking lives and fighting to save his sisters from a horrible man.
Not everyone had an easy life.
She agreed. “He brought a small, scared, undernourished child home, and he patched her back up. He became her father. She learned a lot from him.”
“Yeah, illegal stuff.”
“No, things that matter. Most importantly, that she’s valuable and deserves to be treated well by the opposite sex. Dimitri, for everything he is, he’s a good man. He treats women like they matter. His sisters are precious to him.”
Emma didn’t mention the hookers. That, too, was something she’d keep for her friend.
“I’m afraid.”
“Of him?”
He laughed. “No. He can’t do anything but kick my ass. I’m afraid I’ll hurt her. I’m a disaster, Emma. I’m a fucking mess and she doesn’t deserve someone who can’t figure this out.”
She knew he was telling the truth.
Chris was carrying a huge burden on his heart, and it was his ex-wife. She’d run him through the ringer.
“Denise damaged me.”
He cringed even saying her name.
If there was one word in the English language he loathed, it was that one. He’d rather make out with a venomous snake than utter those foul letters together.
He’d rather summon the Devil himself than speak of her.
He’d rather…
It didn’t matter. She was his past. Chris had to focus on that in order to move on with life. She’d done her damage, and he was on his own.
“The bet is off,” she said. “If you can’t stand the idea of being near her…”
He cut her off. “I can’t stand the idea of not being near her. I’m all stirred up.”
“How so?”
“I haven’t checked your ass out once in two weeks.”
She snorted. “You, my friend, are a weirdo. Knowing that you even did that is creepy.”
He was well aware. “I’m a man. You’re a babe. It’s a normal thing. Yet, I haven’t done it.”
“What changed?” she asked.
“During the last case, I kissed her.”
“And?”
“It felt like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I’ve kissed a couple women, including you, and this was different. This made me feel.”
“In a good way?”
“Yes. I haven’t felt in a long time. It gave me hope that there is life out there, and I can be part of it.”
“Okay, and?”
“I’m an old man. Let me rephrase that. I’m on the bad side of forty heading toward middle age. Who are we kidding?”
She stared at him.
“What?” he asked.
“Uh, you’re the same age as Greyson. He’s hardly old. He’s in his early forties, and so are you.”
“Yes, but you’re in your thirties. Natasha…she’s a child. She’s barely over twenty-five.”
“She’s seen, lived, and experienced more than you, so I think you have to look at it as age versus experience, so she wins hands down each time. There’s something so old and wise about her. She’s an old soul, Chris.”
She had a point.
When Natasha was around, she brought peace to the whole group.
He liked seeing her.
In fact, he was feeling a little empty since he hadn’t seen her in a day. She seemed to be hiding.
Maybe that was a good thing.
“Do you think it’s weird that she’d be interested in me?” he asked. He stared down at his big hands and the callouses on the palm from the years of holding a weapon.
Lost Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 2) Page 4
