Only, no one knew that.
It was funny.
It seemed that his records were ‘MISSING’. Funny how buying off a cop in Philly could do that. So, when it came time for him to be hired, all it took was a few little replaced papers, a couple of lies, and the crime was done.
Now the Crofts would bleed.
The city would run red from their spilled blood. He was letting the dog out, and this rabid beast had a taste for chaos, mayhem, and destruction.
Then, when he was done…
He’d put him down like the beast he was.
Until then…
“Thomas! How are you?” he asked, holding out his hand. “I hope you’re ready to start the good fight here in the city that knows no limit to crime!”
The man smiled.
“Oh, I’m ready. I can’t believe you pulled this off with my record. I don’t even want to know how.”
Jeffery Raye laughed. “I know people in higher places. We’ll leave it at that.”
It worked for Thomas.
What did he care?
As long as he was employed, and he had the prestige of the captain’s office, he didn’t give a shit.
He was sporting a fancy job, and he was away from the winters back East. He’d do whatever to keep this job. If this man wanted him to tap dance, he’d don the shoes.
“What do you want me to do?”
Now that was exactly what he wanted to hear.
Commissioner Raye was excited.
“I made this file for you. In it, there are a few people who are breaking the law every day.”
He listened.
“I want you to hunt them down, tie some murders to them, and make them pay.”
Thomas opened the file and smiled.
“Greyson and Emma Croft, Christopher Ford, and Dimitri Gideon?”
“Yes, that’s them.”
“This should be easy.”
This man had no idea.
“We’ll see,” Raye said, leading him away.
And they would.
Time would definitely tell if this man would be the savior he needed, or one more piece of baggage that was going to get unloaded…
Quick.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Terrace Glen
Friday Eight A.M
To say that Dimitri wasn’t happy would be an understatement. He was pissed. Only, he wasn’t sure who to be angrier with at that point.
His sister.
Or Christopher Ford.
Either way, someone was going to get one hell of an ass chewing when he figured this shit mess out. He didn’t like when people broke ranks and the plans were switched up at the last minute.
It caused chaos.
It caused problems.
Dimitri liked order.
This was not the way to run a team, and he couldn’t help but be irritated by that fact.
When he walked into the kitchen, Emma, Greyson, and Dante were sitting there.
They were laughing.
He wasn’t.
The second Emma saw his face, she knew something was up. Dimitri, while surly at times, wasn’t cranky first thing in the morning.
Quiet yes.
Miserable…
Not even close.
Something had him irritated, and they needed to calm him down before they headed out.
A mad Russian was a pistol happy one.
They hadn’t even hit the street yet, so that couldn’t be a good thing.
“What happened?” Greyson asked before the man could even say a word. He knew his friend.
It was going to be something that really stirred his pot. That meant it was sister related. When it came to work, he didn’t bat an eye. If there were people trying to kill him, he was in his zone.
When it came to the opposite sex…
Yeah, it was a free for all.
“This is what has me seeing red. I don’t even know how to process it.”
He slid the note across the table toward them so they could join in the anger.
‘Dimitri,
I need some time off. I need to be alone. I’m going home. I’ll check in tomorrow. I’m sorry. I hope you still love me and won’t be too angry at me for bailing. I’m a mess inside again.
Natasha.’
Uh oh.
They were pretty sure what had the woman stirred up. This was going to have to do with Chris.
There was no doubt it wasn’t a fluke.
Something had gone down.
“That is not like my sister. All I know is she was fine last night, and now this morning she’s gone. I don’t like the last part of that note. It brings back bad memories. If she’s a mess, I’m going to kill the person responsible for it.”
Emma knew where he was taking this. She also knew she had to defuse this mess.
Chris was just as broken as Natasha. This wasn’t only about her. They needed to think about his feelings too.
“He didn’t do anything to her, Dimitri. I’m asking you to trust me.”
“Emma.”
“Please. You have my word on this, Dimitri. Whatever the issue is, I can guarantee that Chris didn’t hurt her—not intentionally. He’s a gentle soul underneath that big old hulking frame.”
“How do you know?” he asked, needing someone to calm him down. When it came to his sisters, he lost it a lot quicker than if it were something else.
He had a soft spot for them.
It was his job to protect them at all costs.
“Chris isn’t a bad guy, Dimitri,” Greyson offered, trying to help his wife out. He didn’t want his happy family torn apart.
Emma agreed.
“I know you think he will hurt your sister, like you believed Curtis would with Katerina, but he won’t.”
“I want to believe you, Emma, but this has NEVER happened before. She’s never flaked. She was on duty today.”
They got that.
Still…
“You have to believe in him. For me.”
He stared at her. She was asking him to go against his nature, and it was hard.
“We have four vans outside the property, and my sister, normally the sane one, is gone. Who is going to cover that part of this? Greyson and I have Tony Mays to handle, you and Chris have the Harding residence, Katerina is pregnant, and I don’t want her wearing a target. We are out of people.”
Greyson handed him coffee.
“Take a deep breath. You can’t go at Chris the second he walks in. We don’t have the whole story.”
“Why the hell not?” he asked. “I was just going to shoot him and watch him bleed.”
They both hoped he was exaggerating.
“Because he’ll go on the defensive,” Dante offered. He’d been listening quietly, but he felt the need to help Emma defend the man.
This was spiraling out of control.
Man...
He was glad he was gay.
Now he’d defend Emma’s brother. Chris Ford tossed his career for the family. While he might be a hot mess when it came to the opposite sex, he wasn’t malicious. The man set spiders free when he caught them in the house.
That wasn’t a mean person.
Besides, he knew Natasha had one hell of a crush on the man. Chris deserved the chance to explain.
Dimitri took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m just worried about her. She’s always happy. This isn’t how she behaves. She was like this once, a while ago, and I don’t want her going back there. I nearly lost her to this darkness, and I have to fight for her. No one else ever has.”
They understood.
“He’d fight for her, Maximillian,” Emma stated. When she used his real name, emotions filled his eyes. “We’d fight for all of you.”
That touched him on some deep level. “Thank you for that, Emma. I believe you.”
That was huge.
Dimitri didn’t believe anyone. If they weren’t blood, he was suspicious. He was learning that
he could trust the people he called family. His circle was safe.
They heard Chris heading their way.
Emma moved back, placing herself between Dimitri and the doorway—just in case.
It was better safe than sorry. She knew he’d never hurt her.
But Chris?
Yeah, Dimitri was a killer, and while he looked calm on the outside, he wasn’t always that way beneath the veneer.
Chris entered.
“What did you do to her?” Dimitri barked.
Well, so much for not putting Chris on the defensive by verbally assaulting him first thing. Apparently, this was going to blow up in their faces.
“What are you talking about, you crazy Russian bastard?” Chris asked, trying to figure it all out.
“She left. You chased away my sister.”
They waited for the explosion.
None came.
Chris sighed. “I know. I’m sorry.”
Emma led Chris toward the table. She pushed him into a chair as Dante poured him coffee.
“What happened?” she asked. “You were fine, and so was she, and then this.”
“I got back to my room, and there she was on my bed.”
Dimitri growled and Greyson had to grab onto his arm just in case he flipped out. Any of his sisters on any man’s bed was never a good thing.
Dimitri was a tad bit overprotective.
A tad.
“What did you do to her?”
“Nothing. I was going to go to bed so I could plan out my strategy to ask her out. She was there, and it threw me for a loop. I didn’t know what to do.”
Dimitri stared at him. “And?”
“I told her I was going to bed. That wasn’t what she was expecting, and I think I made her feel like she wasn’t welcome there. Then next thing I knew, she jumped out the window and ran for it. I tried to call after her, but she was gone.”
Dimitri calmed down.
If that were the case…
“Really? You didn’t touch her?”
“Really. Did you actually think I’d physically hurt a woman? I’m not that kind of man, and if you’re alluding to me forcing myself sexually on her, I don’t roll like that, Dimitri. I’d die first.”
Emma ran her hand up and down his arm. She stared at Dimitri, giving him the ‘I told you so’, look.
“I’m sorry,” he stated.
“I’m a planner. I don’t do things spur of the moment. Hell! I start shopping for Christmas the day after because I can’t do rushed.”
Emma leaned into his body, offering him her support. She knew he could explain it. She trusted this man with her life when they left the house, and she’d trusted him when they went through a door as cops.
He was a good person.
She fought for him.
“He’s being honest, Dimitri. Chris wouldn’t hurt a woman, and he certainly wouldn’t force himself on one either.”
Dimitri was seeing that.
Chris looked as miserable as sin.
He felt bad.
He’d jumped the gun.
“Where is she?” Chris offered. “I’ll go make this right. I didn’t want to hurt her feelings, but I wasn’t ready to do the date thing yet. I wanted to weigh my options, figure out what kind of date she deserved, and then hopefully build up the courage to ask her. She’s beautiful, and I’m…”
What was he?
Oh, yeah.
“I’m just some aging ex-cop.”
Dimitri heard it in his voice. Yeah, he’d jumped the gun on this one. Apparently, Natasha wasn’t the only one with scars on her heart.
Chris had them too.
He believed him.
It was time to do what Emma had asked him to do. He was going to trust her instincts with something so precious in his life.
His sister.
After all, he kept Katerina’s heart safe.
“If she says she’s going home, that’s code. She means Sky Villa,” he said, pulling his key off his ring. “She has a condominium there too. It’s on the twelfth floor below the Archers’ place. She needed her space from me, so she has her own home for when she needs to be alone.”
He took the key. “I won’t hurt her. I’ll talk to her.”
“If you do…”
“You can beat it out of me. I know what I have to do, Dimitri. I’m ready now. I don’t like surprises. I keep saying that, and your sister…”
“What?”
“She’s one hell of a surprise. It keeps catching me off guard, and confusing the hell out of me.”
Yeah, they could all see that.
Chris was off his game.
“Emma, can I handle this and then we can do the search of Dalton’s house?” he asked, tucking the key away. “I need an hour or so to fix this mess before I can focus on anything else.”
This had to be a priority.
“I can go alone.”
Greyson began laughing. “Yeah, no you cannot. You obviously have lost your damn mind if you even think that’s an option.”
“I’ll go with you to see the mob man then.”
Yeah, that was worse.
“NO.”
“I’ll go with her,” Dante offered. “I can bump my schedule for the morning.”
“No, you have to handle the wedding stuff,” she reminded him. “Curtis and Kat are counting on you and Steele to make this a day to remember. You have caterers, tents, and all that shit coming today,” Emma reminded him.
“Crap! I forgot.”
“If Greyson won’t let me go alone, I’ll take Curtis. He was a freaking Fed. I think he can watch my back for me while I do this. It’s not as if a killer is going to jump out of the closet. Greyson trained him. I’m going to assume the boy knows how to search a house.”
She had a point.
Curtis would suffice.
“He does.”
“I’ll wake him up, and we’ll handle it, Chris,” Emma offered, heading for the patio. “Just fix this with Natasha, okay?” she said.
Emma didn’t like anyone in her family stirred up.
Chris was grateful that they were giving him the chance to fix his mess. He took a deep breath and headed out. He hadn’t wanted to make a disaster of this.
Things like this happened whenever he started overthinking them.
Only, he couldn’t help it.
“He’s screwed,” Greyson said, when it was just him and Dimitri.
“Why?” he asked.
“I’ve never seen Chris worried like this. He has to be crazy about your sister. Nothing rattles his cage. The man babysat twenty detectives, handled all the work, and never broke a sweat. Your sister, a beautiful woman, who is interested in him…”
He laughed.
“He’s going to go under, and fast.”
“Should we help him?” Dimitri asked. “I’m torn between the man code and being a big brother.”
Yeah, Greyson got that.
He had siblings.
“You’re going to offer up your sister to a man?” Greyson said, touching his forehead. “Are you feeling okay?”
“No. I’m coming down with something.”
“What?”
“A case of the stupids.”
Croft laughed. “I hope it’s not contagious.”
Yeah, that’s what he thought.
Chapter four
Tony Mays’s
Place
W hen they arrived at the wannabe mob man’s home, it was typical fashion for an up and coming crime boss. It was a modest home, but it was surrounded by a wrought iron gate and two attack dogs.
Well, this was going to be interesting.
Greyson wasn’t a dog person. He liked cats.
Big.
Fluffy.
Harmless.
Ones.
“Do you have any idea on how to get to the door without getting bit?” Greyson asked. “Are we going to shoot them or run like hell?”
“I happen to like dogs. In fa
ct, I like them more than I do most people—present company excluded,” Dimitri offered. “They smell fear.”
Greyson laughed. “Well, in those fancy Italian boots, you’re not going to break any land speed records, and I have plenty of fear—fear of getting bit in the ass.”
“I have a better idea.”
Greyson watched as he brought out a little box. On it, there was a button.
Dimitri was known for his tech.
The man liked playing with high tech, pricey toys.
“What does that do?” Croft asked.
He hit the button to show him. Immediately, the dogs dropped to the ground and tried to cover their ears with their paws. Clearly, they didn’t like what they were hearing.
“We can’t hear it, but they can. It won’t cause any long-term problems, and it won’t hurt them. Like I said, I like dogs. We should get one.”
Greyson stared at him.
“What are you? Gay? We are absolutely not getting a dog together. I am NOT making that commitment to you. I have a cat.”
“When’s the last time you saw that fur ball?”
He had to think about it.
“Two days ago, Hairy was out by the pool sunning himself. Then he went inside. I don’t pay attention to what he does. He’s a cat. If I’m tracking pussy, it’s not him—trust me.”
Dimitri snorted. He didn’t need to ask what he meant by that. They all knew who Greyson spent most of his time following around, and it wasn’t a four-legged feline. His kitten had two.
“Anyway, back to the box. It’ll stay on while we talk to Tony Mays.”
“That’s ingenious.”
“I’ve used it before for allocation.”
He snorted. “I bet. I don’t think we should even go there,” he offered.
It was probably for the best. They had media following at a distance, and a flower delivery truck. The FBI was getting desperate.
As they headed past the dogs, they could see a curtain moving as someone stared out.
“He’s waiting for us.”
“Yeah, be on guard. Tony likes to swing first and ask questions later. He’s not really known for his good manners when it comes to visitors.”
Lost Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 2) Page 9
