“Yep.”
“You are a bratty sister.”
“You’re stalling, Christopher. I’m getting older by the second.”
“I asked her out.”
She waited. “And?”
“And nothing. I did it. I asked her out.”
She started clapping.
He yanked her ponytail hard.
“Ouch!”
“Yeah, remember that.”
“Okay, so you took the big step. Now what?” Emma asked, waiting for him to stop looking like a deer in headlights. Chris looked like he was ready to have a stroke.
“She sat in my lap.”
“Weird.”
He stared at her. “Stop. I need you to tell me what that means.”
Emma opted to cut him a break. He was struggling with this one. It was clear.
“What was she doing in your lap? Were there no other chairs?” she asked.
“There was a couch, two chairs, and a table.”
“Okay, so she wanted to be in your lap.”
“I guess. I wanted her there.”
God!
That was one hell of an understatement.
Chris wanted her beneath him on the couch, and it took everything not to do it.
He was trying to be a gentleman.
Jesus!
It wasn’t easy.
“What was she doing?”
He stared at her. “Really?”
“Hey, you asked. How the hell am I supposed to help you navigate this if you don’t tell me everything?”
Okay, she had a point.
“She was kissing me at the time.”
“Are we talking the way I’ve kissed you, or was she playing tonsil hockey?”
“Awkward.”
She snorted.
“God I hope so. I have to have some fun.”
“I don’t know if I should be having this conversation. It seems too personal,” he stated, changing his mind.
“I think I’m pregnant.”
He stared at her. “Uh.”
“Now it’s your turn. Tell me about the kiss, and talk slow so I can visualize it,” she teased.
He’d go back to the pregnancy thing later.
“Yes, it was heated.”
“Did you want her kissing you?” Emma asked.
“Hell yes, I did. I’m not going to tell a gorgeous woman to stop kissing me. No man will. We’re men. We think with lower brains.”
“About that brain.”
“NO. NO. NO. You are not going to discuss my dick. That’s just wrong and so very creepy.”
She snorted.
“I wasn’t going to ask to see it. I was simply going to ask if your lower brain kicked on. That’s usually how you can tell that you like something. Let’s face it. You over think.”
“Yes, I liked it.”
“Okay, so, you asked her out, and she said yes. Do you have a tux for the party?”
“No.”
“Okay, well, let’s go get one. I’ll take you to Greyson’s tailor. He has the most amazing fabrics. It will be custom fitted to your body. You’ll look handsome and really sexy, Christopher.”
“This is going to be expensive, isn’t it?”
“Yep.”
“I can’t. I’m a poor man.”
She opened her mouth.
“Don’t. I’m not letting you buy me anything. If you even suggest it, we will have a fight and I’m way too frazzled to ostracize the only woman who can help me through this.”
She got it, but still.
“I was just going to tell you that you aren’t poor. Look in your wallet at the credit card. That’s all.”
He stared at her. “You were in my wallet?”
“I like the picture of us in there.”
He turned red. “Emma, there are boundaries, and that picture, and my wallet, is one of them.”
“That condom is about four hundred years old. Don’t pull a Curtis and knock Nat up. Stop and get new ones. Better yet, ask Dimitri. I’m sure he has some you could…”
He sputtered like a teakettle.
“What?”
“You really have no boundaries, do you?” Chris asked in absolute horror.
This was mortifying.
There was no freaking way he was going to ask Natasha’s brother for a rubber.
NO.
NEVER.
“I need to stop this conversation before I have a stroke. Can we focus on the important part?” he asked.
She smiled, leaned over, and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Sure. I’m here for you, Christopher.”
A part of him was glad. He missed having this kind of relationship with someone. No, he couldn’t be with Emma, but he could love her as her brother.
That was better than a personal relationship.
This was permanent.
“I was trying to be helpful.”
“Telling me to ask Dimitri…Yeah, that’s not helpful at all. I think my blood pressure just went up. My eye is twitching.”
She snorted. “Well, I’m just warning you. If you knock up Dimitri’s other sister, you will have a shit storm. One sister gets pregnant, and he calls it a fluke. Two get pregnant…then he blames himself, and that makes him cranky.”
She had a point.
“I may not have sex.”
She started laughing. “Just look in your wallet, Christopher. Let’s stop pretending you will not want to roll around with Natasha. She’s gorgeous. I’d roll around with her.”
“Can I watch?” he asked, busting her ass.
“Pervert. Wallet.”
He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. Inside, everything looked normal, with the exception of the black credit card that had NEVER been there before.
“What the hell is this?”
“That’s your Croft credit card.”
“What?”
“The whole family has one. We all use it when we need things.”
Uh…
This was new.
“Who gets the bill?” he asked.
“Dante handles it. If you need a gun, you use it. If you need a suit, you use it. If you need a new box of condoms, you pay cash or Dante will ride tail when he gets the bill.”
He stared at her. “No. I’m not going to use your money, and you really can’t make me.”
She had about enough of this jackassery. The man was so damn stubborn, but it had to stop. If he was part of them, he had to accept everything, including the burden of the money.
This was all of their crosses to bear.
“I’m not using all of you as my crutch. I’m a grown man. I can fend for myself, so NO.”
Tears filled her eyes.
“That’s not going to work this time.”
Chris wasn’t having it.
Well, neither was Emma.
She snapped.
“You’re my fucking brother. Stop it! Just stop saying no! If it was reversed, and this fortune and pain in the ass was yours, wouldn’t you take care of me?”
He didn’t hesitate to answer. “Absolutely.”
“So how is it different?”
“I’m a man.”
“One caveman per family, please.”
“Emma.”
“You would take care of us, Chris, and as someone you call family, I have to take care of you!”
He hated this.
“You’re all I have left,” she said, the tears slipping past her defenses. “You are my brother. I mean it in the truest sense of the word. I couldn’t help Gage when he died in my arms. I can help you. Please just let me help you.”
Chris parked the truck. “Come here,” he said, opening his arms.
Emma didn’t hesitate.
She slid across the bench seat and let him hold her. When he ran his hands up and down her back, there was that familiar peace.
She had it with him.
She had it with Dimitri.
They were hers.
&nbs
p; “I love you, Emma. I know I don’t say it enough, but thank you for filling that void in my life. I’d be lost without you.”
“Please let me take care of you. I know Denise wrecked you, but I’m not her. This money, it’s my burden. Let me do something good with it.”
He sighed.
“Fine. I’ll let you pimp me out for my date with Natasha. What do I know about wooing a girl? I’ve only had to ever do it once, and she broke my heart.”
She stared into his blue eyes. “Thank you, Chris. I love you too,” she said, giving him a soft kiss on the lips.
He wiped the tears from her cheek.
“Question.”
“What?”
“Are you turned on?”
He was horrified.
“Emma!”
It made her laugh when he stared at her with his mouth hanging open. She couldn’t help herself. They busted each other out of love.
“You’re the perv.”
She slid back to her side of the truck. “Once you start drawing your salary from Dimitri, you can skip using it. Until then, you have access to whatever you need. You’re going to get one shot at rocking Natasha’s world. Let’s do it right. You both deserve it.”
She had a point.
“I will pay it back.”
“Blah, blah, blah. In the time it took us to argue this, Dante made me a million dollars. Do you really think I give a shit about paying it back? We all use a card. Besides, Dante uses everything as a tax deduction. Spend away.”
He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “Okay, I’ll use it. For you and for Natasha.”
“Okay, let’s go get our shopping on. I need to take you to a whole new level.”
He couldn’t help but smile.
“I hate shopping.”
“Do it for Natasha.”
Well, since she put it that way…
That he could do.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Four Hours
Later
All afternoon, they went from shop to shop, trying to find exactly the right attire for the gallery party. Chris was beginning to believe that Emma was having a little too much fun. She’d picked up a dress for herself, and he’d had to play ‘husband’ and let her know how it looked.
Then they looked for shoes.
Then a handbag.
Chris was about to tell her that he was done with the shopping when they finally got to the tuxedo part of the festivities.
It was relatively painless.
When they walked in, she simply said five words, and it had everyone there running around.
‘Give him the Croft works.’
It was fun to watch. Now he got to see what Greyson went through to pick out his duds when he had a date with Emma.
Then he saw the price tag.
Chris almost puked.
He hadn’t spent that much on his last vehicle.
This was…
Crazy.
After Emma talked him off the ledge…AGAIN, they ordered flowers for Natasha, but not roses. Instead, Chris picked out cascading blooms of lilacs with tiny little sprigs of baby’s breath.
Emma let him pick out everything, simply because this was his path to navigate. When he went a little off the path with the tux, that was really the only time she had to stop him.
Chris was a roughneck, and he’d wear jeans if she let him. So, she handled the suit. Greyson wasn’t the only one who could pick out something sexy for a man.
When she dragged him into the jeweler, to get him some cufflinks, she noticed he was drawn to a display with crystals in it.
“What are they?” he asked the woman behind the counter.
“Stars. You can hang them in a window or place them on your desk.”
“Can I get that one?” he asked, pointing at a small flat one sitting in a black box.
Emma watched him. “She’ll love it.”
“It’s not for her. It’s for you.”
She stared at him. “What?”
“I wanted to give you something to remind you that we have something special. So, I’m giving you a star.”
He placed it in her hand.
It was the sweetest thing he’d ever done. “Oh, Christopher, she’s a very lucky woman.”
He gave her a soft kiss on the forehead.
“When I was hurt, you nursed me back to health, you let me stay in your home, and you never gave up on me. When I was shot, I really thought I was going to die, Emma. I thought I’d never get to be here.”
She wiped her eyes. “I’ll fight for you.”
“I know, so I want to give you something no one ever has. I want to give you a star.”
She hugged him. “Chris, I’ll always love you. Thank you for being part of my life.”
He nuzzled her hair with his chin. There was nothing sexual about it—but it was filled with so much love. “Kiddo, the pleasure is all mine.”
Chris paid for the cuffs and the star, and Emma slipped it into her back pocket. It was going to go on her desk in her office where she would always see it.
The thought behind it astounded her.
As they were headed outside to get into his truck, Chris’s body language suddenly changed.
Yes, they were surrounded by media.
Yes, they were being watched.
But this was different.
A black ride slowed down on the busy street, and Chris watched as the window rolled down.
He knew what was coming.
“EMMA!” he shouted, as the first wave of bullets hit the side of his truck.
She spun at the sound and was tackled to the ground. Chris rolled with her protectively in his arms.
They didn’t move as the car pealed out of there.
Everything was silent—even the media.
Then all hell broke loose around them.
Chris stared down at her, his body braced over hers. “Are you hit?” he asked, seeing the scratches all over her face from the flying glass.
“I don’t think so,” she said, blinking a few times. “You’re bleeding, Chris,” she said, placing her hand on his neck. Something had cut his flesh.
“We have a huge problem,” he stated.
Emma was aware.
“Greyson is going to shit himself.”
Oh yeah, and it wasn’t going to be pretty.
Someone was a dead man.
Greyson Croft wouldn’t tolerate his queen being a target, and they had to know that.
If not, they were idiots.
And dead.
Very, very dead.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
LVPD
Thomas Christ loved his new digs.
After all, he was a simple man.
The homicide office was the perfect place for him to spend the next couple of years.
One day, he’d move on.
Maybe.
All he knew was that he deserved this. After all those years, he worked the streets, and he never thought he’d end up in this position.
Thank God for friends in high places.
This was a gift.
Honestly, he was getting bored with his other ‘work’. The heat was on back East, and this was a nice distraction.
Besides, he knew who the commissioner wanted handled. That was going to be one hell of a pleasure.
Oh, he couldn’t wait to run into the Crofts.
When he’d seen them on the news the last few months, he was shocked.
Emma had changed—a lot.
Well, it was time they reacquainted themselves. He knew how to stir Greyson Croft’s hive, and he was going to do it.
Before it was over, there would be hell to pay.
And he was the man collecting for Jeffery Raye.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
It wasn’t working out the way it had been planned. For some reason, this was miscalculated.
So, in order to do it right, the body of Dalton Harding was goi
ng to have to be dug up.
Well, shit!
This wasn’t going to be fun.
Who wanted to play around with a two-week-old dead corpse?
It would be smelly.
Rotting.
And oozing all over the place.
Then add in the bugs.
Ugh!
What the hell?
Since him staying missing was detrimental to the plan, there was only one way to rectify it.
Someone was going on a body scavenger hunt, where the dead man was going to magically appear.
Seriously.
Crime was a pain in the ass.
No one said it was going to be like this, but when you had to do what you had to do—no one wanted bitching.
Oh, Dalton was coming out of the ground.
Then he was going to make his appearance.
And one person would pay the price.
Greyson Croft.
It looked like the mob man was going down. His reign was going to be short. It was time to have a new power in town, and when the shit hit the fan…
There would be only one winner.
And it wouldn’t be a Croft.
Or a Gideon.
That was for damn sure.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Terrace Glen
When he saw the news footage, they were working on digging up some dirt on Commissioner Raye. While Curtis was digging up information on the key card, they were spending their time productively.
Okay, there was some bourbon and cigars, but they were men, and that’s how they rolled.
Why work if you weren’t going to enjoy it?
Besides, there were no pregnant women in the vicinity, so they opted to indulge.
When Curtis stopped typing, and was staring at the screen on the wall, it caught both of their attention. Maybe it was the flash of words scrolling across the screen or possibly the familiar faces.
It was Emma.
It was Chris.
They were exiting a jeweler, his arm through hers. Suddenly, he stopped moving, and both Dimitri and Greyson knew that look. With zero words, it still spoke volumes of what the man was thinking.
Lost Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 2) Page 14
