“You are a good man, Dimitri. I love you.”
She gave him a kiss on the mouth. “You are amazing.”
Greyson objected. “Seriously? I'm right here. You’re kissing someone else?”
“Eat your bran, Grey.”
He did.
Dimitri was embarrassed, but he managed to get through it. “Sam is no different than Kat or Nat. I can handle it.”
Natasha poured coffee for her brother and Chris. “He’ll be okay. Dimitri has a way with kids. He was meant to be a father. They flock to him.”
“Shut up, Natasha.”
She laughed and handed him a mug.
Greyson got them back on track.
“Tessa, can you dig up any information on Tony Mays’s finances?”
“Yeah, on it.”
“Paris, since you’re here this morning, can you talk to Sam? Feel him out, and give us a plan. Anything you need, talk to Dante.”
“Sure, I can do that. I like the kid. He’s sweet.”
“What about me?” Chris asked. He’d been silent the entire time as he ogled Natasha when she moved around the kitchen. The previous night, they’d slept together until Greyson woke them.
Then they had sex before coming in for breakfast. Chris knew he could get used to that.
It was comfortable and sweet.
It gave him hope.
“Emma has to run some errands. Can you be her backup?” Greyson asked. “Dimitri and I are going to head to Tony Mays’s to pay our last respects. You and Emma are going to eventually hit up Tiffany.”
EVERYONE began laughing at the idea that Dimitri and Greyson were going to say they were sorry the man was dead.
That was big time irony right there.
“Okay, it sounds funny, so we’ll be honest. I’m going to scope out the bodyguards, and see if the ones who went after Kat are there. I’m going to transmit pictures to Emma so she can ask Tiffany Harding if she recognizes any of them.”
“That’s a good plan.”
“She’s working today,” Dimitri offered. “You can find her at ‘Aquarius’.”
“We can meet there for lunch,” Emma stated.
It was a plan.
“Everyone watch your back,” Dimitri stated. “We have FBI outside the gate, and they were trying to get ears on the inside of the house.”
They couldn’t let that happen.
It would be disastrous.
The family each finished their coffee, grabbed their things, and headed out.
It was time to find something.
Anything.
This case was getting cold, and they were having NO luck.
They might not be getting closure for Tiffany and her girls. Sometimes, the bad guy got away.
This might be one of those times.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Pharmacy
Chris didn’t question running errands with Emma. When Dimitri hired him, he told him that the majority of his duties would be about following Emma around.
She was the core of Greyson’s life, and if someone wanted to take their family down, it would be her.
While Emma was an ex-cop, and she could likely handle her own, they were taking no chances.
She mattered.
To EVERYONE.
“What do we need to do?” Chris said, driving Emma through the streets and toward the center of town.
“I need a pregnancy test.”
Chris glanced over. “For real?”
She nodded. “You’re the only one we’re telling because we don’t want to hurt Tessa.”
Then she told him what Paris had said to Greyson.
“Keep that to yourself.”
He got it.
“Yeah, she looks miserable.”
Oh, that was putting it mildly.
“Yeah, she hasn’t said anything to me, but I’m thinking the IVF didn’t work.”
Chris felt bad for her. The Archers were good, decent people, and he knew they wanted a family to call their own. As of that morning, he did too.
It was odd how that just turned on in him—as if it were some weird biological clock that went on when he found Natasha.
Well, he’d have to deal with it later.
“Do you want to take the test or wait?” Chris asked. “We could swing by my place. It’s not far from here.”
She appreciated that. Emma was dying to know.
“Yeah, maybe we should. I don’t know if I can contain myself anymore.”
Chris took her hand in his. “You’ll make a good mother,” he stated.
“I hope so.”
She had to pray Sam not wanting her as his mother wasn’t anything personal, but just what Dimitri said.
It stung, but for the boy, she’d suck it up.
She had to.
“We’re here,” Chris said, getting out of their vehicle. He walked around and helped Emma out.
Together, they went inside.
Emma grabbed her things, and when she came out with Chris, they weren’t alone. While they avoided the media, they didn’t avoid the cops.
Heath Spencer was leaning against her ride.
“So, Emma, how’s the investigation going?” he asked, keeping his eyes on Chris Ford. The bigger man was now at her side, ready to place his body in front of her.
“None of your business.”
“Hey, Cap, how’s the dark side? Is the pussy better when it’s illegal?”
Emma grabbed his arm, knowing he was going to blow. Chris had a temper, but he was more susceptible if any shittiness was aimed at her.
“Don’t fall for it.”
He wanted to take the detective and smear his body all over the road, and then run over him a few times just for shits and giggles.
“Yeah, Cap, don’t fall for it.”
“Heath, you always were a shitty detective. You know that one promotion you wanted?” he stated. “I gave it to the worst detective on the squad just so you wouldn’t get it. I hated you then, and I kept you down for my own amusement.”
Okay, that was a lie, but two could play the game. He really was a shitty detective once his partner died. He’d become obsessed, and that was never a good thing.
“You were going nowhere under me.”
It had achieved its goal.
The man struck out, swinging and punching Chris in the face.
“You fucking asshole,” Heath muttered.
Chris laughed. “Emma, call the police. I was just physically assaulted by a cop. I see a lawsuit in my future. I guess I’ll be getting that retirement nest egg.”
She pulled out her phone.
Heath and his partner knew it was time to go. They took off in their dented detective ride, gravel flying in their wake.
“Haters gonna hate,” Chris said, rubbing his jaw. “I hope we got that on video. I want the man to sweat it a few days.”
She laughed. “Chris, you’re insane.”
Yeah, tell him something he didn’t know.
“Let’s go take a test,” he stated. “I want to wash the stench of negativity away.”
She could do that.
Any day.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Terrace Glen
Paris rolled around the house searching for Sam. He was nowhere to be found. When he finally located him, he was in the movie theater in the basement, watching TV.
Paris, at first, observed him. He was surrounded with food, he was tucked into a chair, and he looked miserable when he should be having the time of his life.
It was time to have a talk.
Rolling toward him, Paris stopped at the chair beside Sam.
“Can I join you?” he asked.
“You here to shrink my brain?” he asked, not even looking over at him. “I’ve been in the system since I was a baby. I can smell a doctor a mile away. I knew yesterday, and I have my confirmation today—now that you’re wearing a monkey suit and there’s no wedding.”
; Oh, he was smart.
Paris smiled.
“Actually, I was going to talk to you, but if you’d rather not, I get it. Can I watch TV with you instead? I don’t have an appointment until later, and I don’t have anything to do.”
He shrugged.
They sat there.
Paris mentally noted that the boy wasn’t really eating anything around him, but instead having it there to offer him some comfort.
“Can I have some popcorn?” he asked.
“No.”
“Okay.”
They sat there, and eventually, Sam handed him the bowl. “You can have some. I didn’t mean to be rude. That wasn’t nice of me.”
Paris took a handful. “It’s okay. I get it.”
“No, you don’t. You don’t have a clue.”
Paris knew it was time to get to work.
“My wife was thrown out a car window wrapped in a garbage bag when she was a baby. She nearly died, except someone walking their dog found her.”
That had the boy’s attention.
Paris continued, “I do understand. I also used to be able to walk. I was shot in the back, and I have to ride this chair the rest of my life. I know how it feels to get the short end of the stick.”
Sam looked over.
“She was tossed out the window? For reals?”
“Yeah, Tessa really was. You met her yesterday. Black hair, green eyes.”
“She’s a babe. You got lucky.”
Paris grinned. “Yeah, she is. I’m very blessed. She could have any guy, but she sees something in me.”
Sam ate some popcorn.
“How did you get shot?”
“Someone was trying to kill Tessa. I threw my body in front of hers. I took the bullet.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “That sucks.”
“Don’t be. Life is about taking what you’re handed and making your way through it.”
“No one wants me.”
Paris ate more popcorn. “You are totally clueless, kid,” he said.
It surprised Sam.
“What?”
“I know for a fact that Emma was disappointed when she found out you wanted Dimitri and not her to adopt you. She looked like she was going to cry.”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“She wants a baby. She’ll have one and I’ll be tossed. Dimitri won’t have a baby. I’ll be safe.”
Paris thought about it. “Yeah, but what do you really want? Safety or a mom and dad?”
He wasn’t sure.
“Well, needless to say, you have people who want you. Dimitri would take you in a heartbeat. Emma and Greyson would too. Hell! I’d take you. My wife and I can’t have kids.”
“Really?” he asked. “Why would you want me?”
“You’re smart, a good kid, and we would want to have someone who we can love.”
Sam stared at him. “I don’t understand any of you. All my life no one wanted me, and now I’ve found three families that do?”
Paris shrugged. “We’re actually one big family, Sam, and yes, we all want you.”
“Insanity,” he muttered.
Paris knew he needed to back off. It was time to let the boy think. Paris would bet if they tested him, they’d find him to be of above intelligence.
He could see the telltale signs.
“Want to watch TV?” Paris asked.
Sam focused on that.
He was serious.
He’d never had so many people who wanted him. Now he had another problem.
Who to choose?
Chapter Twenty-Five
A t Chris’s condo, he gave Emma some space. He wanted to go in with her, but that seemed way inappropriate. While she was in his bathroom, he was actually pacing. It was funny, but he couldn’t stop himself. No, this wasn’t his woman, but Emma was near and dear to his heart.
When she came out, he was waiting and staring.
“What?” she asked.
“Well?”
She laughed. “You have to wait two minutes for the test.”
“Oh, well, how am I supposed to know that? I’ve never done this before,” he said, taking a seat.
Emma found that funny. She was so lucky to have good men in her life.
“What do you want to talk about while we wait?”
“You realize you aren’t the baby daddy, right?”
He snorted. “Gee, thanks for pointing that out. Here I couldn’t remember that my dick was NOWHERE near you.”
Emma sat on the couch. For the two minutes, she didn’t want to think about the test waiting in the other room.
She was a nervous wreck.
“How are you and Natasha doing?” she asked. “I noticed you’re living together.”
“Well, not really living together,” he stated.
“Uh, same place.”
“If we were in the main house, we’d be under the same roof, so why not the pool house?” he asked, trying to rationalize it.
Emma was amused. “You’re a sick man.”
“Why?”
“You can’t bear to just say that you’re moving fast and you love it.”
Chris opened and then closed his mouth.
He was aware.
Emma was absolutely right, and that terrified him.
“I’m scared shitless.”
“About?” Emma asked, noticing the man looked like he was ready to bolt, and that was amusing since this was his place.
“I am moving too fast. Someone is going to get hurt.”
Emma moved closer. “You do not know that.”
“It’s the story of my life. With Denise, I proposed on graduation day without even getting a ring. I was impetuous, and it came back to bite me in the ass.”
“She’s not Denise. In fact, she’s not even close.”
He was aware, but still…
What if…?
Yeah, he couldn’t even go there.
“Do you trust me?” Emma asked, taking his large hand in hers.
“You know I do, Emma. We’re family. I love you.”
“She’s the one.”
“What? There is no way you could possibly know that,” he stated in horror.
“I can know that because I can see Greyson when I look at you. The way you cater to her, the way you look at her, and the way you’re afraid to let her out of your sight.”
He sputtered.
It was funny.
“You, my friend, are in love.”
Chris stared at her open mouthed. “Emma.”
“Yep, and there’s the proof. You don’t lie. Had you not thought you were in love with her, you would have said so. Instead, you’re trying to figure out how to get to higher ground in retreat because you’re drowning in love.”
“Shut up.”
She poked him in the ribs. “Chris is in love. Chris is in love,” she chanted.
He yanked her hair by the ponytail. “Knock it off.”
Emma kissed him on the cheek. “I’m happy for you. Natasha will love you until her last breath.”
He thought about it. “Do you really think so?” he asked. “What if she hurts me?”
“I’ll kick her ass.”
He snorted.
“Seriously, Chris. You have the one. Grab on, hold on, and fight with everything you have to keep her. I wouldn’t lie to you, my friend. You’ve found your woman.”
He knew he did.
He could feel it to his core.
Chris loved Natasha. He loved waking beside her, the emotional connection, and that he was the ONLY man on the planet who had been with her.
She was his.
And only his.
That, in itself, was a beautiful thing. He may have found the only virgin in Vegas.
She was a unicorn.
“You can trust me,” she promised, holding his hand in hers. “I won’t let you get hurt. You’re overthinking this, Christopher.”
He knew he was.
“
Isn’t your two minutes up?” he asked, changing the subject. Chris didn’t want to talk about it anymore. It was awkward.
He already knew what he needed to do.
“Yeah, it is. I’ll be right back. I can’t tell you,” she said, when she stood up. “Greyson should know first.”
He understood.
“I’m here if you need me, Emma. Don’t worry about telling me.”
She went to his bathroom, and when she came out, he already knew.
“Oh, honey,” he said, hugging her to his big barrel chest. “It’s all going to be okay.”
Then she cried.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Tony Mays’s
House
When they got there, the men were a little surprised. In fact, they were caught way off guard. What they expected was for the woman inside to be a mess.
She wasn’t.
In fact, Gina Sorenson was perfectly fine and running it like she stole it.
That didn’t fit.
After being invited into the house by some bodyguard, one they’d never seen before, they had to figure out what the hell was going on there.
“Mr. Croft and Mr. Gideon, won’t you come into my home?” she asked.
Uh…
“Gina, we came to tell you we’re sorry about what happened to your boyfriend. We just heard, and we wanted to give you our condolences.”
She offered them a seat. “I know. It was terrible what happened to Tony. My poor man,” she said, shaking her head.
Greyson didn’t hear an ounce of remorse in her voice. That alone kicked off his suspicions.
Then again, this was Tony Mays, and he was a dick. Could he really blame Gina?
“I appreciate you coming here, Mr. Croft. I know that you and Tony didn’t get along. This would have meant a lot to him.”
He laughed. “That’s an understatement.”
She smiled. “I’ll be taking over for him.”
Yeah, his gut was screaming.
“Really?”
“I’ve been with Tony a long time. I’m his common-law wife.”
Lost Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 2) Page 41
