“Hey! That’s still not a reason to buy a guy a condo, Emma. I did that because I know how hard it is to be divorced. I know what he’s feeling. I like the kid. I would have done it for anyone.”
She didn't buy that.
Emma knew that Christ Ford was loyal to them.
“Because of it, I want to give you something for doing that. I know you’ve had your heart kicked around too, and that makes me want to level the playing field for my friends. Would you prefer money?”
He got red. “Emma! I’m the captain of the homicide division. If people find out I live there, they’re going to think I’m dirty.”
There.
He said it.
And the second it came out of his mouth, he knew it was the worst thing he could ever say. In anger, he’d just hurt her.
Shit!
She stepped back in horror. “I see. So, this isn't about the gift, but all about how people will see you when they find out that it’s from me. It couldn’t possibly be for a man I call friend. It has to be a bribe from a dirty cop to one with power.”
He closed his eyes. “Emma, I didn't mean it to come out that way. I was frustrated…”
She stopped him. “Don’t. Please. You’ve said enough. I never expected you to hurt me, Chris. I misjudged you.”
“Emma.”
“It’s okay. I get it. You can keep your apartment then. I don’t want anyone you respect to think you’re dirty, and on the take like we are. You’re right. It was inappropriate. I crossed a line, and I’ll be sure never to do so again, Captain Ford.”
He grabbed her hand as she went to move away.
“Emma!”
“Please release me. You made your decision, and I’m going to respect it. I’ll also stop dancing with you too. We wouldn’t want any of the upstanding citizens of Vegas to think you’re in cahoots with some lowlife cop whose husband is on the take.”
She walked away.
Chris stood there unsure what to do.
He’d made a mess.
A huge one.
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
Mace and Paris were eating Chinese as they worked on running the data. A new batch of information had come in, and they needed to sort through it before regrouping tomorrow afternoon.
Paris didn't see anything that connected the crimes, so he passed the papers off to his data partner. Maybe a fresh set of eyes would be beneficial.
To him, there was nothing there.
“Thanks for letting me crash here, Mace,” he stated.
The detective looked up. “It’s no problem. I don’t mind the company. It’s lonely in the apartment all by myself.”
He was well aware.
“I can’t believe I’m getting married tomorrow. I really never thought this day was going to come. After I got shot, all my hopes and dreams went away. I never thought this could come true.”
He completely got that. “My one piece advice, if you’re interested, is to always put her first. In this line of work, it’s easy to get sucked in. Even though she’s a Fed, too, make time for each other. It’s why my marriage failed. My wife thought my work came first, and she was right. It did.”
He made a mental note. “Thanks. I can use all the advice I can get. I’m starting at a disadvantage here.”
Mace knew he was talking about being in a chair. “You’ll walk again if you believe you can.”
Paris believed that. He was already able to stand up, and he couldn’t wait to surprise Tessa at their wedding. That was his gift to her. He wasn’t going to give up. They were going to walk together again, and he was going to have children with the woman he loved. Odds weren’t all that mattered.
He believed in himself.
Fate wasn’t keeping him down.
As they went back to reading the papers, Mace got quiet, and suddenly saw something.
“Wait.”
Paris glanced up. “What?”
“I need to get a file for you to take a look at. I just realized something that I’ve never seen before.”
He raced from the room and came back with the Thomas Booker file he’d been working on before he and Emma teamed up.
“What’s wrong?”
He passed it to Paris.
“Let me read you something, and you scan that file. I want a second set of eyes to tell me if I’ve lost my mind.”
“Okay.”
Mace began, “On Brynn’s body, they found a fiber that they couldn’t explain.”
“Okay. They found fibers on Thomas Booker too. It’s damn hard not to leave some kind of trace at a murder scene.”
Yeah, he got that, but this was the first time they were able to connect them--or that was what he was hoping was happening.
“In Lana Dumas’s home, they found one on her too, right?”
“Yeah, I remember, but we didn't match it to anything. Max tagged it as just a random thread.”
Mace looked up. “We just did. It’s a very expensive dyed wool. It’s unique to a certain brand of clothes.”
He stared openmouthed. “Really? We did?”
“There is a pink Channel wool fiber on Thomas Booker from his wife.”
Paris was still with him. “I need more. I’m not seeing it.”
“Lana Dumas had that same fiber.”
“Well, she and Trudy Booker were friendly. Lana was her family attorney. She was the one who hired that hit on Emma and Randall Mason.”
He pointed to the report on Brynn and the man shot in the black Caddy. “The same fiber was on Brynn. It matched. She didn't associate with the woman.”
Paris got it.
“And the shooter?”
“There was a pink fiber in the car stuck in the seatbelt. She must have sat there, and when she stood up, it got caught on the clip that locks the seatbelt.”
“Are you saying Trudy Booker is the one who is behind all this?”
He stared at the profiler. “Behind every great man is a better woman, right? We all thought her husband was the mastermind, but what if he was just the front man, and his wife was the trigger woman?”
They pondered that.
Paris flipped through the papers. “When they went to the storage locker, after the cop who abducted Emma was killed, they found it was rented by T.B.”
“Yeah, and I bet it’s not a coincidence that those initials also match Trudy Booker. Her husband was dirty, but the woman behind the man was as crooked and evil as the day is long.”
“You gotta call Greyson, and fast. Trudy Booker goes to all these functions. If she’s there, she has a shot at Dante, Steele, Chris, and Emma too. Greyson won’t see it coming. It’ll blindside him. He’s thinking that there’s some lag time since we found the dead shooter. He’s not going to see an older woman as a killer. No one will.”
Mace picked up his phone and made the call.
This was a bad thing.
They’d been snowed since the beginning, and by a cop’s wife.
Who better to commit a string of heinous crimes?
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
Commissioner’s Party
Emma headed for the ladies’ room. She was so mad at Chris, that she needed a moment to get away. The women’s bathroom sounded like the safest place. That way, neither man could follow her. Besides, she was pretty sure her makeup was a mess from the tears he’d caused.
As she approached the door, Trudy was standing there jiggling the knob. “It’s locked. We’ll have to use the upstairs one. It looks like someone accidentally locked it when they came out.”
Emma sighed.
The last thing she wanted to do was hike up the marble stairs in that dress, but she wanted a breather.
“I’ll walk you up, Emma. You look a little distraught. Is something bothering you?”
“No, I’m fine, other than I can’t move well in this dress. It’s like a straightjacket. Now, you know why I like vintage better. At least the women back then could breathe. Who’s the idiot now?”
Yeah, wasn’t that the truth.
As Emma moved up the stairs, Trudy at her side, she felt off. The woman was being far too nice to her. She didn't know why. Could the woman be having a change of heart?
Finally?
“You know, when I first met Greyson, I thought for sure my daughter would be marrying him. They would have been perfect together. She liked to be out in public and seen as a trophy wife, and he was destined for power.”
Emma was well aware.
That’s why the woman hated her guts.
Apparently, Trudy still hadn’t let it go. When would she realize that Greyson didn't marry her for anything more than love?
“My husband told me not to worry because we would convince Greyson to dump you. After an accident, you’d be out of the way. Only, he never anticipated that you would have nine lives. It’s a shame.”
Emma glanced over only to see a gun pointed at her. Her stomach dropped. Not only was she unarmed, wearing ridiculous heels, and an impractical dress, but no one knew she’d left Chris’s side. This woman liked to shoot people between the eyes, and she’d never survive that.
Emma was screwed.
“I didn't really love my husband. We weren’t compatible. He was an idiot, and I liked women. Lana Dumas was more than my partner, she was my side action. I stayed with Thomas out of necessity. His name kept the Vegas mob off me, giving me time to get power. Unfortunately, when he couldn’t talk Greyson out of dumping you, I had to kill him.”
Emma began weighing her options. If she ran or moved for that gun, she was dead. Her best bet was to stall.
“Why did you do it, Trudy? You had kids together. That had to matter.”
She laughed. “Not really. He was a fool, and tonight, I’m going to ensure that when your husband heals from this, he’s going to marry my daughter. I’ll have all the money in Vegas, and you’ll be gone. Randall Mason thought he was screwing me over, but he wasn’t. He’d inadvertently dumped your husband in my lap. When you die, he’s loaded. I’ll make sure he’ll love again. Don’t worry, dear. He won’t be a widower for long.”
She stared at her. “You killed all those people to get Randall’s money? That’s sick, Trudy.”
She laughed. “Yes, and I’m about to add one more body to the count.” With that, she swung out, striking Emma in the face. It only dazed her, but when she fell back, cracking her head on the marble stairs, she went out.
“This game is over, dear. Your husband is going down, and when he’s at his lowest, I’ll swoop him up. You’ve been a pain in my ass,” she said, grabbing Emma to drag her to the elevator that went to the roof.
Trudy looked around to make sure she was alone.
“Tonight you die, and when you go, a part of him goes too. It’ll be the part that keeps him moral, good, and on the right side of the law. I’ll make him a monster, and then cage that power for my personal use.”
When the elevator closed, there was sick laugher.
“I’ve finally won.”
Only, Trudy didn't see the figure in the shadows. When Katerina pulled out her phone, she made a quick call.
“What?”
“Emma’s been taken.”
“Where?”
“Get her husband. The person stalking the Crofts has shown herself.”
“It’s a she?” Dimitri asked, moving through the crowd to get to Greyson Croft.
“Yeah, and she’s about to make the boss a widower. They headed to the roof. We don’t have much time.”
Well, they had to stop that.
And fast…
Chapter Seventeen
Greyson was actually having a good time as he was drinking bourbon and schmoozing with the commissioner. When he glanced over, he could see Dimitri moving through the crowd, and the look on his face meant business.
He was a little shocked that he’d shown himself. Yes, he’d mentioned he’d be there, but Greyson thought he’d be a shadow.
This couldn’t be good, and Croft knew it. Immediately, the knot began forming in his gut.
Glancing across the dance floor, he found his brother and Steele. Then, when he saw Chris Ford, he was alone.
Shit!
“Excuse me, Commissioner,” he said, moving toward his head of security. When he reached him, his heart was pounding in his chest. His gut was painfully twisting, and he knew it was going to be bad.
“We have to go!” Dimitri ordered.
“Where’s my wife?”
“She’s been taken.”
They were the worst words he’d ever heard in his life, and unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time they’d been said to him.
“What?”
“Katerina saw her being taken. If we don’t hurry, she’s dead.”
Greyson rushed after the man and right toward the stairs Emma had gone up. Chris noticed the man storming his way, and knew something was going down.
“What’s wrong?”
“Where’s my wife?”
“She went to the ladies’ room.”
Greyson didn't give him a chance to say anymore. “She’s been taken. The killer has her on the roof.”
As if timed perfectly, his phone rang. He was going to ignore it, but he could move and talk at the same time.
“Croft.”
“We know who the killer is!” Mace said. “It’s Trudy Booker. She killed her husband, all those people, and Brynn!”
Greyson wished they would have figured this out a few minutes earlier. As they waited for the elevator, he barked into the phone. “Get backup here, and fast. Emma’s been taken!”
With that, he hung up his phone.
“We have to save her,” he said, rushing into the elevator.
“We will. You have to stay calm. We’ll get her but don’t do anything stupid. Do you hear me?”
Greyson didn't hear a damn word Dimitri said. The blood was pounding in his ears, and the life was draining from his body. All he wanted was to save his wife. By stupid, if the man meant trading her life for his, that was exactly his plan.
Trudy wanted him dead.
Croft would make the exchange.
The powers that be could have him instead. If she died, he couldn’t go on.
There would be no point.
“It’s a woman,” Dimitri stated. “Katerina saw her being taken.”
“Oh, I know who it is.”
“If we catch her?”
“If she hurt my wife, I want her dead. Do you hear me, Dimitri? If Emma dies, put her down.”
The man was given his orders. It was good that he realized that this was his thing. Greyson Croft wouldn’t be getting his hands dirty over this.
He would.
When the door chimed, they had to move quietly. “I’ll go one way, you go the other. Be careful.”
He would.
This bitch liked head shots, and Croft was willing to take one if it meant saving his wife.
As he silently tried to reach his wife, only one thing was going through his mind.
‘Please be on time.’
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
When Emma came too, her hands were bound in front of her, as were her feet. The duct tape was so thick that she’d never get it off. Worse than that, there was a rope around her throat.
Trudy was going to shove her off the building and to her death. Emma was going to die like Brynn, and she was helpless to stop it.
“Trudy, if you kill me, they will catch you. You’re already going to the chair. If I die, that’s three cops. There’s not a jury in the world that won’t execute you.”
She laughed at the younger woman’s naivety. “No one’s going to suspect me. I’m in the clear. I’ve stayed ahead of this for a while. You couldn’t even see me as the killer. I had all the cops fooled, and even my husband.”
“How did you know how to copy our killer to make Brynn look like she w
as taken too?”
“I asked.”
Emma was trying to stall.
“You see, the new commissioner joined me for dinner. I had him over to pump him for information. Then after I had sex with him, he spilled the details in the afterglow.”
Emma hated this woman.
“You’re a bitch.”
Trudy laughed. “Thank you. You’re dead.”
When she went to push Emma over the side of the ledge, she struggled. Trudy bashed her in the head again, but Emma fought, biting her hand.
Trudy howled in agony.
Enough was enough. She grabbed the duct tape and placed it over Emma’s mouth and nose to stop her from breathing. “I hope you suffer.”
Emma struggled, but at least she got some of Trudy’s DNA in her mouth. Steele would find it.
They’d catch her.
It was her only consolation.
As she was rolled to the edge, she couldn’t breathe. Tears filled her eyes. So, this was how it was all going to end. Scenes flashed through her mind of the last year. In each one, Greyson was smiling.
At least that would be her last memory.
Just as Trudy was about to shove her over the ledge, the roof door was kicked open.
Emma saw him.
Their eyes met.
And the Trudy pushed.
The last thing she remembered was struggling for air as she dropped. Her fingers went to her throat, finding a way under the rope and above the necklace Greyson had given her. If she was going to live, she had to keep the rope from snapping her neck.
Her vision wavered as her body jerked to a stop.
Blackness came.
Emma was out of air.
And time.
Hell Is Burning Page 44
