This was the best date he’d ever had.
There was no pretense and a great deal of enjoyment.
After their food came, Emma would occasionally feed him forkfuls of her alfredo, and then lean over to wipe a bit of the sauce off his lip. All he could think was that it was something a wife might do. It made him feel all warm and content inside. He wanted her to do that sort of thing for the rest of his life. “Emma?”
“Yes, Grey?”
“I just wanted to say thank you for coming to dinner with me. Having you here has made it a very special night.”
“Is something wrong?” she inquired when suddenly his demeanor changed, and his body went tense.
“No, I’m fine. I just wanted to ask you…” But before he finished, Emma’s smartphone went off. “Go ahead and get it. It could be important.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yeah, it’ll keep. Besides, we’re on call.” Croft waited as Emma stared down at the message.
She cursed the bad timing.
Suddenly, his went off too. “Hell. I wish I could turn this damn thing off,” he muttered, knowing his mistress, work, was interrupting him once again, and as he was about to propose.
He answered his phone as she dialed. There was the sneaking feeling of dread that they were both going back to work. Briggs had just been alerted that there was an issue. From Emma’s body language, he could tell she was getting the same call.
Hanging up the phone, Emma glanced over at him. “Trouble?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Our date’s over,” she said, handing him her phone to put in his pocket. “Damn it!”
“Briggs didn’t specify, what’s going on?” he asked. “What do we know?”
“That was Deputy Thomas. He was out patrolling and lost contact with Deputy Ridge.”
“Maybe his radio is out.”
Emma shook her head. “That was what he thought too, but they have a rule that they check their radio and call in every hour when they’re on patrol at night. Ridge hasn’t checked in or headed back to the station, and he’s been out for two hours.”
“Okay, let me pay the bill, and we’ll get out of here. Then I’ll have Briggs meet us at the station.”
Emma hated ruining their evening, but she was terrified her deputy was hurt.
After paying, Croft helped Emma into her wrap.
“I’m sorry our date is ruined.”
He took her chin in his fingers, forcing her to look into his eyes. “There are going to be plenty more dates for us. This isn’t ruined. This is us doing our job.”
Emma hoped so. Then, she let him lead her out to the car. It amazed her how he slipped into FBI so quickly and seamlessly. One minute they were flirting and talking, and the next they were sitting in silence. Emma could almost hear his brain humming as he drove them back to Celestia.
It was Croft who spoke next, “It’ll be fine, Emma. I promise.”
She knew he’d understand. “I’m worried, Greyson. He has a pregnant wife, and I don’t know if I can handle having to go tell her that her husband is dead.”
“Emma, this isn’t the killer’s MO. It’ll be ok.” He took her hand and rubbed his thumb across her knuckles. He could feel a great deal of the tension draining from her body.
“Deputy Thomas called in Reese and Carlisle to start a patrol sweep.”
“That’s a good idea. We’ll join them. Celestia is a small town. Don’t make yourself sick over this, Emma. We’ll find him.”
His reassurance helped a great deal. “Okay. I’ll try.” Emma returned to staring out the window, watching all the trees pass by. It was incredibly hard to not worry if her deputy was dead, hurt, or simply lost. Emma all but jumped as her alerts went off again. Greyson immediately reached into his pocket and handed her the phone.
Emma listened and talked briefly. “We’ll be there in less than eight minutes. Hold your position and wait until we arrive. Contact Agent Briggs and have him meet us there.” She hung up and exhaled.
“Where are we heading?”
“To ‘The Crossing’.”
“Why? What’s there? Did they find another body?”
God, he hoped not.
“That was Reese. He was out looking for Deputy Ridge, and they found his vehicle.” Emma closed her eyes. “It’s the exact same place we found Megan Landry’s car.”
“Shit.” Croft could feel Emma’s fingers going cold in his hand. In his heart, the entire situation didn't bode well. “We’ll get through this.”
“I hope so, Grey,” she whispered.
Neither believed it.
His gut churned. Going back to ‘The Crossing’ meant one thing.
Death was about to come a calling.
When they pulled up to the patrol vehicles, Croft stretched past Emma to unlock the glove compartment. Reaching in, he pulled out a gun. Checking the clip, he handed it to her butt first.
“I don’t want you to go into that field without a weapon. I’d prefer for you to sit here, but since I know you won’t listen, you might as well be armed.”
Emma reached over to touch his face. “Thank you for understanding, Grey.”
He pulled her toward him, giving Emma a hard kiss on the lips. “Be careful, Sheriff.” He opened the car door, taking his own gun from his holster under his suit jacket before checking the clip.
Emma pulled off her heels, tossing them into the back seat as Briggs was pulling up. There was no point believing she could walk through the gravel and corn stalks in spikes. Barefoot was her best option.
Croft moved to her side. “Stick with me, honey,” he said. No one missed that it was a borderline demand.
She winced at the tone of his voice, but let it go. “Let me talk to my men, and we can start. I don’t want them to shoot any of us.”
Watching her walk away, he took a deep breath. Now that was on his mind too.
Great.
“Is it a good idea for the sheriff to go in there?” whispered Briggs. His gaze flickered to the barefoot woman in a dress.
“She’s tough, Curtis, and she’ll tell you it’s her job.” Croft ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “Believe me I want to keep her locked up and safe, but it’ll turn into a fight. I’m already feeling irrational and out of control.”
“Yeah, I can see that.”
Croft motioned for Briggs to follow as Emma signaled to them. He tried to ignore the deputies checking her out in that dress. Her legs were even distracting Briggs. It was like the sharks were circling the bikini clad swimmer in the water, searching for a tasty morsel. If he survived this, it was going down as the longest night of his life.
“We’ll work in pairs. I don’t want anyone alone out there,” ordered Emma. “Does everyone understand what I’m saying? No one goes out of radio contact,” she said.
The senior FBI agent crossed to Emma, taking a com and earpiece from Deputy Reese. “Does that include you too, Sheriff?”
Emma showed him the earpiece as she popped it in her ear. The pack was hanging down her back, and she turned, needing his help to attach it to the back of her dress.
“You're set,” he muttered, trying to not dwell on what could be lurking in the corn and bramble.
“Thanks you, babe,” she stated, not caring that her men were listening. “I’m good, Grey.”
Croft relaxed a bit. “Maybe you and your deputies didn’t notice, but there are five of us here. That’s hardly a round number.” He pulled her against his body as he spoke softly into her ear. “Who did you plan on pairing up with, Emma?”
She stared up at him.
The look on his face was one of pure ice. “Or did you hope that no one would notice, and you could traipse into the woods and lure the killer to you?”
Emma paused for a moment. “I’m going in with you and Agent Briggs. You’re as much a target as me, so we need to keep an eye on both of us.”
That seemed to calm him down.
“Stay with us. Is
that clear, Emma?”
She didn’t like his tone. It was making her want to knock him on his very nicely clad ass. Emma moved to face him toe to toe. She had to really look up at him since she was barefoot. “We’ll discuss your attitude later, Greyson.”
He didn’t flinch.
With that, she turned and headed toward the field.
“Man, is she pissed,” added Briggs. “Way to ensure that you’re not getting laid tonight,” he muttered, lowering his voice.
“Shut up, Curtis, and just stay close to the sheriff. I’m going to give her room to work, and see if I can back track around her. You guard her with your life.”
Briggs saluted and jogged off after the woman.
Emma and the men began moving into the field. Once there, they all started a sweeping search of the shadows. They maintained radio silence as they searched their way through the darkness and damp grass. Emma was pissed that Croft wandered off on his own, but now wasn’t the time to have a fight. It would only distract them and cause someone to get hurt. Not to mention warn anyone who was lurking.
She shuddered as they moved through the rows of maize, becoming quickly obscured in their dying stalks. Soon, the farmer would be cutting them down, but for now, the only sign that ‘The Crossing’ had company was the occasional flickering flashlight beam.
Emma came to a stop as she noticed some underbrush that looked disturbed. She paused and tapped Briggs on the shoulder, motioning towards the path. When he nodded and kept scanning the area, she put her trust in him to watch their backs. Emma stepped on a rock, and nearly yelped. God, what she wouldn’t give for boots and jeans.
Off to her left, there were more signs that the brush had also been disturbed. Curiosity had the best of her as she headed into the suspicious looking area. As she maneuvered around a tree, Emma could smell it. Then in her flashlight beam, she saw it.
Blood! It was splattered everywhere.
Emma hit the com button to communicate with her team when she heard popping and felt a bullet zing past her head.
Emma did the only thing she could do. She dove for cover in the brush and felt a burning pain in her right hip. A silenced gun let out three more shots. Emma landed in something wet and sticky, and then when realization dawned, she shouted in shock.
“We have someone firing at us,” she said, in a frantic voice over the com. “There’s a silencer on the gun!”
Greyson heard Emma’s comments over the com, and terror gripped his chest. He raced into the brush, feeling like a wild animal searching for its mate. The fear washed over him and the need to find her consumed him.
He heard her voice, giving directions to her location, and tried to calmly follow them. When he got his hands on her, he swore he was going to shake some sense into her.
Emma’s voice filled his ear as he heard her warning of a silenced gun. It slowed him down, since he didn’t want the killer taking shots at him in the darkness. When Emma requested an ambulance, due to officer down, he honestly believed he’d be sick right there and then.
Crashing through the brush, Croft and Briggs met right before her location, and moved towards the sound of her voice. It was odd, it wasn’t over the com, and she was talking soothingly to someone.
He called out for her, still feeling panicked and desperate to get to her. “Emma, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Grey, I can hear you.” Her voice came from about one hundred feet in front of him. “I’m okay.” It was as if she read his mind. “Be careful. Someone is shooting in this location, and I found Deputy Ridge. Right now, he’s still alive, but we need to get him out of here fast. He’s bleeding pretty badly.”
He found her kneeling over her deputy, her hand pressed into his shoulder, trying to staunch the blood flow.
“When I heard the sound of a bullet going by my head, I dove for cover and landed on Ridge.” Emma brushed a curl from her face with her free hand. “He’s breathing, but it’s shallow.”
Greyson checked his pulse. “We’ll get you out in a minute. We need to check around and make sure it’s clear.”
Emma nodded, continuing to talk softly to her deputy, willing him to hang in there for his unborn baby and wife.
As Croft and Briggs did a quick search of the area, Deputies Reese and Thomas arrived at Emma’s location and were assisting with their co-worker.
“There’s a big lump on his head too. I think someone knocked him out then shot him. I don’t think they knew he was wearing Kevlar under his uniform. I can feel a few bullet lumps in his vest,” Emma reported to the deputies. “Get him to the clearing and get him an ambulance and then you make sure you’re all suited up in body armor the rest of the shift.”
She watched as they lifted Ridge and began carrying him out.
“Emma, are you sure you’re okay?” asked Reese. He couldn’t help but notice that her face was scratched and there was blood on her hands, leg and dress.
“Yeah, I’m fine Reese. I got scratched up when I dove into the thicket. Ridge broke my fall, and I’m covered in his blood. It’s nothing a shower won’t solve.”
“Maybe the ambulance should check you out,” he insisted.
She shook her head. “I’m just sore from the landing.”
Reese shrugged. “Okay,” he was about to continue, but he heard the commotion.
Croft finally finished his search with Briggs and immediate relief washed over his face when he finally returned to her side. “My God, woman! You're going to be the death of me yet.” He pushed past Reese and pulled Emma into his arms, burying his face into her hair and neck. “You could have been shot!”
Emma was well aware of how close she came. “Grey, I’m safe,” she answered, trying to keep him from ruining his suit. “Babe, I’m covered in blood. You’re getting messy,” she muttered, as he continued to hold her to him.
“I don’t care about the damn suit, Emma!”
She pulled back and smiled into his eyes. “Did you find anything on your search?”
“It’s too dark, and there appears to be a great deal of trampled brush. We’ll have to come back during daylight and check.” He looked closely at her as if examining her for the first time. He ran his hands down her body in a quick check to see if she was injured. When his hand came away wet with blood, he began to panic.
“Are you hurt?” he asked, concern filling his eyes.
She wasn’t going to lie, Her body was feeling it. “I’m sore. I landed on my deputy, but my hip may have hit the ground. I need a shower and to get the blood off me.”
He understood that was the worst part for her. “Let’s get you out of here.”
“That sounds good to me, but we can’t leave this area unwatched. I’ll have to have deputies patrol it until we can get back here tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, ma’am,” answered Croft, laughing at how she was acting like the FBI hadn’t a clue. “Come on, Sheriff, you’re going home, and Curtis will take care of the details. You can trust him.”
Emma knew he was right.
Croft picked her up in his arms, so she wouldn’t have to walk barefoot on the gravel to the car.
“I just want this to all stop, Grey,” she said, once they were out of hearing range of the deputies. She put her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. “I’m so numb.”
“It’s the adrenaline, baby. Soon enough, you’ll feel again.” He knew she wasn’t talking strictly about the killer. The entire situation was forcing her off balance.
Lovingly, Greyson placed her in the passenger seat and buckled her in. He then placed his lips against the biggest scratch on her face. “We’ll get you home, clean you up, and then get you tucked into bed.”
“Okay,” she said, feeling the ache and pains start to scream for her attention. Shit! Emma knew she must have really landed hard on her hip. It was just about weep-worthy!
He walked to the driver’s side and stopped before sliding into the car. Croft took a deep breath, knowing this had been too close for comfo
rt. Emma could have been killed. Greyson let out a sigh and looked at the sky. He sent out a silent prayer, thanking the powers that be for not letting her be seriously injured.
Tomorrow, he was going to lock her away for her own good and his sanity.
When they arrived home, he gingerly lifted her from the car to carry her into her cabin. Emma woke and put her hand on Greyson’s jaw. “Thank you, but I think I can manage from here.”
Croft lowered her to her feet. He dropped her shoes on the floor beside her.
“I need a shower and some sleep, and then I’ll be fine.” Greyson wasn’t saying anything and that had made Emma nervous. She was too tired to fight as another wave of dizziness swept over her.
“Okay, honey,” he finally answered.
“I just want to wash off all this blood.” She headed to the bathroom, struggling to focus. What the hell was wrong with her? This was like no adrenaline crash she’d ever experienced.
“I’ll make you some tea,” he added, heading to the kitchen. Croft prayed the tone in his voice didn’t give away what was masked just below the surface.
Emma quietly closed the bathroom door and braced herself against the wall with a bloody hand.
The room lurched.
She fought for her balance and couldn’t seem to get the walls to stop moving. Emma had no idea what was wrong.
“Maybe I hit my head,” she mumbled, as she turned on the water and tried to take her clothes off. She untied the halter of the dress and let it drop. Emma tried to peel off her panties, but when her hand brushed her hip, coming away with more red blood, she gasped.
“Oh, crap,” she hissed, as the pain raced through her body. Staring down at her side, she knew why the room was spinning.
“It wasn’t all his blood,” she murmured.
It was her last thought as the world went black and she felt herself endlessly falling.
~ Chapter Seventeen ~
Monday Late Evening
Croft stood in the kitchen making Emma’s lavender tea and stewing over the night’s events. The damn woman took too many chances, and it made him very uncomfortable. They were going to have to discuss the entire night’s events in the morning whether or not she wanted to. She got entirely too close to the killer tonight, and it made him angry thinking she was almost shot.
Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1) Page 43