Celestia is Falling (A Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 1)

by Morgan Kelley

  “You should cut his dick off and put it on the pillow next to her. I bet she’d scream like a girl.”

  Will rolled his eyes. “Lila, if I’m sneaking into her house, it’s to take her, not to leave his dick in their bed. Use your damn head,” he muttered. “Although, I could sneak in and rape her. Would you like that, Agent Croft?”

  The man struggled from the chair he was bound to. He almost wanted to weep at the thought of what they were planning for Emma. Whatever they did to him was inconsequential at that point, only her life mattered to him.

  “Too bad you won’t be around to see that, Agent. I promise I’ll make her suffer before I let Lila cut her to pieces.”

  The woman giggled sickly. “I love hacking them apart. I think I may take her eyes. They creep me out when they stare at me. It’s like she knows.”

  Emma watched Greyson flinch as he continued to try and free his already ripped open wrists. He struggled with all the energy he had left to get free.

  Lila laughed. “Then we need to get out of town. I still feel bad about Billy. He was positive cash flow.”

  It was Will’s turn to laugh. “It’s been a pleasure to watch the sheriff jump through hoops. She has been nothing but disrespectful. I was going to kill her for being a whore, but after we found out her past, it became more fun to torture her. I do believe torturing and killing Agent Croft will be the nail in the coffin. She might even kill herself when she sees what we’re going to do to her lover’s body.”

  “It was a good thing that other agent left her personnel files lying around. He was another idiot,” said Lila, discussing Briggs.

  Croft fought with what was left of his strength.

  Emma had heard enough. She stood up and started to move out of the shadows.

  The remaining breath caught in his chest as he saw her walk towards them. At first, he believed it was a hallucination as he struggled to see her through his one semi-open eye. First came excitement, and then panic filled him. She was walking into a trap, and he couldn’t get the gag off his mouth to save her.

  “Can anyone join this party?” she asked, with her gun trained on Will Taylor.

  The two killers spun around. It was almost comical to watch Will grab Lila, pulling her against him. The big knife was pressed to her jugular. It was obvious Will had no idea that Emma, Briggs and Reese had heard their previous conversation. Sadly, she didn't doubt he’d take her life out of desperation.

  “I’ll slit her throat, Sheriff. I have no problem doing that.”

  “I know, Will. I’ve seen your work. I see you did a number on my fiancé.” She looked over at him tied to the chair, gagged, and bloody. “Overkill isn’t it?”

  Croft struggled to get the gag free of him lips.

  “Put down your gun, Sheriff, or I’ll slice Lila to pieces right before your eyes.”

  Croft howled, trying to get her attention as he shook his head.

  Emma kept the gun up. “Babe,” she said, looking into his battered and abused face. “I have this one. Trust me,” she said.

  Croft relaxed considerably, knowing their fate all rested in her hands. Hope filled him that she had a plan. Maybe she’d just shoot them dead.

  The drama began as Lila turned on the water works. “Please, Emma, don’t let him kill me!” Lila sobbed. “I want to go home to my daddy!”

  “Drop it, Sheriff!” Will Taylor ordered.

  Oh, she was a good actress and that just pissed Emma off even more. As Emma lowered to the ground to drop her gun, Croft again became agitated, struggling to tell her something.

  “Shhhhhhh…babe, I need you to breathe for me. You’re getting out of here soon,” she promised. To reassure him that she had this under control, Emma glanced toward him and winked.

  He saw her signal, and he prayed she knew what she was doing. He put all his hopes and dreams in her hands, believing in the woman who owned his heart.

  “Good job, Sheriff. Now have your two lackeys do the same thing.”

  “Guys, drop your guns. We don’t want to see Lila or Greyson hurt.” Emma watched Will Taylor with cold eyes.

  “Now, your backup piece, Sheriff. You know the one at your ankle. While you’re at it, take off your jacket. I want to make sure you’re disarmed.”

  “Fine, Will. Just don’t harm Lila.” It hurt to say it. She wanted to knock her on her deviant little ass.

  No, she wanted to kill her.

  “I won’t flay her if you kick your weapons across the floor away from you,” Will commanded.

  They all did what he said.

  Emma slid out of her jacket and all you could see was the empty shoulder holster. Bending down again, Emma kept her eyes on Will and Lila. She unsnapped her ankle holster and slid the gun away on the floor. Emma could again see Croft looking panicked.

  Briggs and Reese followed suit, hoping she knew what she was doing.

  She heard Briggs mutter something about her being totally insane, and his boss kicking his ass when this was done for taking the risk.

  “There you go, Will. You got what you wanted. Now let Lila go.”

  He started laughing. “I’m afraid, Sheriff, I can’t let you leave alive. You’ve been fun to play with, but I have to kill you. No offense.”

  Lila started laughing and turned, placing a kiss on Will’s cheek. “I told you she was stupid,” Lila taunted.

  Emma would lock down the remaining details, and then she’d rain on their parade. “Before you kill us all, maybe you can explain it to me. I think we deserve that much,” she paused. “Why did you kill all those women?”

  “Why, Sheriff, they were all whores. Each and every one of them was either cheating on their husbands or sleeping around. I was just taking out the trash.”

  She crossed her arms, unimpressed. “It must be nice to appoint yourself judge jury and executioner, Will.”

  “Who are we kidding? The world didn’t need them. It was all a game. I wanted to see how many whores I could eradicate.”

  “Just like your mother, Will?” Emma asked, grinning. It was her turn to play the game.

  Fury washed over his face.

  “Don’t talk about my mother at all! She’s dead to me! That woman was never worthy of a child or her life!”

  “No problem, Will.” Emma pushed on. “What I don’t get is where does Billy play into all this? You’re on your mission to cleanse the world, but where did the dead man fit in?”

  An unmissed flicker of emotion crossed Lila’s face.

  “So, he was just the scapegoat,” Emma nodded. “Poor Billy was used up like his life never mattered to anyone.”

  “Collateral damage,” he answered, easily.

  Emma tapped her chin. “How about we recap the, Will? You killed Maggie Wilson, Bekka Drake, Megan Landry, Connie Hart, and Betty Kline all because they were whores.”

  “Yes.”

  “Gee, I guess we were pretty lucky that we found you before you could kill Lila, since she’s the mother of all trash bags.”

  There was fury on his face again.

  Emma grinned. “You see, she was sleeping with Billy and she was also banging an FBI agent,” she said, pointing at Briggs when Will looked around angrily. “Not the one you tied up, asshole. He’s my love muffin. I’m the only one he’s vertically dancing with for the rest of his life.”

  “You lie! Lila wouldn’t do that to me!”

  She started laughing. “I don’t lie, and yes, she did.”

  Lila looked panicked. “I only went to his cabin once, Will, like you instructed to try and lure him away.”

  Briggs was grateful that he had kicked her out, or he’d be dead by now. This was the end of his one-night stands. He swore to God.

  “Prove it,” hissed Will Taylor to Emma.

  Lila looked sick to her stomach over the entire conversation that was happening. Her eyes went big and she looked like she was going to bolt.

  “She has a tattoo of a rose on her inner thigh. Under it are the initials WST,”
offered Briggs. “I was up close and personal with that area,” he stated, grinning. “A few times, as a matter of fact, and she didn't mind at all.”

  Emma snickered. “I bet you were, Curtis. Lila’s the epitome of whore. Like mother, like daughter.”

  Lila Tate’s face turned three shades of red.

  “See? I slept with Agent Croft fast, but I’m also marrying him. Once you marry the ONLY man you’re shacked up with, you stop being a whore. Lila was spreading around her goodies to the whole damn town.”

  There was nothing but pure fury filling his body. He glared at Lila.

  “He’s lying,” she insisted.

  Briggs started laughing. “She does this thing with the tip of her tongue that’s really hot.”

  “Enough!” he roared in anger.

  Emma continued pushing his buttons. “Wow, Curtis! I hope you had your inoculations before sleeping with such a whore.” She emphasized the last word.

  Lila looked shaken, and Will looked like a wild animal. It was what Emma wanted, his focus was broken, and he’d lowered the gun.

  “Shut up, Sheriff, before I slice her up.”

  It was time to show them that she wasn’t as stupid as Lila believed. Now, she’d show them her cards and reveal the truth. The two were connected all the way back to Philly. “Did I mention Will that Lila went to Saint Joe’s University? Didn’t you go there too?”

  Will looked shocked and Lila started to go white.

  “I always heard that they had a terrific Biology lab there.”

  “Shut up, whore,” he screamed in anger, realizing they found it all out.

  Emma continued, “Hey, Lila, where did you meet Billy Barnes?”

  “Here in Celestia.”

  “Liar, liar, pants on fire, and I don’t mean from the STD’s you probably have either. You see, I know that you were at Saint Joe’s the same time as Will. I also know that you were his Biology lab partner. Then you helped get him a job here in Celestia working for your father. You had a dating relationship with Billy here in Celestia or was that an act?”

  “I don’t know what you are talking about.”

  “Really? Bright girl like you?” she said, sarcastically. “I also know that Will here worked at the Department of Transportation and that’s how he got addresses of women. He pulled them up when they purchased bus passes. It took me a while, but I have to say that you and Will tossed in a terrific red herring--Billy Barnes.”

  Neither spoke.

  “I couldn’t get past him until we found his body. That was a big mistake.”

  “You think you know it all?” hissed Will Taylor.

  “Oh, it was fairly tricky. You see Will, Bekka Drake was tough until we found out she worked in the office across from yours. We really couldn’t tie her to Billy. That was the big stumper from the beginning. The sad part is Connie Hart, or Carly Wilson, which ever you prefer, was a coincidence. Running from Philly because she knew the wrong sister was murdered, and showing up in Celestia only to run into you. That’s horrible luck, and you took advantage of the opportunity.”

  Lila started sobbing uncontrollably

  “Shut up, whore! You’re no better than the rest of them!” screamed Will Taylor, as he pushed Lila out of his way. When he grabbed for one of the guns, which were on the ground, they all knew it was time.

  Everything moved in slow motion.

  Emma reached into her back holster, pulling her firearm. She raised the gun at the same time Will lifted his. Emma squeezed the trigger three times.

  Lila screamed in horror.

  Will froze as if locked in the moment. His hand went to his chest as blood bubbled from between his fingers.

  Emma’s aim was accurate. The first caught him in the shoulder and the second two were dead center to the chest. When her ears stopped ringing, she stepped toward Will and kicked the gun from near his body. She leaned down next to him.

  “What’s wrong, Will? Didn’t your precious Lila tell you I was carrying a third gun?”

  He gurgled.

  “It’s Greyson’s clutch piece. He wanted me to hold onto it in case of emergency. I think I’ll get it bronzed, you filthy animal.” She paused, listening to him struggling to live.

  Here was his karma.

  The Hunter was dying.

  Will stared up with fury and pain in his eyes.

  “Game over, Will, and you lose to a woman,” she said, as she heard him breathe out for the last time. “Good riddance.”

  “Emma, I’m calling for an ambulance,” stated Reese, drawing her attention for a brief moment.

  It was all Lila needed. She’d make the woman pay by cutting out her heart too.

  Emma heard the scuffling noise as Lila lunged for a prone Greyson, who was now just sitting in the chair too weak from blood loss to move. She had a knife in her hand and was aiming for his heart. Instinct kicked in, along with her need to keep him alive, and everything went back to slow motion.

  Croft lifted his head to watch the falling arc of the sharp blade. This appeared to be it after all. His only consolation was at least he got to see her one last time before he died. His girl would be his final thought before the nothingness.

  Lila began the descent of the buck knife as Emma raised her gun. She fired off three more shots into the young woman.

  The sound echoed as she fell at Croft’s feet in a sick thud.

  It was all over.

  Emma took a deep breath and rushed to his side to set him free.

  “We should have killed you in your cabin instead of just knocking you out,” she sputtered.

  “Probably, Lila. Why did you do it?”

  “Whores.” She tried to breathe in. “Just like my mother. Except these whores were throwing themselves at a great man who needed to be protected from their filthiness.”

  Emma watched as life deserted Lila Tate. She was sorry that another person had to die. Emma had no doubt that it would be just another ghost to follow her through her own existence. Then her eyes met his and the shadows released and love returned.

  “Thank you,” he rasped, as she pulled free the gag.

  Emma dropped to her knees and used the knife beside Lila to cut his bindings free. “Oh, babe. You’re a mess. What did they do to you?” she asked, helping to lower him to the floor. Once there, she rested his head in her lap.

  “Maybe I am getting too old,” he whispered from swollen lips.

  “You scared the hell out of me, Greyson Croft,” she said, laying kisses across the part of his face that wasn’t raw and sore. “I can’t let you out of my sight for a second,” she stated, taking his bloody hand in hers.

  “I’m proud of you, Emma,” he mumbled, the room going gray and spinning.

  “Hang in there, Croft. The ambulance is coming. They’ll patch you up good as new,” Reese said, staring down at the man.

  He nodded.

  “What’s this I hear about you getting married?” Reese asked, touching Emma on the shoulder.

  She smiled down into Greyson’s face as he slowly breathed in and out. “I’m definitely marrying him,” she said, offering him another kiss as she stroked his hair lovingly.

  “I love you, Emma,” he whispered. “I think I’m going to pass out again,” he said, losing the fight to stay awake.

  “I’ve got you, Greyson. No worries,” she said, holding him protectively against her until the ambulance could come for him.

  As she stared down at his cuts and bruises, her heart broke at the pain he had suffered through. Then Emma looked down at his blood on her hands, and knew that this time it would end differently.

  This time love would win.

  The circle was closed.

  And the blood didn’t control her any more.

  Only love did.

  ~ Chapter Twenty ~

  Late Wednesday Evening

  Emma remained in the hospital, drinking lousy coffee and looking like a refugee from a war. Croft’s blood was still on her jeans and shirt. It had been
a horribly long night. After they brought Greyson into the emergency room and cleaned him up, she sat next to his bed holding his hand and telling him how much she loved him. She listened to Briggs call his family, telling them he was hurt but stable. They saved the details, since no one wants to hear how their son was close to being killed by a lunatic over the phone.

  Some details were best left unsaid.

  His family was in with him now, and she’d escaped before they arrived to give them time to visit with him privately. She’d yet to see his parents, but his brother came to find her.

  “Grey told us you saved his life,” said Dante, sitting beside her and taking her hand in his. He didn’t miss that it was ice cold.

  She laughed. “He saved mine. I was simply repaying the favor.” Without the love of her life, she’d be nothing but a soulless human, wandering life alone.

  “They did a number on his body and face,” Dante said, leaning back and trying to remain calm.

  “Yeah, they did.”

  “Are they alive?” Desperately, he wanted retribution for his big brother.

  Emma shook her head and her voice cracked. “I killed them.”

  Dante was more than happy to hear that. He knew how hard that had to be for her, especially since his brother told him about her past. He leaned over and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks for that.”

  She nodded.

  “He’s in there telling my parents about you,” he offered. “Are you two really getting married?”

  Emma nodded. “Yes, we are.”

  He smiled, dropping his arm around her shoulders. His mother and father were crossing the waiting room. “Welcome to the family, Emma,” he said, softly.

  She closed her eyes against the tears, praying they wouldn’t start pouring down her cheeks. Her heart still burned at knowing how close she’d come to losing the man she loved. Her thoughts were interrupted by an unfamiliar voice.

  “Emma?” asked the woman.

  Slowly, she opened her eyes. The woman before her was about sixty years old, and immediately, Emma could see the resemblance. “Yes, I’m Emma. You must be Grey’s mother.”

  “I am, but what gave it away?” she asked.