Paid Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 3)

by Morgan Kelley

“Grey.”

  “Chris, he hurt my wife. That’s a shot at our family. If he’s willing to set up a cop, do you know what he’s capable of?” he asked.

  Oh, he had an idea, but that wasn’t the point. Dimitri gave him a job, and he was going to do it.

  Chris entered the room and tried to talk some sense into the man. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy.

  “Listen, I’m with you on almost everything, but think this through. If you do something hastily, what do you think is going to happen?”

  He knew the risks.

  They didn’t matter.

  This was about healing his wife. She deserved the knowledge that he’d fixed this. She deserved to know that someone had her back.

  “I’m going, and that’s it. My mind is made up. If you want to help me, you’ll stop being my Mom and give me an alibi.”

  Chris sighed. “Then I’m sorry.”

  Greyson didn’t turn around. “Sorry for what?” he asked, buckling the belt on his cargo pants.

  Chris didn’t hesitate.

  He tackled his friend, doing what Dimitri had told him to do. After all, technically, he was his boss, and he had to listen to the man.

  Greyson was caught off guard, as he was thrown to the ground. Unfortunately for him, Chris had been working out, and training with Dimitri.

  He had gotten stronger, bulkier, and apparently, sneakier.

  He got the jump on him as they rolled around.

  “Are you out of your mind?” Greyson hissed, as they rolled around on the floor.

  Greyson almost got away, but Chris sucker punched him, and he saw stars.

  Finally, Chris got him pinned. Before Greyson could get up, he zip-tied his hands behind his back, and then pushed off of him to get to his feet.

  “I said you’re not going anywhere,” Chris said, wiping the blood from his mouth. It wasn’t easy to get the jump on Greyson Croft.

  The man was slippery like an eel.

  “I’m going to fucking kill you when I get free. Cut these zip-ties!” Croft ordered, as the bigger man held him down with his foot on his gut.

  Chris wasn’t having it.

  This was a matter of life or death. If Greyson died, or was arrested, Emma would be crushed.

  He was doing this for both of them—despite the consequences.

  “CHRIS!”

  He ignored him, and patted Greyson down, removing a gun, two knives, and a set of brass knuckles.

  “Are you insane? This would have left DNA. You can’t go to his house, kick his ass, put a bullet through his brain, and end him. Are you fucking out of your gourd? You know better than this!”

  “If you don’t let me up, you’re fired. You will be leaving this house.”

  Chris crouched down, ignoring the threat.

  “I don’t work for you. I work for Dimitri.”

  Greyson growled and tried to reach him with his hands behind his back.

  Chris wasn’t done.

  “I’m sorry if you can’t see this is for your own good. If we don’t protect you, we fail at all of our missions. You have to live to see your child born and not behind bars. Emma will die if she loses you. I get that you’re angry, but enough. She will come to her senses, and so will you.”

  “Chris, set me free!”

  He pulled tape out of his own cargo pants pocket.

  “Sorry, my friend, but this is for your own good. You need to be quiet.”

  “I will kill….”

  The rest was muffled.

  Chris looked around. He couldn’t leave him there. He’d crawl out, and someone would set him free. They needed him to calm down.

  Detention was going to be the only way to do that. Greyson Croft was going into lockdown.

  But where?

  Chris looked around. He’d heard about the sexy secret room, and someone was going there.

  Dragging him under the arms, he pulled him toward the closet. Luckily for him, Dimitri happened to walk in.

  “Are you abducting him or saving him?” he asked.

  “I’m saving him from himself,” Chris stated. Then he glanced down at Greyson. “One eighty-five my ass. Someone needs to lay off the bacon.”

  Greyson started bitching into the duct tape.

  Dimitri shook his head. “You couldn’t just drug him? Seriously? You need retraining,” he teased.

  Dimitri grabbed him by the ankles and they carried him into the closet.

  “You’re right about the bacon.”

  Greyson glared at him too.

  They hit the lock on the door, and they headed in. The room was done up in jewel colors and the bed was huge. They could only imagine the kink that went on in there.

  Someone was a lucky man.

  “Well, someone has a sexy little playpen,” Chris teased, trying to lighten the mood. “Bum chicka bum bum.”

  “I have audio. It’s a kink fest in here.”

  Greyson began fighting. He was going to hurt them as soon as he was free.

  “Don’t piss him off even more. With him, he’s tricky,” Chris said. “If he gets free, before he calms down, we are screwed. The mob man might make us swim with the fishes,” he teased.

  Dimitri wasn’t worried, and clearly, neither was Chris. Greyson couldn’t help but want to show them how wrong they were.

  “Once Emma finds him, he’ll be good.”

  Chris propped him up against the headboard. “Oh look, there are eye-screws. I don’t want to even think about what they get used for in here.”

  Greyson struggled to try and kick Chris off him.

  He failed.

  “Zip-tie him to it. He’s smart and was a soldier. He’ll be out if we don’t secure him.”

  When they were done, Greyson was sitting on his bed, arms behind him, and his legs in front of him. He was completely restrained.

  “You’ll thank us for this. We’re locking you in.”

  His eyes went huge.

  He began cursing.

  “And that would be why. I think he said he’s going to cut off someone’s balls.”

  Chris shook his head. “All this violence.”

  They headed out. Chris picked up the remote and turned on the TV that was on the wall. “You know…in case you get bored. Watch some TV and take a break.”

  The door closed.

  Greyson fumed. He was going to kick both of their asses as soon as he got his hands on them.

  He wasn’t done.

  Not by a long shot.

  Outside, Dimitri locked the room, making sure someone wouldn’t be escaping.

  “That son of a bitch has a sex room. It’s good to be king,” Chris teased, but the humor was gone.

  Dimitri heard the difference.

  “Are you going to be okay?” Dimitri asked. It couldn’t have been easy on Chris to do what he had to do. He worked for him, but everyone knew how close he and Emma were. While Dimitri might smell like her brother, Chris was that proxy.

  This had to bother him on some deep level.

  “I’m fine, but I’m going to bed. It’s been a long day. Tell Natasha to bunk elsewhere. I want to be alone. Tell her not to read into it. I pissed off my sister, and likely lost her, and I just abducted one of my best friends and locked him in a room. He’s going to kill me in the morning. I need quiet to regroup my thoughts.”

  He got it.

  Sometimes, you just needed to be alone.

  “She’s on patrol tonight. I’ll tell her you had a rough one.”

  “Thanks,” he said, patting his boss on the back. “See you in the morning for Croft-aggedon.”

  “Chris, thank you for doing your job. I know it wasn’t easy. I appreciate it.”

  “It’s fine,” he said, heading away. He didn’t do it for Dimitri. He did it for Emma.

  He did it because he loved her.

  Dimitri knew it wasn’t okay in the least. While he’d come a long way, Chris was still the one with the emotional ties to his past life. A cop was a cop until the end, a
nd he and Emma struggled more than Greyson.

  More than him.

  In fact, he knew this was bad. Tonight, they’d regroup. Tomorrow, Thomas Christ was dead. Only, they would handle it a different way.

  The smart way.

  When they were all calm, this would be better.

  But first…

  He had to fix something else.

  When Emma woke, Dimitri was back against her. She was tucked to his side, and he was watching her.

  “Feel better after your nap?”

  “A little.”

  He sat her up. “Good, here’s your come to Jesus talk like I needed last night.”

  “You don’t believe in Jesus,” she replied.

  “Pick a deity. That’s not the point. Here is the point. The shit is coming. I can feel it. What’s worse is this family is falling apart. Greyson was going to head out, and Chris had to neutralize the situation.”

  She gasped. “Neutralize? I hate that word. What do you mean…?”

  “Stop. We’d never hurt him. He’s tied up in your sex room, which is ironic if you think about it.”

  “DIMITRI!”

  He’d tease them both later. For now, he had work to do. “He was so pissed, he was going off halfcocked to kill that man. FOR YOU.”

  Emma listened.

  “We love you so much that if he didn’t, I would have done it.”

  “Dimitri.”

  He covered her mouth with his hand.

  “Right now, we have three Fed vans outside watching our every move. We have a case that’s about to blow apart tomorrow when we start digging. What you don’t know is today, he had to call the FBI for help.”

  She listened.

  “Greyson had to contact Ethan Blackhawk because what’s coming is bad. This isn’t just a missing girl case. This is a clusterfuck of epic proportions. We are about to wear a target not only against the cops and Feds, but now against whoever is running this ring. It’s huge too.”

  She was scared.

  Dimitri kissed her on the forehead. “We will be fine, but we can’t do things crazily, Emma.”

  “I know.”

  “The weight of this is on all of us. If we do anything suspicious, they will nail our asses to the wall. Not to mention, Delilah has been pulled into it.”

  He rehashed Thomas Christ’s plan.

  “Jesus! He’s a sicko.”

  Oh, they were well aware.

  “I need you to think, do the right thing, and be patient. If you want him dead, I’ll handle it. I can call someone to take him out without us getting our hands dirty. That’s your right, but this family…it has to stay intact. I just found this happiness, and I’m going to ensure we keep it.”

  He was right.

  Dimitri Gideon was a gentle and sweet man beneath all the scary Russian wrappings.

  In fact, he deserved all of their gratitude.

  She kissed him on the mouth, and it was a big, wet kiss.

  When she set him free, he stared at her. “Wow! You do like bossy men.”

  “Well, yes, but I really like the brothers who have my back. You are right. I owe them both an apology.”

  He licked his lips. “Well, I like this conversation so far.”

  She went into his body and sat in his lap. Dimitri held her against him. Again, she reminded him of one of his sisters.

  “I love you. Thank you for this. I needed a nap and to calm down. I appreciate you having my back. I’m awash in pregnancy hormones and stress. It’s not a good combination.”

  “Do you want him dead?” he asked. “Tell me, and I’ll handle it.”

  She touched his face, and they were eye to eye. “No. I still believe in justice. Karma is a bitch. We prepare for poking into FBI territory, and we buckle down as a family. Get everyone home, and inside.”

  He nodded. “Yes, Mom.”

  She hopped off the bed and then stopped. “Our lives were not complete until you, Dimitri. You will forever be my friend, my brother, and so much more. While I already have a husband, know that I love you as much. You’re a good man.”

  His heart skipped.

  The fact that someone loved him like that…

  It helped.

  “I love you, too, Emma.”

  She ran back at him and hugged him again. He gave her a kiss this time. Gentle, lovingly, and with tenderness. He said something in Russian.”

  “What did that mean?” she asked.

  “I guess you’ll have to learn more Russian to find out,” he teased.

  Well, she had news for him. She squeezed his hand, and then she said something back.

  She answered his question.

  His heart skipped.

  “I know plenty of Russian, Maximillian. Maybe one day you’ll get your wish.”

  With that, she headed out.

  He sat there, and took a moment to compose himself.

  It wasn’t easy.

  Emma Croft had easily taken him to his knees.

  * * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *

  Out by the pool, she was lounging in a chair, and there was a bottle of wine beside her. Every now and then, she’d take a sip right from the bottle.

  Riley was watching her, and he couldn’t help but stare. Delilah was a sight to behold.

  Just a couple hours ago, he’d had sex with her.

  WITH HER.

  Holy shit.

  Now here she was lounging there in the tiniest bikini he’d ever seen. It was wet, from where she’d been in the pool. What made it so scandalous was it was now see through. He could see the outline of her nipples, and he could see…

  Jesus.

  She was trying to kill him.

  “How long are you going to stay in your jeans?” she asked, not even looking at him.

  “I don’t know.”

  Riley knew what he wanted, and it involved a bed and a second round of really wild sex.

  “Detective, whether you know it or not, it’s chilly in this bikini. I’m waiting for you.”

  He measured his words carefully.

  “I can tell you’re chilly, and I think that was the point, wasn’t it?”

  Delilah laughed. “Good. Then we’re on the same page.”

  Were they?

  Riley was as confused as a man could be.

  “What are you doing, Miss Fleur?” he finally asked, getting her attention. “Is this a game?”

  She lifted her head and glanced over at him. “I don’t play games.”

  Still, he didn’t understand what was going on. Yes, he’d barged into her room, and they’d had the hottest sex he’d ever had in his life, but the rest of this…

  He was lost.

  “If something is on your mind, Detective, you should just say it and get it off your chest.”

  “Okay, I have to be honest about something.”

  She sat up, and he watched her breasts, and then he tried not to be a perv, so he looked away.

  It wasn’t easy.

  Delilah had an effect on him. He wanted her so much that his body was reacting to her five feet away.

  “What?”

  “Why did you have sex with me?”

  “Because you’re sexy.”

  He stared at her.

  That wasn’t what he wanted to hear.

  “Okay, maybe I’m not asking the right question. Let me try a different one. Is this some joke that you’re playing on me to screw with me?”

  She didn’t get it.

  Had he just implied…?

  “Joke? You think I’d have sex as a joke and that I’d degrade myself by using my body to mess with you? Is that the kind of person you see me as?”

  She was getting angry.

  Riley could see this exploding.

  “I just don’t get it. You’re drop dead gorgeous, you’re a freaking attorney who hates cops, and I saw your diploma. You’re super smart. So, why is it that you,” he said, waving his hand down her body, “Wanted to fornicate with me? I’m not your type. I
can’t possibly be your type.”

  There.

  He said it.

  “How do you know you’re not my type?”

  “Well, maybe because you said you hate cops, and you were overheard saying that you would rather fuck a chainsaw then let a cop breathe on you. I believe that comment was made at the courthouse.”

  She laughed.

  Yeah, she’d said it, but that was before she got to know him.

  “I work off clues and information. You’re laying down one set of clues, and the information isn’t jiving. So, calm down before you jump to conclusions. I’m really confused.”

  She realized he was being honest. Maybe she had given him the wrong impression.

  “Okay, here’s the deal.”

  He leaned forward.

  Riley couldn’t wait to hear this.

  “I think you’re sexy. When I look at you, you’re always polite, gentlemanly, and kind. You heard something about me today, and you risked your career for me—a woman who said that about cops. Why?”

  “Because it my job to protect and serve. I can’t let a man rape a woman and kill her because he wants to do it. That’s everything I grew up fighting against. My father was a cop, and we don’t play with right and wrong. We protect.”

  She could see he had a deep moral code.

  It was attractive to her.

  Honestly, they weren’t that different. She fought for the underdog too. Only, on the outside, she looked like a money grubbing defense attorney.

  It was just her cover.

  “When men look at me, they see this,” she said, pointing at her face and body. “While that’s nice, I don’t always want to be someone’s wet dream. I need more. You gave that to me today. I’ve never been rescued, defended, or treated like that. You caught me in my girly things, and you didn’t try to molest me. You were a gentleman. That’s rare—especially in this shithole town.”

  He listened to her.

  “For the record. I heard you calling me. I also got out of my clothes for a reason.”

  “To test me?”

  “Nope. I think you’re sexy, Detective. When you smile, your blue eyes light up, and when you’re nervous, you blush. I think your freckles are adorable, and you know how to push my buttons. NO ONE would cuff me, toss me over their shoulder, and carry me out of my office. That takes a brass set, and I like that in a man. What I portray inside that office, it’s an act. That’s my job. I’m not Attorney Fleur twenty-four-seven. Sometimes, I just want to be Delilah, and she’s just as human as the next person. What you saw, it’s me. I like being me.”