“It’s weird getting sex advice from you.”
Greyson shrugged. “Why? I’m married and have a pretty eventful sex life. I should be the first person you ask. Think of me like that idolized big brother. I am older.”
He had a point.
Dimitri would have to think about it.
Before he could mull it around in his head more, she was heading their way.
“Mr. Gideon, Mr. Croft, can I get you something?” Marissa asked, as she smiled at a patron.
“Yeah, coffee, and we’ll be in the security room. We want to run yesterday’s security discs.”
She smiled. “I’ll bring it right back for you.”
Then, she lowered her voice.
“Did you find Julie?” she asked.
They both shook their heads.
The smile disappeared, and Marissa looked like she was going to cry.
“We’re still working it. It’s been less than three days, Marissa. Have hope,” Greyson offered, trying to help the girl out.
“You’re right. I’m sorry. I’ll do my job, and you do yours,” she stated.
Then she headed away.
Dimitri knew one thing.
She belonged there. When she walked around, the whole place came alive. The customers loved her, the staff respected her, and he wanted her based on her legs and how freaking long they were.
Dimitri wanted them around his hips in the worst way. Immediately, the fantasy played out, and his body reacted.
God!
He was so damn hard.
“You’re staring. It’s creepy.”
He snapped out of it.
“Yeah, I have to do something about this tension,” he muttered. It was true. Dimitri was stirred up, and if he didn’t alleviate the stress, bad things would happen.
He’d be crankier than he already was.
As they were walking back to the private office, Greyson’s phone rang.
“Yes?” he asked, recognizing the number. “What’s up?”
“Greyson, It’s Riley. I need to see you ASAP. We have an issue that you’re going to want to know about,” he stated.
He could hear it in his voice.
“Okay, Riley, we’re at ‘Aquarius’. Have Marissa bring you to security.”
The phone went dead.
Greyson simply stared at it.
“What was that?” Dimitri asked.
“The detective is stirred up about something, and that makes me nervous.”
Dimitri got that.
If it pertained to a cop, it was never good. Vegas, if anything, was predictable.
“I can’t wait to see about what,” Dimitri stated, as they headed back to the private room and then the door inside that was rarely accessed.
Once Dimitri entered the code, Greyson whistled.
“You have some security here.”
He was aware.
When you did business out of a place, you had to make sure you weren’t going to have anyone interfere with it. You also had to make sure that the cops couldn’t get you trapped with any kind of electronic listening devices.
‘Aquarius’ wasn’t just secured, it was Pentagon secured—or so he hoped.
“Let’s see what we have,” Dimitri said, rewinding the DVR to the point where they arrived the day before. Both men sat side by side, as the footage was brought up on the screens.
“Here we go,” Dimitri stated.
On one of the screens, they saw themselves entering the bar, and walking past the tables.
The man hadn’t been there.
Then they entered Dimitri’s ‘office’ space and it went black.
It wasn’t recorded.
“I don’t have a camera back there,” he said, as if reading his mind. “There is audio on a separate system.”
Instead of focusing on that camera, they watched the ones outside of the bar and the main room.
Sure enough, not long after they disappeared into that room, they had company.
As they went through the door, the man in question entered the building. He flirted with Marie, and then took a seat with his back to the wall so he could face the room.
“He’s watching,” Croft said.
Yeah, he was, and that pissed Dimitri off.
They kept watching the footage. The man ordered coffee, and then drank it wearing leather gloves.
“He knew you might run this footage,” Greyson said. “He didn’t want to be tagged here. We can’t see his face, and he’s leaving no fingerprints.”
Yeah, he was sneaky.
Just like him…
They continued to watch. It seemed so innocent. He talked to Marie, and laughed along with her.
“Is she working?” Greyson asked.
“Yes, she’s on the floor waitressing today. I bumped her off hostess for Marissa.”
“We need to talk to her. Maybe he said something that will stick out in her mind, and we will have a lead.”
Dimitri knew if it were him, he would only tell the woman what he wanted her to hear. He clearly was expecting them to seek him out. His back was turned, and he wasn’t leaving prints.
No.
This man, likely his brother, would play it safe.
Still, they had to give it a shot, and Marie was their best chance at this point.
They needed something. If his brother was buying women, and he was connected to the people running the sex traffic ring, he had to get to him.
And fast.
He called out to the hostess stand. “Send Marie to my office,” he asked.
Then he hung up.
They continued watching him, and as soon as Dimitri walked out of the back room, on the recording, the man stood, and bumped into him.
Immediately, Dimitri stood up.
Shit!
He saw it.
Dimitri knew what the hell had just happened. He was wearing the same suit jacket that he had been the day before. Looking down, he ran his hands over every part of the fabric.
That’s when he found it.
Greyson stared at the tiny little chip.
‘It’s a tracker,’ he mouthed. ‘He bugged you.’
Oh, he was aware, and not happy at all.
Now he had to worry about what he’d possibly compromised. Normally, he didn’t wear his suit jacket in the house, but he did leave it over a chair.
Had he blown this?
Had he compromised his own family?
He was pissed.
Dimitri dropped the little bug onto the desk. He wasn’t sure if it had audio capabilities. Looking around, he saw a way to contain it. He grabbed the glass holding pencils, dumped it out, and then covered it.
“He placed that on me.”
“He’s following you,” Greyson stated, “and he’s apparently good at his job.”
“I didn’t expect the bug, so I never looked for it,” Dimitri stated. “I’m sorry.”
Greyson patted him on the back. “Hey! You didn’t know. This isn’t on you.”
Wasn’t it?
He’d been so tied up in knots over the woman working there, that he’d missed being bugged. That wasn’t like him.
“What are you going to do?”
“I’m going to leave it here. He can think I’m working all day.”
Marissa knocked, and came in, carrying two coffees. “Marie is in there waiting for you. Can I get you anything else?” she asked. “Maybe something to eat?”
Greyson noticed she wasn’t talking about food, and she was trying extra hard to rub against his friend.
Dimitri didn’t seem to notice.
“No, thank you,” Dimitri said. “I’m not hungry.”
“Okay, sorry.”
Marissa headed out, and Greyson stared at him.
“Dude, you realize the WORST way to get into a lady’s panties is by getting cranky and missing the obvious.”
He looked over. “What are you talking about?”
“She wasn’t talking about food
, and she leaned over and gave you a clear shot down her shirt. Meanwhile, you’re staring at a bug.”
“Did she?” he asked.
That only made him angrier.
“What’s wrong now?” Greyson asked. “You’re red.”
“She rubs me the wrong way,” he muttered. “When she’s around, I’m off my damn game.”
Yeah, he was aware.
How could a man, who hired hookers to get laid, miss that a gorgeous woman was willing to fill that gap every time she saw him?
His friend needed to chill out.
“If you smiled at her, she’d probably just rub you—again,” he teased.
He stared at him. “Gee, thanks, Dad. On your way home from work, can you stop and buy me condoms too? Go with extra-large.”
Greyson laughed and sipped his coffee. “That’s my boy.”
Now Dimitri laughed, and he needed it.
“I can’t focus on her right now. I was bugged in my own business, and by a man the FBI thinks is my brother.”
Greyson got it.
Only, he knew the truth. Dimitri was hiding. He was afraid to just admit he really felt something for Marissa, but this was his life, and Greyson wouldn’t push him.
“Do you have him on security leaving?”
He hit a few keys to change the angle of the cameras. On them, they saw him.
“That’s about it. I can tag him out of the building and just out the front door. He disappeared into the people staying at this hotel.”
That made Greyson think. He needed to make a call.
“What if he’s staying here?” he suddenly asked.
Dimitri wasn’t sure. “If he’s staying here, how is he killing the women? There’s no way he could carry one inside and not be noticed.”
Still, that worried him.
Greyson pulled out his phone and called his hotel’s front desk.
“François, this is Greyson Croft.”
There was a pause, and then the man realized no one was playing a joke on him.
“Sir! What can I do for you?” he asked. “Your brother and his fiancé have arrived at the penthouse. Do you need them?” he asked.
Greyson genuinely liked this man. He was an excellent manager.
“I have an odd question.”
Dimitri didn’t speak as he listened.
“Yes, sir?”
“Has anyone who looks like Mr. Gideon tried to stay at the hotel, or maybe booked a room?”
“I can ask, sir.”
“He’d also have a Russian accent.”
“I don’t have one,” Dimitri stated.
Greyson stared at him. “Yes, check, please, I’ll hold,” he stated, waiting for the man to come back.
“You absolutely do.”
“I don’t.”
“Say ‘I hate moose and squirrel’.”
He said it.
Greyson laughed his ass off.
Dimitri didn’t get it.
“You’re right. No accent,” Croft said, wiping his eyes. He couldn’t believe the man didn’t get the Rocky and Bullwinkle reference. He’d been waiting to use that one for the longest time.
“Are you feeling okay?” Dimitri asked.
“Yeah, sorry, I was having a moment,” he said, laughing even more.
“Do I have to Google Moose and Squirrel?” he asked.
Greyson was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes. “I’ll explain later,” he offered, almost unable to speak.
At that moment. François came back on the line.
Dimitri handled it.
“Mr. Croft, we don’t have anyone who matches that description, or with a Russian accent.”
“Thank you, François,” Dimitri offered. “Mr. Croft was detained. Keep an eye out for anyone who looks similar to me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Dimitri hung up. “Okay, so the hotel is safe.”
Greyson nodded. “We covered our bases, and that’s going to matter. We can’t risk anything. This is going to suck,” Croft said.
At least they were on the same page.
“Let’s talk to Marie,” Dimitri offered.
Together, they headed into the room to talk to the woman who might be able to give them something on Viktor Marchenko.
As they sat, she looked nervous.
“What did I do?”
Dimitri patted her on the arm. “Nothing. We just need to talk to you about a customer yesterday.”
She swallowed. “Okay, who?”
He pulled up the security footage on his phone.
“Do you recall him being in?”
She nodded. “Yes, he said his name was…Viktor. He was Russian. I asked if he knew you, you know…since you are too.”
“And he said?”
“He said you two went way back. That you and he were from the same town.”
“Did he say where?”
“Dirbent?”
Dimitri sat back. To his knowledge, no one knew where he was from. No one. The KGB, when they recruited his father, and took him into the military for his tour, didn’t disclose locations. If he knew where he was from, that only reason would be because he was from there too.
Shit!
This probably was his brother, and Dimitri had to face the cold hard facts. His father had more kids out there.
“Tell us everything he said,” Greyson offered.
Marie could do that.
“He said you both grew up on the coast, and that he and his mother would wait for your father to come home, but he never did. Then he’d learned the truth. Someone killed him. He said that broke his mother’s heart and his. He loved his father a lot as a boy.”
Dimitri’s cheek ticked.
Yeah, he’d killed him after he caught him raping Katerina. His father was a monster, and if Viktor loved him, then chances were he was a monster too.
This was on him.
“What else did he say?” Greyson asked.
“That he was in town to catch a few sights, handle some business, and maybe pick up a sexy woman or three.”
Dimitri wanted to warn her, but he couldn’t. If he did, and Marie freaked if he came back in, Viktor might kill her.
Dimitri had to protect his people.
‘Aquarius’ was their home too.
“Did he say anything else?” Dimitri asked.
“Yeah, that he was looking forward to your reunion. That you both had some things to settle, and that going back home would be that much sweeter.”
“Is that all?”
She nodded. “I’m sorry you missed him. He has your eyes.”
Yeah, he was aware.
“Thank you, Marie.”
She headed out.
For a full minute, Dimitri said nothing as he weighed all of his options.
That’s when he dropped the bomb.
“He’s gunning for me,” Dimitri stated. “I have to pull my sisters and get out of here.”
Greyson stopped him. “Then we’re all going.”
He was horrified.
“No. You don’t get it, Greyson. If he knew my father, and he’s so enamored by the man, he’ll be just like him. I don’t doubt that the FBI is right. He’s the one buying women, raping and killing them. That was my father’s style and it’s now his.”
Greyson didn’t care.
“If you leave, we all leave. You’re our family. We can’t let you just run, Dimitri. Not alone. We stand together.”
He felt panicky.
Sick.
Ill.
There was so much on the line, and he didn’t even know where to start. In the back of his mind, he knew he could go back to his roots, digging among the seedier side of Vegas for answers, but it would cost him.
He knew the price.
“We can do this together,” Croft promised. “We can find and fight him.”
Dimitri didn’t know if he bought that or not. If he was like him, like their father, he’d been trained to be a ghost.
The same skills Dimitri taught Natasha to blend in and disappear were going to be their biggest issue. He’d hide in plain sight.
Dimitri weighed his options.
Run.
Buy some help.
Stay and fight.
NONE of them sounded good to him.
Still, he wanted to trust the people he’d come to love. They were his family, and he wanted Greyson to be right.
“If he tagged you with a tracker, chances are he can’t keep his eyes on you long term. We all know you’re good at evading, and he’s struggling. So, you go out the back, and head home. You’re safe there.”
“My sisters…”
Greyson stopped him.
“We’ll get them home.”
At that moment, Riley walked in and he was all kinds of stirred up.
“We have a problem.”
Yeah, of course they had another one. Why not pile on the shit right as the storm began?
He dropped his phone onto the table for them to see the pictures. “Julie turned up, and I also found Anthony Delmarco.”
“Where?”
“Our morgue.”
He told them about the killings, and Riley showed him the pictures. It was definitely Julie.
“She’s going to need someone.”
Greyson had an idea.
This might actually work. He needed Dimitri to go under for a bit, and Marissa was going to need someone to comfort her.
Perfect.
“This is what I want you to do, Dimitri. Cut out of here with Marissa, and take her home. It will get you out of the scope of your brother, and we can work this.”
“Grey.”
“Dimitri, please. I’m fine. I don’t have anyone gunning for me like you do right now. This is huge. If you go down, we all go down. This asshole brother of yours could destroy us all. In order to be safe, we have to keep you safe. If the commissioner or Christ see you fall, they will come right at me and Emma. They’re afraid of you.”
He had a point.
“What’s going on?” Riley asked.
They trusted him enough and told him everything. They explained that the man was definitely his brother and what he’d told Marie. While the FBI suspected, they pretty much had confirmation directly from the man.
Riley offered to help them.
“Greyson is right. Get undercover. I’ll go get Kat and Natasha. I’ll bring them home. If a cop does it, he might be caught off guard.”
Dimitri relaxed. “I want them in the house and not leaving. We’ll have to run security with me alone.”
Paid Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 3) Page 34