“I’m an adult. I really don’t think you can make me do anything. I’m not really happy with how you’re handling things. You haven’t given me an update.”
He was about over all of this. He’d seen the look on his wife’s face, and all of them were rubbed raw.
“Really? Just three nights ago, you stabbed a person. We’ve only been on this case for two whole days. Exactly how many updates do you think you’re getting in forty-eight hours?”
“More than I…”
He stopped her. “We found your sister on day two. How long have you been working this?”
She got angry, but didn’t say anything.
Chris came up beside him.
“She’s insane, isn’t she?” he asked.
“Yeah, she is. She’s trying to find the killer, and she thinks we haven’t updated her enough.”
He laughed. “It’s like day two, isn’t it?”
Granted, it felt like a million years, but that was neither here nor there.
“Exactly. She’s being proactive by playing hooker while a sex ring is going on somewhere in this neighborhood.”
“Well, that’s genius. I mean, she’s playing hooker again, and her sister was a hooker, and look where that got her. Clever.”
Marissa slapped him.
Hard.
Emma had been standing by the ride, but that slap was heard clear over there. Now she was heading their way.
And she was pissed.
“Did you just hit him?” she asked.
“My sister was more than a hooker. She was a human being. You may not care, but I do! She mattered!”
Emma was raw from what she’d seen inside. It killed a piece of her. She didn’t like the game this woman was playing, and she really didn’t like her act of violence.
“Go get in the vehicle. NOW.”
She glared at her. “Fuck you. You’re out for glory and nothing more!”
No.
She.
Didn’t.
Oh, she’d had enough.
Glory?
Curtis had been shot, her family was being torn apart by some sicko, and now this?
She was done.
Emma grabbed her wrist to pull her toward the vehicle, and when Marissa dug her nails into Emma’s arm, to get away, she snapped.
Emma punched her in the face. Luckily for the woman, she pulled her punch or she could have broken her nose.
Both men stared.
Marissa fell back and began crying.
“Listen up, sister. I worked as a cop in this city. I stood in bowels and blood. No one cared more. I should leave your ass here. Only, that would hurt Dimitri. So, get your ass into that vehicle before I put it there.”
Marissa didn’t listen.
“You punched me!”
“You put your hand on my brother, and while he won’t kick your ass, I will. The ONLY things that saved you are that I happen to love Dimitri and that you grew up with a rough life. Anyone else would find their asses in my trunk and on their way to the desert!”
This time, Greyson and Chris actually believed her.
“Chris. Toss her in. We aren’t standing out here so someone can put a bullet into our heads for her. She’s reached her max with compassion.”
“My pleasure,” he said, grabbing the woman and dragging her toward the vehicle.
She began screaming bloody murder.
“I’m going to shoot her,” Emma said, as people began looking out their windows.
Greyson hopped in behind the wheel.
They had to get out of there before the cops arrived. This woman just compromised everything.
“I may just let you.”
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Across Town
Delilah took off her suit for the second time that day and pulled on her sweats. She was beyond mad.
She was frustrated.
She was irritated.
And she wanted to punch some man in his junk.
Unfortunately for her, at that moment, violence wasn’t the answer, and she knew it.
Leaving Riley had been hard for her, even if she’d looked self-assured. The entire time she was kissing him in that interrogation room, she wanted him to hold her, tell her he cared, and that they could fix it.
Only, she knew he wasn’t the kind of man to take control and handle it. In bed, yes, but outside the bedroom, she was the more dominant one.
Honestly, Delilah couldn’t handle the hurt, so she was giving up.
When she heard her doorbell, she was scared shitless. Who would be at her house at that time of the night?
What if this was…?
Then she realized that she had to calm down. A killer wouldn’t ring the bell.
Heading to the door, she peeked out and saw him. It was Riley.
Opening the door, she stared at him. “You should go.”
She tried to close it in his face, but he shoved his boot in the door to stop her.
“Delilah. Wait!”
“Stalking, Detective? You can add that to your list,” she stated. “We have nothing to say. You’re not welcome here. I told you. It was fun, it was fucking, and it is over.”
He didn’t believe that.
He refused.
She’d kissed him in that interrogation room to save his ass, but there was more there. He was good at reading people, and that wasn’t fake.
Delilah had to have some connection to him.
Riley knew he’d hurt her, and he deserved her anger. Only, he had to say what he needed to share, and then he’d leave.
Again, she tried to close the door.
“I’ll tell you about Miles.”
“It’s too late.”
Again, he didn’t buy that.
“He was killed trying to talk a suicidal soldier off a bridge. He was a cop. We all are. We followed in my father’s footsteps and picked up the badge.”
She stopped trying to close the door. His eyes filled with tears as he talked about his brother.
“When he reached the man, that damaged soldier, he got too close. That soldier took his life, only, he took my brother over with him. They fell from the Golden Gate Bridge, and neither survived.”
She opened the door all the way, and she was horrified.
“Do you see why I didn’t tell you? You told me you hate cops because of your brother. My brother was a cop who probably wasn’t so happy falling off that bridge and to his death. We both have different perspectives, but when you talk about yours, you get angry.”
He was right.
She did.
It was raw.
He’d only died two years ago.
Riley continued, “I get angry too. That soldier could have sacrificed himself and left Miles behind. He had a wife, kids, and a life, and on that day, that soldier killed him. I get your anger. I feel it too.”
“Riley,” she said, staring at him.
He didn’t stop.
“After that, my father ended his life. He was a good cop, but he couldn’t handle it. He’d watched one of his kids fall from the bridge, trying to do his job. He was there, Delilah. He raced to the side after they went over, and he watched one of his children fall into that water. He screamed all the way down. They both did.”
She felt horrible.
This was torturing him.
“So, the strongest man I knew ate his gun. My sister isolated herself because she can’t face the truth. She can’t believe that he’s gone too. I call her weekly and leave a message for her. I look like him, and it hurts her to see me. I lost her, too, that night. I lost everyone.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, Riley. I didn’t know. Had I…?”
He kept going.
“My mother died when we were younger. They were all I had left. I left that city when they told me my father was crazy, and it became a scandal. In order not to face the reality of it, and to save money on his comp claim of PTSD, they brushed it under the carpet. They made him
sound like he was sick, and that my brother broke the rules and it was his fault he fell. It ended him. It was his only way out.”
That was sad.
“Oh, Riley. I’m sorry.”
He was heartbroken.
It was clear.
“So, every night, I see the video clips in my sleep. I walk into my father’s home to see his brains on a wall and on our family pictures. I don’t talk about it ever. I certainly couldn’t with you.”
“Why?” she asked. “Why couldn’t you tell me? I, of all people, understand. I’ve had the same nightmares.”
Did she really not see it?
“Because of your brother. I got tangled up with a woman who hates cops because her brother, an ex-soldier, committed suicide by cop.”
She let the door go.
“How do I tell her that? How do I basically say a crazy person destroyed my family? Some fucked up soldier who came back broken destroyed all of our lives?”
She wasn’t offended.
“You just tell her. If you think it’s a person you want in your life, then you just tell her, Riley. You look her in the eyes, and you say it.”
He continued, “I wanted to tell you.”
Delilah didn’t move. “You matter. I’m sorry I hurt you. It wasn’t just sex. It mattered.”
She went to touch him.
Only this time, he moved away from her.
“I can’t be with you, Delilah. I can’t have this battle. I’m fighting too many internal ones. You and I won’t work. You didn’t give me a chance to explain, and I would have given you one. I was the enemy. You stared me down, and immediately, you thought the worse. If I’m going to have something with someone, I go in thinking the best. I can’t carry more than I already am. I’m sorry.”
“Riley. Please.”
“I took us seriously. The first time we fell into bed…it meant everything. You’re the one who’s made this a game. You tricked me into sex with the naked stunt. You got angry at me without even letting me try to explain. I didn’t come here to make up with you. I came to tell you the truth because that’s the kind of man I am. Now I’m going to walk away. I can’t do games. That’s not me. Good luck, Delilah. I won’t ever forget about you. We would have had something amazing because I would have given you my all.”
Tears filled her eyes.
Riley had to give her up. What he said was the truth. He couldn’t carry more. So, it was time to walk away.
And he did just that.
Delilah couldn’t believe it. She stared at him as he walked down her sidewalk and toward his truck.
He was right. She’d jumped the gun, tore him a new one, and put up those walls so she wouldn’t be hurt. Only, she’d hurt him instead.
And she regretted it.
Her heart hurt. She’d been horrible to Riley, and he didn’t deserve it.
“Riley!” she shouted, leaving her porch to follow him.
He didn’t look back at her as he got in his truck and pulled away. She watched him drive around the corner, and eventually, his taillights were gone.
Like him.
Riley, quite possibly the best thing that had ever happened to her, was gone.
It broke her heart.
It sucked.
And it hurt.
As she stood there, barefoot in her yard, thinking about what had just gone down, Delilah had learned a valuable lesson.
Humility.
Trust.
Love.
She’d held them all back for too long. She’d become what she wanted the world to see.
So, for the first time in her life, since her brother died, she sat on her steps, and she cried.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Seedy Underbelly
of Vegas
H e wanted to get this done, and then get back to his family. Dimitri didn’t frequent this place anymore because he wasn’t this man anymore. Once he’d tied himself to the Crofts, he’d turned over a new leaf.
Dimitri went legit.
He liked to believe he’d stopped being that killer, mercenary, and bad guy, but clearly, he hadn’t.
Nothing had changed.
He never changed.
Going into that bar, he knew what the cost was going to be, and he accepted it. Not for him, but for his sisters and for Marissa. He was willing to cross the line to get her closure—even if the killer was his brother.
Dimitri would offer himself up, if it meant he could save them all.
As he sat down, a man joined him in the booth. He was tattooed, bald, and he was one of the scum he hadn’t missed in his year away from the dark side of Vegas.
“Why are you here, traitor?” asked the man. “You have a big set of balls to come in here.”
Dimitri knew this could get dicey. He’d expected it, but for the women in his life…
“I’m here looking for someone, Babylon, and I know you can help me.”
He laughed. “You have lost your mind.”
“It’s important.”
“Dimitri, you have no pull here. You’re a shame to everyone here. You’re nothing but a turncoat, helping those cops clean up our city.”
“He’s the mob in Vegas. He’s not a cop.”
The man leaned forward. “Your lies might be bought by them, but I know you. You’re nothing more than a criminal like us. You can wear a fancy suit, but you’re scum, Dimitri. It’s time you faced the facts.”
“He’s the mob,” he said again, refusing to back down.
“He’s a cop to his core, and you know it. His businesses all went legit. He’s not womanizing, bringing in drugs, or helping those of us here in the shadows. He’s not one of us, and neither are you.”
Yeah, Dimitri wasn’t shocked. As for Greyson not coming down there, he couldn’t blame him. He wouldn’t come back here unless he had to.
And he had to.
The saddest part was he really thought he could stay away. Dimitri believed he could change and make a difference.
He was wrong.
He was right back where he started in the gutter with the other snakes.
“Leave,” he stated.
“Babylon, I will owe you one.”
The man lifted his brow. “Really? That intrigues me. You never owe anyone. In fact, you’re usually the one keeping tabs on the rest of us. For that alone, I’d love to have you in my back pocket.”
“If you help me, I’ll help you.”
“I want your sister.”
Dimitri laughed. “You can’t have them. One is married and pregnant, and the other is getting married.”
He hoped.
“I’ll cut the baby out of her.”
He stayed calm. He knew there was a gun on him under the table. Babylon would shoot him in the stomach and no EMTs would ever be called.
“If you help me, you get a free get out of jail card. I promise. I’ll do one last job for you.”
He grinned.
Babylon wasn’t stupid. Owning Dimitri Gideon was as good as being king.
“Deal. What do you need?”
Dimitri felt dirty and horrible for even going there with this snake, but he was desperate and taking things into his own hands. His blood did this, and he’d fix it before putting a bullet in his head.
“I need Viktor Marchenko.”
He laughed.
“Where can I find him?”
He laughed even more.
“You can’t go after him. He’s called ‘El Diablo’ for a reason. He makes you look like a saint. He’s loco, and that’s the most dangerous person.”
Oh, he wouldn’t bet on that.
Greyson and Emma Croft made him a saint. There was still a sinner underneath all of it, and he was willing to do all the vile things from his past to save the people he loved.
His sisters.
Marissa.
Emma.
He’d do it all to find a way to protect them.
“Where can I find him?”
“He look
s for young pussy. He likes kids. I hear he’s using them up and tossing them out as fast as he can rape them.”
He fought to stay calm.
“If you want a favor, Babylon, then you’re going to have to do better than that. Where is he?”
The man laughed. “I would love to have you in bed with me. Maybe that will be my one favor. I bet I can turn you gay so fast your head would spin.”
He didn’t flinch. “If that’s your favor, fine. Then we’re even.”
He held up his hand. “Hold on, sexy. I’m just postulating. I haven’t decided.”
The thought made him sick, but he’d do it to protect his family. He’d take what the man dished out to keep the ones he loved protected.
“Or I can kill a Croft.”
Dimitri didn’t flinch.
“Oh, you’d hate that. Would you do it?” he asked.
“If that’s your favor.”
Dimitri had to lie on that one. He’d degrade himself, even swallow his own rape, but he wouldn’t sacrifice Emma or Greyson. He’d let the man put a bullet in his head.
“Again, postulating.”
“You’re wasting my time. Figure out what you want, and let me know. I’m sure you have some enemies you need handled. I wouldn’t be shocked. You are a snake.”
He laughed. “Yes, I am.”
He ordered a drink.
“Vine and Canal. You have to find him. He doesn’t give out his address on his business cards. I hear he’s looking to own this city. Once you’re gone…”
He listened.
“He’s going to take on Croft. He’s going to be the Russian Mob in his city. He’s going to…”
Dimitri stopped him.
“So, you’d bow down and worship a child molester? I never took you for that big of a pervert.”
There was the click of a safety going off.
“I’ll follow whoever wants to lead in Vegas. It was supposed to be you, and then you got scared. We all had your back, and you left. We have a leader now, and we’ll follow.”
Dimitri leaned toward him.
“If Viktor comes in, tell him this.”
“What?”
“Tell him he can’t have Vegas. It’s mine. Greyson doesn’t run it. I do. I’m using him, and when he’s not useful, he’s dead.”
Paid Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 3) Page 44