Out in the lobby, he hid behind a potted plant.
Not two minutes later, Dimitri headed out, and toward the garage where they kept spare vehicles.
He pulled out his phone and texted his wife.
His job was done.
Hers was going to begin.
Operation Crazy Train was pulling into the station.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
Emma drove them to Sky Villa. She knew her husband would handle Dimitri, and she’d handle Poppy. First, she needed to protect her family. Greyson had given her his gun, and the silencer was already on it.
She needed to know one thing. It would set the mood for the rest of the night. Were they going home, or was she driving to the desert to dump the woman’s body?
Heath was on standby, and he’d help her ditch the car.
“Are you going to arrest him for what he said?” she asked, trying to keep her voice neutral.
“Did he really kill Mace?” she asked. “Did he really kill a cop?”
Emma nodded.
This wasn’t looking good.
“In his defense, Mace was coming after me. Dimitri doesn’t kill easily, contrary to popular belief. He kills to protect what’s his, and Mace threw us to the wolves. It’s why Greyson had to leave the FBI, and why I had to turn in my badge. Had he not betrayed us, Vegas wouldn't have been like this. Greyson would still be running the FBI office, and there would be control. Mace kicked this shit fest off.”
Poppy understood.
If everything didn’t happen exactly as it did, she never would have met him.
She would likely be dead. The killer stalking her would have gotten to her.
“I get that. What I’m really struggling with is the other part,” she began. “Did he really hire hookers?”
Emma knew there was a fine line. She needed to help Poppy understand, and hope Dimitri didn’t get angry at her. She was doing this for him.
“Dimitri isn’t one to create lasting bonds. Right before you, he decided he wanted to end this circus of buying women. He did it to satiate that need. He’s a man, and he needed to get off.”
She listened.
“He would buy a hooker, have sex, and then offer to get her out of the business. What you don’t know is he traffics women.”
“Oh, this is worse and worse.”
“Wait. Listen before you judge.”
It was the least Poppy could do.
“Okay.”
“He hires them and when the madam would send him ones who were barely legal, he’d get them out—without having sex. All the people who work at Aquarius are ex-prostitutes. He has a few businesses, and he hires them there, pays them ridiculously high pays to help them transition, and then sends them home or sets them up. That’s what we do at Aquarius. The place is a front for our one business.”
She listened.
“So, when he was sent a woman who was not a child, he would have sex and then get her out. Most prostitutes do it to make money. He filled that hole, and trafficked them back out of the industry.”
“Really?”
“Yes. We began helping him. It was his way of helping Greyson out of that funk. He’d helped people, and then we couldn’t because we lost our badges. Dimitri saved us, too, in a way.”
She didn’t say anything.
“So, before you, he was stabbed by a hooker, who ended up being someone who worked for him. She was searching for her sister. They fell into bed, and he decided he didn’t want to be so alone anymore.”
She let Emma continue.
“Marissa Pierce used him. She basically turned him against us, made him choose sides, and he had sex with her.”
“That’s horrible. You’re his family. Why would someone make a person choose sides?”
Exactly.
Maybe this wasn’t going south.
Maybe, this woman didn’t have to die.
“I agree. After they had sex, he told her the truth about his brother. Viktor had begun his reign of terror here. He had killed her sister. Julie was one of his toys. Well, Marissa lost it, called him so many vile names, and walked away. He saw her as his only shot at feeling anything, even if it wasn’t a good relationship.”
“Where do I fit in?”
“You saved him on the mountain, and he fell in love with you.”
She stared at her.
“Uh, he loves me?”
This was the dangerous part.
“I know Dimitri as well as I know my own husband. He told you BEFORE sex because you matter. He’s not there yet in his head, Poppy. I know he’s in love. I can see how he watches you, how he brought you to lunch today, and how he’s going out of his way to woo you.”
She thought about it all.
“HE HAS NEVER done any of that. He’s trying desperately to make that connection to a woman who has stolen his heart. He’s not good at being honest about his feelings. He told you so you’d see him for who he is, and hopefully, accept him. He’s not perfect.”
“He’s perfect for me. I have so many feelings for him that I can’t explain. On that mountain, I fell for him. I don’t know how, but I want to be near him all the time, and I feel this connection when I look into his eyes. I feel safe. I feel happy. I feel…home.”
Emma reached over and took her hand.
“I’m so glad because I didn’t want to kill you. That would have sucked.”
Poppy stared at her.
“That’s a joke, right?”
Emma laughed and pulled her jacket back. There, tucked beside her was a silencer-toting gun.
Poppy swallowed.
“No offense, Poppy. I like you. Only, for him, for my husband, and for my family, I would have done it. Now that I know what you feel for him, I’d do it for you too.”
“That’s oddly scary and sweet. Clearly, I’m crazy.”
Emma laughed as she pulled up to the security gate outside of the building. They checked in and headed to the parking spot. Once there, they headed up in the elevator and to Dimitri’s condo.
At the door, she stopped.
“Is he there?”
Emma showed Poppy the text Greyson had sent her. It told them he was on the way.
“He’s coming. His kids are in there asleep.”
“He didn’t want me near them.”
“Because he wanted you to accept the real him. It’s not as pretty as he’d like, and he needs someone who will love all his dark edges, the wickedness, and carry his secrets.”
“Oh, I was enjoying his wickedness just fine before he dropped the bomb and ran.”
She laughed and opened the door.
Heath was sitting there.
“Hey, he’s on his way. Poppy will wait with the kids. She’ll be staying.”
Heath laughed.
“Bum chicka bum bum, Mrs. C.”
Yeah, probably. Her money was on the detective. She’d get Dimitri through this.
“Okay, I’m heading up to my place. If you need me, call. If not, do what you think is right.”
“So sex.”
Emma laughed.
Well, yeah, of course.
But…
“Fight for him, Poppy. He’s slipping into the dark. If you think he’s the one, fight with all you have. If he’s not, just don’t break him when you leave.”
She understood.
When Emma left, Poppy went down the hall and checked on the kids. In one bed was a little boy, and she recognized him. She tucked him in and put his phone on the charger.
In the second room, she covered the little girl with a pink blanket in her princess bed and tucked her in with her stuffed puppy and kitty.
She closed their doors.
Heading out, she sat on the couch and waited for him.
While she was just sitting there, Poppy looked around the place, and it was homey. There was big overstuffed furniture, bins of toys along the wall, and it wasn’t what she thought Dimitri would put in his home.
Sh
e knew he did it for his kids.
It was sweet.
Her own mother hadn’t put her and her sister first. Poppy always wished she would, but she didn’t, and that sucked. Now, here was a man, who loved his kids, and she had a chance to make him part of her life.
Did she want that?
Did she want a father with his own kids?
Yeah, yeah, she did.
It didn’t take long for her to hear his long gait coming down the hall, at almost a run.
The door opened, and he headed in. Immediately, he grabbed his gear by the door and then stopped.
He smelled her.
How was that possible? Dimitri was pretty sure he’d been imagining things. Until he reopened the closet again and saw her bag.
Poppy.
Turning, he saw her on the couch, waiting for him. It was NOT what he expected.
“We need to talk,” she said.
His whole body went tense, and she could see it from where she was sitting.
“How did you get in here?” he asked.
“A redheaded birdy hooked a girl up when she needed to see you. We all know I’m not welcome here, but I still came. Your kids are cute, by the way. I checked on them.”
He moved toward her, keeping his body facing her like she was a threat.
“You were in with my kids?” he asked.
“I’m not going to hurt them. You can relax. If you want, you can check on them. They’re safe. I’ve only been in your personal space five minutes. I didn’t rifle through your things.”
He watched her.
She was angry.
“What do you want? Your reaction said it all. Are you here to arrest me? I’m a killer. Isn’t that your end goal?”
“I actually came to talk. You didn’t give me time to…”
He cut her off.
“I didn’t need time. I’ve seen that look before. No one wants what lives in me. I’m the nightmare we hide until it has to be used to end a problem.”
“I was caught off guard. We were making out, and then all of a sudden you’re telling me you’re a killer and you sleep with hookers.”
“You looked horrified. I’m a killer. I wanted you to know the real me.”
He was getting upset.
So was she.
“I was more upset about the hookers. I was more upset that you bought women for sex.”
Dimitri said nothing.
He knew this was a possibility. He was going to kick Greyson’s ass for tricking him to come back here, and Emma’s for letting her in.
His sanctuary was compromised.
“Yeah, I’m a scumbag who buys women. There you go. Now you know.”
“That’s not what I was thinking.”
“Really? You wouldn’t be the first to think that of me. Hell! I think that of me!”
Poppy used the information that Emma had shared. It was going to be the only way to get through to him.
He’d gone from anger to self-loathing.
“Yeah, Marissa Pierce is a bitch. I’ll kick her ass for you. Still, not what I was thinking.”
He began cursing and pacing like a madman.
“Is nothing sacred?” he asked.
Oh, he was furious with the Crofts. Emma had actually betrayed him.
He’d never saw it coming.
“You heard that cop today. My mom…she didn’t even know who our fathers were. She didn’t care. She had us, and she was a good mom, but men came first. Sex came first. I don’t want to be some one-night stand where I get hurt. I was horrified because I pictured how easy it would be for you to leave.”
That made him stop.
“Not the killing?”
“Emma said you did it to save them. I don’t doubt that. I get the killing. I just don’t want to be some guy’s easy lay. We all have demons. I don’t want to be my mother.”
She offered him the truth.
Dimitri heard her, and that helped ease him. The killing really didn’t seem to bother her—a cop.
He tried to ease her fears.
“Poppy, I could have had sex easily with you. If I wanted you naked in bed, I could have done it.”
That horrified her.
Was that what he thought of her?
Was she really that easy?
“Pardon?”
“Women want this,” he said, pointing at himself. “They fall for the outer layer. I have been propositioned, offered sex, and women are easy to get.”
“Did you just lump me into that category?” she asked in horror.
“All I’m saying is if I wanted you in bed, we’d be in bed.”
She let those words sink in.
Funny...
He hadn’t said no.
Great.
“I see. I’m easy, and I come across that way. I get it. I’m a whore.”
Poppy knew she flirted with him, and she had let her guard down because she wanted him. Only, she didn’t think he’d take that as her being a slut.
Awesome.
“I didn’t say…”
She stopped him.
“I can see this was a bad idea. Coming here…I shouldn’t have done it. What you just said to me wasn’t nice.”
He began panicking.
He was messing this up.
Dimitri never tried to be open with a woman. He never needed to, and it was going downhill—fast.
Here was his proof.
“That’s not what I meant. I meant that I could have fucked you anytime that I wanted.”
Poppy had heard enough.
Her heart was breaking.
She wanted to weep over what he was saying to her—and how he saw her.
“I’m leaving,” she said, heading toward the closet to grab her bag. “I’m going home—not to your penthouse, or the family hotel. I’m going to my shitty apartment where I know the truth. I’m not some whore you could have gotten into bed. The only reason I let you get anywhere near me was…”
She stopped.
“Forget it.”
Poppy headed for the door. She heard him coming and turned fast. He grabbed her arm and pulled her toward him.
“I never said you were a whore! Stop putting words in my mouth.”
Tears filled her eyes.
Yeah, but he’d made her feel like one, and that, to her, was just as bad.
Poppy stared at his fingers wrapped around her forearm like a vice.
“Dimitri, you’re hurting me.”
All it took was that one sentence. He dropped her arm like it had burned him.
Slowly, he backed away.
“And that’s what lives in me. I’m not a kind, gentle man. I’m a monster. Remember my brother? I’ve held guns to people’s heads just like that. I’ve killed because I have no soul. Now you see it, Detective. Now you know why Eve fell for the snake. He was attractive on the outside.”
Poppy rubbed her arm, and all she was focused on was the pain in his eyes. She saw how his admission damaged him.
“I sliced Mace Bristol’s throat without batting an eye, Detective. I reveled in it. I am that monster.”
She said nothing.
So, he did.
“You should go. You should never look back. I slept with hookers to feel. I feel NOTHING. You were the only person that got through that. Just go, Poppy. Go. Run, and never look for me. I’m not what you need. I’m garbage because I’ve been used to destroy, and in the end, it destroyed me.”
He turned and walked away.
Poppy stood there.
Well, shit.
What the hell did she say to that?
Chapter Twelve
W hen he got to his room, he sat on the side of his bed and stared down at his hands. They’d been used to destroy, to maim, and to kill, and he’d just grabbed Poppy in anger. He’d wanted to shake her, shake some sense into her, and he knew he had to walk away.
With feelings came so much more.
With them came pain.
All he wanted was
to be loved for who he was, and he didn’t know how to talk to her.
Dimitri didn’t know how to bridge that gap to her. It was hard enough since he had no experience with women or how to relate to them.
He’d grown up without a mother.
He’d hired women for sex.
Marissa had broken him.
Greyson was right. He had let her use him to feel, and now that he genuinely felt something, he didn’t know how to make Poppy understand.
His life…it was a mess, and the only good person he’d ever had the privilege of having touch him had been ordered to leave.
Dimitri knew she would.
She was smart.
By now, she was in the garage, and he couldn’t chase her. Dimitri had nothing left in him. He had nothing left to offer. Tonight, he’d bared it all, and it was gone.
His soul…it was gone.
When he heard the footsteps, they were so soft and light. Glancing over, he expected to see Sam.
Well, at least the boy had nothing to worry about. A woman wouldn't come between him and his kids. There was no one in the world for him.
He was lost.
When he saw her, she was standing there with her bag over her shoulder.
“Can I come in?”
He didn’t answer. Instead, he looked away. Dimitri didn’t want to fight anymore. He didn’t want this pain.
“I don’t want your pity. Go, Poppy.”
She entered the room and placed her bag by his closet door. Now, this room looked like him. It was chrome and black, and it was sleek like the man.
The furnishings were simple, but it spoke to her. This was a place he hid, and a place he tortured himself.
Moving toward the bed, she crawled across it. The second she touched him, his body went tense.
“I’m sorry. I let my personal baggage get in the way of hearing you. I let my scars influence how I heard what you were saying. As a cop, I know better.”
“Go home, Poppy. Leave me.”
She wrapped her arms around him from behind, sliding her hands beneath his shirt to touch his skin. His muscles rippled.
“I don’t pity you, Dimitri Gideon. It’s not pity.”
“What is it then? There’s nothing out there for me. I’m a monster.”
“It’s love. I love you.”
Mob Justice Page 37