True Justice

by Morgan Kelley

  It was to find this path.

  Chris has made my life better. He’s a good, kind, decent man, and I’m better for meeting him.

  I’m also sure of one thing.

  He isn’t the one.

  I watch my sister, or Greyson and Emma, and I can tell that while he’s a good, kind man, he’s not the one I’m meant to be with for the rest of my life. I’m too jealous of his relationship with Emma, and if it were meant to be, I wouldn’t be suspicious. I can’t help it. I wait for him to hurt me, and I know he never will. I want for him to break me, and I know he just won’t do it.

  For the first time in my life, I am safe, and I’m grateful. At the same time, I’m guilty.

  I told him I wanted him to look at me the way he does Emma, and that’s true, but I know he can’t do it. I know that I was only meant to heal a part of him, and him to heal a part of me. I dread telling him no one day if he asks me to marry him.

  He’s brought it up, and each time I smile, but my heart breaks. He should be the one.

  Why isn’t he?

  The sex is amazing, and I love being with him, but it’s not all there. There’s only a portion of what I need. How do I tell him that?

  He’s been so kind.

  I think that I’m crazy or broken. How can I, broken Natasha, turn down a man who is clearly more than she deserves? I wanted to talk to Dimitri.

  I wanted to talk to Emma.

  I just can’t do it.

  I hope he doesn’t hate me. I hope, in the end, he forgives me. I do love Chris.

  I just don’t love me right now. I think that’s the missing piece. I’ve been broken, watched like a hawk, and I need to spread my wings a little.

  And for that, I’m sorry.

  I want to see the world, I want to have coffee in Paris and pasta in Italy. I want to travel alone, and take it all in. I want so much, and none of it is to be someone’s wife. I’ve never dreamed of being married. I dreamed of being safe and loved. I found that.

  It’s not enough.

  God!

  I wish it was.

  I love him for all the sweetness, and how he’s taught me how I should be treated. He’s taught me that sex can be fun. That love should be perfect.

  This isn’t perfect.

  This isn’t what I want.

  Chris is right. We should take this slow. I suspect the woman he’s supposed to be with is out there.

  One day, he’ll find her. In his heart, he’ll know, and I will then set him free. We both need to spread our wings.

  I hope he realizes it.’

  Chris closed the journal.

  Those words...

  They should have broken him. Only, he was feeling guilty too. He bought Natasha the ring because he wanted to make her happy.

  Not make him happy.

  He’d repeatedly said how much he needed to wait, but then he rushed.

  In that moment, he forgave her for never telling him.

  “I hope you forgive me, too, Nat. I wasn’t ready either. I’m sorry I couldn’t look at you like I look at Emma. I’m sorry that you realized it every day.”

  He leaned back on his couch.

  Greyson had yet to send him the new information on the location he was getting him set up in, and he dreaded it.

  Only, he’d left Emma and broke her heart.

  He was an asshole.

  He’d left his best friend when she needed him most.

  Chris leaned back, closed his eyes, and cried.

  Not for Nat.

  Not for Emma.

  For him.

  And what he’d lost.

  Chapter Eight

  Vegas

  Across Town

  W hen he called his brother, he sounded harried. Greyson wanted to check-in to see how Dimitri was doing. He had a feeling his wife was going to be tied up with handling the man and his issues. That was going to be one hell of a job.

  Dimitri on a good day was complicated.

  On a bad day?

  Yeah, that was going to be one hell of a mess to handle, and she might need back up.

  “How are things?” he asked.

  “Steele and Emma have finally gotten Dimitri settled. He’s asleep. I think he’s better, but he just burst into tears and began crying. Emma is lying down with him now.”

  “How’s the rest of the family?”

  “Curtis is okay, but he’s edgy.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s pacing the penthouse of the hotel. You might want to let the tiger out of the cage. His wife is going to murder him or divorce him. He needs to be productive.”

  “I can pick him up. We have research to do, but then Kat has to join us. I don’t want to leave her alone there.”

  “Steele and I are heading back. Dimitri is under control, and I don’t want to leave anyone unprotected, but the hotel could inadvertently allow someone past security. Here. No.”

  He had a point.

  “Send him over. I’m sure the Archers can use some help. They’re going through those FBI files.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “I need to see Ethan Blackhawk. Did he roll through?”

  “He was just down here checking in with us. He looks agitated. Did you see the news?”

  “No, what happened? The last I saw, the media was asking about the baby, and nothing more.”

  Dante told him all about Elizabeth Blackhawk and what went down at the police station.

  “Well, that’s…Jesus. I’d flip out and kill half the people there if that were my wife and security.”

  Dante was aware, but he was worried about something else. There was no time like the present.

  “Did you kill mom?” he asked.

  “I wanted to, and I tore her three new ones. I told her what I’d been holding in for way too long. Now I feel better. I can’t forgive her, but I can forget and move on.”

  “Well, that explains why Reggie has been texting me all day, trying to get me to respond to her. Apparently, I’m her new favorite, gay and all.”

  He laughed.

  Oh, he wasn’t the least bit surprised.

  “She’s dead to me, Dante. What you choose to do is up to you. She outed Emma. My wife is in danger now—more so than normal.”

  He totally got that.

  Had it been Steele…yeah, dead to him too.

  “I think we have to take a hard line on this, Grey. She crossed a line, and we need to make sure we’re both on the same page. I stand with you and Emma.”

  “Thank you.”

  “I owe you anyway.”

  “Uh oh, what did you do? Were you fornicating in my ride again?” he asked off the top of his head.

  Dante laughed.

  “Uh, no, but thanks for the idea. I got to undress Dimitri. That was on my bucket list. BIG on my bucket list.”

  “Christ, Dante! I don’t need to hear it. He’s my best friend, and he’s into the ladies.”

  His brother giggled like a schoolgirl.

  “Sorry. I had to tell someone.”

  “Please don’t tell me more. I have to look the man in the eyes, and I don’t need dick details.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’ll tell your husband.”

  “Spoilsport.”

  “Yeah, that’s me,” he stated. Then it hit him. His brother likely had the FBI tablet there.

  “Hey, do you have the ‘equipment’?” he asked, knowing he’d understand.

  “Yes, why?”

  “Can you look up two people for me? We had a stripper give us a lead.”

  “Yeah, I can do that for you. More importantly, did that stripper touch you? Your wife will kill you.”

  Greyson found that amusing.

  Oh, he was well aware.

  This time, he had backup. Greyson gave Heath a fist bump to thank him.

  “No, security took one for the team. He’s my new favorite person.”

  “Everyone loves me,” Heath admitted. “I’m ha
rd not to love.”

  Greyson didn’t doubt that at all.

  “Who are they?” Dante asked, logging into the tablet so he could search.

  He rattled off the two names.

  Scott Downing.

  Devin Barosi.

  “It might take a second to run all the databases,” he began, and there was an audible beep.

  “It’s done?” Greyson asked. “Already?”

  “Yeah, it hit on the first search.”

  Well, this was good news. He couldn’t wait to hear this. His day was going well.

  “What one?”

  “The FBI database. They’re tagged in the FBI system as Feds out of Vegas.”

  He let that sink in.

  Really?

  He didn’t recall their names. They had to come in after he had resigned. They were likely Robert Lee’s helpers.

  That meant they were undercover agents, and they suspected a cop of helping Rosemary Harrington stay one step ahead of everyone.

  “Ethan is there?”

  “Yeah, upstairs.”

  Well, he knew what he was doing next. Before he headed out after two Feds, he would talk to their boss.

  Handy.

  “What are you doing?” Dante asked again.

  “I’m grabbing Curtis from the hotel, I’ll head back to Sky Villa, and then I’ll discuss this with Blackhawk. You have a business to run. Kiss YOUR HUSBAND for me and thank him for helping Dimitri.”

  “Is he forgiven?”

  “For?” he asked.

  “He bailed on the family. He left all of us out in the open. Does any of that sound familiar?”

  Oh, it did.

  Only, Dimitri held a special place in his heart. He wouldn’t turn his back on him.

  He couldn’t.

  “You don’t hold shit against your brothers. He’s mine, and I get it. He was chasing the man who killed his sister. He’s carrying a lot on his shoulders.”

  Dante was aware, but honestly, he’d never leave his brother’s side.

  No matter what.

  They were blood.

  “Be safe, and I’ll text you when we get back inside the hotel.”

  “I love you, Dante.”

  “Bro, I love you, too, and your sexy, very naked bodyguard.”

  Someone cleared their voice, and Greyson knew it was Steele.

  Dante was busted. In true Dante fashion, he laughed and hung up.

  “Let’s go pick up my son so he can get out. He’s a hot mess, and he needs a distraction. I happen to have a good one for him. It’s all hands on deck for research.”

  Both men in the ride with him got that.

  Everything in Vegas was a mess.

  Why not the family too?

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  The Archer’s

  Condo

  It was good to be working together, as a team and couple. Paris and Tessa were having a good time doing what the Crofts paid them to do. They started with doing some searching of suspects through the FBI files, and it culminated with a little fun.

  Okay, a lot of fun.

  They had sex, right there, on the floor, then on the couch, and once more while he was in his wheelchair.

  Yeah, it was good to work with his wife.

  “How are you feeling?” he asked as she brought him a sandwich and soda.

  “I feel like shit,” she stated. “The sex was good, but now my stomach feels like I’m on a boat in the middle of a storm.”

  Paris sympathized, but a part of him was excited too.

  He tried to dial down the enthusiasm.

  It was hard.

  “I’m sorry, honey, but, hey! That sickness is good. The sicker you get, the better the signs that baby A and B have taken root, right?”

  She knew he was right, and she was happy, but she was scared.

  Being a mom...

  That was scary and new.

  “Can I really do this?” she asked, being honest with him. Tessa didn’t fear much.

  This…

  Yeah, she was so damn scared.

  Paris placed the food and drink on the table and tugged his wife into his lap. “You have this. I believe in you, and you are going to grow me two lovely little babies, and I’m going to love them so damn much.”

  She hugged him.

  “I wish I was as confident as you are about it.”

  “Well, I am Super Dad.”

  She laughed when he flexed his bicep muscles.

  “Did you find anything in the papers?” she asked. “Did the sex clear your mind, Super Dad, or was that just because you’re a sex maniac?”

  “Uh, both?”

  She gave him a kiss.

  “I can’t help it. My wife is with childs.”

  “Children, Doctor. Children.”

  He grinned goofily.

  He was aware, but he wanted to distract her with some humor. Paris knew his wife.

  “What did you find?” she asked again.

  “I located one name that appears a few times. It appears that one cop was called out to investigate at ‘The Pink Kitty’, and nothing ever came of it.”

  “Who?” she asked.

  “A cop by the name of Jonathan Helms.”

  Tessa kissed him and then ran her hands through his hair to show him how sexy he was.

  “Tessa, my love,” he said when she set his mouth free. “You make me crazy. I think I need you again.”

  She stared into his eyes.

  “Again?”

  He placed her hand on his dick.

  He was hard.

  She stood.

  “Curtis is on his way here. Text Greyson the name, and then you’ll have to hurry.”

  He could do that.

  He would do anything for his wife, and besides…

  Curtis was a man.

  He’d totally understand.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  Wednesday

  Afternoon

  Sky Villa

  When he woke, Emma was beside him. She was holding him against her body, cradling his head against her chest. She was also wearing one of his shirts and a pair of sweats that were way too baggy on her.

  He was naked.

  Totally.

  Completely.

  Naked.

  And that was a problem.

  He was in bed with a woman he respected, loved, and cherished. Oh, and she was the wife of a man he hoped would forgive him.

  “I slept like a rock,” he said, as she ran her fingers through the silky strands of his hair to untangle them.

  “Yeah, you did. You had a breakdown, and I’m familiar with them. Want to talk about why? I know it’s not all about Natasha. I know it’s more.”

  “It’s been a rough week.”

  “Yeah, it has been. You left, Chris left, and Greyson and I had to figure this out for ourselves.”

  “Please don’t hate me. I hate myself enough,” he stated.

  Emma held him.

  “I don’t hate you, Dimitri.”

  He really needed some affection. He really needed someone to kiss away that pain. He recalled her telling him many times he only had to ask for what he needed.

  While it was still foreign to him, he wanted to feel something other than pain.

  Emma would give him that.

  “Can I have a kiss?” he asked. “I feel lost.”

  She leaned down and brought her lips to his. Softly, she kissed him, and all the stress ebbed away.

  As they lay there, she continued to just hold him.

  “Emma?”

  “Yes?”

  “I made a mistake.”

  “What?”

  “I left you and Greyson as I sought vengeance. I don’t have it in me anymore. Natasha’s death…it broke me. I don’t know if I can come back from this one. I don’t know if I’ll ever be the same again.”

  She understood.

  Emma believed all things happened for a reason.

&n
bsp; This included.

  “Maybe you should just come back. We should start there and take baby steps. You don’t have to come back as security, Dimitri. You could just come back as ours.”

  “He’s going to hate me.”

  It took her a second.

  “Greyson?”

  “Yes. If he’d bailed on me…”

  “You’d forgive him. He’s your brother. We understand, Max. We understand.”

  Tears filled his eyes.

  He loved them so much that it hurt when he’d walked away, but he did it for them. He didn’t want them to die.

  There was love there.

  Real, genuine love.

  “I failed her. I should have watched her better. I should have locked her down. If I had…?”

  She made him look up at her.

  “If you had, Max, you would have lost her anyway. You can’t force people to stay locked up. Natasha found her happiness. She found her way to that life she wanted. He stole it away. Let’s get her justice like we do for every other person who comes into ‘Aquarius’. Be our client. Let us find him for you.”

  He hugged her. He buried his face in the softness of her breasts and held on.

  It wasn’t sexual.

  It was the hug of a mother.

  It gave him peace.

  “I need you to take my case,” he whispered. “I need you to find the man who murdered my sister. I can’t be objective. I can’t do this without you.”

  She held him.

  “We will take your case, Max. All you had to do was come to us and ask. We will find your sister’s murderer. We’ll bring him to justice—for you both.”

  He held onto her. When he moved closer, she wrapped her whole self around him, protecting him.

  Dimitri had to trust her.

  He had lost control.

  He’d lost a sister.

  He’d told a cop he was a killer.

  His brother drove him to bail on his family.

  His judgment was bad.

  Now he had to put his life and hope in the Crofts.

  They were his only shot.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  Poppy Wayne’s