True Justice

by Morgan Kelley

  Croft was glad.

  He was heading out, and he was going to make sure that this girl was compensated for what happened.

  He’d pay the debt for a man he called brother.

  Willingly.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  Across Vegas

  The heat was on.

  He knew that good things had to end, but Rosemary didn’t tell him it would be this short lived. He had just gotten accustomed to the money, the wealth, and the fun, and it was coming to an end.

  At first, he’d been appalled by the idea, but she had offered him a deal he couldn’t refuse.

  And he didn’t.

  As the law, he should know better.

  Only he didn’t care.

  He was hidden in plain sight, and that was good for him. The only concern he had was the other guy.

  He didn’t trust him.

  In this game, you couldn’t trust anyone. Not your friends, not your enemies, and not your partner in the depravity.

  So, he was cleaning up the loose ends.

  Only so many people could identify him.

  Only so many people would know his name.

  Well, this was another one of them—him and Robert Lee, and he wouldn’t be talking anytime soon.

  Since it was still early, he headed to the last man’s home. It would look like a social call, and that would work. In his pocket was a silencer and his gun.

  Well, not his gun.

  He wasn’t a fool.

  He’d appropriated one, and it would do the job.

  When he saw him opening the door, he smiled, trying to reassure him that everything was, indeed, okay.

  He was the lamb to slaughter.

  “What are you doing here?” he asked. “I just heard about Robert. What’s going on?”

  “I know. I heard about him too. I just came to check on you. Then I have a pickup. Rosemary just called me. She told me she was going to text you.”

  “She didn’t.”

  “I can do it alone,” he offered.

  “NO! I’ll go. I need some money. I’m going to buy me a luxury yacht to sail away,” he said. “I think we should finish this and get the hell out of here.”

  Oh, that was the plan.

  Unfortunately for him, that sounded like a rat was trying to bail ship.

  This was well-timed.

  He needed to go.

  “Get your shoes. I have the gear in the trunk. It’ll be a quick pick up at the warehouse.”

  The man looked past him.

  “Where did you park? I hope not here.”

  He laughed.

  He wasn’t an idiot.

  “Around the block. This isn’t my first day.”

  When the man turned around to grab his shoes, he pulled out his gun and pointed it at his head. Before he could turn around to face him, he pulled the trigger. The front of his head exploded, spraying the wall, TV screen, and furniture.

  He fell to the floor in a pile of remains.

  Well, that was easy.

  Pulling on his gloves, he wandered the house, searching for anything that would tie him to this man.

  He didn’t find anything.

  His cover was good.

  Then, he headed out, closed the door behind him, and made his way to his truck.

  One loose end down.

  ONE MORE TO GO.

  Only, that would have to wait. Rosemary was heading to New Orleans to meet up with her ‘buyer’. When she came back, that would be the end of her too.

  And he’d disappear.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  Viktor Marchenko’s

  Hell House.

  When he had dumped the body, his phone chimed, alerting him. Someone was in his home.

  While he was out, someone had moved up the stairs, and unlocked his main quarters.

  How?

  No one knew where he lived.

  He didn’t take anyone there but his pets.

  He was worried. In that house were so many of his personal things. His pictures of his mother, his pets, and his life.

  Viktor had accumulated it, and now someone was rifling through it like it was theirs.

  That infuriated him.

  Had his pet screamed and gotten someone’s attention?

  Had she dared?

  Viktor tried to stay calm, but it wasn’t easy. Walking down the block, he headed to his second hole. He had one across the street and a few houses down. He could watch the place, and no one would see him.

  As he stared out the building, he watched as three men carried out a tarp.

  They’d found Sofia.

  There was only one way.

  Molly had betrayed him.

  That filthy animal had betrayed him, and he’d been so good to her. He’d loved her and played with her, and she betrayed him without any remorse.

  That was a typical woman.

  Well, that wouldn’t do.

  Now she’d have to pay. They’d all have to pay. He’d set up for circumstances just like this. He’d set up for instances where it went to shit. He’d learned by watching his brother.

  His mother.

  He knew how to handle things like this, and he would do just that.

  Pulling out his spare sniper rifle, he put it together. He didn’t keep anything in this hole but one gun and a bed. He had one more hole to hide in, and he would head there next.

  But first…

  He opened the window a crack, and he watched.

  As the pretty Fed that he saw on the news walked down the stairs, he took aim. It was time to blow someone’s brains out.

  And then, he’d just blow the place.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  Ethan was standing next to the spare van he’d called up to transport the remains to the FBI building until morning when Chris came. He was helping them load the very smelly, very rotting body of Sofia Bisecker into the back.

  Next, the priority would be to get Molly Shepherd into the ambulance and to the hospital.

  His wife was about to help her out of the prison and to safety.

  He glanced over, seeing her walking out the door, the young girl was wrapped in a blanket beside her. Each step was difficult since Molly hadn’t used her leg muscles in a long time.

  She was atrophied.

  She was wobbly.

  She was struggling.

  He was just about to head toward her and pick the woman up when the most horrific thing happened.

  He heard the shot.

  Then Ethan saw the woman’s head explode. He watched her brains splatter against his wife and the look of horror on her face.

  “DOWN!” he screamed.

  Elizabeth dropped, and the second bullet hit the stone building behind her where her head had been. There was no doubt who was next.

  Everyone stayed down as he crawled toward his wife, praying she wasn’t hit. When she rolled to her back and focused in the direction the bullet had come, she pointed.

  “Call in more agents!” she shouted. “THERE!”

  Ethan got to his wife, and he pulled out his phone. He knew this was bad.

  And then, they heard it.

  The explosion rocked the block, and both of them were lucky to be on the ground.

  All the windows blew.

  All the glass sprayed out in every direction.

  It looked like Viktor Marchenko was a little more than upset that they’d found his victims.

  He was fucking irate.

  * * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *

  Sky Villa

  Three Hours Later

  Ten PM

  Well, they were all alive.

  At that very moment, there were Feds all over the burned out building and the secondary location from where Viktor blew it. Ethan knew being out on the street was a dangerous thing, and the entire night’s events were proof of it.

  Being there was beyond dangerous.

  It was a death wish. />
  Now that Viktor Marchenko was pissed, Elizabeth had nearly died.

  Again.

  Twice within seconds.

  He was not enjoying Las Vegas.

  At all.

  They were about to regroup and get their game plan for the morning, and his wife was being unusually quiet. They’d come so close to getting Molly out of there.

  He knew why she was upset.

  Ethan also knew that nothing he could say would help—until his wife was ready to talk about it.

  She was definitely not ready.

  He saw the storm coming, but it had to be on Elizabeth’s time.

  Not his.

  Everyone, who was at Sky Villa, with the exception of Emma and Dimitri, was there.

  “Let’s talk this out, and then get some sleep,” Elizabeth suggested. She’d showered on the scene to remove the trace for the techs, had some tea, and wanted to forget about what had gone down on her watch.

  The Fed in her was mad.

  The mother in her was ready to weep.

  “We know we have two Feds, and a cop’s, name come up with the investigation,” Greyson stated. “They might be linked to all of this,” he added. “Tomorrow, I’m going to head out and talk to them.”

  “I’ll take someone,” she offered. “Pass one off.”

  He looked at Ethan.

  She didn’t miss it.

  “He’s not my boss,” she said, getting Greyson to focus on her. “I can decide how I work a case, and last I looked, I was working this case.”

  They all heard it.

  There was no way she could be okay after what had gone down.

  “Well, technically, I am your boss,” he stated, trying to keep this from escalating.

  Greyson cut her off.

  “I’ll be frank, and maybe it’s the caveman in me, but your ass should be in lockdown,” Croft stated.

  She lifted a brow.

  “He saw you in his crosshairs. He missed. Once he misses, he gets bitchy. He doesn’t miss much. The only other time he failed on his mission is Dimitri, and we locked him down.”

  She didn’t care.

  It didn’t matter. Elizabeth couldn’t spend her days in hiding. Then why have a damn career.

  It was what it was.

  “Tomorrow, we have one more name to add to our list. Molly gave us Utz. He’s on the board. We have four men who might have something to do with this. You need my help, and I’m not hiding out in Vegas. If I’m being pulled by my boss, I might as well head home.”

  Ethan was between a rock and a hard place. He’d violated her trust by not being just her boss. He let their personal lives come between them and the job on other occasions, and it didn’t go well.

  She’d nearly kicked his balls into his throat for it too.

  He knew what he needed to do.

  “She’s not going to DC. She’s capable of knowing where the line is, and how close she is to toppling over it. I have faith in Elizabeth’s skills.”

  She stared at him.

  Who was this man?

  Wow.

  “Thank you,” she said.

  “You’re welcome. As your boss, I know you have a solid plan. I will say that as your husband, it scares the shit out of me, so make sure you’re careful.”

  Oh, she would.

  “Back to it?” she asked.

  Greyson sighed.

  “You’re running it. Have at it, Elizabeth. I just hope you know what you’re doing.”

  She did.

  At the whiteboard, she pointed at the four names.

  Scott Downing

  Devin Barosi

  Jonathan Helms

  Derk Utz

  “We need to make sure we hit them all up over this. Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.”

  With that, Greyson agreed.

  “That’s where we’ll start, and hopefully, it will net us someone who is involved in this mess.”

  Everyone there hoped so.

  “Which two do you want?”

  “Give me the two who won’t have you out in the open. He’s not gunning for me. He’s going to be focused on you more now that you screwed with his ‘pets’.”

  He nearly puked saying it.

  She went to speak.

  Only, she was cut off.

  “She’ll be safe for a little while,” Dimitri said, leaning on Emma for support.

  Literally.

  They were standing there in the doorway, and she was holding him up. Somehow, he’d managed to convince her to get him upstairs.

  And he looked like shit.

  “Hello, Mr. Gideon,” she said. “Since you are on my side, I’ll welcome you into this conversation. Have a seat.”

  Emma helped him sit.

  He flinched and there were beads of sweat on his brow when he finally stopped moving.

  Greyson and Ethan were curious.

  “Why do you think she’ll be safe from him? She defiled his playground,” Greyson asked.

  He’d been thinking about it.

  That was why he’d come upstairs. It wasn’t to hang out with the Feds. That he could do without.

  “Because that was his home. Everything is going to be in there. You found a gun from where he took his shot, correct?” he asked.

  Ethan nodded.

  “Yes, he didn’t take his gun with him. He shot, blew his building, and slipped out the back.”

  “He’s studied me. That’s my move,” he stated. “In this case, he knew you were aware who it was, and he didn’t want to risk being seen carrying his gun out. I would have left the gun behind to slip away.”

  They all looked at him.

  “Really?” Greyson asked.

  He didn’t open his eyes. Instead, he continued so they could get into the mind of his blood.

  His blood brother.

  “I have a hidey-hole across the street here. It has one gun, one bed, and nothing more. I use it when I want to check to ensure Sky Villa is safe. It’s also my place to run if the condo gets compromised. A lot of people know I live here.”

  Elizabeth listened.

  “What will he do next?” she asked, picking his brain.

  “It will depend if he has a secondary place to go,” Dimitri offered. “If not…”

  Paris took over.

  “He’s going to regroup,” Paris stated. “He’s out of his home, he’s without his favorite gun, and he needs to work through it to get back into control.”

  Dimitri agreed.

  “His home had pictures, his weapon, and his personal things. He didn’t account for anyone finding it. He didn’t have a spare place that meant as much. He blew his nest and he left his lookout behind. The KGB teaches that.”

  She considered it.

  “He’s going to need to find a new weapon, and you’ll have time. He likes a particular gun.”

  She listened.

  “He’s going to hunt down a Soviet Dragunov sniper rifle. There won’t be many here in Vegas. He’s going to need to contact a buyer to find that particular weapon.”

  “How do you know that’s the gun he uses?” she asked, curiously.

  Dimitri opened his eyes and stared into hers.

  “It’s my gun of choice. He’s mimicking me. He’s studied me, and he’s using my own skills against me.”

  Ethan began profiling it.

  “To catch a killer, you use a killer?”

  “Yes. While Greyson is hunting for Rosemary’s helpers, you need to stay focused on him. He’s going to need to regroup. You caught him off guard.”

  She listened.

  “In this city, there’s only so many gun traffickers. I will give you the name of the one I use. He likely is going to use him.”

  “That implicates you,” Emma said.

  “She’s right. That’s putting you in a legal trap, and you’ll get burned,” Greyson stated.

  He was well aware.

  His time…it was done. Now it was about offering himself up to catch his br
other.

  “I’m well aware. I’ll throw myself on my sword, so I don’t have to see what he did to those girls. I was watching. I saw Molly. I can’t let him do it again, even if it costs me my freedom.”

  “Don’t do it, Dimitri,” Emma stated. “We’ll get him another way. Don’t go down because of him. You’ve been clean up to this point,” she said, moving to stand behind him. She placed her hand on his neck, connecting them, but her eyes were on the Blackhawks.

  That he’d said this much…it meant he was giving up again. He’d live, but he’d live in a cage—his own personal Hell.

  “I have to do it, Emma. He’s killed too many young women. He killed Natasha. He’ll keep going. I’ll sacrifice myself to catch him. I’ll go to jail. My time is done.”

  Tears filled her eyes.

  “Last case, I headed into the underground. I bargained away something I shouldn’t have, and now I’m going to make it right,” he stated. “I went to the one man who would know where all the killers are in the city because he supplied them guns. He’s the gunrunner.”

  “Greyson, do something,” Emma pleaded. “Please. I just got him back.”

  “It’s okay, Emma,” he said, placing his hand over hers on his neck.

  “I found my redemption,” Dimitri stated. “I will pay for his sins.”

  Ethan dropped his arm over his wife’s shoulder. He couldn’t let the man do it.

  “Hey! There’s a pool upstairs. Why don’t we take a swim?” he asked, motioning for his security, all but Ivan, to leave the room.

  He was the gun expert in the room.

  “I’m not…”

  He stared into her eyes until she got it. When she didn’t, he helped her out. Ethan was good at gauging people. Dimitri Gideon wasn’t the man in the file.

  Something changed him.

  He suspected love and family.

  “Maybe the name fairy will leave his name for you if you’re a good girl,” he stated. “You know, as a gift for being a good person beneath all that badassery.”

  She got it.

  Ethan was giving Dimitri an out. If she wasn’t there to see it, and they were the only two Feds, the source would be anonymous.