He hung up and glanced over at Dimitri. “You have to take Emma and go. Someone took a shot at our house. Curtis and Katerina were by the pool. There’s blood.”
That was all they had to hear.
Dimitri and Emma raced from the room.
She was worried about the man they loved, and the woman they were making part of their circle.
All the way down the stairs, Dimitri was sick.
If anything happened to Katerina, there would be hell to pay. In fact, if anything happened to either of them, Dominic Marianna was a dead man.
Chapter Ten
Terrace Glen
When he came up from the tumble into the water, he wasn’t sure what was going on. He thought he’d heard a gunshot, but that couldn’t be right. He and Kat were having a fight and nothing more, right?
It wasn’t possible.
There was nothing around them but hills and land the Crofts owned.
They were safe outside behind the privacy fence.
Then when he broke the surface, he saw the telltale signs floating in the water. There was blood.
Since he wasn’t hurting, he knew that it wasn’t his.
“Oh God!”
Curtis dove under and found Katerina. Her eyes weren’t open, she had a gash to her head, and there was more blood forming in a sick cloud around her.
Grabbing her around the waist, he swam to the shallow part of the pool. He wasn’t sticking around to see if the shooter was going to take another shot at them.
Instead, he scooped her up and into his arms as he raced for the safety of the house. Inside, he shouted to their housekeeper to grab towels and call the Crofts.
As soon as he got her on the floor, he patted her cheek with his hand. They weren’t down long, so she couldn’t have drowned. As he rolled her to her side to slap her on the back, she began coughing up water.
As towels were handed to him, he pressed one to the cut on the top of her head and the other to her side. The bullet grazed her ribs. Three inches to the left, and she would have been shot in the chest.
“God, Kat,” he said, picking her up in his arms and carrying her to the couch.
“You’re not hit, are you?” she asked, hoping she didn't fail. It wasn’t an option in their lives. They had one shot at keeping people safe.
Curtis grabbed the throw from the couch to cover them both up. The air conditioning was on, and he wanted to keep her warm. Already, she was shaking against him.
He hoped she wasn’t in shock.
“You saved me!”
She just stayed curled against him. “We probably shouldn’t get blood on the couch,” she finally said.
“Screw that, Katerina. You were just shot. Who cares about the damn couch?”
“Don’t be mad,” she said, enjoying the way he held her in his arms. She fit against him, and it was more than nice. It was perfect.
She’d get shot a thousand times to experience this kind of emotion.
“I’m furious. You could have been killed.”
“I wasn’t and neither were you. That was the point I had been trying to make. I was doing my job.”
Curtis got quiet.
He’d really screwed this up. She was right. He’d been trying to pick a fight because he was hurt. Meanwhile, she was levelheaded and trying to think about the big picture.
Finally, he spoke, “Are you still mad at me?” he asked, gently leaving kisses across her one bare shoulder.
Katerina could barely concentrate. His mouth was moving toward her neck, and she wanted to purr like a big, warm cat from his touch.
“No. Are you still mad at me?”
“Getting shot at and nearly losing you has a way of making the mad go away.”
She got that.
Her anger was gone too.
“About tomorrow.”
“Shut up, Curtis,” she said, pulling his mouth down to hers. He didn't fight it, and Katerina was glad. She was too tired from the adrenaline crash to do battle. They’d come close on this one, and she needed to find her bearings.
And he was it.
As they stayed lost in the kiss, Curtis couldn’t help but react to the woman in his lap. She was perched above his erection, clinging to his body.
“Katerina,” he moaned, her name escaping his lips like a breathy gasp.
She knew he was aroused, but for the life of her, she couldn’t figure out why her.
It was befuddling.
He did want her.
As he held her, making sure she was safe, Katerina crawled closer into his body for warmth.
Curtis slowly pulled his mouth from hers. “For the record, you looked really hot in that bikini. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”
She started laughing.
“I’m human. It was the first thing I saw.”
She was glad. Katerina would have to wear it more often to see what happened.
“You looked sexy all pissed off.”
He grinned at her. “I know you said shut up, but tomorrow be my date.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck. “Do you think I just saved your ass so I can watch you dance with other women?”
He kissed her again.
Maybe it was the adrenaline, but this felt more than right.
It felt perfect.
Well, except the almost dying part.
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
He drove as if someone’s life depended on it, and in a way, to him, it did. Dimitri had that sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he, and Emma, raced for their home.
If anything happened to Katerina, he’d never forgive himself. After all, she was his to protect.
She was his sister.
When he’d left for the military, he’d left her alone.
Unguarded.
Unsafe.
Unprotected.
She’d paid for that with her soul, injuries that would never heal, and her innocence. He’d made a vow that it would never happen again, and he may have failed her.
That, to him, was unforgivable.
As they headed for the gate, Emma prayed he’d stop and not plow through the metal—then they wouldn’t be keeping anyone out. From the speed they were going, she wasn’t sure he was going to take the time to enter the code.
Dimitri looked…angry.
Normally, he was cool, collected, and calm. At that moment, this shooter hit a nerve.
His family.
She got that overwhelming loathing.
After all, Curtis was like a child to her and Greyson. It scared, and pissed her off that someone shot at them. Home was supposed to be safe.
Now, thanks to them, it was anything but.
After he punched in the security code, Dimitri raced through the gate, whipping off his seatbelt.
“Stay low and keep your head down. Are you wearing the body armor, Emma?”
She nodded and pulled her sidearm just in case.
As they raced for the door, he didn't hesitate to rush in. Once inside, they found the housekeeper and she was talking hysterically.
That drove Dimitri’s normally calm blood pressure through the roof.
Moving past her, he raced into the living room, and then slid to a stop at what he found. Katerina was in Curtis’s lap, her hands were in is hair, he was holding a towel to her forehead and…their mouths were sealed together in a kiss.
Emma ran right into the back of him.
“Katerina!”
The woman jumped from his lap.
“Dimitri.”
He saw the blood on Curtis’s skin, and his heart began pounding again. Instead of staying calm, he began speaking in rapid Russian as he checked her out.
Emma headed toward the couch. “Curtis, are you okay?” she asked, sitting beside him.
“Well, other than this being incredibly awkward, I think so.”
Emma was so damn glad he was safe that she started laughing. She got what he meant. There were many times she’d found herself in Grey
son’s lap after swimming.
Swim trunks didn't hide anything.
Their man-child had a problem—a big one.
“Let’s go in the kitchen and talk. Dimitri will want to make sure his sister is fine.”
Curtis didn't want to leave.
He didn't want to walk away from her, but he knew why Emma wanted to separate them. She was right.
It was for the best. He was in no stated to have an argument with an angry brother.
“Okay.”
The entire time, he kept his eyes on Katerina to make sure she was safe. When she glanced over, his heart skipped. Even wet, battered, and bloody, she was gorgeous.
Emma finally got him alone.
“What happened?”
He told her everything.
“Had she not been there, I would be dead.”
“Where did the bullet come from?” she asked. Emma knew that Greyson would want to know. He and Dimitri were likely going to check it out.
That worried her.
“I was standing with my back toward the pool and the east wall. Kat saw something over my shoulder, and she reacted. When she leapt onto me, we fell backward and into the water. She hit her head on something.”
Emma made notes for Greyson. As a sniper in the military, Captain Croft would want details to lock down the person’s area.
“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she said, hugging him when he finished wiping the blood from his chest. “I was so worried about you, Curtis.”
He hugged her back.
It was definitely like being hugged by a mom. It solved his little ‘problem’, and fast.
“We’re okay,” he said, patting her on the back. He knew how close they’d come. “I’m glad we’re inside and safe.”
Emma had bad news for him.
“We’re not safe. As we were coming home from the crime scene, Paris called. Sky Villa was breached.”
He gasped.
“How?”
She told him all of the harrowing details. As she was relaying what they’d discovered, Dimitri and Katerina entered the room. His arm was around her shoulders, and she was leaning on her brother.
Emma noticed that her eyes were on Curtis.
It spoke volumes. The two lovebirds had a bond. This was going to be interesting to watch. Despite anything Dimitri threw at them, he was going to have one hell of a time keeping them apart.
She recognized the look anywhere.
They were in love.
“Are Paris and Tessa okay?” he asked. Curtis cared a great deal about his partner. When he was at his lowest, Tessa had called from her honeymoon to check in on him every day.
She had his back.
“They’re on their way back here right now. Steele is going to check on them. I want him to look at Katerina too,” Emma stated.
“I’m fine,” she reassured.
“Go get into something decent, and burn that offensive scrap of cloth.”
She didn't hesitate. Katerina listened to her brother. As soon as she was gone, Curtis erupted.
“Cut her a break, okay? She saved my freaking life. Her bikini is the least of our problems now.”
Dimitri was flushing red.
When he heard the gate alarm go off, he headed out of the room.
“Hey,” Emma said, patting his cheek. “Cut him a break too. He loves his sister. She nearly died. He was pretty freaked out. He’s been playing Dad for the last ten years. She was a child when he started taking care of her.”
Curtis sighed. “I know. I really do. I’m just tied up in knots. I want to freak out over all of this, but we don’t need two Greysons in this house.”
No, no they did not.
The fact that he recognized that proved how much he’d grown up over the last few months.
“I don’t know how to handle this.”
“You like her, huh?”
Like?
Yeah, he was beyond that.
“Remember when you first saw Greyson in Celestia?” he asked. “As we were crossing the field, and you stood up?”
Emma laughed. “Boy, do I ever.”
“What was it like?”
She leaned against the counter and thought about it. It wasn’t that long ago, yet it felt like it was eons ago.
“He tied me up in knots the second I heard his voice. I still, over a year later, haven’t come undone.”
“When did you know you loved him?” he asked.
“At the time, I didn’t. When I really understood was when he was abducted. When I was about to lose him, my heart knew. That’s why I married him.”
“I’m in love.”
She closed her mouth.
“Wait. I know what you’re thinking, but this isn’t like Brynn. I never felt like this with her. Greyson kept telling me, ‘you’ll know when you know’, and ‘follow your heart’, and I finally get it. My heart knows. I don’t know how, but I just know.”
“We support you.”
“But you think I’m crazy.”
Emma hugged him again. “No, Curtis, we believe it. We watched you with Brynn. It was forced. It wasn’t right. I’ve see you with Katerina. You’re sinking fast.”
“I’m not rushing into this. I didn’t tell her that I’m stupid in love, and I’m not going to for a while. She’s been through a lot. Her feelings matter more.”
She kissed him on the cheek. “And that’s how I know it’s real this time. When you love someone, they come first. With you and Brynn, it was a power struggle. Back, forth, back, forth, and no one ever won. With Kat, she would die for you. That’s huge.”
He rubbed his eyes in frustration. “I hope I don’t screw it up.”
She laughed. “Oh, you will. Look at how many times Greyson did, and I still married him. Listen to this one piece of advice, okay?”
He focused on her. Emma would never lead him astray. She was the one woman in the world that he knew wouldn’t have ulterior motives when it came to him. She loved him as if he was her son.
“Shoot.”
“Put her first. When she’s ready, you’ll be ready. Let Kat set the pace. You’re more a rushing kind of guy. She’ll let you know when it’s right.”
“Got it.”
“Be romantic, Curtis. That’s the way to a woman’s heart. That’s the one thing that you should do to mimic Greyson. He’s the most romantic man in the world. It saves his ass all the time. It’ll save yours too.”
He could do that.
“She’s coming with me to be my date tomorrow.”
“Emulate the master. He’s the king of suave when it comes to treating his woman right,” she said, patting his cheek.
Okay, he could be romantic. With Brynn, it had been forced, and he didn’t get it.
With Kat, he wanted to pick all the roses in the garden for her. It simply felt right.
“Now, go get changed, and meet us in the living room. This is going to be a long night.”
He didn't doubt it.
Only, he was pretty sure she wasn’t thinking what he was thinking.
That was for damn sure.
When they entered, Tessa was sitting in Paris’s lap and Greyson was pushing them into the house. The two newlyweds were stuck like glue, and nobody had a problem with that. What they had just been through was hell.
It had to rattle them to the core.
Right behind them was Dante and Steele. He held his medical kit, and a first aid kit too.
“Check them out,” he said, pointing at them. As soon as he saw Emma, he rushed to her side. “Where’s Curtis? Is he okay?” he asked, worry in his eyes.
Emma patted his arm in reassurance. “He and Katerina are getting changed. She needs to be looked at too.”
Dimitri crossed to them, and the anger had abated. “Is the boy okay?”
Greyson heard it in his voice. “Has you rattled, huh?”
He nodded.
“Well, I have something to keep you focused,” Emma said, despite the fact that it
made her nervous. She didn't want her husband running around in the dark looking for a sniper, but she knew what he was going to do.
“Here.”
Emma handed him the paper where she made notes. “Go get ’em, Captain. I’ll hold down the fort. Take Dimitri.”
He read over the paper. “The shot came from the East?” he reiterated.
“According to Curtis, it did. I didn’t go out to look for a bullet. I figured you’d lose it.”
“I absolutely would, so good call on that one.”
“You know what all this means?” Dimitri said, reading the paper over Greyson’s shoulder.
“Yeah. No self-respecting sniper takes a shot into the setting sun. That’s something you learn on the first day of boot camp.”
“Exactly. That’s good for us. We’re not dealing with a pro,” Dimitri added.
And it made sense.
The shooter missed.
Greyson knew he wouldn’t have, even if he was looking into the sun. He was pretty sure Dimitri wouldn’t have missed either.
They didn’t have a pro, and that bought them time.
“Shall we go look for his blind?”
Greyson nodded. “Emma.”
“I know. Stay in, don’t get shot, blah, blah, blah,” she said sardonically.
He grabbed her and kissed her like he meant it. Everything around them fell away. As his wife kissed him back, offering him that desperate reassurance, his pulse finally slowed down.
They were all okay.
No one had died.
When he finally felt sturdy enough to let her go, only then did he. “I love you, honey. Wait up for me,” he stated.
She grinned. “Do you mean…?”
“Oh, yeah, I do.”
Dimitri rolled his eyes. “I want some of what you’re taking.”
Croft began pulling off his suit jacket as they headed upstairs to get changed. “That’s never going to happen. Emma is my drug, and I’m not going to share. You’ll have to find your own addiction.”
Dimitri knew it would be a cold day in hell before that ever happened.
He’d make sure of it.
He headed toward her room when he was done. As he knocked on the door, he wished he had time to pick her some flowers. Curtis made a mental note to get some for tomorrow night.
Justice is Dead (Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 7) Page 25