He got it.
He’d had a few close calls.
“So, I have a madam who knows what I like, and she hooks me up. I pay, she sends, and we all leave happy. Since I refuse to hurt women, the girls I use are safe.”
He stared at him.
“Are you going to judge me now?”
Greyson lifted a brow. “No. I was still stuck on ‘hookers in my hotel’. If you’re doing that, what else is going on?”
Dimitri laughed. “Well, your man-child took my sister there last night, so I’m betting he was fornicating in your penthouse.”
“Jesus. I need a vacation.”
Didn’t they all?
“If you don’t mind, can we keep this between us? I try to keep my sex life quiet. I have sisters. While I don’t abuse women, I don’t want them to think that it’s okay for men to buy them either.”
He patted him on his back. “Yes, until I catch you with one in our house. Then Emma is going to skin you alive and feed you to our guests via the chef.”
He crushed out his cigarette butt. “Thank you.”
“Don’t thank me. We’re friends. When you need to talk, I’m here. I have your back, Dimitri, even if you’re getting your rocks off with a hooker.”
“Call girl. It’s a nicer term.”
He laughed. “Yeah, go with that. Who could possibly be offended?”
As they headed toward the house, there were three women on the porch. They looked at them, and immediately, they went to bolt.
“Stop! If you make me chase you in these dress shoes, I’m calling vice.”
The three women stopped.
“Drop the drugs on the grass, so we can have a talk.”
The one looked at him suspiciously. “You’re that Fed. You know, that one who’s loaded.”
The women all began talking.
“See?” Dimitri asked, grinning.
He had a point.
Vegas was full of gold diggers.
“Want to be my Richard Gere?” the one said, leaning forward. He breasts nearly fell out.
First, there was the strip club, and now there were hookers. Yeah, if he wasn’t divorced by the end of the month, it would be a miracle.
“We need to talk to Hillary Schmitz.”
The ladies began laughing, as they dropped the crack pipe and blunt.
“What’s so funny?”
“She offed herself about five years ago.”
The men glanced at each other.
“Really?”
“Yep. She was here with her boyfriend, and the next week, she was dead.”
“Do you remember her boyfriend?” Greyson asked, pulling out his phone. When he showed them the driver’s license photo, they clammed up.
“If you want details, you gotta pay, sugar. So, we can go in and have some fun, and then charge you, or you can pay for information. Either way, cash is needed in the transaction.”
He glanced at Dimitri. “Want to take one for the team on this one?”
“If you go first.”
Cash it was.
Croft pulled out his wallet and passed them each a fifty. “This should buy you some food, not drugs.”
They laughed.
“What about the boyfriend?”
“She was here with him one night, you know, cuddling and watching TV, when all the sudden, she heard this noise. He ran out, and someone took him.”
“How do you know all this?”
“Hillary told us.”
“Continue,” he said, pointing at the one who didn’t have drugs a few minutes ago. Maybe she would get her story straight.
“She said she came out, saw them grab him, and then she was knocked out.”
“She saw them?”
“Yes.”
“What did she tell you?”
“It was a big black car. Not a limo, but the next one down.”
“A Lincoln?”
She nodded. “Then she hung herself the next week. It was odd, because she was okay the next day. Biagio left his wallet, and she’d just done a major shopping spree. We got new appliances and everything. It was plush.”
Yeah, they weren’t shocked.
Gold diggers.
This was what hookers got you in Vegas.
“And she ‘offed’ herself?” Dimitri asked.
“Yep. She hung herself.”
Someone saw something they shouldn’t have. They weren’t buying that this was suicide.
“Did she say anything else?”
They looked at each other.
“Wait! She did,” the one woman said. “She told us that Biagio shouted a name before she was knocked out.”
“What was it?”
They laughed.
“Uh, five years ago and a lot of crack later,” the one said. “Good luck with that.”
Damn!
They were so close too.
“Okay, ladies, if you think of anything,” Greyson said, pulling out one of his cards, “or you want me to help you get into rehab and off the streets, call me.”
They giggled. “Bye, big sexy.”
As they walked away, Dimitri was smiling.
“What?”
“Nothing. It just occurred to me that you are helping people. You just don’t see it. You, Mr. Rich Guy, just offered to help three hookers into rehab. Who’s paying for that? We know their jobs don’t have health benefits.”
Greyson shrugged. “I don’t care about the money. Dante makes us more every day. I care about people. That’s why I served my country and became a Fed. It wasn’t to get rich.”
Dimitri got it.
“You’re still doing good.”
Somehow, he doubted that.
Vegas was an uphill battle.
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
LVPD
Hell erupted, and Emma had no choice but to move into action. Cop kicked in, and she had to fight for her life. Chris was her primary concern, and she had to get to him.
Glock versus automatic weapon didn't fare well, and she knew it.
There was the smell of blood everywhere, and she prayed it wasn’t Chris’s.
She’d watched him take three right to the chest, and that scared the hell out of her. At close range, even wearing Kevlar, the odds weren’t in his favor.
As she ducked behind her desk, then returned fire, she prayed for a miracle.
Then she felt the tap.
Chris had crawled toward her by way of the desks. He was leaving a trail of blood as he slid across the floor. He was around her desk, his hand barely touching her foot.
He wasn’t good.
There was blood coming from his mouth, and he was coughing.
Then the bullets stopped.
“Reloading,” he said, not sure what he could do. They were after Emma, and his body was on fire. He’d felt the pain of the first one hitting, and it stole his breath, and soon—likely his life.
He wasn’t walking away from this one. It was only a matter of time before he bled out.
He was sure of it.
Emma knew they had seconds.
Grabbing him by the dress blue jacket, she pulled with all her might. She was able to get him out of the way and moving toward his office.
It wasn’t easy. Chris was more than double her weight and built like a brick shithouse.
He was dead weight.
That thought made her sick. Already, she was thinking back to another time, and another man.
He’d been just as bloody.
That didn’t end well.
The firing started again, just as they cleared the office wall and into his private room. Above them, more glass shattered all around her.
Emma kept her head down.
When it let up, she knew she needed to start basic field triage. It was going to be the difference in his life or death.
“Let me see how bad you are,” she said, ripping open his shirt, all the while keeping one eye on the doorway. If they came toward her, she’d be for
ced to fire back.
Yeah, and pray for a miracle.
Chris moaned as she yanked the vest up to slide her hands beneath.
It was one shot.
From the blood, it was through and through.
That meant minimum internal bleeding. They might have a shot at keeping him alive. At least she knew that the bullet didn't fragment and ricochet all over his chest.
That was the good news.
The bad was that they were using armor piercing bullets.
Great.
“How bad, Emma?” he muttered, coughing up blood. “How bad am I hit?”
He was shot once in the chest and the other two rounds in the body armor.
“Let’s just say that you’re going to live, and you’re going to approve any vacation days I ask for since I’m going to keep your ass alive.”
He heard it in her voice.
She was scared.
That meant it was bad.
“Emma.”
She ripped off her jacket, making sure to keep her head low. More bullets hit the wall behind her. The shooters were taking pot shots at just about anything that moved.
“We don’t have long,” she stated, tucking her blazer behind his back to staunch the blood flow.
She needed more.
Her shirt had to go. Pulling the pricy silk off, she balled it up and shoved it beneath his vest. She was now simply wearing body armor and her bra beneath.
Well, desperate times...
“They’ll come storming in here once they know I’m out of ammunition. I hope you have some rounds in your desk.”
He coughed and nodded. “Top right drawer behind the pens,” he muttered.
His hand found his gun as she dug around for bullets.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.”
They both knew why.
Gage had died in her arms, and now Chris was going that way too. He wasn’t making it out of there.
Emma didn't want to hear it.
It was time to make her stand.
“Hang in there, Chris. I need you not to pass out on me. As long as you stay awake, we’ve got a chance. I can’t carry you.”
He nodded, right before he handed her his gun. “Don’t die. Greyson will kill me.”
She didn't intend to.
Now she needed to protect them.
Emma returned fire and popped the clip. It was like a warzone in the squad room. Still, calm heads prevailed. She knew how she’d get word to her husband.
The watch.
She hit the stem to turn on the tracker, as another barrage of bullets hit the glass around them.
Emma threw her body over Chris’s to protect him. His big hand found the back of her head as he held her to his body. His lips found her ear.
“Go! If you can get free, go. Leave me.”
Yeah, that wasn’t going to happen.
“I’m not leaving you, Chris,” she said, touching his cheek. His warm brown eyes were filled with such sorrow at what was likely going to happen.
“That’s an order, Detective.”
She ignored him as she returned fire.
“Promise me you won’t die!” she said, covering his body with hers as more bullets erupted over their heads.
“Emma, honey.”
It was good enough.
She returned fire and hoped for a miracle.
It was all they had left.
Chapter Sixteen
Greyson was driving when Dimitri’s cell started chiming. He dug frantically for it, and that worried Greyson.
“What?”
“Emma’s tracker just went on.”
“WHAT?” Croft bellowed, his gut dropping at those words. “Maybe it was accidental.”
Dimitri began dialing his phone, trying to confirm it. If it was an accident, Natasha or Katerina would be able to tell them.
On the third ring, Natasha answered.
“We have a problem.”
“What?” he asked, keeping is voice calm.
“Three shooters just entered the LVPD, they’re shooting it up, and Emma and Ford are trapped inside. We have mass casualties. We can’t get a hold of her. She’s not answering her cell.”
“She just turned on her tracker. She’s alive.”
Greyson glanced over. “What the hell is going on?” he shouted.
Holy shit!
What was happening?
Emma was at the police station. She should be safe, right? He’d let Chris take her to work, and they’d arrived there without a problem. What could possibly happen?
“Extract her as soon as you can,” Dimitri said. “We’re on our way.”
He hung up.
“What?”
He tried to figure a way to tell him where he wouldn’t crash the vehicle and kill them.
Instead, he realized Greyson would hold up. He had to because Emma needed them to do just that.
So, he told him.
“Jesus,” he muttered, slamming his foot to the gas as the vehicle took off. “We have to save her!”
Dimitri knew that wasn’t going to be easy.
Just then, the phone began ringing. Greyson didn't have time to answer it. Dimitri saw on the navigational system that it was Curtis.
“What?” he asked, after hitting the answer button. He was holding on for dear live as Greyson flew down the highway, lights and sirens blaring.
“We were watching the news. There is something happening at the LVPD. Where’s Emma?” Curtis asked.
“She’s inside.”
He told him everything.
“Oh, Jesus.”
Croft wanted to be sick. He’d blown her off that morning, and now she was pinned down inside a building with shooters.
He never saw this coming.
If they survived this, he was leaving Vegas. There was no way he could risk her like this over and over again. She was going to be okay.
She had to be okay.
“It’s okay, Curtis,” Dimitri offered. “We’re heading there, and Katerina and Natasha are going to get her out.”
“What?”
Yeah, he saw this one coming.
“I said…”
“I’ll be there when you arrive.”
The phone went dead.
“Hurry up,” Dimitri said, horrified that he was telling the man to drive faster. “Your ‘son’ might do something stupid.”
Greyson did it.
He floored it.
“Tell me they can get her out.”
“They can get her out.”
Only he knew that it depended on the circumstances. They all had a lot to lose.
A lot.
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
It was all over the news.
Dominic was so very proud. He wasn’t stupid. He knew that Dimitri would be looking for someone who did this kind of job in Vegas to pin it to him, but he was smarter.
Oh, he hired unknowns.
They were expendable.
They were meat suits with guns, and he didn’t have to worry about it getting back to him.
They weren’t coming out alive, and he knew it. His money was safe, and if he was lucky, Emma and Chris Ford were dead.
Time would tell.
As he watched the media flyovers, he could see the mayhem from his penthouse window.
Yes, this was well deserved.
The bitch thought she could put her hands on him in a room full of their peers?
Yeah, no, she couldn’t.
“How do you feel now, Emma? Was that punch worth your life? Well, this is only the beginning. There is so much more to come.”
Then he laughed.
Payback was a bitch.
“Kenneth! Get me into that house!”
* * * Croft & Croft * * *
They were pinned down.
The bullets exploded over their heads in random bursts. It was hard to predict when it was coming next.
Chris wasn’t looking good. He was
going gray, and that was the first sign that he lost too much blood.
“Hey!” she said, touching his cheek.
Immediately, his hand covered hers and his eyes opened.
“I’m still here.”
“Hang in there, Chris. Greyson and Dimitri know I’m in danger. They’ll come.”
He laughed, and then began coughing.
Emma lifted his head so he wouldn’t choke on his own blood.
“Come on, Chris, you can’t leave me like this. You know what it’ll do to me. I have to get you out of here, because I won’t make it if you don’t. We’re tied together now. You’ve made me love you, and I can’t lose you.”
He was aware.
That’s why he was fighting so damn hard to stay with her.
“I’m not going anywhere,” he muttered. “I’m trying, Emma.”
She knew he was.
The shooters were reloading. There was a lull in the pops of glass over them.
They didn't have many bullets left.
Three clips.
She knew she had to move now. “Let me see what’s going on,” Emma whispered, crouching by the door.
“Be careful!” he hissed, never taking his eyes off her.
She peeked around, and saw one of them standing there. Quickly, she fired at him, pretty sure she got him. Then he jumped back up and she had seconds to avoid the spray of bullets.
Chris tried to move toward her.
“I’m good. They’re wearing body armor. They came ready.”
If they survived this, it would be a miracle.
Then he realized his time was up. His vision was blurring, and he wasn’t going to see tomorrow.
The irony was, today was his damn birthday.
“Chris,” she said, patting him on the cheek.
“It’s my birthday,” he whispered. “It’ll be easy to make the head stone.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Don’t say that, Chris. I’ll give you anything you want for your birthday. Want a cake? How about cookies? You know you love cookies.”
“I want a kiss.”
“What?”
He pulled her down by the vest and kissed her on the mouth. It was definitely not a brother-sister kiss. It was warm, heated, and he gave it all he had.
Justice is Dead (Croft & Croft Romance Adventure Book 7) Page 38