Chapter Fifteen
Courthouse
Monday
Nine A.M.
A s he pulled up in his truck, he held her coffee cup and briefcase as she unbuckled her seatbelt. The entire time, he couldn’t help but watch the transformation. Delilah was like a chameleon.
When they woke up, she hadn’t had any clothes or makeup on, and she’d been drop dead gorgeous in the girl next door kind of way. Now she was primped, primed, and ready to take on the world for her clients. She had her hair coifed, her red lipstick on, and even her glasses.
She was so freaking hot that Riley was having a hard time thinking about anything else but her body and the sexy girly things beneath her suit.
Truth be told, he wasn’t sure which side of her he liked more. The feisty attorney, who chewed asses, or the fresh-faced woman, who smiled at him when she woke. Riley wouldn’t mind having both of those women in his world.
Only, he knew there was going to be an issue. He could see it coming.
He must have been staring because she touched his arm and got his attention.
“Uh, are you okay?” she asked in concern. “Is it about dropping me off here? You can take me to my office, and I can drive here.”
He lovingly placed his palm against her cheek.
“It has nothing to do with that, Delilah. I was just thinking about you. Have a good day at work, and don’t leave, okay?”
“Where would I go? I have some maniac who wants me dead, and a client who will be dead if I don’t do my job. I’m going to be crazy busy,” she teased. “A woman-lawyer’s work is never done.”
He leaned in to kiss her, and she moved away.
It caught him off guard.
“I’m sorry,” he said, moving back. “I figured after four rounds of sex, sleeping together, literally, and today, I could kiss you goodbye. I didn’t mean to…”
She stopped him.
“There are cops all over the place. Once I get out, they’ll see you. I don’t want them to give you shit because you’re seen with me, but kissing the enemy?”
He stared into her green cat eyes.
“I don’t care if they find out.”
“But your boss…”
Riley had to make a choice. He could sneak around with Delilah and pretend they weren’t an item, or he could face the facts. He wanted to be with her, and he didn’t care if anyone connected him to the Crofts.
They’d make shit up anyway, and he didn’t want to be away from her. Besides, if Thomas Christ saw her with a cop, one he couldn’t bribe or buy, he might leave her alone.
The commissioner too.
This was his way of protecting her even when he couldn’t be by her side. Delilah mattered, and he wanted something a little more permanent.
Maybe if he did a good job of this, she’d understand later when he told her what they might be up against in a relationship.
IF she even wanted one of those.
He could only hope.
“They will make your life hell, Riley. Thomas Christ will ride you.”
He still didn’t care. He could ride him all he wanted, but when it came down to it, he wasn’t going to let her get hurt. The other cops would leave her alone.
Maybe a few good ones would watch her back.
Delilah wasn’t the job. She was a human being who deserved to be safe.
To prove he didn’t care, he rolled his window down, and waved to a cop he knew. Then he stared at her.
“Riley! Put that up!”
He wouldn’t let her stop him.
“So you just used me for sex?”
“What?” she asked. “How did you come up with that conclusion, Detective?”
“I think you’re embarrassed to be seen with me. I’m the one beneath you.”
“Riley.”
“It’s okay, Delilah. I get it. Have a good day.”
She saw how she’d hurt him, and it broke her heart. Riley Henderson was a decent, kind, good man, and she didn’t want him upset.
So, she gave in.
She grabbed him by the tie and tugged his mouth to hers. “You’re not beneath me,” she said, giving him a kiss, “but you can be later, if you like,” she offered, letting her mouth run deliciously over his.
Riley enjoyed the kiss, and the way Delilah smelled. It was a mix of her perfume, and his cologne.
That said it all, but in case she didn’t get it…
“You’re not the enemy,” he said. “I can still do my job without you interfering.”
She laughed. “Until I have you on the stand and I have to tear you apart,” she said.
“Then I’ll just have to take it out on you later,” he muttered, her lips doing insane things to his. “Like last night.”
He gave her chills.
“I don’t know what to do with you,” she admitted. “I hate cops, but this one…”
He waited.
“Are we really going to see if this works?” she asked. “Is this going somewhere?”
He laughed. “Are you wearing garters?”
“Yes.”
“Oh, then I know exactly where it’s going. I like that place too,” he said.
She laughed. “Me too.”
He handed her the disposable coffee cup. “Say you’ll call me if there’s trouble?” he asked.
She touched his cheek. “You can rescue me any day, Detective.”
“I’ll keep that in mind for later.”
She closed his truck door, and he wanted to make sure she got inside and to safety.
Riley got out, and he watched her.
He took it all in. Her walk away, men staring at her in lust and disdain, and the sway of her ass as she crossed the quad. At the door of the courthouse, she blew him a kiss.
Yeah, he’d rescue her.
In a heartbeat.
But for now, it was time to get his ass to work.
He had a feeling there were other people who needed him too. Word would be traveling back, and he was likely going to have a shitty day.
He could feel it brewing.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
LVPD
Thomas Christ got the call. As he was sitting in his office, he heard from the man who wanted the mess cleaned up.
“Is it done?” Commissioner Raye asked, whispering into the phone.
“Yep. When he comes in, I’ll break the news. Then, we’ll wait until the techs clear the scene, and find that one piece of evidence.”
“Where did you leave it?” he asked.
“On the floor by the door. I pulled it from his garbage can. Everyone here knows Detective Henderson loves that gum. He chews it all day long. That wadded up piece will be enough to frame him. It puts him at the scene.”
“Perfect.”
“I know. I came up with it myself.”
“Well, good work. I’ll be in later. I want to watch it all go down,” he said, laughing.
“Sure thing.”
Commissioner Raye hung up.
It was going to be priceless. He couldn’t wait to see it happen. That’s what the rat deserved.
And he would pay in lock up.
That was for sure.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Greyson was worried.
They were heading out while Paris and Tessa were going to start doing some research on the names Elizabeth had given them. They would try to crosscheck them with anything they could find on Anthony Delmarco and Viktor Marchenko.
While they were glad for the FBI’s intel, there was still holes in the whole thing. Greyson knew they needed to fill them in or they risked screwing this up.
They couldn’t do that.
The FBI was pulling out of the sex ring investigation, and that meant he was on deck. He had a job to do in his city.
Still…
This was going to be damn hard.
They weren’t hoping to find much, but they had to try. Maybe something would turn up.
Now came the hard part.
They were dividing up.
“Emma,” he said, as she gave him a hug.
He didn’t have to say anything more. His wife saw the concern in his eyes.
“You’re the one I’m worried about,” she admitted. “Dimitri saw that pervert in his club. He felt like he was being tailed, and this man is bad news. You two are in more danger than us.”
No one was saying the ‘B’ word—for Dimitri’s sake. They knew what he was thinking.
Had he left one of his siblings behind?
Was this on him?
Was his brother this big of a sicko?
“We’ll be fine,” Greyson admitted, hoping his wife wouldn’t worry too much. He knew that was a lie, but what was he supposed to do? Take the easy assignment and leave her in danger?
No, they had to do their perspective jobs.
Greyson was expecting the worst, and so was Dimitri. Thank God, his wife was paired up with Chris.
“I think you should let us handle the ‘The Pink Kitty’,” Chris said. “It’s more in the open, and we don’t know anything yet.”
“And what should we do?” Dimitri asked. “Twiddle our thumbs?”
Yeah, someone was cranky.
Then again, he’d just been told his ‘brother’ was running amuck in the city, and possibly the person buying and killing underage women.
That had to sting.
“You should head to ‘Aquarius’ to see if anyone saw that man coming or going,” Chris offered. “Maybe your security cameras caught something.”
Dimitri relaxed.
Chris had a point.
If he wasn’t so rattled, he might have thought about that himself. This was proof that he was NOT on his game.
“If we can get a license plate, or anything more, we can track him.”
Emma agreed.
That wasn’t enough for Greyson.
“Will you both be okay?” he asked.
Emma tapped her chest. “I’m wearing body armor, and I know Chris is, too, after being Tasered by Elizabeth.”
Well, that made Greyson feel better. At least she was trying to be proactive.
He tapped his chest.
Dimitri followed suit.
“Okay, but take pictures of him,” Greyson said, holding up the picture of the man. “If you see him, Chris,” he began.
“I can handle him.”
He read his rap sheet to his overeager friend. It was the one that was in the file.
“Murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, rape, theft, grand theft auto, vehicular manslaughter, treason…”
“I get it. I’ll let Emma handle him.”
She laughed.
Greyson and Dimitri, not so much.
“Come on! He was kidding. Just stay safe,” she said, kissing Greyson, and then Dimitri on the cheek.
They walked out of the house and got into their perspective rides.
“If I ever say that I’m picking a case again,” Greyson began.
Oh, Dimitri got it.
“I’ll shoot you myself.”
“Thank you.”
Then, one by one, they headed out of the gates to really dig into this case.
And hopefully, at the end of the night, they would all be coming back.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
LVPD
When Riley got to work, he didn’t see his partner. That was odd, but maybe the man was taking some time off.
The sergeant at the desk called him over and handed him a paper before he could even get into the precinct.
On it, was his next case.
Great.
“Has Lester shown up yet?” he asked the man.
“Nah, not yet. Want me to send him to the scene when he shows?” the desk sergeant asked.
“Yeah, I’ll head out.”
This was the last thing Riley wanted. He had wanted to start working on those victims tied to Greyson’s case, and instead, he was going to check out a victim, who was likely a vagrant, on a park bench.
Turning around, he headed out of the building, and to be sure, he sent his partner a text.
No reply.
Maybe the man was taking some down time. He’d done it, so why not him? It wasn’t like they were getting anywhere on the cases on their desk.
Outside, he hopped into his truck since his partner had their work ride. He put the address into the navigational screen and headed out of the parking lot.
The whole time, Riley wasn’t thinking about work, the case he’d just been handed, or his partner.
He was thinking about Delilah, and worrying.
All he wanted was for her to be all right.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
The Pink Kitty
Across Town
Emma laughed, despite the entire situation. What else could she do? Yes, they were heading into one more strip club. For a rich lady, she was certainly hanging out in a lot of dives.
Oh, and this one was just that.
The place was nasty, and she could tell by the neon on the sign. The Y kept falling over, and a yellow glowing cat was licking the vee of the Y.
She got it.
Yeah, this place was going to be raunchy with a capital R. She definitely would be careful where she touched.
“Are we going to mess with the media?” Chris asked, as they pulled in and he parked their ride.
She hesitated.
“What?” he asked.
“I can’t.”
He looked over. “Greyson? Did he get angry about what the news showed?”
How to put this delicately?
“No, he didn’t get angry, but I can tell it bothered him.” Emma wasn’t going to mention they had a whole conversation. That was private.
“You can?”
“Yeah, and I think we should knock it off. It’s more about Natasha. She was looking at me like I was trying to steal her man. I’ve seen that look before.”
He laughed.
Then Chris noticed she wasn’t.
“Wait! You’re being serious?”
“Yeah, maybe you should spend some time with her tonight, reassuring her, and we should stop with the busting ass. It’s making her uncomfortable.”
He hadn’t realized. “You and I haven’t done…”
She glanced over and lifted a brow.
Her mouth had been on his. She’d been in his arms, and they went into a strip club together.
THAT said it all.
“Yeah, I can’t even refute this one. You’re right. It could give someone the wrong idea. I’m just not accustomed to being a couple. I used to tease your husband all the time.”
She got it, and their teasing was being misconstrued by his current love interest. While Greyson might tolerate it, Natasha had been hurt enough in her life, and Emma didn’t want to do that to her.
She loved Natasha.
“Plus, think how you’d feel if she was flirting with a man, and not worried about your heart.”
Emma went to get out.
“Wait.”
“What?” she asked.
“I have to ask you something.”
“What?”
“You said last night that you’d run into Denise. Did you really or were you trying to screw with me?”
She’d forgotten she’d even brought it up.
“Yeah, she’s in town. She saw you on the media, and she was looking for you.”
“Jesus. I’d rather have coffee with Satan, naked, and on fire.”
Emma figured.
“Well, I told her pound sand. She actually approached me for your new number.”
“Please tell me you didn’t give it to her.”
She laughed. “Shit! I wasn’t supposed to?” she asked. “Really?”
“Har har. I get it.”
“She mentioned swinging by your place and asking if you moved.”
“Wait, where was I?” he asked. “You and I are together non-freaking stop.”
“I was trying on dresses for the wedding. I was in the dressing room, and she approached me.”
He swallowed.
Thank GOD she’d missed him. Chris didn’t want to deal with that harpy. He was free.
“She asked, and I told her beat it.”
He began laughing. “I know her. That couldn’t have gone over too well.”
“She wasn’t thrilled, but she’s going to have to suck it up. She cheated on you, she broke your heart, and she got fat.”
“Did she?” he asked hopefully.
Emma started laughing. “No, but I figured you’d want me to say that.”
He snorted. “You know me so well.”
“I figured it was a bad sign when she started with ‘I’m in town and divorcing man number three’,” Emma stated.
“God bless him. I don’t have to pay alimony. I feel bad for sucker number three. She’s going to drink him dry until man four comes along.”
“Lucky you to have escaped.”
“How did you scare her away?” he asked.
“I told her you were my side dick, and if she came near you, I’d make sure she was neck deep in the desert.”
He stared at her. “You could have said I was in a …”
She stopped him. “You weren’t at the time. It’s what I could go with, so don’t judge. I was trying anything to keep the harpy at bay.”
He didn’t mind.
It kept the shrew away.
“I’m good now.”
He leaned in to give her a kiss, and she pulled away. “I think a handshake will suffice.”
Chris stared at her.
She burst out laughing.
“Really? You’re going to be mean? I was Tasered this morning.”
Emma accepted his kiss.
Then she screwed with him.
“Can you tie my husband up again?” she asked.
He got out and flanked her. “You rocked his world, huh?” he asked. “Are you gonna share?”
“How’s the sex with Miss Bendy McBenderson?”
Chris liked their relationship. With Emma, he could be himself, and she was like one of the guys. Except he occasionally checked out her ass.
He couldn’t help himself.
“Let’s just say I’m a very happy man. I may propose to her.”
She stopped. “What? What happened to ‘I’m happy as a boyfriend for now’?”
He was aware.
“I think I’m going to do the ring, and propose. I know I said I needed time, but after our talk last night, it’s time I move on from…well, you know.”
She smiled at him.
Emma understood what he was saying. She always would. They shared that bond.
“Plus, with Denise in town, I better put a ring on my girl. That will be better than Denise getting fat. I’m dating a younger, sexier woman.”
Emma laughed. “Score, Captain.”
He gave her a high five, and then went right back into guard mode. He scanned the area, making sure any media kept their distance.
“We may have some time after this interview. Want to maybe sneak over to the jewelry shop? I can help you pick out a pretty ring for your girl.”
He stared at her in horror.
“What?” she asked. “I’ll let you pay!”
“Uh, I said I may propose, but I need a month to think that out.”
She laughed.
Emma wasn’t surprised. “I’ll clear next Christmas for ring shopping,” she said, as they headed into the club.
Chris found that amusing.
Once at the door, Emma pointed at him. “Babe, I paid for the last club. You’re up,” she teased.
He stared at her.
“Okay, I’ll pay for the lap dance.”
She said she was going to be more cognizant of Natasha’s feelings. Emma didn’t say she was backing off and not tormenting him at all.
Chris paid, and they headed inside. At the bar, there was a blonde woman who looked like she was shy of being ridden hard and put away wet.
If she was stripping…
Yikes.
“Can I help you?” she asked, as they both stopped at the bar.
“Yeah, I need to ask some questions,” she said, pulling out her phone.
“Okay, ask.”
“What’s your name, and please don’t give me some stripper name?” she asked.
The woman looked at her like she was insane. “I don’t strip. I’ve been tending bar here for almost twenty years.”
Well, thank God.
Chris was trying hard not to snicker beside her.
“Name?”
“Why do you need to know that?” she asked, crossing her arms.
“We have some questions…”
The woman cut her off.
“I know who you are, and you’re not a cop, so maybe you should head on out.”
Emma shrugged. “Okay. Since you know who I am, you know that a pack of media mongrels follow me everywhere. So. I’ll go outside and begin talking about strippers going missing, you serving people under age, and some health violations.”
She stared at her. “What are you talking about?”
Emma and Chris pointed to the three young men at the table with strippers in their laps. “They aren’t going to be twenty-one. I guess I have to call some friends.”
“Wait.”
Emma figured as much.
“We got off on the wrong foot. My name is Rosemary Harrington. Now, what do you need to know?”
They figured Julie was going to be the best lead, so they showed the woman her picture. Marissa, while getting lost in all this, was still their client. They’d promised to find Julie, and they were going to try their best.
“Do you know her?”
She took the phone and stared at it.
“Well, when I saw her, she looked a little less wholesome, and she was blowing a bunch of men, including some of our bouncers.”
They looked over at the man.
“When did you see her?”
“A month ago? Maybe a little less. She was in here with her pimp. She did a little stripping, and that’s it.”
“Are you sure she didn’t do anything else but strip?” Emma asked. “You just said she was blowing men left and right.”
“Yeah, on that day, but before that, she was on the stage dancing.”
Emma wasn’t sure what to buy anymore.
“And she worked here and the ‘Titty Corral’?”
The woman shrugged. “Honey, I can’t answer to what goes on over there. We have some dancers here that work there, and you can ask them if you like.”
“Where are these bouncers and strippers?”
She looked around.
“It looks like they aren’t in yet. I guess they won’t be in until later. You’ll have to come back to talk to them.”
Yeah, Emma didn’t doubt that Rosemary was protecting her people.
As for coming back, she didn’t really want to do that.
“Was anyone bugging her?” Chris asked.
“No, she was a favorite. I think she was into drugs though. She seemed a little wacked out last time I saw her.”
That explained what Dimitri found in her apartment. They really weren’t shocked.
“Thank you, Rosemary.”
“Hey, no problem. You’re that woman married to that big mob guy, right?” she asked.
“Yeah. Why?”
“If you come in with him, I’ll give you free drinks. We could use some big shots to boost business. It’s been slow lately, and I work on tips too.”
Emma smiled and walked away without saying a word. THAT was NEVER happening.
As in over her dead body.
“Yeah, you should get Greyson in here. What could possibly go wrong?” he asked.
Oh, the list was endless.
“Yeah, and this place will give us both herpes. I think we’ll pass.”
Chris laughed, as they headed toward the bouncer.
“Hey! Can I ask you a question?” she inquired, smiling at the man. Hopefully, that would get them somewhere.
“Sure, sugar. You’re a hot one. Need a job shaking that money maker?” he asked, physically turning her around to look at her ass.
Chris didn’t tolerate it. He slammed the man against the wall and pressed his forearm against his trachea.
“Now, tell me why I shouldn’t stop you from breathing for touching her?”
“I was just checking out her goods.”
Chris wanted to take his face off and then put it back on upside down.
Emma knew how to shut the man up, and keep Chris from going to jail for manhandling a bouncer. The woman behind the bar looked seconds away from calling the cops.
They didn’t need that.
“I’m Emma CROFT.”
He closed his mouth.
“Oh, I stand corrected. The queen of Vegas can’t be shaking her ass without a crown.”
Chris pressed.
The man stopped smirking.
“Yeah, newsflash. I wouldn’t shake my ass in this shithole if I was starving, dying, destitute, and it was the only way to survive.”
He looked offended.
“It’s not that bad.”
“There’s a roach beside your head,” Emma stated.
The man practically crawled over Chris to get away from it. That said it all.
“Let’s focus,” Emma stated.
She held up a picture.
“Did you get your dick fondled by her? Now think long and hard. I’m sure it’s been a while since a woman wanted to touch you.”
He stared at her. “You’re actually a bitch. How did you get a man?” he asked.
Chris stared at him.
“I mean, no, I didn’t even though her pimp was sharing her. She gave about twenty blowjobs that day but none to me. He said he was training her. She seemed okay with it.”
“Let me go on the record…” She waited for his name.
“It’s Roscoe McKinney.”
“Okay, Roscoe. Here’s the truth in the matter. No woman wants to give twenty blowjobs in a day. One, yeah, we like it. Three, to the same man, and hey, we’ll play the game. By number five, we want to cut the dick off and smack you with it. There was no freaking way she was enjoying a twenty-blowjob day!”
Chris stared at her, and Emma could tell he was trying not to laugh or pee his pants.
“Is that for real?” he asked her.
Emma rolled his eyes.
“Never mind that part, Roscoe. You have other issues.”
“Like?” he asked.
“You let a minor give you head. You know that’s illegal, right?”
His eyes went wide.
“Really?”
“Yes.”
“Well, getting a lecture from you was on my bucket list. I can cross it off,” he said, sarcastically. Then he began laughing.
Emma glared at him.
“Listen, lady, I stare at titties all day long. Black ones, white ones, jiggly ones, and saggy ones. If a girl is going to take my dick out of my pants, and I don’t have to pay her, so be it. Let’s call it a job perk.”
Chris took over.
Emma looked like she was ready to blow—not him.
“You basically just confessed to getting one,” he stated. “You may say you didn’t, but I’m willing to bet you jerk off a lot here.”
He didn’t answer him.
“Did you touch the girl. If you lie, I’m going to drag you outside and tell the media you like children,” he hissed in the man’s ear.
“Okay! Chill! I don’t do kids. I swore she just looked young. Her pimp said she was eighteen! It was one blowjob. What did it hurt?”
Emma wanted to show him what it would hurt by ripping his dick off for touching a kid. Only, she let Chris handle this. He was doing better than she was. Clearly, the man didn’t fear her.
Asshole.
“Did you hear her pimp say anything?” Chris asked.
He thought about it. “Nope.”
“Are you sure?” he asked.
“Positive.”
Chris pulled a hundred out of his pocket. “This will buy you two more blow jobs from the disease of your choice.”
He shrugged. “I can’t tell you anything. Sorry. Now, if you’re done harassing me, I have a job to do.”
The man walked away.
“Well, that wasn’t helpful,” Emma said. “What next?” she asked.
“We should probably talk to some strippers.”
Yeah, she was aware.
“Want to split up?” she asked.
“Not particularly. I feel like my junk is going to be felt up, and I prefer it to be by you not them.”
She snorted. “You wish, my friend. You wish.”
He pointed. “There’s a guy cleaning up and he is desperately trying not to look at us. He reminds me of report day at the precinct when my detectives would try and hide so they didn’t have to give me a report.”
“Come on! I did it once.”
He grinned. “Let’s start there.”
They crossed the club, and Chris had been right. He’d had his junk grabbed more times than should be allowed. By the time they caught the man, he was trying to hide back by the bathrooms.
“Stop,” Chris said, grabbing the skinny guy by the arm. “Where are you going?”
“I have bathrooms to clean.”
Emma held up a one-hundred-dollar bill. “If you can tell me about this girl and everything you know in the next five minutes, it’s yours.”
“Are you serious?”
“Name.”
“Tony Chesterfield.”
“Do you work here full time?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, I do.”
Emma was still holding the picture.
“That’s Chastity, but I liked her real name better,” he said, not looking directly at Emma.
“And you knew it?”
“Julie. She was a sweet girl.”
“I hear she was being used up for free by her pimp.”
He looked sad.
“He said he was training her. I wanted to take her home and fix her. She was broken really bad.”
It was clear that this guy had some developmental issues. He had a weird facial tick, and he was struggling with his speech.
“Did you hear her pimp say anything?” Emma asked.
“Yeah, he ran his mouth a lot. He was mean to Julie. He hit her a lot and he was cruel.”
Emma was glad Gerald had died a painful, or she hoped painful, death.
“Anything else he said that you might have found to be weird?” Chris asked.
“Yeah, he said something about a training stable, but Julie told me she didn’t like horses.”
They both knew what the pimp was talking about. He was referring to a place pimps took their girls to get them prepped for the streets. He’d want to make sure Julie was so beaten down that she couldn’t say no.
He was an asshole.
“Where, Tony?” Chris asked.
He tried to think about it.
“I think he said Vine.”
“That’s a big street.”
He was getting fidgety. “I needed a place to live, and he told me about a place he rented.”
“Okay, what did he tell you?”
“That he had a place on Vine in the basement, and there were a few units not being used by hookers.”
They listened.
“I think it was close to where Julie lived. He would bring her to work every day. She was like a prisoner to him.”
Well, that gave them something.
“Have you ever heard of someone by the name of Anthony Delmarco?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No, but I’m bad with names. I only went to school until fifth grade. You can ask Rosemary. She’s really nice to me. She keeps me working here.”
Yeah, Rosemary seemed like a real gem.
“Did I do okay?” Tony asked.
“Yeah, here,” she said, handing him the money.
“I’ll give it to one of the girls. If they don’t make their tips, they can’t feed their kids.”
He hustled away.
“Well, that was something,” Chris said.
Yeah, she was thinking the same thing.
“Let’s get out of here. I’m starting to feel sick.”
He looked concerned. “The baby?”
“Yeah, and the stench of old booze. It’s nasty,” she said, linking her arm through his.
Chris led her outside and into the fresh air. Once there, she leaned against the building.
Emma took a breath of deep air.
“You okay?”
“I hate men.”
He laughed. “Well, you got a huge problem. You’re surrounded by them.”
“I think I’m having one.”
He smiled. “I heard. Greyson mentioned. I can’t wait to see you hold your child. You’re going to be a good mom.”
“How do you know?” she asked, rubbing her stomach. She worried she’d screw this up and get a kid who ended up working in a strip club.
Then again, she may get a mobster out of it too.
It was all about the perspective.
“I know you will because you nearly bitch slapped a bouncer in a strip joint for joking around about getting head from a kid.”
“Yeah, well, he was gross and made me angry,” Emma admitted.
Chris knew she needed to cheer up.
“Now think about that powerful mom moment and say, ‘clean your damn room’ and mean it!”
She laughed.
“Thank you, Christopher.”
He glanced around and didn’t see any media, so he gave her a kiss on the cheek. “It feels ever dirtier sneaking around and kissing you.”
Emma punched him in the side.
“You are a bad influence.”
“You think? I hope you let me babysit.”
She held his hand. “Any day, Uncle Christopher. Any day.”
That made him smile.
“Next?” he asked.
“Let’s head to ‘Aquarius’. We’ll tell them what we found. They aren’t going to let me head to Vine to search that apartment.”
Chris was aware.
He already knew who was going.
It looked like a boy’s night out after all.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Detective Poppy Wayne and her partner, Hunter Dietrich, were dispatched to the house based on an anonymous tip from a neighbor.
There were shots fired, and the neighbor saw a body through the window.
So, they headed there.
Pulling up to the house, they both got out with guns in hand. There were no houses next to it, and something felt off.
“What’s wrong with this scene?” she asked.
“I don’t know. Maybe that there are no neighbors, and no possibility of hearing gunshots?” Hunter said, watching their backs.
Yeah, that nine-one-one call was feeling a tad bit bogus.
Poppy headed for the porch, and she stared in the two windows that would give her a look into the building.
“Yeah, and I don’t see a body hanging in them, so I’m not feeling this call.”
Her partner was in the same boat.
“Yeah, it’s like someone knew we would go inside and investigate.”
She didn’t like this.
At all.
Vegas was a shit mess. She’d been on the force for fifteen years, and something about this stunk to high-freaking-heaven.
“Name on the mailbox is Lucas.”
Poppy tapped on the door.
Nothing.
She opened the door and called.
“Hello?” she called, trying to see if anyone was home.
Nothing.
“Let’s go. This screams ambush!” Hunter hissed, pulling on her arm as he was getting that feeling in the pit of his stomach.
Her too, until Poppy looked up.
On the ceiling of the house, there was a vicious red stain growing.
And there they had it.
She knew where the body was going to be found.
Poppy pointed up.
Detective Hunter Dietrich stopped.
He got it too.
“Looks like you and I are going to clear a house for old time’s sake,” she said, pointing for her partner.
That never ended well.
Well, shit.
This sucked.
“You go high, and I’ll go low,” she said, stepping inside and holding the door for her partner.
He was right behind her.
As they cleared the lower level, nothing looked out of place. They were both extremely careful not to touch anything. This was likely going to be a crime scene, and they needed to preserve it.
At the stairs, she took the lead, giving her partner her back. Together, they crept up the stairs, trying to ascertain where the blood stain was coming from.
Poppy was willing to bet the body was on the floor in the last room.
At the door, she pushed it open with her toe. As it creaked, they moved into position.
That’s when they saw him.
He was gray.
He was lying in a pool of blood.
And he was a LVPD detective.
Holy shit!
“That’s Lester,” she hissed, moving into the room. Carefully, she crouched down and touched his neck.
He was cold, and they were too late.
Hunter holstered his sidearm, and shook his head. “Another cop down. This city is a mess.”
She didn’t disagree.
Poppy was looking around the room. There was beeping going on, and she couldn’t figure out what it was.
“What’s that?” she asked.
“It sounds like his alarm on his phone.”
She looked around.
His gun was there.
His badge was coated in blood.
His phone…
Nowhere.
Then she moved around the bed and could see a flashing light coming from beneath the dust ruffle.
It looked like she found it.
Pulling a glove from her pocket, she picked it up. Pushing the button, she turned off the alarm. When she did, it went to the screen where there was a text message.
It was to his partner.
It appeared that the man was going to be instrumental in solving his own murder.
Holy shit!
Thank you, Lester Lucas.
“You have to see this.”
Hunter moved closer.
His face said it all.
“WOW!”
Yeah, it was a message from the dead.
And most importantly, it told them who did the crime. If this was right, they’d gotten lucky, but the whole LVPD was about to have the opposite luck.
Lester Lucas was accusing one of their own of his demise, and that was huge.
She pulled out her phone, and called it in. Only, she didn’t call her boss, and for good reason.
She called her boss’s boss.
This was huge.
And a big problem.
For everyone with a badge.