Chapter Twenty-Four
Tuesday
Morning
Six A.M
W hen he looked out onto his porch to grab his paper, so he could read the news, it wasn’t there. As soon as he stepped outside his door, he felt someone near him and his cop instincts went off.
He turned fast and saw her.
It was Delilah.
He hadn’t been expecting that.
“You were right,” she said, without looking over at him. “I didn’t give you the opportunity to tell me about your family, and I can see that you just wanted to protect me.”
He stood there.
Riley didn’t know what to say.
She was in jeans and a red shirt, she wasn’t wearing makeup, and she was holding two cups of coffee from the local bakery.
“Can I apologize?” she asked.
He moved toward her.
“Okay.”
“I was an asshole,” Delilah stated. “I shouldn’t have stormed away, or been pissed. I overreacted to the situation, and you were right. I don’t blame you for saying you didn’t want a relationship with someone like that. I wouldn’t want one either,” she admitted.
Riley was struggling. The whole night without her had been hell. Despite what he said, his heart knew otherwise. He truly wanted to be with her.
Anger aside, he knew she mattered.
“I just wanted you to know I heard you.”
That mattered to him.
He took a seat beside her on the porch swing, and she handed him a coffee.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Delilah could see he was still hesitant to trust her, and she knew if she wanted to get past this, to be with him, she had to do what he did.
Purge.
“I overreacted for a valid reason.”
“Do you want to share?” he asked, popping the opening on his coffee so he could drink it.
Delilah knew she had no choice.
All night, she’d weighed the options, tried to find a way to get past this, and came up with only one conclusion.
If she wanted him, she had to give him all of her trust. A relationship deserved that. It wasn’t all sex and rockets.
It was kindness and value too.
“I put up these walls,” she began. “I always have. There have been so many men I’ve dated, and they always betrayed me—with their words, their actions, and their choices. This wasn’t about you, Riley. It was about me. I hope you understand that.”
“I don’t. I go into each relationship I have with a clean slate. I trusted the Crofts when I started helping them because I believed them.”
She still didn’t glance over, but a tear slipped down her face.
Riley saw she was really struggling.
“I didn’t sleep with you only because of the outer package, Delilah. I respect myself more than that. I happen to find you stubborn, bitchy, and intriguing.”
She laughed and wiped her cheek.
“My last relationship was a long one,” he admitted. “I dated her for four years.”
She glanced over. “What happened?”
“She didn’t want the same things I wanted, and we both pretended it was okay. Only, it wasn’t. She was a great woman. I have nothing but respect for her, but she didn’t want a family, and I did. I only have my sister, and we only talk when we have to. That familial connection is gone. It died when Miles fell, and it was gone when my parents were.”
She listened.
Delilah had thought she was good at listening, but she’d been dead wrong. Riley had taught her that.
She was selectively hearing.
“So, I asked her to marry me, and she said no. We’re still friends, but I wanted more.”
She didn’t say anything.
“So, I went into our adventure with an open mind. I know for sure I’m not what you want, but I have to hope that one day, you’ll look at me and feel the same thing. I’m a big believer in hope and faith. I also believe in trust.”
She did look over.
“I’ve never thought about anything past this.”
“Why?”
“There’s never been anything more. Guys don’t want to be with me for me. I told you that. They see the power job, the skirt, and the makeup, and they think ‘she’ll be fun’.”
“You are fun,” he admitted, “but I like this side of you better. The skirts and garters are sexy, but so is the woman beneath the lawyer costume.”
She stared at him.
“You’re beautiful, Delilah, but that’s not what I see when I look at you.”
“What do you see, Riley?”
“Hope.”
More tears filled her eyes.
“Riley.”
“I see a chance at love.”
Her lower lip quivered.
“I know being together will be hard. You defend the assholes I throw in jail. I’m a cop. It’s my job to arrest and do the best that I can.”
She listened.
“But I’ll try. I’ll give it my honest to God best shot at being there when you need me when you’re happy, sad, or feeling bitchy. I don’t know where this will lead, but I won’t bail on you. That’s not me.”
She rested her head on his shoulder.
Riley dropped his arm around hers.
“Are you working today?” she asked.
“Nope. I’m suspended until the investigation is officially closed. When a cop’s DNA shows up on a scene, regardless of his alibi, there’s an internal investigation.”
“If you need a lawyer, I’ll defend you.”
He found that oh so ironic, and sweet.
“I’ll definitely win. Until then, I’m going to lie low, enjoy my days off, and try not to worry about losing my badge.”
She understood that.
As they sat there, Delilah had to know.
“So you forgive me?” she asked.
“Yeah, I forgive you. Will you forgive me for closing down on you, too, and walking away?” he asked.
She nodded.
They sat there a few minutes, having coffee, watching the kids head to their bus stops, and just enjoying the day.
“Are we…dating?” she asked.
He rubbed his chin on the top of her head. “Yep.”
A few more minutes went by.
“Did you really propose to her and she said no?” Delilah asked.
“Yeah, she did.” Then he thought about it. “I’m glad she did.”
“Why?” she asked.
“Because then I found you.”
Her heart skipped. “Can I be honest?” she asked, taking a risk, and using trust to catch her if she fell.
“I prefer it.”
“If you ever ask, Riley, I won’t say no.”
He looked over at her, and she was watching him with those sexy cat eyes. “Then I look forward to asking.”
She rested her head on his shoulder, and her hand on his leg. It felt nice.
She felt safe.
“I’m off, too, so do you want to grab breakfast?” she asked. “You know, since we both need to eat.”
He smiled. “Sure. Are you buying since you’re asking me out on a date?” he teased.
She laughed.
It felt damn good too.
“Yeah, that’s not happening, Riley,” she said, glancing over at him.
“Why not?”
“I’m old fashioned.”
He found that funny. Of course she was. Riley should have known that from the pin-up garters and the way she carried herself. It appealed to him.
“Are you now?”
“Yes, and it’s a new adventure. You’re going to have to work for it. I told you I wouldn’t say no, but you have to find your way to that point.”
He laughed. “Is that so? Well, I have news for you, too, Delilah Fleur.”
“What?”
“I’m old fashioned, too, so you’ll have to work just as hard. We both have to be there.”
Well, she could do that.
To prove it, she pulled his mouth to hers, and the kiss wasn’t wild, or harsh. It was sweet, gentle, and it gave Riley the thing he wanted most.
Hope.
As she pulled away, there was laughter in her eyes.
“You’re going to be a challenge,” he said, running his thumb down her lower lip.
She laughed.
“Oh, Detective Henderson, you have no idea.”
And Riley didn’t doubt that at all.
Not one single bit.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Terrace Glen
It had been a long night for Emma, Greyson, and Dimitri. When she got him back to the house, the torture had continued. They’d settled in and viewed hours of disgusting video footage.
The three of them.
Side by side.
In her office.
It seemed hopeless, but right before seven in the morning, eight hours into the video hell, Emma saw him.
“Stop!”
Both men beside her jumped at her sudden outburst.
“What?” Greyson asked.
“I saw him.”
“Saw who?” Dimitri asked as he wound back the footage.
Emma could now place Roscoe McKinney IN the pimp’s playroom in that basement. That was a good thing for them and very bad for him. While the hookers and pimps said he was there, they now had solid proof.
“He specifically told me he didn’t partake in Julie. He told us he didn’t have a clue about anything the pimp was doing, and yet here he is in that room. If he lied about that, what else is he hiding?” she asked.
“We can talk to him,” Dimitri suggested.
“We also have to talk to the madam who was selling Julie before Gerald got his hands on her. I want to know why she’d send anyone to that basement.”
“I’m sure she didn’t know,” Dimitri stated. “I’ve known her a long time. Stephanie isn’t like that.”
“You know her as Mr. Ivanov. Do you know her as Dimitri?” she asked.
He shook his head. “No.”
“Then I have to talk to her too,” Emma stated. “We leave no slimy stone unturned. She’s getting a visit.”
“So, we’re heading to a strip club and then to see a madam? Wow! Our lives are interesting,” Greyson said, as Dimitri began laughing.
“Yeah, we are.”
Dimitri stood like he was joining them.
“Uh, have a seat. You’re not going anywhere,” Emma said, sipping her coffee.
He stared at her. “Yes, I am. I’m still your security. Whether my brother is out there taking a shot at me or not. That doesn’t matter.”
Both Crofts laughed.
“This isn’t funny. I’m going.”
Emma let her husband handle this.
“We have a wedding in four days,” he said, glancing at his watch. “We need you to stay safe, protect the family, and do your job, securing our property.”
Dimitri glared at him.
“If you fight me on this, I will fight you back. You’re not expendable, Dimitri. If you go down, we crumble too. This family is wound together.”
“Please?” Emma asked.
He caved. After what she gave him last night, and the conversation they had, he’d let her have this. He owed Emma at least this.
“Okay.”
“Gee, you gave in fast,” Greyson said, grinning in triumph. “I knew my FBI negotiation skills would come in handy at some point.”
Dimitri shrugged. “Eh, I don’t know about that, but she’s a good kisser.”
He began sputtering.
Emma laughed so hard. “Apparently, what happens in Vegas gets a girl in trouble,” she teased.
“We are going to see a madam, and then that bouncer, and you are going to explain, kitten. If I don’t like it…”
“You’ll what?” she teased, leaning against him.
“I’ll kick his ass.”
Dimitri grinned.
“When you’re ready, I’ll call her. You’ll find her awake. She’s not nocturnal, even if her girls are.”
He scribbled it on a piece of paper.
“I do need a favor,” Emma said.
“What?”
“You’re on dad duty with Sam, I need you to keep an eye on Curtis—he’s tricky—and can you use that fancy laptop of yours to maybe keep digging information up on Roscoe? Now that we have him in that basement, I want to know everything about him.”
He could do that.
“Sure. I’ll keep the family safe.”
Chris knocked on her door, and he wasn’t alone. Natasha was holding his hand.
“I was just coming for you,” Emma admitted.
“Wow, you three look like shit,” he said.
Emma snorted. “Well, some of us took one for the team and were up all night watching those videos. Look what we found,” she said, starting the footage up.
“Isn’t that Roscoe from the strip club?”
Then he got it.
“Oh, he’s a douchebag! He said he didn’t touch her or know anything about what Gerald was doing.”
Exactly.
“Yeah, he was in that basement, and that is Julie giving him a blowjob—and I expect that it wasn’t his first. He was definitely taking Gerald’s offer every chance he could get. I’m sure he was jacking off to the videos too,” Emma said.
“I had to watch videos to learn,” Natasha stated, “but nothing gross like this.”
Dimitri choked on his coffee. “Jesus. My sisters are going to be the death of me.”
Chris smiled like the Cheshire Cat.
Emma warned him.
“Don’t do it. He’s been awake all night, and you never know what he’ll do to you.”
Chris grinned. “That’s when it’s the best time to irritate him.”
Greyson cut him off. “Get your body armor on. We’re heading to that club to talk to Roscoe, but first, we have a date with a madam. Dimitri, make the call.”
He pulled out his phone and hit speed dial.
“Stephanie?” he asked, when she answered.
“Mr. Ivanov, do you need a girl? I have a special one that’s just landed in Vegas. I think you’ll like her.”
“No, actually, are you free for a meeting today?” he asked. “I need to talk to you.”
“Uh…”
“Please? I’m one of your best customers.”
She relented. “I can meet you at the little French bistro off the strip. That’s the best I can do. I’m busy today. I’ll be there in thirty minutes.”
He scribbled down the address for Greyson. “Thank you, Stephanie.”
He didn’t tell her it was the Crofts who were coming.
Hanging up, he gave them the paper.
“She’s tall, has really long legs, and a mole on her cheek,” he said, describing her. “That’s how you’ll know her.”
“Is she going to be pissed?” Emma asked.
“Probably more so at me than you. Stephanie is a very nice girl.”
“Who peddles flesh,” Chris stated.
“Yes, she does.”
Dimitri was done pretending.
“Will this ruin your chances of…?” Then Emma stopped. Dimitri’s sister was in the room. She didn’t want to out him.
“You can say it. I’m not using her services again.”
Natasha crossed to her brother and hugged him. “Kat and I know, Dimitri. We love you, but you can start being yourself. You don’t have to pretend around us. We get it. You had two kids to raise, and you sacrificed a personal life for us.”
He hugged her. “I’d do it all over again,” he offered, holding his sister against his body. “You and Katerina were the loves of my life.”
She smiled up at him.
“I love you.”
Oh, what he felt for his sisters was incomparable with anything else. He felt that same love for Emma.
“Go,” Dimitri said. “AND be careful! Chris, if you let them get hurt, you’re fired.”
Greyson found that amusing.
“We’ll be fine. Once we get your brother, you can go back to being bossy and overprotective. Basically, my backup husband,” Emma teased.
Chris stared at her. “Really? Like you need another caveman bossing me around.”
Emma laughed.
“We’ll check-in,” Greyson said, heading out.
Dimitri stood there.
“Do you want me to follow them to make sure they’re safe?” Natasha offered.
He was torn.
“He won’t see me, Dimitri. I’ll be safe.”
“Okay, but don’t let them know, and this is the ONLY time I want you out there alone. Got it?”
She kissed him on his cheek.
“I got it, boss.”
With that, she headed out.
Dimitri took a deep breath and hoped he didn’t just make a huge mistake.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
LVPD
When she headed into the building, she was scared stupid. Marissa wanted to get out of the city, and fast. She’d had a rough night sleeping, and all of it had made her edgy.
She really hated her ex-boss.
She really loathed the people he called family.
Dimitri Gideon was an asshole for not telling her about his brother’s connection to his sister’s death. He’d withheld it, and that was all kinds of wrong.
Now, all she wanted was to get her sister’s body, and head out of there. She’d always wanted that dream life, and she had some money saved up.
She’d get them somewhere peaceful and away from that shithole town.
Marissa had to do it.
“Can I help you?” the man behind the desk asked her.
“Yes, my sister was found dead. I need to speak to someone about ID’ing the body and claiming it.”
He handed her a form.
“You need to fill this out, and then have a seat. I’ll call down to the morgue for you. Name?”
“Marissa Pierce.”
“I’m sorry for your loss, ma’am.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Thank you. I just want to get her out of Vegas. She was murdered.”
He sympathized. “Let me help you with that,” he said, taking the form back. “I’ll help you.”
She batted her eyes at him.
“Thank you. I appreciate it so much,” she said.
He smiled at her.
“Anything for someone hurting,” he said.
Marissa touched his arm, tuning on the charm. She’d use anything she had to get out of that hellhole.
Anything.
She was glad to be free.
At last.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Bistro
Tuesday
Morning
Emma, Greyson, and Chris had arrived first. When they did, they split up. Chris took the seat by the back door, and Greyson the front.
Emma sipped coffee as she waited for the woman to arrive. They had a sneaking suspicion, since they had all been cops, that she was going to bolt for the door out of habit.
Well, they couldn’t let that happen.
They needed to talk to her.
As a luxury car pulled up and parked, Greyson gave them both the heads-up signal. He saw the woman with the mole approaching.
Once inside the door, she ordered a coffee and went to take a seat. When she did, Emma had a visual on her. She looked like a madam. She was dressed to the nines at seven thirty in the morning, and she had more makeup on than anyone should own.
They had their girl.
“Come to momma,” she muttered, tracking her with her eyes.
Stephanie took her coffee and headed toward a table. It was clear when she saw Emma.
Then Greyson.
Immediately, she began walking toward the back door to make a break for it. Only, Chris was standing there, blocking her exit.
She looked panicked, and almost like a rat trapped in a corner. Only a former hooker could pick three cops out in a busy room.
Emma approached.
“Stephanie, have a seat. We need to talk about something important.”
The woman did what she was told.
“I don’t know what this is about. I have no idea why you would need to speak to me.”
“Mr. Ivanov sent us.”
The minute she heard his name, she looked even more freaked out. Like she’d been outed.
“I run an upstanding…”
Chris cut her off. “We aren’t cops anymore. Chill out. We just have a few questions, and we need them answered.”
She didn’t relax as they all sat. In fact, she looked more freaked out.
“What could we possibly have to discuss?”
“Julie Pierce.”
The woman’s face changed at her name, and she looked sad. “She was a sweet girl.”
“Yeah, and now she’s dead.”
The woman looked surprised. “Is she? That’s horrible. What happened to her?”
Emma was watching her. She’d talked to plenty of hookers in her time, but this madam…she was different. She had this sheen to her, and Emma wasn’t sure if it was fake or not.
It made her want to pick it apart.
“Yeah, she was sold into the sex trade. Want to come clean?” Emma asked, trying to catch her off guard.
Stephanie stared at her. “I run an escort service. Yes, I peddle flesh, but in Vegas, survival is hard. I don’t let my girls get hurt.”
Emma shook her head. “You know what? I’m not here about that. I want to know why Julie stopped working for you and if YOU sent her to Gerald’s little house of horrors.”
“What?”
“We are curious as to if you knew about the basement.”
She didn’t speak.
“Are you shitting me?” Emma asked. “What the hell were you thinking?”
Stephanie began crying.
“Oh, now is a bad time to even go there,” Emma said. “You sent girls there, and they were tortured.”
“I know,” she said, pulling up her sleeve.
On her arm, there were burns. “I was sent there when I worked the streets. Gerald was my pimp way back.”
Emma wasn’t feeling it.
“Then why did you send them?”
“I had no choice. He had a video of me. They locked me in a cage, and they abused me for days. Then, they let me go. I didn’t get it. I didn’t understand.”
Greyson listened.
That’s when he figured it out.
“He helped you set up your brothel, didn’t he?”
She nodded.
“He used that video to scare you?” Emma asked.
“What they did to me was inhumane. He would take his girls there and he’d train them. I was one of the first. They break you down,” she said, her hand shaking. “Once they make you an animal, you’d do anything to escape.”
That explained a lot.
Stephanie wasn’t a participant. She was a victim too. It looked like the sex ring and Gerald had made a mess of a lot of lives.
“Why didn’t you go to the police?”
“And tell them what?” she asked. “Tell them my pimp took videos of me and now he was blackmailing me?”
Okay, she had a point.
Plus, in Vegas with the cops being corrupt, it was a no win.
“So, you sent him Julie.”
“It wasn’t by choice. Anthony Delmarco brought her here for Gerald, but he wanted a test run. He runs all the girls through my services.”
“To test them?”
“Yes. He needs specific girls. I didn’t ask for what. I just assumed it was for harder clientele. I know what he did to me. I know I should have saved her, but I was afraid.”
“Keep talking,” Emma stated.
“She worked out of my services for about three weeks, and then he just took her. I tried to get her to leave. I told her to run. I told her I’d give her money if she just disappeared.”
“But she had nowhere to go, right?”
She nodded. “She told me Anthony was her soulmate. She told me he rescued her from a horrible situation, and nothing could be worse.”
Yeah, well, that was a big miscalculation.
“Gerald came, he took her to the strip club. He called it cross-training.”
“Then?”
“I lost track of her. This city swallows people left and right. All I know is he was having more women coming in, and I’m trapped in the same cycle.”
“Who was he working with?” Greyson asked.
“He only ever talked about Anthony or Louis. I never met the latter. Anthony was a monster. He took me to Gerald’s basement,” she said, tears filling her eyes.
“How long were you there?”
“I was there three weeks.”
They felt bad for her.
“What happened after Julie went to the basement?” Emma asked.
Again, she told her she didn’t know.
“What happened to anyone after the basement?” Emma asked, rephrasing her question.
“They were sold.”
“To?”
“Men.”
“By?”
“I don’t know. Since I wasn’t sold, I have no clue past this point. I was told to do my job, ask nothing, or…”
“Or what?”
“I have a kid,” she said. “Gerald knew about it because I got pregnant at one point. I didn’t keep her. I gave her away, but he told me if I didn’t do my job, he’d steal her away and she’d be…”
They didn’t need to know.
They got it.
“She’s thirteen. She has a good family, and they love her like I couldn’t. She can’t end up like this. I have a decent life now, but I’m always looking over my shoulder. Then he died.”
“Who killed him?” Emma asked.
She squirmed.
“Who?”
“Word on the street is Gerald was offed by Anthony and Louis. He got greedy and started talking about the operation. He also pointed a buyer at them.”
This was what they were looking for from her.
“Who?”
“He’s Russian. I thought it was Mr. Ivanov at first. When one of my girls came around asking about Julie, and then Mr. Ivanov called, I sent her to him. I figured…”
“You knew she wasn’t a hooker.”
She nodded.
“I figured maybe someone would kill him. Maybe he’d be taken out. She was asking all kinds of questions, and I assumed.”
Emma covered for Dimitri.
“He wasn’t that particular client of Gerald’s. Mr. Ivanov is legit.”
Well, sort of.
“Oh no! I didn’t know.”
That was neither here nor there. They had other issues.
“And he’s not happy you sent him a pissed off woman. Thus, the reason you got us.”
She closed her eyes. “I’m sorry.”
“Is there NOTHING else you can think of?” Emma asked. “You never saw Julie again?”
She hesitated.
“What?”
“I saw her once as I was in a cab driving through the strip. I was on my way back to my home.”
“And?”
“She wasn’t alone.”
“What did he look like?”
“He was bulky, olive completion, and he was yanking Julie along. She looked drugged up. I wanted to stop him. I made the cab pull over, and I went after them.”
Emma had an idea.
She pulled out her phone.
“Him?” Emma said, showing her the grainy shot of Roscoe from the sex footage they’d been forced to endure.
“Yeah, that’s him. He had her by the arm, and was pulling her along. I tried to stop him, but he told me he’d tell Gerald so I’d better mind my own business. I backed up.”
She didn’t blame her.
How did a bouncer, who was just getting his dick worked in a sick basement torture room, end up escorting a drugged-up girl around town?
“She called him Louis.”
That had all of their attention.
“What?”
“When he threatened to tell Gerald, she called him by his name.”
Well, it looked like Julie might have just left them their biggest clue and from the grave.
“Thank you, Stephanie.”
“Can I go?”
She’d given them something, and they knew where to find her if they needed more.
“Stick around,” Greyson stated.
“I’m not going anywhere. I have a responsibility here in Vegas.”
“Yeah, Gerald is dead and you’re still selling women,” Emma stated.
“I don’t know where that video is, and the women here will sell themselves. I make sure they go to safe places, like Mr. Ivanov.”
Emma didn’t buy her saintly offering.
She was still part of the problem.
“Speaking of him, tell Mr. Ivanov that I won’t hold this against him since he was trying to help a girl.”
“He won’t be back,” Emma said.
Stephanie laughed. “Oh, Mr. Ivanov will be. They always come back. Trust me.”
Emma let it go.
“You should go. Oh, and there’s media outside. They saw you with us. I’m sure they’ll start digging. I’m going to personally put your business down,” Emma said. “As soon as I get the sex ring handled, and your child is safe, I’m coming for you.”
“I feel threatened, Mrs. Croft.”
“You still sent girls to that basement, Stephanie. I feel for you, being a victim, but the Stockholm Syndrome defense won’t work for me. You could have done something.”
She stood. “It’s easy to say when you live in that glass tower, Mrs. Croft. You can shut me down, but there will be five more in my place. You’re not the only power here in Vegas.”
Emma’s curiosity was piqued by that comment.
“Babylon.”
The woman’s eyes got big, she grabbed her coffee, and left without saying a word.
“Uh, what’s Babylon, other than that city in the Bible?” Chris asked.
“He’s the man who’s holding that favor over Dimitri’s head. She knows him. I meant what I said. I’m shutting her down.”
Greyson understood.
Together, the three of them headed outside. In the sun, both Chris and Greyson were monitoring the skyline for anything that might signal they were in danger.
Before the media could ask questions, they got into Emma’s Navigator.
“Are you thinking what I’m thinking?” Greyson asked from the passenger seat once they were in a secure place to talk.
Oh, Emma was pretty sure she was.
“That we have a man the FBI confirmed was behind this named Louis Mateo, and Julie called Roscoe that?”
“Yep.”
“You think he lied to us?” Chris asked.
“I think he knew we had once been cops, and he assumed we were going to be gunning for him so he tried to cover his own perverted ass.”
“Well, I know what we need to do,” Greyson said.
“What?”
“Hit up ‘The Pink Kitty’ and find ourselves a perverted bouncer.”
Funny.
Emma was just thinking that.
Then they would actually put the screws to Roscoe for being a scumbag child molester.
He was a dead man walking.
The Crofts would make sure of that.