Chapter Thirteen
Wednesday Morning
Sky Villa
Penthouse
W hen Dimitri arrived upstairs for the morning meeting, he was frazzled. He was worried about Poppy, and her trip to the commissioner’s office. After walking his kids upstairs to Kat’s condo, he needed someone to assuage his fears.
Emma.
She would be the perfect person for the job. After all, she worked under him and knew the man.
Emma would know what he would do. All he could think of was the episode between him and Thomas Christ. Would he shoot her?
Was this just standard and he was overthinking it?
Heading into the penthouse, he found Emma at the counter, and Greyson cooking her something to eat. He was wearing a flowery apron, and shirtless.
“Oh, Jesus. You just had sex,” Dimitri stated, staring at the man. When he looked around the counter, he was in boxers and barefoot. “Christ! I can see the afterglow from here.”
Emma was in a robe, and she laughed.
“Yep.”
Since he was in a good mood, she assumed he did too. The police didn’t show up, so none of the other residents had called the police.
“Did you seal the deal, Mr. Gideon?” Emma asked, wiggling her eyebrows at him.
It made him laugh.
“First, before I incriminate myself with details, I need to do something,” he said. He headed toward Emma took her face in his hands, and then licked her neck.
She stared at him like he’d lost it.
“Did you just freaking lick my wife?” Greyson asked from behind the counter.
“Yes. She tastes like peaches too. I need to know what that is. Poppy used some of it at the penthouse. I think I’m addicted to it. Help a guy out. I want to slather her in it.”
Emma laughed.
“Thanks for the lick. That was new,” Emma stated. Then she wrote it down on a piece of paper and slid it toward him. “It’s an all over the body kind of deal. I hope you didn’t just lick her neck.”
“Oh, I didn’t. Thank you, Emma. It’s delicious.”
Then he glanced over at Greyson. He had a bruise on his face—one he put there.
As he headed his way, Greyson held the spatula like a weapon. “If you lick me, I’ll flatten you.”
Emma laughed.
Dimitri, instead, hugged him. He held him and hugged him so very tight.
Greyson immediately knew he wasn’t going to screw around. This affection from Dimitri was always serious.
He hugged him back.
“I’m so sorry I hit you. You’re my brother and best friend, and I shouldn’t have lashed out at you. Please forgive me, Greyson. You were right. I was holding onto that.”
Greyson held him.
“It’s okay, Dimitri. I know you were upset. I pushed your buttons to make you react.”
“Oh, poking a Russian killer. Sounds like a good idea,” Emma teased. She and Greyson discussed it before bed, and neither was upset with Dimitri. Sometimes, you needed help from family.
This had been one of those times.
“Speaking of poking...,” Dimitri began. “Something is poking me in the hip. That’s not your dick, right?” Dimitri asked with a look of horror on his face.
Greyson moved the spatula and slapped him on the ass with it. “Asshole.”
Emma laughed.
“Okay, I feel better. I love you both. Now for my freak out,” he warned.
“Uh oh,” Emma stated. “What?”
“Poppy was called to the commissioner’s office. Please tell me I shouldn’t get a gun, go sit on the roof of the building across the street, and aim for his head through his window.”
Well, that said it all about his state of mind.
“Um…sex is supposed to mellow you out,” Greyson stated. “What the hell kind of morning have you been having?”
He told them everything.
Like family, they listened and didn’t judge. He even told them about the sex. Greyson was his best friend, and Emma…well, she was Emma.
“I’m worried about her. He killed Thomas Christ, and now that I’ve slept with her, she’s mine.”
Emma thought about it.
“Well, he called me in once while I was off. It was because we were backlogged. He could be just calling her to work.”
That helped.
“Or not.”
That didn’t help.
“Ilan is following her. He’s inside the building, and he’ll call me.”
“She knows what happened with Thomas Christ,” Greyson stated. “She’ll be ready for it. You have to trust her. She’s a cop, and she has damn good instincts.”
He was right.
She’d nailed the Sam and Petra situation that morning, and handled it without an issue. That was no easy task.
“Oh, and I’m going to marry her,” he admitted out of the blue. “And have a baby.”
Emma choked on her coffee.
Dimitri patted her on the back.
“What? Today?”
He laughed.
“No, but eventually. She’s the one. You were right, I was right, and now I have to figure out how to get her to stay with me. She told Sam she hates my money.”
Emma laughed.
“Oh, you’re in for a long battle on this one,” Emma stated. “Your money, plus our money…”
Yeah, he was aware.
Together, they were beyond loaded.
“How do I get her to stay with me? I can lock her in the room and tie her to the bed.”
Greyson stared at him.
“I hope you were joking. I can’t tell with you. You don’t smile.”
He smiled.
“Too late. After the fact makes it creepy. My suggestion is don’t go with the kidnapping option.”
“Ask her to stay,” Emma stated.
“I did. She’s staying until this crazy is caught. We can push that back a few years, right? Just until I knock her up, and then she’ll have to stay.”
Emma laughed.
“Oh, and I didn’t use a condom. Is it wrong to tell her I want kids with her on date four?”
Emma slapped him in the back of the head.
“Are you out of your damn mind? She’ll run as fast as she freaking can and she should. That makes her sound like some breeding mare.”
“I’m bad with this kind of stuff. We worked out my issues, she told me she was upset because the idea of me sleeping with hookers put her in that same category.”
“Who thought that would be an issue?” Emma asked, laughing.
Greyson and Emma both raised their hands.
“Well, had I known…”
“Poppy is scared of looking like a gold digger. You have to dial it way back. WAY BACK.”
“Like what? I live at Sky Villa, and I’m rich. I’ve been poor, and it is NOT fun. Sam told her the same thing.”
“Okay, well, to start, when you take her out, and that means you keep doing it since you can’t give up on dating. You haven’t bagged the babe yet. She can run,” Greyson stated.
She pointed at him.
“Know what else sucks? Alimony, Mr. Croft.”
He laughed.
“I will tie you to a bed, AGAIN.”
Emma giggled gleefully at the visual in her head. It was pretty damn fantastic.
“How does that work for him, but I can’t do that?” Dimitri asked.
“Because he’s kinky, and we are married. He got me to marry him. You have to slowly work up to this with Poppy. When you take her out, he’s right. Don’t flaunt your money. Once in a while, take her to a fancy place, but do normal people things.”
“Like? I hired hookers. I need some help. I can’t use money to dazzle. I don’t know how to make her like me.”
“She loves guns. Take her to the firing range, shoot some targets, and then buy her ice cream.”
“That sounds like fun.”
“Dating should be fun,” Greyson stated. “You didn’t have fun as a child. Here’s your time to really make the most of it.”
Dimitri liked that idea.
Emma continued, “You have kids. Go to an amusement park or a carnival. That’s normal people stuff. Do not fly her to Paris.”
He closed his mouth.
Then had to ask.
“Never? I like Paris.”
She laughed.
“When you propose, that’s one of those things. Pretend you’re not rich. You get paid like a cop. Think like that.”
“So, pizza on a Friday night after a movie in a theater?” he asked.
She nodded.
“Wings and beer at a bar,” Greyson suggested.
“I own a few bars…”
She shook her head.
“I would casually not mention that, so don’t go into any you own but Aquarius. She already knows about that one.”
He could do that.
Heath came in.
“Hey, Mrs. C,” he said, sitting beside her. “Hey! Who gave you a hickey?”
Greyson smiled. It was time to get revenge.
“Dimitri licked her against her will. It was horrible, Heath, just horrible. He put his mouth on her.”
Heath pointed at Dimitri.
“You’re dead.”
“Hey!” Dimitri said.
Greyson pointed at his face and the bruise. Payback was a bitch.
Dimitri found that amusing.
“Fair enough, but, Heath, I’m your boss. So....”
“Fine,” the big man stated. “I’m not happy with you putting your tongue on her. I’ll angrily glare at you for ten minutes in protest.”
Emma laughed her ass off. The big man beside her was funny as hell. She couldn’t help herself.
“What are we doing today?” Heath asked. “I want to crack some skulls.”
Croft laughed.
“You and I are going to stop by Abby McCoy’s home. I want to know why she didn’t mention her ex was banging her now missing sister.”
“She might not have known,” Emma stated. “Her friend Emily said she was into kinky shit. She might have been banging quite a few married men.”
She was right.
Still, they had to ask.
“I’ve got your back, Mr. Croft.”
“What about you, Dimitri?”
“I’m taking Poppy’s interviews. The cop we interviewed said one of the men might be her father. I don’t want her to do that one. I’ll take it.”
“By yourself?” Greyson asked. “Is that a good idea after the killer tried to make you a Russian hood ornament?” he asked.
Oh, he was aware.
There was a call from the other room. Dimitri looked at his watch.
“My partner has excellent timing.”
Tessa headed in, and she was smiling like the Cheshire Cat. That said it all.
“Does your husband know you’re going out?” Greyson asked.
Tessa didn’t bat an eye.
“Pardon?”
That said it all.
“Listen, I’m bored out of my mind. You guys don’t have anything for me to research, and anything that could be found in a search is likely outdated. Poppy’s mother has been dead for over two decades. Libby Raye has been missing four years. This is going to be in the interviews. We all know that.”
Greyson shook his head.
“Paris is going to lose his mind.”
She laughed.
“And I’ll hurt anyone who mentions it,” she said. “Mark my words.”
Heath grinned.
“I like a badass woman. They are hot.”
None of the men there would argue that.
“So, Tessa, or Mrs. Badass, and I are going to interview her possibly biological father. I want that out of the way for Poppy. Then, I’m hoping she’ll call me when she’s done with the commissioner.”
“Uh oh. She went alone?” Tessa asked.
It freaked Dimitri out all over again.
“Is that bad?” he asked her.
Emma made a slight signal and Tessa caught it.
“No, no, it’s not bad at all.”
Dimitri closed his eyes.
“This is bad.”
“I have an idea,” Emma said, picking up her phone. She knew she shouldn’t bother her, but she had an idea.
On the second ring, Delilah answered.
“Hey!”
“Happy honeymoon, Delilah Henderson! We have an issue.”
“What?” she asked, caught off guard.
“The commissioner called Poppy in by herself. Are you on your flight yet?”
“We are about to board. I can get out of line and head there.”
She didn’t want to screw up the woman’s honeymoon. They both deserved it.
“How about Finn?”
Delilah figured now was a good time to tell them. She and Finn…
“I quit my job.”
“Pardon?”
“Finn told me not to get married, and it pissed me off. I’m unemployed, but I can call him. He’ll take the retainer fee and do the job.”
“I’ll send funds. When you get back, come here. I want to discuss your future employment.”
“With?”
“Us,” Emma stated. “We will use you on our retainer. Full time.”
“I knew you’d say that,” she said, laughing. “You Crofts get in a lot of trouble.”
Oh, she was aware.
“I’ll call him and have him show up. He should be in the office. He’ll cover her. Finn is about money. He will take it without batting an eye. He’ll try to get you guys to sign as his client.”
“Thanks, Delilah, but that’s not happening. You’re our lawyer. We’re loyal. Oh, and we won’t bother you again.”
“See you in a few days!”
She hung up.
“Good idea,” Greyson stated. “Finn is big, scary, and intimidating. He’ll guard her like a rabid dog. I liked having both of them in our corner.”
She explained what the woman had said to her about quitting.
“I’ll have Dante make it happen. He and Steele are already gone for the morning.”
She was glad.
“Ready to head out?” Dimitri asked, knowing he needed to get his mind off of Poppy at the commissioner’s office.
Tessa was up and grinning like a loon.
“Let’s go! I need to keep in shape. I’m going to get fat soon.”
Emma stared at her and pointed at her baby bump.
“REALLY?”
“Uh, not you. Me. It’s going to be from sitting on my ass all day. You go out. My husband is a hoverer—which from a wheelchair is a feat in itself.”
Greyson snickered.
“Sorry, I pictured it. Call me, Dimitri, if you need me.”
Oh, he would.
They headed out.
“What about you, Mrs. C?” Heath asked. “What are you going to do?”
“I’m taking Chris, and we’re going to take the other interview that Greyson had. He talked to Johnie Baker, and now it’s my turn.”
“So, breakfast to go?” Greyson asked, putting down his spatula.
She laughed.
“You have been standing there twenty minutes, and you haven’t even cracked an egg. Who are you kidding, Mr. Croft?”
He grinned.
“Have a donut with Heath,” Emma stated.
Oh, he would.
Greyson gave her a kiss and then headed off to get dressed before she could recall her baked good offer.
He wasn’t an idiot.
When he was gone, Emma focused on the bodyguard beside her.
“Heath, you keep him safe. I don’t trust the commissioner. We saw Tristan Bauer calling someone after the interview. I know he’s got eyes all over us.”
“We can just kill him,” he suggested.
Emma didn’t laugh.
“Keep that in mind. He’s wearing thin on my patience, and this family is mine. I will protect it.”
He didn’t doubt it.
That’s what he liked about the crofts.
They took care of their own.
Like the Marines.
Emma waited as long as she could to head out. Chris still hadn’t come out of his bedroom, so she figured she’d track him down. When she knocked, he didn’t answer, so she peeked her head in.
He was sitting on the side of his bed, and he looked miserable.
“Are you okay?” she asked, inviting herself into the room. Her best friend needed her.
Clearly.
“No.”
“What happened?” she asked, sitting beside him.
“How the hell does my shrew ex-wife keep finding husband after husband, and boy toy after boy toy, and I can’t find anyone?”
“Because she sleeps her way to the altar.”
“I have to try that,” he muttered. “Apparently, it works in Vegas.”
“Chris, you know that’s not the way.”
He was aware.
Still…
“I feel like the world is watching me fail. I feel like I’m a disaster.”
“Well, I have good news and bad news.”
“Oh, Jesus. What?”
“They are watching you. That’s the bad news.”
He sighed.
“And the good?”
She searched on her phone and showed him what was on the tabloid stations that morning. The celebrity bloggers were having a field day.
He read it.
“I’m your sexy boy toy bodyguard?” he asked.
“Yep.”
He grinned.
“Well, that’s kinda nice,” he said, cheering up marginally over it. There was a picture of him in the sex shop with Emma, and it was POST mauling.
He looked fucked, and not in a bad way.
“She’s going to eat her heart out over that. Look at that picture of you standing in that sex shop. They got the essence of that plan. You were getting head from your rich hussy boss.”
He actually giggled.
“I was, wasn’t I?”
“And when women see that another woman has something, they want it too. You’re going to be the object of all that attention. A playboy, if you will. You are rich, Mr. Ford. You are a partner in one of the most lucrative and illegal firms in the city.”
He smiled even more.
“Illegal makes me seem dangerous.”
“Oh, yeah, and totally hot too,” Emma added, trying to cheer him up.
He dropped his arm over her shoulders and they fell back onto his bed.
Emma held up her phone.
“Look at that adoration from your boss. She’s watching you like you’re some sexy piece of man meat.”
He grinned even more.
“Yeah, she is.”
“Yep. You’re hot, Mr. Ford. I can’t keep my hands off of you. Want to have cheap sex?”
He laughed.
“Hell, yeah! Maybe in the library? That should get some attention.”
She snorted.
“Perv.”
It made him laugh.
“You’re really my best friend in the whole world. I’d be lost without you, Em.”
She rolled to her side.
“I’ll be your ride or die bitch any day, Mr. Ford. You’ll have me for your entire life.”
Suddenly, he wasn’t feeling nearly as shitty as he had been a few minutes ago. Emma had that effect on him.
“One day, I’ll date again,” he said.
“I know. When you’re ready, I’ll be cheering you on. She’s out there, Christopher. I know she is.”
He held her.
“And if she’s not?”
“That’s okay. You have me,” Emma stated.
Yeah, he did.
“I love you.”
She let him hold her.
“I love you too. Want to go kick around some scared suspects?”
Oh, that fit his mood perfectly.
“You know I do.”
She was aware.
So did she.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
Commissioner’s Office
As Poppy sat there, she didn’t doubt that the commissioner was making her wait to rile her up and make her sweat.
That was totally his style.
Well, she had news for him. Poppy wasn’t going to be afraid of this douchebag. She was going to stand up for herself and be a cop.
That’s who she was to her core.
So, as she sat there, she was calm on the outside. If he thought she’d panic and do something crazy, he was insane. She knew there were cameras there, and she didn’t trust him not to pull a Thomas Christ part two.
Was she scared?
Oh God, yes.
She didn’t want to go in there and get shot in the head, but she couldn’t bring Dimitri. Poppy couldn’t bring backup, so she was on her own.
Poppy was seconds from a freakout.
When someone sat beside her, she looked over and held her breath.
Immediately, she recognized him.
She’d gone head to head against him a few times at the courthouse.
It was Delilah’s partner.
He held out his hand.
“Miss Wayne, I’m your attorney. Emma Croft sent me to represent you if this turns into a legal matter. If it’s not, I’ll stay by your side. This man is a snake. The Crofts, and Mr. Gideon, don’t want to see you get hurt.”
She wanted to weep.
“Thank you, Mr. Braydon.”
“Finn is fine. I have your back. The Crofts have requested that I handle anything he throws at you. Basically, I’m here to make sure your best interests are the focus.”
“I was so afraid to go in there after Thomas Christ was killed.”
He was aware.
“I don’t blame you. If this is work-related, don’t answer anything. I will talk for you. The key to rattling this scumbag’s cage is you let me do the heavy lifting. Delilah and I make him nervous. You can tell he has something to hide. Let me scare him shitless.”
She nodded.
“I got it.”
The door opened, and the commissioner came out. The second he saw Finn, he scowled.
“He’s wearing his gun,” Poppy whispered. “He never wears it.”
That said it all.
She was going to kiss Emma the second she saw her. The commissioner was gunning for her—literally. There was no doubt in her mind that she was going to be a victim to Thomas Christ’s fate had she entered that room alone.
“He can stay out here,” Commissioner Raye stated. “We’re having a performance evaluation.”
“My evaluation isn’t due until June,” she stated warily.
Finn placed his hand on her lower back.
“Well, she has representation. We all know what happens behind closed doors. Look at Thomas Christ,” he stated.
The commissioner glared at them.
“Shall we?” Finn suggested.
They followed him in.
Who knew what they were in for?
All Finn knew was they WERE walking out of there alive.
Period.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
Abby McCoy’s
Home
They knocked on her door and waited for the woman to answer. They knew she was home. They could hear her and her children inside.
When she opened up, there were two kids getting ready for school.
“We’re sorry to bother you,” Greyson stated. “But we need to talk about the case.”
She smiled.
“Boys, have a good day,” she said, giving them both a kiss on the forehead. They headed off for the bus stop, and she motioned them to follow her in.
“I’m surprised to see you,” she said. “Is this about my sister? Did you find her?” she asked hopefully.
“Yes, it is.”
“Would you like some coffee?” she asked. “I made some earlier.”
“No, thank you, Abby. We have a problem, and we needed to discuss it with you.”
She sat.
It was probably for the best.
“What?”
“When were you going to tell us that your ex-husband had a sexual relationship with your sister.”
Sometimes, it was best to rip off the bandage.
“WHAT?” she asked.
“We were told by multiple sources that she had sex with Michael.”
She stared at him in disbelief. Then her lower lip began quivering.
“I don’t know what to say,” she whispered.
He didn’t know either.
Did she kill her?
Did she not?
It was up in the air, and they knew it. There were liars so good that they could fake their way through it. They were sociopaths.
Was Abby a killer?
“I need you to look me in the face and tell me if you were involved in her disappearance. I need to know. If you lie about anything, I’m never going to find out who killed your sister.
“I wouldn't have killed Libby. If she slept with Michael, it was to get proof that he was a scumbag. She told me she didn’t trust him.”
“They worked together?”
“Yes, and he was always stealing her ideas and stealing her clients. My sister would not willingly sleep with him. I know her. I have faith in my sister. Dig into his life. She disappeared, and he ran from our marriage right after.”
She had a point.
He did.
Was it guilt?
“We have people heading to his house right now. They will ask him the same question.”
“Good!”
“Can I see your phone?” he asked.
“For?”
“I want to look at your call history, and I want to look at your text messages. You didn’t know we were coming. You wouldn’t have deleted anything implicating yourself.”
She slid it toward him.
Greyson had been a Fed, and he considered himself thorough. He began scrolling through.
There was one text.
“Who is this one to?” he asked.
It was dated the same day they’d interviewed her.
“My mother.”
He read it out loud.
‘Mom, I just met with someone who is going to help find Libby. I believe he can do it. It won’t be long. We’re going to get her back. When we do, I’ll call you. I know she’s coming home, Mom. I know it.’
“She never replied.”
Abby wiped her eyes.
“She’s in a nursing home. It was more for me. I swear to you, Mr. Croft. I didn’t kill my sister. I would have killed my scumbag ex had I known, and I may still kill him if he touched and hurt Libby. Blood is thicker than water, and my sister will always be my sister. Men will come and go.”
He placed her phone by his, and it cloned hers. What she didn’t know was that he was stealing her GPS location. It was one of Dimitri’s toys, and it would help them.
They’d know the truth.
“After she went missing, he just left?”
“Yes. He said he didn’t want to be married to me, I was boring, a dolt, and he was done.”
“He’s an asshole,” Heath said, unable to help himself. He knew he shouldn’t say anything when the boss was working, but he hated seeing women hurt.
She agreed.
“I’ve been so happy,” she said, starting to cry. “I called an orthodontist for Harry. I made his appointment, and I sent my ex a text message.”
He saw it.
“I told him I didn’t need his help paying for the braces. I was ready to do this on my own.”
She wept.
Well, now Greyson felt bad.
Crap!
“We had to ask, Abby. We had to come to you and ask. It will help us find her.”
She pulled an old phone out of her pocket.
“I upgraded after Libby went missing. After talking to you, I really missed her. So, when I came home, I dug around and found this. I was going to bring it on Monday when I went to my new job—do I still have it?” she asked.
“Yep.”
She looked relieved.
“Here.”
She handed him her old flip phone.
“It has messages from my sister. Maybe it will help. Can you get it back to me when you’re done with it? It’s all I have of her. If you don’t find her, I want to be able to read and hear them.”
He got it.
Greyson would be the same if he’d lost any of his brothers. They all mattered.
“Yeah, I can.”
She wiped her eyes.
“Please find my sister, Mr. Croft. If he hurt her, I want to make him pay.”
“If he did, we’ll handle him, Ms. McCoy. You have two boys. They need you. Leave this to us.”
She had no choice. Her boys came first.
“Thank you.”
Outside, Greyson flipped through the messages on the phone, and they were typical sister texts. They talked about clothes, the boys, and life. In none of them did it mention Michael Skinner.
“Where to, Mr. C?” Heath asked.
“Michael Skinner’s home. Oh, and when we get there, I want you to really scare him.”
“Can I kill him?”
He laughed.
Oh, Greyson only wished it was that easy. There was a fine line, and they had to walk it.
“No, but you can rough him up.”
“I love my job,” he admitted. “I really do.”
Greyson patted his arm.
“I am so glad.”
They headed out.
They had an asshole to interview.
And it should be interesting.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
Lewis Garrett’s
Home
It was a nice family house, and that pissed Dimitri off more than anything. He knew about Poppy’s time in foster hell, and this man, if her father, was an asshole for letting that happen.
Period.
If he sired a child, it was his responsibility. If he ran…well, that made him the scum of the earth.
“Stay calm,” Tessa stated.
Oh, he was trying. Only, it was hard when he saw the man’s home. There were two cars in front of it, and it had a well-manicured lawn.
Someone was living the dream.
Poppy hadn’t, and that made him borderline rabid.
“Okay, two-point-five kids, a dog, and he’s married to Betty Freaking Crocker,” Tessa said from the passenger seat as she checked out the surroundings.
He laughed.
“Oh, and he screwed around on his wife all those years ago, and he fathered two kids.”
“Don’t ya know it?” Tessa stated. “Maybe he saw Poppy, and it made him lose his mind?”
They would find out.
“I know if this was my home, and my life, I wouldn’t want someone screwing with it. He could have killed her mother and one kid, and when Poppy wasn’t there, he knew the heat was on so he backed off.”
Maybe.
“Let’s go find out,” Dimitri stated. “I don’t know how to detect, so this is on you.”
Tessa cracked her knuckles.
“Oh, Merry Christmas to me.”
Dimitri laughed.
Yeah, he loved working with Tessa.
Getting out of their ride, the twosome headed for the house. With each step, Dimitri was more and more irritated. On the porch, he knocked on the door.
And they waited.
Before long, an older man opened the door and stared curiously at them.
“Are you Lewis Garrett?” Tessa asked.
“Yes, and you are?”
“Yeah, that doesn’t matter. What does matter is the case we are working on. We are investigating the cold case of Eloise and Daisy Wayne’s deaths.”
The name registered.
It was crystal clear that he knew why they were there. It was visible on his face.
Panic.
Fear.
Worry.
“And?” he said, trying to sound ambivalent.
Only, it wasn’t working.
Dimitri could smell the fear. It coated him with a sickly-sweet layer. Oh, this was going to be interesting.
“Why did you never claim your children?” Dimitri asked. He knew for a fact that the man was Poppy’s father. They had the same facial structure, and her nose and ears resembled his. He was good at things like this. This facial recognition skill helped when you were sniping someone.
The man went to close the door.
Dimitri shoved his boot in it.
“That’s fine. I can have it leak to the media and say that you’re stalking a cop,” Tessa stated. “I’m sure that will go over well.”
It had the desired effect.
“WHAT?” he asked, opening the door.
“Someone went after your daughter, thinking she was Eloise.”
Dimitri happened to have a picture of Poppy. He uploaded her driver’s license photo.
He showed him.
“Jesus. She looks just like her mother.”
“She’s your child.”
The man blanched.
“I asked for a paternity test. Eloise told me to kiss off. She knew I’d try and take her if she was mine. I would have done the right thing.”
“Why didn’t you get a court ordered one?” Tessa asked. “Fathers, even back then, still had rights. You could have fought for one if you wanted it so badly.”
His face said it all.
“I had an affair.”
“And?”
“I didn’t want to lose my wife. Eloise was easy. She worked as a florist and I went in to buy my wife flowers. She flirted, I flirted back. I went in again, and she flirted more. Before I knew it, my wife was getting a lot of flowers and I was getting laid.”
Dimitri said nothing.
“The police investigated me. It nearly ruined my marriage. My wife died ten years later, and I had to live with what I did. I killed her with my affair. It was never the same after that.”
“You also had a child,” Tessa said. “One who found her mother and sister murdered.”
“I am aware.”
Dimitri glared at him.
“Did you father her other child?” Tessa asked.
“No. We’d broken up before that child was even conceived. Poppy is mine. I will give you that, but the other one…no clue. Like I said. Eloise was easy. She wasn’t the marrying kind. She was the fucking kind.”
Dimitri wanted to hurt him.
He felt Tessa’s hand go to his back.
It helped him stay calm.
“They put her into the system. She was abused for years. She became a cop to find her mother’s killer. You could have saved her,” Tessa stated.
“I tried. My wife said no. I wanted to save her. I just couldn’t do it to my wife. I wanted my family. I have two kids, and we were happy.”
“You’re a scumbag,” Dimitri stated. “You had another child out there. She should have mattered.”
“What do you fucking care?” He asked. “She’s fine without me. She’s doing her thing.”
Dimitri grabbed the man by his shirt.
“Someone is trying to kill her. That animal is back. That’s why I care. That animal thinks she’s her mother!”
Tessa touched his arm.
“Unless he’s the killer,” she stated.
The man looked horrified.
“I didn’t kill anyone!”
“We’ll come back for him,” Tessa said to scare him. “As for that little statement, you did kill someone. Your dick wandered, and you destroyed lives. That’s on you.”
Tears filled his eyes.
“You can’t hurt me. I’m dead inside. My wife died, my kids grew up and moved away, and I haven’t seen my grandkids. There’s nothing you can do to me that will hurt me. I’m in my own hell.”
He slammed the door.
Tessa waited for Dimitri to calm down.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m in love.”
“Awww, pumpkin, I’m sorry. As much as I’m flattered, I’m married.”
He started laughing.
“With Poppy, not you, Tessa, but you did kick that madam’s ass for me. That was hot.”
“I know. My husband has jumped me multiple times with his ‘bad girl’ fantasy, so thanks for that.”
He gave her a fist bump.
“My pleasure.”
“Do you think it’s him?” he asked. “I don’t know how to do this cop thing. It’s not as much fun as the killer thing.”
She laughed.
“Truth.”
For now, he needed Tessa’s opinion.
“Well?”
She considered it.
“No. He’s lucid. Poppy said he called her by her mother’s name. The killer is delusional. Her father has known she’s alive for a long time. He could have killed her a while ago.”
She had a very valid point. Dimitri hadn’t thought about it that way.
“Where to next?” Tessa asked.
“We have the name of some guy who was her neighbor. Poppy and I stopped there yesterday, but he was out. Her file says he’s an accountant.”
Tessa looked at her watch.
“It’s tax season.”
Oh, he was aware.
“Maybe we’ll get lucky and he’ll be home today. Brent Hendricks heads out and works at his client’s homes. We can’t catch him at work.”
She understood.
“That works for me. Maybe you can let me rough him up if he’s home, and then tell my husband about it. You know, on the DL. He won’t flip his shit if he knows he can use it for sex.”
“Awwww, pumpkin, I’m not lying for you,” he said, using her previous sarcasm.
She laughed her ass off.
“Nice one.”
“I have a question,” Dimitri asked.
“Yeah, what?” Tessa said, getting behind the wheel of the vehicle.
“Want a job?”
She stared at him.
“Are you fucking with me, Dimitri Gideon?” she asked. “If you are, I’ll hurt you.”
He laughed.
“No, I’m serious. After you give birth, you’d make a good employee. You’re vicious.”
She laughed.
“Sign me up, but…”
“What?”
“Tag,” she said, touching his shoulder. “You have to tell Paris.”
He laughed.
He’d walked right into that one.
Oddly, that was fine.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
Commissioner’s Office
It was so hard not to speak during the time in front of him, but Poppy managed to hold her tongue and let Finn do all the talking.
The minute they got in there, Poppy was forced to listen to the commissioner pick apart every single case she’d ever worked. In the last year, he’d ripped apart all of her cases with Hunter Dietrich.
Apparently, the man didn’t file them correctly, and the commissioner was dumping it on her—not the asshole dead man.
Great.
As she stood there, she was told she mishandled, broke the law, and a few made up things that made her cringe.
Then he really went in for it.
Commissioner Raye informed her that she had complaints against her.
They had only been brought up now—miraculously. Apparently, the cops who harassed her on the police scene had banded together to file.
Yeah, bullshit.
Poppy knew why too.
This man.
Still, she held her tongue, simply because of her attorney, Finn Braydon, told her to say nothing to implicate herself.
So she didn’t.
It was a miracle.
“Commissioner, where are you heading with this?” Finn asked from beside her in his pricey suit.
“As of this moment, I’ve decided that Miss Wayne is a security risk for the police department. She was seen canoodling with a man who has mob ties. That will risk court cases.”
Poppy said nothing.
She wasn’t shocked.
“Since she was seen making out with Dimitri Gideon, we’ve put her on administrative leave—pending an internal investigation.”
“Like you did with Riley Henderson?” Finn asked, curiously, and to rattle the man.
The commissioner didn’t reply.
Instead, he gave the man a dirty look.
“Riley is Delilah’s client. See, you think Ms. Wayne is a security risk, but I have bad news for you. There are about six other cops who are also our clients. We don’t charge them. Delilah and I want to make your life hell.”
The man scowled.
“Who are they?”
“Well, Riley, Miss Wayne, Detectives…”
He smiled.
“You’ll find out.”
Commissioner Raye held out his hand.
“Badge and gun, please. Until IA can investigate your cases and your relationship to Dimitri Gideon, we can’t have you on the force. Thank God I rescinded that captain offer.”
“WHAT? I told you I didn’t want it!”
He looked confused.
“Oh, Miss Wayne, you have some serious memory issues. You should get them looked into and soon.”
She knew it was his word versus hers.
“You’ll be hearing from us,” Finn stated. “If you take her badge and gun, you’ll have my lawsuit on your desk by tomorrow morning.”
“Gun and badge, please.”
She handed them over.
When she moved closer to do it, she saw the file on his desk.
“Why do you have my mother and sister’s cold case file?” she asked incredulously.
That couldn’t be good.
She didn’t trust the man with a pet rock let alone a file that was sacred to her.
He dropped another file over it to make it disappear.
Then he stared her in the eyes.
“You’re not well, Detective. These are all the cases that you handled. I am deeply concerned about your mental stability. Now you’re getting paranoid.”
Her mind began racing.
Something was up.
Something huge.
Poppy’s mind was just fine. This man was up to something, and she could feel it.
Was this a distraction?
Was he playing some game?
She knew how sick and twisted he was, and Raye couldn’t be trusted. He killed and didn’t think twice.
“Come on, Ms. Wayne. Let’s go. He’ll see us face to face in court.”
The man smiled and waved.
Poppy started out with her attorney. Outside, she was furious, and she wanted to cry.
“He took my badge. He took my gun. He knew the only way to hurt me was to make me lose my job!”
Finn put his arm around her and lowered his voice. For now, it was about getting her out of there.
“It’s okay. I’ll get him so tangled up in red tape he’ll wish you shot him in the ass. By the time I’m done, you’ll own part of the city.”
That was all fine and dandy, but she had a much bigger concern. Mainly, the file on his desk. It had her disturbed.
“I want to go home,” she muttered.
“Want me to take you?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“No, I want to be alone. I need to think about all of this,” she stated.
Finn gave her his card.
“If he harasses you, looks at you, or even talks to you, you call me. I’ll handle it.”
She nodded.
“Thanks, Mr. Braydon.”
“It’s Finn. You’re part of the Croft family. They take care of their family. I will show up at two in the morning if I have to. It’s my job.”
Yeah, and he wanted to make sure he kept their business now that Delilah was threatening to leave their partnership.
“Thanks.”
Poppy headed down to the vehicle that Dimitri had let her borrow that morning. She was so upset.
Poppy had nothing.
In a matter of minutes, Commissioner Raye had destroyed her life. He’d taken everything she had ever worked for and turned it upside down.
What was she going to do?
She got into the car, and she pulled away.
Home would be best.
She needed peace.
She needed silence.
She needed a plan B because plan A had just blown up in her freaking face.