Chapter Five
Club Aquarius
Eight A.M
A s they stood outside the business, Greyson could feel eyes on them. He knew it was likely someone a cop had sicced on them. As of late, Commissioner Raye was being silent. It wasn’t like the douchebag to hide his intent, and that made Greyson nervous.
If anything, the man was predictable, except for lately, and that was worrisome.
When the scourge of the city was backing off, that meant trouble was coming their way.
What kind?
Oh, if his shitty luck held out, it would be something they’d never see coming.
Basically, he knew it was the calm before the shit storm. That was never a promising thing. While he was at the top of the world in Vegas, that didn’t mean he was safe. There were so many snakes waiting to take his place, and Greyson wasn’t having it.
If he fell, then Vegas went too.
He couldn’t let that happen. There were too many people barely hanging on as the city consumed them alive. Him and the team were all that stood between them and the corruption.
No, Greyson had to stay at the top.
As they stood there, Chris positioned his bulkier body in front of Greyson, and he saw him first.
“Asshole at ten o’clock,” he said, repositioning himself to ensure they were both safe, and in view of the security cameras.
One never knew what this asshole would pull.
Until Emma got there, Chris knew his job was to make sure no one killed his friend.
Yeah, his job wasn’t going to be an easy one.
“Well, look at this here. Is that Greyson Croft, the mob man, congregating on the streets?” Thomas Christ asked. “It’s so unlike you to leave that big house of yours in the desert.”
Greyson didn’t even flinch.
Thomas Christ kept going. “I’m surprised you’re out in the sunlight, since you’re a vampire sucking this city dry of all its resources. What? Nothing illegal to do today?”
Greyson knew the man was likely wearing a recorder. This was their old trick, and he wasn’t falling for it.
In fact, he had a way to play the game.
Finally, he spoke, “Is that the man who had a cop head to my property to try and frame me for drugs? Tsk Tsk. If you’re going to do something ILLEGAL, you should probably pick someone a little smarter than Heath Spencer. How’s lock up doing for him?” he asked.
The man glared at him.
“You can turn the recorder off,” Croft stated. “Your one trick ponies are getting boring.”
He did just that.
“Funny you should ask about him,” he said. “Someone tried to shank him in lockdown. You wouldn’t know anything about that, now would you?”
Croft laughed. “If I didn’t shank him outside the cell, you can’t be suggesting I did it inside, now are you? What would that be, Chris?” he asked.
“I’d say harassment, since I know our attorney sent his boss a little letter insisting he stop stalking you. It’s like he’s got a big old man crush on you, Grey. I think he thinks you’re sexy.”
Thomas Christ turned red.
Chris wasn’t done.
“I think I know why he and Emma didn’t work,” he began. “I think he’d rather suck some…”
He didn’t have to finish.
Thomas Christ stepped toward him.
Greyson pulled out his phone, and he made a call. Once she answered, he put it on speaker.
“Delilah, here I am, standing in front of my business, and the police Captain, and I use that word loosely, is trying to intimidate and ask me questions about shanking some crooked detective. Can he do that?”
Chris grinned as the man scowled.
“Well, Greyson, I’m sure he realizes that after that bungled frame up, we have a cease and desist order against the harassment you and Emma have been getting from the police department. In it, I do believe, since I wrote it, that he’s not supposed to contact you without me there. Luckily for him, my office is right around the corner. I’ll be right there, and he can ask you plenty of things, but then I can ask him questions too.”
Greyson hung up.
“Yeah, my attorney said I can’t play with you,” he said. “You see, you wanted your detective to frame me, and that wasn’t going to work. So, you got caught.”
Thomas Christ wasn’t one to give up. “Oh, I wasn’t coming here to see you, Mr. Croft. I was coming here to have a morning drink in ‘Aquarius’. You don’t own it, so…”
Greyson smiled.
Thomas Christ looked confused.
“You’re right. I don’t own it, but if you step foot in there, then I’m going to share another little secret with the world.”
The man crossed his arms. “What? That your wife is really good at riding dick? Does she still scream in bed?”
Greyson wanted to kill him.
He wanted to tear his face off and feed it to him, but that was exactly what Christ wanted.
It wasn’t happening.
“Yeah, she mentioned your tiny dick and how she had to over exaggerate because she was afraid for her life.”
He lifted a brow.
“Why you ask? Here’s why, Captain. I know you killed Gage Starling. We all know and you don’t want that coming out. There is NO statute of limitations on murder. You can still go to the chair for setting up a cop to die. Well, almost two cops.”
Christ actually paled.
“If I were you, my very crooked friend, you had better turn yourself in to the police. I have an official copy of the Philadelphia report that Commissioner Raye had hidden. Maybe they won’t give you the chair.”
The man stopped smiling. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
He didn’t get to say more.
There was the quick clicking of heels heading their way. He didn’t even have to look to know who the angry staccato belonged to.
Delilah was there.
Greyson waved at his attorney, who was dressed to kill. She didn’t look amused.
“I see you’re still harassing my client. I guess I can call the judge…”
“Oh, he’s going to leave, and he’s also going to realize that his recorder isn’t working, but mine is. You remember what I said, Captain Christ. Vegas is a rough town.”
He headed away.
Delilah watched him go.
“What is going on?” she asked.
“I have a legal document that I need protected,” Greyson offered. He pulled it out of his bag. “I have copies, but this is the original. It was stashed at the Philadelphia police department.”
She took it from him.
When she read it, she went wide-eyed.
“Jesus! He is implicated in the murder of your wife’s brother? The Philadelphia police were working that case?”
He nodded.
“We can bury him.”
“I want it held for now,” he said. “I haven’t told Emma. I’m going to later today. I need to be gentle. I just need the record to show that this was anonymously sent to you by some concerned citizen, and you’re going to validate and hold it. When the time comes, we’ll use it.”
“When you tell Emma, please let her know I’m sorry. I lost my brother too. It sucks.”
He patted her hand. Greyson was aware. Delilah’s brother had been a good soldier, and he’d gone down fighting demons most people couldn’t even understand.
“I’ll tell her. Thank you for rushing here. I wouldn’t have been so dramatic, but I wanted to make the man turn tail. He’s the least of my issues now.”
She got it.
“I was about to get some coffee and take a break. I have court this week, and it’s an ugly one.”
Well, coffee he could do. Dimitri was open early for the people leaving the casinos to head back to Greyson’s hotel.
“We have coffee.”
“Then I’ll follow you anywhere,” she said, looking around. “I need to caffeinate or I get mean.”
Chris laughed. “We like you mean. It’s fun to watch.”
She smiled at him. “You didn’t think that before, Captain Ford.”
He got it.
She was a frigging barracuda in the courtroom. Delilah had chewed up all of his detectives at least once.
Now she wasn’t the enemy.
Thank God.
“We are about to meet a new client. The least I can do is buy you some coffee. I’m sorry we had to drag you here. The cops are…”
“Assholes?” she asked. “Yeah, I’ve noticed. They’ve been staking out my place.”
He didn’t like that.
“What do you mean?”
“When I headed out to work all last week, there was one of those beat down cop cars. I’ve got some detective tails.”
That made him worry.
“Where’s Heath?” Chris asked. He knew the man. If he was going to go after them, it would be Delilah first. She was the one that pushed for his incarceration.
“He’s out on bail. The judge wouldn’t listen to me,” Delilah said. “I must suck at trying to prosecute,” she teased. “I didn’t do it justice.”
Croft hoped Heath Spencer had enough common sense to stay far away from them.
If not…
Yeah, he’d make sure of it.
Once they headed inside, they saw Detective Riley Henderson in a back area. He waved.
“Speaking of cops, what’s his deal?” Delilah asked. “Is he your new BFF?” she asked.
Greyson nodded.
“He’s our inside man. If not for him, we don’t have ears inside that building. Raye and Christ have locked the place down. I can’t even buy a cop these days,” he said.
Chris laughed. “Yeah, your life sucks.”
Greyson was amused as he ordered them three coffees.
“Yeah, I can’t lose him. Then what? Too many people think I killed Mace Bristol.”
She shook her head. “They can think it all they want. We’ve proved you weren’t there. One more attempt, and you won’t have to buy a cop. You’ll own the LVPD.”
Oh, he’d love that.
“Anyway, is he on the up and up, or is that an act?” she said, referring to the detective at the back of the bar.
“He’s the real deal. He wants to save the world one person at a time, and he knows his cop friends are dirty.”
Well, that endeared him to her even more.
She grinned. “That’s sneaky and very sexy of him. Maybe all cops aren’t assholes after all.”
Greyson saw the look in her eyes.
He was well aware what it meant.
Delilah was one of those women who could get anything they wanted just by breathing. From the long black hair to the cat eyes, she could take a man apart, or curl up in his lap. It was hit or miss. She left him, Dimitri, and Chris alone, simply because he was a client. Delilah took her job very seriously, and she’d never risk that.
Unfortunately, Riley wasn’t a client, and he was in danger. She was tracking him with her eyes, and her intent was crystal clear.
“I think I’ll say hello,” she said, heading toward him.
“That man is toast,” Chris said, taking a mug of coffee from the woman. “She’s going to play with him like a damn mouse.”
Then he laughed.
“Lucky him. I can only imagine.”
Greyson laughed too.
He didn’t doubt it.
Before he could say anything, the new hostess had his attention.
“Mr. Gideon is on his way in, Mr. Croft. He’ll be here shortly,” Marie offered. “He asked that you wait for him in the back, where it’s safe.”
He could do that.
He and Chris headed back.
They knew Riley would get there eventually.
Maybe.
He saw her coming, and he swallowed his coffee. The woman was staring at him like he’d committed some sort of a sin. That one look freaked him out, but he stood his ground.
Immediately, he stood for the lady.
“Detective,” she purred, checking him out. She didn’t miss how he got up out of politeness.
Seriously.
He was as cute as hell.
Here he was, wearing a suit and the gold shiny badge on his hip. It amused her. Normally, she had nothing but disdain for the cops of Vegas, but this man intrigued her.
He was polite.
He was genuine.
He was a do-gooder.
She wanted to see if he was the real deal. Certainly, men like this didn’t exist anymore. They were a dying breed.
As for him being a good cop…that was shocking.
If she had a dollar for every wrongfully accused person in Vegas, she’d be rich—richer.
The fact that he was helping the Crofts save Vegas was a big plus in his column.
She wanted to dislike him based on her past experience, but there was something about his blue eyes and dirty blonde hair that drew her in.
He was incredibly handsome, if you went for the California beach boy look.
Maybe that was her type.
As of late, the men in Vegas were boring the hell out of her. Okay, men in general. They all wanted one thing from Delilah, and she was worth more than a quick lay.
She was searching for something deeper, and had all but given up on the opposite sex.
“Are you okay?” she asked, as she reached his table.
Riley was having a hard time focusing.
No, he wasn’t.
“I’m meeting with the Crofts, so leave my ass attached to my body, Miss Viper. I’m not here to question them about anything.”
She laughed and sat down.
“I was just going to say hello.”
He stared at her. “I need to check to see if my gun is loaded. I had a dream like this. You turned into a wildebeest and tried to eat me. It started like this, only you had a tail.”
She snorted. “Well, at least you’re dreaming about me. That’s something.”
Oh, he was always thinking about this woman.
He didn’t know why, but she was forever coming up. He’d be in the office, and someone would say her name. He’d be in court, and there she was down the hall.
Riley couldn’t help himself when it came to her. It had to be those heels.
Jesus!
He was an idiot.
“If you’d like, I’ll stand back up and turn around so you can see I don’t have a tail.”
That caught him off guard. Riley didn’t know if she was flirting or setting him up for some vicious attack. He’d seen her in action. Attorney Delilah Fleur was a mankiller—he suspected literally. She tore through cops at a record pace, leaving them at her feet as she laughed.
You didn’t screw with her.
She was mean.
“Uh, I think I may still be dreaming. You haven’t told me to shut up yet.”
“Shut up.”
He laughed. “And now I know this is real. I would have preferred the dream. You usually get naked in them.”
She stared at him. His honesty was…refreshing. There was something about him that intrigued her.
So, she went for it.
“Funny, in mine, so do you. In fact, you do a lot of things that might make you blush, Detective.”
He stared at her.
“I guess we should leave this conversation right there. Have a good day, Detective Henderson. Fight the good fight. I will see you around.”
He didn’t know what to say.
She’d rendered him speechless.
Delilah dropped her card on the table. “If you find yourself all tied up, and need some help, give me a call.”
He stared at her.
Somehow, he didn’t think she meant legally.
As she walked away, he watched her long legs, the line down the back of her black hosiery, and the way her skirt hugged her body.
Damn it!
She got him all hot and bothered like no woman he’d ever come across.
At the door, she turned, winked, and disappeared out into the sunlight with her coffee.
Riley was confused.
He was also rock hard. It was clear he needed to find a hobby that didn’t involve flirting with women who would use him up and spit him out.
He didn’t need that mess.
Once he was able to focus, and his lower anatomy was in check, he grabbed his coffee and snuck into the back room.
Riley couldn’t be seen there. He was stopping in before work, so he needed to stay low key. His new partner was keeping tabs. As far as he knew, he had a dentist appointment.
Once in the room, both men began laughing and applauding him.
“She let you live, huh?” Chris asked. “You’re in serious trouble if Delilah Fleur is tracking you. I suggest you lie down, let her do her worst, and thank the Gods she’s picked you.”
He laughed.
Yeah, he was pretty much thinking the same thing.
“What’s her deal? I don’t know if I should say a prayer or take a cold shower. Why the hell doesn’t she harass you two?”
Greyson knew. “I think she likes you. The second she knew you were helping us…”
He stopped him. “You can’t spread that around.”
“Client confidentiality. She’s on our payroll. She is loyal to the Crofts and genuinely a good person.”
“Money does that.”
“Well, she’s loyal for a lot more reasons than money. We’ve been friends a long time. Delilah and I go way back,” Greyson offered.
Riley took a seat. “Did you sleep with her and escape with your life? You may be the only man. I just keep picturing her putting her fangs in a man and then ripping his head off at the point of orgasm.”
Chris laughed. “She is totally a praying mantis. All cops have that fantasy, and yet, we still want her to do it. She’s got a cauldron in that office of hers.”
Yeah, that sounded about right.
Greyson reassured them.
“No, I’ve never been in Delilah’s claws. I served with her brother in the military. He was a good guy, and so is Delilah. When I came to Vegas, I couldn’t afford her retainer, but now we can.”
“Is she on the up and up?”
He laughed. “With her job or how she wants to jump you?” he asked.
Riley was horrified.
He flushed.
“Again, do I run or take a shower?”
Chris laughed. “Shower. Something tells me she’d make you forget your name, son.”
Didn’t he know it?
Women like that were hard to come by. In Vegas, pretty was nothing. You could walk down the street and run into fifty gorgeous showgirls.
That just wasn’t his thing.
Riley didn’t do one-night stands with women he didn’t like or trust. Relationships should matter. Sex should matter.
“We need to get this show on the road. I have to be at the office soon.”
“Emma is on her way in. She’ll be here…”
He stopped midsentence.
When he turned his head, Greyson saw her. Immediately, he was up and out of his seat. Emma rushed him, and he caught her.
Greyson held his wife against his body.
He’d missed her.
All night, there’d been that empty feeling without her near. He’d gotten accustomed to his kitten sitting in his lap.
“I missed you,” he whispered.
Emma wanted to weep tears of joy. She was back against his body, and everything was right in the world. Emma took a moment to give him a kiss.
Riley laughed. “To have a woman do that when she sees me…”
Chris smiled. He got that with Natasha. At one point, he’d coveted their relationship, too, until he found his. Now he saw the beauty of it. Those two built this family, and they were the core.
It was lovely.
Emma broke the kiss and ran her fingers down the scar on his cheek. “I missed you, my rogue pirate. Later you can shiver me timbers all you like.”
He grinned.
That was pretty much the plan.
Dimitri was right behind Emma and moved around her to shake the detective’s hand. “How are you, Riley?”
“Busy. I did get the file you wanted,” he said, handing it to Greyson as soon as Emma was out of his arms.
“Perfect,” Croft offered.
Riley continued, “Gerald Darden was definitely murdered. We have camera footage from a local business showing that a white, older model car took him out. He was tossed through the air, and the brakes never went on. There were no skid marks. The person who hit him likely did it intentionally.”
Interesting.
“Any plate?”
“No tags on the car. It was found later, and it was stolen. We found blood in the trunk, but we can’t match it to anything. There’s nothing on file. So, we don’t know who was in that trunk.”
That was normal in Vegas.
Bright lights.
Gambling.
Dead bodies in trunks.
Emma had worked at least twenty cases just like that. If you wanted to move a body, you did it in a trunk.
Hell!
She’d been abducted and in one herself.
“Anything else?” she asked, making mental notes. “Do you have anything on possible perps?”
He shook his head. “It’s not my case, but I can ask around. I’m sure one of the detectives will give me something.”
They could use that.
“What are you working?” Riley asked. “Is it cop related?”
Greyson shook his head. “We have a missing underage girl. Her sister is looking for her, and we’re taking the case. Can you find out if there are any Jane Does who match her?” he asked.
“You think we might have her in the morgue in storage?” Riley asked.
Greyson thought about the poor kid he’d met in that strip club, and it broke his heart.
God!
He really hoped not.
“No, but before we go crazy, trying to find this girl, I want to make sure she’s not dead. Let’s face it. Hookers are the number one victims in this town, right after tourists.”
Wasn’t that the truth?
“I can call you later. Give me her stats.”
Dimitri could do something better. He pulled out his phone, and sent the man a picture. “Here she is.”
That worked for him.
“I’ll dig around for you,” Riley offered. “If anything turns up, you’ll hear from me.”
“Just watch your back,” Emma warned, touching his arm. “We’re being followed. You may want to go out through the back of the club,” she offered. “If it’s a cop, and they see you leaving here…”
She didn’t have to say anything else.
Riley would be royally screwed if anyone could tie him to the Crofts. He’d be tagged dirty, and that was the irony of it all.
They were likely the only ones who weren’t dirty in Vegas.
“Thank you for the heads up.”
“We were followed,” Dimitri began. “I didn’t see who it was, but I could feel him. We all have to be more careful,” he warned.
They trusted his gut.
“I have to go. My new partner keeps tabs on me,” he said. “Lester Lucas is an asshole—especially now since you guys sent his BFF to the slammer for stealing drugs from lockup. I hate when shit like that happens.”
Greyson gave him the heads up. “Delilah mentioned he’s out, so watch for him.”
Riley knew he was safe. They hadn’t figured out who had leaked the information to the cops. So far, he was in the clear, and that’s exactly how he wanted to keep it.
“Be safe, and I’ll be in contact,” he offered.
When Riley headed out, closing the door behind him, the team regrouped.
Immediately, Emma went back against her husband to cuddle against him.
“God! I missed you,” he said, nuzzling her with his cheek. She was warm, pregnant, and his.
She knew that feeling.
“I definitely missed being near you, handsome.”
“I’ll ignore that you smell like Dimitri’s cologne,” he said, sniffing her. “The confusion will end once I rub my scent all over you,” he teased, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Well, I did sleep with him. His bed smells like him.”
Chris began choking on his coffee. “What? How did I not get that exclusive invite? I didn’t know we were allowed to sleep with Emma too!”
She punched him.
“That sounded cheap, and you know better!”
“Can I please sleep with Emma?” he teased.
She pointed.
“I’m not feeling the love, and you’re hitting me. I think I may cry,” he said, teasing her. “I remember when I used to be your favorite.”
She laughed and gave him a hug. “You’re up there pretty high on my list.”
What she didn’t tell him was all this talk about being followed was freaking her out. The hug was mostly to make sure he was wearing body armor.
“Well, I’ve slept beside you too,” she offered. “Remember when you were recouping?”
He did.
It had mattered to him, and his heart.
“I only recall you making out with me. After that it all gets hazy,” he teased.
Greyson pointed at him.
“Geez! No one laughs anymore.”
Dimitri did. “Yeah, she slept over, she made me breakfast, and…”
Emma covered his mouth.
Chris growled. “Mine. Stop poaching my Emma.”
Greyson laughed. “Uh, no. MINE, and I shouldn’t have to remind you chuckle heads of that. My ring, my wife, my girl, my baby on board, and my girly bits.”
She stared at her husband.
“Seriously? You’re going to bring my girl parts up? I remember when I was the queen.”
He laughed.
Emma knew he was trying to keep it light. He kept looking over at Dimitri to make sure he was okay. He was a good man, and she loved him to death.
“Anyway,” Emma said, “where’s our client?”
She never got to be part of these meetings when they heard the story for the first time, so she was more than happy to see what Dimitri did.
Plus, she wanted to make sure he was really fine with taking this case. He still seemed rattled.
“Emma, do you want coffee?” Dimitri asked.
“Yes, please.”
He got up to get her and himself some. When he was gone, Chris was the first to speak.
“What gives?”
She wasn’t shocked he could feel it.
“He’s having a rough time taking this case. Greyson, we may have to bail on it. I’m not willing to let him hurt.”
“Nightmares?” he asked.
She nodded. “Really bad ones. I’m worried about him. He’s hurting.”
Greyson weighed his options.
At that moment, Dimitri came back in, and he placed the coffees down. They all stopped talking, and that told him everything he needed to know.
“For the record, this place is wired. I can go back and listen to you on my phone,” he offered, patting his pocket. “Do I need to?”
Greyson had to trust his wife on this.
“We were discussing if we should really take this case. Emma mentioned you were concerned.”
“I am.”
“Then we drop it.”
He stared at Emma. She’d helped him work through a lot, and he had to put his faith in his family. If this went wrong, they would catch him.
“I think we should take it.”
“Marissa…”
He stopped Greyson. “I’m not doing it for her. I’m doing it for that seventeen-year-old girl we saw in the strip joint. I’m doing it so she knows that not all men are sick and want to rape a child. I’m not doing it for Marissa. I’m doing it so we can find Julie and send her home.”
Emma said nothing.
“Last night was hard for me, and I’m sure Emma will tell you later.”
“I won’t,” she promised, looking up at him.
“I need to trust my family now. I’m going to try and be the man I should have been.”
Chris stared at him. “If it’s any consolation, Dimitri, I like the man you are. You raised two girls who are amazing, and I’m grateful to you.”
His heart felt a little lighter.
“Thank you for that, Captain. I can do this, but I need my family. I may need someone to tell me it’s going to be okay.”
Emma stood.
“Do you need a hug?”
He smiled. “Yes, please. Give me a hug.”
She did.
Both men stared. Something huge had happened if Dimitri Gideon, hired killer was taking hugs and asking for them. He didn’t look uncomfortable.
Emma held him.
When he let her go, she smiled. “See?”
Yes, he did.
“Let’s get ready to begin,” he offered.
When Dimitri sat, Emma planted herself right beside him. Chris actually lifted a brow, and Greyson gave him a kick to the leg beneath the table.
That was his signal.
No one was busting Dimitri’s ass. This time, Croft was forbidding it. Greyson had to give his wife some leeway. She was trying to help the man.
“Since we have time,” Greyson began. “We had company.”
That had her attention.
“What do you mean?”
Greyson told her about their meeting with the Captain right outside the door of ‘Aquarius’.
She whistled.
“He’s getting ballsy,” Emma said. “He has a death wish to come at you here.”
Yeah, if she only knew how ballsy he was all those years ago, she’d lose it.
“I really don’t like him,” she stated. “He’s a piss poor example of what Chris had to do for his job. That whole place has gone to hell in a handbasket since he left. There’s no integrity there anymore.”
They didn’t disagree, and she didn’t know the half of it. When she did, they’d have a bigger mess to handle.
There was a knock to the door before Marie peeked her head into Dimitri’s private room.
“Sir, Marissa is here.”
“Bring her in.”
The woman smiled and ducked back out to get the woman. Even though she’d worked there, Dimitri had made sure she wasn’t wandering around without supervision.
He’d been burned once.
“How’s she working out?” Emma asked of the newest employee.
“Not as well as Marissa, but she was a fluke. I’ve begun to realize that she’s not going to be easy to replace. I need someone confident at the front door, and to handle the men who get a little too drunk.”
“Why don’t you hire her back? It would make our lives easier if she wasn’t under foot. You never know what we’ll find out,” Greyson offered.
“I can watch her,” Emma offered. She knew what he was struggling with, and his attraction to the woman was making it hard for him.
Emma didn’t want him to suffer.
He’d lived through enough.
“I can take one for the team,” Emma said, giving her husband a look.
Dimitri weighed the options, and knew what she was trying to do. He patted her hand on the table. He was going to take her advice and seek affection when he needed it—especially with her. She made him feel safe, and like he wouldn’t be rebuked.
That helped.
“Thank you, Emma, but I think hiring her back would be for the best. If she’s interested. I don’t want her investigating. Let’s all recall what happened last night,” he said, pointing at his shoulder.
How could they forget?
Besides, that gave Dimitri an out. He would avoid ‘Aquarius’ like the plague until they finished this case. Then, she’d be gone.
He didn’t want her there.
Liars were not welcome in his life.
“I won’t risk my family, and it’s dangerous out there right now,” Dimitri offered. “I’d prefer if you weren’t playing babysitter to a wild card.”
They got that.
“I have to ask,” Chris said. “You let someone sneak up on you?” he inquired.
Dimitri braced for it.
“Yes.”
“It had to be witchcraft,” he said, cutting the man a break. “We all know how impossible that is.”
Dimitri relaxed.
His family was protecting him. He could feel it, and he let them. He was raw inside, and it was only going to get worse.
As the woman was escorted into the back room, she took a seat beside Chris in an empty chair.
Now Greyson and Chris figured out why Emma sat beside him. She was hovering and in protection mode.
They waited for Marie to pour a coffee for their guest, and to refresh everyone else’s cup.
The door had barely closed when Marissa was already speaking.
“I’m sorry about last night, Mr. Gideon. What I did to you was inexcusable, and I have to make up for it. Just tell me what it is, and I’ll do it.”
He shrugged in his normal way.
“Don’t worry about it. It’s fine, Miss Pierce. I don’t hold a grudge. Today, we’ll hit up your sister’s last known address and begin working this case.”
NO ONE at that table believed that. Dimitri Gideon could hold a wicked grudge if he was provoked.
“It’s not fine. I snuck up behind you and stabbed you. I could have killed you.”
No one spoke.
They knew what he was thinking.
A flush of red was creeping up Dimitri’s neck. It was visible over his starched, shirt collar.
That was bad.
He was worked up.
This was either going to blow up all over Marissa Pierce, or them. Chris hoped it wasn’t the latter.
“Again, I’m over it. Emma patched me back up, and it’s forgotten,” he said, leaning over to kiss Emma on the cheek. “I’m good.”
Emma took his hand in hers.
Greyson watched it.
There was something there. Dimitri was trying too hard not to look at the woman, and Emma was mothering him.
Croft really hoped Dimitri would hold it together.
“I feel so helpless. What can I do?” Marissa asked, “I want to help,” she admitted, addressing it to Greyson since Dimitri wouldn’t even look at her.
“We’ll take care of everything,” Greyson stated.
Dimitri chimed in, sipping his coffee. No one missed that there was this veneer covering him. It was ambivalence, irritation, and hostility.
None of which he ever let anyone see.
He was rattled.
When he disliked someone, they were none the wiser. Now he was cracking under the strain.
“If you’d like your job back, while you’re here, it’s yours,” he stated.
She stared at him. “Why would you do that?”
“You were good at your job. Don’t read into it. There’s no allegiance between us,” he said, glancing over at her with his aqua eyes. “You need to do something while we work at finding your sister. That’s all.”
She stared at him. “I thought I could help you find Julie. I knew her best.”
Dimitri squeezed Emma’s hand under the table, as he battled for composure against this woman. The betrayal had offended him. Her lies had irritated him.
Emma knew she had to help him.
Dimitri let few people in, and for some reason, he’d let this woman get under his skin.
This was going to be…bad.
Emma took over. “Well, had you not tried to kill one of us, and then hit Greyson, this might be different. You can work here, and we will update you.”
“But I know…”
Emma protected her family. While Greyson headed the ‘family’ these people were hers, and she’d be hellbent if she let this woman do any more damage.
When Dimitri was worked up, it was a bad thing.
“NO. I think I made that crystal clear,” Emma said. “You will NOT be helping us. Your behavior was unacceptable. If it were up to me, we wouldn’t be taking this case. Unfortunately, it wasn’t my decision. I don’t like people who use violence as a way to express their frustration. It’s so very childlike.”
Marissa got it.
She’d pissed one Croft off, and a Gideon. She was batting a thousand today.
She didn’t miss the way Emma was leaning against Dimitri. It was her signal the man was off limits. If she could just get him alone to talk to him.
She’d apologize again and again.
“If you say so,” Marissa offered.
Greyson stopped her from continuing. “Those are your choices. This is what we do, and we don’t need help. We have a whole team of people who can do this.”
She got it.
She’d fucked up.
“Okay. I’ll take the job back. I’ll give you everything I have so far.”
They waited.
She pulled out her notes.
They’d been wrong. She was likely qualified to help them. Only, she wasn’t part of their team.
What she did was too inexcusable for Emma.
“Talk us through it,” Emma offered.
“The last place I could trace Julie was to that madam. Stephanie said she didn’t stay long. She suspected that Julie took a side gig with someone else, maybe her new pimp.”
Greyson needed to know. “What do we know about the validity of that madam?” he asked.
Chris pulled out a tablet. “Do we have her name?”
“I can vouch for her. I’ve dealt with Stephanie for a long time as Mr. Ivanov. She began as a street level hooker, and she’s moved up in the world.”
No one challenged him.
If Dimitri was vouching for her, they could trust him.
Then again, he’d once vouched for Marissa.
Emma covered for him.
“That’s likely what happened. She was sent in to do a customer, likely a pimp on the stroll for new girls, and she was recruited or hustled by the man who brought her into the life,” Emma stated.
Greyson agreed.
He’d worked enough sex trafficking cases in the FBI to know that the scumbags moved silently after the women. They sent out feelers and reeled in the weak ones—the ones no one would miss.
Sadly, it was common.
Emma had another question. “What do we know about Anthony Delmarco?”
Marissa was silent. “Oh, you’re asking me. I figured you didn’t need me. You know… since I’m not working this.”
Normally, Marissa wouldn’t be as nasty, but it rubbed her the wrong way how Dimitri was sitting so close and refused to look at her.
Why?
She didn’t know.
Marissa was well aware that Emma and Greyson were a tight couple, but Vegas talked, and that bugged her.
At her tone, Emma stood up. “I’ll walk my ass right out of here. Guess who will follow me. The answer is NOT you. Maybe you should lose the attitude, ‘Miss I Stabbed Someone’.”
Marissa got it.
She answered Emma’s question.
“Apparently, she hooked up with him online. He told her she was pretty and wanted her to be his girlfriend. She met him at a bus station, and they were gone from the East Coast. The foster family gave me that information, but that’s all they could tell me.”
Again, that was typical.
Predators found these girls who wanted a way out, and they gave them one.
Yeah, right into their worst nightmare.
They thought they’d found love, acceptance, and someone to take care of them, and instead, they were passed off into a worse situation.
“We saw her at that club, and she already had her pimp. I’m going to guess that was post madam,” Emma stated.
The men agreed.
“So we have to head there and try to figure out who killed him, or who she was passed off to before he died. We know the pattern was Delmarco, Stephanie, the madam, and then Gerald Darden the pimp.”
Greyson scribbled the name of the club and the man’s name down for Emma.
“I get the strip club?” she asked, almost a little too excited about it.
“Yeah, you and Chris are welcome to have it. I took the last three clubs, and remember what the papers said? I was the worst cheating husband on the planet. I think I’ll pass on that again. The rumors of my infidelity have just slowed down.”
She laughed. “Yeah, but I got the prettiest gifts after that. I was very amused.”
Chris rubbed his hands together. “This is my prettiest gift. I’m going to a strip club with Emma.”
Greyson pointed at him. “Stop smiling or else.”
“Let me kill him,” Dimitri offered. “I need something fun in my life.”
“Hey! You got to sleep with her! It’s my turn for some fun.”
Emma snorted.
Marissa’s eyes were huge.
She could only imagine what the woman was thinking. Well, she’d stabbed Dimitri.
Let her wonder.
“I can see I’ll be in good hands,” she teased. “I didn’t know Chris was this fond of strip clubs.”
“I’ll be sure to mention that to Natasha,” Dimitri offered, smiling ferally at the man.
It was his ‘bring it’ smile, and no one doubted he’d really screw with the man.
Chris laughed. “I’m not shocked that you’re getting all territorial. Needless to say, I’ll keep Emma safe from all the strippers.”
Greyson hoped so. “Don’t enjoy this too much, kitten. You know I’m going to want all the details.”
Oh, she could only hope.
That was his code for raunchy stripper sex.
Count her in.
Emma finished her coffee. “We should get going. You know I love a strip club first thing in the morning. All that booze and stale sex smell.”
“Like Dimitri’s condo?” Chris asked, busting the man’s ass. He could tell he was struggling.
The man laughed. “Good one, Chris. Only, you have it mixed up. I have a maid. You have a recycling can and all that porn.”
Chris patted him on the back. “Asshole.”
“Redneck.”
They loved busting each other. This was their normal banter, but that morning, it felt more important.
It was like reassurance to their friend that they had his back no matter what.
Chris was really piling it on, and they knew why. He was a smart man, and he clearly saw Emma catering to Dimitri. He was wounded, and he didn’t think it was only physical.
“Then let’s get this done and meet back at the house. I want to do some research later,” Greyson said, kissing his wife on the mouth. “Be safe and keep my precious cargo safe.”
She knew what he was talking about.
They headed out, and ‘Aquarius’, actually had customers drinking alcohol before nine in the morning.
Only in Vegas.
As Dimitri went to move around a table, a man got up and bumped into him.
“Pardon me,” Dimitri said, glancing over at him. “I didn’t see you. I apologize.”
The man smiled and waved the incident away.
Then he watched him leave. As he did, that evil look appeared in his aqua eyes.
“I know you didn’t see me. That’s the point. Oh, brother, you are a fool,” he said, dropping money onto the table. Then he headed out.
To follow them.
* * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *
Sky Villa
Across Town
Paris was getting ready to head off to work for the day. He had a few consults at the hospital, and one at a local private clinic. Only, he wasn’t thinking about that. He was focused on his marriage.
He and Tessa weren’t doing well.
She was despondent.
And he knew why.
She couldn’t have a baby. He knew he had one shot left. If that didn’t work, he could see his marriage falling apart within weeks. He was losing her, and Paris was afraid.
While she stuck with him as he recovered, she was tougher then. This had broken her.
He really thought she’d leave him.
Paris was smart enough to know that if she did, that would be his breaking point.
“What are you doing today?” he asked, trying to a have pleasant conversation with his wife. He’d plastered on a fake smile, and was doing the dance.
It was total BS.
He was feeling it too.
“I thought I’d read, do some laundry, run to the grocery store, and then vacuum. Same old.”
He knew she was miserable about not working, not being pregnant, and his inadequacies.
“Why don’t you head to Terrace…?”
She cut him off. “No thank you. Kat is there, and that makes me moody. Here is better—where I can be alone.”
He rolled over to her in his wheelchair.
“Tessa.”
“I don’t want to talk about it. We can’t have babies, I’m not going to be a mother, and I’m not a Fed anymore either. Life is what it is.”
“You can go back to work.”
She stared at him. “Gee, I’m sure the new head of the FBI would jump at that chance.”
Paris tried to keep smiling.
Okay, work was clearly a bad topic.
He’d go with option two.
“There are a few ways to have a child, Tessa. We can adopt, or we can get a sperm donor. We can try again and again. I’m the issue, not you.”
She closed her eyes.
“Tessie, don’t shut me out. Say what you’re thinking.”
She stared at him, eyes full of tears. “I don’t want to pick my child’s baby daddy out of a book. That’s…gross. How do I explain that to him or her as they are older? Oh, I liked the bio at the sperm bank and thought he’d be a good choice?”
He got it.
This was on him.
Maybe, if they hadn’t waited so long, some of his sperm would have been viable.
Only, he couldn’t go back and undo the past. He couldn’t save his legs and Tessa, and he couldn’t save his sperm.
Paris was frustrated.
Still, he tried to stay calm.
“Tessa, I’m sorry I can’t give you a baby. Don’t give up on me.”
She touched his cheek. “I don’t plan on it. I’m in a funk. Once I’m out of it, I’ll be okay.”
He didn’t believe her.
The happiness was gone out of her eyes.
Paris was struggling with his secret. He didn’t like keeping things from his wife, but he didn’t know if he should tell her.
“What if I could find you the perfect donor, and it was family?”
“We don’t have siblings. There is no family.”
She looked like she was about to cry, and Paris knew he had to do something.
Anything.
“I went to Greyson and asked him to be a donor.”
She stared at him. “Behind my back? Do you think that was a good choice?”
And this was why he wasn’t going to tell her, but he had to. It was about saving Tessa now. They’d moved past the baby issue, and they were trapped in the reality of having to save their marriage.
“I was just putting out feelers to see if he would be okay with it or not.”
She tried to have hope, but she was beginning to think there was nothing left. Everything else had failed.
Why not this too?
She was braced for it.
“What did he say?”
“That he was okay with it, and he’d talk to Emma about the possibility.”
And there it was.
What woman would let her husband donate sperm to a friend, especially if she was trying to have a baby?
This would be dead in the water, too, much like everything else.
Tessa gave up.
“I see.”
“Would that be acceptable? I know you said you didn’t want a baby daddy out of a book, but what if it was a man I consider my brother? Our child would grow up knowing him, and it wouldn’t be ‘gross’, as you put it.”
She shrugged. “Does it matter? Nothing is working out like it should. I give up.”
And that was his fear.
And his breaking point.
Paris was a patient man, but he’d had about enough. It was like fighting an uphill battle, and he didn’t want to do it anymore. He was exhausted from worrying about losing his wife.
She was already gone.
Tessa checked out on him, and he was fighting this alone. So, he was done.
He slammed his hands down on the arms of his wheelchair. “I’m trying, damn it! Can’t you cut me a break? I already have to live with the knowledge that you are falling out of love with me because I can’t give you a child. I get it, Tessa! I’m a failure. It’s all on me!”
She was shocked at his explosion and that he was taking this out on himself. She wasn’t blaming him. She was venting.
“Paris.”
“Forget it. I’m so over all of this. I’ve done everything I can to make you happy. I’ve catered to your funk, excused your bitchiness, and let go all the times in the last few weeks where you’ve stripped away what is left of my masculinity. I’m trying, and it took every ounce of courage to approach Greyson to beg for help. FOR YOU! I can see me swallowing my ego wasn’t enough. I’m not enough. So, I’m done. I’m going to head to work. I have crazy people to talk to today. Maybe they won’t make me feel like a eunuch and worthless.”
He rolled away.
“Paris, come back,” she called.
“Fuck you, Tessa. I’m done too.”
He never spoke to her like that. She’d really hurt him, and she didn’t mean to. She was feeling so lost.
She heard their door slam.
Tessa began crying.
She’d screwed up.
She’d hurt Paris, and that wasn’t what she wanted to do. This was a mess.
She needed someone.
And Tessa knew who.
She needed to call in the big man for help.