Paid Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 3) Page 14

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.

  Chapter Six

  Dimitri’s Vehicle

  H e hadn’t been expecting the call. When Greyson saw the number, and recognized it, he was surprised to hear from her. Tessa had been MIA the last couple of weeks, after they’d finished their last case, and he didn’t know what she could possibly be calling about.

  It was a mystery.

  “Hey, Tessa, what’s up?” he asked, answering the phone call.

  He listened, and Dimitri could hear the crying from the phone. Something wasn’t right.

  “Honey, calm down. What’s wrong? Is Paris okay?” Croft asked, trying to understand the woman.

  He listened more.

  “Okay, I’ll be right there. Just breathe and stop panicking. It’s going to be okay. I’m not busy. I have time to see you this morning. I’ll be there in five minutes.”

  He hung up.

  “Is she okay?” Dimitri asked in concern.

  “No, so we have to head to Sky Villa first. Then we’ll hit up Julie’s apartment. Can you entertain Miss Pierce while I handle Tessa?” he asked.

  “Is it about…?”

  “Yeah,” he answered, cutting him off so the woman in the back seat wouldn’t get any information. Greyson didn’t trust anyone not in the family. “She and Paris had a fight about that right before work.”

  “I’ll entertain her.”

  Marissa sat in the back seat, saying nothing. She was too busy trying to find a way to get back in to Dimitri’s good graces. She was worried that he’d hate her.

  “I’ll solve this, and we’ll get back to the case.”

  “I’ll take Miss Pierce to my place and when you’re done, meet us there.”

  “Thank you,” Greyson said, patting him on the arm. “I don’t want any of us outside unattended, if possible.”

  He got it.

  Dimitri still had that sick feeling that they were being followed, but he couldn’t spot a cop. They were so damn easy to see, driving in their obvious police issued street vehicles.

  This time, he only felt the eyes.

  It was rattling him.

  Or maybe that was because of the woman behind him. He didn’t trust her, and his back was to her. She’d already tried to stab him once.

  “Thanks.”

  They pulled up to Sky Villa and parked in the underground lot. Dimitri rolled down his window at the check-in point.

  “Mr. Gideon, welcome home. You should come home more often,” said the security guard. “Then we won’t be shocked when you’re here two days in a row.”

  “I know, but I’ve been staying at Greyson’s home.”

  “Our home,” Croft corrected.

  Marissa listened, and tried to figure out what the hell was going on.

  Were they having some sex orgy?

  Was this a threesome?

  She was confused.

  “We’ll see you inside. Please have your guest check-in before you bring her upstairs.”

  He pulled through, and parked in his spot. They all got out, and headed to the elevators.

  Marissa rode up in silence, between the men.

  This was some place.

  Dimitri was definitely loaded. She wasn’t surprised. When you had his life of crime, death, and mayhem, you would be.

  At the desk, Greyson warmly greeted the guards. He genuinely liked them when they lived there.

  “Mrs. Archer is waiting for you,” Tom said. “You can head up, Mr. Croft.”

  “Thank you,” he said, and then focused on his friend. “I’ll clear this up as fast as I can,” Greyson stated, patting Dimitri on the
shoulder.

  “Miss Pierce,” Dimitri stated. “She’s a one-time visitor.”

  “You don’t want her on the list for access?” Tom asked, taking her picture to add to the database.

  “Absolutely not. Just the family. You should pat her down if she comes here. She’s been known to carry weapons.”

  She bristled. “Well, a girl makes one mistake...”

  “Stab a person, and they don’t have to like you,” he mumbled beneath his breath.

  She rolled her eyes.

  “You’re clear,” Tom stated. “Just touch here,” he said, holding out a tablet.

  She did.

  “Prints match,” Tom said.

  “What? You just swiped my prints?” Marissa said, in outrage. “That can’t be right! I know that’s not legal!”

  “You can sit your ass down here,” Dimitri offered. “If you’re coming into my home, these are the rules. Sky Villa has a tough security policy for a reason. People who live here don’t want to be shanked in the elevator.”

  She said nothing.

  He was being an asshole, but she would take it. After all, she had stabbed him, but her patience was wearing thin.

  Dimitri headed toward the elevator. Once inside, he hit the number fourteen.

  “There’s actually a thirteenth floor,” she said, noticing the button.

  “Yes, Tessa and Paris Archer live on that floor. My one sister has a place on eleven.”

  He didn’t know why he told her that.

  When he was around Marissa, he wanted to do stupid things, even though she stabbed him.

  She was wearing a simple skirt and shirt, and he kept checking out her legs.

  He was an idiot.

  Clearly.

  “Are you going to be miserable toward me all day?” she asked.

  He glanced over. “Yes.”

  “Good to know.”

  Dimitri had no choice. He was fighting that attraction. He wanted to touch her, and run his fingers through all that chestnut hair.

  He knew one thing.

  It was going to be a long ass day.

  * * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *

  At Tessa’s door, he knocked.

  When she opened, she was red-eyed and crying up a huge storm. Immediately, she went into his arms, and he hugged her.