Paid Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 3) Read online

  Chapter Nine

  Julie Pierce’s

  Apartment

  Sunday

  Afternoon

  A fter all the distractions, they were finally at Julie’s apartment. Inside the building, she used a key to get in. Both men stared at her. Greyson gave Dimitri the look, so he handled it.

  “Uh, where did you get the key?”

  “When I found out it was her apartment, I talked the landlord into letting me stay here since Julie was missing. He needed the rent, and I needed a place to lay low.”

  “And he just said yes?” Dimitri asked.

  “I can be very convincing,” she said, inviting them into the tiny cramped space.

  “Well, this is it.”

  Both men walked in and looked around.

  The place was pretty much what they expected. In fact, they didn’t doubt that the whole building was pretty much the same. This neighborhood was definitely the place someone who was hooking would call home.

  They could hear the moaning through the walls.

  “Ambiance,” she said, knowing what they were thinking. A part of her wasn’t happy that the two men were there. Marissa felt like they were judging her sister.

  They didn’t get it.

  Julie had a rough life, and so did she. It was better to live in a dive than on the street.

  Dimitri didn’t want to break the news to Marissa, but the place reeked of drugs. Someone had been smoking heroin in there. He’d bet money on it.

  Then again, the whole damn place might be doing it for all he knew.

  Still, his gut told him there was definitely something there. They just had to find it.

  Greyson gave him a look. “El Diablo?” he asked, also picking up the scent.

  Dimitri was pretty sure that was it. He could detect the heroin, cocaine, and marijuana smell lingering in the fabrics.”

  “What’s El Diablo?” Marissa asked.

  They didn’t answer her.

  It looked like Julie was not only into prostitution and possibly a sex slave, but she was doing some big-time drugs.

  “Search,” Croft said.

  Dimitri figured as much. Out of his pocket, he pulled a pair of black leather gloves.

  “Uh, are you afraid to leave prints?” Marissa asked.

  “No, I don’t want to be poked by a needle and get HIV,” he answered.

  She stared at him. “What? A needle?”

  “We can smell drugs.”

  She laughed. “My sister wouldn’t be doing drugs. I have been staying here, and I haven’t found anything that says she was.”

  They figured as much.

  Greyson nodded at Dimitri. They now had to look in the places a person wouldn’t look. This was normal for them.

  Dimitri flipped the couch.

  “Hey!” she objected.

  “I’ll put it back,” he said, seeing a cut in the fabric. Pulling a small flashlight out of his pocket, he pointed it in the hole.

  Pay dirt.

  He found something.

  “We were right,” Dimitri stated as he carefully pulled out the packets.

  Greyson took them and stared at them. “El Diablo.”

  Marissa was getting pissed. “What is that?”

  Dimitri explained. “In Vegas, one drug isn’t enough. People are so addicted to heroin, that they become immune to the effects, so they have to up the game.”

  Greyson dumped them into the sink. “Yeah, so they make cocktails of other drugs.”

  “Like?” she asked.

  “Heroin, cocaine, and marijuana,” Dimitri offered. “Or you can call it El Diablo. Once you start that, you’re done. There’s a short period before you turn up dead.”

  She gasped. “No! My sister wouldn’t…”

  He pulled a used needle from behind some books on the shelf.

  “They hide needles with some of the drug still in it in case they need a fast hit. Your sister was using, Marissa.”

  She was horrified.

  “Oh, Julie, what have you done?” Marissa asked, staring at the needle in his hand.

  “Grey, be careful. We don’t need to get stuck. I’d like to live a long time,” Dimitri stated.

  Marissa got offended. “I’ll search then if you’re afraid to do it.”

  He stared at her. “Your sister was a hooker, and she was using drugs. Who do you think gets HIV? Librarians from books? I’m sorry if that bothers you, but we’re a little late to be living in fantasy land. She was doing shitty things. We protect ourselves.”

  “Well, we couldn’t all have pristine lives.”

  He snapped.

  Dimitri moved toward her and grabbed her by the arms. “You know nothing about my life. All I’ll say is it made this look like a carnival. I didn’t have a choice. Your sister did. So stop being insulted by fact.”

  Greyson touched his arm. “Hey, it’s okay. You take the bathroom. I have this room.”

  Dimitri dropped her arms like they were coals.

  “Good idea.”

  He left and slammed the door.

  Marissa angrily stared at the bathroom door.

  “He’s not the enemy. You should remember that. He’s going out on a limb here as we try to find your sister.”

  “I appreciate it. He’s just so…”

  “Stubborn? Listen, he’s Russian. It goes with the territory. You two need to be apart.”

  Contrary to what he thought, she wanted to be close to him. When she kissed him…

  Yeah, she had it bad.

  And that pissed her off.

  “Back off, okay?” Greyson asked.

  She fought her irritation over the entire situation. This was getting them nowhere.

  “I didn’t find anything,” Dimitri said, heading out of the bathroom. “It’s all the normal girl things. You know, like makeup and lotion.”

  He glanced over at Marissa.

  “Before you bitch at me, I’m not saying she was sneaking around and frequenting drug stores because she had a makeup habit too.”

  She rolled her eyes.

  Greyson knew they were going to explode all over the place. Apparently, the kissing earlier didn’t make him less edgy.

  That was going to complicate things later.

  “I don’t see anything here that indicates she was forcibly taken from here,” Greyson offered.

  “I can ask the neighbors,” Dimitri offered.

  They might be taking that route.

  “Yeah, birds of a feather,” he said. “They are likely hookers. That might work.”

  Marissa stared at Greyson. “How did you know they were all prostitutes?”

  “They flock together for a reason. If the cops come, they are alerted, and more will get away than caught. They mix in with regular citizenry.”

  “I already talked to them,” she said.

  “And?”

  “That’s where I got most of my information. I told you about the madam, and that’s why I headed there. If anyone here was working for the pimp, they didn’t bring it up. I heard madam, and started working that angle.”

  Dimitri lifted a brow. “Did you now?”

  “Yeah, I did. I’m a proactive kind of girl. I can’t sit around and judge people.”

  Greyson saw the look on his face, and he stood between them. This woman was pushing Dimitri’s buttons, and she was walking a dangerous line. At some point, he’d snap.

  Again.

  Greyson had to get him out of there. “We should head out. We have a case to work and from here on out, until we get more, it’s a paper trail.”

  She didn’t like that.

  He didn’t care.

  “Marissa, try and stay out of trouble,” Croft suggested.

  “I can help out…”

  He cut her off.

  “We’ve poked a lot of hives today between Emma at the strip club, and us coming here. Don’t ask questions. Just stay in and use your head. Women are disappearing, and that’s not good for anyone with ovari
es.”

  She didn’t say anything.

  Greyson didn’t do drama. His wife was pretty grounded, so he was leaving any further commentary to Dimitri. He’d worked with her, and hopefully, he could handle her.

  Greyson left.

  Dimitri didn’t hesitate. “He’s right. Stay in, be smart, and maybe look around in here for a clue. We found drugs in two minutes.”

  “I looked.”

  “Again, we found drugs in two minutes. Maybe you should look again.”

  She crossed her arms.

  As he approached the door, he stopped.

  “Be at Aquarius tomorrow morning. You’re back on hostessing duties.”

  “You’re pissed again.”

  “You have that effect on me. I have to go. I need to get back to the house. Emma and Greyson need me.”

  She got it.

  He had family.

  “If you need me,” he said, scribbling his number on a card, “You can reach me on my private line.”

  “Are you sure there’s not something between you and Emma?” she asked. “You’re really close.”

  He lifted a brow. “I’m pretty sure I’d know if there was something going on. I don’t sleep walk. Why?”

  “Just an observation.”

  He didn’t get where she was taking that. Dimitri didn’t see what his relationship with Emma had to do with anything. She was simply someone he loved.

  She was family.

  Marissa figured she should offer up the olive branch. They were working this case, and she didn’t have to pay them. It was time to use some charm.

  “Thank you for today. Even if I made you mad.”

  He sighed.

  Dimitri didn’t want to be frustrated with her, but he was. He also didn’t want to be angry, but she pissed him off and made him incredibly horny at the same time.

  He was irritated with his lack of control.

  “I’ll be there tomorrow for work,” she said, following him to the door.

  When he turned around, she practically walked into him, and Dimitri didn’t think it was accidental.

  She stared up at him as he caught her.

  His eyes dilated at the contact.

  Dimitri tried not to let it affect him. It was so damn hard since he was thinking about what happened earlier. There was no woman who turned him on, pissed him off, and made him insane quite like her.

  There was a spark there, and he didn’t doubt it would lead to a nuclear explosion.

  Marissa took a chance and touched his cheek. “Thank you for everything. I don’t mean to be a bitch. I’m worried about Julie, and it’s consuming me. You have to understand that.”

  Oh, he got it. She was leaning against him, and her mouth was inches from his. Earlier, she’d kissed him first, so he wanted to show her what lived in him.

  Marissa needed to see the darker side of him, if she was going to play these games.

  So, he took her mouth.

  It was heated, wild, and filled with driving need. He left nothing to the imagination as he nearly lit them a flame with lust.

  This was who he was.

  Marissa fell into the kiss, and she held on for the ride. It was like nothing she’d ever felt before. The man was intense, and she wondered what it would be like to get beneath that veneer.

  He was so careful.

  Protected.

  Guarded.

  She was curious. It made her want to pick his defenses apart to see the man beneath. She was no stranger to sex, and this man made her want to roll around and have fun.

  It had been a while since she’d actually enjoyed that kind of intimacy.

  When he was finished, he set her free.

  “Listen to what we say. We’ll see you tomorrow,” he said, fighting the need to throw her down and take her. It wasn’t easy, but somehow, Dimitri found control.

  It helped that Greyson was outside.

  Alone.

  He wanted to protect his family.

  “Stay.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t.”

  What he wanted to say was he wasn’t ready. She twisted him up inside, going from angry to gentle, sweet to vicious, in a heartbeat. He couldn’t pinpoint her moods, and that made it increasingly hard for him to be careful. He didn’t know which personality was the real one.

  He was worried.

  “See you tomorrow.”

  Then he escaped.

  When he was gone, Marissa locked the door and leaned against it. He was a tough nut to crack, but now she wanted to do it even more.

  Dimitri Gideon was a mystery, and she was going to figure him out.

  No matter what.

  * * * G r e y s o n C r o f t * * *

  Across Town

  Delilah Fleur’s

  Office

  He knew he was screwed seven ways to Sunday, so he didn’t call her. Instead, Riley rushed into the woman’s office, and was stopped by some male secretary who didn’t plan to let him anywhere near Delilah.

  It pissed him off—not that he was doing his job, but that he looked like a model.

  Of course he did.

  “I need to see Miss Fleur, and I need to see her right now,” he said, getting impatient. Soon, he was going to flash his badge and do something drastic.

  “She’s in with a client, and you can’t just come in here and demand to see her!”

  He pulled his jacket back, and his gold badge and gun did nothing to persuade him.

  “Do you have an appointment?” he asked. “If not, I can make one…”

  “Which room?” he asked, pointing at the three doors in the plush office.

  “Sir.”

  “I’m going to kick them in and find her anyway, so you either point or I punch you in the face, too, and you’re going to be hideous.”

  That seemed to work.

  He was appalled, but he pointed at the one door.

  Riley stormed toward it, and he didn’t even pause to knock. As soon as it was open, Delilah stood in shock.

  “What are you doing, Detective?”

  “I need to see you ASAP!”

  She defiantly stood there and pointed at the man sitting in the chair. He was wearing a pricey suit, and there was no doubt that he was going to be paying her a shitload of cash to defend him.

  Well, he was out of luck.

  “Delilah! Now!” he stated.

  This wasn’t going the way he planned. Riley didn’t know how much time they had. He kept thinking about how the captain and commissioner were laying out the man’s alibi for later.

  They were going to kill her.

  “I’m busy, Detective, and I don’t really appreciate you coming in here like this. I have a meeting with a client!”

  “Well, say goodbye to him, and grab your things. We have to go!”

  “Are you insane? I’m not going anywhere! I have to work! I have back to back meetings! Get out, Detective, or you’re going to need a lawyer.”

  Well, that was it.

  It was going to take some desperate measures to handle this, and Riley had to get it done. He moved toward her, and she stepped back.

  “Delilah, I’ll explain. Trust me!”

  She tried to get away from him, even trying to run around the desk, but he grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her out into the entryway of her office.

  “We need to talk!”

  She pulled, trying to get away from him. Yeah, she’d flirted earlier, but this wasn’t what she was expecting. The man was clearly insane.

  “Let go of me!” she said, trying to get away.

  Her secretary headed toward her. Riley growled at the secretary, and the man hustled out of reach.

  “What the fuck are you doing?” she hissed. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “You have to leave with me now. I have to get you somewhere safe.”

  She stared at him like he was insane.

  “Uh, no. That’s called kidnapping, and I’m not going anywhere with you!”

>   “Delilah, you have to come with me. I’m going to get you somewhere safe.”

  “If this is some kinky pick-up attempt, I liked you better before you went all crazy,” she said, pulling away from him.

  She tried to get away from him, but she was in four inch heels, and he was bigger than her.

  He blocked her way.

  “If you don’t move, I’ll kick your ass and own your badge. You’re making a spectacle in my office, and I need to work here. My partner will flip his shit if he sees this.”

  Riley didn’t give a damn. This was about saving her, and if she’d just listen…

  “Delilah, I’m being serious. You have to come with me! I’m not kidding! You’re in danger!”

  “Yeah, from you, Detective Crazy!”

  She tried to get past him, and he blocked her. She shoved him, and he stood his ground. The secretary stared at him.

  “Should I call the police, Miss Fleur?” he asked from his safe spot behind the lobby desk.

  “He held up his badge. “I am the freaking police! Now, Delilah!”

  “Move or I’ll hurt you, Detective!”

  “We’re leaving,” he said, moving toward her. “I’ll get you to my place, and we’ll…”

  Yeah, that wasn’t happening.

  He grabbed her arm again, and she pulled back her arm and slapped him across the face.

  Her administrative assistant gasped.

  “What the hell?” Riley stated. “You just hit a cop!”

  “And I’m going to kick you in the balls next,” she said, trying for it.

  Well, this had escalated. The problem with the woman was she was too damn stubborn.

  He had a solution.

  Riley pulled out his cuffs, spun Delilah around, and had the perfect excuse to get her out of there.

  “You’re under arrest for assault on a police officer!”

  She couldn’t believe that.

  “You are insane! You come into my office, disrupt my meeting, you provoke me into hitting you, and then you arrest me? This won’t stand up in court! I’m going to own your badge!”

  As he tried to walk her out, she was stumbling in her heels. He had enough.

  Turning her around, he tossed her over his shoulder and carried her out like that.

  People were staring.

  She was cursing and struggling to get off his shoulder. The entire time, she shouted for help, and he held out his badge to reassure the people he was a cop.