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

  And then, he noticed something. His tongue was getting fuzzy, and he was dizzy.

  “What did you give me?” he asked, trying to lift his arm. His limbs felt like they weighed one hundred pounds each.

  “A pain pill and a tranquilizer. You need to sleep.”

  He began panicking. “I can’t sleep. I need…” His words were fuzzy.

  She watched him as she finished the last stitch. Emma could see his jugular thumping. He was fighting it.

  “Shhhh, it’s okay,” she said, trying to soothe him.

  “I need caffeine. I can’t go under,” he mumbled, his words barely coming out. He didn’t like meds for this reason.

  He never took them.

  What had he been thinking?

  “No!” he muttered, as Emma pushed him back onto the bed and lifted his legs. All the while, he fought hard.

  “I’ll be here.”

  He reached for her. “Please don’t let me sleep. Dreams,” he slurred. “I can’t fight the dreams.”

  His fear upset her.

  She’d never seen him look this panicked. Here, Dimitri looked like a scared child.

  In fact, like Sam had that first night, and so many after it.

  In that moment, she saw the similarities, and they broke her heart. She had intended to put him to sleep and head home, but he needed her.

  So, she’d stay.

  Emma lovingly covered him with the comforter. “I’m here, Dimitri. I’m here,” she said, leaning down to kiss him on the forehead. “Rest. I have you.”

  He lost the battle, and his eyes shut.

  Emma cleaned up, and she climbed onto the bed. She called her husband.

  “He’s asleep. I patched him up.”

  “Do you want me to come get you?” Greyson asked.

  She stared down at him. “He said something about dreams.”

  Greyson didn’t know how much to tell her.

  Then again, this was his wife.

  “He has really bad nightmares. He’s lived a hard life, Emma.”

  “I’m going to stay with him. I’ll sleep here beside him if he needs me.”

  “Please tell me he’s dressed.”

  She laughed. “He’s shirtless, but other than that, he’s dressed.”

  Greyson relaxed. “Be safe, Kitten. I’ll be up working if you need me. Call. Maybe we can have some really raunchy phone sex,” he teased.

  “Or, when I get home, I can make your eyes cross with one hell of a blowjob.”

  “Vicious,” he teased. “Now I’m holding you to it. Take care of him, okay?” Greyson said, feeling for the man. He knew Dimitri was doing battle for his soul.

  All soldiers did.

  He did, too, at one time.

  Emma was cathartic. He’d share her love if it meant saving a man who’d dedicated his life to their family and well-being.

  Dimitri was a good man.

  “I’ll see you at ‘Aquarius’.”

  “Can you do me a favor, Grey?” she asked.

  “Yeah, what?”

  “He’s got nothing to eat here. Can you make food magically appear for me to make breakfast for him?”

  He laughed. “Will he be getting bacon? If yes, then screw him. He can eat his leather couch.”

  She snorted. “I was thinking more like the basics. Eggs and toast. Then again, I’ve never seen him eat breakfast, so this is mostly for me.”

  “He’s more a coffee and protein bar kind of guy,” he offered, “always after he works out.”

  “Well, he won’t be working out tomorrow. He needs to give that shoulder time to heal.”

  Greyson was amused.

  Someone was going to be mothered in the morning. That would frustrate the hell out of Dimitri.

  Good.

  He needed it.

  “I’ll have it there for you before sunrise. Get some sleep. You’re carrying our child.”

  She placed her hand over her belly. “I can’t wait to hold our baby.”

  He grinned as he sat behind his desk. “I can’t wait to chase you around when you’re fat. I’m going to have my wicked way with you.”

  She snorted. “You already do.”

  “Yeah, I know. It’s good to be king.”

  “I love you, Greyson. I’ll see you in the morning. Bring Chris to ‘Aquarius’. Then I’ll swap you bodyguards.”

  He laughed. “Clever, my wife.”

  “Always, my husband.”

  She blew him some kisses and hung up. Then, she fluffed the pillow, and hit the light beside the bed.

  She hoped he slept.

  He would need it.

  They both did.

  Their cases ran them ragged, and from the looks of this one, it was going to be a marathon.

  Not just the case, but the battle for Dimitri’s soul.

  In his office, Greyson hung up his phone. Chris was sitting across from him. He’d opted to stay up, in case something went on at the house.

  Natasha was going to patrol, but he wanted her to get some sleep. It rubbed him the wrong way to think she was out walking around at night alone.

  She was a girl.

  She should be safely inside.

  She was his girl.

  She should be in their bed.

  Well, he said that to himself, not to her. Chris knew better. The women in this house packed more guns than anyone he knew, and he didn’t want to get shot in the ass for crossing the line into possessive caveman territory.

  “Is Emma okay?”

  “She’s with Dimitri at his place.”

  Chris raised a brow. “At his place? Alone? And you’re not shitting a boatload of bricks? Who are you?”

  “I trust him.”

  Chris said nothing.

  “You don’t?” he asked.

  “I trust him. I just never thought I’d see you being all cool and collected when another man was near your pregnant wife.”

  Yeah, he was aware.

  “I let you near her.”

  “Well, I’m safe.”

  He laughed. “You’re always checking out her ass.”

  “Nope. I’ve not looked once since I’ve started something with Natasha. I’m not stupid.”

  He laughed.

  “Smart. Dimitri would die before putting his hands on Emma. In fact, you take more liberties.”

  Chris stared at him. “What? How did I get to be the bad guy here?”

  Greyson poured them both bourbon. “True or false?” he began. “You’ve kissed her?”

  “True.”

  “With tongue?”

  “I was bleeding on the floor, and my bucket list was to die making out with a babe. I don’t think you can hold that against me. I was supposed to die. Blame your wife for being stubborn. She saved me. That one is on her—not me.”

  Greyson laughed, but the game wasn’t over yet.

  “If she was single, you’d be all over her?”

  “True.”

  He didn’t even hesitate.

  Greyson was glad. He didn’t like being lied to by anyone, and especially not the people he called family. That would piss him off.

  “And there’s my point,” Croft said.

  Chris defended himself.

  “Emma’s beautiful, and she’s my type. I have a thing for redheads. I won’t pretend I don’t, and then there’s that sweetness. You’re a lucky man, and we all know it.”

  Oh, he was well aware. His wife was the best thing that ever happened to him.

  He got it.

  Men coveted her.

  “Dimitri needs some TLC right now, and she’s in her mothering mode. I’ll entertain it.”

  Chris gasped. “I have a splinter. I need some TLC.”

  Greyson stared at him.

  “What?”

  He laughed. “You’re lucky I like you. I didn’t always. I thought you were a dick.”

  “Yeah, and I thought you were a corrupt asshole who wanted too much power in Vegas…oops.”

  Croft l
aughed.

  “Yeah, funny how that worked out. You were so damn good at your job that you were a year ahead of your suspicions. You get one more shiny star, Captain Ford.”

  He snorted. “Thanks.”

  Greyson tossed him a cigar. “While the pregnant missus is away, the husband will play.”

  Chris figured it was a good time to go on the record. “I want to be honest.”

  “Okay, shoot,” he said, as they prepped their cigars.

  Chris cut the tip and lit it.

  “If you drop dead, I’m marrying her. Okay, carry on.”

  He stared at him.

  “Are we talking natural causes, or are you plotting my demise?” he teased.

  “I’d go with A on this one.”

  Greyson laughed.

  “I’m not worried. I see how you follow Natasha around,” he admitted.

  “It’s true. I’m happy. Emma and I flirt. I wouldn’t do anything to cross the line. I wouldn’t hurt Natasha.”

  And that was why he trusted Chris. He was a straight shooter, and he genuinely liked him.

  “I believe you.”

  Chris needed to talk to Greyson anyway. “I need to discuss something man to man.”

  “What?”

  “Since her name came up, it’s about Natasha, and I need to keep it between us.”

  Greyson held up a finger and checked his tablet. She was tricky to pin down, and she liked to lurk. He pulled up the camera in the pool house.

  “Okay, she’s in bed.”

  Chris relaxed.

  “What about her?” Greyson asked.

  “She’s been talking weddings.”

  He started laughing. “I owe Curtis money. He said you would be married before me.”

  “Wait! Hold on! You all are betting on my relationship? That’s all kinds of wrong. We’re men. We should stick together. What happened to the bro code?”

  He laughed. “Yeah, well, you know how the women always win. So, what about her and weddings?”

  “I’m not ready yet. I’ve never had this girlfriend and boyfriend dynamic. I dated Denise for years, and then we got hitched right out of high school. I just want to go slow.”

  “Dimitri is not going to give you twenty years to date his daughter/sister.”

  “I don’t need twenty, but I need more than a couple of weeks.”

  “Don’t get her pregnant.”

  He was aware. “Thanks, Dad. Can you buy me some prophylactics while you’re at it?”

  “All the cool kids call them rubbers.”

  He snorted. “What I want to know is how bad is it if I just tell Natasha I’m not ready?”

  “Will you ever be ready?” he asked.

  “I hope so.”

  “Well, then it’s fair to her. Natasha seems like a pretty laid back woman. I can’t see her pushing the issue. She seems happy with you.”

  “She isn’t high maintenance. She likes watching movies, and she loves just being near me. That’s a nice change. I’m comfortable with her.”

  “Then go for it. When you’re ready, I’ll go ring shopping with you. The pull top from a beer can isn’t appropriate.”

  “That’ll teach you. Budweiser doesn’t have those anymore, and you’ll have to fight it out with Emma. She’s going to insist on going so I don’t buy the wrong thing.”

  Yeah, he was right.

  Greyson laughed. “Okay, you win. What was I thinking? How could I pick out jewelry for a woman? I have no practice.”

  That amused them both. Greyson was the king of shopping for his wife. Emma was draped in trinkets at every given chance.

  “Thanks for the talk,” Chris said. Then he realized that the man looked a little distracted.

  “What are you working on?” he asked. “Are you working because Emma is right now naked in bed with a Russian?”

  Croft lifted a brow. “I’m not going to kill Dimitri so you can extend your dating with his sister, but good try.”

  He grinned. “Damn it.”

  “We have a case.”

  “Want help?” Chris asked.

  He’d planned on telling them all in the morning, but since the man was there, they could talk about it.

  “Yeah, I need help.”

  Greyson told him all about what had happened. He mentioned the meeting in the morning, but made sure to leave out anything about hiring a hooker. He was going to protect Dimitri as long as he could.

  Eventually, it was going to get out.

  “What was he doing at the hotel?” Chris asked.

  Greyson tried to come up with something.

  “Um…”

  “If it’s about him buying women for sex,” he offered, “I already know. Natasha told me. Kat told her because she was worried about him.”

  So much for protecting the man.

  “I won’t deny or confirm. That’s his business, and not ours.”

  Chris got it. “I won’t say anything.”

  “Thank you. Anyway, Marissa, who used to work for him is searching for her sister. She said her sister’s pimp was killed.”

  “Did the cops…?”

  He shook his head. “They turned her away.”

  He wasn’t shocked. “We do have Riley. He might be of use on this one.”

  “Yeah, I was thinking the same. I’m going to call him around seven. He’s usually heading to work. He might be able to give us something.”

  “What’s the pimp’s name?” he asked.

  “Gerald Darden, and he worked out of a place called the ‘Titty Corral’.”

  He began laughing.

  Greyson was a smart man. He knew exactly why Chris found it amusing. Every time he had to step foot in a strip club, Emma got something pretty.

  It was a good thing they were loaded, or he’d be selling off organs.

  His.

  “Yeah, I’m not taking that interview. The media loves making up stories about me being some lecherous, lap dance loving asshole.”

  Chris was amused. “Yeah, you have a reputation. The media loves seeing you going into those places.”

  “Yeah, I’m STILL not taking that interview.”

  “Well, if you’re not going…?”

  Chris got it.

  “Shit! I have a girlfriend. Now, I’m the one who is going to get his ass kicked. That doesn’t seem right.”

  Greyson grinned.

  “I don’t care. You and Emma are going. She’s always saying she misses being in the field, well, how much trouble can the two of you get into in a strip club?”

  He wiggled his eyebrows.

  “I will hurt you if you even pretend to enjoy it.”

  Chris laughed.

  He knew the man wasn’t serious. He gave him a great deal of latitude when watching Emma. As long as she didn’t get killed, Greyson was calm.

  “No worries. I’ll take Emma after our meeting with Miss Pierce in the morning. We’ll cover our bases. What will you be doing?”

  “I’m going to have Marissa take us to her sister’s place, so Dimitri and I can look around. We might find something we can use to help us out.”

  He was good with that.

  Greyson paused.

  “What?” Chris asked, seeing the storm brewing in his eyes. Greyson was worked up about something.

  “I need to know where your allegiance lies, Chris,” he began.

  Oh, that didn’t sound good at all.

  Something bad was coming.

  “What?”

  “I need to know…”

  He cut him off. “I don’t like the sound of this. Why do I feel like our happy little family is about to go nuclear?”

  He pushed the file toward Chris, and let him read it.

  “Curtis and Kat found this while they were in Philadelphia.”

  He read.

  “Oh, holy shit. This is bad.”

  “Do I tell her?” he asked. “Do I break my wife’s heart all over again over a man who killed her brother? I don’t know what to do,
and for the first time, I’m actually afraid that my actions will hurt her. That’s saying a lot since she tossed her badge for me, and now I’m the mob.”

  Chris closed the file.

  This was a slippery slope.

  “Grey, you have to tell her. She’s always wondered what she could have done to save him. If she finds out that it was a hit, she won’t carry the burden of it being her fault. Emma thinks Gage died because her timing was off, and she wasn’t strong enough to fight that man off. You can’t hide this.”

  He was aware.

  All of this was weighing heavily on his mind. A part of Greyson wished he’d never asked Curtis to find their contacts in Philadelphia and dig this up.

  Now he was burdened with carrying it.

  Emma was going to have to deal with whatever choice he made, and it wasn’t going to be a good one.

  He could tell.

  Croft spelled it out for his friend.

  “If I tell her, I’m going to kill him.”

  Chris didn’t flinch. “If you tell her, WE will handle him. Emma is all of ours to protect. Lies and secrets are bad, and that’s not how you run this family.”

  Yeah, he got that.

  Well, Chris said tell her.

  Dimitri said don’t.

  It looked like he was the tie-breaking vote.

  Lucky him.

  Sometimes, running this family was harder than it looked.

  His job sucked.

  Chapter Four

  Sunday Early

  Morning

  Sky Villa

  D Imitri Gideon was lost in his dream. It was a maze of darkness, trees, and so much hate. He couldn’t get free, no matter how hard he tried. He waited for it to overtake him, and he knew it would. He’d been here so many times before, and the outcome was always the same.

  He’d been lost in this nightmare.

  Without having to even think about it, Dimitri knew what came next.

  All that was left was for him to rush through the trees, run into the small house, and stick a knife into his father’s throat. He could hear the screams and begging from Katerina, and he could hear her horror.

  He felt it.

  He lived it.

  As his dream played out, he was a captive audience. He was moving through the darkness, willing his body to stop. He prayed for unicorns, a rainbow, anything that would stop the blood from coming.

  As always, nothing stopped it.