Dark Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 1) (16 page)

Truth be told, the Crofts gave him something his life had been missing.

Peace.

Being around them was no longer uncomfortable, but instead, cathartic. At night, when they’d finish with their work, they’d eat dinner on the terrace by the pool, then afterwards they’d share a cigar and bourbon.

It was like having an honest to goodness family.

He really enjoyed it.

Emma was a damn good person, and the proof was what she was doing for his sister.

Greyson was a man he respected and could call brother. They’d both been soldiers, and they had both been forced to kill in battle and outside the military.

He got him.

Maybe that was why he enjoyed his company. The man was a decent human being, who loved his family more than his own life. Greyson would die for any of them, and so would Dimitri.

It gave him peace that if his past ever returned, and someone was able to take him out, Natasha and Katerina would be safe.

There was no doubt in his mind that Greyson Croft would take them in, love them, and keep his sisters safe.

They had a bond.

The fact that his new office was going to be alongside theirs spoke volumes. When Emma first told them they could be family, moving in, and staying with them, he didn’t buy it. There weren’t those kinds of people in the world—the ones who overlooked your egregious past.

They knew about him.

They knew the real man, hidden beneath Dimitri Gideon.

They knew Maximillian, and they still loved him.

To them, he was family, and that meant accepting everything about him. This move into the house made him feel like he belonged.

For the first time, in a long time, he had a place where he could be himself.

There was that peace.

As he headed downstairs, he knew that Curtis had just pulled into the driveway. The alarm had sounded, and the
‘talk’
was about to begin.

As he prepared to enter the family room, he could hear his sister and Curtis talking.

She sounded scared.

He sounded…cold.

Yeah, they needed to fix this, and fast.

Walking in, he grabbed a water from the mini-fridge behind the bar.

“Well, what do you wish to discuss?” he asked, taking a seat in the armchair.

Kat was staring at Curtis, pleading with her eyes. She actually looked like she was about to bolt.

Curtis was standing his ground.

He appreciated that. It showed he had backbone. So far, he hadn’t been wrong about the man-child.

“I need to talk to you about your sister, my girlfriend,” Curtis began, digging for that deep well of strength. He knew Emma wouldn’t toss him to the wolves, so that meant that she was pushing them down this road, and likely for a damn good reason.

He trusted the woman he thought of as his mom.

“Okay, speak.”

“Katerina and I are expecting a child. She’s three months pregnant.”

Dimitri didn’t move.

Katerina on the other hand began weeping.

“When are you getting married?” he asked.

Curtis glanced over at Katerina. He was shocked that Dimitri didn’t jump out of the chair, grab his head, and yank it, and his spine from his body.

This was off settling.

“Why don’t you field this one, Kat?” Curtis stated. “You know…since I can’t answer that for you.”

Dimitri noticed two things.

Curtis was pissed, and it seemed like he really wanted to get married.

Immediately, Dimitri felt for him. His sisters were difficult at best. Stubbornness was a family trait.

Look at him.

“We’re not getting married yet.”

Curtis simply stared at Dimitri. Oh, he wasn’t going down on this one. “I asked her, she told me she wants to wait. I can’t force her, so this is all up to her. Right now, your sister, the woman I love, is holding our future, and our child, for ransom.”

Yeah, he’d been right.

Katerina and her pigheadedness struck again. Growing up, the teen years had been a bitch. That was why he was so strict with her. Kat was a wild child and Natasha…even more.

“Are you mad?” Kat asked.

“No, I’m not angry that you’re having a child, Katerina. You’re both adults. If you choose to risk yourself by having unprotected sex, then you also know there are consequences to the actions. This is the major one.”

“It happened the night of the Spring Fling,” she said, offering him the truth.

“I don’t want to know,” Dimitri said, stopping her. If she kept talking, his head might explode from his shoulders. His blood pressure was already through the roof. He had warned her that night to protect herself, but she didn’t listen.

He wasn’t angry, but he didn’t want the details.

“I’m more upset that you hid this from me, Katerina. I’m your brother. The fact that you’re keeping this a secret makes me think you’re not ready to be a mother, or you simply don’t want a child. I can take you for an abortion.”

Curtis nearly threw up at the
‘A’
word.

“NO! That’s my child! You’re not killing it! My son or daughter matters to me! That’s my baby, and not something you can kill and discard! I’ll keep the baby! I’ll raise it alone if she doesn’t want it. I want this child more than I want to see tomorrow!”

Dimitri didn’t think it was possible. He now had even more respect for the man.

Curtis wasn’t done.

“Kat! Just have our baby, and then you can leave. If you’re even considering ending our child’s life, I’m going to beg you not to do it. If you ever loved me at all, you’ll not even consider that!”

His sister began crying.

“I’m not leaving my child, Curtis. I’ll never do that. I’d die first.”

And there was his proof.

They were ready to be parents.

God knew when he’d taken his sisters on, he wasn’t. He’d made countless mistakes, but underneath all of it, there was one thing that made him a parent.

Sacrifice.

Dimitri grinned at them. They both had that instinct, and he didn’t doubt that they’d make it.

“This isn’t funny,” Curtis said, his face going red.

“I was just checking to make sure you’re both on the same page. Having a baby is a lot of work, and you’re going to have to be a team. We were unwanted, Curtis, discarded, tossed away, and nothing more than a mistake. I wanted to make sure that the man who would be protecting my niece or nephew would be up to the task.”

“And?”

“You’re going to make a good father. I can tell.”

Curtis didn’t think he heard him right.

“What?”

“I said…”

“I heard what you said. I just never thought you’d say it to me. I thought you were going to kill me.”

Dimitri laughed. “Yeah, what’s coming is going to break you more than me doing it. Wait until the teen years. I hope your liver is healthy. I’ve killed mine trying to keep her out of trouble. I can’t tell you how many nights I had to sleep outside her door with a bottle of Jack.”

Kat wiped her eyes.

“You still love me?” she asked.

That broke his heart.

“Katerina, there is nothing you can do to make me stop loving you. You’re my sister. You’re my blood. This isn’t something that you should even be thinking. You’ve made a miracle, and I hope it was made out of love.”

She didn’t have to think about it.

“It was.”

“I think we should celebrate.”

“Yeah, I’ve seen the movies. I’m not drinking anything you hand me,” Curtis said. “Russians are sneaky.”

He laughed.

“Actually, no drinking. I have a gift to give you. It’s from Greyson and Emma. Follow me.”

They didn’t know what the hell was going on, but they were going to trust that he wasn’t going to kill them.

As Dimitri headed out the French doors, toward the pool house, they didn’t get it.

Entering the pool house, both Katerina and Curtis looked around.

“What’s this?” Curtis asked, noticing that the place was clean, there were pretty pillows, and it looked like someone had set it up to look more like a condominium. Gone were the pool-like furniture, and in their place, it was warm, cheery, and homey.

He was confused.

“Here’s your new home.”

They both stared at him.

It was clear they were confused.

Dimitri offered an explanation, “In our culture, Curtis, you don’t flaunt your sex life to the family, and you absolutely don’t sleep in the same room with them under your parents’ roof. Katerina won’t sleep with you because she’s been brought up that it’s wrong.”

He felt horrible that he’d jumped down her throat when he’d never considered that was the reason.

Curtis never really thought it might be about anything other than him. This absolutely sounded like something Kat would want to adhere to in her life.

Her culture mattered.

They were proud Russians, even though they lived here with their acquired citizenship.

It looked like Greyson had been right.

“Kat.”

“It’s okay, Curtis. I’m sorry I couldn’t articulate it better to make you understand. I do want to sleep beside you at night. I never want to leave your side. I love you.”

His heart skipped.

“I love you too, Anfisa. I’ll always love you.”

Dimitri was always astounded when his sister didn’t freak out when someone used her real name. Instead, she moved toward him, cuddled against his frame, and he left gentle kisses across the top of her head.

“You’ll always be my flower.”

Dimitri loved the boy simply for this alone. He had been raised right, and he was just like Greyson Croft.

He was happy Kat had found someone who loved her like this. This meant he’d done his job too.

“Emma did this, didn’t she?” Curtis asked, glancing over at the man.

“Yes, she did. Now you’re not under their
‘roof
’. You have your own place, but you’re still safe here. Unfortunately, with this new and more dangerous situation, you need to remain at Terrace Glen, Curtis. The Croft family is going to be taking some heat from the law. She wanted you both to be happy and this is the compromise she came up with to make it happen.”

He got it.

When he saw Emma, he was going to kiss her.

“So, this is home.”

It was pretty awesome.

The pool house was bigger than his last house with his ex. It was more like a luxury condo with a pool right outside the door. This was going to be awesome.

“Jesus!” Curtis blurted out of the blue.

They both looked at him, and Dimitri actually went for his gun.

“What?” they said together.

“We have to get a fence! A baby and pool are a horrible mix!”

Dimitri laughed.

Spoken like a good father.

“I’m going to head to my new office to work. Enjoy your love nest.”

As he reached the door, he felt her hand on his arm. His heart skipped. He’d remembered all the times Kat had done that. When he turned, her eyes were full of tears.

“I love you, Dimitri. You did a good job. I hope I can be as good a parent as you were to me. You’ve always been my father—not my brother.”

That touched him on a deep level.

He hugged his sister. When his mouth was by her ear, he whispered to her.

“Marry the boy. He’s a good man. Don’t lose that out of stubbornness. He’s the right one. If you don’t trust you, trust me. He’s ready.”

She got it.

It took all this to see that Curtis was a good choice, and she’d nearly lost him because of it.

Only, she was going to ask him first. She owed it to him.

“Thank you, Dimitri.”

He placed his hand over her stomach. “Take good care of my niece or nephew. They will be loved and safe, Anfisa,” he said, trying out her name.

She smiled.

“I promise, Maximillian.”

For the first time in a long time, his real name didn’t hurt.

He left, smiling and at peace.

Yeah, Emma was right.

Family was all.

When he was gone, Curtis hugged her. “This is a pretty sweet place. There are two bedrooms, if you still want your own space,” he offered.

Yes, it would suck.

Still…

He owed her that much.

“No, I think tonight I’m going to sleep beside the man I love. It feels right.”

Curtis grinned. “Want to start bringing our things down? I’ll carry, you supervise?”