Dark Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 1) (27 page)

“Do you still have my ring?” he asked.

Dante smiled as he pulled the chain that was hidden under his shirt from around his neck. There on the platinum chain were the two rings side by side.

That made Steele’s heart flip.

He’d actually kept them.

Even after he’d handed it back and walked away, Dante didn’t toss them away like he had done to their relationship.

That touched him.

If this wasn’t love and dedication, Steele didn’t know what was. Here the man he loved hadn’t given up hope. Those two rings were proof of that.

“I’m not the man I was, Dante. Are you sure this is what you want for the rest of your life?”

He took Steele’s hand in his. “I’ve never wanted you in my life more than I do right now. You’re still the same man I fell in love with, babe. We can beat anything as long as we do it together.”

He was right.

“Can I have my ring back?”

Dante slipped it onto his finger and then tugged him into his arms.

“I love you, Steele. You’re never leaving me again. I won’t let you.”

He rested his head on Dante’s shoulder. “Yes, babe. I’ll stay with you forever.”

And he would.

Until Death do they part.

Chapter Fifteen

Las Vegas Penitentary

She hadn’t heard from them in two days.

Time was slipping away.

From the look of her brother, behind the glass, he wasn’t fairing well—at all.

He was pale.

His head had been shaved to remove all of his hair, and his eyes were dead.

That was the part that scared her the most.

He looked like he’d given up and actually wanted to die. That was proof at how far gone he really was.

“Hang in there, Seth. I’ve gotten us help,” she promised, whispering into the phone on the wall.

“Who?” he asked. “Everyone thinks I’m guilty, Miranda. I didn’t do this. Who in their right mind would believe me?”

She was well aware that the odds were against them, but she didn’t care. She was fighting for him.

For them.

“I have Greyson Croft and a Dimitri Gideon working it.” The second she said their names, her brother started to cry.

“I’m a dead man. Those two are the crookedest people in Vegas. What are they supposed to do? Buy off the governor? I’m going to die, Miranda. I’m stuck in here. I won’t even get to hug you goodbye. They’re going to strap me into that chair, attach the electrodes, and end my life. I’m a ghost already.”

She hated how sad he was.

“Adam asked about you. He wants to come see you. He misses you, Seth.”

He sniffled. “I don’t want him to see me like this.”

“He loves you. After all these years, he still hasn’t started dating anyone. He said you were his soul mate.”

That made him smile a little. “Tell him the same. I love him too. I wish I never became a cop,” he said, closing his eyes.

God!

He really wished he’d never taken this path. His heart ached, and he wanted to weep torrents of tears. He’d never hurt a single person, and here he was, going to die for murder.

Of women.

Hookers.

What the hell had happened in his life? At one point, he was one of the good guys!

“Can I bring him with me next time?” she asked.

“I guess.”

If he was going to die, he would at least see the man he loved once more.

“Do you think they can really help, Miranda? Do you think Greyson Croft and his buddy can fix this? Buy me some clemency? I’ll do anything they ask. They can have a kidney, my lung, whatever. Just beg them to get me out of here. I don’t want to die alone.”

She put her hand on the glass.

“I’ll get you out, Seth. Have faith. You’re not dying in here. I promise.”

He didn’t believe her.

He’d heard his attorney say it over and over again. His union rep at the police station was the one who had told him not to take the lie detector test.

He told him not to help the detectives.

He told him to stand his ground.

Now he was standing in a cell.

Soon he’d be resting in the ground.

“When I die, Miranda, I want you to find the truth. I want you to find out who did this, and when you get the chance, sue them for everything. At least my death will have meant something. You are the only one who stood by me.”

“Tucker loves you, Seth. He’s just angry.”

He laughed. “Yeah, he’s not the only one. My own damn brother won’t even come see me. He won’t visit me before they kill me. That’s a sad testament to my life, Miranda.”

She was aware.

She tried to get Tucker to come, but he wouldn’t.

Well, she would keep coming.

“Want me to come see you tomorrow?” she asked, hoping they would let her in. The closer they got to his final days, the less they would let him have company.

It seemed so wrong.

“Yeah, if you’re not busy. I don’t want to be alone this last week. I need my family.”

She understood.

If she was trapped inside the cage, she knew he’d be there to see her every day. They were twins. They had that bond. She knew her brother was a good man.

“I’ll fight for you, Seth. I won’t let you die. I promised you that all those years ago, and now I’m going to make sure I find a way to get you exonerated.”

He didn’t think she had a snowball’s chance in Hell, but he loved how much she tried. She was his best friend.

He was going to lose her soon.

Along with everyone else, he was going to leave her alone in the world. They were all they had since the three of them were the last people in the family.

Now he was going to leave her. She’d be a shell because had it been reversed, he would be too.

“I love you, Miranda.”

She kissed her hand and touched the glass.

“Seth, I’ll get you out. I’ll make them see.”

He hoped she could pull it off.

As it looked, the only thing waiting for him….

Was the chair.

 
                               
* * *
  G r e y s o n   C r o f t   * * *

Las Vegas

Strip

Before leaving the house, Greyson kissed his wife, patted her on the ass, and made her promise to come home in one piece. The last thing he wanted was to see her get hurt—especially after the mess they’d survived.

The fact that Chris was going to be riding shotgun as her partner didn’t do anything to alleviate the fears. The man had become a bullet magnet, and now the police commissioner was gunning for him too.

Yeah, it was going to be a long day.

If this didn’t add ten years to his already graying hair then nothing would.

“You need to calm down,” Dimitri offered, pulling out his silver cigarette case. “Have one. You’ll relax.”

He thought about it.

“No, I think I’ll stick to cigars. I’m stressed enough. My life doesn’t need any help being shortened.”

Dimitri laughed.

“This will make you feel better,” he said, taping the navigational screen in his big black Suburban.

Emma and Chris’s faces came into view.

“You can spy on them!”

He laughed. “It’s more like preventive measures to make sure they’re safe. You’re stressed, and you need to see that she’s fine.”

“Is there audio?”

“Yes.”

He pushed another button.

As soon as Emma’s voice came over the screen, Greyson visibly relaxed. She and Chris were talking about his condominium.

“Thank you for that.”

Dimitri was glad to help him calm down. They were all in this together, and the chain was only as strong as its weakest link.

This family could survive anything.

Greyson felt better. Now he was able to focus on the task at hand.

“Where does this pimp hang out?” Greyson inquired.

“The strip club is up ahead.”

The second he said it, Greyson stared at him. “You have to be shitting me. I’m going into another strip club?” he asked. “Are you trying to get me divorced?”

Dimitri was beyond amused. This was just one more reason why he’d never get married. He wasn’t one to be controlled.

“I’m a dead man.”

Greyson couldn’t help but worry.

After the last strip club,
‘The Breast is Yet to Cum’
, his wife had donned some stripper gear of her own and rocked his world.

So…

“Yeah, never mind. I’ll go to the strip club,” Greyson said, grinning to himself.

“You went home and got laid after the last one, didn’t you?” Dimitri asked.

He snorted. “Oh, yeah.”

“Aren’t you going to share?”

“My wife? Hell no!”

“No, not Emma. I was talking about the sex stories. That’s what guy friends do,” he stated.

Greyson didn’t bat an eyelash. “We’re really not friends, Dimitri.”

“I see.”

Greyson saw that flash of pain.

“I consider you more my brother, so yeah, there will be details.”

He smiled at Greyson. “The feeling is mutual. I’ll share my…”

“No, no, you will not. If Emma finds out I’m hearing about your sexual hooker conquests, she’ll kick my ass.”

Dimitri was amused.

“They’re pretty boring anyway. It’s just sex.”

“Dimitri, then you need to get yourself a wife. It’s the best sex ever. Trust me.”

He laughed outrageously at that suggestion.

It was never happening.

“There isn’t a woman on this planet willing to deal with my life. The baggage alone would make her run screaming. I make screwed up seem sane.”

It spoke volumes.

Greyson didn’t have a comment for that. He felt bad for Dimitri. He was really a great guy, and maybe he was wrong. “I take it back. You’re definitely my best friend. Want to get manicures and our hair done?”

He pulled into the parking lot of the strip club. “I already get manicures, and you have gray in your hair, I don’t. You shouldn’t let yourself get so stressed.”

Greyson went to speak…

That was until he saw the flashing lights over the building that housed the strip club.

“Only Vegas,” he said, shaking his head. “Really?
‘The Titty Corral’
? I think you’re trying to make me go completely gray.”

Dimitri laughed. “If it makes you feel any better, this place isn’t as trashy as the other one.”

“Nothing about this makes me feel good.”

Both men slipped their wallets out of their back pockets and into their front suit jackets.

“Know what makes this even more wrong?” he asked, watching patrons go in and out.

“What?”

“Most men are bringing their babes in there to get them hot and bothered. I’m bringing you.”

He started laughing. “Want me to hold your hand and sit in your lap?”

Greyson gave him the look. “What do you think?”

“I’m hurt that I’m not your type.”

Croft snorted.

“Let’s just get this done. I’m going to need a shower and to buy my girl something pretty, and I don’t mean jewelry. This one’s going to cost me big—like an island.”

Dimitri was amused, but he’d gone serious. His job, at that moment, was to watch Greyson Croft’s back.

He was like a brother.

He’d served among soldiers, and never had he had this fondness, love, or responsibility to any of them.

This was different, and he knew it.

As they headed toward the door, the bouncer stopped them. “Sorry, gentlemen, but this is a reputable place. We don’t allow anyone in who’s going to stir it up. Our ladies are on the up and up, and we don’t play shakedown games.”

Greyson stared at him. Did this man actually think he was going to start busting knees for money?

Seriously?

Why would he? He could buy the place tomorrow.

In fact…

He sent his brother a text message, asking about the property. When it came back, he had his leverage to get them inside the door.

“Guess who owns this building that
‘The Titty Corral’
rents from?” he asked.

“I don’t know or care,” he said.

“Me. I’m going in.”

When the bouncer put his big meaty hand on Greyson Croft, Dimitri had his hand in a thumb lock. The man went to his knees. “When the boss says jump, you jump. You don’t question it, or this is the least of your problems.”

The man nodded, beads of sweat appearing on his forehead.

“Sorry! Go in!” he muttered between clenched teeth.

Dimitri set him free.

Once inside, Greyson noticed that the Russian had been right. It was a little less vile, nasty, and scary.

At least the women didn’t look like they were on drugs and victims of the sex trade industry.

Good old Vegas.

Dimitri pointed toward a seat. “I’ll get Gerald Darden to come to us. Sit, watch the ladies, and pretend you’re having fun. The scowl on your face will give it away.”

“One smile on my face in here, and my wife will be giving my man parts away, and I like them—a lot.”

He found that amusing.

Greyson took a seat in a far corner to watch everything around him. He wasn’t into the scenery—the ladies—but he needed to blend in. As far as anyone was concerned, he was simply some horny guy looking for ass.