Dark Justice (Croft Family Mob Series Book 1) (8 page)

Chris hated this.

He loved them.

As far as his boss was concerned, they were criminals.

Word on the street was that the Greyson Croft had gone bad to the bone. He was the new mob in Vegas, and everyone, but the commissioner, was running scared.

The criminal element had backed off, which in his opinion was a damn good thing. It forced the other mob in Vegas to move out, and the citizens were safe.

Commissioner Raye should be happy, but Emma’s parting stunt to bury him had soured his opinion on them.

So much so, that NO ONE was permitted to associate with them—not him, not the detectives, no one.

Then when Mace Bristol turned up dead, that was the straw that broke the commissioner’s back. He was pretty sure that Greyson Croft or Dimitri Gideon had something to do with it. They were targets to his vengeance and witch-hunt.

Chris was trapped in the middle.

It sucked because they were his family.

Emma was his sister.

She’d fought to save his life. When every other detective in his precinct would have gotten out when he was shot, she hadn’t. She’d stripped off her own shirt, fought back, and did CPR to keep his heart going until help came.

And now he needed to blow her off.

He felt like a total dick but he had to bide his time. Whether he liked it or not, he had to handle it the right way.

He knew it was going to damage them.

He was going to look like an asshole who had used them. There was simply no other way around it.

His back was to the wall. There was no other option. Like it or not, he needed to stay away from them.

What kind of asshole did that to people they were supposed to love?

Oh, yeah, ones who had bills to pay and food to buy. He wasn’t rich, and he needed to work. If he lost his job, what was he supposed to do?

He couldn’t be anything else but a cop.

His job was to babysit the minions, and he was damn good at it. Why did life have to be so hard?

In avoiding the Crofts, he’d also had to avoid Natasha. He hadn’t seen her in the last couple of weeks. While he was recovering, she’d pop in, smile at him and then leave.

As of late, he’d been looking for her everywhere he went, but she’d eluded him.

Since waking up in that hospital bed to her smiling face, gorgeous red hair, and kind eyes, he’d fallen for her.

Yeah, he was a fool, but he couldn’t help himself.

She was gorgeous.

Now she was gone too.

Chris didn’t think he could stay away for much longer. So he needed to prepare for the end of his career, and soon. He’d start by looking for a new job.

Then he laughed.

Yeah, there was a whole lot of options out there for a forty something cop who had control freak issues.

He was screwed.

He was going to end up being some rent-a-cop at a mall. He was going to be stopping teens from stealing sexy britches out of the lingerie stores.

Shit!

What the hell had gone on in his life?

Oh, yeah. Emma Croft.

And she was worth all of it.

Grabbing his briefcase, he hopped out of the fancy truck and ran his hand down the flared fender. When he’d gotten out of the hospital, it was waiting for him.

He loved it.

It was hard to admit it, especially since he loved his old beat up truck, but this one was sexy, loaded, and badass.

Of course he had to bitch and moan, simply because he hated the idea that his family was lavishing him with gifts. He was a man’s man, and he didn’t like a woman buying him shit.

He’d been down that road before.

It turned out to be a cliff, and he’d gone over it.

But this truck…it was special, and he suspected bulletproof.

If he knew Greyson Croft…

Heading into the condominium, he rode the elevator up to the fourth floor. When he got out, he was staring at the text message, wondering if he should reply.

He wanted to in the worst way.

God!

He wanted to tell Emma how sorry he was for not seeing her every day. When he’d been recovering, he did it at Terrace Glen in a private room, with a nurse, anything he needed, and even private physical therapy.

He forgot that he’d been wrapped in luxury, until he headed home. Oh, his place was plush. His couch was half his salary for a year. It was just that at Terrace Glen, there was a maid, a chef, and the woman he loved.

Emma Croft, despite his best attempts to stop it, had broken through and stole his heart.

Yes, he loved her.

It wasn’t in a sexual way, but in a brother and sister kind of way. To him, she was his. There was no differentiating between them. As far as Chris was concerned, Emma was his sister.

And now he was going to avoid her at all costs until he could figure out a way to work around this issue.

It wasn’t going to be easy, and he knew it.

Heading down the hallway, he was digging for his keys when a woman bumped into him.

“Pardon me,” he said, as she went past him.

Chris kept digging for his keys.

That’s when he felt something in his other pocket.

A slip of paper that he knew wasn’t there before. Chris didn’t put anything but his keys in his dress blues. They were sacred to him, and not a waste receptacle.

Pulling it out, Chris opened it up. As he read it, his heart skipped in his chest.

           ‘I miss seeing you, Captain.

                                            Nat.’

Shit!

He missed her.

Come to think of it, the air around him smelled like her perfume too. Chris could smell lilacs. She’d been right there, and he’d never even noticed.

As he turned around, it was like a garden in the hallway. It made him want to race after her.

Screw it.

Chris had no shame.

He hustled down the hall after the blonde who had brushed past him. He needed to see her.

God!

Chris craved that one moment with her. It had been two weeks since she’d
‘disappeared’
from his sight.

Racing toward the elevator, she wasn’t there.

Then he headed into the stairwell.

Again, she wasn’t there.

Shit!

Where the hell was she?

“I miss you too, Natasha. I wish you’d stop playing hide and seek with me,” he said to no one but himself.

Chris sighed.

He was going to head into his condominium, drink a couple of beers, take a shower, and try to forget what the hell was going on in his life.

He knew something bad was coming.

It was only a matter of time.

As soon as he was safely inside his condominium, Natasha stepped out of the shadows. She sighed.

“I miss you too, Captain. A lot.”

Then she was gone.

There was work to do. For now, he was safe, and that, to Natasha, was all that mattered.

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

Terrace Glen

When they got back, Dimitri immediately went on patrol. One would think the man and sleep were not friends. He was like a ghost creeping through the night.

Kat went right to her room, Emma taking her upstairs to tuck her in for the night.

It made Greyson smile, because they’d picked up another
‘kid’
along the way.

In the kitchen, he found Curtis there, and he didn’t look happy at all.

“Why are you scowling?” he asked.

Curtis looked up and pulled out his ear buds.

“What?”

“I asked why you have the pissy face on. You live in a mansion, you have a trust fund, and a relatively easy job.”

Yeah, he did.

“I also have woman problems.”

Oh, here they went again. If he had a dollar for every time Curtis had woman issues, he’d be rich.

Well, richer.

“What happened?”

He told him about the heated argument that he and Kat had earlier.

“Okay, so just tell Dimitri. Then you have nothing standing in your way.”

“Is it weird that she won’t stay the night with me?”

“No, she’s being respectful. They’re Russian and old school. I bet Dimitri didn’t have his women sleep over when he’d have sex. She likely learned from what she saw. In fact, you might want to take a few lessons from her.”

Curtis stared at him.

“This house has more fornication going on than any house in Vegas, and considering what happens here, that’s saying a lot.”

“Yes, but this is Emma’s and my house. We get to fornicate. Maybe Kat feels weird because it’s your parent’s place. Did you ever think of that?”

“Yes, but you don’t mind.”

“Don’t we?”

That made him stop. “Do you?”

“Hell no! But she thinks we do. Maybe you should calm down, look at the big picture, and chill out. Does she love you?”

“Yes.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes.”

“Do you love her?”

“Absolutely.”

“Would you die for her and that baby?”

“Shhhhhhh!” he hissed.

Greyson laughed. If he only knew that Dimitri was aware, he’d shit himself over this.

So, Greyson played father.

“Well, would you?”

“In a heartbeat.”

“Do you want to marry her?”

“Yes.”

“Did you ask her father for her hand in marriage?” he asked.

Curtis stared at him. “Their father was a bastard and is dead. How the hell am I doing that? A Ouija board?”

Greyson shook his head. “Katerina and Natasha have a father. His name is Dimitri. If you want her to marry you, maybe you need to follow the rules.”

“Rules?”

“You knocked his kid up. You go to him, own it, tell him you want to marry her, and then let him have the talk with her. He’ll respect you a million times more than if you two sneak around. Dimitri is a very smart man.”

“Are you saying he knows?” Curtis asked.

“Are you thinking he’s ignorant and doesn’t know what happens around here? Hell, son! He knew about my secret little love nest. I’m pretty sure he’s got an inkling of something being off.”

Greyson had a point.

“So find him tomorrow, talk to him, and be a man. You’re going to be a father, and you have to stop hiding from the truth. You sullied his daughter.”

“I didn’t sully her.”

Greyson laughed. “So you have a girl, you raise her, protecting her for years, and some man comes along, sweeps her off her feet and then knocks her up the first time they have sex.”

“I’d kill him!”

Greyson waited.

“Okay. I see where you’re going with this. I handled this all wrong.”

“Even if Katerina didn’t want you to tell him, you should respect him as a man and do it anyway. You made a mistake, a beautiful child is coming from it, and that’s a good thing. I’m going to be a grandfather—at forty-two. This town is going to blow up when that hits the news.”

Curtis laughed. “Thanks, Dad. You’re the best. I needed this. Sometimes…”

“You overthink the shit out of things? Yeah, I’ve noticed. You get that from Emma. Now…”

Curtis laughed. “She’ll kick your ass.”

He wouldn’t mind. Emma could put her hands all over him any day of the week.

“Granted, but I’ll enjoy it. What did you find on the search we asked you to run?”

“I’m going to need to use the blocked equipment at Dimitri’s place in Sky Villa. It’s going to be a shitload of hacking. The FBI has its servers locked down. They must have upgraded the second you and I quit.”

“Yeah, that’s probably a good idea. They knew we could back door them.”

“Do you think while I’m there, I can call in some backup?”

“Sure. Why don’t you send Tessa a text? If she’s free, the standard payment applies. She helps, and she gets paid by the family. You can use his place.”

“Thanks.”

Greyson grabbed some water and headed toward the doorway.