Hell Is Burning (30 page)

“Answer me, Curtis. Be honest with us and yourself. It’s time to come clean.”

It was like she saw through him. “No. I didn't. I didn't find what you two have, and the more I tried to make it that, the less it was.”

“Then there you go. You both made mistakes. For some reason, she had to pay with her life. I won’t let you do the same. I stood by and watched this clusterfuck happen, and I won’t do it again.”

Both men stared at her.

Emma
NEVER
dropped the F bomb. That wasn’t her style. It proved how serious she was about this.

Getting up, she went to sit beside Curtis. Taking his face in her hands, she stared into his eyes. “We love you. We want you to be part of our family. You keep saying no one ever wanted you, but we did. We always did.”

She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

It defrosted his heart. “I hope I find someone like you, Mom. One day, I hope I find her.”

She tucked herself under his arm and dropped her head on his shoulder. “You will, Curtis. I promise that you will. She’s going to stroll into your life, and you’re not going to know what happened. When that happens, life is going to change for you.”

“It already changed, Emma.”

Greyson grinned. Score one for his wife. She’d managed to calm an angry man down. Apparently, she had a gift.

She would make a great mother.

“So, does that mean you’re going to be part of our family?” Greyson asked. “Will you let us make it official?”

He thought about it. “Yeah, I think that sounds like the best gift anyone’s ever given me. I don’t want to run. I want to stay and fight.”

She winked at her husband.

Greyson wasn’t the only one who could pull off something so impossible.

“Do I get a pony?” he teased.

Emma laughed. “No, but we’ll buy you a car and pay off all your student loans.”

“I was only kidding.”

Emma wasn’t. “You’re part of our family, and one day, all this mayhem will be yours. Why should we suffer alone? Misery loves company,” she added.

“You’re bitching about being loaded?” He touched her forehead. “Strange was adopting a grown man. Crazy is complaining about being rich.”

Greyson laughed. “Son, you have no idea. I have ninety nine problems, and all but one is related to Randall Mason’s money. The other is Dominic Marianna.”

Emma stood up. “Are you men hungry?”

Curtis smiled. The light wasn’t totally back in his eyes, but he wasn’t looking quite so lost anymore. They’d thrown him a lifeline, and he at least wanted a chance.

“I could eat.”

Emma headed toward the kitchen. “How about ice cream? I think I might be able to whip up a banana split or three.”

The men stood.

Curtis shook his head. “She’s taking this mom thing serious.”

Greyson dropped his arm around Curtis’s shoulders, and then put him in a headlock. “She’s letting me eat ice cream. If you ruin this for me, I will hurt you.”

He laughed.

“Okay, Dad. Carry on.”

And they did.

       
         
* * *
  Croft & Croft  * * *

Friday Morning

After ice cream and locking down castle Croft, the family went to bed. It wasn’t a long sleep, but at least they rested at ease. When they woke, Curtis was up and had made them coffee.

He looked like shit, but he was fighting, and that was all they could ask for. He had one hell of a road ahead, but they’d make it together.

They were family, and they were going to stick.

Now that it was a new day, they had work to do. So, they sent Curtis into the FBI office. He could hang out with Paris and Tessa, and maybe get some research done. That was his talent in life, and they knew it would distract him.

He said he needed it, and who were they to stop him from healing.

While the team was working on the newest victim, Greyson and Emma had something to handle.

They had a date with a pesky reporter.

It was time to see what the man knew. So, after parking in town, they opted to take a stroll. It wasn’t often that they didn't have the media dogging their every step, so why not enjoy the moment.

With all the tourists flocking the streets, they were able to blend in. Emma was going casual, sporting a baseball cap and shades. Greyson, who really didn't do casual all that often, had opted for a polo and jeans.

Together, they headed toward the paper to make their sneak attack. For once, they were going to stroll into the belly of the beast and take them down at the knees.

Hopefully, it worked.

They needed something. They had four victims and not a single lead between them. If something didn't pop soon, they were screwed.

In all honesty, Greyson was looking forward to this. He loved making the media suffer. It was his greatest joy as of late.

At the door, they headed in.

The looks on the faces of everyone was entertaining. The second they entered the air conditioned building, the hive was stirred up.

Reporters lunged.

People started shouting random questions.

That’s when he made his move. “I’m thinking of buying this business, and if I do, I’m firing everyone. Then we’re going to buy all the other papers and do the same. What’s a few million to destroy the people who make us miserable?”

Emma grinned. “WOW, nice shoes. Who designed them?” she asked one reporter who always did the same to her.

Wisely, the woman kept her mouth closed.

“See how ridiculous a question that is? What sane person goes around asking a stranger that?”

The paper’s editor came forward. “Mr. and Mrs. Croft, welcome to our office. Can I get you some coffee?”

“No, but you can point out Lewis Reynolds. We need to speak to him.”

“Oh,” said the man. “Can I ask why?”

They both pulled their badges.

“It’s official business. Get him,” Emma stated.

As the man ran off, they took a seat in the waiting area. They could feel people watching them, but as of yet, they were taking his threats seriously.

Good.

“Are we really buying the paper?” Emma asked. Then she realized how absurd that sounded.

“No, we aren’t,” Greyson stated.

“That’s good.”

“We already own fifty-one percent of it. Technically, we own the majority of the stock. I did my homework this morning.”

She laughed even more. “I hate this. What happened to the days where we had enough money to survive, lived in a fortress, and didn't own half the world?”

Yeah, he knew what she meant.

As a man approached, Emma recognized him. “Scumbag weasel at three o’clock. You can see the gears spinning in his head. He’s going to go in hot.”

The man had Croft’s attention. He stood to greet him, but didn't shake his hand. Hell would freeze over first.

“Want to go back to my office?” Lewis Reynolds asked. “We can talk about the case there. I'm sure that’s why you’re here. You have to want my help.”

Yep. He wanted to beat him in the head with his fist for being a condescending dickwad.

“No, here is fine.”

“Okay, talk,” he stated.

“You have a source who’s part of our investigation. We need to know who it was who leaked sensitive information on our case.”

He started laughing.

Emma wanted to pluck out his eyes and then roll them across the floor.

“Yeah, no, I’m not giving you my source. It’s confidential.”

Greyson lifted an eyebrow. “Listen. There’s a dead cop, and you know too much about this case. We have to get the person who did this.”

“That’s not my problem. I’m a reporter. I report. You’re an investigator. You investigate. See how it works? I don’t come to you and spill the beans, even if a cop is dead. I may need this source down the road. I’m sure you get that.”

“More people are going to get hurt. Do you want that on you?” Greyson asked, trying to appeal to the man’s compassion.

“Yeah, not my issue. It sells papers.”

Apparently, the animal had no soul.

“How about you tell me what’s going on inside your end of the investigation? You know…from your angle. I’ll give you a fair shot in the media. They eat you two up. You’re like candy to the readers. You’re going to be my Pulitzer.”

Greyson wanted to hurt him in the worst way. The only thing stopping him was he’d be in the news, and then sued.

“That’s not going to happen.”

“Well, then I’ll just keep going with my confidential source, and you can investigate this on your own. If you won’t scratch my back…”

Enough was enough. Greyson was about to smack the taste from the man’s mouth when his wife took control.

When he stood, Emma did too.

“Is that your final answer?” she asked.

He laughed more.

That’s when she struck. Emma spun him, kicked out his legs, and patted him down. When she found the recorder, she dropped it on the floor.

“First, it’s illegal to record people without them knowing,” she stated, pulling out her cuffs. “You being a reporter should know that. This isn't your first day on the job.”

“You can’t arrest me for this!”

She dropped her heel onto the recorder, breaking it into pieces. The sound of it being smashed to bits had Greyson grinning.

“Oh, I’m bringing you in under the suspicion that you’re the killer. You knew shit no one else could, and only the killer would have access to that.”

“Wait!”

“Greyson, call for a transport.”

The reporters around them began buzzing.

Emma picked up the broken recorder and snapped it in half. “Here’s forty-nine percent of your recorder,” she stated, dropping it in his pocket.

“Hey! You can’t do that!”

“Watch me! We own fifty one percent of this business already, and I’m taking my portion of my property.”

No one said a word.

Greyson stood as a black and white pulled, up and they entered the building. “Can you transport him to the FBI building?” he asked.

“Sure thing, sir.”

They took him away.

“You can write up a story,” she said to the reporters watching them. “It will be about how we’re not putting up with bullshit. He’s sitting in the tank until he talks. Anyone else who screws with our case will too. He’s a suspect in the murder of four women. Have fun with that.”

Greyson dropped his arm around his wife as they headed out of the building. “That was really hot.”

She laughed. Before hitting the street, she turned and pointed at the reporters who were contemplating following them.

They all stopped dead in their tracks.

“Stalking will get you a lengthy sentence, and I have enough money to make you rot in jail.” She wasn’t sure she could do that, but it was fun to use this pain in the ass Mason had handed them.

They scurried away.

“Yeah, that was really sexy. I love when you do things like that.”

She took his hand as they headed back down the street. “Let’s get a coffee and regroup. We need to figure a way around this. We can’t take his computer without a warrant, and since we own part of the company, that’s more red tape.”

He was well aware.

“I’ll buy you a drink, Detective Croft.”

She was good with that. “Make it a double. It’s going to be a long ass day.”

       
         
* * *
  Croft & Croft  * * *

Across Town

He watched her.

There was this sick satisfaction he got from picking the next one. As he sat there in the parking lot, he could see her through the window.

She was the one.

She looked just like the one from long ago.

It was the hair, the body, and the eyes.

The memories flooded back, and he couldn’t help but feel rage, shame, and hate.

Oh, her day was coming.

Before it was all said and done, she’d be dead too. He’d snuff out her sick life, and then move on.

He couldn’t stop.

The voice in his head pushed him forward to do what he’d always known he was meant to do.