Midnight Vigilante, Leonor Bass [top business books of all time .TXT] 📗

Riley shivered when the cold hit her as Adrian closed the door behind him, remaining silent. They hadn’t spoken since she had visited him at the hospital. At the time she had been pretty upset, and at the moment, it seemed she still was. She crossed her arms against her chest.

“So, what did you want to talk about?”

“I just,” Adrian cleared his throat, “I wanted to tell you that the guys who beat me are dead.”

“Well, I hope you don’t expect me to say I’m sorry, because I’m not. They were criminals, and they got what they deserved,” Riley replied, unaffected by the news.

“I just wanted you to hear this from me.”

“All right. Well, thanks for the info. Now, if you don’t mind, I need to get back to work.” Riley reached for the doorknob, but Adrian stopped her by grabbing her hand. He felt her shiver under his touch.

“I know you’re mad at me, and I wanted to say I’m sorry for being rude to you at the hospital.”

“I’m not angry. If I were, you would know, trust me,” Riley responded. “I was disappointed, but then again, whatever you want to do is your decision, not mine, and clearly we are not on the same page.”

“I don’t want you to think I don’t want to do my job, because I do. There’s just too much you don’t know about and this is not as easy as it seems,” Adrian explained, hoping she wouldn’t ask many questions.

“Like I said, it’s your decision. Just one thing: don’t let yourself be a puppet. Do the right thing, whatever it has to be, but don’t let the bad guy win. It’s not what cops are supposed to do.”

As Adrian paused to consider her words—the same words he’d heard from someone else once before—the door swung open and Mr. Eaton approached Riley in a hurry.

“Thank God you’re here! They’ve come to pick you up; you’re needed,” Mr. Eaton said.

Riley exchanged one last look with Adrian before she followed her boss inside. Adrian was curious who had come for Riley and hurried after her.

When he reentered the bar, Dorian, one of Julius’s minions, stood beside the door, his dark hair shining in the dim light.

Now Adrian was even more curious. He turned to Paige. “Where is she going?”

“Julius Martinson’s house,” Paige explained, her voice revealing her displeasure at the arrangement.

“Why? What does he want with her?”

“She’s Julius’s new personal waitress.”

Adrian snapped his head toward the door where Dorian waited for Riley to gather her things. His anger was visceral because he knew the direction Riley’s new role would take. It was the same path her sister had traveled, and he wouldn’t let that happen to another woman.

He approached Dorian, a man he knew better than he’d readily admit to Marcus or anyone else. “You’re taking Riley with you?”

“That’s what the boss said,” Dorian smirked.

“If you touch one hair on her head, I’ll fucking kill you.”

Riley returned and told Dorian she was ready, and he politely opened the door as she waved her farewell to Paige. Finally, she turned toward Adrian, who had his eyes glued to her, and smiled. “I’ll see you around.”

Paige came to stand beside him, a hand landing loosely on his arm. She probably felt the same way he did.

“Who let her go?” Adrian asked, looking at her over his shoulder.

“My dad. I tried to stop her, but she said she could take care of herself.”

“Does she even know who she’s working for? Julius . . . he’s dangerous!” Adrian snapped.

“I told her, but she doesn’t care. She’s blinded by something. I hope she doesn’t lose it. I mean, she thinks Julius murdered her sister.” Paige covered her mouth the minute the word left her lips. “Forget what I said . . .”

“Is this you saying it, or was it Riley who told you?”

“She heard something at Lydia’s funeral, and she mentioned something about Julius,” Paige explained. “But she’s not gonna do anything. I mean, she might be angry, but she’s not stupid.”

“Hell hath no fury like a woman who’s lost a loved one,” Adrian muttered.

“You’ll keep an eye on her, right? So that nothing will happen?” Paige asked.

“I will,” Adrian said with a reassuring smile. He would do it for Paige, and Lydia, and because he had made a promise that he would keep, no matter the cost.

Chapter Twenty-One

It was a bit of a shock for Riley to see Adrian out and about so soon after his accident. That’s what they had called it, an “accident,” so people wouldn’t ask questions. The police department had let the rumor spread like wildfire, and no one stopped it.

She was surprised by his visit, but he seemed to be very interested in sharing the news of those men being found dead. Was she a suspect? Was there something she had left at the scene? She had been meticulous about not leaving fingerprints or shoe prints.

Dorian stopped the car in front of Julius’s house, but didn’t get out. It wasn’t until he had locked the doors from the inside that Riley realized he wanted to be alone with her. That, and the way he looked at her, made Riley feel sick.

“You’re beautiful. Has anyone told you that?” Dorian said, touching one lose string of her hair and moving a bit closer. Riley instinctively pushed herself back against her seat, to be as far away from him as possible.

“What are you doing?”

“Just trying to be friendly here. You seemed like my type of woman.” Dorian spoke seductively and tried to kiss her.

Riley reacted quickly and slammed her fist against his face, causing his lip to bleed. “You try that again and you won’t see the light of day, you got that?”

“Stupid bitch.” Dorian winced.

“Unlock the car, or you’ll get one of those in your balls.”

Dorian wiped the blood from his nose and let her out.

The two men standing by the door moved aside to let her in and she was walked straight to the guest