“Go clean yourself up, I’ll fix this mess.”
After a heavy pause, Lydia watched as her sister disappeared upstairs, leaving her alone to cry, desperation taking its toll.
Julius had gone too far this time.
The police station was less crowded than the last time Lydia had been there. It was the second time she spoke to Adrian in a week, and when he saw her standing outside his office, his worried look spoke volumes. She broke down in tears the minute he closed the door behind them.
After a few minutes, Lydia took a seat. “Julius attacked my sister.” The words burst from her mouth in a rush. “He sent two men to kill her, and now they’re both buried on my backyard.”
“Wait, what?”
“Riley killed them, in self-defense, obviously. But she was too scared to call the police with the fear of being arrested, so she did that instead. She didn’t have another choice,” Lydia said.
“She became a criminal, Lydia. A criminal just like Julius,” Adrian said as he paced around his office like a caged animal.
“She will never be like Julius. He’s a despicable, cold-hearted asshole who uses his minions to commit crimes as he pleases. Riley defended herself against them. There wasn’t anything else she could do.”
Adrian paused and nodded. “Tell me, why did he attack her? I thought you didn’t want him to know she existed.”
Another wave of tears overwhelmed Lydia. “It’s all my fault. I spoke without thinking, and he came to the conclusion that Riley was bothering me. He offered to take care of her, but I told him no. Clearly he didn’t listen. I can’t imagine what’s gonna happen when he finds out they’re dead.”
“Let’s calm down a bit, shall we? We’re gonna deal with that when the time comes–”
“When the time comes? Adrian, there is no time! Julius has eyes and ears everywhere. Sooner or later he will find out what Riley did, if he doesn’t already know! No one would be able to save her, not even me. You have to arrest him. You have to take him down, now, before he acts.”
“We don’t have enough evidence against him. We haven’t caught him doing anything illegal yet, and if we act too soon, everything we’ve been working on will go to hell.”
“He has threatened or killed everyone he wants! What other proof do you need?”
“I need action. I need to see him actually pulling the trigger this time, not just suggesting a hit.”
Lydia started sobbing again. “God, when will this nightmare ever end?”
“Hey, I told you, you can walk way whenever you want to. We can get someone else to do this.”
“No, Julius trusts me.” She shook her head. “He’s infatuated by me. I have to use that to get him to talk, catch him in the act of something. I can’t walk away. I just need you to protect Riley.”
“Of course. I’ll do everything I can.”
Lydia nodded. “Please, I don’t want her dead because of me, Adrian. She doesn’t deserve this. I don’t want to lose her.”
As she cried, Adrian pulled Lydia into a hug and kissed the top of her head. “You won’t. I’ll make sure of it.”
Chapter Ten
Riley had tried to come up with an excuse as to why her face was black and blue—there was no way anyone would believe she’d won the fight.
She put on her sunglasses and wore her hair loose to help cover her bruises. It had worked enough to avoid curious looks from people passing by, but what she cared about most were the questions that would surely come from her boss and Paige.
“Sleep well?” Paige asked as soon as Riley entered the bar.
Riley tried her best to greet her quickly, but her coworker noticed her odd attire, posture and the lame attempt at covering her bruised face.
“What happened? Who did this to you? You want me to call the police? I’m calling the police.”
Paige hurried toward the phone, making Riley a little dizzy.
“Stop,” Riley interjected. “There’s no need to call the police, all right? I was mugged, and I don’t know who it was because I didn’t see their faces.”
“It was more than one?” Paige snapped so loudly the few customers inside turned their heads toward them with curious eyes.
Riley dragged her toward the back so they could continue their conversation without an audience. “They were two.”
“Oh my God, Riley! They could have killed you! You have to talk to the police. Talk to Detective Castelló–”
“No, I already told you, it’s useless. Look, I’m fine. They only took my wallet, nothing else,” Riley reassured her. It was a lie, but apparently a very good one.
“Are you sure?”
Riley nodded. “I told you, I’m more than okay. It wasn’t like I didn’t defend myself, either. I mean, you should have seen the other guys.”
Her attempt at a joke worked, and Paige echoed Riley’s giggles. “Still, if you feel bad, let me know and I’ll take you home, or we can go to the hospital.”
“Deal.”
When Lydia saw the two men standing outside her day job, her heart started to race. When the goons called her name and the rest of her friends turned around to whisper, Lydia knew trouble was brewing. The way the men dragged her away and pushed her inside the car confirmed an attitude that made her skin crawl.
After they arrived at their destination and she was pulled violently out of the car and into the house, she realized everything she had been thinking was correct. Julius was absolutely enraged. His blue eyes narrowed the minute Lydia stepped into his office.
“Julius–” She spoke his name and his rage increased.
“Shut up and sit down,” Julius spat, and Lydia complied. “You look so beautiful”
He started pacing around
