“Some client you have. Does he grope all of your waitresses?”
“Okay, party’s over,” Julius suddenly announced. Immediately, the attendees began walking toward the door, whispering to each other as they parted. “You ruined my party.”
“I’m sorry, bu–”
“My best client. Do you have any idea how hard it was for me to convince him to invest in this? Months! And now you ruined it, all in one move!”
Riley didn’t know how to respond. Julius looked like he was about to hit her, and she didn’t want to take chances by saying something wrong.
“Get out,” he commanded with forced calm. “Go change, and leave.”
Riley nodded and walked toward the guest room, leaving the door open slightly in case Julius said anything she might need to hear clearly.
Two minutes later, she heard the front door open and close as Julius greeted someone.
“Your man called me. What’s the problem now?”
Sneaking down the hallway, Riley’s jaw fell at the sight of Adrian standing a few feet away from her, though he couldn’t know she remained hidden behind a wall.
“You were supposed to be here an hour ago. What took you so long?” Julius asked.
Adrian frowned. “I have a job, you know? I can’t just come running whenever you call,” Adrian responded.
“Yes. You. Can. You know why? Because you’re my brother, and family comes first.”
The truth felt like someone had thrown a bucket of ice water over her body and it hurt more than she wanted to admit. Riley had thought Adrian was her friend; she should have known better than to trust a cop.
“Just tell me what your problem is so I can go,” Adrian said, looking around the room to the mess and blood smeared on a table. “What the hell happened here?”
“Oh that? Nothing. One of my waitresses got rough with a guest, nothing too important. I’ll deal with her later,” Julius sighed and dismissively waved a hand. “So, my problem. This new detective. He’s been asking questions about my men, how they died, and sniffing around my business. You know I don’t like questions.”
“He’s a detective. His job is to ask questions,” Adrian sighed. “So, is that why you called me, to complain? You could have told me this on the phone.”
“Then let me invite you to a drink, make the trip worth your while,” Julius smiled, pouring an amber drink before handing it to Adrian, whose eyes lingered on the beverage for a few moments before passing it back. “That’s my brother! I knew you wouldn’t give in to temptation.”
“Don’t be an asshole. Are we done?”
“Wait here, I’ve got a surprise for you,” Julius said as he walked out of the room.
Riley heard footsteps coming her way and hurried back to her room, feigning a malfunction of the zipper on her jeans. Julian waltzed in and practically dragged her toward the living room where Adrian waited.
“Remember Riley, Lydia’s sister? She works for me now,” Julius said. “Riley, this is my brother, Adrian. You know each other, right?”
“Yes, yes we do. He was at my sister’s funeral,” Riley replied with gritted teeth.
“I didn’t know you worked for Julius,” Adrian said with a soft voice.
Riley swallowed the lump in her throat and turned toward Julius. She refused to cry in front of Adrian, she refused to show how betrayed and hurt she felt. “Can I go home now? I think my job here is done,” Riley said. Julius nodded and she hurried to the door without looking back.
The tears she’d been fighting began spilling down Riley’s face as she hurried away from Julius’s house. She wasn’t upset about Adrian’s betrayal—she knew to expect it from a cop, after all—as much as she was exhausted by her life of secrets. A lifestyle she shared with her sister, although that was yet another thing she’d learned too late. How many other things did they have in common that she’d never know because of Julius?
But Adrian’s secret, his relationship to his brother, her sister’s killer . . . How many more skeletons were in the family closets she had trusted for refuge?
She shouldn’t be affected like this by Adrian; she barely knew him. She couldn’t deny, though, that deep inside she had felt a connection. As worried as she’d been to share her secrets, she now knew he had despicable ones of his own.
Could she ever trust him again, knowing his brother was the one who’d killed Lydia? That he’d refused to act because of his loyalty to family over that of justice?
Riley could hear Adrian calling her name, but she wanted to ignore him. She wasn’t in the mood for his explanation, whatever it might be.
“Riley wait! Let me talk,” Adrian called after her. She stopped, realizing she couldn’t outpace his jog, and he stepped in front of her, breathing heavily. “Can we talk?”
“You wanna talk? Okay, let’s talk. Let’s start with you and your brother Julius.”
“Listen, I can explain.”
“You have nothing to explain. I get it. You and Julius are brothers, you refused to investigate my sister’s murder because you’re protecting that asshole. Right?”
“Yes, you’re right. Julius is my brother, half-brother to be precise–”
“Doesn’t make a damn difference.”
“I did lie to you, all right? I’m sorry. I should have told you about him, but how could I? I’m not trying to protect Julius, I’m trying to arrest him. I know my actions don’t reflect what I’m really trying to do, but I can promise you Julius being behind bars is my only objective.”
“Your priority should be the people he’s been hurting, Adrian. My sister being one of them, or are you gonna forget about her?” Riley asked. Adrian looked as if he was holding something back, so she pushed a bit further. “There’s something you’re not telling me. Adrian, whatever you’re hiding from me, don’t. You owe me the truth.”
Adrian sighed and looked at the ground before meeting Riley’s
