“All of them?”
“Yep. Poisoned, one by one.”
“Do you think,” Adrian swallowed, his breath catching in his throat as he realized the answer already, “Riley was involved?”
“She became the prime suspect, but when we couldn’t find anything tying her to their deaths beyond probable cause, we let her go.”
“Did you find who killed them?”
“Nope, still haven’t. I know you seem quite interested in her, perhaps because you’ve known her a long time, or maybe because you like her. I’m gonna tell you something you probably don’t want to hear. Beware of Riley Spencer.”
After what had happened to Noah, Riley wasn’t expecting to hear from Julius for a while, but he had requested that she appear at another one of his “reunions.” When she arrived at his house the event was already underway, the living room full of well-dressed men, each with a glass of wine in hand. Alex, the second waitress, looked at Riley with an expression of despair as if begging for help. She couldn’t even imagine what things those men had said and done to her in Riley’s absence.
“My friends,” Julius began, waiting for all eyes to turn his direction. Alex stopped walking, and Riley remained in her same spot. “Today is a sad day for us. Our dear friend and collaborator, Noah Kirkland, has passed away. I propose a toast. May he be in our hearts forever.”
The men raised their glasses and sipped their drinks. Julius broke the silence with another speech.
“I want to propose another toast,” Julius began again. “I want a toast for vengeance! To the one with Noah’s blood on their hands, know that you are next.” The men took a second sip.
Riley narrowed her eyes at him and the seriousness of his voice. None of his companions complained; on the contrary, they cheered him on. Now Riley was convinced that if the Vigilante wasn’t Julius’s personal enemy before, now he was.
The next few hours were eternal for Riley. With each passing minute the room became more unbearable to be in with all the men wasted, screaming at each other, and looking for an excuse to pick a fight. On the other hand was Julius; he was drunk too, but instead of making a scene like everyone else, he secluded himself in a corner of the room and silently cried.
Riley figured Noah’s death had hit him more than she thought.
After a few seconds he got up, staggering toward the middle of the room, wiped away his tears, and called for everyone’s attention.
“The party is over. Everybody out. Get out!”
As the men filed out of the room to the front door, Riley approached the host. “Do you need anything, sir?”
Julius turned to her with a frown. “Yes, I want—no, I need—the Midnight Vigilante DEAD!” he shouted, and Riley felt a shiver down her spine. “I want this motherfucker out of my town! I want him DEAD!”
Julius kept yelling, every word a curse directed at the Vigilante. Sometimes he stopped to catch his breath, others to break any glass in sight before cursing and screaming more.
He was having a breakdown, and Riley didn’t know what to do but call his men for help. In a matter of seconds two appeared, grabbed him by his arms, and carried him to his bedroom.
Riley turned to leave, but as she headed for the front door, it opened to reveal Adrian as he entered the house.
“Hi,” Adrian whispered, clearing his throat. “How are–”
“I have to go.” Riley tried to move past him, but he laid his hand on her arm, stopping her. “Adrian–”
“We need to talk, Riley. There are a lot of things I need to tell you.”
“I told you before, and I’m telling you again, I haven’t forgotten what you did.” Riley pulled her arm from his grasp and pushed past him through the door, but this time, he let her go.
Chapter Thirty-Five
When Riley left, Adrian focused his entire attention on Julius, who, at the moment, was lying in bed with a drink in his hand. A few of his men stood next to him, guarding him as if he were on his deathbed. It wasn’t the first time Julius’s men had desperately called Adrian for assistance to control Julius’s behavior.
“Julius,” Adrian spoke to him. Julius raised his head from the pillow and immediately tried to get up, stumbling as he did so.
“You’re here. I knew you would come, baby brother.” Julius tried, unsuccessfully, to hug Adrian but didn’t get that far. Instead he fell down on the mattress again. This time he didn’t stand up.
“What the hell happened?” Adrian asked his men. One of them stepped forward.
“Noah Kirkland died, and he went ballistic,” the man said. “He kicked everyone out of the house and started drinking like a madman.”
“Yeah, I heard about the death. I didn’t know they were so close,” Adrian said as he watched his brother toss and turn on the bed.
“He was my BEST CLIENT!” Julius suddenly yelled, sitting up straight on the bed. “My best friend and HE killed him. That motherfucker. Now I want him dead. DEAD and buried.”
“Hey, come on. We’re not certain he was the one, all right? An investigation has started, we just need time,” Adrian explained, softly, as if he were speaking to a child.
“I don’t want time. I want the Vigilante dead, do you hear me? And you are going to help me,” Julius stated. Adrian frowned at his words, but noticed how serious he was despite his drunkenness.
“I can’t do that,” Adrian said.
“Yes you can. You know why? Because you owe me. You owe me your fucking life! Or you want me to remind you of it every single fucking minute?” Julius said. His men exchanged looks between Adrian and Julius, as if they were watching the most exciting conversation ever. “So you’ll pack your shit, go out with my men, and kill that motherfucker. All of you! That’s your mission from now on; kill that motherfucker.”
His men nodded
