And she had saved him.
Who would have thought this day would come?
A knock on the door stopped her from taking her clothes off and she peeked through the curtains to see who it was. Adrian. A very distressed Adrian.
She opened the door to let him in after a second, though she was ready to keep him out if he was going to pick a fight.
“What are you doing here? It’s late,” Riley said, showing how exhausted she was just by the tone of her voice.
“You went out,” Adrian said, looking at her outfit and her sweaty forehead.
“Yes, so? Did you want me to ask for your permission or what?” Riley said as she moved into the open kitchen to fetch a glass of water. Adrian followed her around, not willing to lose her from his eyesight.
“Marcus is in the hospital. He was attacked, by two men,” Adrian said and watched her reaction upon the news. “But you knew about this, didn’t you? Because you were there.”
“Is there something you want to accuse me of, Adrian?” Riley asked.
“You saved his life.” Riley just shrugged, giving it less importance than it really had.
“Anyone would have done the same,” Riley replied.
“Yeah, except you hate him, and this was the perfect opportunity to get rid of him. Why didn’t you?”
“Because, despite being a huge pain in my ass, he doesn’t deserve to die that way, and especially not at the hands of your brother’s men.”
Adrian frowned. “Are you sure they were Julius’s guys?”
“Yeah, Arthur and Jeremiah. I recognized them immediately. They looked like they were on a mission specifically to kill Marcus. They didn’t even hesitate or try to hide who they were once they found him. I was out for a walk and saw the whole thing. I guess they didn’t expect they would have a witness.”
“Son of a bitch. Intentionally attacking a cop? A cop who didn’t do anything more than be in the wrong place at the wrong time? Julius has gone too far this time.”
“He’s been going too far for a long time, Adrian; you have to know that. But there’s something else. I think Marcus heard my voice. I talked to him before the ambulance arrived, and I think he recognized me. I’ve been arguing with him for so long I’m sure he knows my voice, even without seeing my face.”
“He has a concussion. He’ll think he was hallucinating,” Adrian replied.
“What if he doesn’t? What if he starts connecting the dots? He’s a smart guy, even if he is an ass.”
“Listen, even if he does know who you are, I hardly doubt he’ll do something against you. After all, you saved his life.”
“I hope you’re right. I would hate to put him on the blacklist again.”
When Adrian left Riley’s house, he marched straight to his brother’s, banging on the door as if he could beat it down with a single fist.
After a few minutes, Dorian opened the door and Adrian waltzed inside without waiting for an invitation. When he entered the living room, Julius was in his usual spot on the couch, snorting a line of coke. His eyes were half closed and he wore a smile that told Adrian the drug was already carrying him to a land far away. Adrian cleared his throat loudly, snapping Julius back to reality.
“Brother!”
“Is there something you need to celebrate, or is this just a new happy hour for you?” Adrian asked, hardly giving his brother a chance to respond before he’d tackled Julius and pinned him to the floor. He drew his gun and leveled it at Dorian, who immediately raised his hands in surrender.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Julius gasped.
“Get out of here now, or I’ll shoot you,” Adrian told Dorian, who quickly exchanged looks with Julius before running from the room, tripping over a foot stool in the process.
Julius was still on the floor, trying unsuccessfully to stand. “What, what’s gotten into to you?”
It was the first time Adrian had seen his brother show fear, and he was enjoying it.
“What’s gotten into me? Seriously, is that all you’re gonna fucking say?” Adrian snapped. Julius shrugged. “You fucking tried to kill a cop! You sent your fucking minions to try to kill my partner, you dickhead!”
“I was doing us a favor! Don’t you see? He’s gonna ask questions, he’s gonna figure out you’re my brother and you, you, my friend, will have lots of explaining to do.” Julius smirked as he wiped the blood from his nose.
Adrian stepped back and grabbed Julius by his collar, lifting him from the ground.
“If I have to answer questions, then I will. But you? You stay the hell away from my partner, or I swear to God, I’ll talk like there’s no tomorrow. I’ve got nothing to lose.” He dropped Julius to the floor again, where he remained as Adrian walked toward the door.
“You’ll regret turning your back on me, bro. I know you will!”
Chapter Forty-Eight
Deep in thought, Marcus stared through the window of his hospital room, not truly looking at the birds in the tree branches. His mind kept wandering to the events of the previous night: the text message, the street he had walked for only a few minutes until the men and their attack made him realize it was a set up.
More than the text message trap, Marcus was revisiting his feelings toward the Midnight Vigilante. He’d always thought he wanted the masked criminal behind bars, but then it was the Vigilante who’d saved him and called an ambulance.
Now he wondered: was the Vigilante a criminal or not?
“Hey, you’re awake,” Adrian said as he walked inside and closed the door. “How are you holding up?”
“Good. I mean, better than I expected.” Marcus tried to sit up straight, though the sharp pain in his abdomen reminded him he was still more injured than he wanted to remember. “This hurts like a motherfucker, though.”
“I can
