The Killer Fix

Chapter 13

It's three in the morning when Grayson finally makes it back to his loft. Running past every contact he has and checking any lead he could think of only left him empty handed. A third victim, this time in the immediate vicinity of Riley and Milo, has brought extra pressure. The killer's closing in, and he's taken matters into his own hands. He has now proven he doesn't need Grayson to do his dirty work for him, and Gray hates to admit it's got him a bit shaken up. 

After parking his jet black Ford pickup in the usual hiding spot he rushes through the rain to the entrance. Once inside he notices the lights coming from upstairs straight off. While stealthily making his way up the steps he takes out his gun, keeping it pointed at the ground. Soundlessly he opens the door and steps into the hallway. He can hear noises coming from the kitchen, someone is definitely here. 

Gradually he reaches the corner, pushing his back to the wall as he raises his gun. But when he peers around the bend to identify his intruder, what he sees leaves him momentarily breathless. He lowers his gun, unable to tear his eyes away from the scene. Standing on her toes, attempting to reach for the top shelf of one of the dark ebony cabinets, wearing one of his shirts, is Riley. 

Gray swallows as he pushes back his thick sleek hair, attempting to compose himself. 'I thought I told you not to come back here.' 

Responding with a startled jump and a quick turn, she pulls down the shirt over her legs as she looks at him. As she does he notices the wound on her leg. 'Are you okay?' 

She looks down, seemingly having forgotten about it for a moment. 'Oh, yeah... I just eh... do you have a band-aid? I can't find anything in this kitchen.' 

As he puts away the gun he bends down and reaches into a lower cabinet, taking out a first-aid kit. He taps on the counter, signaling her to sit. Being only 5.1 feet tall, her short stature gives her some trouble, but she manages to pull herself up. 

As Gray begins to carefully bandage her wound, Riley feels the need to explain herself. 'I'm sorry for coming back here. It's just... this is the only safe place I could think of.' 

He pauses to look at her for a moment, seeming empathetic rather than his usual indifference. 'It's okay.' As he continues he glances at her a second time, grinning. 'Did you raid my closet?' 

'I got caught in the rain, didn't have a dry change of clothes. I hope you don't mind...' 

He grins a second time as he shakes his head. 'No, it looks good on you.' 

The sudden compliment makes Riley feel a bit flustered, and even more nervous. The unusual closeness between them is stunning her. Once he's done treating her wound, he pulls himself away, walking to the living room. He then notices the open bottle on the coffee table. 'I see you found my scotch.' 

On her bare feet she walks past him and settles on the couch, reaching for the bottle. 'Yeah, I eh... needed a drink. In fact, I need another one.' 

As she takes a sip he joins her, studying her carefully. 'Did something happen? I mean, other than... everything that's happening. I thought your boyfriend was going to take you home.' 

She catches the underlying sarcastic tone in his voice as he says boyfriend. 'Aaron is... not... not who I thought he was. We're not what we used to be.' 

Gray appears confused by her statement, so she decides to elaborate, suddenly wanting to tell him everything. 'Those threats I was getting... Aaron send them.' 

'Wait, he's the killer?' 

'No, at least, he swears he isn't. He did admit to dealing drugs, however. He and Milo were selling Glow, he knew what the murder weapon was all along. And he wanted to stop me from investigating it.' As she downs some more of the scotch Gray carefully considers the new development.