The Slot (Rochester Riot #1)(63)
“We need to take Julia home,” Adam said. “I want you to come. Julia can drive you back tomorrow for your car.”
“But what? I don’t understand.” SueAnn stared from Adam to Julia. “Honey? Julia? Are you okay?” Concern filled her eyes.
“I’m okay.” Julia smiled at her. “I just want to go home.”
“We’ll talk at home,” said Adam quietly to SueAnn. “We need to get out of here before someone calls the press. For some reason, my comings and goings are still news around here.”
She nodded and took a hold of Julia’s arm. The car pulled to the curb, so the bouncer got out and tossed the keys to Adam while SueAnn helped Julia into the back seat. Julia promptly laid her head back and let out a deep sigh. SueAnn wrapped her arm around her friend and put her head on her shoulder. Adam remained silent as he drove to Julia’s with only sporadic navigation from SueAnn.
Adam parked out front of Julia’s newly remodeled Craftsman and came around to the side door. Adam bent over, and ignoring the pain from the accident, he picked her up and carried her up the front steps to her house while SueAnn unlocked the front door.
“Where’s her bedroom? I still don’t trust her to walk without stumbling. I think we’ve had enough injury for one night.” Adam paused in the front foyer while SueAnn flipped on the hallway and living room lights. Her expression betrayed her confusion as to why a famous professional athlete held her sleeping friend in his arms like a limp blanket.
“Follow me.” SueAnn led the way down a tastefully decorated hallway lined with beautiful black and white images of old barns and farms. Julia’s work? She swung a six-panel oak door wide. “In here.”
Julia remained fast asleep in his arms, and he almost couldn’t bear the thought of having to let her go. A sudden urge to stay the night, just sitting beside her to watch her breathe overcame him. When she woke up, she’d be scared and confused.
This was not how his night was supposed to go. He should have been there to protect her, but instead, he’d been indulging fans while that sleaze Carter was trolling for his next victim. He felt his blood pressure spike again as rage washed over him.
SueAnn pulled back a fluffy ivory duvet cover. Decorator pillows got tossed to the floor, and Adam gently laid Julia on to her emerald satin sheets and goose feather pillow. He pulled the covers up over her and tucked them around her slight body, wishing he could crawl in beside her and wrap his arms around her. Hold her. He gently brushed her hair from her eyes and gazed down at her. She was so beautiful. And fragile.
SueAnn came in with a bottle of water and set it on the nightstand beside Julia, who hadn’t stirred. Adam got up off the side of the bed, and they left the bedroom to stand in the foyer. He leaned against the front door with his muscular arms crossed and told SueAnn he’d found Carter with his hand down Julia’s skirt.
“That greasy, slimy son of a bitch,” snapped SueAnn. “You know, I’d heard the rumors too. Hell, everyone has.”
“I don’t know for sure,” said Adam. “But I don’t think she’d had that much to drink. Hell, only slamming a bunch of shots could get a girl that plastered in that short of a time. I feel pretty damn sure, she didn’t want to leave with him. She was barely upright. I should have taken her to the hospital, but she’d been so…”
SueAnn shook her head, shaking with fury. She pulled two beers from the fridge and handed one to him. “So much for a fun night out,” she commented as she took a swig from hers.
Adam held the brown bottle in a death grip. “It’s my fault. I shouldn’t have left her alone for so long. But the fans, they’re everywhere and they always want a piece of me.”
“Adam, this is not your fault, so don’t even go there.”
His lips twisted in a smirk. A half-smile that spoke volumes about how he felt about his lack of ability to stop what happened. He’d failed. His career. His life. Now, with Julia. And it felt like his failure to protect her was the worst punch to his gut out of all of it.
“Listen, you’ll stay with her right? All night? I don’t think she should be alone. What if there are adverse effects from the drug he gave her?”
SueAnn walked over him and took his hand. “Adam, when she wakes up, I’m going to tell her you’re a hero. Don’t you worry your gorgeous rink-hunk head over this. I’d go home and put some ice on that right hand, Rocky.” She winked at him as she held his swollen fingers up for a closer inspection.
Adam grinned and gave her hand a squeeze. SueAnn was a good friend to Julia, and he liked her. That’s what he needed in his life. Especially now. Good people. Friends who were genuine and looked out for each other. He gave her a quick hug and left. His heart ached to go back in and check on Julia, but he’d have to settle for a phone call in the morning.
A short while later, Adam pulled onto the gravel drive of his house and wound his way up to the front. From the street, he’d immediately noticed the lights were on and a new flood of rage ignited over him when he saw Mark’s jeep parked out front. This night just couldn’t get any worse.
He got out and slammed the door with every intention of killing his ignorant brother. He hadn’t been able to finish Carter off, but there weren’t any good Samaritans on the farm to stop him from beating the shit out of that Benedict Arnold. Mark’s audacity in thinking he’d be welcome here surprised Adam more than anything.