"Who the hell are you?" Grayson demanded, staring at Alex. "And how dare you just barge in here! I didn't order any room service, so get out."
Alex hadn't expected to witness such a scene, and he was irritated by the way the other man was speaking to him. After all, it had been an eventful day, and he still hadn't managed to find Debbie, so his temper was a little frayed.
Now he had walked into his own suite to find this man bullying Cassidy Pike, so he had no intention of simply walking away.
He sat down, staring at Grayson and saying nothing, making it clear he was going nowhere.
"You're certainly very brave," Grayson said. "But enough is enough. Get out of here right now, and I'll pretend this never happened. If you choose to be stubborn about this, I'll make sure you regret it."
As a well-known director, he had a lot of powerful contacts, and he wasn't afraid to use them to get revenge on anyone who annoyed him. Besides, he had a strong reputation around Baltimore, and not many people had the courage to stand up to him, so he was sure Alex would give up quickly.
Unfortunately for him, Alex had a strong sense of justice, and he was not easily intimidated. He had also met Cassidy, and he couldn't just leave her there and do nothing.
"Did you hear me?" Grayson demanded. "I won't tell you again. You need to leave. Now."
"You should go," Cassidy said, trembling with fear. Although she wanted someone to help her, she didn't want Alex to get hurt. He looked so young, and she doubted he could take on Grayson, anyway. She decided it would be better if he didn't get involved.
Although she still had her phone, she was too scared to call the police because she was aware of Grayson's reputation. She knew he was involved in many things, and he had the resources to hurt, or even kill, anyone who interfered. So she had to persuade Alex to leave, because she didn't want to be responsible for something happening to him.
Grayson was the leader of a group of gangsters. A while ago, one of his men had disobeyed him, and then the man's body had been found the next day. When the police had arrived, they had barely investigated, and they hadn't even questioned Grayson.
Even though Cassidy believed Alex was special, she didn't think he was Grayson's equal, and she knew Grayson would probably kill him.
But Alex ignored her attempt to get him to leave. He remained seated, seemingly calm, as he watched Grayson.
"You're really not very bright, are you?" Grayson asked, taunting him. "You really shouldn't get yourself involved in things that don't concern you. Do you know who I am?"
He stalked away from Cassidy to pick up a bottle of wine, and then he walked over to Alex, looming over him. Then he raised the wine bottle and smirked at Alex. "I'll teach you to stick your nose where it isn't wanted."
He brought his hand down quickly, intending to smash the bottle over Alex's head. But Alex launched into action, evading the strike, and wrapping his arm around Grayson's throat in a choke hold.
Cassidy gaped at Alex as he dragged Grayson across the room, wondering what on earth was happening.
"Get off me!" Grayson gasped, frantically trying to pry Alex's arm from his neck. "I'm Grayson Turner! You can't treat me like this. You're a dead man walking. There's nowhere you can hide that I won't find you!"
He was furious, but he didn't think Alex would actually dare hurt him. After all, Grayson could make his life extremely difficult, and he didn't forgive easily. More powerful men than Alex were terrified of Grayson, so he was used to being obeyed.
But Alex didn't answer. Instead, he pulled Grayson over to the open window and held him there, forcing him to look down at the street below.
Grayson gave a choked laugh, clearly unafraid.
"Is this supposed to frighten me?" he asked, sneering. "Kill me, then, if you have the guts. But something tells me you don't." He didn't believe for a moment that Alex would be foolish enough to kill him, not with Grayson's notoriety.
He was convinced Alex was bluffing, and he wasn't going to fall for it.
But he had underestimated Alex, who had always hated bullies.
Alex didn't bother to speak. He just relaxed his grip on Grayson's neck, shoved him forward, and dangled him out the window.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Grayson asked, still not believing Alex was brave enough to go through with it. After all, although Alex was a little strange, he was still a young man, so Grayson doubted he had any experience of hurting people.
Besides, Grayson simply couldn't understand why someone would risk death for the sake of some celebrity. So, instead of begging for his life, he continued to treat Alex with contempt and ridicule.
Even Cassidy thought Alex just intended to scare Grayson and wouldn't really hurt him.
But then Grayson noticed Alex was completely calm, and he grew a little flustered. He had assumed Alex was acting rashly because he had lost his temper, but now it seemed that he was simply indifferent to the situation, and that made Grayson nervous. He turned his head to look at the implacable expression on Alex's face, and a chill shot down his spine.
"Let go of me!" he yelled. "No! Wait! Don't let go. Pull me up!" His eyes grew wide as he began to realize Alex meant business. He trembled, now scared Alex might kill him, and he wasn't certain he could talk himself out of this. Despite his many resources, none of them were available right at that moment, and there was nothing he could do.
"If you kill me, the police will find my body, and then you'll be arrested," Grayson warned him. "Is that what you want? Are you prepared to go to prison for this?"
Alex smiled. "I'll take my chances."
Then he released Grayson, letting him fall.
Cassidy stared at him, shocked at what she had witnessed. She couldn't believe the quiet young man from her concert had just killed a man.