His Mafia Queen

Moth and Flame

RILEY

Gabriel's shoulders slump, his entire body looking like he's deflating before my eyes. "You should hate me, Riley. You should be afraid of me. You should run."

"You're right."

He blows out a breath. "I didn't intend for you to see me like this."

"I'm sure." I can't look at him, mostly because I don't know whether I should be pissed, or scared, or sad — or if I should hug him and ask if he's okay.

What does one do in this situation? There's no manual for dating a mafioso.

"Are you hurt?"

"No."

I continue to stare out the window, but I can feel his presence, his warmth, next to me. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"You're sure you want to know?"

I twist to face him, and grimace at the sight of dozens of small red dots on his face. "Your shirt was bloodstained and you have splatter on your neck. As the person you've been fucking for a couple of months, I think I deserve some sort of explanation, no?"

"We're doing more than fucking," he hisses. "That was a low blow."

The fury's rising in me. I'm thinking of my father, and how when my mom questioned his late-night activities with the local gangsters. Dad's response was a backhand to Mom's face, and I'm wondering if Gabriel's going to fly off the handle in a similar fashion.

"I deserve to know, because this is more than fucking."

He hangs his head and stares at his hands, which are pressed together in a prayer. "A man stole from me."

"Stole money? Goods? Services? Puppies? I need more information, Gabriel."

"He didn't give me all the money he owed me, and then he..."

There's a pause and I narrow my eyes.

"He purchased from a competitor, and that was against our agreement."

Nothing is adding up. "That seems like a flimsy excuse to hurt someone."

"I can't explain the full story."

"Why not?"

Gabriel lifts his head and stares at me with fury in his eyes. "Because I'm trying to shield you from any liability, if it comes to that. You would be compelled to testify against me. We're not married so we don't have spousal privilege in court."

I hold my breath for a few beats, letting the seriousness of the situation sink in. He did something awful tonight, I can tell.

"Did you kill someone?" I ask in a low voice.

Gabriel stares into my eyes, but says nothing. A chill races down the column of my spine.

"I don't know what that means."

"It means, this is a question you don't want to know the answer to."

Finally I break away from our staring contest. "Fuck," I whisper.

"It's complicated."

"Of course it is." I rake in a few breaths, trying to control my pounding heart. "This is the life you chose."

"No. No way. It's the life I was born into."

"Does that make it any better?"

"No. But I'm trying to make things better. I do make things better, for many, many people in this city. By building affordable housing. By giving to charity. By backing the best political candidates, which aren't always the ones who do my bidding."