His Mafia Queen

Altered State

RILEY

Even though I know this is a dire situation and Gabriel looks like he's about to explode with anger, I grab a fistful of his shirt.

"You're not going to kidnap me, right? You'll take me home if I leave? And then you'll go?"

He drags in a lungful of air. "Yes," he finally says.

"Hey, bro, what the fuck?" Austin yells.

I whirl and turn to him. "If you know what's good for you, leave us alone."

Ignoring Austin, who's sputtering and likely coming to the conclusion that I'm not worth causing a scene over, Gabriel and I turn away. The bar is suddenly loud again, with so much conversation and laughter that it makes me woozy.

As we make our way toward the door — thankfully without Austin in tow — I stop.

"No, I can't! Brynn," I say to Gabriel. "We can't leave her here alone with those two guys."

He shakes his head. "She's fine. One of my bodyguards will make sure she's safe."

"What? That seems like a violation of her privacy. Your guy is going to stare at her and monitor her all night?"

Gabriel places his hands on my shoulders and physically turns me toward the dance floor. Even though the band's stopped playing, a handful of people are still dancing to the DJ's music.

"Look." He points.

I spot Brynn, grinding her butt against Gabriel's bodyguard while laughing her head off, and I snort.

"He looks confused," I say, relieved that Brynn is in good hands. Or she's about to seduce a mafia bodyguard. Either way, she's about to have a better night than I am.

Gabriel shrugs. "He's a gentleman. At least she won't be date raped by those two frat bros you picked up. Let's go."

We walk out of the bar, with me seething at Gabriel's insinuation that I came here to find a man. Well, Gabriel walks out. I stagger, and once we're outside I take a few steps and almost fall off the curb.

Gabriel snatches me from a fall and props me up. "Christ, Riley, how much did you have to drink?"

"What's it to you?" Now that I've acquiesced to his immediate demand that I leave, I'm in the mood to fight. "And I didn't come here to pick up a guy. All I wanted was to hang out with my friend. Who is a raging party animal, apparently. Oh, God, did I just say the words 'raging party animal'? I'm like the biggest dork on the planet."

He's silent as he steers me to the waiting car. He opens the back door and I collapse inside, still talking to myself. He gently pushes me further onto the seat and gets in next to me.

"I want to go home," I moan while sprawled out. "My home. Where I can talk to myself in peace. I'm the only one who understands me."

I slur my address and Gabriel repeats it to the driver. We pull away and I let out a long, guttural groan.

"My head. It hurts. Oh my God. I need aspirin. This is going to be the night that makes me stop drinking."

Gabriel isn't saying a word while he stares out the window. He can't even look at me, he's so repelled. If I had to guess, he's furious. In my booze-addled mind, I can't comprehend how — or why — he found me at the bar. I straighten to sitting, well, slumping, and am about to ask a question when nausea hits me.

Not a wave of nausea, but a tsunami.

"I'm going to —" I can't even finish the sentence because I vomit all over my legs, shoes and the floor of the car.