His Mafia Queen

The First Step

GABRIEL

Riley walks to the sofa and flings herself onto it, glaring at me.

"Gabriel." Her normally sweet voice is sharp. "Do. Not. Hurt. Him. I'll go to police and get a restraining order."

Like the cops will do anything. I snort and roll my eyes. "Why? Why do you care? Why do you want to protect him?"

"I'm not protecting him."

"Then let me do what I need." I step to my desk and sit in the chair.

"What do you need? To beat him up? To break his kneecaps?" She shakes her head.

"I was thinking more like a bullet between his eyes."

Riley's jaw drops and her look is one of pure horror.

"Amore mio, come on. I'm not going to kill him. I merely want to send a message."

She stands up and walks over to me, wagging her index finger. "I don't want any dead bodies showing up. That's a sick joke. I want the guy to stay away from me, not put him six feet in the ground. I'm going home."

She begins to stomp out.

"Riley. Riley! Goddammit. Stop. Come here."

She's pissed, and not stopping. When she doesn't say goodbye but instead slams the door shut, I swear and follow her out. She must be running because by the time I get to Andre's desk, she's at the elevator.

"Everything okay, boss?" Andre asks mildly.

"Fuck no, everything's not ok. Get one of the bodyguards to follow her. If she goes to the condo, make her stay there," I growl at him as I head to the elevator.

"Yikes," Andre whispers.

I reach the elevator just as Riley's stepping in.

"Why don't you go to my house," I say. "Please?"

She glares at me, jabbing at the buttons. "I don't want to be there alone with your asshole father."

"Good point," I mutter, running a hand through my hair. "Okay, go to the condo and stay there. I'll send body..."

The door slides shut. "Fuck!"

I slam my hand on the steel elevator door then stalk back into the office. "Make sure someone's got an eye on her at all times," I tell Andre, then go to my desk.

I knew this fucking guy would be a problem. Could tell with just one look at his dick face when I saw him that night at the party.

Anger vibrates through me, as if it's running through my veins. "Andre," I call out.

He pokes his head in. "Sir?"

"Find out who owns the building that Sunshine City Books is in, and I want the county property appraiser sheet on it, too"

"Will do."

Five minutes pass. I stare out the window, thinking about all the ways I could torture the guy. How fucking dare he show up at Riley's office? "With fucking flowers," I mutter. "The balls on that guy."

Andre knocks and enters. "Sir, here's the info you wanted."

He hands me a piece of paper. "Oh. Kevin MacPherson owns it? Perfect."

I grab my cell and dial. "Kevin! How you doing, old man?"

Kevin's a great guy, an old-school developer who retired and still owns a few buildings. We've golfed together before.

"Gabriel! I heard you're engaged! Congratulations! Who's the lucky woman?"

I tell him a bit about Riley, and he asks about my father. I calm down as I lapse into easy conversation.