His Mafia Queen

Love Bullets

RILEY

Gabriel and I eat the rest of our meal in near-silence. He gave a brief recap of his conversation with my father, and I'm pissed all over again. I barely can choke down any food.

It's a delicious Italian meal, some of the best I've had. Unfortunately, I can't enjoy it and my stomach is soon full.

"I'm sorry, I can't eat anymore. Too nervous." I push my plate of linguini away.

"Babe, please. You haven't had anything since this morning."

I'm about to make a crack about my mother's awful cake, but I can't bring myself to do so. I pick at a clam and a strand of linguini and chew slowly.

A little while later, Gabriel asks me if I want dessert.

"I hear the tiramisu is incredible," he adds, but I shake my head no.

"Okay, amore mio," he says, then sucks down a tiny cup of espresso. "I've had about ten of these today."

We're quiet in the car, on the ride back to Southie. It's pouring hard now, and the announcer on the radio says something about how the storm is the tail end of a Nor'easter.

"Call the jet and see if we can take off tonight," Gabriel tells the two men in front.

We pull up to my parents' block and park. I turn to Gabriel. "Okay, I'll run upstairs and say goodbye, and I'll be right down."

He shakes his head. "I'm coming with you."

"No. Why?"

"Riley, it's about respect. Even though your father has none with me, I respect your parents because they made you. I respect them enough to say goodbye."

I'm too annoyed with him and the situation to argue. "Okay, fine. Let's do it."

We climb out of the car and march up the stairs. I don't bother knocking, just barge into my parents' house.

"Mom? Dad?" I yell.

"In here," Dad's irascible voice echoes through the apartment. "Kitchen."

My stomach clenches even more. I glance at Gabriel and take his hand while we walk down the hall.

In the kitchen, the first thing I see is my father. He's smirking and drinking beer.

The second thing I see is the man sitting with him at the table.

Beckett Sinclair.

I wriggle out of Gabriel's hand. "Great. Just fucking great. Seeing this guy in my house."

"It's not your house, missy," Dad says. "You're the one who moved out."

"Riley." Beckett stands and holds his arms open. "It's so good to see you."

"Fuck off," I say, then turn to Dad. "You thought you'd fix me up with this asshole, and did it in the sneakiest, worst way."

My father snickers.

"Oh, come on. We had fun, didn't we, Riley?" Beckett says.

"Shut. The. Fuck. Up." That's Gabriel, and he sounds angrier than I've ever heard him. "We're here to say goodbye and leave. We don't want trouble."

"Where's mom?" I say to Dad.

He shrugs. "Around. High. I think in the bedroom."

"I can't believe you let her take all those pills. I can't believe you tried to hook me up with Beckett. I can't believe anything that's happening. Why, Dad, why? What are you getting out of this?"