Special Forces_Operation Alpha_Proteting Maria Read online

  Why had he left though? She couldn’t see any physical injury to him, like having lost a limb like Tex.

  “What made you decide to leave your SEAL team?”

  “It was time.”

  A very vague answer, which meant there was way more to the story than he was telling her. Considering they’d met only ten minutes ago his reluctance to bare his soul to her was understandable. But with this guy here, the last thing she wanted to do was talk to Mel and Tex about the reason for her trip.

  “What do you do for work now?” she asked.

  “A little bit of this. A little bit of that.”

  Another non-committal reply, warning bells rang in her head. Who was this guy? Tex said he trusted him, but even the most loyal, patriotic person could be swayed to take some money and work for her father. It was how he’d managed to stay out of jail. Police and judges were all on his payroll.

  Maria stood abruptly. She needed to get out of there. Tex assured her she would be safe, now with this unexpected guest, she wasn’t too sure.

  She’d almost made her escape when Melody walked into the room.

  “Whoa, Maria, where are you running off too? I haven’t gotten a chance to talk to you.”

  Maria was immediately engulfed in a hug from Melody. This was one person she knew she could trust. After having someone stalk her and maim her dog, Melody wouldn’t be entrapped by her family.

  As much as she’d wanted to get out of dodge, she needed to unburden herself.

  “I was going to see where you were.”

  “I think I scared her.”

  Maria pulled herself out of Melody’s embrace and whipped around to look at Riley, jamming her hands on her hips. “Excuse me, that couldn’t be further from the truth. I’ve had to deal with far scarier surgeons and registrars than you.”

  The arrogant bastard smiled at her. Smiled like he knew exactly what had been going through her mind. It didn’t help that his smile only highlighted his handsomeness.

  “That may be. But you don’t trust me and if Melody hadn’t walked in, you’d have been out that front door quicker than a jack rabbit.”

  How she hated arrogant men who thought they knew exactly what was going through her mind. The fact that this time he was right, grated on her every nerve.

  “Okay, you two, back to your corners.” Melody interrupted the silent war waging between them.

  Maria kept glaring at Riley, ignoring Melody’s instructions. Riley raised an eyebrow before breaking their connection, and going back to where he’d been sitting before Melody had joined them.

  She had no intention of sitting down yet, not until she felt comfortable around him. Which she didn’t see happening anytime soon.

  “How well do you know, Riley?” Maria had never beaten around the bush before. She had no plans to start now.

  “A couple of years. He and Tex weren’t on the same SEAL team, but they knew of each other. Tex has had him investig—” Melody shut her mouth quickly. Her eyes widened in a oh-shit-I’ve-said-too-much.

  Maria looked between Melody and Riley. He’d put his neutral expression back on his face again.

  What the hell was going on here?

  Why exactly is Riley Ashland here?

  Enough was enough. Tex had been evasive when he’d said Riley was passing through. It was becoming clearer and clearer it was no co-incidence Riley happened to be at Tex and Melody’s house the same time as she was.

  “You need to be straight with me, Melody. What are you and Tex up to? And please don’t try and put me off with an oh he’s just passing through line. It won’t fly with me.”

  Melody sighed. “Fine. When I called I knew something was wrong the moment you started talking. I don’t know what it is, but I know you wouldn’t have asked to come up here if it wasn’t something big. Tex agreed with me. He phoned Riley and asked him if he could come here, too.”

  Maria didn’t know what to think. In her life, she’d never had anyone look out for her the way Tex and Melody were doing right now.

  With a glance over her shoulder, she noted Riley had stood and was watching her, assessing her every action.

  “Is he here to act as a bodyguard? Because if that’s what you’re all thinking I need then you can forget it. I don’t need a bodyguard.”

  A hand landed on her shoulder. Her skin tingled and fire meandered through her blood. She knew who was touching her.

  Riley.

  This feeling coursing through her was more dangerous than having a gun held to her head. In a situation like that, the outcome was predictable—dead or alive. But with these sensations, anything could happen and she wasn’t prepared to let herself succumb to them.

  She shook his hand away and turned to face him. “Look, I don’t know what they’ve told you. But I’m fine. I was stressed when I spoke to Melody. Nothing is wrong.”

  “Really.” Only a person from the south could draw out the word like that.

  Tex.

  It probably wasn’t wise to turn her back to Riley, but she had no choice. The only time she never looked someone in the eye when she spoke to them was when she was performing surgery.

  Turning back she glared at Tex. “Yes, really.”

  “So you didn’t perform a surgery procedure in a non-medical facility the other night and the Feds didn’t visit you the day after performing said surgery.”

  With his arms crossed over his wide chest, Tex looked every inch the former SEAL he’d been.

  Formidable.

  Large.

  Threatening, but also protective at the same time. Lying to him wouldn’t be the smartest thing to do. Plus she’d come to see her friends because she needed to talk about what had happened to her. It didn’t mean she needed a bodyguard, though. She knew how to look after herself. That was one thing her father had taught her.

  “Fine. Yes, everything you say is true. I performed surgery on my Uncle Vittorio, my father’s right hand man. Yes, the Feds visited me asking me about the event. And yes, I am the daughter of mob boss Giovanni Moretti.” Her chest rising up and down rapidly from her outburst, she looked around the room. “Is everyone happy now?”

  “We’re only just beginning, Doc.”

  Maria didn’t like the sound of that. And she especially didn’t like the sound of it coming from Riley. And where did he get off giving her a nickname?

  Perhaps coming to Melody had been a bad idea. Had she jumped from the frying pan head long into a cauldron of fire?

  She was reminded of those words the next afternoon when she walked to the back patio and found Riley already sitting out there playing with Baby.

  All damn day Riley was there whenever she turned around or walked into a room.

  “My God, can you not give me some space?”

  She’d specifically come outside because it was the one place she figured he wouldn’t be there, but he was eyes hidden by sunglasses, hair ruffled in that sexy morning after look that begged for her to run her fingers through it.

  Shit.

  This had to stop and it had stop now. She couldn’t afford to let herself entertain any thoughts of getting to know Riley any better. They may not have said anything to her but she wasn’t dumb. The only reason he was sitting on Tex’s back porch was because Tex had decided that she needed a bodyguard.

  Nope not happening.

  “There’s a whole back yard, I’m sure you can find some space to do whatever it is you wanted to do.”

  “What I wanted to do was get away from you.” She crossed her arms over her chest. “How have you been everywhere I’ve been today? Geez, even before knowing where I’m going you’re somehow there.”

  Maria bit down on her temper as he shrugged his broad shoulders while smiling as though he had not one care in the world.

  “Just lucky I guess.”

  “Well if it wouldn’t be too much trouble, can you go find someone else to bother? I’m sure Tex would love to talk to you.”

  When Riley stood and the
n bent to pick up the stick he’d been teasing Baby with, his shorts hugged his ass tightly. As a doctor she’d seen her fair share of bodies, but Riley’s was prime A grade quality. It was clear as the nose on her face, even though he’d left the military, he hadn’t given up on the strict physical regime they put their bodies through to keep themselves in peak physical condition to handle any situation while they were in the service.

  As he walked over to her, twirling the stick in his hand, Maria tamped down the urge to step back. He got within a foot of her and stopped.

  “Here, you play with Baby.” He tossed the stick to her and she caught it without thinking about it. “I’ll leave you to it.”

  “Good idea. Make sure you keep that up for the rest of the weekend.”

  “I’ll think about it,” he whispered into her ear.

  A heady mix of his cologne and unique masculine smell assailed her senses as he walked back into the house, tempting her to follow him. The man should come with a warning—stay away at all costs.

  Thank goodness she only had one more day to get through and then she’d never have to see Riley Ashland again.

  Chapter Four

  Watching from the shadows, Riley observed Maria as she stopped, phone in hand, after exiting the elevator to the basement parking lot of the hospital. He’d been watching her from afar for over a week now.

  As Tex had predicted, Maria refused to have Riley act as her bodyguard. After her admission of the surgery she’d performed on her uncle, he’d given Tex a look that said back off.

  Later that night he and Tex had decided that regardless of what Maria said Riley was going to protect her. He knew it would be impossible to follow her every move while she worked. He had no plans to sit in and watch while she performed surgery. He’d seen enough maimed bodies while he’d been in the military.

  Also he’d worked hard with counseling to deal with lingering PTSD issues upon his return to the States and his acclimatization back into society. He knew if he saw any of her surgeries it would most likely trigger an attack.

  Even though he wasn’t physically watching her in the hospital, Tex had hacked into the hospital’s security systems that enabled him to keep an eye on her through an app on his IPad. He usually had Tex monitoring Maria when she was in surgery. During those times Riley was able to work on some of the other cases they had at the office.

  The workload was light with the impending birth of Lily and Storm’s child. Riley knew the other man didn’t want to be caught out on a job when Lily went into labor. This job for Tex had come at the right time.

  The revving of a car engine drew his attention. It appeared to be coming from the level up. His senses were on alert as Maria headed toward where her car was parked. Riley matched her steps. The tires on the car squealed as it made its progress through the lot. Not an unusual occurrence, but the high-pitched wail of it suggested the car was doing more than the suggested speed limit. Picking up his pace, he dodged between the parked cars to get closer to Maria. She walked into the middle of the driveway when the car pealed around the corner.

  The bright headlights illuminated the surprise on Maria’s face. He was five feet away from her. The car looked like it was slowing down, but he couldn’t be too sure.

  “Fuck.” He sprinted out and wrapped an arm around Maria, twisting so he hit the concrete first and cushioned Maria’s fall. The car screeched to a halt. Riley attempted to position himself so he could see the license plate, but the fall had winded him and all he could do was lie on the cold ground clutching Maria tightly, gasping for air as the car engine revved up and sped away.

  Riley didn’t think the car would come back and try again, but he wasn’t planning on taking any chances.

  “We need to move,” he wheezed the words out in between attempts to gain back his breath. An elbow to his gut wasn’t helping his shortness of breath.

  “What the hell was that for?” Maria scrambled to her feet. He missed the warmth of her body against his.

  “You save a girl’s life and this is the thanks you get.” Riley muttered, grimacing as he stood.

  “I didn’t need rescuing, thank you very much.”

  The last thing he wanted to do was argue with her, but that’s all she seemed to enjoy doing. He grabbed her hand and walked to where they couldn’t be seen by anyone or any cars.

  “I’m not sure if you’re aware, but that car wasn’t just a driver speeding through the parking garage in a hurry to get home. Whoever was behind that wheel was coming for you.”

  It shouldn’t, but satisfaction filled him when he saw the color drain from her face. He had contacts on the streets. Ones who’d helped him with his PI cases before and after he’d joined forces with Storm. From his investigations, word on the ground was Giovanni wanted his daughter back in the fold, even though he promised her she could have her own life. And Giovanni had promised a big payout for whoever could get his daughter back to him.

  Riley was pretty sure Maria hoped she was fully free from her father, but deep down she probably knew she never would be.

  “How do you know they were after me?”

  “Doc, I’ve been here for the last fifteen minutes. No one walked out before you did.”

  “Maybe they came out before you arrived and was on the phone. There could be any number of reasons why that car was in hurry. Going after me couldn’t be one of them.”

  “Maria, come on, you don’t really believe that do you?” He injected enough incredulousness in his tone to get his point across.

  “Whatever. Now can you please let me go so I can go to my car and go home.”

  The fact Maria hadn’t questioned him as to why he was in the parking garage told him what she wasn’t telling him. She was more shaken up than she wanted to admit.

  “You’re in no state to drive. I’ll drive you home.”

  The argument he expected to get from her at his declaration didn’t arrive. He wasn’t going to push his luck, so he steered her to where he’d parked his car.

  Once he got her settled in he surveyed the area around him. A group of people were walking out of the elevator lobby, all of them chatting amongst themselves so he didn’t see them as a threat. There was no echo of a car revving its engine to concern him.

  He got into his car when his phone vibrated pulling it out of his pocket he saw he had an incoming text message from Tex.

  I saw what happened. Are you and Maria okay?

  He quickly typed a response.

  We’re fine. I didn’t get a good look at the license plate but it’s safe to say the vehicle was targeting Maria. I’m driving her home now.

  He started the car and before pulling out another message came through.

  Good idea. Talk soon.

  Riley tossed his phone into the center console and pulled out of the parking bay. He looked over to Maria and found her gazing out the window. He couldn’t work out if the slump in her shoulders was from the shock of what happened or if she was tired from working a twelve-hour shift.

  Once they were safely out of the parking garage and Riley had made a few random turns to make sure they weren’t being followed he allowed himself to relax a bit.

  “Tough day at work?”

  “Why were you in the parking garage tonight?”

  Ah, the haze of shock was beginning to lift.

  “Would you believe me if I said happy coincidence?”

  “Oh shit. No. Please don’t tell me you ignored what I said the weekend we were at Tex’s place and you’re playing bodyguard to me.”

  He knew she was a smart woman.

  “I could deny it, but I won’t.”

  “Ha, you already tried to deny it, Ash. I swear when I get home I’m going to phone Tex and give him hell for thinking he could do this to me.”

  “Before you do that, perhaps you’d like to think about what would’ve happened if I hadn’t been there tonight.”

  “Well we won’t know now will we.”

  This was a conve
rsation he didn’t want to have while driving the streets of Brooklyn. He pulled into a convenience store’s parking lot.

  “Why are we stopping?” Maria asked. “I didn’t say I was thirsty or hungry. I want to go home.”

  Riley swiveled in his seat so he could look at her. “Let’s get back to what we were discussing. You know full well that if I hadn’t been there, you’d either be seriously injured, or lying on a cold metal slab in the morgue, or being transported again to some other destination, and this time maybe not to perform surgery.”

  “You don’t know that.”

  “It’s conceivable that it may not be him, but someone else who could be after you. You’re the only daughter of one of the biggest mobsters in New York. I’d say getting hold of you would appeal to many families.”

  He let the words sink in. The time for being gentle was over. Tonight had been a blatant attempt to harm her. No way was Riley going to let that happen. He hadn’t lost anyone on his watch since he started his business. He wasn’t planning to begin now.

  “I know who my father is, but he promised he wouldn’t hurt me.”

  “And he’s a man of his word is he?”

  Maria opened her mouth and closed it just as quickly, her body sagging in the leather seat. His point had been made.

  He put the car back in gear and exited the parking lot. Riley knew once they got to his place the arguments would start again. Initially he’d been planning on taking her to her place. The possibility that her apartment was being watched was pretty high. It was the first thing that should’ve entered his mind when they got into the car. Only his focus then had been on getting her out of there without the other car returning.

  When they pulled into the underground garage of his apartment complex, out of the corner of his eye he caught Maria straightening in her seat.

  “This is not my place.”

  “No, we’re at mine.” Riley pulled into his designated space and turned the engine off. “And don’t even try and argue with me. Until I can check it out, you’re not returning to your apartment. It could be being watched. You’re safe here.”