Maria caught another side-eye from one of her colleagues as she walked down the hallway toward the stairwell. It probably had to do with the smile on her face. A smile she’d had since Riley dropped off at work and kissed her with an intensity that had her wanting to forget about work and go back to his place and climb back into bed with him.

Waking up, wrapped in his arms had been an amazing feeling. Never before had she’d spent the night in someone’s arms. It had been torture to tear herself out of them. Riley had seemed reluctant to let her go as well. She’d been eating breakfast at the small table in his kitchen when he’d walked into the room, a frown etched into his face. His refusal to answer any questions should’ve bothered her. Everything in her screamed that whatever had caused that frown had everything to do with her and her family.

The drive to work had been tense and then he’d kissed her and all her doubts and coherent thoughts had evaporated.

So what if she was smiling when she usually kept her smiles to a minimum. Today was going to be a good day.

“You’re in a good mood. I wonder why that is?” The voice lowered an octave. “Did someone get lucky last night? Are you getting protection with benefits?”

A shiver of fear trickled down her spine. She knew that voice. Had heard it many times before escaping her father’s house.

Andre Zampatti, her father’s enforcer, the man who’d been driving the car that had almost hit her.

She knew one thing though; she wasn’t going to let her fear show. No fucking way.

Maria straightened her spine and swiveled on her clog-clad feet. “Get the fuck away from me.”

His hand grabbed her upper arm in a vice like grip. “Watch your mouth. Now you and I are going for a little drive.” He encouraged her to keep going down the stairs.

Her attempts at releasing his hold on her were futile. With every shake of her arm, the tighter he grasped.

“It would be a good idea, Maria, not to fight me. You don’t want to have an unfortunate accident, do you?

How had he known where to find her? How had he known she was about to take the stairs instead of the elevator to the cafeteria? It wasn’t what she normally did. The stairs were the one place where she would be alone and vulnerable. Was Tex watching? Did this concrete cavern even have cameras in it? And where was Riley? Did he go work another case when she was working?

“Your daddy is going to be very pleased to see you. He’s missed his little petalo.”

Petal!

No way was she her father’s petal. Never had been and had no plans to be one either. Giovanni Moretti would not crush her.

When they reached the door leading to the parking garage Andre halted before opening it. He reached down and pulled out a black plastic bag that been placed behind the trashcan. A trashcan that didn’t normally reside in the stairwell.

Before she had time to ask him, Andre peeled off her white coat and threw it into shiny silver receptacle.

“What do you think you’re doing? Those coats aren’t cheap you know.” A coarse sweater was pulled over her head. Reflexively she pushed her arms through the armholes. A ball cap was shoved on top of her head.

“Let’s go.” He slung an arm around her shoulder and opened the door. Andre kept his head low and angled toward hers. She knew, from when she’d almost been run down, that there were cameras in the parking garage. Clearly, Andre knew this as well, hence the butt-ugly pea green sweater she now wore, along with the hat and the way he shielded himself and her from the cameras.

Could she give Tex a signal that it was her being ushered through the parking garage? He had to know she wasn’t in surgery. Or with a patient. Or in the cafeteria, where she had been headed to when Andre had caught her and whisked her away.

Maria had no time to even raise her arm as a she was hustled into a car quicker than a squirrel scampering across a road.

If Tex was watching the screens would he notice their getaway? God, she can’t believe she was putting so much hope on Tex doing nothing but sitting in front of screens watching her. He had a family. One of the girls could be sick. Or he could be taking Mel to an appointment. And Riley, where was he?

For the first time since she’d performed surgery on her uncle, she was wishing she worked in a different occupation. One where it would be possible to have Riley sitting at a desk next to her. Going to get a coffee when she did. But it was all wishful thinking. And in a situation like this wishful thinking would get her nowhere. She needed to remain calm and hope there was a way she could let Riley and Tex know her whereabouts.

Riley.

Her heart ached at the thought of never seeing him again. If she was correct in her assumption of where she was being taken, getting her away would be near on impossible. Would she never have the opportunity to explore the chance of a relationship with Riley now? She didn’t want to only spend one night in his arms. He made her feel safe. With him she knew she didn’t have to always be the strong one. They hadn’t spent that much time together, but somehow she knew that he would be perfect for her. She didn’t want it be over before it had truly begun.

No matter what, she would fight with everything she had; she would get back to him. Their story had only just begun.

“Where are you taking me?” The question didn’t need to be asked as she really did know her final destination. The large compound in Jersey where her father lorded over everyone. Ironic the biggest mafia boss in New York lived in New Jersey.

“Never you mind. You’ll find out when we get there. Now I think it’s time you had a nap.”

What did he mean for her to take a nap? The sharp sting of a fine needle piercing the skin registered.

“Shit.” Was the only word she could manage before a black veil descended upon her.

Now she was scared.

* * *

“Why is she still out? What did you do to my daughter, Andre? If you’ve harmed her in anyway you will pay.”

Through the layers of fog currently in her mind, Maria recognized her father’s voice. Her stomach roiled as the haze began to fade away. The last thing she wanted to do was vomit at her father’s feet, but maybe he deserved it after everything he’d done to her. She breathed through her nose and out through her mouth in an attempt to still her stomach.

Her father still ranted, but it was background noise as her focus was all on making sure she didn’t toss her cookies. After a few seconds her stomach settled.

“Shut up, Papa.”

Papa.

Old habits died hard. At one point in her life he had been her Papa. Now he was just the man who she shared DNA with.

“Maria. Are you all right, dolcezza? Do you need anything?”

Sweetie?

He called her sweetie? The man was delusional to think he had a right to call her that.

“I’m not your Sweetie,” she blurted out as she struggled from a reclining position to sitting. The room whirled around her. She closed her eyes, counted to five before opening them again. Thankfully the room had stopped moving like a spinning top.

Her father reached out a hand to place on her forehead. She recoiled from his touch. A flash of hurt passed through his eyes, so quick she was sure she’d imagined it.

“Can I get you a drink, Maria?” This time, his tone was formal, like he would use when addressing a guest.

“Water.” Her throat was dry and she knew it would be that way for a couple of hours, until the drug that had been used to sedate her was truly out of her system. If she had to guess what drug she’d been given she would have to go with something along the lines of Propofol.

A glass of iced water appeared in front of her, pulling her from her ruminations about what had been injected into her system.

Taking a small sip she chanced a look around the room. Nothing looked familiar to her. There was no picture of the Sicilian port on the wall. Nor was the sofa she was sitting on the rose pink suede one she had sat on when she was a kid. Instead she sat on a white leather sofa. So unless her father had demolished the house she’d grown up in and completely rebuilt and refurnished it in the ten years since she’d last ventured inside, it seemed she’d been taken to a place she’d never visited before.

“Where am I? And you still haven’t answered why I’m here and why you felt it necessary to kidnap me. Your own daughter. Your dolcezza.”

If she expected her father to show any remorse for actions she was wishing for a pipe dream. His face remained impassive. No hint of shame or apology for what he’d done to her.

The concern she heard in his voice as she struggled to regain consciousness must have been a dream. False concern because obviously he needed her for something, and if she’d been rendered into a permanent catatonic state her usefulness would be zero.

“I’ve missed you.”

Three words. That was his explanation? As if that would make her want to forgive him for the hell he’d put her through recently.

“Forgive me if I don’t believe you, father.” She took another sip of her water. The gelatinous feeling in her arms and legs was subsiding. She was starting to feel human again.

“You’re my daughter. My flesh and blood, why wouldn’t I want you close? It’s time you came home.”

Maria looked around the room again. “This isn’t my home. And you agreed to let me lead my own life. To do my own thing.”

“And who paid your bills for medical school? Did you think you earned your scholarships?”

Any feeling she had in her legs and arms, drained out of her at her father’s confession. Another illusion she had that she’d been independent the last ten years shattered in front of her.

She really had been living in a dream world, and was about to keep dreaming by thinking she and Riley had a chance at a future together. She wasn’t a little girl anymore. Dreams didn’t come true. Her dream of ever being free would never come to fruition as long as her father was alive.

“What do you want from me?”