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 conversation 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.”

“Oh my God, aren’t you taking this all out of proportion? We don’t even know if what happened at work was an attempt to harm me or a simple case of a car driving too fast.”

Frustration welled inside him. “Haven’t we already determined that what happened to you wasn’t a simple case of a random accident? Jesus, Maria, you may not want to hear it. You may not even like it. But someone is after you. Now, we’re going to get out of the car and go up to my place.”

“You don’t have to speak to me like I’m five.”

“Well then don’t act like one. You’re a surgeon. You’re the daughter of a high profile mobster. You performed surgery that wasn’t conducted at or sanctioned by a hospital. From that moment on your life took a u-turn. It’s time to face facts you need protection. Whether you like it or not—I’m your man.”

He got out of the car and walked around to her door, he opened it and looked down at her still sitting in the leather chair, her seatbelt firmly dissecting her breasts.

“What’s it going to be?” he asked.

“Do I have a choice?”

Riley leaned into the car until his lips were millimeters away from her ear. “No.”

He breathed in. Beneath the aroma of antiseptic associated with hospitals, he could make out a hint of something floral. It teased his senses, making him want to see if he could find further traces of it on her body.

Maria Moretti was becoming a temptation he hadn’t known he wanted.