Whenever people asked me why I decided to follow in my mother’s footsteps, my answer was always the same: because I had to. I wanted to be just like her, and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

After all, my mother, Kalie Domino was a badass in every sense of the word. I would kill to be half the woman she was.

I couldn’t help but smile as I watched her work, her desk phone pressed to her ear as she finished her conference call with Walter Covill. She’d worked with him for years, but he still insisted on meeting several times a week, even if he wasn’t on-property.

“Walt, everything is fine,” Mom assured him with a small smirk. “Will you just enjoy California? You haven’t been out there in years, and I’m sure Liam is dying to show you the new office. Don’t worry about us.”

I smiled around the rim of my disposable coffee cup. I had never seen a more solid friendship than the one between my mother and her boss. They had a mutual respect and understanding that came from years of working together.

Mom hung up the phone with a slight roll of her eyes. “The man is across the country visiting his son and opening a new branch of Covill Security, and he’s still asking how everything over here is running. I don’t know how he does it.”

“He doesn’t sleep.” I pointed out.

“That and he’s obsessed,” Mom said. Then, she leaned forward in her chair, all business. “I’m glad you came to see me.”

“You’re my boss. Did I really have a choice?” I teased before taking a sip of my coffee.

“Not really,” Mom said with a proud smile.

“So spill it. What’s going on?”

Mom shuffled a stack of papers in front of her. “We have an assignment. It’s delicate in nature—and dangerous.” She gave me a meaningful look. “More so than some of your other jobs.”

I smirked. “I can handle it.”

Mom ignored my comment. “Normally, we’d put together a team, but this job requires discretion.”

“Discretion is my middle name.”

“I’m being serious, Gabriella.”

I stuffed down my smile, resuming my professional demeanor. “What’s the assignment?”

“To protect a client who is turning state’s evidence against dangerous people,” Mom answered. She picked up her tablet. After tapping the screen a few times, she handed it to me. I put my coffee on the edge of her desk before taking the device from her. Several news articles took up the screen, all featuring one of the most prolific gangs in New York.

“The Bronxos crew has been growing over the last few years,” Mom explained, sitting back in her chair. “They started off small, only focusing on grand theft auto and holding up small banks, but they’ve moved up the ladder. Now, they control all drug trade coming in and out of the city. It’s suspected they launder cash in the millions. They’ve got several NYPD officials and politicians in their pockets.”

My gut twisted. Sometimes, I really hated people.

“They’re the big baddies,” I affirmed. “What about them?”

She took a deep breath before saying, “Our client is one of the key gang members.”

I pressed my lips together. “And we’re being hired to protect him?”

My mind jumped to all the terrible things he’d probably done in his life. I’d had my own run-ins with a gang member or two, and all of them were cocky, selfish bastards who liked to talk big. But when it came down to it, I could take them all out in a fight.

“He’s been trying to go straight,” Mom insisted, sensing my cold switch. “In exchange for immunity, he’s agreed to become an informant.”

I snorted. “Please. He got caught, and he didn’t want to go to jail. He’s not trying to go straight.” I looked again at the news articles which seemed to date all the way back to the early 80s. Drugs, theft, violence… the list went on. “How do the Feds know this isn’t a trap?”

“They don’t. That’s where you come in. They need someone to go undercover with their new informant.”

“Why not hire a cop or a detective?” I asked, handing back the tablet.

“As I said, the police force is compromised. They have a lot of moles. The Feds need someone unassociated with them who can still handle themselves.” She smiled at me. “Your file came up.”

I frowned. “Yeah, but in all those jobs, I was protecting the innocent from criminals. Not the other way around.”

Mom nodded her understanding. “I knew how you would feel about this, but, Gabriella, this is a huge opportunity for you.” She cleared her throat. “And for the company.”

There it was. “You want me to take the job because it’ll boost Covill’s reputation,” I said.

“It’ll establish our trustworthiness and that we are, in fact, the best in the business.” She reached for my hand and gave it a firm squeeze. “You’re the best in the business.”

It felt good to have her say it. With my mom being the senior partner, I had determined when I first started at Covill that no one would know of our familial relationship. I wanted to earn my way to the top, working through the ranks to earn the respect I deserved. If I turned down this job, I wouldn’t just be letting Mom down. I’d be letting myself—and my hard-earned reputation—fall by the wayside.

I sat up straight in my chair. “When do we start?”

“That’s my girl. Meet me in the conference room in ten minutes. We’re meeting with the client in twenty.” Mom stood and walked out of her office, giving my shoulder a small squeeze on her way.

I stared at her abandoned tablet for a moment before lifting it off the desk again. I opened it back up, flicking through the news stories, and swallowed against the metallic taste in my mouth.

They had assigned me to protect one of these jerks. I stared at a picture of a dark alley, bodies sprawled on the ground and yellow police tape wrapped around the scene. The murders had occurred in the Bronx where I’d grown up.

That could have been me. The thought came unbidden, and I pushed it away, dropping the tablet on the desk. With a deep breath, I glanced at my wristwatch.

I had time for a quick bathroom break before I had to meet my client.

I was scrubbing my hands with soap and water when the stall behind me opened, and it wasn’t until the woman who emerged was right beside me that I caught her face in the mirror.

My eyes widened. “Noelle?”

The tall, blonde federal agent beamed back at me, pumping soap into her hand. “Hey there, stranger.”

I was about to ask what she was doing there when all the dots aligned. “Oh, my gosh,” I said, ripping several paper towels from the dispenser. “You’re handling my case. You’re here with the client.”

Noelle Kane nodded as she shut the water off. I handed her a fistful of fresh paper towels. “Obviously, I put a good word in for you,” she said with a smirk. “You really saved my ass a few years ago.”

“I’ll say,” I teased. “You backed yourself into a tight corner.”

Agent Kane winked. “Your assistance with that case landed you this job. With the way money and power have swayed the criminal justice system…” She shook her head, glancing at the ceiling as if suspecting hidden cameras. “We shouldn’t discuss it here. But when this case opened, you were the first to pop into my head.”

“What, to protect some criminal?” I asked dryly.

“It’s a means to an end.” She tossed her used paper towels into the trash and fumbled around inside her purse. “How’ve you been? You’re not still with Nick, are you?”

“Oh, gosh, no,” I said, with a dismissive wave of my hand. “That didn’t last long at all.”

Noelle pulled a tube of rose-tinted lipstick out of her purse and leaned toward the mirror to apply it. “Why not?” she asked. “He was a nice guy.”

“Too nice,” I countered. “The guy had a spine like jello.”

Noelle laughed, capping her lipstick and dropping it back into her purse. “Maybe you should have let him take charge once in a while.”

I shrugged. “Either I find a man who can handle me, or I die alone.”

“Ouch,” Noelle said, giving herself one last look over in the mirror. “Harsh. Ready to meet our client?” She led the way to the door, giving me another wink as she pushed it open. “He’s quite the looker.”

I rolled my eyes, and we walked together to the conference room. Mom was already there, exchanging light chit-chat with the client, whose back was to us.

When our heels clicked toward the long table, he turned.

I nearly tripped forward.

He could’ve made it big in Hollywood with that face. Perfectly styled brown hair, a chiseled jawline, full lips curled into a wicked smile… he could have put those Greek statues to shame.

But the most striking thing about him was his eyes. Their blue-gray hue starkly contrasted with his olive skin. They flicked up and down Noelle’s body before they wandered to me. He froze.

I wobbled into my seat next to Mom. The thermostat must have stopped working—it had to be at least eighty degrees in here.

Noelle took a seat next to the client, graceful as always. “Sorry we’re late,” she apologized.

A slow smile crept up the client’s lips, his eyes still fixed on me. “Worth the wait,” he said. His voice sounded like something out of a porno.

I gulped, trying to wet my dry throat, and mentally shook myself. This man was a criminal—and most likely preyed on women who got sucked in by his obscene good looks like I just had.

The thought made my heated body cool, and I stuck my hand out to him. “Gabriella Domino.”

He took it in a firm handshake. I tried to ignore the shock of attraction that rushed through my fingertips to my brain. Get a grip, Gabriella, I thought to myself, gritting my teeth.

“Ryder Canmore,” he returned in a lazy drawl. “A pleasure.”

I dropped his hand as soon as he loosened his grip and wiped my sweaty palms on my pencil skirt.

“Now that we’re all here, we need to get down to business,” Noelle said, removing a thick folder from her briefcase. She looked toward Mom. “I assume you have all the details of the case?”

“I do,” Mom confirmed. “And I can say, with the utmost confidence, we can handle this.”

“Of that, I have no doubt,” Noelle said with a smile in my direction. “Gabriella packs quite a punch.”

I tried not to let my pride show, but I couldn’t resist a broad smile. “Thank you.”

“That being said, I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t stress the seriousness of our situation,” she went on. “My client’s safety should be our number one priority.”

I frowned at that. Noelle had just told me in the restroom protecting him was a means to an end. There was a bigger picture here.

I risked a glance at Ryder.

And instantly regretted it.

His eyes were still on me, his chin resting on his hand, his thumb running along his bottom lip. I could imagine how those lips would feel pressing along the base of my neck…

I looked away. If I couldn’t get myself under control, I would need a cold shower tonight.

I tried to refocus my mind. Of course Noelle would say he was our top priority. Without him, the entire operation would be impossible.

“Ahem,” Ryder spoke up, his hand gesturing to me. “And this… this is the partner you’re assigning me? My personal undercover bodyguard?”

Noelle nodded, her lips in a tight line. “Is anything the matter?”

His eyes locked on mine. He was trying to assert dominance. I stared back, feeling a frown tug at the corners of my mouth.

“No,” he said with a small laugh. Somehow, I found it condescending. He leaned forward. “No, I just think we should have stopped by the elementary school on the way up here and picked up a first-grade teacher. She’d be just as capable, I’m sure.” He gave me a subtle wink.

I felt my blood grow hot. Mom tensed next to me. But if there was anything I’d learned from years of meditation, it was to channel my anger. I forced myself to calm down, to reassess the situation.

“I can assure you, Mr. Canmore, you’re in the safest of hands,” I assured him with a humorless smile. “It’s either me or prison bars.”

He smirked, unphased by my confidence. “Oh, I’d love to be in your hands, baby doll.”

Mom cleared her throat next to me. “Watch yourself, Mr. Canmore.”

He feigned innocence. “Only testing the waters, Ms. Domino. I want to know who I’m dealing with here.” He threw me a pointed stare. “And if she can keep cool under pressure.”

I forced myself not to react. “Well? Did I pass?”

Another wink.

“Well,” Noelle said. “Let’s discuss legal paperwork, shall we?”

She and Mom busied themselves with the practicalities while Ryder and I stared at each other, neither one backing down.

He was going to be difficult to work with. Ruthless, reckless, untrustworthy… this had all the makings of a disastrous partnership.