Well at least her prison had a nice view. The only consolation to being locked up like a petulant teenager who broke curfew. Her father hadn’t told her why he’d brought her to this new house of his. She was still coming to terms with the fact he‘d financed her all the way through college and medical school.

Hadn’t she earned one of her many scholarships on her own merit? She’d maintained a 4.0GPA average all the way through college. She’d worked her damn butt off through medical school and now she’d just about finished her surgical residency. And everything was a lie?

No.

She refused to believe it was a lie. Her father hadn’t sat by her in exams. He hadn’t stood by her through all her rotations before she’d settled on being a surgeon. Did it matter that he’d paid for her education. It was what parents were supposed to do. Well parents who were as rich as her father was.

Maria paced over to the window and looked out over the lush green lawn that led down to the row of trees marking the property’s border. She spied the men patrolling. Escape would be impossible for her. No doubt her father had one of his goons guarding her and the moment she walked out the door everyone would be on high alert.

“Riley, are you out there somewhere?” she whispered as she laid a hand the cool glass.

It was wishful thinking. No matter what Tex did, or Riley for that matter. There was no way they could find her.

Why not? You know what Mel’s says: Tex can find anyone, even those who don’t want to be found.

Maria would bet everything she owned that Tex had never dealt with the Mob before. They were a law unto themselves. She had seen what her father had done over the years. When her mother disappeared she’d become scared, worried that if she spoke the wrong way to her father he would hurt her, too.

The door opened and she turned to see her father standing in the doorway.

“You know it’s polite to knock on a closed door before you enter.”

Her father shrugged and stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. Nerves skittered up her spine.

“Maria, dolcezza, I’m your father and you’re under my roof. I don’t need to knock on any door in this house.”

Asshole.

She was so tempted to say the word to his face, but maybe it would be better to hear what he actually had to say.

“Well I guess it’s lucky that I wasn’t sitting around naked then.”

“You’ve got a smart mouth on you there. Is that how you speak to your supervisors? If so, I’m surprised you’re still employed.”

“Well it’s a good thing I’m still employed otherwise Uncle Vittorio would be dead.”

“He is.”

“What?” She had to have misheard or misunderstood his words. “That can’t be. He may have been shot three times but when I left him he was holding his own. He should’ve been fine.”

When her father’s face remained impassive, she swallowed hard on the ball of fear lodged in her throat.

“You killed him didn’t you?”

“He was becoming a liability.”

The matter of fact way her father spoke to her shouldn’t surprise her. Offing Uncle Vittorio would be the same to him as swatting a fly was to an every day person. Everything started falling into place, but none of it made any sense either.

“You shot him that first time, didn’t you?”

“Yes.”

Again, no remorse. He had to have some feelings inside of him. At one stage in his life he had to have cared for her mother and for her as well. Or had she and her moth merely been trophies for him.

“Then why the hell did I have to operate on him? Why didn’t you let him die then?”

Every instinct she possessed screamed at her to run. Run as far away as possible, only that was never going to happen. With the way her father was acting, if she made any sort of move she could find herself in a similar predicament as her uncle.

Dead.

And dead was the last thing she wanted to be. No way was her father going to rob her of her future with Riley. Whatever that was going to be, she would survive this and have a future with him. She just needed to keep her head in the game.

“Surely by now you know everything I do, I do for a purpose, Maria.”

Oh shit, he called her by her proper name. The first time he’d done it since she’d regained consciousness. He’d only ever used her name if he was annoyed with her. Normally he did call her dolcezza and she hated it.

But with her resolve to still survive thrumming through her veins, whatever her father had planned for her, she wasn’t going to let him intimidate her. Plus she had a few weapons of her own she could use.

“What was your purpose then, Papa?”

Immediately his countenance softened a fraction at her use of Papa. Maybe he needed to be reminded that she was his only surviving flesh and blood. That had to count for something. He may have decided her mother wasn’t worth his time, but she was his daughter, surely he had some sense of fatherly pride in all that she’d achieved. She hadn’t been one of those girls who wanted to mooch off their father. She’d wanted her own career and she’d chosen a damn honorable one, too.

Maybe that was the problem. Perhaps he would’ve been prouder if she’d wanted to follow him into the family business. Or if she’d been shallow and just wanted to shop and spend all his money on the latest trend. Carry around a puppy in a Chanel purse. By choosing a profession that actually helped people, had she signed her own death warrant?

“In my line of business there are times when going to a public hospital to get treatment isn’t an option. I needed to know that my money had been put to good use, hence the little test. Plus there are occasions when time is of the essence. Where locations aren’t what you’re used to working in. I had to see if you would fulfill my requirements.”

“Shooting Uncle Vittorio was a test to see if I would perform for you. If I could perform under pressure and in less than ideal circumstances.”

“Yes.”

Maria slashed a hand through her hair. “Why can’t you let me live my own life, Papa? A life where I don’t have to constantly look over my shoulder. If you’re worried that I will turn you into the Feds, wouldn’t I have done it by now? I mean, hell, after I performed surgery on Uncle Vittorio they knocked on my door the very next day and I gave nothing away.”

“I know. And it’s not a matter of trust, Maria. It’s a matter of who you associate with.”

“But I keep mostly to myself. If you’ve been watching me you would’ve known that. Please, Papa, let me go. I won’t say anything to anyone. I promise.”

She hated herself for begging, but maybe it was a way to get through to him. Plus couldn’t he tell she wanted nothing to do with this life? Had never wanted anything to do with it.

“I once would’ve believed that, but recently you’ve connected with people that may encourage you to go back on your word.”

Riley.

He could only be talking about Riley. It was his own fault anyway she’d connected with Riley. If he hadn’t pulled her off the street to perform his little test, then she wouldn’t have told Mel. Who in turn wouldn’t have expressed concerns to Tex and Tex wouldn’t have called Riley.

Then you wouldn’t have met Riley.

That little voice in her had a point. It was important her father never find out how important Riley was to her. If he did, she had no qualms believing he would harm Riley.

It was imperative that she let her father know that no one made her do anything she didn’t want to do.

“Really? You think after all this time I’ll let someone influence me and how I act and what I say. If the only way you can get me do something for you is by kidnapping me, I think that would give you a fair indication that I know my own mind.”

Before her father could respond everything went dark.

Get down.

Instinct yelled at her and she immediately threw herself on the ground, lying flat.

“Andre.” Her father roared. “Maria, where are you?”

She could hear him scrambling around and headed in the opposite direction. She needed to get herself to a place where she wouldn’t be in the line of fire. She didn’t know how or why, but she knew the reason darkness fell was because of Riley. Hopefully he wasn’t on his own. No, he wasn’t stupid. He would have his former team with him. They’d promised nothing would happen to her.

Pop. Pop.

“God dammit, girl. How the hell did they find out where we were? Fucking military.”

For the first time in her life, the great Giovanni Moretti wasn’t the one pulling the strings. Someone else was. And these guys dealt with a shit load of bad guys. If anyone could take him out, they were the ones that could.

“I’d think very carefully before you make a move, Moretti.”

Maria recognized the voice even though she didn’t think she’d ever heard that tone from Riley before. It was deep, commanding and had a take-no-prisoners element to it. Even she froze in her efforts to put some distance between her and her father.

“What are you going to do, Military Man? Kill me? Wouldn’t that go against your military moral code?”

“Here’s the thing. I’m no longer in the military, but even if I was I swore to protect the people of the United States of America from all threats be they foreign or domestic.” The sound of the cocking of a gun echoed around the room. “And you, Giovanni, would be considered a domestic threat.”

How Riley could remain so cool in a situation like this was beyond her. Her heartbeat raced and blood pounded through her ears.

“You don’t have the balls to do it.”

What was her father thinking, taunting Riley like that? If she knew anything about military men, well men in general, no one liked to be mocked like that.

“You’d be surprised what Ash can do.” The lights flashed on and Maria blinked against the sudden glare. After a second her eyes adjusted and she gasped out loud at the sight that greeted her.

Seven men dressed head to toe in black. Their faces covered in black paint so she had no idea who was who, but they could only be Riley’s former SEAL team. She only recognized Riley because he was the one standing with his gun pointed at her father’s head.

Maria studied her father’s face. If he was frightened he didn’t show it. She couldn’t see any sweat beading on his forehead. His breathing seemed regular, unlike hers, which was ragged with each breath she took. It almost seemed as though, even with a gun pointed at his head, her father believed he’d get out of this unscathed.

One of the men took a step forwarded to her father. “Oh and if you’re wondering about where all your guards are. Let’s just say they’re sleeping.”

Shocked had her standing, Riley’s eyes flicked over to her briefly before redirecting his attention back to her father.

“You killed them?”

“No. They’re all, as I said, just taking naps.”

“Robot?” she asked.

The other man, keeping his eye and weapon trained on her father nodded briefly confirming her suspicion the men were Riley’s former teammates.

“Well isn’t this lovely. It’s a reunion.” Sarcasm laced her father’s words. This was a side of him he’d never shown her. It was no doubt the side he showed his enemies. The side everyone in New York City knew. “Pity it will probably be the last time you’re all together. I will make sure I get every single one of you.”

“Is that a threat?” Riley asked. “Because I’m the one holding a gun at your head not the other way round.”

“Whatever you think you can do to me, it won’t matter. I will get you.”

“Father, stop. I don’t know what you’re thinking antagonizing these men.”

“It’s quite simple, dolcezza, I’m untouchable. And the sooner this bunch of wanna-bes accepts that the better we’ll all be. You’re my daughter, Maria. Your place is with me. In this house. In my organization. Your place isn’t working for people who don’t appreciate you.”

A fiery ball of anger burned through her and attempt to get in her father’s face, but was halted by one of the SEALS. “You’re the one who doesn’t appreciate me, Father.” She stuck her hands on her hips. “I’m a surgeon. And a damn good one at that. People appreciate everything I do because I save lives. I undo the damage that you and your petty mob of assholes wreak on everyone else. I will never, ever work for you. Do you understand me? Do what you have to do, Riley. I don’t care. I don’t have a father anymore.”

She turned and went to walk out of the room but was stopped when Robot took hold of her arm. “Let me go,” she demanded.

“Wait.” He canted his head toward Riley and her father. “You need to stay.”

“It’s over, Giovanni. Your days of ruling the streets of New York are done.”

Her father, laughed. “I have no idea what you took before you came here, but you’re delusional. Even if you somehow get me arrested I’ll be back on the streets before you can say hello. So do your best solider boy.”

Maria held her breath to see what Riley would do. She had no reason not to believe father was saying anything but the truth. Over the years when trouble should’ve landed at her father’s doorstep, it miraculously disappeared and he continued to smell as sweet as a rose. She knew he had police, judges, and other high-ranking officials in his pocket. She guessed he was thinking one of them would get him out of this trouble. Maria knew he shouldn’t underestimate Riley and his former team.

Riley’s free hand reached up to touch his chest. “Tex, I think we’re ready.”

A second later the door burst open and shouts of “FBI” echoed around the room. In a blur of movement, Robot had her father on the ground, knee in his back and Riley had her wrapped up in his arms. Her body relaxed immediately into his hold.

Safe.

The word pounded in her mind. She was safe.