Relief coursed through Maria the second Tex’s strong arms closed around her in a welcoming hug. Tension had been riding her shoulders the whole trip from New York to Pittsburgh. She’d lost count of how many times she looked over her shoulder to see if anyone was following her.

Her phone had been ominously quiet after the Feds had left apartment. She had been expecting someone from the family to call her. To find out if she’d spilled anything to the agents who’d interviewed her.

Could she hope that she was over-reacting and her dad would keep the promise about leaving her alone he’d made to her all those years ago? If that were the case, then why had Uncle Vittorio’s goons pressured her into performing surgery on him? A request like that would’ve only come from her father.

“Stop thinking, you’re safe here.”

Tex’s whispered words dumbfounded her. How had he known what was going through her mind? It didn’t matter how he knew, all that mattered now was that she believed him. For the next forty-eight hours she could let her guard down. After that, well she was a big girl and she could handle whatever the Moretti family, and the Feds, threw at her.

“It’s good to see you, Tex. It’s been too long.”

Tex released her and she walked into the house, stopping at the sight of a tall man standing in the middle of the hallway. His arms were crossed over his broad chest. Maria would estimate him to be as tall, or a couple of inches taller, than Tex. His dark hair was closely cropped to his skull. Standing in the shadows of the hallway she couldn’t really make out his features. One thing she knew though, everything about him screamed military.

“Who are you?” The words burst out of her.

The stranger walked toward her, getting within a foot of her before stopping. She craned her neck a little to get a better look at his face, then wished she hadn’t. His brown eyes reminded her of a milky coffee. His nose had a slight bend to it indicating it had been broken. A fine scar traced his left eyebrow. None of those imperfections detracted from his handsomeness. Even his full lips enticed her to go up on her tiptoe and trace their shape with her tongue.

Lustful thoughts like the ones firing through her neurons this very second had never happened to her before.

“I’m Riley Ashland. I’ve known Tex for years.”

He held out his hand toward her. Instinct had her reaching for it. Warmth zinged through her at the contact. Maria found it almost impossible to release her hold on his flesh. But she managed it, only to regret the loss of warmth moments later.

“Maria Moretti. I’ve only known Mel and Tex for a couple of years.”

Wow, I haven’t lost the ability to speak.

For a few seconds she wondered if she would have the ability to speak at all.

“How about we all go into the living room?” Tex suggested, amusement lacing his words.

Oh no. No. No. No. Tex and Melody weren’t setting her up were they? This wasn’t some sort of blind date arrangement.

She stalled Tex’s progress with a hand on his arm. Once she saw Riley had entered the living room, she turned to face her friend’s husband. “You’re not setting me up are you?”

Tex laughed at her suggestion. “No. Trust me, I know better than to try and get you to do something you don’t want to do. Ash, turned up unexpectedly.”

“Ash?”

“Yeah, Riley,” Tex chuckled. “His nickname is Ash. Like mine is Tex.”

“Right. Okay. Well you and Mel better not be up to something. I came here to decompress not to have to worry about some sort of matchmaking scheme.”

Tex gripped her shoulders. “You can relax here. I’ve already said you’re safe. But know this: Mel and I worry about you. I can tell by looking at you that something is wrong. Something is weighing you down. It’s up to you if you share it with us. I hope you do, though.”

Tex’s words should alleviate her concerns, and they had when she’d arrived. Now there was another person in the house. A person she didn’t know anything about. “And what about this Riley or Ash dude, is he trustworthy?”

“He’s an ex-SEAL. I trust him with my life, Mel’s life and my girl’s life.”

Maria nodded. “Okay. I guess we’d better not leave him hanging out alone.”

Straightening her shoulders, she walked away from Tex and into the living room. Riley had made himself comfortable on the couch and was reading something on his phone. He looked up and smiled, his eyes crinkling in the corners. It brightened his whole face.

Shit. That smile was a lethal weapon.

For endless seconds they appraised each other, her standing in the doorway, Riley lounging on the couch.

She jumped when a hand landed on her shoulder. A quick look over her shoulder revealed Tex standing beside her.

“Don’t sneak up on me like that?”

“Sorry. I wanted to let you know that Mel will be here in a few she’s just changing Hope. I’ve got to go meet the school bus.”

“No worries, Tex. We’ve got this.” Riley spoke up. “I’ll look after your guest.”

A raised eyebrow from Tex had Maria switching her gaze to the other man in the room. His expression gave nothing away. Somehow though, Maria, had an idea that a silent military type conversation had passed between the two of them.

She rolled her eyes and sat down in a chair opposite to where Riley sat, his gaze assessing.

God, save her from alpha men. She dealt with plenty of them at the hospital. Not to mention her residency class. She was a damn good surgeon and some of the guys in her class didn’t appreciate her skill. Their actions toward her never bothered her. She didn’t let it.

“Tex tells me you’re an ex-SEAL. How long have you been out of the military?”

“Five years. I was in for a total of twelve.”

His easy answer surprised her. For some reason she expected him to not be so forthcoming with information about his time in the service. Although she hadn’t asked him a question directly related to what he’d done.

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 then 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.