His Mafia Queen

An Ending

I glance down the hall toward the office and see a light on inside. He's still working, at this hour? It's close to eleven at night. Kicking off my heels and leaving them on a mat near the door, I push a breath out of my nose and march toward the office. As I get closer, it becomes apparent that Gabriel's not in there, because someone's whistling.

Gabriel never whistles.

I poke my head inside. Andre's there, sitting on the leather sofa. Papers are strewn across the coffee table.

"Hey," I say.

He looks up with a frown. "Oh, hi. You okay?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well, Gabriel's in a mood. I was wondering if you had a fight or something."

Moments of our weird weekend in New York flash through my brain. "No. We didn't." I like Andre, but I'm not going to confide in him about my relationship issues.

"Well, maybe it's because of his father, then." He reaches for a paper. "It's got to be a shock that he's getting out of prison so soon. None of us expected Don Greco to be released in this decade. And especially not for good behavior."

Andre chuckles, as if he's relishing a private joke.

I open my mouth, then close it. His father's getting out of prison? Why don't I know about this? "Yeah," I say slowly.

Andre shakes his head. "And the fact that the state's making him live in Florida, well, I doubt if Gabriel anticipated that. He's going to have to move in here. That's going to really be a bummer for Gabriel, since he likes his solitude. You're the only one he can tolerate for any long periods of time, and Gabriel and his father don't always get along. There's no other..."

Probably because my eyes are bugging and I'm gaping, Andre stops talking.

"Wait. You didn't know? You weren't aware that his Dad's about to be a free man?"

I shake my head.

"Oh, shit." He sucks in a breath. "Please don't tell him that I said anything, okay?"

I don't answer because the anger is rising in my chest and I need to see Gabriel, now. "Where is he?"

Andre must sense my rage. "Maybe it's nothing, maybe there's no problem, maybe—"

"Where. Is. Gabriel."

"Outdoors, by the pool. I think. That's where he was headed about an hour ago."

"Thanks." I stomp out, determined to find out what's going on. My heels clack against the polished stone floors, and I yank open the door to the outside.

I grow more and more pissed as I search for Gabriel. Finally, I find him in the outdoor bar area. He's lying on the lounger, wearing a T-shirt and a pair of shorts.

I sink into a chair opposite him.

"Hey. How's Cath? Have you eaten?" He asks this like everything's normal. When it definitely isn't.

I lick my lips, uneasy. It registers that he hasn't gotten up to kiss me.

"When were you going to tell me that your father is getting out of prison?"

# # #

Gabriel

"Oh, fuck, Riley," I can't help but let my head fall back. "Who told you that?"

"That doesn't matter. Why the hell didn't you say anything to me?"

I shift my gaze, locking eyes with her. God, she looks devastatingly beautiful tonight in that blue dress, her legs bare and tempting. Every fiber of my being aches to pull her into my arms, to bury my face in her golden hair. I'll bet it smells like jasmine and sunshine and shampoo. It smells like her, the one thing I can never truly have.