Dangerous Flames (Mafia Hearts) (5 page)

“
Please
don’t get involved with this. It’s some scary stuff.”
And his job stayed on an entirely different level of danger.

“
Then
why do you do it? Or any of them?” She motioned toward the
house with her hand. The sounds of chattering filtered out as Bo
peaked out through the glass door before following the rest into the
den. “If being in the Mafia was so scary than no amount of
money would be able to get the job done.”

“
What
exactly did Enrico tell you?” She didn’t know much or she
wouldn’t be sitting here chatting with him about doing a job.
Mikolas would be more than happy to give her enough details to change
her mind.

Gabi
averted her gaze to the bubbles pushing against his chest. “I
know some.”

“
Your
father admitted to the business but didn’t give you any
details, huh?” He slid his fingers through his hair again as he
eyed her.

“
Well
he didn’t exactly tell me the fine points of it all. Don’t
worry about his lack of detail. I have other resources.”

“
Uh
huh?” He laughed. “And what would that be?”

She
looked up at him again. The hope in her eyes quickly vanished as she
twirled a strand of black hair around her finger. “Mik, you
need to let me do this.”

“
Gabrielle,
you can’t be involved for your own safety. Stay out of this.”
He moved across the hot tub to sit beside her, putting his hand on
her shoulder. He may not be able to have her, but damn it, he
wouldn’t let anyone to hurt Gabrielle either.

****

Gabrielle
wanted to tell Mik about how deep her feelings were for him, but
first she had to convince him to let her find out who wanted her
father dead. Did he even know about the hit out on her dad?

As
far as she was concerned, she’d be the perfect unsuspected
person to locate the killer. The idea of Mik helping her save her
father gave her a rush she never experienced before. Not only would
she win her father’s respect, she’d get more time with
Mik. She’d like him on her side but would do this alone if she
had to.

His
cell phone rang for a second time, yanking her out of her thoughts.
She didn’t want him to stop touching her but the physical
contact made temptation boil through her veins and she didn’t
have time for this right now.
Get
focused
.
To break the connection between them, she shifted her body in her
seat and cocked her head in the direction of the pool house. “Going
to answer yet? The call must be important.”

He
didn’t move an inch away from her. “It’s nothing I
can’t find out later. The only person I have to answer to is
right inside the house. Besides, you are ten times more interesting
than anyone on the phone. I’d like to find out what tonight is
all about.”

The
heat that had rested only in her cheeks quickly spread through her
body, making her center feel like a furnace had been lit against it.
She crossed her legs to ease the built-up tension. It didn’t
work.

“
Interesting?”
Before he had a chance to answer she nodded and added, “In
where I got my information, right?”

“
Um,
sure.” He glanced at the back door of her parents’ house.

She
bit back a giggle and to lighten the mood, she said, “I love
the Soprano’s.” If nothing else, this conversation was
quickly bringing them back together like friends as they’d been
once before. She had trusted him once, she should be able to again.
After all, she adored everything she knew about the man.

His
laugh filled the night air. “You get your information from a
television show?” Before she could reply, his phone rang for a
third time. “Oh damn. Maybe I should take care of this so the
caller will leave us alone. Stay here. I want to hear what else you
have to say.”

“
Okay.”
She sighed as he climbed out of the hot tub. She loved the way his
shoulders met with his lean back and masculine firmness of his waist.
The small group of women she spent time with went weak-kneed at the
sight of muscular men and wouldn’t look twice at Mik.
Gabrielle, on the other hand, liked the way that Mik kept himself
toned without going overboard with muscles. Mikolas Russo possessed
the perfect physique.

He
stopped halfway to the pool house and turned to face her. “Please
wait for me to deal with this caller. There’s something I’d
like to tell you too.” Then he disappeared around the corner.

With
rapid beats, her heart threatened to explode in her chest. She needed
to tell him. Tonight. As soon as he finished with the phone call she
would join him in the pool house before she lost her nerve. She
climbed out of the hot tub and hugged her arms across her chest to
fight off the chill from the night air as she went over to the
partially opened door.

“
I
don’t want to do the job, but I know I was paid a deposit
already… fine… It’ll be done soon.” His
angry voice floated out to her, causing her to take a step back out
of view.

Standing
close to the building provided a shield from the breeze, and better
yet, an opportunity to listen to him. She wanted to believe the
goosebumps over her bare skin had been caused by the chill in the
air, but she couldn’t deny the fact that his phone call
involved business and probably with her father. Could Mik be the one
her father is trying to reveal? She shook her head in disbelief and
hugged her body tighter.

“
The
job will get done. But I can’t talk about this right now. Let
me call you back when I get home.” Mikolas paused. “Tomorrow?
Yeah. Fine. I’ll bring proof of the completion of the job.”

Bile
rose in her throat as she fought the urge to stomp into the room and
snatch the phone away from him. He had to be the one out to kill her
father. But Mikolas? She couldn’t let herself believe he would
harm anyone. No way. Her assumption had to be wrong, but no matter
what, she had to make sure she covered all of her bases.

If
her father suspected Mikolas as being the trigger man, Mik would be
dead before he could blink an eye. Choosing between her father’s
life and Mik’s was impossible. Anxiety squeezed its way into
her lungs, forcing her to take deep breaths.

Water
running in the pool house bathroom replaced the sound of his voice.
Mikolas must’ve ended his call without saying goodbye and used
the restroom before returning to her in the hot tub. She turned away
from the door.

“
Gabi?”
Mik asked from the doorway behind her.

“
Oh
hey,” she said as if seeing him for the first time that
evening. She’d completely lost her nerve. “Can I have a
rain check?”

“
Sure,”
he said, following her to where her stuff waited.

After
wrapping herself in a towel, she grabbed her bag and rushed inside
her parent’s house.

The
dishwasher hummed as Gabrielle hurried through. The kitchen had
already been cleaned spotless by her mother after tonight’s
dinner. Hearty drunk laughter floated down the hall from the study.

Gabrielle
rounded the corner to the formal living room and stopped mid-step.
“Oh hey,” Gabrielle said in a slightly raised voice. Her
mother sat in one of the antique chairs even though the living room
usually served for viewing purposes. Since returning to Vegas,
Gabrielle had only seen the maid in that particular room to clean.

“
Are
you okay, honey?” her mother asked, her voice crisp even though
she’d had more than one glass of wine at dinner and a fresh
glass cradled between her fingertips. Even though her mother, Maura,
looked as if she didn’t have a care in the world, her hair
still held up in a French twist while her black dress fell somewhere
between a cocktail dress and an evening gown. If Gabrielle hadn’t
known her mother always dressed this way for Friday night dinners,
she would’ve expected her parents to be going out on an
expensive date.

“
You
just startled me is all.” Gabrielle started across the plush
cream colored carpet for the stairs. “Going into the hot tub
tonight wasn’t my best idea. Now I’m freezing.”

Mom’s
thin lips parted as she shifted her gaze to the floor in front of
her. “Why don’t you relax for a bit? It’s plenty
warm in here.”

Gabrielle
glanced at the stairs before looking back nervously at her mother.
Why was she acting this way? “I’m going to change my
clothes and head home. I’ve had a really long day. My assistant
manager called out sick this morning, doubling my work load.”

“
Have
one glass of wine with me.” Mom gestured toward the end table
next to the overstuffed settee, drawing attention to the bottle of
opened wine and extra glass. Mom had been waiting for her.

She
didn’t want to drink, but this change in her mother forced her
to take several steps forward. “What’s wrong?”
Gabrielle asked.

The
sound of the men moving around in the back part of the house drew
Mom’s gaze to the hall entryway for a moment before she
switched back to Gabrielle. “We need to chat.” Mom moved
from her place in the chair to the settee. Patting the seat next to
her, she said, “Sit.”

Shaking
her head, Gabrielle said, “I’m still damp from the hot
tub.” She eyed Mom, who never allowed anyone near the furniture
unless fully dressed in clean clothes.

“
Honey,
this can’t wait and the couch’ll dry.”

Following
her mom’s orders, she sat down on the settee with her mom’s
boney knees peeking out from under her skirt, resting against
Gabrielle’s.

“
Okay,
tell me what’s wrong?” she asked as Mom took another sip
of wine.

If
Mom claimed everything to be fine, Gabrielle might just scream. First
she’d overheard the conversation between Dad and Leon. Now her
mother’s strange behavior? Yes, they had mother and daughter
days at the spa or impromptu vacations on occasion, but by now, her
mom would be getting ready for bed while leaving the guys to their
private affaires, not sitting here, drinking, and fussing over her
adult daughter.

Mom
took another sip, checked the doorway again, and set her glass on the
table. “Remember when that man came into your room in the
middle of the night?”

“
How
could I ever forget?” Fear ripped through her gut as the memory
flashed through her mind. The stickiness of the humid summer night.
The unfamiliar sweet breath against her cheek. The bang of her
bedroom door hitting the wall. The gunshots… she shuddered.

Mom
reached out for her hand, providing her a small sense of comfort.
“I’m not supposed to be telling you this, but I believe
something bad is going to happen again.”

So
Mom knew! “Like what?” She tried forcing the man’s
face from her mind and focus on the matter at hand. This might be the
opportunity to get more information about her father’s Family.

“
I
can’t really give many details, but I don’t want you in
danger a second time,” said Mom, crashing any shred of hope
Gabrielle had. “You need to leave Las Vegas.”

“
But
I don’t want—”

“
Gabi,
listen to me, please.” Mom took an envelope out of her pocket
and slid it onto Gabrielle’s lap. “Here are the
directions to your father’s cabin. You’ll also find the
code to his safe on the other side of the sheet of paper. Go there,
spend the night if you want, and take enough money to live off of.”

“
What?”
Gabrielle yanked her hand out of her mother’s grasp. “You
sound like you want me to leave Vegas for good when I just returned
home a year ago.”

Tears
welled in Mom’s light blue eyes. “I’d rather have
you leave and know you’re safe than worry about you every
minute of the day. You lucked out that night when the man came into
your room. Being an easy target means you might not luck out next
time. This goodbye won’t last forever.”

This
was her mom’s attempt to save her life. Something big, bigger
than she could imagine, was about to go down if Mom decided to betray
her father’s confidence. Gabrielle would follow her mother’s
instructions for now but not just to stay safe. Getting answers about
her family remained near the top of her list.

“
When
did Dad buy a cabin?”

Mom
sighed and took a moment to sip her drink. “When you were gone.
You must keep the location a secret. Actually, burn the paper before
you leave the cabin.”

“
What
about you? Isn’t your safety at risk if mine is?”