Gabriella's Prosecution [The Black Iris Club 3] (Siren Publishing Everlasting Classic)

by Skye Michaels

  As the D. J. counted down the last seconds of the old year and the New Year began, she was held tightly against Miguel’s chest, and he wrapped his arms around her protectively. His lips came down on hers, his tongue invaded her mouth with purpose, and the pulsing room disappeared. She felt as though she had been whisked out of her body to another world. “Happy 2015, querida. This is going to be a fabulous year for both of us.”

  “Happy New Year, Miguel. I’m so glad I’m here with you.”

  * * * *

  They left the club at two o’clock, and Miguel kept his word. They visited three other parties around San Juan given by friends of his. There were fireworks and guns being fired into the air, and the whole city seemed to be celebrating. They finally ended up at the home of one of his cousins, Rafael Santana, whose wife, Annette, was serving breakfast on their enclosed patio. The music was playing, and people were still drinking and dancing as the sun was coming up.

  “Don’t the neighbors complain about all this noise?”

  “No, querida. They are either here or having parties of their own.”

  “You weren’t wrong about this being a party town.”

  “It’s just part of the culture. Let’s go home. We’ll get some sleep and then go down to the beach in the afternoon. We’ll have dinner with Mamá and Popí tonight. They won’t expect to see me until early evening.”

  * * * *

  The rest of the weekend was spent making love, surfing, playing tennis with Rafael and Annette, spending time with Miguel’s parents, and just relaxing. Gabby felt that the time was going too fast, and reality was creeping up on her. The upcoming trial was on her mind, and she was worried about what she would find when she got back to Fort Lauderdale. She wanted to do a good job, and she wanted to take Ramón Gonzalez and the Los Mara Toros Rojas out of circulation permanently.

  Gabby had had a private tea and very pleasant conversation with Carolina. “I want to apologize for making you uncomfortable, Gabriella. That was not my intention. I was just so surprised to see you wearing Doña Maria Christina’s necklace. Surprised and delighted, I might add.”

  “Well, Carolina, I think it was too soon for Miguel to have given me the necklace, but strangely enough, it seems that it feels at home on my chest. It seems to glow with warmth when I’m wearing it.”

  “That just means that you are meant to have it. Someday your son will give it to his amada.”

  “I think we are getting a little ahead of ourselves here, Carolina. This relationship is still very new, and Miguel and I have a lot to work out between us.”

  “It will all work out, Gabriella. Don’t worry about that. The Gatto men all have a way about them—can I say a little something extra? They get what they want, and I can see that Miguel wants you. I fell in love with Alberto the first time I saw him, and I have felt that same excitement for all of these years. I was eighteen when I married him and twenty-three when Miguel was born. Alberto is five years older than I am. We’ve had a wonderful marriage that was not without its challenges. I would wish the same for you.”

  “Thank you, but I think it’s a little soon to be throwing orange blossoms around.”

  “We’ll see.”

  Chapter Nine

  The State’s Attorney’s Office in the Broward County Courthouse, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Monday afternoon, January 5, 2015

  Gabby had picked up her car and dog at Quixote Acres on Sunday evening. Although Miguel had encouraged her to spend the night, she had wanted to get home, sleep in her own bed, and get back to her routine. Murphy had been ecstatic to see her, but he had certainly not seemed any the worse for wear or an ounce lighter. He had whined out the back window of her SUV as he watched Lennon and McCartney fade in the distance. The three dogs had had a grand time, and Magda had obviously spoiled them all.

  She had not been wrong to worry about the work piled up on her desk. Mayra had kept it organized, but some things she just had to take care of herself. She had been concerned by several reports from the deputies watching the Garcia house that they had seen known gang members hanging around the neighborhood. She would have to try to get Mrs. Garcia into protective custody and a safe house until the trial if she could. She knew the older woman would resist every effort. She was stubbornly independent, and she also had a grandchild that she was crazy about.

  Gabby was walking down the hall toward the copy room when an arm snaked out and pulled her into a supply room. She found herself slammed up against the door and Miguel’s lips crushing hers. When he let her come up for air, he said, “I missed you last night, querida. We have to do something about that.”

  “I’m going to be working a lot of late nights for a while, Miguel. I have less than a month to finish trial prep. I’m a little nervous about this case.”

  “I know you are, but I’ve been reviewing everything, and I think you are as ready as you can be with the less than stellar case we have to work with.”

  She leaned back against the door. “I wish we had something more in the way of evidence than Mrs. Garcia’s eye witness identification of Gonzalez. Chloe Carlton from the Strategic Investigation Division is working her confidential informants to see if she can pick up any tips before trial.”

  “That’s definitely a Hail Mary Pass at this point, but you never know what will surface.” He pulled her in for another kiss before he hugged her tight and let her go.

  * * * *

  Gabby, Kaylin, and Chloe met for lunch at their favorite Cheeburger Cheeburger on Las Olas Boulevard at noon. They had not seen each other since before the holidays, and Gabby had a ton of things to discuss with them. As Gabby sat down at the small table on the sidewalk, both girls reached over to kiss her cheek.

  “Spill the beans, girlfriend.” Kaylin had a look in her eye that said she would squeeze every detail out of her if she had to. Chloe just sat back and let Kaylin handle the interrogation. Was this a textbook example of good cop, bad cop?

  “Relax, guys. I have every intention of spilling all of the beans. I need your advice.” She shook her head. “The last three weeks have been intense. As you know, I spent Christmas weekend with Gatto at his ranch in Southwest Ranches and New Year’s weekend with him at his family home in Puerto Rico. Both were fabulous. If you had told me this time last month that I would do that, I would have told you that you were crazy.”

  The waitress took their orders and dropped off tall glasses of iced tea. “Well, are you crazy? I thought you couldn’t stand him. You have been telling me that for the last two years. I cringed every time I saw him touch you.” Kaylin looked confused.

  “To be honest, I realized that I have been attracted to him for two years. I just couldn’t deal with my feelings. I didn’t want to be, but it was like an addiction. I would get a nervous stomach and damp panties every time he was in the same room with me. I guess I was just in denial.” She sighed when she thought back on the past two years of resisting her fatal attraction to Miguel. It had been a useless effort.

  Chloe laughed. “He is one sexy S.O.B. That’s for sure.”

  “I can’t explain it myself. I think it’s pheromones or something he excretes through his skin. It’s uncanny. He’s been the star of my sexual fantasies for two years, and he’s the sexiest man I’ve ever known. The sex is off-the-charts fabulous—even the BDSM stuff. But you guys know about that or you wouldn’t both be engaged to Doms. I need a heads-up on that. I’ll admit that I’ve been rather intrigued by it since you hooked up with Jack and J.J.”

  Chloe smiled. “I tried the lifestyle thing with J.J. for the first six months that we dated. You know how that ended, and then when I got back together with him, we got back into it. I have to admit that I liked it the first time around, and I still like it. It’s not like we have a twenty-four-seven Dom/sub relationship, but I missed it when we broke up. It’s like a huge stress relief to just turn stuff over to him after what we deal with all day long.”

  “Jack and I visit the club for scenes a couple ti
mes a week, but he needs to have a presence at the club. Sometimes we just walk through before going into his apartment. He has a private dungeon in there, but we don’t do the D/s thing all the time. I wouldn’t have thought I would like it either. During that undercover operation on the Alan Baker case, I found that I enjoy Jack’s dominant personality. It’s a part of him, and I love him. If he tried to grind me down all the time, I wouldn’t put up with it, but he isn’t like that. He definitely has his kinks, but I find I like them.”

  “So, what’s Gatto’s deal?” Chloe looked intrigued.

  “Miguel is a member of the club. He tells me that he’s a sadist and that sadism has run in his family for hundreds of years. I’m not sure he fits my definition of what a sadist is because he is very careful with me, and he makes sure I’m okay with anything he does. He doesn’t want me to be scared. So far he hasn’t done more than give me a sore butt.”

  “There are all levels, extremes, and different kinds of kink. It’s hard to say without more information. I think you should take him at his word, but also judge by his actions. ‘Safe, sane, and consensual’ is the most important tenant of the lifestyle. If you care for him, you should just take it a day at a time, and let him prove himself to you. If you aren’t afraid of him, what have you got to lose? Besides your heart, and I think it may be too late to close the barn door on that one. I’ve seen the way you look at him.”

  “You may be right there. The other thing has to do with my Christmas present.” Gabby described the ruby necklace and the strange feeling she got when she wore it. She opened the collar of her blouse and showed it them. “Sometimes it feels warm and like it’s pulsing. I’m reluctant to take it off. It’s like it’s a living thing. Am I losing my mind?”

  “Well, it is resting on your skin. Maybe its crystal structure picks up electromagnetic impulses from your heart or something like a pacemaker. I have no idea. That really is strange.”

  “That is weird.” Chloe reached out a hand and touched the necklace. “Wow. It does feel warmer than the air temperature, and it certainly seems to have life in that deep-red color.”

  “That’s not all. Carolina Gatto, Miguel’s mother, told me that the necklace is given to the fiancée of the eldest son when they get engaged. She was very surprised that Miguel had given it to me. She said she was happy that he ‘had finally had strong enough feelings for a woman to give it to her.’ That about shocked me off my chair.”

  “What did Miguel say?” Kaylin was back in interrogation mode.

  “Basically, he said it was too soon to be discussing future plans and that we should just enjoy the weekend. And that I must know that I mean more to him than a romp in the dungeon. That we have time to explore our feelings, and he wanted me to have the necklace.”

  “Are you good with that?”

  “Yes. I’m certainly not ready for more right now especially with the Toros trial about to begin. Chloe, have you come up with any leads from your CI?”

  “Nothing yet. He’s got his ear to the ground. I do know that the Panteras have moved into quite a chunk of the Toros’ territory. But you know how that is. Where there’s a vacuum, something will fill it.”

  “Okay. Thanks. Keep trying please. I wish we had more than just that one eye witness identification and one grainy video of an unidentified black SUV.” They settled their tab and returned to work.

  * * * *

  Miguel picked up his phone and buzzed Gabby at her desk. He had been anxious to ask her about her lunch but thought that might not be a good idea. He might hear something he didn’t want to know. “What are you doing right now, querida?”

  “Dictating motions.”

  “Could you please come into my office?”

  “Certainly. Do I need to bring anything with me?”

  “Just the trial binders. Thanks.”

  When she was seated across from his desk with the door to his office closed, he sat down and pulled the trial binders over in front of him. He said, “I’m worried about your witness. Have you been able to talk her into protective custody?”

  “No. She absolutely refuses to ‘allow those punk kids’ to scare her out of her home. She had noticed that they have been hanging around her neighborhood, and several of the deputies who are riding by her house reported the same thing.”

  “That is not good. That’s the thing I hate most about discovery. We had to release the name of the witness to the defense, and now she’s in jeopardy. Keep working on her to go to a safe house.”

  “Will do, boss.” She smiled when he stood up and came around to hold her chair for her. His European manners were beautiful and so much a part of him. He pulled her into his arms for a quick but thorough kiss. “You really shouldn’t do that here, Miguel.”

  “I know. I can’t seem to help myself.” He laughed. “How about dinner tonight?”

  “I had planned to go home, walk Murphy, and then do some work at home. I guess we could call for take-out.”

  “I have some work I can bring over to your place as well. How about Thai? I’ll call before we leave.”

  “That sounds good. Just no peanut sauce for me.”

  * * * *

  Gabby took a few minutes to do a quick pick-up of the houseboat and then gave Murphy a turn around the block. She had left her weekend clothes lying around that morning. She was usually neat, but she had started a pile for the cleaners and another for laundry. Having a “gentleman caller” meant she had to keep the place straightened up.

  She was just getting back when Miguel met the delivery guy in front of the house. He had parked his Jag in her parents’ driveway and took possession of the take-out bags. Yikes. What were her parents going to make of Miguel Gatto when they came down for the winter? Her mother would probably be jumping for joy, and her dad would be concerned that she was dating her boss.

  Big Mike MacTavish had been her dad since he married her mom when she was ten. Although he had adopted her, he and her mother had decided not to change her last name out of respect for her father, who had been killed in a car accident when she was eight. She and Mike could not have had a closer relationship if she had been born his daughter. He had never stinted on financial or emotional support, and she knew he adored her mother. Their subsidy of her housing expenses made it possible for her to have a career that was extremely challenging and satisfying but did not pay the big bucks while still being able to have her horse, nice clothes, and plenty of disposable income.

  Miguel carried the take-out bags up to the upper deck lounge while Gabby got plates, utensils, and bottles of beer to go with the Thai food. Miguel was sitting at the table when she got upstairs. He immediately got up to help with her armful and then kissed her silly. “Hi. It’s torture having you so close all day and not being able to just hold you.”

  “I missed you, too. Kaylin and Chloe send their regards.”

  “How was your lunch?”

  “Interesting. It’s good to have some neutral third-party input.”

  “You can always come to me for input, querida.” He had a wicked grin on his face, and she had to laugh. He never gave up, and she was glad. She might need more than a gentle nudge from time to time. After they ate and cleaned up the remains of the take-out, they moved down to the salon where Gabby spread out her files and opened her laptop. Miguel did the same, and they worked in comfortable silence while the television played quietly in the background. Finally, Miguel stretched out in the oversized floral chair and said, “That’s it for me. I’m shot. Is there any chance you’ll let me sleep over? I’ll have to leave early to go home and change for a meeting at the West Broward Governmental Center.”

  Gabby walked over to his chair and sat down in his lap. “Well, I guess I could be convinced to have an overnight guest.” He pulled her tight up against his chest and kissed her throat. His warm lips cruised down until they were over her nipples, which were standing at attention under her silk blouse.

  “We are going to try some nipple clamps the n
ext time we’re in the dungeon. Tonight I’ll have to improvise.” He began unbuttoning her shirt and pulled it out of the waistband of her gray-striped pencil skirt. She stood up, took his hand, and led him into the master suite. She knew Miguel was checking out her bedroom, and she was glad she had taken a few minutes to pick up the chaos left over from her packing and unpacking for the two long weekends. As soon as they had passed through the doorway, he whipped her around and kissed her hard before nipping her bottom lip. “Assume the position, Gabriella.” He voice had gotten lower, and his benign expression had changed. “I think that you deserve a correction for your disrespectful attitude today. Are you going to apologize?”

  Gabby was shocked. When had she been disrespectful? And then she realized that Miguel was just opening a BDSM scene. He was allowing her the opportunity to decide if she wanted to play. All she had to do was give him a pretty apology and the scene would not progress. If she gave him a little sass, they would play, and her butt might be a little sore tomorrow. She had been dying to explore Miguel’s darker side again. When she thought about what they had done in the barn, her panties became embarrassingly wet. The sex they had had at his parents’ house had been mostly vanilla and pretty tame although completely satisfying. He had admitted that there was a dungeon in the cellar of the old section of the house, but they had not visited it out of respect for his mother’s sensibilities, she supposed. She would have loved to see it though. She wondered if it was full of antique Spanish torture devices. Now that was really fanciful thinking. She finished unbuttoning her blouse and stripped quickly out of her clothes. All she still wore was the red ruby necklace, which felt warm against her chilly skin.