by J. A. Coffey
She flipped the open sign on the boutique window and greeted her first customer while she tried to come up with a plan.
Chapter Two
The opportunity to visit with Mikolas had taken over her mind all day long. She watched each minute click by on the register's small clock, waiting to close the boutique, so she could hurry to her parent's house for Friday night dinner.
Although the weekly event seemed suspicious to her, Gabrielle hadn't had a clear picture of the whole Friday night dinner before the meeting with her father this morning. Now everything made sense. The family-friends weren't friends at all, but employees of her father's business. They had been able to hide the real details from her because their dealings weren't discussed at the dinner, but she didn't doubt the reign of control her father held over the lives gathered around the long dining room table. No wonder why Dad always said to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Holding the dinner once a week provided him the ability to keep tabs on his men while giving her the convenient excuse to see Mik.
Mikolas Russo came to mind again and made her weak in the knees. How could she convince anyone to give her a job for the Family when she couldn't find the gumption to tell the man she loved him? She shook her head. Just stupid. She tapped her frosty pink acrylic nails on the counter top.
Tonight she would find some way to get Mik alone and lay her feelings on the line. As children and young teens, the two of them had been close, but they'd grown apart after she'd been sent away for high school. Mik appeared to be a determined man, going after what he wanted, and he'd never hinted at a date with her. Clear he didn't see her the same way. Maybe if she became part of the Family, he'd find her desirable. If he denied her, it might be enough to twist the lock on her heart, giving her the determination to move on with her life.
The clock finally struck six p.m. "Excuse me," she called out through the boutique to the customers. "It's time to close. I can ring up your purchases over here."
Normally working late didn't bother her a bit. She enjoyed her boutique most of the time and usually stayed open longer if the usual crowd of women continued rushing about with arm loads of clothes they planned on purchasing. Contentment hadn't arrived this morning when she'd stepped over the boutique's threshold, making today different.
She'd watched the clock all day, each passing minute seemed more like an hour while her decision to reveal her need to press her father for more details sprouted seeds of nervousness that she did her best to push away. And she'd see Mik again.
Even though they had grown up together, once she had gotten the beginnings of a crush, he had suddenly decided to stay far away from her without any explanation. They weren't dating or really even friends since she'd returned back to the States. He only offered her a polite "hello" in passing while she'd love to have a real conversation with him. Where did that leave them? Acquaintances?
At least at the boutique she felt like someone special. This was her domain. She was a respected boutique owner and no one told her what to do. The women who visited her upscale boutique on the popular tourist strip of Las Vegas were a good mixture of local shoppers and tourists. She enjoyed meeting the occasional celebrity and thrived on the opportunity to give fashion advice to the local socialites.
The twenty or so people in her store acknowledged her then slowly made their way to the register. Clothes draped over their arms along with their designer purses. A variety of garments with hefty price tags attached were dropped onto the counter one by one. Women with designer everything, including lipstick, swiped their credit cards and hauled their pink bags, with the sparkling ‘Gabrielle's' written in cursive print across the sides, out the door.
"Why are you rushing us out of here tonight, Gabrielle? You never close the store this early," Kendra, a local celebrity, asked. Her long blonde hair had been styled in a French twist and her make-up looked flawless.
"Just have family obligations to take care of," Gabrielle replied as she rang up each item and piled the clothes into bags.
After handing Kendra her packages, Gabrielle grabbed her keys and escorted the petite woman to the door. There wasn't any time to clean up or do the books. This was it. Her life was about to change. But for better or for worse?
*****
The traffic through Las Vegas on a Friday evening wasn't anything less than crazy with the stop-and-go movement, reckless drivers, and accidents galore. Gabrielle fit right in with her impatience and the need to speed to her parent's house. And Mik.
Gabrielle weaved through the heavy traffic, ignoring the honks on three sides of her as she pressed on the gas pedal. Nothing on her agenda could be brought up at dinner. She'd have to grab the opportunity before everyone took their places at the long dining room table. Being late tonight wasn't an option.
Thinking of Mik brought a smile to her lips. Several men had asked her out over the years. Those relationships had led to nothing beyond a casual date and a fling with one of them because Gabrielle had wanted only Mikolas Russo. And tonight Gabrielle's taking back the control in her life.
The Vegas traffic continued getting worse, forcing her to slow down, but she still pushed the limits. Honking the horn and riding bumpers didn't help move things along. It did make her, in some weird way, feel counter-productive.
She zipped her silver BMW convertible in and out of lanes. When she reduced speed behind a minivan she laid on the horn. "Hurry up," she yelled to the driver ahead of her, even though it wouldn't do any good. She revved her engine to help prove her point. Traffic began to move again, making her hair fly behind her like a black shadow.
She whipped around another car and once back in the center of her own lane, she glanced at herself in the review mirror. Damn it, I forgot to put my scarf over my hair, now I'm going to look terrible when I get there. She'd just take back her life with wind-blown hair.
Her silver car sped up to the exit leading her into the neighborhood in which both she and her parents owned homes. She rushed by her street where two women yelled at her to slow down. Her hair flung back from her face as she turned the corner and slowed her speed a little as she turned approached the long driveway to her parents' house. She came to a stop at the box and jabbed the intercom button.
"Who's there?" asked the voice the over the speaker. The very guy who made her tingle with only one short sentence. Mikolas Russo.
"Mik, let me in."
"Who are you?" he teased. The richness of his voice along with his words floated out of the little box.
She tapped her long fingernails against the pink leather steering wheel cover. "Quit messing with me. Just let me in."
"Calm down, Gabi." Mikolas gave a hearty laugh. "Come in."
The gates buzzed and opened inward at a snail's pace. She nudged her car forward a hair and made a mental note to talk to her father about the gates. By the time they closed, a whole stream of enemies could squeeze between them without anyone noticing. With all the money her parents had, her father could afford a faster moving gate.
With them finally open, she sped up the driveway and pulled her car behind Mik's SUV. Whew. She'd made it and even lucked out with a good parking spot since most of the driveway would be filled with fancy cars within a half hour.
Gabrielle's heart raced as she pictured Mik manning the security gate tonight. First, she needed to even the score, and then she'd bring up the idea of a job. Prepared to get Mik back for the habitual teasing over the speaker, she closed her car door with barely a click. She tiptoed up the security booth, moving against the small building to avoid him seeing her. "Mik," she yelled as she jumped around the corner.
With a swift movement of his arm, he aimed a gun at her chest with his finger ready to pull the trigger. His eyes were wide while his mouth dropped open in shock.
Fear of the gun aimed at her chest pushed the bile up her throat. She gulped while taking a step backward and lifted her hands up.
Once recovered, he said, "Damn it, Gabi. Don't ever do that ag
ain."
Her heart hammered in her chest. "But... I... uh."
He slipped the gun back into the waistband of his pants again. "You what?"
She crossed her trembling arms over her chest and took another step back. "I only wanted to ask if you'd like to go swimming with me later." Fear must've pushed the suggestion right out of her mouth. She'd been around firearms plenty of times but hadn't realized that Mik carried one. She glanced back at the house, wondering how many of those guys were armed. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea.
"Oh. Swimming" His cheeks flushed. "When?" He glanced at the computer video monitor when a familiar black BMW pulled up to the gate. Mik pushed the button to allow the car to pass through.
She stepped into the doorframe. "How long are you working in here tonight?"
"Enrico assigned me to security until dinner." He turned toward the screen, giving her the chance to give him the once over.
She couldn't deny how sexy he looked with his polo shirt tucked into his tan Dockers. His shiny dress shoes completed the outfit. Even the gun she had seen him tuck in his pants made him seem to hold even more of a dangerous sex appeal. His green eyes pierced hers, making heat rush over her cheeks. Damn it, he'd caught her ogling him. And now she felt like she'd been doing something she wasn't supposed to. His lips tilted into a half smile while his eyes glistened with something she hadn't noticed before? Mutual attraction?
No matter how hard she had tried to fight it, she'd always been drawn to him. She couldn't hide her feelings any longer. She had to tell him. Taking a step toward him, her hand found the bulge of his bicep.
"Mik?" She'd never called him by anything other than the nickname she'd given him as kids.
He turned away long enough to let another car through the gate. "Yeah?" His gaze locked onto hers again.
Her heart sped up in her chest as she realized he wasn't pushing her away. Maybe she'd been wrong about this entire situation. Her lips formed a nervous smile. "I-"
Heavy footsteps approached from behind the booth. "You in there, Mikolas?" Marcello called.
Frowning, Mik answered, "Yeah?"
She dropped her hand. "See you at dinner," she mumbled, each word dripping with disappointment.
"Yeah, see you at dinner," he called out to her quickly as she walked away.
She made her way around to the side door of the house leading to her father's office. Might as well get it all done while she still had some time left before dinner was scheduled to be served in the dining room. Even if she changed her mind about a job for her father, she still needed answers.
The silence in the house on a Friday night came as a surprise. Only her heels against the marble floor kept her company as she walked through the house. Lights streamed out of the partially opened door of her father's office, alerting her to the probability of his presence. Another few steps closer and she heard his voice. Forbidden to interrupt a meeting in progress, she stopped in her tracks. Should she knock on the door anyway? After all, this was important.
"One of our guys has been hired to pop me," her father said. "If I'm killed, make sure you take care of Gabrielle and Maura."
Gabrielle's knees grew weak, sending her against the wall to stable herself. She bit back tears as his words settled over her. Her father acted as the lifeline to her family. She couldn't lose him.
"Do you know who it is?" She didn't have to see the husky voice to know who spoke the words. Family friend? Yeah right. Mikolas' father served not only as her father's best friend, but his business partner as well.
"No, but I'm going to find out."
Gabrielle wanted to cry out for her father, to stomp into his office, and demand to help. Or anything to stop this from happening. But she couldn't yet. Instead, she wiped away the tears as she pressed her ear to the wall to get every detail possible.
"What're we going to do?" Leon's voice had gotten quieter while some more shuffling went on around the room.
"Start with our own in-house investigation." Her father laughed. How could he think his life being in danger was funny?
The hairs on her neck prickled. Gabrielle could only guess what an in-house investigation meant and it probably wasn't pretty either. She didn't need to be an active participant to know at least one person would die in the search to find the traitor. Fear ripped through her stomach. Maybe being involved with this wasn't such a good idea after all. Her father had been right with the decision to send her away all those years ago.
"Sounds good. Start tonight at dinner?" Leon suggested.
Footsteps approached the door, sending Gabrielle spinning on her heels. She quickly turned the corner to the kitchen. She had already struck out with one of her goal's for tonight but didn't feel an ounce of defeat with the other. Her father had opened up the door for her to prove her loyalty and trustworthiness to the family. Did she want to step through the threshold he provided?
Gabrielle rounded the corner to the formal dining room and found a few people already seated. "Hey," she said, offering a small wave. All of the men there looked the same as they had the week before, but she knew them differently now.
"How are you, Gabrielle?" Bo asked.
She took the seat next to him at the table and wondered what role the middle-aged man served in all of this. With his politeness and charming smile, she couldn't picture him committing any sort of crime. The possibility of him hurting another person bogged her mind. "I'm fine, Bo. You?"
He nodded his head. "Pretty well, thanks. Clarice has been meaning to stop by your shop. Morgana needs a dress for the prom."
Gabrielle laughed, knowing just particular how his wife and daughter were when it came to fashion. "It's not prom season yet, but they can come in and special order Morgana's dress."
He beamed a gleaming white smile, pleased with her suggestion. "I'll let them know."
Gabrielle continued with small talk to the people sitting around the table. Michael told her about a recent trip while Lenard wanted to share stories with her. He owned a convenience store off Freemont Street and enjoyed comparing his horrible customers to hers which often earned them plenty of laughs from others.
As she visited with the men, the table quickly filled up, and nobody spoke either to her or within earshot of the plan to murder her father.
She scanned everyone sitting at the table, lingering for a spell on each face, trying to figure out who had enough balls to be a traitor to the Medini Family. Wil took the seat next to the three vacant places reserved for her father, Leon, and her mother. The last seat was for Mik, placing him across from her. Her heart raced as she wiped her sweaty palms on her napkin. For the entire year she'd been back in Las Vegas, neither she nor Mik had missed a Friday night dinner and this would be the first time he would be sitting so close to her.
Relax, Gabrielle! You'll get through this one way or another.
The door opened and Mikolas sauntered into the room. He paused at the door before his lips formed into a sexy grin as he approached his place setting.
Chapter Three
Mikolas wasn't allowed to leave the security booth until either Enrico or his father summoned him. Relief had finally the moment he'd been called to dinner. Finding the only available seat across the table from Gabrielle, he stopped in the doorway, afraid to walk any closer to her.
Self-control became harder with each second. He could barely keep his hands off of her whenever she was around. And tonight when she'd grabbed his arm? That had been the first time they'd had physical contact with each other since her going away party ten years ago. Both times made his chest tighten, making him lose his breath by merely a touch of her hand.
Then idiot Marcello had shown up, causing her to break the connection with them. If that hadn't happened he might've kissed her. The urge to run his fingers through her windblown hair, or kiss her pink lips he'd been fantasizing about for so long became difficult to contain. She was the only woman he knew who could work all day long and still look like she'd just stepped o
ut of a salon. Each time he looked at her, his heart beat a little faster.
No matter how much Mikolas wanted her, Enrico Medini had declared his daughter off limits. Get control, Mikolas ordered himself. Enrico will kill you if you touch Gabi. As he approached his spot at the table, he couldn't hold back the smile. Had she saved him the seat?
He looked at her through the candlelight. Her dark eyes always danced with mischief, but the naughtiness seemed more pronounced in tonight's low light. She swirled a piece of bread into the fondue pot, blew it, and then plucked the gooey mess in her mouth. Her tongue slid over her bottom lip to catch a drip of cheese. He wished his mouth could be against her's... licking the cheese... tasting her flavor.
Mikolas fought the urge to reach out and touch her. Maybe smooth her black hair away from the pale face. Or maybe let his teeth gently nibble against her plump lips. He shifted uncomfortably as his slacks grew tight across his crotch. The smell of her perfume didn't do much for the matter, either.
"Mikolas?" Enrico calling his name tore his attention from the beauty across the table. Hopefully a distraction would make his erection shrink.
He looked over at Enrico as he took his designated place at the head of the table. "I'm sorry, Enrico. What did you say?"
Enrico glared down the table at Mikolas. "I asked where Stefano is. Have you heard from him?"
"No." Mikolas shook his head. To smooth things over with his boss, he said. "Want me to call him?"
"It's not necessary. Maura out did herself tonight, eh?" Enrico waved his hand toward the table, eyeing all of the guests.
A chorus of ‘thank yous' floated across the table to Maura. She smiled graciously and turned back to her food. Maura rarely talked at the dinner table, tonight being no exception.