The Mafia's Babies by Kaycee Romano (rocket ebook reader txt) 📖

But it didn't mean that she was satisfied with Mateo's decision to run away from problems. She realized he tended to do that a lot – at least when it came to his children and her. He moved them at the whiff of danger and he left them as soon as there was a disagreement with River. He was flawed like that.

"What's taking them so long?" River wondered out loud.

"Oh nothing." Adam walked down the stairs. "Alessia didn't pack her 'most important stuff' yesterday though she had packed yours, which are in those bags over there and she went back to sleep right after leaving them at the door." He let out a dramatic sigh. "Now she is turning the whole room upside down packing all of her 'stuff'."

River rolled her eyes as she walked over to the couch and sat down, making sure the kids were comfortable. "You could have helped her you know?"

"And have my hands cut off for touching her precious things? No thanks." Adam said dramatically and then asked, "You okay doc?"

River turned to look at the two men who looked concerned. "You look like you are going to break down any second now."

What?

"I will be in the car." Adam announced and walked out.

'Please no. I don't want to have a conversation right now.' River prayed to herself.

She looked up at Mateo as he walked closer to her.

"I am scared. That's it. The kids could have eaten those cookies." River said. "I have this gut feeling that maybe we shouldn't go anywhere right now."

"I am doing this for you three." He sighed and crouched down in front of her. "The enemies managed to get our people on their side. The safest place right now is Amalfi. Nobody is going to attack us in the Boss' territory."

River nodded though she didn't think the next one would be an attack.

.

.

.

Amalfi was beautiful, even in the middle of the night. Though it was a nineteen-hour flight and she was exhausted beyond description, River kept her eyes wide open to stare at the coastal town.

"Mommy, let's go to the beach!!!" Kiara jumped in her lap. She had refused to sit on her car seat and Lucas had followed. So now she was on her lap and Lucas on Mateo's.

"Yeah Papa, let's go!" Lucas exclaimed from the passenger's seat.

"After we settle down and after the sun comes up." River stated and the kids let out collective groans.

She yawned. It was one or two in the morning and the kids were wide awake because they had slept through most of the flight.

She had already decided that she was leaving Mateo in charge so that she could get some shut eye.

River had realized how great it was for both the parents to be present. Though they were family, she always felt bad for burdening them with taking care of the kids when River couldn't. But there was no such guilt when it came to asking Mateo, because he had equal responsibility.

Now, she could ask Mateo to watch the kids while she slept in a bathtub. It felt good.

Since River had decided to get lost in her thoughts, she decided she will deal with the situations at hand.

One, Mateo had a crazy bitch obsessed with him, probably his ex or something but she didn't know. And though Mateo had never mentioned it, River was smart enough to figure out that the target was on her head.

Two, Mateo and his family's background. Of course, she was scared of the situation but she guessed the kids were safer close to him than away, because gangsters didn't rest until they got what they wanted, She didn't even want to know what the Mafia did.

Three, what Mateo said the other night. River had decided on not committing to a relationship, at least not until the kids were teens or something, because she knew she was a difficult woman to be with who spent most of her time in the hospital and she had kids so the chances of having a good old happy ending was lil to nil. She didn't want her kids to get attached to someone and then lose them. But now with Mateo, she knew that even if he was to leave her at some point, he wouldn't leave the kids because they were his kids.

Sure. Like he didn't leave after that misunderstanding.

Her mood changed drastically in a blink of an eye.

'Why is my inner voice a killjoy?'

I think realist is the word you are looking for.

River sighed, and looked up at the rear-view mirror where her eyes met his caramel orbs. She forced a smile but his face contorted in concern as she did.

Great.

She pretended to yawn and his eyes softened as he let out a chuckle.

"What are you laughing at, Papa?" Lucas turned around to look at him.

"Nothing." He mumbled, his smile staying in its place.

'Honestly, this man was nothing like the Mafia men in the books. He was sweet, considerate, level-headed and innocent. Yes, he was impulsive and sometimes childish, but he never did anything to hurt me or my children.' River thought to herself, a soft smile forming on her own face. 'And yeah, he did leave that night, but wasn't that just a normal reaction from a person who had heard some real mean stuff said against them? How was any of this his fault? He couldn't choose where to be born right?'

Well, he could choose what he wanted to be in life.

'I am sure that he didn't see it coming. He was probably living a bachelor life, no strings attached, when this happened.'

Ugh, her thoughts were a mess.

"Wow!!" River looked up and out the window when the kids let out collective gasps.

And they were so right. Wow.

River had thought that the mansion in Wyoming was out of the world, but this was the next level.

They were entering a house, no, a contemporary mansion facing the ocean. Why was she not surprised that they had a private beach? The grounds were filled with guards everywhere. Armed guards and guard dogs.