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

"Like I had a bloody panic attack."

Mateo laughed out loud and she let out a small chuckle.

That one is never going to get old, was it?

"You know I have told you time and again not to bottle up your feelings." He turned to her, stopping in her tracks.

She turned to look at him. "You told me that one time, kind sir. Do not exaggerate." She gave him her cheeky grin.

Mateo wanted to flick her nose. In fact, he did.

"Hey!!!" She whined, rubbing her nose which turned apple red within seconds.

"So you do turn red. You just don't blush." Mateo laughed.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Shut up! I need the kids in my arms."

"I thought a hug from Meyers was enough." He rolled his eyes, taking her hand back in his as they continued down the path. It was pretty long and Mateo was kind of glad that it was.

"Hugs from others are like temporary dressing of bullet wounds, and hugs from our twins are like surgery that take out the bullet and stitch up the wound for good."

Mateo gave her a flat look. "That's the kind of lame analogy one would expect from a doctor like you." He shook his head.

This time, she stopped walking and turned him to face her by yanking at his arm. "Excuse me?" She looked thoroughly offended. Uh oh. "Did you just call me lame?"

"No, I just said whatever you said was lame." Mateo shrugged, but he wasn't able to stop the chuckle that left his lips.

She rolled her eyes again and started speed walking. It wasn't hard to keep up with her because his legs were a few inches longer than hers. "Oh come on, you cannot be offended by that."

She didn't reply and completely ignored him.

Mateo sighed. Yet again, they had managed to stray from the topic they were supposed to discuss.

"How about we race till where the kids are?" Mateo asked. The five of them were pretty far but he knew both of them could handle it.

"Nope. I am going to enjoy the breeze, the view and take a stroll. You can go if you want to." She slowed down and started to walk leisurely and much to his annoyance, Adam and Alessia were also walking away with the kids. They were probably taking them to the rock caverns.

"So can we talk now?" Mateo asked.

"About?"

"About your habit of bottling up your emotions till you have a panic attack?"

"That's blunt." She didn't look him in his eyes.

"I know."

"Look." She stopped again and turned to him. "I am a mother. I get scared, but I can't show it because my kids always pick up on my moods and emotions."

"You can talk to me."

"Well, let's see. We have been having a very bumpy road since we met this year. I don't think I had time for a deep conversation with you-" Mateo tried to disrupt but she stopped him with by holding up her palm and continued. "-at least not about me and how I feel. It was always about you and the twins, no offense."

Is that how she felt?

Mateo felt his annoyance make its way back. She could have always talked to him but she didn't. He found it easy to talk to her, maybe because he knew she was part of his future and family. But he guessed River never saw him that way.

This was her problem. She doesn't say anything and just expect people to catch on.

"Forget it." She breathed out.

"HEY!"

Before Mateo could say anything, he was interrupted by Adam's voice.

They turned around to see Adam and Alessia walk back, the twins on each of his shoulder and Mia in Alessia's arms.

"I thought you were going to the caverns." Mateo said as he moved forward, taking his kids into his arms, kissing them on each cheek.

"Yeah we were, then we saw you and slowed down for you but you lovebirds were taking too long." Alessia said and looked at his feet. "Who wears sneakers to the beach, dummy?"

"Mateo Adesso." Adam laughed out loud which earned him a death glare from his best friend.

"It's midday. Couldn't you wait till evening to go to the beach?" River asked as she ruffled Lucas' hair before taking Mia from Alessia.

"But Mommy, you said we could go when the sun was up." Kiara interjected.

River let out a sigh and nodded.

"Then let's go back for now, have the food GG made especially for you guys and then come back in the evening after Papa changes into sandals." She said and the kids nodded while Mateo narrowed his eyes at her.

They all decided that was a smart plan and walked back into the house. Adam took Mia and sat her down on his shoulder.

"Papa, how long are we gonna stay with Grandma and GG?" Their little Kiara asked.

"How long do you want?" He asked his children.

"Um.. Forever?" Lucas asked, making him chuckle.

"You want that?"

The two darlings nodded.

"Papa is going to fix some things and I promise you, you can stay with them forever after that." Mateo swore to himself that he was going to eliminate all the danger in their lives and give them whatever they wanted.

Mateo Adesso was the Capo of the Sicilian Mafia and also the son of one of the richest and most powerful family in the whole wide world. He should be able to give his children the world but at that moment, he wasn't even giving them a normal life. He knew that he was doing it for their own good.

The only thing that made the Mafia business tolerable was that despite the brutality, they followed principles. But this character names Mona Petrov was getting in the way of it all – she was jeopardizing the system and Mateo didn't think that her sleaze ball of a brother, Sergey Petrov, who also happened to be the freaking Boss of the Russian Mafia, was going to step in until he started facing accusations and backlash from his allies. Sergey was crooked like that. He pushed the limits and walked on thin ice and took action only when it directly affected him.