Page 60 of The Mob Boss' Pet

Chapter Seventeen

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Stephania

Vincenzo quietly enters the bedroom. I sit up in the crate to watch him. He’s been gone a long time. The sun set a while ago, and I can’t reach the light on the nightstand. I’ve been curled up in my crate in the dark.

He flicks on the lights and pushes the door closed.

“You’re up,” he says, but he sounds different. His words are thicker.

“Are you okay?” I ask, threading my fingers around the bars. He stumbles over to me and quickly opens the door.

“I’m fine,” he mutters. “Get in the bed.”

I crawl out of the crate and get to my feet, stretching my back once I’m upright. He disappears into the bathroom without another word. The faint scent of whiskey trails off him.

Something’s happened.

I grab a nightshirt and toss it over my head.

“Is everything okay?” I ask through the bathroom door after several minutes have passed without his reappearance.

I catch the sound of a deep sniffle before water starts running in the sink.

Knocking, I try again. “Vincenzo. Is everything okay? Is Roberto all right?” He’s been taking good care of his wounds and doing his meds perfectly; there shouldn’t be any danger at this point. But something has obviously upset Vincenzo.

Deciding it’s worth the risk of a punishment, I reach for the door handle. The door is jerked open before I touch it, and he staggers past me. He keeps his back to me, but I catch his profile.

His eyes are red and slightly swollen.

“Vincenzo,” I say cautiously.

He yanks the closet door open.

“I told you to get in bed,” he snaps and sinks into the darkness of the closet.

I look at the bed. Maybe I should just do what he says, but his pain is palpable. There’s an ache in him.

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