Page 74 of Heartless Mafia Prince

Stabbing a piece of chicken with my fork, I peeked at Ryah. Her big eyes were glued to her plate.

“Thanks for dinner, Rocco.” Luciano grinned.

“No problem.”

“Rosetta.” His deep voice bounced off the walls. Shit, all of Philly heard him.

She ambled into the kitchen a minute later.

“Hello, you two.” She brushed her hand over Ryah’s arm.

“Hey.” My woman half smiled.

“Good evening Rosetta,” I said, as I watched her curl into Luciano’s side like a fucking tiger.

It always felt like I didn’t know her at all. Even though I’d known her all of my life. Melanie carried on conversations with me. Asked about my education and sports. She gave off warmth not darkness. This woman couldn’t be trusted. One more year and Ryah wouldn’t have to sleep under this roof again.

Rosetta whispered something in his ear. Luciano laughed. It wasn’t uncommon in the mafia world for bosses or made men to have Gumars. The rule was simple. She was a side piece. He couldn’t fall in love with the woman on the side. Luciano was in a tough spot. He fell in love with Melanie, even though he was promised to another woman as a part of a business arrangement. If Luciano hadn’t been a boss, Melanie probably would’ve been whacked. Technically, Ryah was a bastard child. I respected Luciano for making it clear his daughter was his pride and joy. He’d die for her. I wondered what that conversation was like when Luciano told Rosetta Melanie was having his baby. Pretty sure she lost her shit. If my father had Gumars, he did a great job at hiding them. When dad wasn’t working, he and mom went out for dinner, traveled, or simply hung out around the house. Dad adored mom. I didn’t want to think about how different my life would’ve been if dad was in an arranged marriage.

“Rosetta, Rocco’s joining us on our summer vacation,” Ryah gleamed.

Rosetta glanced between Luciano and me. “Good,” she bit out, like it bothered her to see us happy.

Maybe because like Melanie, Ryah had a man who loved her, too. Did Rosetta wonder what was it about the Soloman women men gravitated to?

“Rocco, I’ll talk to Urbano about you joining us on vacation. We’ll have a job for you to carry out while we’re there.”

“No problem.”

I felt Ryah’s eyes on me. Stay cool, baby.

His eyes narrowed. “Just Rocco, Ryah.”

She smiled. “Dad, I know, geez.”

I squeezed Ryah’s neck. “You ready to hit the books, Princess?”

Her body shuddered under my touch.

Ryah was ready for something much sweeter.

“Yeah, let’s go.”

After we discarded our dirty dishes in the sink, we gathered our backpacks and vacated the kitchen. My shoulders slacked as we climbed the steps. Why did Luciano tell Ryah she couldn’t help on the job? Was it just an innocent reminder? Or, did he have suspicions about my last job? My paranoia was getting the best of me. Fuck, it didn’t matter. No way would I implicate Ryah.

Once through the door of her bedroom, she flung her backpack on her desk.

“Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be back.” Ryah disappeared into the bathroom.

I flipped on the desk lamp to give us extra light, before slipping our books out of our backpacks.

My phone buzzed in my pocket as I cracked open my calc textbook. Water slapping the shower tiles caught my attention. As much as I wanted to join Ryah under the piping hot water, I turned my focus to my homework. We could take a shower together at my house, but not at hers.

I peeked at my cell screen. One missed call. Light taps of heavy knuckles rattled the door, then it creaked open.

Meeting Luciano’s gaze, I grinned.

“Everything good in here?”

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