Page 140 of Heartless Mafia Prince

“It’s fine, Dad. Luciano, have her call me back. I’d rather her hear it from me that it will be a while before we see each other.”

“Yeah, yeah. Ok,” Luciano grunted.

“Love you, Dad. Give Breann and mom a kiss for me.”

“Love you, too, son. I will.”

I disconnected the line and took a deep breath.

I’d seen Ryah almost every week for as long as I could remember. We hadn’t ever gone months without seeing each other. Luciano would lock his family down until the war ended.

The phone rang in my hand. My heart raced.

“Hello.”

“Rocco,” her voice shook.

“Did your dad fill you in?”

“Yeah.”

“I’m not sure how long you’ll be in a safe house.”

“Where will you be?”

“Working, Ryah.”

Silence.

“Baby, I love you. We’ll see each other again hopefully before the summer is over.”

Silence again.

“What’s on your mind, Ryah?”

“Those kids who sat on the bench last night drinking together, they looked so happy. Sometimes, I think about having a normal life. I wanted that on this trip. Just once. I accept my life for what it is. This trip became so much more than I imagined. The concert was the best. I looked forward to spending more time with you.”

“Ryah, we have the rest...”

“Don’t fucking say it,” Ryah cut me off.

“You sound like my dad. We don’t have the rest of our lives clearly. Fuck,” she growled.

“I won’t bother asking because I know you’ll say no,” Ryah sighed. “I love you. Stay safe.”

She disconnected the call.

Ryah was pissed. She wanted to be in the thick of the danger with me. Not hiding out.

Gripping the oversized phone in my hand, I yelled, “Fuck.”

I hated this shit. Ryah was right; this was our life.

Agosto appeared. He leaned against the fridge. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“She wants to be here with me.” I shook my head.

“Ryah was so angry.”

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