Page 87 of Heartless Mafia Prince 2: Rocco & Ryah

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ROCCO

TWO YEARS LATER

LEANING AGAINST THEstone building, I stared into the distance, clutching my backpack strap.

Where is she?

Students nodded and greeted me as they entered the dining hall. Laughter sparked my eardrum. I peeked to the left. There she was, deep in a conversation with him. The fucking thorn in my side. Truthfully, he wasn’t that bad. Like I said before, I hated sharing my woman with anyone, especially another guy. But Levi had become her friend over the last couple of years. He’d partied with us many times. Even hung out at my cousins’ new spacious condo. Ryah never invited him to our house or her parents. She couldn’t. Levi wasn’t a part of our world. We had to protect our privacy. Faith and Alejandro were a different story. Last year, they joined us at my parents' house for Christmas. And recently, they’d joined us for dinner at our house.

Alejandro had a talk with Faith’s father, Javier Jiménez. He told him his intentions with his daughter. Javier happily welcomed Alejandro to the family. As promised, I reintroduced him to the underworld. He and I killed a couple of lying thieves.

Levi, on the other hand, was still a mystery. We broke him out of his shell. He talked more. Maybe a little too much. Sometimes, it felt like he spent more time with Ryah than I did. We both knew that was a problem. I didn’t want to make her pet disappear. Ryah would be devastated.

I squinted. Wait, is that motherfucker wearing a blazer?

Tell me Ryah wasn’t trying to dress him like me.

Calm down, Rocco. Don’t kill him.

He was loyal to Ryah. I couldn’t kill him. Besides, I did like hanging out with him, too. Who was I kidding? I was fucking conflicted?

“Hey, what’s up, Rocco?” Levi beamed as he approached, locking fingers with me in a bro handshake.

His golden-brown hair was cut low, but stood perfectly in the front. Maybe it was some trick he did with the mousse. He was still lanky. Not bulked up like me.

“Nothing much. Just waiting for my woman. I’m standing outside the dining hall like she asked.” I glanced at her.

The wind whipped through us like it was December, not the first week in March.

She stepped under my heated gaze, cranking her head to stare up at me. The wind blew her curls all over her head. She was beautiful, even in her imperfect moments. A shiver struck her body. She probably wished she wore warmer clothes. Instead of the lightweight jacket and those tight jeans.

“Sorry, baby. I wanted us to grab lunch together.” Ryah grabbed my lapels, pulling me closer until our lips met. The world stopped spinning.

Damn, she did it again. Made me love her even more with the simple touch of her lips. Ryah let me know right then and there in front of her pet. I was who mattered. That I was the most important man in her life. That was what made her special. Her ability to handle me.

She released my lips and nodded toward the door. “Come on.”

Levi held the door open, laughing under his breath.

“What’s funny?”

We watched Ryah walk ahead of us toward the line.

“She has you wrapped around her finger. The way you stared back at her. I swear you were going to nail her in front of the dining hall.”

A sarcastic chuckle rolled from my throat. “I had no intention of nailing my woman in front of you. And I’ll always look at her like the sun rises and sets on her ass because it does,” I growled.

He clapped both of his hands on my shoulders. “Calm down. Everyone on this campus knows she belongs to you.”

Levi fell in step beside me. “You eat lunch together every day. If you aren’t here, one of your guards is seated in close proximity. Why do you have bodyguards again?”

“We had this discussion before. We’re worth a lot of money.”

He leaned in. “A while back, I researched you and Ryah. The article said your fathers are alleged mob bosses.”

Levi was reaching.

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