Page 2 of The Mobster's Nanny

At the same time, I hear a notification and glance at another screen, one of the three in front of me. Louis, my cousin, just sent me a message saying that there's a fight in Orland Park and they need backup. Shit. Not the best time, but I know a couple of young recruits nearby that could be helpful. I search for them on the map while keeping my attention on Georgiy’s voice in my earphones—when all of a sudden, the door swings open.

"Papa, I'm—ouch!It hurts, Papa, it's scary, make it stop!"

Romeo stumbles into the room with a loud cry, sobbing and holding up his arm as if trying to show me something. Our golden retriever, Dolce, follows right after him, whimpering in tune with Romeo's sobs and wagging his tail in distress.Oh, come on.I frown, hearing Georgiy huff on the other side of the call, and raise my hand to gesture for Romeo to stop.

"I'm in the middle of an important task, Romeo. Wait just a few minutes, okay? And then—"

"No, Papa!" He bursts into a louder sob that sounds almost hysterical, and my heart tightens. Romeo is already seven, so he deems himself mature enough not to cry without a good reason. "It hurts! Help me, Papa, please, I—"

He cuts himself off with another sob, stomping his feet, and I can't help a surge of worry as I take out my earphones. "What happened?"

"A wasp, there—ouch, ouch! There was a wasp, and it—it stings, Papa!"

"What?" I glance at the clock, feeling wired just from the sound of his sobbing. "It's almost seven, where did you find a wasp?"

"I don't know!"

Romeo chokes on his tears, and everything inside of me tenses up in distress. Shit. I can't just leave my group on its own! I hear another notification, probably from Louis, and it makes my mind spin even harder—which results in me freezing in my chair. Okay, wait, what should I do first?

"Go deal with Romeo. I'll take care of your men if they ask for help," Georgiy says all of a sudden, and I hear a note of an understanding smile in his voice. He has two kids, after all. He knows the feeling.

"Thanks," I breathe out and grab my phone, rushing to Romeo. "Alright, let's find you an ice pack."

As soon as I get up, Dolce perks up and, out of curiosity or desire for attention, stomps in front of me, wagging his tail and blocking my way. I bark at him to get out of the way while typing a message on my phone, ordering the recruit closest to Louis to find himASAP. Okay, that part is done.

Romeo's sobbing turns into whimpers and hiccups by the time we get to the kitchen which is a good sign already. His honey-brown eyes are still glassy, though, and his round face is red and swollen from tears. Oh, dear. I sigh and wipe his cheeks with my sleeve before directing my attention to the red swelling on his wrist.

"It's going to be alright, I promise," I murmur, studying the sting before giving Romeo an encouraging smile. "Don't be scared, okay? I'm gonna put some ice on it, so it'll hurt a little more."

“No!” Romeo's eyes widen with fear, and he bites his wobbling lip. “No, I don’t want it!”

Ah, this kid. I purse my lips and quirk an eyebrow at him. “The pain won’t go away until we do it, okay?”

After a moment of pouting, Romeo grimaces in pain again and nods, watching me walk to the fridge to grab an ice pack. Okay, wait, I have to distract him from the pain or he’ll throw a fit again. So I hum and glance at Romeo over my shoulder.

"Now, how did it happen? Where did you find a wasp?"

He sniffles, rubbing his nose, and looks at Dolce, who has already made himself comfortable on the floor next to Romeo's stool. "I don't know. It just got in when I opened the door for Dolce, and I didn't know what to do."

"Well, trying to catch it with bare hands wasn't the best idea."

I chuckle, taking a hold of his arm and pressing the ice pack to his wrist. Romeo immediately flinches, trying to pull away, and grimaces when I don't let him go—but at least he's not crying anymore.

"I didn't try to catch it," he says with indignation and shakes his head so fast his black curls bounce from the movement. "I wanted to protect Dolce."

"Protect him, huh?" I quirk an eyebrow and look at the retriever with a false accusation. Dolce doesn't seem to be bothered and only taps his tail against the floor in response.

"Yes! The wasp was following him everywhere, and he even barked at it. He was scared. I had to do something," Romeo finishes with a proudly lifted chin. He even tries to cross his arms, probably to emphasize the importance of his deeds, but I'm still holding his wrist and he winces when he tries to move it.

"Alright, well, it was a good thing to do." I nod, moving the ice pack away to check the sting. It doesn’t look as painfully swollen anymore, but it's clear that it's gonna take a couple of days for it to disappear. "But when you're helping someone, you have to think about yourself as well, okay? Next time, find a towel or a newspaper first."

Romeo nods with pursed lips and a very serious frown, and I can't help but chuckle, feeling my heart swell with fondness. God, this kid. What would I do without him? I ruffle his hair, earning a pout in return, and sigh with a gentle smile.

"You know it's gonna hurt for a while, right?"

"Yeah," he grumbles under his breath, glaring at the ice pack as if it’s his personal enemy. But a moment later, Romeo suddenly blinks and looks up at me with wide eyes. "Wait, Papa?"

I hum, trying to remember where the antihistamine cream is—it should help with the swelling a little.

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