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Mateo pushed the wheel chair on which River sat, looking lost and traumatized. The woman was playing her part to get that long leave. He had asked if she couldn't just resign and get a job when all of it settled down, to which she replied, "And be treated like an intern? No thanks."
He got to see new shades of this character every day.
An amazing surgeon.
A concerned, loving and a delicate mother.
A badass biker.
A dangerous ex-gangster.
A shrewd mastermind.
And now, a crazy drama queen.
"I just realized something.." She whispered.
"What?" He asked as he wheeled her into the elevator. His car was parked in the basement.
"Doesn't it mean the twins will have to skip school too?"
He hadn't thought about that.
"We will just home school them then." Mateo said.
"That sucks." She chuckled. "Ki's going to miss her Flynn."
"Excuse me?" He slightly turned the wheelchair to the side so that he could see her face.
She rolled her eyes. "Not you too."
"Who's Flynn?"
"The kid my- our little Ki got a crush on."
"Crush?"
"Can't blame her though. He got the cutest blue eyes, just like his dad."
"His Dad?"
"Yep. Aaron somethin" River nodded to herself.
"Excuse me?" River could see that Mateo was getting riled up, for no particular reason.
"Calm your titties, Capo." She chuckled.
"You don't even know what a Capo means!" Mateo rolled his eyes.
"I do now, if Google is right." She stuck her tongue out at him while he shook his head.
The elevator door opened with a ding.
River and Mateo looked at each other for a few moments like two complete idiots before he pushed the wheel chair out as River hopped off of it.
"Where is your car?" She asked as she speed-walked towards the rows of vehicles, swinging her duffel bag, while Mateo pushed the wheel chair to where the rest of them were.
"The silver Bugatti Divo." He said, tossing the key at her. She caught it with her free hand and unlocked the car, getting in the driver's seat while he got into the passenger's. She slapped her bag of essentials to his lap, revving the engine.
"You need to change your car." She stated as she pulled the car out of the parking lot.
"What? Can't handle the speed?" Mateo smirked. But he was impressed at the ease with which she drove the car. As if she has been doing this for all her life.
Who knows? She was capable of anything.
"You have two kids now, Mateo. Five-year-olds. You need a bigger car which can hold two car seats." She rolled her eyes.
"Noted."
Mateo stared at her intently, waiting for more instructions. But none came.
"That's it?"
"Huh?" She glanced at him for a second before turning her attention back on the road.
"That's all I need to do as a dad?"
River looked at him like he had grown a horn and then back at the road. She was driving quite well, and quite fast though she kept to the speed limit.
She sighed as she as she took a sharp turn.
"Lucas is six minutes older than Kiara. They are both allergic to seafood."
"So am I."
"And Kiara is acrophobic."
"So am I."
"What the hell dude?" She looked at Mateo with her nose scrunched up.
"What?"
"Aren't you a Mafia man?"
"Woman, what does me being in the Mafia have to do with my allergies and fears?" Mateo raised a brow.
"Touché."
"What else?"
"Nothing much. Lukey is mature beyond his age. Kiara is the little princess and she is very naïve and too trusting but equally curious."
He nodded.
There was so much more that he needed to know about their children. He had missed out on five years of their lives. Then again, he did have the rest of his life to make up for it and catch up on it.
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"You!"
"What are you doing here?" River asked, ruffling their children's hair. Their hands were wrapped tightly around her waist, their faces pressed on to her tummy.
"River, do you know him?" Susan Johnson asked, taking River by the arm and pulling her and the kids away from Mateo's side, throwing him a cautious look.
What the hell did the motherfucker feed her with?
"Babies, go to your GG." River said and the kids whined complaining they wanted to be with their Mommy.
"Pretty please? Mommy got a surprise for you."
"What surprise?" Lucas asked.
"Can't you come with us, Mommy?" Kiara asked.
"I will, in a bit and it wouldn't be a surprise if I told you Lukey. You know that."
"Okay!!" The babies sang in unison, skipping away to their room.
"All of these men are in the Mafia. And Mr. Adesso turned out to be in the Sicilian Mafia. I thought he was helping out because he was indebted to you for saving his life!" Susan said as soon as they were out of earshot. Mateo didn't think she was really trying to be discrete.
"I know."
"What?" She sounded manic. "And you are letting him near our babies?"
"Mom, why did you even let this guy in?"
"He's here to help."
"No he isn't." Mateo spoke up and turned to the son of a bitch who now had a smirk plastered across his face, and he was staring at River like she was some exquisite art work he wanted to own.
"How dare you come here?" Mateo glared at him. He pulled out his CZ 75 and pointed it at him.
Susan and Mrs. Marley gasped while River said, "Mateo! Put that away!"
"I am here to warn them, against you and my sister." Dmitri told Mateo and turned to River. "These two are going into war and I hope you know where your kids stand in all this."
"Thanks for the heads up. Now leave before he blows your head up." River cocked her head in the direction of Mateo's gun.
Dmitri's smirk widened as he turned back to the Capo. "She's a firecracker."
"Yeah, now scram before something blows up." Mateo gritted his teeth as he spoke. This boy had the audacity to play with the people close to his children. Mateo was just glad that the mother of his children was level-headed and smart. Life would have been ten times difficult for him if she had been a typical civilian.
Dmitri shrugged as he made his move, walking way too close to River in that spacious room.
What was this motherfucker up to?
As he closed the door behind him, Susan yanked River by the arm and turned her towards her. "What's going on, Riv? What the hell is going on?"
"Nothing you need to worry about, Mom." She said.
"Nothing I need to worry about?" She screeched. "I took up a risky case then my grandkids got kidnapped then my daughter got hospitalized and now shady men are walking in and out of her apartment and you are telling me it's nothing I need to worry about?"
"Mom-"
She turned on her heels and pointed at Mateo. "You. Leave. NOW."
"Mrs. Johnson, this is exactly what he wants." He tried. "I don't know what he fed your mind with but he is not the good guy."
"And you are? The ruthless Mafia Boss?" She asked.
"He's the Capo." River muttered. Mateo gave her a look. This was not the time.
"I don't care who he is. He is leaving and he is never coming back."
Mateo sighed.
"Mrs. Johnson." He said, taking a step forward and meeting her eyes, his voice losing all the compassion. "What makes you think you can order around a Capo of the Sicilian Mafia?"
Her eyes widened and she visibly gulped. River narrowed her eyes at him.
He could be authoritative and intimidating when he wanted to be. That's who he was. But apparently, he had no such effect on his Baby mama.
Susan didn't say anything. She just stared, scared.
"Mom?" River took her by the hand. "Mom, he is their dad."
"What?" Mrs. Marley gasped while Susan still stood there, shocked.
"We need to take them away from here." She explained. "It's not safe here. That guy, Dmitri, is not safe."
"What's happening?" She croaked out. "How can you be so calm?"
"Don't worry. I will do the freaking out and breaking down later. Now I need to make sure our kids are safe."
"And you think the Mafia is safe?" She was angry. "River, are you out of your mind?"
She pulled away from her daughter's hold and walked away.
"Where is she going?" Mateo asked River.
"The kids I guess."
"River, what is going on?" River turned to Mrs. Marley.
"Mrs. Marley, thank you for being here with us for all these three years." She smiled. "You should go back to your children now. Or go on that fishing trip with that friend of yours."
"River..." The woman was tearing up.
River hugged her and turned to him. "Let's go get the kids."
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