The Mafia's Babies by Kaycee Romano (little readers TXT) 📕

She was glad that he was okay, but she was also guilty that she had taken way too long, especially after the five years they had already lost together.

She was scared. Because she was just a mom.

But what would have she done if something had happened to Mateo, knowing that she didn't let him spend even a moment as their children's dad?

River slid down to the floor, placing her face on her hands, trying to breathe.

He's fine.

'I will fix everything now. Right now.' She thought to herself.

With new found determination and resolve, she made her way to where the kids were. She walked out the patio to find her darling little babies in the front lawn, playing with their toy cars. It was break time for them and they had insisted that they did not want to go inside only to come back out thirty minutes later. Their tutor, Nancy Davidson, sat next to them, reading a book while occasionally smiling at the twins in adoration.

"Hey babies!" The surgeon said cheerfully so that they nor the tutor didn't pick up on how tensed she was. She would tell the tutor of course; if not her, some other staff will. But the kids didn't need to know. They had panicked more about River being admitted in the hospital than them getting kidnapped; an incident, bless their five-year-old innocent hearts- that had been long forgotten. She did not want the kids to know that their father was in admitted in the hospital as soon as they found out who their father was.

"Mommy, I am not a baby!" Lucas pouted but ran into his mother' arms nevertheless after Kiara did.

"But you are my big baby boy!" River pouted kissing his wild curly hair – something both the twins had inherited from her - while Kiara snuggled into the crook of her mother's neck.

"No I am not!"

"Are you my baby, Ki?" River kissed the forehead of her little world as she whispered in her baby voice.

"Yes!" Kiara giggled and then looking at her brother, added. "I am your only baby."

"No you aren't." Lucas narrowed his eyes at his sister. River had to stop herself from pulling his cheeks – her baby boy looked so freaking cute when he was angry or jealous – something that he took after his dad. River didn't know about jealousy but grumpy and annoyed Mateo Adesso was engraved in her brain from the time when he was her patient. He had hated everything about the condition he was in and he used to get so mad. It was the cutest thing in the whole wide world.

"I mean, since you are not a baby anymore, I guess Ki is my only baby!" River exclaimed, playing along while Kiara giggled, snuggling into her chest, her eyes on her brother.

"No! I am your first baby, remember?" He climbed onto River's lap and hugged her. "I was born six minutes before Ki!"

River laughed as she hugged both her babies.

"Can I take a picture?"

The surgeon turned to see Nancy looking at them with her phone out.

"I think it's against Mateo's policies." River shrugged. She knew that the twins must have looked very cute at that moment and the picture was one worth taking but she did not want anything wrong to happen and as much as she trusted Nancy, she wasn't going to be blinded by that trust. She knew that every single activity on Nancy's phone was probably monitored by Mateo's people but still, River Johnson never took risks when it came to her children.

"Oh okay." She shrugged. "Maybe using your phone then?"

A weird feeling settled in her chest. Maybe she was being paranoid but something told her not to give her phone to anyone.

River cleared her throat. "I don't think it's a good idea. Can you please excuse the kids till after lunch? I have something important to tell them."

She nodded and got up, gathering her belongings.

River hugged her kids tight and watched the woman. She really hoped she was being paranoid because all of a sudden, all the trust was gone, like instantly. And River was left fearing for the twins' safety.

Nancy turned around to look at her discretely only to turn right back when she realized she was being watched.

Great.

Danger is closer than we think it is. And her inner voice was always right when it came to such things.

"Are we gonna play now Mommy?" Lucas asked, sitting up.

"No, Mommy is going to tell you guys a story." River said, internally biting her fingers because she had no idea how they were going to react.

"But Mommy, it's not even nap time." Kiara whined, trying to wriggle out of her mother's hold.

"But this is not a nap time story."

"You say that every time." Lucas narrowed his eyes as the two of them succeeded in getting out of her embrace and stood in front of her with identical pouts on their faces.

"This is an adventurous story."

"Nope!" The said in unison, shaking their head and turning away towards the mansion. They do almost everything in sync, don't they?

"This is the story of how Mommy met Dadda."

They stopped in their tracks.

River bit her lip. There was no turning back now.

They were just five and never asked their mother about their Dad but River knew that they felt the lack of fatherly affection. And she also knew that her work schedule didn't help.

This was a conversation she had always pretended they didn't need. But now, she had to. Because their father was present in their lives and in a fucking hospital bed right now.

"Come here you two." River whispered as she held her arms out for them to climb back into her lap.

"Okay so once upon a time, there was a girl with loving mom and grandmother."

"Grandma and GG?" Kiara asked.

"Ki, no questions!" Lucas shushed her while River smiled at her little babies.

"Yeah and she had this amazing life. But she got into fights and became friends with bad people."