Undressed By The Mafia God novel Chapter 241

Chapter 241: You Will Tire Yourself Out

Dropping onto the sofa, he leaned back and stared at the ceiling, his jaw tight, his thoughts racing in circles he couldn’t quite break out of.

Maybe he had handled this all wrong. Maybe leaving Veronica to Luca had been a mistake.

A massive one. He leaned forward on the sofa, elbows resting on his knees, his phone dangling loosely in his hand as his thoughts spiraled. His eyes flicked briefly toward the hallway that led to his bedroom—toward her.

"How did you sink this low?" he muttered under his breath, frustration lacing his voice.

Why had she contacted him after all these months? Was she in trouble?

"Shit!" he swore, running a hand through his hair as he grabbed the remote and switched on the TV. He stared at the screen without really seeing it, his mind somewhere else entirely.

It didn’t matter that she had broken his heart. Didn’t matter how things ended between them.

Didn’t matter how long it had been. Some things didn’t change. And one of those things was this—

He would always show up for her. No matter what. Cassidy pulled up Renato’s capo’s number. He sent a short message. He wouldn’t be making it tonight. He hit send and dropped the phone onto the table, exhaling slowly as he leaned back again.

*****

Ricardo felt like his head was about to explode. He stood near the edge of the living room, watching Valentina pace back and forth like a storm that refused to settle. Since the engagement, she had been staying with him, and while he loved having her there—loved waking up next to her, loved the way her presence filled his space—

Right now? He had no idea how to calm her.

"Val..." he said carefully, stepping forward slightly as she turned again, her arms wrapped tightly around herself, her movements restless, anxious. "You will tire yourself out."

She didn’t stop. Didn’t even slow down.

"Think of the baby... okay?" he added. "I am not saying you shouldn’t be worried," he continued, raising his hands slightly in a calming gesture. "But you have more than yourself to think of now, okay?" He moved closer, trying to catch her eye as she turned again, his heart tightening at the sight of her.

She looked shaken and scared. "What if something is wrong?" she said suddenly, her eyes finally locking onto his. "What if she’s in trouble, Ricardo? Cassidy is a Bastione. An enemy of Luca. I told her not to go. I told her. I don’t like it, Ricardo! I don’t," Valentina snapped again, her voice cracking slightly at the edges as she stopped pacing for only a second before starting again. Her hands flew up in frustration, then dropped back down as if she didn’t know what to do with them.

"She should have gotten back to me by now," she continued, shaking her head. "She said she was going to call as soon as she left there."

"Did she tell you why she was going there?" he asked gently.

"No!" she said immediately, louder than intended. "No. Anything that has to do with Luca and the famiglia... she cannot tell me anything." Her jaw tightened. "I hate this," she snapped, turning away again.

Ricardo exhaled slowly, running a hand through his hair. "Val..."

But she wasn’t finished.

"I hate that she has to hide things from me," she continued. "I hate that I’m supposed to just sit here and wait and smile and act like everything is normal when it isn’t." Her eyes flicked toward him, glossy with worry but stubborn all the same. "She doesn’t tell me anything important, Ricardo. Not because she doesn’t want to—but because she can’t. And now she’s not answering her phone."

"Try calling Marco," he suggested.

"He hasn’t been picking his calls for days now."

Ricardo frowned at that. "Days?" he repeated.

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