Bred In Violence (A Mafia Romance Book One) #𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝟏

Chapter 19

The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life.
~Richard Bach~

Bruno

"Where the hell is Raphael?" Fabricio says he has been calling him since 6 am, and his phone is off. His phone is never off! I thought he was with you! Bruno urgently asked Romano, who was lounging on one of the kitchen chairs, working on a laptop.

"He hasn't woken up yet! " Romano smiled slyly, his stubble making him look ridiculous dashing.

"What do you mean he hasn't woken up yet? It's almost 9 am Rom; he doesn't sleep that long; hell, the guy has a permanent case of insomnia. I was panicking now because I understood the ramifications of a missing Raphael. It would mean a war that no one would win.

"Relax. He is with Sophie," he smirked, playfully pulling me out of my anxiety. If Raph were missing, Romano would be behaving exactly as I was, not this calm and collected.

I exhaled loudly, pulling the chair beside him.

"What are you working on?" My voice was still scratchy, my mouth dry, making me feel like I had run a million miles without water.

I looked up, and my eyes met with him, giving me a peculiar look.

"What? "

He made a motion of sizing me up.

I looked down at myself, noticing for the first time since hurrying down here that I had surprisingly forgotten to wear shoes in my haste.

Part of my shirt was tucked in; the other part just hanged careless on unbuckled pants. I was a mess.

Damn it! I stood and turned to go back to my room.

"Were you scared, angry, sad, or vengeful?" Romano asked, bemused.

"All of those, I guess." I looked at him, my eyes glancing around, lost in thought, standing on that first stair, letting myself think about what we do.

"Do you think we are like stepmothers?" I asked Romano, whose eyebrows went up, so first, it was comical.

"I mean, we kill without a second thought. Yet when I thought Raph was missing, the grief I felt was indescribable. Sad at the same time, vengeful and downright destructive.

"How the hell is that like a stepmother? " he asked, puzzled, his leg closing on his kneel and arms on the chest.

"They love their own children more and mistreat others. At least that's what I hear." He continued to stare at me, his gaze devoid of any understanding of what I was trying to say.

"You know what I mean. Apparently, I don't have any qualm killing everybody else, but I strongly oppose, disagree with anyone returning the favor to my family!"

Romano chuckled, squinting at me like I was his source of comic relief.

"I hate to break it to you, B, but you're not a woman, and Raphael is definitely not your son."

"Don't be deliberately obtuse! You know what I mean!"

He leaned back on the chair, deliberately rubbed his stubble, a mocking smile on his face.

"Step-mothers don't kill their stepchildren; they mistreat them. So. No. I do not know what you mean." His voice held a fake appalling sound. Like what I had said was so ridiculous he wanted no part of it.

"That is a terrible analogy," he finally said

"How do you know it's a bad analogy if you don't know what I meant? "