All Chapters of Babysitting the Mafia Princess: Chapter 21 - Chapter 29

Later that day, Charlie got called into River’s office. Charlie knocked lightly.“Come in,” River’s deep voice instructed.River looked up from his desk as Charlie stepped inside, tablet in hand, glasses pushed up into his hair.“Fall Formal,” River said flatly.Charlie nodded once. “Yes, sir.”River leaned back in his chair. “Public event. Hundreds of kids. Parents in and out. School security barely adequate.”“Yes, sir.”River studied him. “She told me she is going with some boy.”“Yes,” Charlie said, shifting uncomfortably.River grimaced. “I don’t like it, but I can’t say no to this.”Charlie didn’t comment.River stood and walked to the window that overlooked the driveway. “She wants normal. This is part of that.”“I understand,” Charlie agreed.River stayed by the window for a moment longer, hands clasped behind his back, then spoke without turning around.“So,” he said casually. “Who’s the boy?”Charlie blinked.“Sir?”River glanced over his shoulder. “Her date. Name. Family. A

After class, Sky snapped her notebook shut and stood. She didn’t bother looking at Charlie or waiting for him.By the next morning, she’d decided the whole thing was stupid. Charlie asking Maria. Her dad issuing social orders like he ran a military academy. Her own weird mood about it. All stupid.So when she reached her locker the next day and found Caleb already there, leaning a little too casually against the metal, she was ready for a distraction.“Hey,” he said, smiling. He had that earnest, slightly nervous look he always wore around her, like he wasn’t sure if she was about to flirt or bite. “I was hoping I’d catch you.”Sky raised an eyebrow. “You stalking me now? Careful. That’s Charlie’s job.”Caleb laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. “Right. Yeah. No, uh…” He cleared his throat. “So. I was thinking…since Fall Formal’s coming up and all…”She braced. Here it comes.“…maybe we should hang out before that?” he finished quickly. “Like, not a dance thing. Just…fun.”Sky tilte

Charlie had agreed to this for exactly one reason.Sky.The place looked like a fire hazard wrapped in neon and bad decisions. Lights strobed across the walls in aggressive blues and purples. Fog hugged the floor like it was waiting for instructions. The noise level suggested at least three future headaches and one possible lawsuit.He took it in with a measured scan. Entrances. Exits. Elevated platforms. Blind corners.No actual threats.Sky stepped inside and immediately lit up like she had just walked into a second home. Her grin was sharp. Alive. Familiar in a way that tightened something uncomfortable in his chest.And now, she was on his opposite team, trying to hunt him.Cute.He moved without thinking, instincts slipping into place like muscle memory. He tracked movement. Anticipated angles. Let the chaos wash past him while he stayed centered.Then a shot hit his vest.Red lights flared across his chest.Charlie stopped and slowly turned.Sky stood behind cover, grinning like

Sky was having so much fun. One second, she was breathless with adrenaline, vest warm against her ribs, hair slipping loose because the stupid tie had been pulling all night. Next, she was getting grabbed by some brute who sprayed way too much cologne on himself.“Hey,” a voice said close to her ear. Calm. Official. “You’re out. You slipped back there. Come with me.”Sky straightened immediately.“What?” she said, already pulling her arm back. “No, I didn’t.”The grip tightened.She turned and saw the vest first. Black shirt. Lanyard. Whistle. The kind of uniform your brain filed under harmless before it bothered asking questions.“I slipped,” she said sharply. “That’s not a tag.”“You’re out,” he repeated, steering her away from the ramp. “We’ll get you reset.”“I don’t need to be reset,” Sky snapped, digging her heels in. “Let go.”His fingers slid higher on her arm. That was when her instincts finally screamed.She twisted hard, yanking free just enough for the hair tie to tear loo

Charlie waited until Sky’s bedroom door closed behind her with a loud thud. Then, walked straight to River Foster’s office.River raised an eyebrow. “Back already? I’d think Sky would want to stay longer.”Charlie didn’t sit down. He was too tense and he wanted to get this over with.“Someone tried to grab sky,” he said.River’s eyebrow dropped.“Explain,” he said, already moving around his desk.Charlie explained everything. He kept things clean and straight. He laid it out like a report because that was how his mind worked when something went wrong. He told him about everything. The fog. The distraction. The fake uniform. The hand over her mouth. The alley. And how he fought the man to rescue Sky.River listened without interrupting, jaw tightening a fraction more with every sentence.When Charlie finished, the silence was sharp.“Double security,” River said immediately. “Effective tonight. No more solo outings. Two cars minimum. I want a full audit of everyone who worked that venu