Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Mom,” I gasped. “I’m not going to just up and leave, not while Dahlia’s still missing.”
“Olivia, there is nothing you can do for Dahlia right now. It’s best to leave this to the professionals. Dahlia would never want you to stay there if it meant you were in danger, and neither do I. That’s why you need to come home.”
I swallowed uncomfortably, my gaze trailing upstairs to where Giovani was in his study.
I didn’t want to leave Dahlia, that was true, but I also didn’t want to leave Giovani. I wanted to see this through to the end, no matter how much danger it might put me in.
“Sorry, Mom, but I’m not leaving, not until Dahlia’s with me,” I said, determinedly.
She sighed heavily, and I knew that for the moment I had won. “We’ll talk about this later, Olivia,” she said. ‘I love you. Be safe.”
“Love you, too,” I said, ending the phone call.
Just as I set my phone on the counter, I heard the sound of the door opening, and I stiffened, whirling my gaze to the kitchen entrance.
“Anybody home?” a familiar voice called out.
It couldn’t be.
A tall figure appeared with sunglasses on his aristocratic face. His Italian descent was obvious even from far away as he stepped into the kitchen. His lips curled into a bright grin as he threw open his arms in greeting.
“Hey, Livi!” he grinned. “Did you miss me?”
“Tallon?” I asked, dumbfounded.
It was Dahlia’s younger brother.
*Giovani*
“The Russians finally reached out.”
Gabriele’s words were not reassuring. I knew from experience that the Zaytsevs were not forgiving people, nor were they patient. Nothing those bastards said was going to be good.
“What did they say?” I ground my teeth together, glaring at Gabriele.
If they reached out, it was only out of arrogance. They thought they had won already, and now they were taunting us.
He sighed, crossing his arms. “They said there’s no getting Dahlia back alive, but they’re willing to allow us to pay for the return of her body.”
I was fucking right.
Pay for her body?
What kind of arrogant bullshit was this?
Dahlia wasn’t a bargaining piece. She was family. I wasn’t supposed to allow anything to happen to her, and now I couldn’t even confirm if she was alive.
I could only imagine what Dahlia was going through right now. She was strong. James and Becca had raised her that way, but being kidnapped for nearly two days now was bound to take its toll.
I had no idea what they were saying to her or threatening her with, but I had no doubt it was going to haunt her for a long while. I should’ve protected her better, should’ve kept her locked in the compound, even if it made her hate me.
At least then she would be safe.
Silence settled between us like an unwanted stare. It was both uncomfortable and necessary. My thoughts whirled at a hundred per second, plans both forming and falling apart at record speed.
I could only stare blankly at my desk, wondering what I should do. If we got close, I had no doubt they would kill Dahlia just to spite us.
We had to make sure this was foolproof before we did anything, or else, Dahlia would be paying for our mistakes.
This was proving to be more of a headache than I’d first thought.
“Who is bold enough to act like this?” I asked coldly.
“I’ve had people looking into it. There’s no concrete evidence, but we do have one lead.” Gabriele said, leaning against the wall as he stared at me. “A man by the name of Dmitri Zyatsev.”
I paused at the name, glancing up at Gabriele as my anger grew. Just the name Zyatsev was enough to have my blood run cold. Mikhail had been a bad enough son of a bitch, but I thought we had killed him years ago.
Now, there was another one?
“Any relation to Mikhail?”
“His cousin. Much younger, but it seems he’s taken control over the family business,” Gabriele told me, a dangerous look in his eye. “He’s inexperienced, but he has a lot of connections. So far, we’ve tracked him to three different aliases. He’s not going to go down easily.”
I didn’t expect anything less. Anyone related to Mikhail was a headache. That’s why we made sure to wipe out all of the Russians years ago. James knew they would never stop until they got their revenge.
Looks like he was right. Old haunts weren’t just rising from the dead; they had only pretended to be defeated.
I growled, slamming my hand on the table. “I knew this was related to that bastard. They just couldn’t stay dead, could they? Is this revenge for what James and I did? But why wait all this time?”
“So far, we’ve got nothing on him,” Gabriele sighed. “He’s more slippery than a snake, and he has connections in high places. Somebody’s protecting him, somebody with a lot of power. Considering the message he left, though, I’m pretty sure he’s got a grudge against us. Maybe it was what you and James did Mikhail and the other brothers. Who knows? But he’s not willing to let this go.”
This was more troubling than I had first thought. Who the fuck could be backing him? There were countless names who wanted to destroy our family, but none of them had the resources to keep Dmitri hidden.
It’d have to be someone at the very top, with money, power, and connections all within their hands, someone we wouldn’t be able to touch. Honestly, I could go through a list and still never find the right name.
It didn’t even matter now anyway. Fixing this mess was going to take more than digging old grudges to the surface.
I got to my feet, ignoring Gabriele as I headed straight for the liquor cabinet. I grabbed my heaviest scotch and two glasses, pouring out the scotch, ignoring the slight splash of the expensive alcohol, and handing the full glass to Gabriele.
He took it gratefully and watched me silently as I poured myself a glass, taking the bottle with me as I sat back down at my desk.
I downed the glass of scotch, the smooth liquid falling down my throat in a burn I was used to. Maybe it was too early to be drinking, but I was pissed.
It was much easier to handle this conversation with alcohol.
Once the glass was empty, I spared no time in refilling it. Gabriele had only taken a sip of his own, and I sighed, slamming the bottle of scotch onto the desk.
“Do we know what he wants?” I glanced at him expectantly.
Gabriele hesitated and then sighed. “It seems from his actions that he isn’t just trying to get revenge. He’s been planning this for a long time. He’s been recklessly using everything he has near him to get to us, but we aren’t the only ones he’s caught the attention of.”
Shit.
“The police or bigger?” I questioned angrily.
