Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
The three siblings were making funny faces at one another, clearly in the midst of another sibling argument.
“Finally!” Tallon grinned as he spotted the two of us standing in the doorway. “We were about to starve!”
“Don’t be dramatic,” Dahlia rolled her eyes but grinned and waved at us to come over.
I beamed as I pulled Gio along, settling into the chair beside her with Giovani at the head of the table next to me.
I squeezed his hand under the table, mouthing thank you before I let go and pulled the napkin off my plate. My attention was immediately captured by the food, still hot from just off the oven.
“Alright, let’s eat!” Giovani declared.
Conversation exploded between us as the food was sliced up and distributed between the plates. Dahlia and I quickly fell into a conversation about outfits as Alessandro, Gabriele, and Giovani talked about work specifics.
Tallon kept going back and forth between both conversations, cracking his usual jokes between bites of perfectly seared sirloin.
I sipped on the red wine and all of the stress that had been building finally washed away. I felt stronger and brighter surrounded by the people I cared about most in the world. Soon, my stomach was filled to the brim with wine and good food, and I couldn’t eat another bite even if I wanted to.
I yawned, my tired body hitting me now. Though I missed school, I was actually glad I’d have time to relax. I could finally take the time I needed to come down from all the pressure of everything that had happened.
Dahlia and I leaned on each other for support as the night drew long, even after all of us had finished devouring the feast in front of us. I could barely keep my eyes open as I listened to the conversation between the boys.
“And they’re showing a remarkable improvement,” Alessandro was saying about someone I’d missed, nodding to himself.
“You did well,” Gio praised him with an easygoing smile. “We’ll have all this sorted out soon enough. Did you decide who you’re going to take as your new second?”
Alessandro stiffened and actually glanced at Tallon, who smiled a bit nervously.
“Actually, I was hoping I could help out,” Tallon piped up. “I figured I could work with Alessandro if that’s okay.”
Giovani blinked in surprise. “That’s fine with me, Tallon, but it’s really up to Alessandro..”
At the glances from both his younger brother and elder cousin, Alessandro just nodded in silent agreement.
“Alright then,” Giovani agreed. “That’s settled then.”
“If you’re working with them,” Dahlia spoke loudly, my whole body flinching from the sudden volume as she leaned her whole face on my shoulder. “Then you better start killing your own spiders.”
“It was one time!” Tallon huffed, crossing his arms.
“This week,” Dahlia retorted without even opening her eyes.
I giggled, the boys grinning into their drinks as they stayed out of it. But just as Tallon opened his mouth to argue more, a loud ringtone rang out through the room.
Every eye snapped to Gabriele, who frowned at his phone as it vibrated in tune with the sound on top of the table.
“Excuse me,” he said, getting to his feet as he answered the call and left.
“You have him?” I heard him say before he faded around the corner.
I felt Gio’s hand stiffen around mine, and I frowned worriedly at him as he got to his feet and followed after Gabriele. Alessandro made a move to get up as well, but Gio just said “Stay here. We’ll be right back.”
Gio kissed my forehead, whispering, “Work calls, I love you,” before he disappeared around the corner. Then he was gone, intent on finding out what was happening with Gabriele’s call and leaving me behind once more.
*Giovani*
Joey Mancinni was a patient young man. That much was clear from the anxious way he tapped the edge of his fingernails on the table he sat at. The seat itself was made of velvet cushioning, and he shifted every few seconds like he couldn’t get comfortable.
The hotel room around him was clearly above his station, and he knew it. With a glorious floor-to-ceiling window view overlooking the massive gardens and lake features of the expensive hotel, Mr. Mancinni hadn’t glanced out at it even once.
He’d taken his seat at the table and ignored the luxury bed and expensive artwork hanging from the walls. He didn’t even search through the drawers where gold jewelry had been planted for him to find.
No, Mr. Mancinni knew his place; that much was evident.
A single night at this hotel was clearly more than he could ever afford, even if he worked for the rest of his life.
Mr. Mancinni sat there, nervous and panicky since the moment he’d been escorted inside hours ago, and a less patient man would’ve gone mad in the isolation. But even as the sun died and the night cast long shadows into the hotel room, he did not move from his seat.
He waited.
I tilted my head, watching the man behind the two-way mirror we’d set up on the wall. It had only been twenty minutes since I’d arrived at the Firenze and first laid eyes on the man who had slipped those terrifying notes to Olivia and Dahlia.
“You’re sure it’s him?” I asked again, unable to believe the scrawny prick of a kid in the hotel room was working with the Russians. Did he even know who he was working for, or had they hidden their identity?
“Yes,” Gabriele nodded beside me. “Besides the waiting, he’s been treated to the utmost hospitality. He seems to think it’s the Russians he’s talking to.”
“Flight risk?” I asked, frowning as Mr. Mancinni nervously glanced around the room, his backpack held in his lap tightly. His fear of the men he’d been working for was obvious.
So then why’d he do it?
“Not likely,” Gabriele shook his head. “He’s just a third party in all of this, only following orders. I doubt he has the balls to run.”
I hummed in acknowledgment.
“Block the doors anyway,” I declared. “And shut down the hallway for maintenance. Leave no chance of letting him escape. He’s the best lead we have right now.”
“Done,” Gabriele said, pulling out of his phone to make the call.
I stared at the kid. He was clearly around Olivia and Dahlia’s age, if a bit older, and I wondered what had gotten him so caught up in all of this mess.
But none of that mattered right now.
Willingly participant or not, he’d taken the money and threatened Olivia and Dahlia.
There was no empathy left for me to give to him.
“We’re ready,” Gabriele declared once he put away his phone.
“Good. Let’s go.”
I turned away from the mirror and headed for the room on the other side. The halls were empty just like I wanted, the plush velvet carpet sinking under the weight of my shoes as I made my way to the next door.
The plaque claimed it was room 1145, though the hotel didn’t have nearly that many rooms. Two guards posted themselves to the wall beside the door, both nodding at me and Gabriele as we passed.
“No one goes in or out until I say so,” I firmly instructed them.
