Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
He dressed quickly, and in what felt like mere moments, he was throwing open his office door and leading me inside by the hand. Gabriele waited in a standing position in front of the desk, but Gio gestured to me to sit in one of the red leather seats next to the man. I sat, but turned the chair so I could face both of them equally. Gabriele regarded me coolly but did not protest as Gio sat behind his huge desk.
“Report,” Gio barked, suddenly businesslike.
I’d seen this mafioso side of him before, but never when I really understood, never when I got to be part of the meetings. The only meeting I’d ever been invited to before, I’d blubbered all the way through as Gio planned to give himself up. Now, as an equal participant in what was to come, the sharp edge in Gio’s voice made me squirm in my seat and think about what would happen when we got back to the room.
I’d been on the outside for so long that I’d forgotten how hot Gio’s effortless air of command was.
“Alessandro and his men have been riding Lorenz’s ass.” Gabriele interrupted my train of thought and brought me back to the moment. I dug my fingers into the leather of the chair, an old trick I used to use in boring classes in high school to stay attentive. Of course, I wasn’t bored now….
Focus, Olivia!
Lorenz was the bastard who had hired Joey Mancinni to put those notes in mine and Dahlia’s notebooks, the one who chased us out of school. Maybe one day I’d get as bloodthirsty as Gio or Dahlia in my revenge, but right now, I just want to see him humiliated.
“They know all his civilian haunts. There are a few bars, a few restaurants… a bowling alley he goes to on a daily basis.” Gabriele shook his head. “They’re working on mapping the weak points in his security, but we can more or less put eyes on him whenever we want.”
Gio nodded slowly. “All good things, but I want to hit both of them at once. Dmitri keeps slipping out of our grasp. I don’t want to give him a chance to wiggle away again. When we hit, we hit everyone.”
“We’ll keep our eyes on him so it’s simple to strike when we’re ready,” Gabriele said.
Gio hummed. “Give it to somebody other than Alessandro. He’s done well. I want him in the strike force, and he doesn’t perform well when his attention is split.”
My mouth fell slightly open, but I snapped it quickly shut again. Alessandro just took his first life, barely a week ago. Did Gio really believe it was a good idea to put him in that position again?
Was this how quickly Gio had to grow up when he was rising through the ranks? Never a moment to breathe or mourn, just the next mission to be carried out? My heart panged, and I suddenly missed my mom worse than I had since we arrived.
Gio leaned forward. “This is not the sort of news you wake me up in the middle of the night for.”
A slow, sharklike smile spread over Gabriele’s face. “Rinaldo finally made it to a decent position in the Russo organization.”
Gio banged his hand on his desk. “Why didn’t you tell me that first?”
“There was a meeting with their higher-ups tonight, suspiciously late, so he contacted us in advance. We were worried he was made,” he continued.
“Is he?” Gio demanded. “Have we lost another one?”
Another? I shot Gio a look, asking what I’d missed, and he shook his head. I pursed my lips but relented. I had to trust him just like he trusted me.
Gabriele shook his head. “Set-up meeting for a new overnight warehouse. Apparently, that’s what they call it when they have to put together a safe house on short notice.”
Gio steepled his fingers, a new light gleaming in his eyes. “My old friend, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
I leaned forward as well. I had my guesses, but I wanted to hear him say it.
“Russo has been securing housing outside of the city once a month since this bastard started hitting us. We only ever found out after the fact. Tonight, Rinaldo was in the planning meeting for this month’s safe house.” Gabriele’s smile grew even wider. “He has the address in hand. Dmitri himself handed it over.”
I leaped out of my chair with a squeal of delight, then quickly sat back down when both men turned to look at me.
“Sorry! I got a little excited.” I took a deep breath. “I’m ready for this to be over.”
Gio reached across his desk, and I put my hand in his. He squeezed it comfortingly, and I looked up into his deep brown eyes, full of love and warmth.
“I’m ready, too, carina.” He turned back to Gabriele but didn’t release my hand.
I smiled to myself.
“We have to act quickly. Start putting in calls. I want all our best people on this, and I want them here yesterday.” Gio looked down at the top of his desk for a moment, lost in thought, and when he looked back up, his eyes burned with righteous anger. “For Vincent, for Emiliio, for all the men they made us put in Eterna–this ends now.”
His determination lit a spark in my veins. Dmitri had taken so much from us, but no longer.
We were going to make him pay.
*Giovani*
I looked at Olivia, alighted with the same righteous anger I felt in myself. I’d so rarely seen her angry, and even more rarely angry at someone other than me. The emotion made her glow, bringing a glimmer to her eyes and precision to her movements. My mind strayed to the memory of her standing up, naked and completely confident she could talk me into letting her into this room. Then, it strayed a little further to the fact she wasn’t wearing any underwear.
I ran my thumb lightly over the back of her hand and wished I could scoop her up, drag her back to the room, and take advantage of that knowledge. She was always beautiful, but she was brilliant when she was standing up for herself. I could watch her do that forever.
Gabriele cleared his throat, and I cut my eyes in his direction. He raised a mocking eyebrow, and I knew he was asking if I was really going to go have sex instead of focusing on the important mission at hand.
I steeled myself, squeezed Olivia’s hand one more time, and let go. He was right. I had to be the Don right now.
“Carina, we need to talk details. Can you—”
She bounced up out of her seat. “Say no more. I’m going to go tell Dahlia. She might even be happy enough to forgive me for waking her up.”
I smiled at her. “Good luck with that.”
She circled around the desk to press a kiss to my lips, and it took all my willpower not to deepen the kiss and take her right over my desk. She’d been perfect in the meeting, and now she was leaving without complaint. I couldn’t have asked anything else of her, and it made me love her even more.
She had been right. She knew what she could handle. And, unfortunately, I knew what I could handle, so I broke the kiss quickly before she could overwhelm me.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
I stroked a thumb across her cheek. “Always.”
She nodded at Gabriele, a small blush rising to her cheeks as though she’d just remembered he was there, and stepped out of the office, closing the door behind her.
“So,” he started, a teasing grin twisting his lips.
I waved my hand. “Not now. We’ve got a raid to plan. I’m sure you know more than you said.”
He nodded. “Some. First, Dmitri will be arriving at the safehouse the day after tomorrow. Rinaldo thinks it’ll be sometime in the afternoon, but he’s not certain.”
I exhaled in one big gust. “Not a lot of time to plan the perfect raid. I’m glad you woke me.”
“I don’t expect there will be much sleep waiting for any of us in the coming days,” Gabriele said.
“Anything is worth it to ruin the man who killed Vincent and the others,” I replied.
My second-in-command nodded, and despite his deferential posture with his hands behind his back, I suddenly saw the brawler I’d grown up alongside. He’d been vicious when we were younger. But then, so had everybody who’d survived.
He cleared his throat and became the older man who’d risen in the ranks beside me again. I couldn’t shake the feeling we’d need the brawler to get through this unscathed.
“Alright, what do we know about the location?” I asked.
