Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Alright,” he said.
He hung up, and I finished dressing then ran downstairs. I grabbed my bag and shoved my feet into my shoes, then ran out to the driveway.
My heart was hammering against my ribs, and I paced up and down the driveway, unable to stand still.
This had to be it. We had to have answers. I couldn’t stand going through another day without some hope that this hellish ordeal was coming to an end. I wanted Tallon home so, so badly.
The few minutes that I was waiting outside felt like an eternity.
Vinny had barely stopped when I was climbing into the car and slamming the door behind me. He took off again before I had my seatbelt on.
It confirmed that this was more than a maybe.
“Tell me everything,” I commanded.
“You remember that we told you the Russians that had been killed were all involved in Valentino killings?” he said.
“How could I forget?” I asked.
The revelation had been difficult for me to process. It was the thing that had made me suspicious that we may have a rogue in our midst, as much as I wished that it wasn’t the case.
“Well, it turns out all of those Valentino men were part of one group, and their leader is still alive.”
I stared straight ahead at the road as his words sank in. Each of those men whose deaths had been avenged were part of one unit, and that unit’s leader was still alive. There was no way that was a coincidence.
It felt like my heart had stopped beating as the reality of what he was saying dawned on me. I didn’t want to believe it.
“His name is Antonio,” Vinny said.
I now knew the name of the man who had betrayed the family and framed Tallon, and regardless of his motivations, I was going to make sure he didn’t get away with it.
*Antonio*
I sat back in my chair and looked with satisfaction at the stack of magazines on my desk. They were the physical proof that everything I had worked so hard for over the past year had paid off.
Each one had a blurry photo of Tallon and a headline about his arrest.
I was finally getting everything that I wanted, everything that I deserved.
The family had done a good job of covering it up, so only seedy gossip magazines were running the story right now, but word of Tallon’s arrest was spreading quickly.
Soon, the trial would begin, and the family wouldn’t be able to hide the truth anymore. The public reputation Tallon had worked so hard to build was damaged for good. Now the world knew that he was nothing but a low life.
I smiled bitterly.
I didn’t want things to come to this, but he’d made his bed with that damned Russian, so there was no way around it. He had to pay for turning his back on his family, all for some woman.
The Russians had obviously concocted some kind of long con and Tallon had walked right into it. Marrying that woman was only part of their scheme. It had to be. There was no way the Russians would abide by any peace agreement. We couldn’t trust them.
I had spent a lot of time thinking about my start with the family. It was decades ago now. Back then, I was just a stupid kid, barely in my twenties. I had bought into the family mission entirely.
Back then, the Don was a real man. He was not someone who suffered fools, and he didn’t compromise when it came to his vision for the family. If you wanted to get on his good side, you had to be willing to do anything he asked. That kind of leadership was exactly what I needed.
It wasn’t easy, but I had remained loyal through the loss of family and friends. It was a bloody business, but I trusted the Don and I believed that we were doing what was best for the family. I never doubted that I was on the side of righteousness.
I worked my way up until I became a trusted enforcer. I learned the trade from the best, and it wasn’t long before the Don started coming to me when he needed someone eliminated.
It was a hard thing to do, but I learned to do it well. I never got caught. Even as technology improved, I learned ways to stay two steps ahead of the police. I couldn’t be tied to a single death, no matter how personally involved I had been.
When I became a leader and was put in charge of my own team of guys, I was determined to be successful and prove that I deserved the trust the family had put in me. They were elites by the time they completed their training with me. We were a fearful force that the Don could turn to with any task, no matter how difficult.
I was in my sixties now, and I’d put in the hard work to earn this rank. It was the recognition of my dedication to the family that I had wanted, and I was thrilled.
At first, things were great. I grew to love my guys like they were my own sons.
Then we fell afoul of the Russians.
One by one my men were killed by those bloodthirsty monsters.
My heart was shattered, but I still believed that we were doing the right things. The Russians had to be driven from Italy. It was clear by what they did to my boys that they were beyond redemption. I was able to maintain my belief in the family through it all—that is, until Tallon.
Thinking about the way he fawned over that Russian woman made me sick. He was nothing but a traitor. He spat on the memory of all the men we’d lost to them when he chose her as his wife. I couldn’t forgive such a blatant betrayal of our trust.
It was like the lives that we had lost meant nothing to him.
He was nothing but a spoiled brat. What did he know about being Don? He’d been born into wealth and power. He’d never had to work for a thing in his life, not like I did, and not like so many of the men we had lost. We were pawns to him, and it wouldn’t stand.
I looked at the magazine cover with a photo of Tallon and his pretty, young Russian woman. Every time I thought about it, I felt sick. All it took to turn him against us was a beautiful woman. It was pathetic.
When I learned about the peace agreement with the Russians and the reason for it, I knew that Tallon had to be removed from power. If he wasn’t, it would only be a matter of time before the family was destroyed. We had worked too hard to let that happen.
Tallon was the problem. His mind was too easily swayed. His judgment simply couldn’t be trusted.
The lives and wellbeing of so many people depended on him, but it was clear that all he cared about was himself.
I swept the pile of magazines into the trash and stood.
I was glad that my plan had worked, as much as I wished it wasn’t necessary.
Tallon was going away for the rest of his life. I made sure of it.
Killing the Russians who had killed my men was gratifying, but it wasn’t enough. After the first few, I started to draw it out. I wanted them to suffer.
The full plan developed as I worked my way through the list. The deaths of these Russians could be put to good use. All I had to do was lay the breadcrumbs for the police. They would have to be idiots not to see that these killings were a result of the old feud starting back up.
Unfortunately, they were idiots. My contacts in the police department would have told me if suspicion had fallen on the family, and I hadn’t heard a thing. Was I covering my tracks too well? My decades of experience had made me too efficient of a killer.
I would have to be more deliberate about leaving evidence behind.
That’s when the idea struck me. I would frame Tallon for the killings.
I needed to break this ridiculous peace. It wouldn’t last anyway. It was obvious to me, after all my years of experience with the Russians, that they were going to betray us.
So, I needed to beat them to the punch. I needed to kick start the war so that we were on guard. We couldn’t be caught unaware by their inevitable betrayal.
