Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
As I drove to Leo, I went back over the night in my head, wondering how I could have done anything differently to prevent our argument. I hated hurting Caterina, but the idea of her being put in harm’s way made me sick with fear.
I couldn’t risk it, even if it meant that she ended things with me. I would rather our relationship come to an end than selfishly allow her to put herself in harm’s way just because that’s what she wanted. She just didn’t understand how dangerous this all really was, and I had to be the one to look out for her.
I finally arrived at the warehouse to find Leo waiting for me. He was leaning against the corner of the building, but strode over to my car as soon as he saw me pull in. Although I wanted to spend more time worrying about Caterina, I had to focus on the task at hand. I forced myself to put my argument with her into a little box in my mind and put it on a shelf to think about later.
“How the fuck did he get out?” I asked as soon as I got out of the car.
“It looks like he might have broken his wrist in order to pull off the duct tape,” Leo said. “I can’t believe he managed to do it. Just goes to show he’s even crazier than we thought.”
“Goddamnit,” I muttered, trying to hold in my rage.
How the fuck had we let this happen? Mistakes like that would keep Alessandro from ever being able to trust us.
“Don’t worry, Elio. He only has a fifteen-minute head start. There’s no way he got far on foot, especially with a broken wrist and no weapons. Alessandro’s guys are already searching for him.”
My fury simmered just below the surface, but I managed to keep it down. “Alright, get in. We’re going to canvas too. I’m sick and tired of letting Alessandro’s men do all the dirty work. It’s time for us to get our hands dirty too.”
*Caterina*
‘What the—actual—hell just happened?’ I asked myself blankly.
How had I gone from having a wonderful night with Elio to being straight dumped off at home all within a five-minute time frame?
It was all because of a goddamned phone call.
It didn’t matter how slick he thought he was on the phone with Leo before. I could tell from a mile away that what they were discussing was news pertaining to Antonio and Junior. I obviously couldn’t very well pinpoint the specifics, but for the past few months that was all that business was for Elio.
‘Does he think I’m an idiot to be that naive about what’s been going on?’
I’d told him time and time again that I didn’t want to be left in the dark about issues like these. I needed to know. I deserved to know what had been happening behind the scenes.
That night of the exchange was still fresh in my mind. It was incredible how a few months only felt like three hours at times. Sometimes, late at night, I’d find myself mentally wandering back toward that awful moment. The fear and agitation lingered deep within my gut, and I could still hear the echo of the gunshots firing through the air and those damn bullets that found my mother and turned my entire world upside down, yet again.
Elio was still trying to play the protective card. That was admirable and caring of him. But at the same time, it made me feel wildly insecure and riddled with anger.
How could he still see me as a child? After all that we’d gone through and dealt with together on this mess, Elio was persistent about keeping me at arm’s length when it came to this stuff.
I was utterly infuriated. But beneath the seething river of rage that permeated off my skin, there was a huge underlying feeling of sadness that twisted inside of me.
I never liked separating on a bad note with him.
‘For the love of God, I told him not to come home later,’ I thought fumingly.
But had I truly meant that? Partly.
The idea of him coming back to see me felt like a cheap cover-up, a guilty quick fix, a convenience that worked for his schedule.
No doubt, he would try to vouch for himself that everything he was doing was for the sake of my safety. I was tired of that excuse because in the end, it always came back to make me feel weak about myself.
I knew that if I lingered too long on the subject, then I’d soon feel tears springing into my eyes. I didn’t want to cry. I didn’t want anyone to notice or suspect what was going on in my mind, especially my mother.
The woman had enough to think about with her physical therapy. The last thing she needed to deal with was my emotional issues.
‘Christ, I just need to forget about this already,’ I said to myself.
I shook my head and turned to walk inside.
My first thought was to head upstairs and take a nice, long bath. It was getting late, and what little appetite I had left was now gone. All I really wanted now was to find a quick way to unwind.
Passing through the living room, I spotted my mother out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head and saw her sitting down in one of the large, cushioned chairs. Her caretaker, Lauren, was standing attentively beside her.
It was clear to see that they were in the middle of some of her mini-exercises to help rebuild the nerves in her back and legs.
A sudden smile pulled at my lips. “Hey,” I greeted them.
Lauren glanced up from watching my mother’s shaky movements and gave me a small wave.
“Hello, Caterina.”
“Hi, dear,” my mom said tenderly. “How was your day? How were your classes?”
I bit the inside of my cheek, fighting to control the urge not to bypass the earlier events of my day and rush right into the sour topic of Elio. Instead of jumping headfirst into the heated argument, I let out a long breath and sat down on the couch near her.
I ran a rough hand through my hair and leaned back into the cushions.
“Classes were okay, I guess. I have some work I still need to finish up for a few of them, but it’s nothing I can’t handle,” I explained. “How is your session going?”
This time it was Mom who let out a deflated sigh and leaned back into her chair. “Oh, same as your case, I suppose,” she mused. “Nothing I can’t handle.”
We all shared a small laugh of amusement. It didn’t take a genius to see that many of the mini-trials that the therapist put her through were taking a lot of energy out of her. Lauren was a true saint. The woman never lost her patience. She constantly encouraged my mother to keep going and that every little bit helped.
Lauren rested her arm on the back of Mom’s chair and looked down at her with encouragement.
“Believe me, Caterina. Before you got here, she was doing great,” she assured me. “Come on. Matilde, I want at least five more mini bicycle steps before we call it a night.”
“Alright, alright,” my mother murmured under her breath.
Obviously, there was no literal bicycle in front of her, but my mom lifted her feet off the floor and went on to move them in small, consistent intervals. I could tell from the strained look on her face that it wasn’t easy to manage after the first few reps. But at least these movements were keeping her blood circulation flowing.
‘Mom is getting better,’ I noted wistfully. ‘She’s going to get better.’
Matilde Leone was a strong woman in my mind, probably one of the bravest and most resilient people I’ve ever known. It came as no wonder to me how she managed to stay with my dad when they were still married to each other.
My gaze slowly drifted away from my mom and off to some other part of the room where I fell into a daze. Meanwhile, my stomach felt like it was twisting in knots as my thoughts drifted back toward Elio and our brief argument from before.
“Has something happened?”
I faintly heard my mom’s voice but didn’t give her my full attention until I heard my name being called out.
“Cat!”
I snapped out of my heavy train of thought and turned back to face my mother. Her expression mirrored my own—worried and curious.
“Sorry,” I breathed. “What did you say?”