Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
Her mouth fell open in shock, eyes widening into saucers as she gazed at me blankly. I just held her hand worriedly and silently, wondering how she would take this.
What if I’d made the wrong decision? What if she wanted nothing to do with me now?
Her mother was already asking her to head back to the states. What if she decided this was too much and took the first plane home? Could I let her go?
The thought of her leaving had the possessive part of me screaming in defiance, demanding that I keep her close and by my side. I’d never felt anything like this with any other woman, only her.
She was everything I wanted, but if she decided to leave me right now, could I recover from that? Could I just smile and let her get on that fucking plane, never to see her again?
I swallowed uncomfortably, realizing a part of me had been putting this off, scared she might run, terrified she might never want to see me again after this. But ultimately, it’d had to be done.
This was my life.
I was the Don of the Valentino family, the mafia in Italy. I had accepted that position from James and all the responsibility it came with.
I glanced behind me at Tallon and then Gabriele, both of whom looked just as tense as me. I could see the calculating look in Gabriele’s eyes, already crunching the numbers to see if she’d run or call the police.
Tallon, on the other hand, was just waiting, a nervous look under that casual bravado of his. He was only seventeen, after all. He was still just a kid, and Olivia was like a sister to him.
If she refused to accept this, she wouldn’t just be rejecting me, but also Tallon and Dahlia and everyone she had come to love as well.
It was a lot of burden to put on her shoulders.
But that didn’t matter right now.
If she couldn’t accept our way of life, what we did and why, then it was better for her to leave now, before she fell any deeper into this pit… before she got any more involved, and before I fell for her any more than I already had.
Baffled, Olivia finally squeezed my hand back, and I looked up at her as her shock faded away. A calmness fell over her as she nodded to herself multiple times before opening her mouth.
I prepared myself for what might come out of it, but neither of us were expecting the tiny wheeze of a gasp that fell out.
“Oh,” she said, so soft and casual like this was the natural response to being told she was living inside of a mafia compound.
But then her eyes met mine, and there was no sign of disgust or fear like I had thought. Instead, they were kind and bright, like she always was.
“That actually explains a lot,” she told me, lowly.
“Livi?” Tallon stepped forward hesitantly. “You okay?”
“Yeah.” She nodded and then smiled. “I mean, it’s a lot to take in at once, but somehow it makes sense. I mean, I always knew things were a bit off… but the mafia… I never guessed, not even once.”
“To be fair,” Gabriele said with a shrug, “not many normal people would. Fictional stories of the mafia have gotten people desensitized to it all. Just because someone wears black and hates sunlight, you wouldn’t expect them to be Dracula, would you?”
“Right.” Olivia nodded, her whole body relaxed and open as she faced Gabriele with a smile. “I mean, loads of people in the States have guns. I just assumed you guys liked them or were just real big on security.”
“Yeah, well….” Tallon rubbed the back of his head. “I mean, that’s partly my dad’s fault. There was a huge break-in at his house before we were born, so he’s a real stickler for the tight security nowadays.”
“Makes sense,” Olivia said. “So does James run the American mafia or does he run the one here and one over there?”
I smirked. “James is retired, Olivia.”
She glanced at me with wide eyes. “You can do that?”
I laughed, my whole body relaxing as I realized she was truly okay with this.
“The head is called the Don, and James isn’t the Don of the Valentinos anymore,” Gabriele explained. “We’re just the head of our own sect and have nothing to do with the Americans. James just likes the States. Her grew up there, only visiting Italy a bit when he was younger and then moving here around the time that Dahlia was born.”
“Plus, Mom’s from the States, so she prefers it there,” Tallon added in with a cheeky grin. “Dahlia thinks she likes it better here, but she just likes to be different.”
“Dahlia,” Olivia murmured. She suddenly stiffened and her eyes flickered to me with a slight panic. “You said they kidnapped Dahlia for revenge, right?”
“Yeah.”
“Then are they planning to kill her?” Olivia asked, terrified.
*Olivia*
I immediately knew I had fucked up big time. I gasped, slamming my hand over my mouth hard enough that I winced. There was sure to be a mark left later, but I didn’t care at the moment.
With how much my head had been spinning with the realization that Giovani was the leader of the Italian mob, like James had been before him and that my mother probably knew this when she went to work with them, my filter wasn’t working at full capacity.
Tallon had mentioned Dahlia, and my brain had just jumped to her and connected the dots. Giovani had said she was kidnapped for revenge, and Dahlia was the daughter of the former leader.
If they didn’t need her alive, they would just kill her, right?
My conclusion wasn’t wrong, but even I was horrified at the way it had sputtered from my lips.
There was a moment of tense silence, Giovani sitting in the seat next to me. He paled slightly, rearing his hand back from mine like he had been shocked with a jolt of electricity.
Tallon sat on the barstool on the other side of the island, his eyes wide as he stared at me in horror.
Gabriele was the only one unaffected by what I’d had said about them killing Dahlia. He stood by the doorway, his eyes narrowed on me and still just as cold as they always were.
I watched as Tallon’s face morphed into anger–something I had only seen very rarely growing up with him. He got to his feet in a hurry, kicking the barstool out from under him.
It fell to the ground with a clang, but Tallon didn’t take his eyes off of Giovani, ones full of fury and malice.
“You said she was alive,” Tallon said quietly, barely above a whisper, but the venom it contained said more than enough. I flinched at the wild look in his eyes, but Giovani only met him evenly…. He was calm, patient, and in control.
“Is she alive or not, Giovani?” Tallon glowered at him, stepping forward. Giovani only got to his feet, brushing invisible dust off his suit as he turned to face Tallon fully.
Giovani glanced at him like a parent whose child was throwing a tantrum in the middle of dinner.
“Yes,” he finally answered. “Dahlia is alive.”
A sigh of relief fell out of me, my shoulders relaxing as he confirmed that the worst had not happened. For a moment, there was a brief pillar of hope, a belief that Dahlia was really safe and coming home.
“But we aren’t sure for how long.”
Giovani’s next words toppled that hope over like a tsunami crashing into a forgotten kingdom. It sank into the waves and crashed to the bottom, only to be buried in the sand and left there.
Tallon growled, stepping forward with a dangerous look. He was staring at Giovani like he was an enemy when just a moment ago they were greeting one another like brothers.
“The only communication they’ve sent said that we will only get her back if we pay for her body.” Giovani sent the finishing blow.
