Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Giovani….” My lip trembled on his name, my hands shaking wildly as I held the gun. My mind was blank with disbelief. He was asking me to shoot him?
“Do it, Olivia,” he said impatiently. He gestured to his shoulder. “Right here.”
But I couldn’t.
But Dahlia….
I clenched my teeth together, gathering every bit of courage I had as I aimed the gun toward his shoulder, all of my limbs feeling numb as he stared me down like this was an everyday thing, like I was handing him an umbrella on a rainy day or a pen for a paperwork he needed to sign. But this was a gun.
I slid my finger over the trigger and my vision blurred as tears poured out of my eyes and down my cheeks.
“I… I….”
I cracked.
“I can’t!” I hung my head, dropping the gun as I grabbed my head in my hands and collapsed onto my knees. I sobbed loudly as I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold the pieces of me together. I wouldn’t have been able to shoot it at anyone, or even at the ceiling, for that matter. I didn’t know how, and I wasn’t strong enough to kill.
I heard him sigh and pluck the gun off the floor. He crouched down to my level and pried my fingers away from my face.
There was a gentleness in his face, a sorrow reflected in his eyes.
“Olivia.” He said my name, rolling it with affection that I didn’t deserve. He held the gun up, pointed at the floor, as he showed me the side of it. “The safety was on. It wasn’t going to shoot.”
Realization dawned on me.
He knew the whole time, knew that even if I had pulled the trigger, it wasn’t going to hurt him. There was no danger at all.
“But… why?” I sobbed out, gazing up at him.
“Because I care about you,” Giovani said, “and I don’t want you getting hurt. This is the only way you’ll give up on going with us. Tallon’s been raised in this life. He’s seen what it requires, but you only just learned about this. If you go, you’ll get hurt or get in the way of us saving Dahlia, and I can’t let that happen.”
He met my eyes, unwavering as he sternly said, “So, no. You can’t go.”
I sunk in complete defeat, swallowing uncomfortably as I realized there was no argument to be had, not anymore.
“So I’m just supposed to sit around and wait?” I asked, numbly.
“Yes, unfortunately.” He sighed then reached his hand out for me.
I took it gratefully as he lifted me off the floor.
My legs were still shaking, and I sat back on the kitchen stool, barely glancing away from the floor. His finger curled around my chin and pulled it up to meet his soft eyes.
“I promise you I will call you the second we have her out,” he said solemnly.
I nodded, unable to care as I wept openly though I was still silent as a mouse. He smiled softly, guilt reflecting in his eyes as he holstered his gun back at his side.
He leaned forward to kiss my forehead, a favorite of his, and my eyes slid shut as his warm lips brushed over my skin.
“Wait for my call,” he murmured and then stepped back. There was reluctance in his steps but a determination to do what must be done.
Just as he turned to leave, I called out, “Giovani.”
He paused but didn’t look back at me, only a hand on the doorframe as he tilted his head. I knew he was listening to my every word though.
“Be safe,” I told him, my voice stronger than it had been. This was one thing I didn’t hesitate about. “Please.”
He didn’t answer me, but I knew he heard me before he opened the door, and I heard the door slam behind him.
As soon as he was gone, I couldn’t help myself. I raced to the window. I spotted their black car driving out of the compound and away from my sight.
I was alone again.
*Giovani*
I shut the front door behind me, pausing for a moment with my hand on the doorknob. I clenched it tightly, unwilling to let go.
But I spotted Gabriele’s car sitting in the driveway, rumbling with life as Gabriele and Tallon waited for me. With one last sigh, I let go of the door, locking it firmly behind me.
“Keep her safe.” I glanced at Elio and Marco, who stood by the door patiently. They both nodded to me as I passed by, making my way to the car.
I couldn’t get the image of her trembling before me out of my mind, the way she had looked so horrified as she held the gun to my chest.
It was a bluff, to be honest, a last resort when I’d handed Olivia my gun and told her to shoot me. Not for a single second did I think she had it in her to actually shoot. Even if she did, I doubted she knew how to handle a gun.
If there was one thing I had learned from my call to her parents, it was that Olivia had been kept unaware of everything. She was sheltered from the dark parts of this life, kept clueless to the dangers of James and his family.
It was one of the hardest things I had to do, to walk away from her when she was so distraught, staring up at me with her kind and bright eyes wavering.
I feared for a moment she might hate me for the stunt I’d pulled, but I really thought I didn’t have another choice. There was no other way to make her back down, and to make her realize that she couldn’t come with us, that it was no place for her. She’d be putting everyone in danger, most importantly, herself. Even if she had pulled the trigger, I wouldn’t have brought her along.
I wasn’t going to taint her innocent smile with the daily horrors I had seen. If I had a choice, I’d never choose to get her involved in this.
But perhaps it was already too late for that.
I climbed into the back seat of the car, glancing at Gabriele through the front mirror. He was behind the wheel, as stoic as usual.
“She okay?” Tallon asked me from the passenger seat, swerving to look at me. His eyes swam with worry for her.
I knew the two had grown up like siblings or childhood friends. There was probably nothing romantic between the two, but the fact that they had a special connection I could never share with Olivia made me irrationally angry.
But he was seventeen, and I had to be the adult, so I sucked up the jealousy, cramming it into my chest and hoping he didn’t catch on.
“Buckle up,” I said coldly to the teen as I buckled my own seat.
“Are you serious?” Tallon gave me an incredulous look, like I was losing my mind.
“Of course, I am. I don’t joke about vehicle safety,” I crossed my arms, pinning him with a harsh stare. “Now, buckle up.”
Tallon turned to Gabriele with wide, confused eyes, but he only said, “Do as the Don says,” in a low tone.
Tallon shook his head in disbelief, but reluctantly I heard the straps of the seatbelt being pulled and clicked in place.
“Buckle up, they say, like we don’t break plenty of rules. It’s the actual goddamn mafia and they’re worried about a seatbelt,” I heard him muttering under his breath.
