Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“For, in his words, ‘making you deal with the generational trauma of my mistakes that somehow just won’t die.'” Alessandro snorted, crossing his arms. “At least he’s aware of it. When I told Gio what happened, he said, and I quote, “It’s not my problem.” So don’t expect any sage advice from that asshole. But he did send cookies.”
I hadn’t. If there was one thing I learned from taking over after Giovani, it was that the second he left Italy, he had completely turned to mush. All he did nowadays was take his wife on fancy vacations and show up to every single one of his son’s events at school.
You wouldn’t think it of the six-foot Italian man, but after moving to Florida, he’d become a stay-at-home dad, and he was fucking proud of it.
I just sighed, rubbing my face to wake myself up as I turned to Vinny with an expectant look. “Did you find anything?” I asked, seriously. “Because I’m about to jump out of the window.”
“That window?” Vinny raised an eye good-naturedly, pointing to the only window in the damn room. “Please, you’d barely break a bone. I suggest going up to the top if you really want to jump.”
“Vinny,” I snapped.
“No, I haven’t,” Vinny responded with an irritated look. “I don’t know who keeps spreading the rumors of the mole either. I had to disconnect my phone because I kept getting false reports. Practically everyone in the family’s been turned in for being the mole, and we don’t even have any evidence there is one yet. I’m particularly pissed at Benny, by the way. He turned me in. Me! The nerve of that jerk.”
“Vinny.” I snapped my fingers to get him back on topic.
“If there is a mole,” Alessandro said crossly, “then it’s not going to be anyone who’s been with us for a while. I have a team looking into everyone and checking if there were any sudden new relationships that developed.”
He glanced at me pointedly.
I grit my teeth, clenching my fists on the table as I try not to explode at his accusation.
“Of course, you don’t mean Natalia.” I called him out, a bit more bite to my voice than I intended. “Because I’m not afraid to punch you again.”
“Of course, I mean your little girlfriend,” Alessandro said fearlessly, staring me straight in the eyes. “Not only is she new, but her timing fits perfectly. Besides, Natalia is a Russian name, and she was the only one who reported a suspicious background.”
“We already vetted her! There was nothing suspicious in her report!” I snapped.
“Except for the fact that for fifteen years we haven’t had a single problem, but the moment she shows up, we suddenly have a leak? It’s too coincidental for me.” Alessandro said cooly.
“Shut up, Alessandro,” I growled. “Don’t bring her into this. She’s not a spy. She would never–”
“You have no clue what she would or would not do,” Alessandro snapped back, the tension between us rising like a flame. “You just met her, what, a month ago. You just don’t want to think about the possibility that she’s using you!”
“You–”
“Shut the fuck up, both of you,” Vinny interrupted with an irritated look. “We do not need any more bickering between us, alright? Tallon, Alessandro has a point. It’s worth looking into, and if nothing comes of it, then you can rub it in his face, alright?”
There was a tense moment of silence as Alessandro and I glared at one another, neither willing to back down, but Vinny wasn’t either. He stared us down until we both looked away, huffing as calmed down.
“Fine,” I bit out. “But when she comes out as clean, I expect an apology.”
“Fine,” Alessandro shrugged. “And if she doesn’t, I reserve the right to say I told you so.”
“You basta–” I growled but before I could go any further as the sound of my ringtone split through the air. I jumped at the sudden intrusion, grabbing my phone in a hurry.
Thinking it could be Natalia, my heart raced in response, a grin lifting the corners of my mouth before it quickly faded away.
The name that stared back at me over the caller ID sent chills down my spine.
“Isn’t Silvo–” I swallowed, glancing up at Alessandro and Vinny. “Wasn’t he one of the ones kidnapped?”
“Yeah, why?” Vinny asked, confused, until his phone began to ring as well, and soon after, Alessandro’s tone rang out in disharmony. Three phones rang different tones and my face hardened as Vinny and Alessandro turned to stone.
I answered the call, preparing myself for anything with a cold, “Hello?”
“Privet, Don Tallon,” a low, heavily accented voice answered. “I trust things are well with you?”
“Just peachy,” I shot back in a dark tone. “And may I know who is calling?”
“Oh, just a delivery man.” The man chuckled. “Speaking of–ding-dong, you have a present outside.”
Before I could say another word, the click of the end call met my ears. I gripped the phone tightly in my ears, glancing at my brother and best friend as they too had their calls ended. We stared at one another with dark looks.
This wasn’t good.
This was a direct challenge to us and I grabbed my gun from the desk, flicking off the safety as I got to my feet. Vinny and Alessandro did similar actions, none of us saying a word as prepared ourselves for whatever these bastards had done.
We were ready to meet our enemies.
*Tallon*
Walking downstairs with my brother and my second-in-command flanking me, I felt powerful. I was ready to meet this threat head-on and finally take care of it once and for all.
I heard Alessandro and Vinny both get their guns out and cock them, holding them just above my shoulders so that they could back me up no matter what happened out there. I chose to keep my gun holstered, my hands free. I wanted to show our enemies that I wasn’t afraid; that my men had my back.
Fuck all this mole nonsense. There must have been some other way that the Russians were getting their intel. I knew it wasn’t Natalia–she would never betray me like that. And I was pretty sure it couldn’t be any of my other men. At this point, we had examined every single one of them, and it just didn’t make sense.
I was done looking over my shoulder. I was done running. It was time to stand and fight for my family. The three of us got to the door and I took a deep breath as I put my hand on the knob, turning to look at both Vinny and Alessandro.
They nodded at me solemnly, indicating they were ready for whatever we were about to face. I knew it wouldn’t be pretty, but with the two of them backing me up, I was confident we could take down whatever enemy was standing out there.
I had been prepared for a gunfight. I had been prepared for bullets to fly and blood to be spilled. I had been prepared to lay down my life for my family.
I had not been prepared to see bodies–my men, every single one that had been taken, unceremoniously dumped right on my front lawn. They had all been murdered. I stopped, it was too late to help them, and I couldn’t let the sheer emotion of what I was seeing overtake me.
That was the harshest reality of being a mafia Don; I couldn’t afford to let myself grieve. My men looked to me for leadership, and I couldn’t be a good leader if I fell apart. I swallowed and took a deep breath, taking a moment to look at each dead man’s face, memorizing it, forcing myself to hold their names in my head. I didn’t have time to grieve, but they would not be forgotten. I would never let myself forget them. And their deaths would be avenged tenfold–the Russians would forever regret the day they dumped bodies on my lawn.
“Oh, fuck,” Alessandro muttered behind me as he saw what I saw.
Vinny looked like he was about to be sick, but he held it together. It wasn’t the first time the three of us had been faced with dead bodies, and it wouldn’t be the last.
I turned to Vinny. “Take care of this and make sure to notify their families. Tell them what happened. I don’t want any rumors. I want everyone to know exactly who did this.” My voice was low with rage. “Everyone needs to know exactly what the descendants of Dmitri Zaytsev have done to us. And tell them that we will be returning the favor and then some. This is an all-out fucking war.”
Vinny nodded and pulled out his cell phone to begin directing his men.
“This is what happens when we don’t stand united,” I told Alessandro. “I’m tired of worrying that my own brother is going to stab me in the back at any moment. I want you and your men to hurry up with your search for the mole, and I want you to know that I’ll trust you, even if I don’t like what you say. I was beginning to think that perhaps we were wrong and the Russians were gathering intel some other way, but now I don’t want to leave any stone unturned. I trust you, Alessandro, but don’t make me regret it.”
Alessandro nodded, although I could see his jaw flex in anger at my words. I understood his frustration, but I had to be honest with him about my doubts. It wouldn’t do us any good to bury what we were really thinking and feeling.
“I need to talk to Natalia,” I said, walking away so I could call her.
Although I didn’t expect her to pick up the phone, I was relieved when she did. Just knowing she was alive and safe helped to calm my swirling emotions.
“Hey,” she said, sounding sad.
