Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“What the actual fuck, Tallon? This has got to be the stupidest fucking thing you have done in your entire time as Don.”
“I knew you wouldn’t understand. That’s why I didn’t ask your permission,” I said dismissively. It was a low blow, but I had no interest in arguing this with him.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he growled, his jaw tensing.
“It means that you don’t understand what it’s like to be in love with someone. I’m sorry, but it’s true. You don’t get it, and that’s why I’m not going to discuss this with you.”
He gaped at me, mouth open. I had never been so directly unkind to him before, and I hated the hurt that I could see in his eyes.
Vinny spoke up. “But she’s a traitor, Tallon. How do you know this isn’t all a trick? She could’ve been sitting safe and sound in her apartment, playing a role for Ivan. What happens if we trade you for her and she’s still working with her family?”
I shook my head. I understood where he was coming from, but there was no way she had been acting on the phone. I had heard the sheer terror in her voice. And I had seen her face when I’d dismissed her the last time we spoke. She had been devastated that Alessandro had told me who she was before she had the chance to tell me herself. She’d been ready to turn her back on her family for me, but I’d been too stupid to see it.
“It’s not a trick. The woman I love is in danger, and I’m going to save her. I know you two don’t support it, I get that. But I don’t care. Look, Natalia has made mistakes, I’m not going to say she hasn’t. But she also tried to change her loyalty, and look where it got her. I won’t leave her to be murdered by her own family, especially not when I’m the reason that she’s in this mess. I couldn’t live with myself.”
They saw the truth in my words and finally stopped trying to talk me out of my decision. We sat for the rest of the ride in tense silence, my second in command and my older brother wondering if these were the last few moments that we would be together.
When we arrived at the house, it was already late and we would only have a few hours to get everything into place. I called an emergency meeting in the safe room, knowing that in order to pull this off, I would need every single one of my men.
Within an hour, they were all crowded into the safe room, listening intently as I outlined our plan. I could see the disgust on some of their faces as they realized that we were going to be rescuing Natalia, but they were all wise enough to keep their thoughts to themselves.
Vinny and Alessandro were allowed to tell me their true thoughts, but anyone beneath them was required to follow my orders without argument. To go against what I said was completely forbidden. It was the only way that we could maintain order and control.
“Alright, obviously our real plan does not involve Ivan and his men actually taking me, but they can’t know that. As far as they’re concerned, right now I am making a contingency plan for who will be taking over after I sacrifice myself. Ivan has told us that he has that apartment building crawling with his men, which is what I had assumed the second I found out who Natalia was. Luckily for us, they have no clue what the majority of us look like. I need everyone to suddenly find a reason to be around that building at four AM. Some of you will be jogging, some walking, some sitting in cars, you get what I’m saying. Vinny will head that up and make sure we don’t have too many people in one place, but also that we have eyes everywhere. Discretion is key, so make sure you don’t stand out. Obviously, everyone should be armed, but chest holsters only, nothing on your back or hips. That shit’s too easy to spot.”
I glanced around the room, feeling the tension rolling off of my men as they all considered what I had said. This was the most delicate mission we’d run in a long time, and I hoped they were all ready for it. It would require everyone to do their part perfectly.
“Now, I do not want a single fucking trigger to be pulled until after we have Natalia safe with us. That is a hard-line order. I do not care if someone has a gun on me. I do not care if someone shoots me. You do nothing until Natalia is in the car and being driven away. Do I make myself clear?”
“Yes, sir,” they said in unison. I nodded, pleased at their discipline. We had spent years training for moments like these, and I had faith that they could do it. I just had to ensure to play my part as well.
“Alright, men, you’re dismissed. Rest up and prepare.”
They all headed out of the room, but I stopped Alessandro before he could follow them. Vinny turned back and shot me a questioning look. I motioned at him to go on ahead. There was a discussion that Alessandro and I needed to have in private.
“You know you’ll always be my brother,” I said, looking Alessandro in the eyes so he could see my sincerity. I saw the surprise on his face at my words; we weren’t exactly the tender type, but I had learned from my heated exchange with Natalia that it was better not to let things end on a sour note, and I was feeling guilty about what I had said to him in the car. If that was our last conversation… I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself.
“I know,” Alessandro finally responded, once his surprise wore off. “And even though it might not seem like it, I have always looked out for you and for this family. That’s all I’ve ever cared about, is making sure our family is safe.”
I nodded. I did know that. Ivan might have been stupid enough to think Alessandro would betray me and work with him, but I wasn’t. I knew that he would never turn his back on me. “I need you to know that I have always looked up to you. I know I’m the Don, but I couldn’t have ever done any of this without the guidance you gave me growing up. I couldn’t ask for a better brother, and I’m always trying to follow your footsteps.”
For the first time in his life, Alessandro looked truly speechless. He reached out and pulled me roughly to him for a tight hug. I hugged him back just as tightly, memories of growing up filling my head as I thought back to what it had been like to have him as a big brother. I realized that I was extremely lucky, especially considering how horrible Natalia’s family was. Alessandro could have been a resentful prick, but instead, he had always looked out for me.
Alessandro pulled away first, then looked me in the eye. “Today is not the day that the Russians take you, little brother.”
I nodded solemnly. “I agree. We can do this.”
We parted ways so that we could finish preparing for the trade. I went to my room and took a minute to look around, centering myself and getting into the headspace that was necessary before going into battle. It was difficult to be the leader in times like this. I had to force all emotions to leave my body, and instead work off of cold, hard logic. The only thing that mattered was that the Russians didn’t gain the upper hand.
I changed from the rumpled suit I had been wearing into one that had been freshly pressed. I wanted Ivan to be scared when he saw me, to wonder why I looked unshaken even though I was handing myself over to him and his men. And if I was being honest with myself, I wanted Natalia to see me and know that I was going to rescue her and keep her safe for the rest of our lives.
I looked in the mirror to tie my tie and took a deep breath. No matter what, whether I lived or died, this time, I was going to tell Natalia I loved her… if it was the last thing I ever said.
*Tallon*
‘It’s time,’ I thought coldly.
It was the wee hours of the morning when I found myself getting ready to face off against Ivan. I slid into my best suit and checked my appearance in the wall-length mirror. I wasn’t going to lie; I looked sharp. But I needed to appear lethal. Ivan needed to know just from looking at me that he royally fucked up by thinking his family could ever step foot back into Venice.
With little to no sleep under my belt, I was both wired and ready for this whole mess to be over. I couldn’t wait to see the look on the asshole’s face when he’d discovered his mistake. But now was not the time to be getting cocky. Even if I had full confidence in the plan that was set in place, I forced myself to stay realistic.
Because in reality, when it finally came down to facing any enemy—anything could truly happen.
Just knowing that she was still under Ivan’s control made my chest tighten with burning anticipation. Part of me wanted to act out and drive straight to her apartment building and shoot my way through however many men Ivan had placed around. I would get Natalia and the two of us would make it out with both our lives safe and intact.
I almost made a move to grab my leather holster and my gun, but I remembered what Ivan said during our little chat. He was ready and willing to kill Natalia if he suspected any foul play. Although it went against every lesson I was taught to be armed and protected, I knew I couldn’t bring them with me.
I wouldn’t take the risk.
I made it toward the main doors of the house where I caught a quick glimpse of Vinny and my brother.
“Everyone is in place and waiting for the signal,” Vinny said.
I gave him a curt nod and took a quick glance at the time on my watch. It read a little after five.
“It’s time,” I told them.
My eyes wandered over to Alessandro, who remained silent and stiff as always. But I knew that behind that icy exterior, the man was worried sick. I wanted to assure him that everything was going to be okay.
I couldn’t.
But I wasn’t about to leave Natalia to die at the hands of Ivan either.
***
I pulled up to the front of Natalia’s apartment. The sun looked as though it was just about to hit the horizon. I swiftly turned off the ignition and stepped out of the car, heading directly toward the entrance.
The place looked abandoned at first glance, but I knew better than to think that Ivan would be there alone.
Hidden within the shadows of the room we were in were his mindless cronies. There were at least ten from what I could manage to see from my angle. Yet my real attention fell on the slender figure that was slumped over across the room.
My heart sank heavily inside of my chest.
No further than ten feet away was Natalia. Her arms were tied restrictively behind her back. Her face looked red and puffy. Did someone hit her? Or was it from crying? I couldn’t tell from the shitty lighting that surrounded us.
But I knew well enough that it was her that Ivan was keeping close to his side. She was his bargaining chip, after all. It wouldn’t have been wise for him to leave her unattended. Of course, that only made my plan to get us both out of here alive a bit more troublesome.
Natalia’s strained voice sliced through the silence. “Tallon!”
My gut twisted inside of me as I watched two trails of tears fall from her eyes. Seeing Natalia like this—so emotionally beaten down, so shattered from bearing the weight of trying to live two different lives, was enough to bring me to my knees. But no, I wouldn’t let an ounce of suggestive weakness show through.
My feet instinctively pulled me closer, and her name slipped right past my lips before I could stop it.
“Natalia.”
