Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“Elio, my mom’s pissed at me.”
“Why? What happened?” He continued to run his fingers over my arm, offering the comfort he knew I needed.
“She doesn’t want me getting involved with all this. She thinks I’m being too much like my dad… that I could find the same fate as him.”
“I’m sorry that you fought with her, but I have to admit, I’m glad I’m not the only one struggling with this.”
“It’s not your concern. It’s mine,” I said angrily.
I pulled my arm away from him, irritated that he was going to take my mom’s side. Seeing exactly what I was thinking, he reached out and took my arm back.
“Now hold on, baby. Don’t go running away on me. I’ve learned my lesson. Your mom and I will both have to let you decide what you want in life. I support you in that, okay?”
His words calmed me down and I laid my head back on his chest. “Okay,” I said, “I just don’t like being told what to do.”
He chuckled, the sound rumbling deep in his belly. “I know, Cat. Nobody is in charge of your life but you. Trust me, I figured that out a long time ago. And I swear, I support you being a part of this. I’m going to tell you everything from here on out.”
I lifted my head up to look him in the eyes, “Really? You’re not just saying that?”
“I swear, baby. We’re equal partners. I’m telling you everything and you can decide what you want to be involved with and what you don’t. It’ll all be totally up to you. I was wrong for trying to keep that choice away from you, and I see that now.”
I broke into a grin, overjoyed to hear that he was finally going to give me what I wanted without hesitation.
“Thank you, Elio. Thank you for finally seeing me and seeing that I need this.”
“You’re welcome.” He pulled me down to him for a kiss. “And everything’s going to be okay with your mom. You know you two always figure it out. She can’t live your life for you, no matter how much she wishes she could.”
I nodded and settled back down against his chest, feeling more relaxed than I had in months. I finally had his full support to be a part of the mafia life. It was everything I’d been wanting for so long, and it was finally happening.
Knowing that Elio respected me enough to allow me to make the decision for myself even though it terrified him made me feel even more supported.
“You know, when you say all the right things like this, it really just makes me want to show you how much it means to me,” I murmured.
His hands stilled and he looked down at me.
“What do you mean?” he asked, a grin pulling at the side of his mouth.
“I think you know exactly what I mean,” I said as I slowly moved down, positioning myself right where I knew he would want me.
“Fuck, baby, you’re so perfect,” he said appreciatively.
I grinned at him, looking forward to a long night of appreciating each other.
*Elio*
I woke up the next day with Cat’s naked body draped across my chest. Her beautiful hair tickled my arm, and I couldn’t resist giving her a few kisses as I gently moved her so that I could get out of bed.
I would’ve loved to wake her up by kissing her everywhere, but she needed to sleep longer, and I needed to get going. She sighed in her sleep as I gently rolled her to the other side, but she didn’t wake up.
I had kept her up late the night before, and I knew she’d end up sleeping for another few hours. After tucking the covers up around her, I quietly got ready for the day.
I was going to meet Alessandro and Leo today to discuss the latest intel they had about Paul and Antonio. If I was honest, I was getting sick and tired of chasing around Junior and Antonio. I was hungry for retribution, and I wanted to get my hands on them.
I hoped Alessandro had something good to tell me. I wanted to come back and be able to tell Cat that we were close to ending this. With one last glance at her sweet face, I snuck out of the bedroom and quietly closed the door behind me.
As usual, Alessandro wanted to meet at a busy restaurant. I drove to it quickly, glancing in my rear-view mirror a few times to ensure I wasn’t being followed.
I arrived to find a trendy breakfast spot overtaken by college students. I chuckled to see Alessandro, Leo, and a few of Alessandro’s men sitting in a large corner booth, their suits standing out ridiculously among the kids dressed in athleisure.
Alessandro must not have checked the place out before agreeing to meet. I was surprised that he would make such a simple mistake.
“Hey, now that you’re here, we’re leaving,” Alessandro said as soon as I walked up to the table.
He and his men were already standing. Leo looked slightly confused but stood up as he saw everyone else getting up.
I looked around and nodded. It was obvious to me why we couldn’t stay. Anyone who saw us would easily remember it, and more than a few people would be trying to eavesdrop on our conversation to figure out who we were. I had already caught a few people glancing our way more than once.
“We’re heading to the same warehouse as before,” Alessandro said before throwing a wad of cash down on the table. Our waitress hurried over and began clearing the table, the money more than enough to fix the fact that they’d taken up her table without ordering anything.
We all left together. I knew it would draw even more attention, but at this point, we hadn’t discussed anything important enough to care. Leo hopped in the car with me, and we followed Alessandro’s driver to the location, again checking to ensure nobody was following.
“That was fucking weird,” I said as soon as Leo and I were alone in my car.
“Yeah, I don’t know. He seems a little frazzled these days. I wonder if it’s been too much to try to keep a hold on things here in the States and in Italy. It’s a lot for one man to handle. I knew as soon as I got there that he had fucked up.”
I nodded my agreement, hoping that meant that I could get Alessandro’s blessing to take control here in the States even sooner. I knew I was ready for it.
I might have been naive about this life a year ago, but at this point, I knew everything. And if Alessandro was slipping, he needed to let me take charge. It only made sense for the future of the family business. I hoped that he would see it that way too.
We pulled up to the warehouse and hopped out of our vehicles, glancing around to ensure nobody saw the crowd of men walking in. It helped to maintain the abandoned charade if people didn’t notice us going in and out.
Once we were all seated around a table that had been arranged in the middle of the main room, Alessandro began speaking.
“Elio, I wanted to wait until I could tell you this in person. Some of my men already know. As you know, we’ve been looking diligently for Antonio. We finally managed to get eyes on him in Italy. Now, I know that’s not what you wanted to hear because it means we can’t deal with him here, but this will work out better,” he said in a voice that demanded respect.
My stomach sank. The last thing I had wanted was for Antonio to manage to get out of the US before I got my hands on him. The fact that he had eluded us like that made it feel even more hopeless that we’d ever be able to find him. I hated that he was still running around free.
“Alright, tell me how this is better,” I said gruffly, trying to keep the annoyance out of my voice.
I would have preferred for him to tell me this privately so that I could show my true emotions. But in front of his men, I knew I needed to keep up a tough facade.
“I need to get back to Italy. I’ve been in America for far too long now, and things are slipping. I want to go back, and I want you to come with me,” he said in a way that made it clear that saying no wasn’t really an option.
I was shocked. I hadn’t ever considered going back to Italy to be a part of my overall plan. We had always talked about me maintaining control here. I supposed that it made sense for me to go to Italy eventually, but this was sooner than I’d imagined.
“Why do you want me to do that?” I asked.
“I have a few contacts who need to meet you in person before they’ll agree to do business with you. And I think it would be nice for you to get up close and personal with the family business before you take things over here. I know you think you know everything, but you still have a lot to learn.”
“What about Junior?” I asked. “He’s still hanging around here. I don’t want to lose track of him or give him the chance to become a threat to Caterina or her mother.”
“I’ll keep a tail on him,” Leo said, “We’ve got a tracker on his car now, so we know where he is at all times. He still has no idea whatsoever that we have eyes on him, so I doubt he’ll do anything crazy.”
I nodded, my mind quickly working through all my options. If Alessandro wanted me to go to Italy, then I would need to go. I had to prove to him that I was fully in if I ever wanted him to trust me enough to put me in charge.