Filed to story: Submitting to My Bestie’s Daddy Read Online >>???
“You always use the same damn excuse, and it’s getting old, Elio,” Cat said harshly. “No, not getting—it got old five times ago. You never consider what I want before doing this, not one damn time. And every time I knock some sense into you, it isn’t long before another thing comes up and we’re back to square one. I’m fed up with it!”
Fists balled at her side, eyes flaring with anger, I had never seen Cat as angry as I did right then. But my own frustration was rising in response to hers.
“I wanted to be your partner in this, but every step forward, it’s two steps back with you! I thought you wanted me to be by your side, to be your partner, so what changed, Elio? Tell me!” All of her coldness had melted away in the face of her fury, her eyes as bright and hot as a flame.
I clenched my jaw at her accusations, trying not to lose it but failing miserably.
What changed?
Images raced across my head—Antonio with a bullet through his skull, our men laid into coffins and her mother in the hospital bed. Alessandro’s warning raced in my mind and landed on her being dragged away in handcuffs, me helpless to do anything.
I snapped.
“People died, Cat! That’s what happened!” I yelled, stepping closer. Much to her credit, she didn’t move an inch, matching my anger in equal force. “And seeing Antonio made me think. What if that was you next?”
“What if that was you?!” she screamed.
It shocked me into silence, and she stood there breathing heavily.
Both of us fell silent as she looked into my eyes, her own glimmering with unshed tears. It was a moment of vulnerability I hadn’t seen from her in a long time and before I could reach out, to say anything in response, it was gone.
Her face fell, reflecting the disappointment and exhaustion she felt as she turned away from me, hugging her middle as if to protect herself. “Enough, Elio. We’re getting nowhere with this. This is why I didn’t want to argue about it in the first place. You’ve made your choice, and you clearly don’t care about my opinion.”
“That’s not fair, Cat,” I retorted.
“I’m not fair?” She snorted, giving me a resentful look. “If you’re not going to respect me as a partner then at least respect me as your girlfriend. You don’t want to involve me? Fine. But don’t lie to my face about it.”
With that, she grabbed her makeup bag from her suitcase and without another word or look at me, she went inside, and it was just an extra stab to the heart to hear the lock turn after her.
I sighed, shoulders slumping as I sat on the bed.
I don’t know what else to do or say. I was only thinking of her… but she didn’t see it that way. Was I really doing the right thing? Driving Cat away like this was only hurting her.
But I didn’t see any other way.
I felt sick and tired of everything. Fighting the same fight with Cat, I felt like I was in the middle of a war alone, trudging up a hill that never ended.
World-weary and cynical, I dragged myself through the morning quietly. Cat and I rarely spoke, and even then, we were polite to one another when we did as we headed to the airport for our flight back to LA.
But when we got on the plane, my mood only got worse as I received a call as we settled in on the flight. I didn’t even look at the caller ID as I answered and tiredly said, “What?”
“We have a problem.” Leo’s voice came through.
I didn’t even blink, just stared blankly in front of me as I responded, “Of course we do.”
*Caterina*
“We have a problem.”
My ears perked up as soon as I heard Leo’s voice from the other end of the phone, and I glanced at the seat next to me where Elio sat with a resigned look.
“Of course we do.” He sighed heavily as an answer. He paused, then said, “Hold on.”
Elio glanced at me, and I immediately looked away from him, leaning over to grab the book I’d brought from my bag. I opened it up to the bookmarked page, pretending to be reading it. I swerved my eyes across the words on the page, none of it actually making it to my brain, but I knew Elio wouldn’t know that.
Satisfied that I wasn’t listening, Elio said quietly into the phone. “What’s the problem then?”
Despite Elio’s attempts to be quiet and discreet, Leo was a rather loud guy, and I could hear him perfectly with just a little focus.
“One of Franky’s guys has gone missing,” Leo said, both worried and annoyed. “Teo. He and Ricardo were on guard duty at one of the warehouses last night since they had an upcoming shipment from Italy. Ricardo made it back but Teo’s still missing.”
“What about the shipment?” Elio asked urgently.
“Everything was fine. We looked there first to see where he went and he took off in his car, just like Ricardo. Only we found Teo’s car abandoned in an alleyway. Nothing was touched or disturbed, keys were still in the ignition. It looked like he had just vanished.”
I frowned at the description, my thoughts racing wild at the possibilities of what could’ve happened to the missing man.
“Any chance he defected? Secret girlfriend or kid we didn’t know about?” Elio asked.
“No way, not Teo. He’s been loyal for years, recruited by Al from the streets,” Leo said firmly, but then hesitated, “Franky and I are going to check out his apartment and records to see if we can find anything. I’m hoping this has nothing to do with Junior or some other vengeful hellbent-on-destroying-us psychopath, but this is weird, Elio. It doesn’t make sense.”
Both Elio and I looked up as the flight attendant came by, tapping her heels on the floor impatiently as she stared at Elio with a raised eyebrow. “Sir—”
“Right,” Elio sighed, interrupting her as he rubbed his temples frustratedly. “Let me know what you find.”
“I’ll call as soon as you touch down so send me a text.”
The flight attendant pursed her lips, clearly not willing to wait another second. “Sir, we’re about to leave, and the phone signal might interfere—”
“Noted,” Elio said quickly as he ended the call, sighing heavily.
“What was that all about?” I asked him.
I played innocent, turning the page of my book as the plane’s engine began to roar to life.
“Like you didn’t hear every word.” Elio sent me a knowing look.
“You should’ve been quieter,” I smirked.
Elio rolled his eyes but then sighed, sobering up quickly. He looked troubled as he told me, “One of Franky’s men has gone missing. There was no sign of breaking or entering into his car. They found it abandoned. But it’s worrying. I hope he’s just run off with some woman but… I’d hate to think it’s something else.”
I caught on to his worry immediately.
“Shit.” I swallowed, then glanced at him seriously. “Have there been any signs that Junior is still around or his men?”
“Yes,” Elio nodded, “but nothing concrete, mainly hearsay and some unusual purchases, but nothing nearby. Leo’s heading the investigation for now, but Junior doesn’t have the skills to make someone disappear like this. Either he’s working with someone more dangerous, or he’s not involved at all. What do you think?”
I smiled, shutting my book as he gave me a questioning look. There was full trust shining in his eyes like he would believe anything I said, and I knew he would. I could tell in moments like these, where he was being open and honest with me, how much he valued my opinion, not as his girlfriend but as a close confidant.
Despite how angry I was at him still, warmth spread from my heart all the way to my fingertips. I pushed my book aside, thinking deeply.
“Junior isn’t quiet,” I told him, thinking back to the man and his over-the-top dramaticism. “He’s more likely to leave the body somewhere for you to see. He likes the attention, and having people know it was him. He’d at least leave some clues, but this… I don’t think it’s him this time, or if it is, someone else is calling the shots.”
Elio nodded, giving a little smile. “I agree. I’ll run it by Franky and Leo once we’re back in LA.”