Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 148 -

Becca.

The storms that had come in the night before were rougher than I had expected. However, through the whistling wind and cracks of lightning, I found solace in being wrapped up in bed with both children in my arms. The future was changing, and for the first time in months, I let my mind wander to James.

To the deep darkness of his eyes and the warm touch of his body against mine. I wished more than anything he was here with me to relish in moments like this with the children and to see them both growing. I had to admit I was lonely, and even though I could admit it to myself, I couldn't admit it to anyone else.

The last thing I wanted was for the others to be worried about me.

Especially when I had taken so much for granted over the past year. In the morning light, I crept out of bed and went to the kitchen to fix a warm drink. Then, standing at the window in the living room, I looked out upon the water and sipped upon the hot cup of coffee in my hand.

From what I knew, my father and stepmother were to be arriving today with the others, and I wasn't honestly sure what was taking too long.

Allegra, Sam, and Zack were supposed to have left at first light this morning, and when they didn't arrive by 10:00, I found myself growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"Are they still not here?" Layla's soft voice caused me to turn and glance at her from over my shoulder as I sighed and shook my head no. I knew she was worried about Allegra. She had voiced that concern this morning, and with the only phone in our possession currently being a satellite phone, I was worried too.

"I'm sure with the rough weather we had last night they simply just got tied up at the docks. Not to mention they had to wait for my parents."

Giving her a reassuring smile, Layla turned from me and disappeared into the kitchen. As much as I wanted to believe the words I told her, I didn't. Something was definitely wrong, but I didn't know what it was.

As if Neal could have sensed what was going through my mind, he walked through the front door and caught me off guard. "Hey, we still haven't heard from Sam, so I'm going to head into town with one of the other guys to see what's taking them so long."

"You don't think "

"No, don't say it," he murmured as he shook his head. "I refuse to believe something happened to them. My sister is a strong woman, and Sam is the best security detail I've ever had. Nothing has happened." Opening and closing my mouth, I sighed with a nod. "Okay. Just call me and let me know as soon as you can."

He didn't waste a single second before disappearing back out the front door. The sound of the door closing and the small conversation caught Layla's attention once more. I turned to see her standing there with a broken expression as her chest moved in and out rapidly.

I hated to see her as broken as she was, but I couldn't allow myself to think so negatively. I had to have faith everything was going to be okay.

****

Neal.

The fact I hadn't heard from Sam, my sister, or even Zack at all this morning bothered me. I had tried using the phone multiple times to get hold of them, but it was useless. The lines were never answered, and it wasn't like Sam to run his unit that way. He had my sister, and he knew how important it was to be back here this morning.

We had a plan for a reason, and we weren't to change it.

As the brewing uneasiness in my stomach rolled repeatedly, I made my way with my men toward the mainland. The clear coast came into view with rolling green hills and mountains in the distance. Becca choosing this place was a blessing because it was a remarkable place to live.

The only problem was it was so far from everything I had known.

"Sir, the car is waiting at the port. According to the dock master, your sister and the others never showed up this morning." Frank was next in command next to Sam and hearing him say this didn't make me feel any better about the situation. "Okay. Let's dock and go to the house."

Twenty minutes later, and breaking most of the speeding limits for this part of the island, we arrived at the house, and my heart broke. It was clear there had been a home invasion before I had even gotten out of the car, and when I did start making my way up the path toward the front door, the blood trails gave way to a brutal struggle.

"Boss... you should stay here and let us clear the place first." Frank's words fell on deaf ears as my heart sank into my stomach as I pushed the already open front door open a little wider.

I didn't want anyone looking at anything until I did.

The moment I made my way into the house, I could see there were trails of blood smeared all over the wood flooring-streaks of the struggle smeared across the walls leading towards the living room. I knew damn well they were dead, and as I stepped into the living room, I spotted the dead bodies of Zack and Sam.

Zack had been just a boy basically when he started working for Sam, no older than nineteen, and seeing both these men I had grown to respect were completely ripped apart, in a way, broke me. They had lost their lives because of my family. Simple casualties of a dispute that had nothing to do with them.

The men who had come with me scoured the rest of the house as I stood staring at the dead bodies of my friends, my blood boiling with anger at the situation.

"Any sign of my sister?" I asked Frank as he made his way back down to the hall towards me. "Is she here, or did they take her?"

"She isn't here." The firm reply worried me more. It meant they had taken her and had decided using her to get to me was better than Becca.

Taking a deep breath, I turned in a circle looking around the room. It was clear Allegra had put up one hell of a fight. "It looks like they caught her by surprise."

"Yes," Frank replied. "It looks like they caught her just inside the kitchen from a couple of drops of blood on the floor out of place. Perhaps she had made a point in showing them she wasn't to be messed with."

Walking around the room, trying not to disrupt the evidence, I took in the traces of the scene in front of me. My eyes scanned over everything that had transpired.

"There isn't any sign of a note?" I asked without looking at them. "They had to have left something."

As if right on cue, a phone somewhere began to ring, and scanning around the room, my eyes searched for where it was. "Find it, quickly! Before it stops ringing!"

Then men and I moved around until I realized the ringing was coming from Sam's dead body upon the floor. Moving swiftly to where he lay, I searched his pockets and found the phone in question. It did not belong to us, and as I answered the call, I knew who was on the other line.

"Where is she?" I said firmly as I gripped the phone.

"Ah, Neal. How good of you to answer. Did you like the gift I left you?"

Xaviers' voice was like nails on a chalkboard to me at that moment. He was the last person I wanted to hear, but it was better him than his brother.

"As I said, where is my sister, Xavier? I won't ask again."

Laughter echoed through the phone at my comment, and the more he found amusement in this, the more I wanted to kill him. "She's fine, for now. Pretty little thing, your sister. She put up one hell of a fight."

"Don't you dare f*cking hurt her!" The snarling tone that left me was nothing but pure anger and warning. I would destroy them all if she ended up hurt from this. "Oh, I won't. If you give me what I want."

Bargaining wasn't usually something the Michaelson brothers were known for. They were known for taking everything they wanted and never asking for permission. To hear he wanted something was surprising and a little suspicious. With a sigh, I shook my head and let my eyes fall to the ocean outside of the house. "What do you want?"

"I want to talk to you, Neal. That's all I have wanted. To talk to you face to face about everything that happened, and when I found out that you were alive... well, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to finally have that happen." Was this guy f*cking serious?

"All of this shit was just to talk to me?" The scoffed response was the only thing I could give as I looked back down to the dead figures of my men at my feet. "I replace that hard to believe."

A chuckle resonated through the phone from Xavier. "Oh, that... yeah, that was just to get your attention. I'm glad that it did."

"Then why did you go after Becca if that's all you wanted?"

It was the million-dollar question I wanted answers to. Why? If he had only wanted to speak to me, he could have done that without going through all this shit, but instead, he played games.

"Oh, that pretty one I want for myself, Neal. However, when you took her, it made that impossible, but not to worry, someone else is planning something special for her. In time, things will work out, but for now... let's focus on us. It's time for you to return to the house that brought you so many wonderful memories."

The phone went dead, and as it did, my breath left my body. I knew exactly where he was taking Allegra, and if he was taking her there, that meant I didn't have much time before his patience wore thin, and he killed her.

Yet, with Becca... I couldn't leave her unprotected.

"Well, damn... I leave you to take care of things, and I replace out blood has been shed, and your sister has been taken. Thought you were supposed to be skilled."

The voice coming from the front hall behind me made my eyes widen, and turning, I looked into the familiar face of one man I hadn't expected to see anytime soon. One man who I hated with a passion, and yet, the only man who could possibly be the saving grace to a currently forming plan.

"You have a habit of showing up at just the right time, don't you, James?"