Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 208 -

James.

Today was the day. All of our plans were going to come down to right here, right now, and Ronaldo would pay for stabbing me in the back once and for all. I was hoping we could send the authorities to arrest him, but I knew he had a mixture of money for bribes. The heat was off me, given the tapes, but he was still at large and thirsty for blood. My blood, something he wouldn't get. I stood in the bathroom, spraying myself with cologne and getting into my suit for the occasion.

I looked as though I was attending a funeral. Hopefully, that would be the case, if it came down to it. I had no qualms about killing that bastard, given what he'd been putting us through. I could be a bit cold-hearted, which would pay off for my family now.

Exiting the bathroom, I ran into Becca on the way out. We'd had sex the night before, several times over, after I caved into her idea just a little bit. Perhaps my heart wasn't completely cold on the idea, but I still didn't think the logistics made

sense.

"Hello, Becca. How are you feeling today?" I asked, satisfied at the blush that sprang onto her cheeks. Her hair was a bit messy, and she was taking a day to herself, clearly. A smile settled on her face as she looked at me. "Wonderful," she breathed, then eyed me up and down. She raised a brow, then asked, "Business?" to which I nodded. She said, "Be safe, James." She leaned in to give me a deep kiss, something I returned happily. "I will," I said to her, my tone soft.

Still, I didn't dismiss her idea as either stupid or impossible anymore. She noticed that change and gave me a happy smile, leaning over to give me a kiss. She wasn't entirely sure what I was doing but probably had a good idea. After a hug, she went back into her office, likely to research more on the Guatemala thing. We'd discuss that more later, I was sure. Secretly, I was hoping getting rid of Ronaldo may ease her mind to the idea of staying here permanently. The way Becca spoke, though, I had a feeling she was going to be very stubborn about this issue. Helping out kids in need did sound like a very altruistic, wonderful thing to do. Being able to use my talents to do so was tantalizing. Alessandro was now granted a good life, especially if I could hand the responsibility of being the Don off to Giovani. Tonight would determine if he was fit for such a thing. I certainly hoped so and held a deep sense of confidence in him. I exited the front door, walking up to a car with tinted windows. The cops sometimes complained about them, but we paid them off. Blood money made good bribe money, and while I tried more and more lately to separate myself from this mafia business, sometimes connections paid off.

I opened the door and entered, turning my head to look at Giovani. He was a man with a medium tan skin and slicked-back black hair and a handsome goatee. Around his neck hung a silver chain necklace, contrasting with his deep green eyes.

I noticed he had some dark makeup around his eyes, likely to come across as more intimidating. Or, maybe he was part of a band outside of this whole business. Either way, he looked formidable.

He spoke with a deep, soft tone that promised he would get what he wanted. When he looked at me, he gave a smile that reached his eyes. "James, the Don himself. Must be a relief this plan is coming to fruition, eh?"

Snapping my seatbelt into place and refocusing on Giovani, I returned his smile as the car hummed to life. We began to drive off down the street as the moon hung full above, stars painting the sky and giving a beautiful atmosphere this night didn't deserve.

"A relief indeed," I said, leaning back into the warm leather chair and reaching up to rub my temples. This was going to be intense, and I was ready to take down an enemy that had been bringing me so much stress for a while. I glanced over at my younger cousin curiously.

The smile plastered across his face reminded me of a cat being called to dinner. He said, "Thank you for hearing my plan. I'm a results kind of guy. After tonight, you'll see that. I'm sure you remember that trait from when we were kids?" I chuckled, rubbing the back of my neck. Even though he was much younger than me, I remembered playing with him some when I'd visit Italy. He had been the cause of a few embarrassing moments, that was for sure. At times, he'd wanted my toys and would take any means necessary to get them. "I do. I'm glad you calmed down and aren't jealous, like Ronaldo."

Giovani shrugged. "I'm happy with my place here. Do I wish I was higher? Of course. Would I challenge you for it? No. Family is family," the man said firmly, locking his eyes with me. "Something our 'dear' cousin seems to have forgotten." I nodded, thinking about Ronaldo and his thirst for power. Of course, Ronaldo had been the previous Don's son and assumed he'd get the position whereas Giovani was a distant cousin and never had any reason to think he'd be in line for the Don position. My jaw clenched. The former mafia Don wasn't a good person by default, given the innocents he sacrificed for the family business. However, he was never cruel to his family. Not even with Ronaldo, who deserved it. He was murdered in cold blood. His murderer, his own son, had not acted in self-defense, and my uncle had died in an innocent act, not trying to put down someone who abused their power but over the family itself, just flat-out desire to be the Don. Something he didn't get anyway. Fate was cruel, and dealing with it had been left on my shoulders.

"You're right," I said, my voice cold and contemplative. "That means you're ready to pull the trigger if it comes down to it, right? Family is family, but as you said, Ronaldo has forgotten." At that, Giovani gave a low chuckle. When I met his eyes, I saw the gleam of a merciless killer within them. He gave me a very sweet smile and slowly nodded. "He forfeited his right to life when he pulled the trigger on our uncle. I look forward to pulling the trigger, James."

A smile played on my lips as we pulled up to an alleyway. Ronaldo had been baited by a phone call to be here. It had been easy. What was the thing a rat like that wanted the most, aside from power? Well, money.

He had been tipped off that a large-scale drug deal was happening in this alleyway, easy pickings. He'd been told it was between people new to the gig that didn't prepare for trouble as well but handled valuable merchandise. Things like that happened from time to time, and they nearly always ended with a body needing to be disposed of and wiped clean of any ability to be traced. Those dealing with heists like these had easy access to corpse disposal methods. Ronaldo did, too. He thought one of his own men had been tipping him off, but in reality, said person caused his interest to pique just a bit too much. He didn't question things and expected to get both a huge payout and a dead body tonight.

That dead body would, hopefully, be him. Slipping into the shadows, I patted the gun on my hip and smiled. My eyes focused on Giovani, who was practically radiating excitement at this task. He was dead serious about taking out Ronaldo. Part two of the plan could commence. We entered the alleyway, staying out of the light as several dark figures swarmed in from the other side. Familiar voices hit my ears, causing me to tense. Ronaldo and his men were here. It was time. Giovani entered the pool of light given off by a flashlight, raising his hands. His posture was at ease, and the gun on his person was concealed. "Looking for something?" Giovani called out.

My cousin had a relaxed smile as Ronaldo shouted out, "Giovani? What the hell are you doing here?! This is my money, my job, you shoulda called me if you were interested. Cash's mine. Hope you don't think I'm too afraid to pull this trigger." "I don't expect you to be," Giovani said. He pointed directly at me, and I felt the muzzle of a gun press against the back of my head.

Giovani continued, "However, I have a person of interest for you. I always felt you would be the better Don. The rest of the family, including my own father, would not respect that without proper documentation. Would be a shame if James signed everything over right now, then met an untimely demise."

"What?!" I shouted, led out into full view of Ronaldo now. "We were supposed to ambush him, Giovani! What the f*ck?!"

Ronaldo's jaw dropped. He looked from Giovani to me as flashlights shined on us, until finally, that greedy gleam in his eyes shimmered. He was like a shark circling a struggling diver as he got closer and grabbed me by the chin. "What a pleasant surprise."

Giovani said, "I get a higher position in the family when you come into power, capiche?" He was acting as if this wasn't any big deal at all. Then, his cold stare fixed on me.

He said, "I would sign the papers, James. Your death pending or not, it would be a shame if something happened to Becca and the kids," he purred, tilting his head. I threw back my head and let out a scream of rage, unable to help myself. Ronaldo laughed as Giovani held the papers out to me, forcing me to accept them. I clenched my jaw, watching my younger cousin from the corner of my eye. Giovani's men surrounded me, weapons ready to shoot at any second if I resisted. I began to sign the position of the Don over to Ronaldo.

Meanwhile, Giovani moved closer to our older cousin, wearing a smug grin. He held out his hand, and Ronaldo, drunk on the thought of his soon-to-be position of power in the family, accepted it. Ronaldo said, "How do I know you won't betray me? That was brilliant, it-"

"You don't," Giovani said simply. I lifted my head with a smile as suddenly, Giovani tightened his grasp and pulled Ronaldo forward, forcing the other man to collide with him. Giovani, however, held his ground, at the same time using his other hand to draw his hidden gun.

BANG!

One shot, to the temple, and Ronaldo was down.

The men working for Ronaldo drew their guns, and an all-out shoot-out broke out right then. I managed to duck down, watching as Giovani maneuvered Ronaldo's body to utilize as a shield. He allowed the dead weight to collapse onto him as the chaos broke out.

The papers I'd been writing nonsense on were, in reality, printed out from the Internet and discussed how to properly dispose of a dead body. I let them drop as I ducked out of the way, drawing my own gun and sending several bullets in the direction of Ronaldo's men. One after another, they fell.

A few of our allies were on their knees, shot in the legs, but no one on our side was fatally wounded. We had all been prepared. Ronaldo's goons? Not at all.

And now, he was dead.

Not only did I have one less problem to deal with, but I was incredibly impressed with Giovani. He had the makings of someone worthy of becoming the next Don and seemed perfect for the life I was trying to leave behind.