Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 281 -

*Olivia*

I immediately knew I had fucked up big time. I gasped, slamming my hand over my mouth hard enough that I winced. There was sure to be a mark left later, but I didn't care at the moment.

With how much my head had been spinning with the realization that Giovani was the leader of the Italian mob, like James had been before him and that my mother probably knew this when she went to work with them, my filter wasn't working at full capacity.

Tallon had mentioned Dahlia, and my brain had just jumped to her and connected the dots. Giovani had said she was kidnapped for revenge, and Dahlia was the daughter of the former leader.

If they didn't need her alive, they would just kill her, right?

My conclusion wasn't wrong, but even I was horrified at the way it had sputtered from my lips.

There was a moment of tense silence, Giovani sitting in the seat next to me. He paled slightly, rearing his hand back from mine like he had been shocked with a jolt of electricity. Tallon sat on the barstool on the other side of the island, his eyes wide as he stared at me in horror.

Gabriele was the only one unaffected by what I'd had said about them killing Dahlia. He stood by the doorway, his eyes narrowed on me and still just as cold as they always were.

I watched as Tallon's face morphed into anger-something I had only seen very rarely growing up with him. He got to his feet in a hurry, kicking the barstool out from under him.

It fell to the ground with a clang, but Tallon didn't take his eyes off of Giovani, ones full of fury and malice.

"You said she was alive," Tallon said quietly, barely above a whisper, but the venom it contained said more than enough. I flinched at the wild look in his eyes, but Giovani only met him evenly.... He was calm, patient, and in control. "Is she alive or not, Giovani?" Tallon glowered at him, stepping forward. Giovani only got to his feet, brushing invisible dust off his suit as he turned to face Tallon fully.

Giovani glanced at him like a parent whose child was throwing a tantrum in the middle of dinner.

"Yes," he finally answered. "Dahlia is alive."

A sigh of relief fell out of me, my shoulders relaxing as he confirmed that the worst had not happened. For a moment, there was a brief pillar of hope, a belief that Dahlia was really safe and coming home. "But we aren't sure for how long."

Giovani's next words toppled that hope over like a tsunami crashing into a forgotten kingdom. It sank into the waves and crashed to the bottom, only to be buried in the sand and left there.

Tallon growled, stepping forward with a dangerous look. He was staring at Giovani like he was an enemy when just a moment ago they were greeting one another like brothers.

"The only communication they've sent said that we will only get her back if we pay for her body." Giovani sent the finishing blow.

Her body? Dahlia....

My emotions welled up despite my best efforts. Silent tears poured down my cheeks, dripping slowly at first and then increasing as I lost control over the floodgates. I only felt numb with shock, unable to comprehend what he was saying. Dahlia was going to die? They were going to kill her and have us pay for her body? Whoever they were, it was clear they were not messing around, and from the serious look on Giovani's face, they had the means to follow through with their threat.

"You bastard!" Tallon raged forward, grabbing Giovani's shirt and slamming him against the steel fridge door.

It rattled in response to the blow, and a scream tore through my throat.

I got to my feet, watching in horror as Tallon pinned Giovani, practically seeping his fury into the air around us. Giovani wasn't even trying to fight back.

"You promised! You swore that she would be safe... that nothing would happen!" Tallon screamed.

Giovani remained calm, his head raised high as he let Tallon rage.

"I thought she was," Giovani said quietly in response. "We had no way to predict that the Zay-"

"You should've done better!" Tallon raised his fist, and I screamed, shutting my eyes as he threw it at Giovani's face.

There was a sound of hitting and then nothing.

Slowly, afraid of what I might see, I peeked through my eyes. Tallon's head was bowed, his fist planted straight into the fridge where a sizable dent had been made from the punch. Giovani was unharmed, only looking at Tallon patiently.

"This isn't the time, Tallon," Giovani said softly. "Taking your anger out on me is only going to frighten Olivia and waste the valuable time we need to get Dahlia back. Control yourself."

It took a few moments of silence, only the sound of Tallon's ragged breathing before he finally gained control over himself and stepped back. He pulled his fist away, letting it hang at his side, and I noticed the startling specks of red. He'd split his knuckles open.

"I'll...." My voice trembled as I spoke, my whole body shaking. "I'll get the first aid kit."

I avoided the gazes of everyone as I brushed away my tears and raced past Gabriele and out of the kitchen. I moved fast as I headed for my bathroom.

I'd brought my own first aid kit, thanks to my mom, who was sure we would need it. "Just in case," she'd said.

She was right, just not in the way any of us expected.

I pulled it out of the bathroom cabinet, taking a moment to get my emotions under control. I glanced into the mirror, wincing at the sight.

My eyes had already been swollen from how much crying I'd done last night. This was just going to make it worse.

I splashed cold water on my face a few times, making sure the tears were gone before I grabbed the kit and headed back downstairs.

I heard Giovani's low voice as I snuck back into the kitchen, bypassing Gabriele, who hadn't moved an inch from his spot.

Luckily, Tallon and Giovani were sitting on the barstools, talking and not fighting as Giovani told him what was going on.

"We are working on retrieving her. We have her location, and our men have surrounded the building, but there are some complications we must take care of first," Giovani explained further, impassively like this wasn't his cousin's life on the line. "Here," I said, putting the first-aid kit on the counter and quickly opening it. "Let me help you with that."

"Thanks, Livi," Tallon said quietly, sparing me a soft glance. "Sorry for all this."

I shook my head, but no words would come out. I grabbed his left hand, wincing at the blood on his knuckles.

It was the first time I'd seen Tallon lose control. Alessandro had gotten angry more times than I could count, and he'd thrown temper tantrums when we were children. When he reached his teen years, he had gotten into so many fights I'd lost count.

I was the only one who was willing to patch him up after a nasty fight. My mom had shown me how, and somehow I became the group medic. When Dahlia scratched her arm with her nails or Tallon had scraped his knee, I had always been the one to put them back together.

As I worked on disinfecting Tallon's injuries, I could feel Giovani's eyes on me, watching my every move. I tried not to be nervous, but it was hard considering the situation. "What's so complicated about it?" Tallon asked roughly. "Get in, kill those fuckers, and get out. Simple enough."

Giovani sighed. "This is why James made me the next head of the family, Tallon. I know how to handle these situations. You and your brother have always been so reckless." "I resent that," Tallon scoffed.

"Resent away," Giovani rolled his eyes. "This new guy, he's got some backers behind him. Until we know who, the amount of resources he has access to is unknown. He's trying to draw attention to this, and we can only do so much to keep it quiet without alerting the police or the press. They set up shop in the biggest tourist district in the city. If we go in guns ablazing, there'd be no keeping this quiet. That would only put Dahlia and us in danger even more." "Damn it," Tallon growled, clenching the counter with his free hand. He glared at the counter like he wanted to tear it apart right here and now. Marble or not, I had a feeling he could do some damage to it.

I wiped Tallon's hand, moving to the bandages as I gently wrapped them in gauze and taped it down. I patted his hand, the usual signal I was done, and he flexed his fingers a bit.

"No more punching fridges," I told him fiercely, "or anything else for that matter. You'll lose every time, Tallon."

"Love you too, Livi," Tallon smirked playfully at me and reached out to ruffle my hair.

"Hey!" I threw his arm away from me, moving to the opposite end of the counter and taking the stool next to Giovani.

He sent me a glance, looking like a stone statue. It was impossible for me to tell what he was thinking or feeling at the moment. We fell into silence, and when Tallon turned to look out the window, Giovani snuck his hand below the counter and gently grasped mine.

Our fingers intertwined perfectly like we had been doing it all of our lives, and I felt the gentle reassurance he was giving me as he rubbed his thumb across my knuckle.

I suppressed a smile, trying to focus on Tallon as he huffed, crossing his arms.

Tallon seriously looked at Giovani. "If we can't go in, then how will we get Dahlia back alive and unharmed? Alive and unharmed being the key words here."

"We have a plan in place already," Giovani answered seriously. "We just need a little more time to make sure there aren't any more surprises. We've cut off their supply line and communications, so they're bound to be ready any minute now. We just have to be patient."

"Not exactly a virtue of mine," Tallon sighed.

"I know, but this is what's best to do for Dahlia right now," Giovani smirked at him.

Tallon grinned back and I breathed a sigh of relief.

They were okay.

Gabriele stiffened, all of our eyes turning to him as his phone began to blare a tune I hadn't heard before. He answered with a rough, "Hello?" He nodded a few times and then said, "Okay," before hanging up. He glanced at Giovani with a stern look. "They're ready. We need to go now."