Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 298 -

*Olivia*

I hummed one of the songs I had heard on the radio, the catchy tune playing in repeat in my head as I gently stared into the vanity. The mascara brush swept across my eyelashes in one smooth move and I smiled happily.

I was more than content with my makeup this morning. I knew Dahlia would buy me a whole new set of products if I didn't show up at least attempting to be presentable. I wasn't in for another five-hour lecture on why best practices in popular beauty techniques were important for everyone to follow.

I swear that girl should've been a beautician or something.

I nodded at my complete outfit in the mirror and grabbed my phone, shoving it into the hidden pocket in my skirt. The best kind of skirt was one that had pockets, and I was very thankful for owning a few. Really, it was so much easier to carry around things when you didn't have to lug around a clunky purse with it.

I continued to hum as I headed for the door and thrust it open. I wasn't looking at where I was going and I barely caught the glimpse of a figure in front of me before I halted in my tracks.

He did too, clearly startled as he raised his hands to steady me but just hover over my skin as I wobbled slightly.

I looked up at the person I'd nearly run into, not surprised in the slightest to see Alessandro. He had probably been waiting at my door, though I wasn't sure why.

An awkward giggle escaped me, and I wrapped my arms behind my back, attempting to play casual as I said, "Hey."

Alessandro glanced down at me, his dark eyes clearly expecting something, but I had no clue what.

"I was just coming to see if you were ready," he said calmly.

"I am," I answered with a bubbly, not at all strained smile.

"Come on, then." He nodded toward the stairs at the end of the hall, already headed in that direction.

I glanced at Giovani's room. The door was still closed and there was no sign of his presence at all. Where was he? Had something happened to him?

I walked down the hallway, side by side with Alessandro, barely paying attention as my mind whirled with possibilities.

"You look beautiful today." Alessandro smiled at me.

"Uh-huh."

"You smell good. Did you use perfume?" He leaned closer to me, sniffing around my hair. "It smells like strawberries."

"It's soap," I said blankly, leaning away from him as we turned to head down the staircase.

Just as I took my first step down, I tripped in mid-air like the clutz I was. Before I could fall, a hand wrapped around my waist, pulling me back into a hard figure. I breathed out, wide-eyed as I realized I had almost toppled over down the stairs. I would've broken something, no doubt.

"You should be more careful, Livi," Alessandro breathed softly in my ear.

I shivered, and not for a good reason.

There was an uncomfortable feeling in my chest as I pulled away from Alessandro, pretending to fix my hair as I refused to look at him. Goosebumps had erupted all along my arms and shoulders, and I could still feel his touch lingering despite breaking away.

Unlike when Giovani touched me, I didn't like this one bit.

"Thanks," I muttered, wrapping my arms around my middle.

Alessandro sent me a massive grin, a flirtatious look in his eye as he stepped closer and leaned down.

"Don't worry," he whispered to me. "I'll always be there to catch you."

My lips thinned as I prevented any words from flowing out of my throat. I couldn't be rude when Alessandro had just saved me from a rough tumble down the stairs, but there was something about the way he looked at me-like I was a piece of meat in the eyes of a dog-that I just didn't like.

His attempts at flirting were obvious and also incredibly uncomfortable. I could only nod, a strained smile on my face as I wished I was anywhere else but here.

"What's going on?"

A new voice broke through my thoughts, and I whirled to face the new person. A smile burst across my lips as I spotted Giovani standing there, an impassive look on his face.

"Nothing," I said hurriedly just as Alessandro opened his mouth.

"Livi almost fell down the stairs, so I caught her." He smirked, proudly, looking like a peacock preening in front of a potential mate. "Nothing to see here."

"I see," Giovani said patiently. "It's almost time to go, so we'd better get down there. Gabriele has the cars waiting."

"Okay." Alessandro smiled, trying to be charming as he turned to me. "I'll hold your hand when we go down so you won't be scared."

"No, that's okay," I shook my head, but he wasn't paying any attention.

Before I could protest anymore, he grabbed my hand in his tightly, preventing me from pulling away as he tugged me down the stairs with him.

I glanced behind me at Giovani, trying to send him a "help me" look, but he only stared at us blankly as Alessandro forced me down the stairs. Irritation crawled under my skin. It was clear he was going to be of no help.

Once my feet landed on the last step, I tugged my hand away from Alessandro, stepping away as I firmly held my stance.

"Finally, you guys took forever," Tallon called out as he entered the foyer from the kitchen. He was holding a popsicle in his hand-some sort of lime and white flavor. The madman bit into it without even a flinch, staring at us expectantly.

I sent him a horrified glance.

"How can you stand to bite into it? It's freezing!" I scolded him, half in wonder and half in horror.

"Eh." He just shrugged.

"Car's here," Giovani said as he stepped down. "Let's go."

He wasted no time as he swerved past the three of us and opened the door before shifting his eyes toward us expectantly.

Tallon stuck the popsicle in his mouth, humming what sounded an awfully lot like, "Aye-aye, sir!" before he stepped outside.

"You'll ride with me." Alessandro turned to me with a huge smile.

My eyes went wide, and I opened my mouth to tell him that I was absolutely not going to ride with him, but there was no time to speak.

He grabbed me by the wrist and tugged me out the door with him before I could say a single word of protest. I glanced at Giovani as we passed, wondering if he was even going to stop this madness.

He just nodded in response, locking up the door behind us like he wasn't bothered in the slightest.

I steamed in my annoyance, glaring at Alessandro's back as he pulled me along. I felt more like a piece of luggage than an actual human being-like I was a dog, and Alessandro held the leash. The only thing I could do is go to the end of my leash and bark.

My choices had been taken from me, and I was getting angry about it.

I was relieved when he let my wrist go so he could pull open the door to the black sedan for me. I stubbornly got inside, rubbing my wrist from the tight grip he'd had on it.

I knew he didn't mean to be so rough with me, but Alessandro had always been like this, doing what he wanted without considering anyone else's feelings. When we were kids, I'd just let it happen because he was Dahlia's older brother, and I felt like he was mine too.

But after learning of his feelings for me, every action he took had a different meaning to it now. And I wasn't liking it one bit.

Alessandro got in on the other side, leaving Giovani and Tallon to take the other car. I sulked as I buckled, and then looked at the driver in surprise.

It was Gabriele. Shouldn't he be driving Giovani?

"You know I'm going to be staying here for a while," Alessandro said, hinting at something as he buckled. He smirked at me like there was some hidden meaning in his words, but I only frowned.

"Don't you have to go back to the States?" I asked, confused. "I thought you had a job over there."

Alessandro shrugged. "It's not as important as catching Dahlia's kidnappers. The people who did this to her are going to pay big time once we catch them."

"We?" I asked, downright bewildered now. "Isn't that up to Giovani? He's the leader, isn't he?"

Alessandro's eyes darkened, and he glanced at me, the resentment in his eyes on full display. It wasn't directed at me, but at Giovani.

"I'm going to be more involved here now," he said firmly, "like I always should have been."

What?

Alessandro wanted to work here... in the mafia?

There were warning bells going off; something didn't feel right about the declaration. I glanced at Gabriele for a moment. Our eyes met in the rearview mirror before he shrugged and looked away, shifting the car into drive and pulling us out of the driveway.

I bit my bottom lip, searching my brain for any other possibilities or meanings to what he'd said, but there were none. It was clear-cut and dry.

He was going to be involved. Fine. It was his life, and he was a grown adult. He could make his own decisions, but something kept bugging me about the way he'd said the last part.

"What do you mean that you always should have been?" I asked, sending him a wary glance.

He paused, his anger sliding away like melting snow in spring as he chuckled, embarrassedly.

"Never mind any of that," he said quickly. "Anyway, what are your plans? You're going to school here, aren't you? Any idea what major you're taking?"

I frowned. His clear slip-up hadn't been planned, but my thoughts wandered back to what Giovani had said-that Alessandro felt cheated.

Neither of them was willing to tell me what that was, but I was beginning to piece things together.

But it wasn't like Alessandro to let details slip to me. If he did it on purpose, it was almost like he was trying to turn me against Giovani and get me onto his side.

But why? Why did I have to take anyone's side?

They were family, but they felt less like cousins and more like enemies trying to one-up one another, at least on Alessandro's part. For Giovani, it was less so, but I hadn't forgotten the way he had been with me last night. Jealousy could be cute, but not when it was so restricting as he had been.

I sighed, leaning my head against the window as I duly answered his questions.

Why are there even sides in this situation?

If they were going to catch whoever did this to Dahlia, they needed to work together and not be taking sides.

That wasn't how family worked.