Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 389 -

*Giovani*

I stared at the grim-faced, middle-aged asshole who stared back at me in the mirror. I buttoned up my suit smoothly, having done it thousands of times over my lifetime. Truth be told, I'd always preferred casual wear over restrictive suits. I brushed back my salt and pepper-colored hair, putting in my cufflinks before I turned away from the mirror.

I was officially ready.

I tried to don my usual confidence, the one that you had to have when facing down a couple dozen thieves and murderers you had to convince to follow you. But it just wasn't there today.

Anxiety clung to my every move, a nervousness I'd never quite felt before hanging in my throat as I made my way out of the suite. I'd always been a confident man, more than anyone else, to the point where some considered it a fault. I'd never felt as shaken as I was right now.

I turned into the living room, paying the rest of it no mind as I headed straight to the fireplace. I tapped the bricks laid into the wall right above the fire, one at a time as I counted up to eleven.

Finally, on the eleventh brick, I pushed in on it. It slid inward, and I heard the creak of something opening behind me. When I turned around, I was glad to see it still worked; the secret passage had opened.

I stepped in, the wall sliding closed behind me, and I made my way down a long, winding hallway with no lights in it. I had memorized the passageways here since I was a kid. What child didn't appreciate a good secret?

At the end of the darkened hallway was a door, and standing in front of it were three darkened shadows, broad-shouldered and tall.

The meeting room, one that wouldn't even be found on the master blueprints of the compound, was not the only one of its kind, but certainly the most used.

"Took you long enough," Alessandro spoke up, grumpy as he glared at me accusingly.

Tallon wrinkled his nose when I pushed past him. "Are you wearing perfume?"

I ignored the two of them, giving Gabriele a look as I asked, "Is everyone here?"

Gabriele nodded firmly in response and I smirked.

"Showtime."

I entered the meeting room with purpose, wiping all emotion from my face as more than a dozen men and women turned to look at me. Large and small, mean-looking with scars and clean-shaven in suits, there was no end to the variety of men employed in our family.

I knew each one by sight and could recite their drinking habits and sin of choice. I knew every man before me like they were my own brothers, and they were the same.

There was a trust that couldn't be bought between us, and it was exactly that trust that I needed right now.

"Hey, boss!" A loud friendly greeting cutting through the tense air had a smile growing over my face.

"Leandro," I smirked as I spotted the man I was looking for.

Leandro leaned back in the biggest wooden carved chair, his feet propped up on the table as he grinned like a madman.

"You're in my seat," I stated, crossing my arms with an amused look.

"And you're late," Leandro shot back with a grin.

I shook my head, grinning at the man's nonchalant appearance. He was not the biggest man-far from it-but he was one of the most crucial. His outgoing and non-threatening appearance allowed him to get close to anyone very quickly. He looked like an average, trustworthy Joe.

And that's why he was perfect to work as a spy.

I stood in front of him, waiting patiently as I jerked my head to the right. "Up," I said simply.

"Yeah, yeah," He rolled his eyes, holding his hands out in a peace symbol, "Just keeping your seat warm."

A few men chuckled behind us as Leandro sulked away into a new chair. I replaced him in the seat with Tallon and Alessandro taking the ones next to me. Gabriele stood behind me as usual, a stoic look on his face.

Once I was seated, everyone began to take their own seats until all the men and women were settled.

"You have news?" I asked, turning to Leandro with an expectant look.

"I do." Leandro grinned. "I met the thorn in your side the other day-quite a character."

"So he was at Russo," Alessandro growled, leaning back. "Looks like they haven't been affected by their recent losses if they're still sheltering that bastard."

"Did he notice anything?" I asked, first and foremost.

"Who do you think I am?" Leandro grinned, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm the best spy in Europe. He didn't notice a thing, boss. He was in quite a hurry, but I managed to sneak a tracker onto his car."

He slapped his phone onto the table and slid it across to me. I managed to grab it before it slid off the table, and right on the screen was a flashing red light on a GPS location.

Dmitri's location.

"Good job," I smirked.

"That's not all," Leandro smirked. "I also managed to sweet-talk the receptionist and get some details on his involvement. Russo's been providing Dmitri and their new head with safety, but apparently, that's changing. They provided him with a safe house to get resources from and he goes there once a week. It's a remote area outside the city, completely isolated."

"That's a perfect area to end this," Alessandro said confidently. "It'll be easy to hit him."

"It's not just Dmitri we need to end though," Gabriele piped up, crossing his arms. "We have to take care of Lorenz as well."

"That's where I come in," one of the few female voices in our family piped up. A redhead smirked at me, twirling her curly hair around her fingers. Despite her glamorous look, she was just as deadly as any of the men in here. "Fiorella," I nodded, signaling her to speak.

"We managed to track Lorenz due to the cell phone number we got from that kid," Fiorella said, "All we got to do is separate Dmitri and Lorenz, divide their forces, and take them both out at the same time."

I glanced at the tracker on Leandro's phone.

"When are they next going to that remote area?" I asked.

"Tomorrow," Leandro smirked.

And the plan was falling into place.

"Fiorella, you take the larger force and stage a hit on Lorenz right before they leave the city. Separate his envoy from Dmitri's. Once they're separated, a smaller will head to the remote outpost, thinking we don't know where it is. A smaller, more deadly force will follow and go after him. With enough luck, both will be dead by the end of the night," I declared.

A few men whooped, high-fiving one another.

"Alessandro, Tallon, you two lead Fiorella and her team after Lorenz," I ordered calmly.

Tallon nodded, firmly but Alessandro hesitated.

"Lorenz was the one responsible for Emilio," I told him firmly, "not Dmitri. It's crucial we divide them so they can't escape. Can you do this?"

Alessandro's lips thinned at my declaration. The hurt of losing his right hand was still raw and it showed, but I had full confidence he could do this without letting his emotions get the better of him.

"Yes," Alessandro nodded, determinedly. "But I get the pleasure of killing the fucker."

"Any disagreements?" I offered up to the table but no one stepped forward to protest. Emilio had been quite loved in the family, his death hung greatly over our heads. As did Vincent's.

But Vincent's death hadn't been Lorenz's fault, not in the slightest. No, that had all been Dmitri.

"Gabriele and I will lead the team after Dmitri," I declared. "Leandro and a small team I choose will go with us. It doesn't matter who gets the killing blow, just make sure both fuckers are dead. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir," the room echoed around us.

"Great job, everyone," I smirked. "Alessandro, Tallon, you two stay with Fiorella and get the details right-no mistakes this time. Tomorrow night, this all ends one way or another. I'll see you back at the compound later tonight to go over a few key details."

"Ooh, an important date?" Leandro guessed with a grin. "I haven't met that lady of yours, but I hear she's a hottie."

I sent him a sharp glare, and he shut up, whistling innocently as he avoided my gaze.

"Remember what I told you," Fiorella called out as I rose from my chair to my feet.

Alessandro, however, was left in the dark as he frowned unhappily.

"What could be more important than this?" he demanded, irritatedly. "It's the top priority-"

"Don't, bro," Tallon sighed, shoving his hand over Alessandro's mouth to shut him up. "You really need to learn to read the group chat."

"Don't worry. You'll replace out soon enough," I smirked, nodding to Gabriele, who took my seat at the head of the table. I slipped out the back, leaving them to execute the finer details of the plan. I heard Alessandro's grumbling as I left, but nobody else protested. I trusted all of them with my life and they were the same. They all knew how important this raid was, they wouldn't fail.

I briefly wondered who spilled the news on the group chat, but that was the least of my worries. My anxiety returned as the passage spit me out into the garage, and I saw a car waiting for me. I nodded to the driver and got inside so he could take me to the destination I had both been dreading and waiting for.

It took only a few minutes before we pulled up to a closed shop. The steel bars were already over the windows and doors, and a hanging closed sign was in the window. I knew better though.

I slipped out of the car and rounded the back. Standing out by a steel door in the back was a familiar presence.

"Hey, Gio," the older man with a long mustache greeted me. "Long time no see, Amico."

"You, too, Zio Bruno," I greeted him with a wide grin. We clasped our hands together.

"Never thought I'd see you here, but things change, eh?" Bruno grinned, gesturing for me to follow him over his shoulder.

"That they do. Thanks for doing this for me," I chuckled, shoving my hands in my pockets out of sheer nervousness as Bruno jingled his keys and unlocked the metal lock to the door. He flicked on the lights as he did so and gestured to one of the many clear cases in the store.

Lights glittered from under the gorgeous stones, necklaces, and earrings in every color and shape. But I was more interested in the line-up of first-class rings.

"Anything for family, you know?" Bruno said casually, stepping behind the massive glass cases, "Pick anything that catches your eye, okay?"

I surveyed the rack of diamond-encrusted rings-square-shaped cuts and ovals and diamonds, colorful ones, and just plain white, simple designs and unusual designs, each with a growing price tag attached to them.

But out of all, one caught my eye, one that I knew was just perfect.

"That one," I pointed, my eyes locked on it.

Bruno reached into the case to grab it, cutting off the tag attached as he moved it around in his hand.

"This one, eh? You got a nice eye there," Bruno chuckled as he handed it over to me.

I grinned, staring at the delicate ring in my hand.

"It's perfect," I said. "She's going to love it."

"Get a woman a ring like that," Bruno smirked, "and it says you love her more than anything. You sure you're ready for that?"

I stared at my uncle straight in the eye and smirked.

"Yes."

Tomorrow would be the perfect ending, in more ways than one.