Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 485 -

*Giovani*

If there was one thing I absolutely couldn't stand, it was meetings in the middle of the night. James had taught me one rule about being the Don. Meetings at night never ended well.

Usually, it meant someone somewhere had fucked up, and now you had to come and fix all this bullshit for them. Or in my case, there was a fucking lunatic after your family. The streets were empty at this time of night, especially on a fucking Tuesday in the middle of autumn. It was hotter than I liked it to be, and the driver behind the wheel had just had a smoke, so the whole place stunk of cigarettes. He could've at least used the good stuff but no, he got the cheap American shit. And now I had to put up with it. I sighed, annoyance flooding my veins as I ran a hand through my hair, pushing it back from my face. I tapped my fingers on my leg, gazing out the window and counting the streets we passed until we arrived. Olivia was probably putting Elio to bed now, she and Dahlia sitting down for a drink before they went to sleep. I imagined how anxious my wife must feel right now. If I could have, I would have been there with her and Elio, tucked up in our warm cozy room, and not a single thought on my mind except how much I loved the two of them. But now, I smelled of cigarettes and cheap cologne that one of my men had the great decency to spray all over himself before getting in the car. Fucking bastards, I scolded them silently, sending them yet another irritated glance. The two were oblivious to my bad mood. Mr. Cheap Cigarettes focused on the road and still completely missing the goddamn stop signs, and Mr. I-Bathed-In-Cologne was humming along to a rock song on the radio. All of this added to my bad mood, so by the time we finally pulled up to the warehouse and I stepped outside, I was really to murder everyone in my path.

"You look like you had fun," Gabriele remarked, casually leaning against one of the walls.

Tallon had been sitting on the concrete waiting for me, but he jumped up as soon as he spotted me. Alessandro gave a nod and a grunt in acknowledgment, a warm welcome by his standards but at this point, all I could do was pin my right hand with a murderous glare.

"So it's that kind of night. Noted." He nodded to himself, pushing off the wall. "Everybody's inside already. Except you and-" He glanced at the two men behind me, wrinkling his nose. "Why the fuck do they smell like something crawled in their asses and died?"

The younger of the men, Mr. Cologne, flushed in embarrassment, trying to be discreet as he turned away to sniff his shirt. He frowned, confused. Mr. Cigarettes, however, only let out a rattling cough that sounded like he'd been chain-smoking for all twenty-five years of his goddamn life. "I see. Good talk then," Tallon remarked, raising an eyebrow at the two questionable workers.

I shrugged it off, stomping my way toward the warehouse. I threw open the door, stepping inside as a dozen pairs of eyes latched onto me.

Like a zoo animal being watched, I could feel them following my every movement, but I was used to this treatment by now. I shrugged it off, taking one of the few chairs left in the warehouse. The building was filled to the brim with crates and packages just waiting to be shipped out.

It was a supply depot, a relatively minor one, but big enough to host all of the men we needed.

"So," I started, clearing my throat to begin. The dozens of men stared at me patiently, waiting for my command. "Is there anyone who is not up to date about what has been happening as of late?"

I waited but there was no answer so I just continued. "Good." I nodded. "Now, we are here to discuss what we should do next. Any suggestions? Tallon?"

Tallon stiffened, looking startled like a kid being called out by the teacher to solve the problem despite his hand not being raised. It wasn't wrong. I just needed to see what he would do under this kind of pressure.

I could always bail him out if he fucked up.

"Uh," he started, clearly a bit overwhelmed by everyone's gazes, but then he straightened, taking a deep breath. "Well, Salvatore was obviously working with the Russians to do something to you. We aren't sure whether it was a hit or not, but we have to presume so just to be safe. This is probably retaliation for the death of their boss, so we have the upper hand at the moment."

"How?" I prompted, giving him a wave of my hand to continue.

"We know their goal," Tallon said more confidently this time. "We know what they're after and we're familiar with their tricks. Lorenz seems to be calling the shots, and we know how he operates. And since we've had Salvatore monitored this whole time, we know where the attack is coming from and can plan to counter it."

"Good." I nodded, and Tallon smirked, looking like a proud kid who finally aced his exam.

"We should replace out where they're working from," Alessandro declared boldly, "storm the place, and kill everyone in one go."

"Because that worked so well last time," one of the men piped up sarcastically. "How many times has it been?"

"So what's your bright idea, bastard?" Alessandro growled, whirling on the man like a vicious dog.

"Alessandro!" I snapped.

He glared at me but fell silent, crossing his arms as he turned his attitude to the floor.

I sighed. "Storming the place isn't going to work, not when they'll be expecting it. We'll just be falling into the trap."

Alessandro scoffed, turning his head away defiantly.

"We don't need to kill everyone," Tallon spoke up, giving a confident smirk. "We just have to kill the heads. The lower members will crumble once we take out the heads, and we'll be able to absorb them into our ranks easily. There's no reason to lose talented men, and we've certainly taken too many losses to come back from this empty-handed."

"You think the bastards working for the Russians will work with us?" another of the men challenged, looking disgusted at the very thought.

"Yes," Tallon shot back firmly. "Right now, the Russians have taken so many losses that the majority of men working for them are from here. They aren't loyal to the Russians. They just want the pay and benefits. If we convince them we have a better deal, they'll fall in line. This way we also have more leverage in case the organization comes back in the future."

I had to admit, Tallon had certainly come into his own. I watched as the man who challenged him backed down, clearly convinced by Tallon's confident and intelligent attitude. Looking around the room at my men, they all seemed rather on board with the idea, looking at Tallon with respect.

Taking the enemy men into our own group was a bold and ingenious plan. Not only did it make the most sense with the less loss of human life, but it installed loyalty into our current men. Brilliant.

I didn't expect that the kid who always laughed at fart jokes would show such a talent for leadership, but here we were. I was liking the way he led the men more and more each time I saw it.

He was still rough and inexperienced, but I could see the potential to be a Don just like his father. On the other hand, Alessandro.....

He stood apart from the men, clearly not as accepted or well-liked as Tallon. He didn't have the charisma, and though he was passionate about the family, about keeping the men safe, he had difficulty seeing the bigger picture of things. Recklessly rushing in was his only answer to the problems, and though I hesitated to say it to him, I could see no leadership qualities within him.

It was a shame considering everything, but ultimately, Tallon was the better leader. I glanced at Gabriele, who seemed invested in Tallon's idea, nodding along as Tallon explained the details to the men.

Gabriele caught my eye, sending me a slight smirk and tilting his head to Tallon. I nodded back. No words needed to be exchanged between us. Gabriele and I were in agreement.

"We'll go with Tallon's plan," I announced to the group. "We'll need to work out the finer details, but you should all start informing the men. Spread into groups of five. Intel first-contact all the spies we have and make sure they are aware to be searching for anything unusual. Rounds are to be doubled until this is over with."

A few men groaned, whispering complaints, but I ignored them, turning instead to Gabriele. "Make sure Manuel takes his team out. I want all of this over as soon as possible. And Tallon-"

Tallon turned to me, stiffening like a soldier ready to receive his commands. Steely-eyed and stone-faced, he looked prepared to do anything, and I smirked.

"Good job today." I nodded at him. "You'll be the point for this mission."

Alessandro turned to me bewildered, a deep fury setting on his face, but that was to be expected. Tallon, on the other hand, looked downright shocked by the position.

"I... really?" he questioned, wide-eyed, but then he coughed into his hand, nodding. "Of course. Thanks."

I nodded. "I have to get back to Olivia and Elio and make sure Dom and Tino know their role in all of this. We have extra security on the compound just in case."

"Good," Tallon nodded, "I'll handle things from here. Just keep Olivia and my sister safe."

"Of course," I smirked. I glanced at Alessandro, who looked downright murderous. "Your plan was fine, but we need a new perspective this time. Help your brother keep control here?"

I sent him a meaningful glance, and he bristled like a wildcat about to strike but then sighed, relaxing all of a sudden.

"Fine." He nodded, clearly still upset but having enough maturity not to explode right here and now. He was improving little by little.

It was still a relief to see.

Gabriele stayed behind to help organize but I turned to leave, assigning Mr. Cigarette and Mr. Cologne onto Alessandro's team so they would have to stay and I could drive home by myself. As soon as I got into the car, and reached out to buckle up, the sound of my ringtone burst through the car, and I flinched despite myself.

I frowned, glancing at the caller ID.

"Hello?" I answered, a bit confused.

I thought she'd be in bed by now. My heart stopped cold when I heard nothing but a heartbroken wail from the other side of the phone. My sobbing wife was saying something completely unintelligible through her body-rattling sobs. "Olivia?" I demanded. Panic set in as I heard her full-on breakdown. "What's going on? Are you at home? Are you hurt? Talk to me!"

I heard her take a deep breath through her sobs, struggling to get out the words before finally, she loudly wailed into the phone.

"He's gone!"