Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi -
Chapter 515 -
*Alessandro*
I had been on edge ever since the meeting with Tallon. Although keeping secrets and lying to people wasn't necessarily a new thing for me, it didn't make it any less difficult when it came to my right-hand man, Luca. We were meeting for lunch, and I was replaceing myself struggling to keep from telling him about Tallon's plan to fake out the inner circle.
Everything in me told me that I could trust Luca, but I couldn't risk going against what Tallon had told me, and Vinny. I would have been lying if I didn't admit that it still chafed to have to take orders from my little brother, but I had worked hard over the past many years to prove to Tallon that he didn't have to worry about my loyalty.
I walked into the sandwich shop where Luca and I ate lunch at least once a week and found him sitting at our usual table in the corner. We both preferred to keep our backs against the wall and the corner table allowed us a great vantage point. For years, our precautions had been overly cautious, but now with the rising threat from the Russians, I was glad that I had maintained my old habits. It was proving useful to be overly observant of my surroundings.
I hoped that Tallon had those same skills that I had developed in my years under Giovani's rule as Don. Tallon had been more sheltered than I had from the violence in those days. He had still been so young. But now I worried that he was unprepared for just how serious shit could get.
"Hey, how's it going?" Luca asked as I walked up to him. He'd already ordered for me; my sandwich was wrapped neatly in paper on the table.
"Not great. Tallon is stressed about this Russian bullshit. Do you have any idea who the mole could be?" It was the first time Luca and I had been able to speak privately since the meeting, and I wanted to gauge his thoughts before I lied to him like Tallon wanted me to.
"I have no clue. I've been listening to some of the recordings from the wiretaps around the compound, but I haven't heard a single incriminating thing so far. I'll be honest, man. I'm not so sure it's one of us. I think Tallon might be overlooking something."
I took a minute to unwrap my sandwich and take a bite. I was unwilling to add my two cents and make it seem like I was shit-talking my brother, but I wanted to hear what Luca had to say about Tallon. A good leader was always willing to listen to what the people he led had to say about their higher-ups. Luca might have seen something that I had missed.
"I don't know who could be feeding the Russians the information, but I just can't see it being one of us," he continued.
I tried to hide my annoyance. Of course, he couldn't see it being one of us. None of us could. That was why it was so difficult to figure out who it could be. But the fact of the matter was that someone was betraying us. Going in circles about how much we couldn't believe it wasn't going to get us any closer to figuring out who it was.
"We just need to figure it out soon so those bastards stop fucking with us," I growled.
Luca nodded his agreement, his entire face tense with anger. I hated to think it, but it was time we started to prepare for an all-out war.
"Well, Tallon's going to be at the Venice warehouse on Friday to check on some things," I told him, knowing he wouldn't sense the lie. I had never lied to Luca before, had never had reason to, so he had no reason to be suspicious. I felt like an asshole for not trusting him, but I reminded myself that this could help clear his name. If the Russians followed a different lie, then we'd know Luca was innocent.
"I'm glad," Luca said. "I was starting to get worried that he was too distracted with that girl of his."
"Nah, he knows what really matters. He's always put our family first above all else." I knew that to be true. Tallon had sacrificed his personal life for over a decade so that he could be the Don our organization needed. He deserved to be happy. Luca grew silent as he noticed something across the room. I looked in the direction he was looking and saw two strange men approaching us. They were both dressed in all black, one wearing slacks and a button-down and the other wearing a three-piece suit. It was obvious they were coming to us by the way they stared us down.
I subtly reached for the small pistol I always kept strapped at my hip. I saw that Luca was doing the same. We had no desire to open fire in this restaurant but would do so if the pair seemed to be a threat. "Are you Alessandro?" the man in the suit asked. The fact that he was Russian was obvious in his accent.
"I suspect you already know exactly who I am," I said calmly.
I glanced at Luca out of the corner of my eye and could see that he was ready for whatever came next. I was glad he was with me and that I hadn't been cornered all alone.
Both men sat down at our table, which only served to heighten my suspicion about their intentions. I had no idea what they could possibly want from me. Luckily, they seemed to be in a talkative mood.
"Our boss sent us," the one in the slacks spoke up, his accent equally as thick as his partner's.
"And that would be?" I asked, hoping they'd tell me. I genuinely didn't know who was running their organization these days. Finding out a name would be immensely helpful.
"That's none of your concern," the suited one said harshly. Luca's hand moved almost imperceptibly slowly, closer to his gun.
"Then why are you here?" I asked, ensuring my voice was dripping with bravado. I'd dealt with far scarier shit than a couple of gothic wannabe motherfuckers in a sandwich shop. They obviously wanted to instill fear with their faux-secrecy bullshit but it wouldn't work on me.
"Our boss has a proposition for you, one that he thinks you would quite like, given your... history."
His emphasis on the word history was not lost on me. It was just another way for them to show that they knew a helluva lot more about us than we'd like them to.
"And what proposition would that be? Because it would have to be pretty fucking good for me to ever want to work with any of you."
Luca was silent, clearly lying in wait for any signal of danger. But I had a feeling that the pair was being honest with us, and I had to admit that I was intrigued.
"This would be an opportunity for you to finally surpass your brother's shadow. You would have more control than you had ever been given by your family. You would have the opportunity to carve your own path rather than following meekly in his footsteps."
For the first time since they had interrupted my meal, I decided to consider truly listening to what they had to say. What would it look like if I actually betrayed my family and joined the Russians? It was difficult to even imagine, but if I was honest with myself, my family had betrayed me first by foregoing me as the Don in spite of the fact that it was my birthright.
"What would that look like?" I asked.
I could feel Luca's surprise emanating from him. He raised his eyebrows at me in complete shock. I acknowledged his surprise with a terse nod in his direction. To his credit, he stayed silent and waited to see where I would lead the conversation.
"We already have someone close to Tallon working with us, but your insight would be far more valuable. In return, our boss would be willing to give you control over his entire Italian operation. Once we destroyed your family's hold, we would take it all and give it to you. The only thing our boss would require would be a small percentage of all profits."
Luca looked from them to me and back again, clearly waiting on pins and needles to see what I would say, but this wasn't the kind of decision that I was willing to make lightly. I would need time to think through the repercussions of it all. Choosing this path would mean permanently severing any and all relationships with my family. Although they constantly underestimated me, I wasn't sure that I was ready to write them off entirely.
"I'll consider the offer," I finally said after a few moments of silence had passed.
The suited man nodded and passed me a business card with nothing more than a phone number typed on it. "Our boss thought you might need some time to think it over. Call this number when you have your answer. And remember, we're already going to win this. We just want you to make it faster."
Luca's jaw tightened at the obvious threat. Both men stood up and turned without another word. As they walked away, Luca leaned forward. "What the fuck?" he whispered angrily.
"I learned a long time ago that I have to look out for myself," I explained. "My family is never going to put me first. The only one who will do that is me."
"I have seen your brother stick his neck out for you many times," he argued. It was unusual for him to be so outspoken, but then again, it was unusual for me to consider colluding with our number one enemy.
"Look, I'm not saying I'm going to do it. I'm just saying I'm not going to make such a big decision without thinking about it for a while."
"This is fucked up, Alessandro, seriously fucked up. We're out here trying to figure out who the traitor is and you're considering becoming one yourself? Did you really think I wouldn't tell Tallon if you turned on us?" Luca stood up as if to leave, but I got up and blocked his way.
"Luca, stop. Don't say a fucking word to Tallon. I'm serious. This is between me and him. Don't forget that you're supposed to be loyal to me. You're MY second in command, not his."
A vein in his forehead pulsed faintly as his anger surged. I could tell he would have punched me in the face by now if we weren't in public.
"I'm loyal to the Valentinos. If you have a problem with that, then you can replace a new second." He shoved his way past me.
Although he was pissed, I was sure he wouldn't tell Tallon, not yet anyway. I turned the business card over in my hands, thinking about what I would do.
What was I willing to give up to finally realize my dreams?
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