Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 526 -

*Tallon*

Walking downstairs with my brother and my second-in-command flanking me, I felt powerful. I was ready to meet this threat head-on and finally take care of it once and for all.

I heard Alessandro and Vinny both get their guns out and cock them, holding them just above my shoulders so that they could back me up no matter what happened out there. I chose to keep my gun holstered, my hands free. I wanted to show our enemies that I wasn't afraid; that my men had my back.

Fuck all this mole nonsense. There must have been some other way that the Russians were getting their intel. I knew it wasn't Natalia-she would never betray me like that. And I was pretty sure it couldn't be any of my other men. At this point, we had examined every single one of them, and it just didn't make sense.

I was done looking over my shoulder. I was done running. It was time to stand and fight for my family. The three of us got to the door and I took a deep breath as I put my hand on the knob, turning to look at both Vinny and Alessandro. They nodded at me solemnly, indicating they were ready for whatever we were about to face. I knew it wouldn't be pretty, but with the two of them backing me up, I was confident we could take down whatever enemy was standing out there. I had been prepared for a gunfight. I had been prepared for bullets to fly and blood to be spilled. I had been prepared to lay down my life for my family.

I had not been prepared to see bodies-my men, every single one that had been taken, unceremoniously dumped right on my front lawn. They had all been murdered. I stopped, it was too late to help them, and I couldn't let the sheer emotion of what I was seeing overtake me.

That was the harshest reality of being a mafia Don; I couldn't afford to let myself grieve. My men looked to me for leadership, and I couldn't be a good leader if I fell apart. I swallowed and took a deep breath, taking a moment to look at each dead man's face, memorizing it, forcing myself to hold their names in my head. I didn't have time to grieve, but they would not be forgotten. I would never let myself forget them. And their deaths would be avenged tenfold-the Russians would forever regret the day they dumped bodies on my lawn.

"Oh, fuck," Alessandro muttered behind me as he saw what I saw.

Vinny looked like he was about to be sick, but he held it together. It wasn't the first time the three of us had been faced with dead bodies, and it wouldn't be the last.

I turned to Vinny. "Take care of this and make sure to notify their families. Tell them what happened. I don't want any rumors. I want everyone to know exactly who did this." My voice was low with rage. "Everyone needs to know exactly what the descendants of Dmitri Zaytsev have done to us. And tell them that we will be returning the favor and then some. This is an all-out fucking war."

Vinny nodded and pulled out his cell phone to begin directing his men.

"This is what happens when we don't stand united," I told Alessandro. "I'm tired of worrying that my own brother is going to stab me in the back at any moment. I want you and your men to hurry up with your search for the mole, and I want you to know that I'll trust you, even if I don't like what you say. I was beginning to think that perhaps we were wrong and the Russians were gathering intel some other way, but now I don't want to leave any stone unturned. I trust you, Alessandro, but don't make me regret it."

Alessandro nodded, although I could see his jaw flex in anger at my words. I understood his frustration, but I had to be honest with him about my doubts. It wouldn't do us any good to bury what we were really thinking and feeling. "I need to talk to Natalia," I said, walking away so I could call her.

Although I didn't expect her to pick up the phone, I was relieved when she did. Just knowing she was alive and safe helped to calm my swirling emotions.

"Hey," she said, sounding sad.

I wished I knew what had changed between us since our trip. I couldn't tell if she was upset because she knew I was hiding something from her or if there was another thing entirely that I just wasn't picking up on. Either way, I hated the fact that it felt like the bridge I had built between us on our trip had been burned to a crisp. I just wanted her to be able to trust me.

"Natalia, I'm glad you picked up. I need to see you. We have a few things to discuss." I decided to get right down to business.

"No, Tallon. I'm really busy today. I don't have time to meet up with you."

I sighed and ran my hand through my hair. I should have known she wouldn't make this easy. "Please. It's extremely important. I can come to your apartment and I'll leave quickly. But I can't discuss it over the phone." There was silence. I checked my phone to make sure she hadn't hung up on me, but sure enough, the call was still going. She just wasn't answering.

"Okay," she finally said. "Come over in an hour."

"I'll be there." I hung up, not wanting to waste any more of her time in case she truly was busy and wasn't just avoiding me, although I suspected that her claims of busyness were totally fabricated.

I had my driver take me to Natalia's apartment so that I could continue to communicate with Vinny and Alessandro. Both of them kept me updated and I made sure to give them my guidance. Before I knew it, I was walking up to Natalia's door. I tried to clear my head to ensure that I could think through everything I needed to say to her. I wasn't going to tell her that I was a mafia Don, not yet, but I needed her to understand that she was in real danger if anyone found out that I cared about her. I decided to make up a lie that was as close to the truth as possible.

She answered the door as I was thinking through my lie. She was as gorgeous as ever, and our time apart only made her even more beautiful to me. The weight of how much I had missed her hit my chest like a ton of bricks, and without thinking I reached out and gathered her against my chest, tucking her head under my chin. I breathed deeply, enjoying her perfume and the weight of her body against mine.

"I missed you," I murmured before kissing the top of her head. "Please don't avoid me anymore. I can't take it." So much for trying to play it cool. When it came to Natalia, it was impossible for me to keep my feelings under wraps. She hesitantly wrapped her arms around my waist, meeting my embrace with one of her own. Finally, I felt her relax against me and take a deep breath.

"Let's get inside," she said after another moment.

I followed her into her cozy apartment. Although she had decorated the place well, it was obvious that much of her furniture was secondhand. There were a few rips in the sofa. I itched to replace it all for her, but I knew that would be going too far. Someday I would give her the princess treatment that she deserved, but for now, I just had to wait.

I settled on the couch, hoping that she would sit next to me so that I could hold her while we talked, but she sat in the armchair across from me instead. I tried to keep myself from frowning.

'It's good that I'm even here at all,' I reminded myself.

"Okay, what is it that you need to tell me?" she asked.

"I've been having some serious trouble at work. I had to cut our trip short because of it, as you already know," I started out, waiting to see her reaction to my mention of the trip being cut short. She kept her face blank.

"There are some seriously bad guys trying to get some information about my company. I don't know what they're going to do with it, but I have to tell you that they've actually hurt some of my employees in their efforts to get it." I didn't mention that by "hurt" I actually meant "killed." Hopefully, she would understand the level of danger without me spelling it out for her.

Her face paled, and it was obvious that she was taking what I said seriously.

"How hurt?" she asked quietly, concern in her eyes.

"It's really bad. I can't give many details for their privacy, but let's just say that I am concerned that this could be a matter of life and death. I'm telling you because I'm worried about what might happen if they were to realize that I-care about you," I stopped myself just before saying that I loved her. I refused to let those be the circumstances under which I told her that for the first time.

She stared off into space and refused to meet my eyes. I worried that she was going into shock, but after a moment, she looked at me quickly and said, "Okay, I understand. But I have an early class tomorrow, so I really need you to leave." My heart felt like it was breaking. It was more than obvious that she didn't want me around. I had no idea what had gone wrong between us, but I was desperate to fix it.

"Natalia, I-did I do something wrong?" I asked her, wanting to get up and pull her into my arms, but forcing myself to stay seated.

"No, Tallon. I just really need to focus on my studies right now," she said vaguely.

I nodded to myself, wondering if this would be the last time she let me come over.

"Alright, well, I'll call you tomorrow," I said, standing up so that I could kiss her goodbye.

She stayed in her chair, so I leaned over to kiss her on the cheek.

"Be safe, okay?" I asked her.

She nodded slightly but still refused to meet my eyes. I let myself out of her apartment and walked to the car that was waiting for me. I wished I knew what I had done wrong. I just couldn't figure out why she was acting so strangely.