Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 572 -

*Natalia*

I wasn't sure how so much time had passed, but it was the middle of the night by the time we left Alessandro's house.

It felt like everything had been happening so quickly, but that just went to show how warped by fear and anxiety my perception was. It made me all the more nervous about confronting Antonio.

I would have preferred to do this with a level head, but it just couldn't wait any longer. We had no idea what else Antonio might have planned, and we couldn't give him the time to do any more damage.

I rode with Alessandro and we took his car, since the warehouse that Antonio was currently working out of was under Alessandro's direct supervision. Seeing his car pull up wouldn't raise any alarms. Vinny followed behind us in his own car. We had him on speaker phone so that we could discuss our plan on the way.

It was a terribly simple plan, and it made me incredibly nervous to move forward with it.

It didn't take long to get to the warehouse. We could see that there were lights on inside and there were a couple of cars parked outside. I had a hard time believing that he would really be here this late at night. "Are you sure he'll still be at work?" I asked nervously.

"That's his car," Alessandro answered, indicating a nice deep blue car parked near the main entrance.

I took a deep breath. This was really happening then. We were going to confront the killer that had set Tallon up.

We got out of the car and walked confidently towards the entrance.

I reached into my purse and pulled out a rectangular device. I pressed a button on the device, and it clicked loudly. I replaced it in my bag and zipped it securely. Now, all I could do was hope that this plan worked.

Alessandro let us in, and I looked around the warehouse nervously. I didn't see a soul around, but the main level lights were on and there was music playing from somewhere.

Alessandro motioned for us to follow him, and we headed upstairs. He took us directly to the manager's office and banged loudly on the door.

Someone inside cursed at the abrupt knock and the door swung open to reveal a tall, older man with gray hair and a scraggly beard.

His dark eyes went wide when he saw the three of us standing before him. After taking a second to process, he stepped back and motioned for us to come in.

"It's late," he said gruffly. "What brings you all out here?"

"I think you know," Alessandro said in a tone that could only be described as disappointed.

I stood beside Alessandro and tried to keep my expression neutral. It was difficult given the stakes of my conversation.

In my purse was an old-fashioned cassette tape recorder. Alessandro had it in his car, for reasons that he refused to elaborate on. Our plan was to get Antonio talking. If he said something to implicate himself, then I could take the recording to the police and use it to get Tallon released, hopefully. It was a long shot, but it was the best chance we had to end this without more bloodshed.

My top priority was getting Tallon home, and I prayed that this would be enough.

"What's wrong?" Antonio asked with concern. "There haven't been more arrests, have there?"

"No," Vinny answered angrily. "Why, have you set anyone else up?"

There was

very tense silence for the next several seconds before Antonio laughed nervously. "What are you talking about?" he asked.

His eyes darted between Alessandro and Vinny.

"We know that it was you," I said. "You killed that man and you tricked Tallon into coming out in the middle of the night. Then you called the police, knowing that he would be arrested for it. You're not only a murderer. You're a traitor," I spat. "I'm a traitor?!" he demanded angrily. "You keep your mouth shut you Russian-"

"Watch yourself," Alessandro cut him off.

I lifted my chin proudly. Whatever he was about to call me, I knew it wasn't anything nice. He had a grudge against the Russians, so to him I was trash.

"You are a traitor," I repeated. "You betrayed Tallon."

"He betrayed me!" Antonio roared. "That bastard made peace with the Russians! All because he fell into bed with you. That Russian bastard deserved to die, just like the rest of them, and Tallon deserves to rot for turning his back on me and my boys!"

"That's enough."

Alessandro stepped in front of me protectively. I wanted to argue, but I couldn't. We had what we needed.

Vinny gently took me by the elbow and led me out of the office.

I hated leaving Alessandro alone with that creep, but I knew that he could protect himself.

Vinny rushed me to his car and handed me the keys.

"Get that tape to the police," he said. "We'll keep Antonio from leaving."

"I'll make it quick," I promised.

Vinny rushed back inside as I pulled out of the parking lot. As I drove, I pulled out the tape recorder and listened back to the recording. We could use it. There wasn't anything in the recording that could implicate the rest of the family in anything.

I tried my best not to speed as I drove, but it was difficult. My adrenaline had spiked, and the idea what I could finally free Tallon made it difficult to be patient.

I parked the car, then ran into the station. I was slightly breathless by the time I reached the front desk. The woman behind the desk looked at me skeptically.

"I need to speak to the detective in charge of Tallon Valentino's case," I demanded.

She raised her eyebrows at me but made no move to call the detective.

I took a deep breath and squeezed my eyes shut. If I didn't calm down, they were going to kick me out or arrest me.

"I'm sorry," I said calmly. "I'm a little frightened. I have evidence that the detective needs to see. Please, if he's here let him know that I need to talk to him."

She looked me over slowly, then grabbed the phone on her desk and hit a button. She spoke softly into the receiver, then hung up.

"Have a seat," she said, pointing to a row of plastic chairs nearby.

I wanted to argue, but I knew that it wouldn't do me any good. I walked to the chairs and sat down, then hugged my purse to my chest.

Vinny and Alessandro would hold him there for as long as it took. I just had to keep telling myself that.

I didn't know how much time had passed before a tall, stern looking man approached me. He glanced at the front desk, then looked back at me.

"Why didn't you just give your name?" he said in an irritated tone. "Follow me."

I stood and followed him through a door and into what I took to be an interrogation room. I sat down and pulled the cassette tape from my purse. Without a word, I pressed play.

The detective listened closely with a frown on his face. When the tape ended, he looked at me for a long, tense moment.

"Whose voice is that?"

"His name is Antonio," I said. "He works for Tallon's brother, Alessandro. I know where he is right now, and I can give you the address."

He tossed a pad of paper and pen onto the table in front of me.

I wrote down the address in the steadiest hand I could manage.

"I don't like this," he said firmly. "If there isn't some physical evidence to back this up, this tape won't be worth the twenty-five cents you paid for it, you understand?" I nodded my head.

"I'll look into it," he said. "You get out of here, but don't go too far."

"I won't," I promised.

I followed the detective back to the lobby area. He went to the front desk and whispered something to the woman there, then he vanished into the back again.

I stood there awkwardly for a few minutes, then stepped outside.

I glanced at the time on my phone and was shocked to see that it was nearly time for my meeting with Tallon. The jail wasn't far from the police station, so it wasn't really worth going home first. I went back to Vinny's car and drove to the jail. I waited in the car for a little over an hour before I got the signal that Tallon's guards were ready to sneak me in.

This was going to be a short meeting, but a few stolen minutes were everything to me lately, especially when I had such big news to share.

I followed the same procedure I had the last time. It was still dark in the courtyard when I was led outside, but I saw Tallon standing there immediately. I ran to him and jumped into his arms.

He caught me easily and held me close to him.

I wanted to cry, but I did my best to hold it back.

"We did it," I said over and over. "We found him."

He sat me down slowly and looked into my eyes in amazement. "You found the real killer?"

I nodded and a wide grin broke across my face. "We have proof and I've already turned it over to the detective. You'll be out in a matter of days, I know it."

Tallon surged forward and kissed me. I wrapped my arms around him and returned the kiss, but I couldn't contain my laughter.

"I'm so proud of you," Tallon said as he rested his forehead against mine. "You're incredible. I knew that I could leave things in your hands."

I kissed him again and tried to pull him in closer, but after a moment he pulled back.

"Let's not give them too much of a show," he said softly, glancing over my shoulder at the guards. "There will be plenty of time for that when I'm home."

Heat flooded through me as I thought about our reunion. I couldn't wait to show him exactly how much I had missed having him in my arms.

I grinned at him as my face flushed. "Soon," I said. "You'll be home soon, and I'll be waiting for you."

He looked over my shoulder and sighed deeply. "Given the circumstances, I can't risk getting caught out of my cell," he said sadly.

He was right. The detectives were going to be coming to talk to him about this revelation. He had to be on his best behavior now, so that they wouldn't have any reason to delay his release. I nodded. "I know. We have to go."

"We'll be together soon," he said. He kissed me once more lightly, then released me.

It was hard to walk away from him, but I knew that our separation was nearly at an end. We would be together again soon, and we could put this entire ugly mess behind us.