Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 638 -

*Caterina*

"Remember to stay safe and don't go off wandering by yourself." My mother lectured me through the phone, her voice still filled with the overbearing worry that she'd had when I was a kid.

"I know, Mom. I'm not a child anymore." I chuckled to myself, curling up a bundle of clothes and folding it within my already packed suitcase. I held my phone to one ear, nodding along to my mother as she prattled on how much she was going to miss me.

"When are you leaving?"

"In an hour or two. Don't worry so much. Elio will be with me, so it'll be okay. Plus, I can take care of myself now. I'll be perfectly safe," I reassured her, zipping up my bag with the last of my stuff and taking a seat on the bed. Mom scoffed on the other end of the line.

"I don't care if you're going to the Museum of Cotton and the walls, floors, and ceilings are covered head to toe with padding. I'm still going to worry about you because I'm your mother and that's what mothers do," she said quite firmly. "I'd like to see that, actually... might be fun for our next trip," I teased her, giggling at the image she created in my imagination a whole museum just for the use of cotton with a building just made of a giant cotton suit. It sounded fun to my inner child but incredibly impractical to the realistic adult in my head.

"Oh, I'm just going to miss you so much. It's the first New Year I've been away from you since you were born. I just can't believe I'm going to be alone this year." The sadness in her voice made me feel a little guilty, but I already knew she wasn't going to be alone.

"Alessandro's going to stay to help out the guards around you, and Elio's parents said they're having party tonight in LA. Valentino parties are legendary, so I'm sure he'd want to go. Plus, what about that guy you had a date with, Mom?" I was more than relieved to know that Alessandro had volunteered to help keep my mom safe while we were gone, especially with her new boyfriend.

Elio had told me how his aunt got kidnapped after dating somebody new, and that apparently it was a common way to lure out protected targets. I hated thinking of my mom as a target, but I hated even more thinking she could be in danger from some random guy I had yet to meet.

Alessandro promised to check out Mom's new boyfriend thoroughly, and though I wasn't quite sure what he meant by that, something illegal no doubt. I was thankful anyway.

I was starting to think that Elio's words weren't wrong after all. If Mom or I had gone to the police for protection, they wouldn't have been able to do anything since there was no proof of any wrongdoing.

But working outside of the law, I knew that justice for my Dad just might be possible.

"Alright, you two have fun, you hear me?" Mom chuckled over the phone. "But not too much fun, okay? And remember to use protection-"

"Mom!" I complained, my face burning with embarrassment.

"Fine, fine." She laughed. "I'll miss you, honey. Happy New Year."

"Happy New Year, Mom."

Once the call ended, I took a deep breath to gather my thoughts. The excitement in the pit of my stomach was still bubbling around and I grinned to myself, feeling so much freer now that everything was in the open.

It was like a veil had been lifted over my eyes, revealing all the colors and sites I couldn't see. I wasn't blind anymore. I could stand on equal ground with Elio and with my Mom. I could protect them like they had when I was a kid who didn't know anything.

And most importantly, I could feel closer to my dad. I'd spent so long being angry, feeling frustrated because he'd left, because he was rarely ever here for me and Mom, but now I knew the truth. He'd been protecting us from the mafia's dangers.

I fingered the locket around my neck, remembering the words engraved there, the ones he hadn't been able to get me, but that Elio had spent so much time and effort tracking down for me. "You ready?"

I looked up, pulled from my thoughts and Elio stood in the doorway, leaning against the wall with a smile on his lips.

"As I'll ever be," I said with a grin, getting to my feet. I lowered my suitcase to the floor, holding the handle so I could wheel it down. I shouldered my other bag, my carry-on, which really was more of a duffel bag that I'd inherited from my mom. It was fraying and the zipper was broken, but it still worked.

"Remind me to get you a new one." Elio made a face at my duffel bag, but he leaned out to grab it from me, hoisting it onto his shoulder instead. I laughed at the colorful bubblegum pink bag contrasting with his gray and black color scheme. "I like this one. It suits you." I laughed as we headed downstairs, my suitcase thumping on each step. Outside, a black sedan was waiting for us, and Elio waved for me to get in while he stuffed the trunk with the bags.

I buckled up and Elio took the seat beside me. The man driving had black sunglasses on, and I met his gaze in the rearview mirror. I gave an awkward wave, unsure if I should say hi or not, and he just nodded in return, his eyes back on the road as he adjusted the mirror.

I shrugged, buckling in just as Elio had.

"The airstrip isn't too far," Elio reassured me as we pulled out of the driveway and onto the road. I spent my time scrolling on social media and checking my email and soon enough, we arrived at the airstrip.

The moment I got out, my jaw dropped to the ground.

I'd never seen a private jet before, except for in movies, but this one was absolutely stunning. It was much bigger than I thought it would be but nothing like a regular airplane. They had rolled out a red carpet up to the stairs and while I was staring in awe, Elio nonchalantly grabbed my duffel.

I spotted a few men loading our other luggage onto the plane and Elio grabbed my hand, tugging me up the carpet. I carefully went up the stairs, even more shocked once I saw the interior.

It was like a fancy hotel crammed inside of a long hallway, with fancy recliners with large pull-out tables. There was even a whole ass couch, and from what I spotted in the back, a bathroom with all the amenities. "Impressed?" Elio smirked at me, as I took in the jet with wide eyes.

"Absolutely!" I said excitedly.

He chuckled, helping me to one of the seats. He stuffed my duffle above us, locking the compartment with a key which he tucked into his jacket. "My dad always owned his own jet, so I've been flying in them for a long time. I was obsessed with planes and jets when I was a kid, so that's how my dad got into models. He used to build a new model plane with me every year on his birthday."

"That's sweet." I grinned, taking a seat.

Elio took the one next to me, taking the moment for us to get comfortable.

"Yeah, well, he could be sweet when he wanted to be." Elio chuckled. "After Mom and Dad left Italy and the family behind, Dad became kind of a stay-at-home dad. He still had the company, but he mainly worked in the evenings and late after hours, meetings and all that. Mom did all the work at the company herself."

I gave him a bright smile, happy to hear about part of his childhood. He gazed over at me, his cheeks burning as he scratched the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Sorry, I said too much," he mumbled.

"No, I'm happy to hear about it." I grabbed his hand, beaming. "You know almost everything about me, so it's nice to hear when you were a kid and weren't as well put together as you are now."

"Well put together," he scoffed, grinning. "I'm still an absolute mess. That's why I love you so much." He laced our fingers together, keeping his heated eyes on me as he pulled my hand to his lips, delicately laying a kiss there.

"Flirt," I smirked. "Only with you."

The preparations for the jet finished up and the same guard who had driven us there climbed in, folding the plane door closed behind him. He took his seat toward the front and Elio helped me replace the seatbelts. Once we were ready, the jet started to move and I clutched his hand tightly, nervous and excited as we took off into the sky.

I spent the few hours of the ride trying to guess where we were going, and Elio passed out a few hints with a grin, letting me curl around in my chair as I could lay my head on his shoulder, watching the clouds pass by out the window. "Is it sunny there?" I guessed, softly. "Like LA is? Could it be Florida?"

"Nope. It's actually snowing there this time of year."

"What are they known for? New York's known for pizza, right? Is it New York?"

"It's not New York." He chuckled. "But they do have a lot of good food."

"And it's not too far away? We're not heading to Asia, are we?"

"The flight is only an hour and thirty minutes, real short, and we're not leaving the country, I promise."

"Minnesota."

"I said it's snowing this time of the year, not all year." He laughed.

Despite my best sleuth skills, I couldn't figure it out in the short flight. Soon enough, we were touching down and right as the jet came to a halt, the speaker lit up. "This is your pilot speaking. Welcome to Lake Tahoe."

I gasped, immediately climbing to look out the window but all I could see was the gray of the airstrip and a forest of trees around us, each covered with blankets of white snow.

"We're in Nevada?" I asked with sparkling eyes.

"On the border, but yes." He laughed.

I beamed, practically bursting with excitement as we made our way from the jet and to the car waiting for us. Our luggage was carried with us, and I stared out the window as we started the long drive to the north side of the lake. Lake Tahoe was beautiful, with snowy, forested fields with no sign of the large, towering buildings I was used to or the mansions on every street corner. It was simply perfect.

"Cat, there's the house we're using. We'll also have a private chef." Elio pointed out toward the vacation villa sitting just off the side of the lake, built right into the mountainside. Under all the snow, it was almost hard to see if not for the unusually bright colors of the painted exterior-bright blues and blacks among the white and green.

"Is there skiing? Swimming? Water-skiing?" The visions of my imagination bounced in my head.

Elio chuckled, throwing an arm around my shoulder and pressing a kiss to my temple. "Later. First, we're going to the spa. You're probably stiff from the flight and the car ride, right?"

"I am," I smiled, snuggling into his chest. "But then you teach me how to ski."

"Deal."