Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 641 -

*Elio*

I couldn't help but feel a twinge of pride at the look of angry determination in Cat's eyes as we discussed what we were going to do to Antonio. I loved how fierce she was. She would never be the type who cowered away from her problems, she was determined to face them head-on.

Even though the thought of her getting more involved in this than she already terrified me, I had to admit that it was a turn-on to watch her demand to take part in it.

Alessandro nodded at me, then turned to make a few more phone calls. Caterina looked up at me as if she was just waiting for me to let her loose on Antonio. I smiled at her and reached my hand out to cup her cheek.

It enraged me to see what Antonio's men had done to her home, and although I hated that it had happened while Matilde was here, I was overwhelmingly glad that I'd taken Cat away for the weekend. It made bile rise in my stomach just to imagine Antonio's men sneaking into Cat's house while she slept peacefully. I wasn't sure I would ever be able to let her sleep on her own again.

"I need to call Leo. He wants to be a part of this," I told Cat, moving my hand from her cheek to her shoulder.

I squeezed slightly, comforting myself with the fact that she was safe with me. I had been on the fence about joining the mafia life, but now I knew that trying to keep Caterina safe just might be enough to push me over the edge. I was more determined than ever to rid the world of anyone who would dare to threaten her safety, starting with Antonio.

"Alright," she said. "I probably should go talk to my mom anyway."

She wandered off, giving me privacy for my call. I appreciated that she was finally trusting me enough to not want to eavesdrop on every phone call. I felt guilty about the fact that it was my own lies that had gotten her to that point.

It felt so much better now that we had everything out in the open. I felt like an idiot for hiding everything from her for so long. She was right. The more she knew, the safer she could keep herself.

I pulled out my phone and called Leo. He picked up quickly.

"Hey man," I said, avoiding any small talk. "There's been an incident. Antonio and his men made a direct threat to Caterina and Matilde. We're talking options now and I'm going to need you soon."

I didn't want to get too detailed on the phone. It was always best to only get into specifics in person. You never knew who could be listening in.

"I'll be ready, just let me know when," he said simply before hanging up. He knew how I felt about phone calls.

I always knew he'd have my back. I was glad he was in this with me every step of the way. We hung up and I walked out of the room, searching for Cat. She had wandered up to her bedroom while on the phone with her mother. When she heard me come in, she turned around. I shut the door behind me to give us a few moments of privacy.

"Alright, I love you, Mom," she said before hanging up.

She looked at me with tears shining in her eyes.

"I could've lost her," she whispered.

In two quick steps, I crossed the room and wrapped her in my arms. I knew that the shock of everything was wearing off and now that she had spoken to her mom, she was finally processing the true horror of what could have happened. Cat collapsed against my chest, letting me hold her up. Her entire body shook with her sobs. I held her and rubbed my hands up and down her back, desperate to provide her with some sort of comfort. I wished more than anything that we had the time for me to carry her to her bed and hold her until she felt safe again, but time was of the essence.

"Hey, it's okay," I murmured. "Everyone's okay, baby. Everyone's safe."

I must have repeated the word "safe" a few dozen times before finally her crying slowed down and she was able to take a few deep breaths.

"That's it, just breathe with me," I told her, keeping my breathing even and slow. She pulled away from me slightly and wiped self-consciously at her eyes.

"God, I don't know what that was about," she said, her breath hitching slightly.

I wiped the remaining tears from her face and rubbed at her makeup where it had smudged slightly. She gave me a watery smile, visibly embarrassed about her emotional outburst.

"I'm glad you feel comfortable enough to let me see how you really feel," I told her. "I know it's hard for you to be vulnerable with anyone. It means a lot to me that you trust me like that."

"I'm just glad you're here, Elio," she said. "I don't think I tell you that enough."

Her words warmed my heart. I didn't know how much I needed to hear them until she had said them. I really did know that she loved me, but being loved and being liked and appreciated were two separate things. Knowing that she liked and appreciated me made me feel far more secure in our relationship.

I hadn't really consciously realized it, but I had spent a lot of time feeling slightly insecure about whether or not she really wanted me around. I supposed it had to do with the many times that she had screamed in my face to leave her alone. "I'll always be here for you," I told her earnestly, and I meant it.

I had always been there for her, and I always would. There was nobody else for me but her. She was the most important person in my life.

She nestled back against my chest, and I took a second to revel in the comfort of her touch, but I knew that every second that passed was just more time for Antonio and his men to prepare for our retaliation. With a sigh, I pulled away. "I don't think you can stay here anymore," I said gently, knowing she would fight if she thought I was trying to boss her around.

"I don't think I'd want to anyway, knowing that they could so easily get in." She shuddered.

I nodded, neither of us needed to go down that train of thought. It was terrifying, to say the least. I took her hand and led us both back down to the living room, where Alessandro was finishing up a phone call.

"That was Gio," he said after he hung up. "I wanted him to know what our plans are. He agreed that this needs to happen. Now, I've already got a safe house set up, so we just need to get Cat and Matilde there. Cat, can you pack for the both of you? If you forget something, I can send someone to pick up more stuff. But I want us all to leave here soon. I don't want to give Antonio's men a chance to put a tail on us."

Caterina nodded and rushed off to pack a few bags for herself and her mother. Within moments, she rejoined us in the living room with two giant suitcases trailing behind her. Alessandro's men were already on their way to the safehouse with Matilde, so the three of us got into Alessandro's car and made our way there as well.

"Where are you guys going after this?" Caterina asked suspiciously as we drove.

"We're going to go do some surveillance," Alessandro answered.

"Take me with you," she insisted.

Alessandro scoffed and shook his head. I knew he was pretty old-fashioned when it came to his desire to keep women out of the family business, but the way he was acting was only going to make Caterina more determined to start arguing. It wasn't that I didn't want her involved just because she was a woman. I just didn't want to have to worry about her safety on top of my own.

"Cat, someone needs to be with your mom," I said soothingly. "I promise, we won't do anything without you."

She stared into my eyes, seemingly trying to sense whether I was lying. I stared right back.

"Fine. But promise me that nothing happens unless I'm there!" she demanded.

I chuckled and held out my pinky. "I pinky promise."

In spite of her attempt to keep her face angry, her mouth quirked up at the gesture. She laughed as she held her hand out and tangled her pinky with mine. "This is ridiculous," she said.

I couldn't argue with that.

Too soon, we were at the safehouse, and it was time for me to leave Caterina with her mother. After the events of the day, I really didn't want to leave her at all, but I knew it was for the best. I needed to be able to put all my attention into the task at hand.

Alessandro and I headed to get Leo. I texted him to be outside waiting for us so that we could quickly get him and go. He slid into the backseat behind me. Before taking off again, Alessandro said, "Leo, hand me that black bag next to you." Leo followed his instructions. From the bag, Alessandro pulled out two sleek handguns, both charcoal colored and polished enough to remove any serial numbers.

"Both of you need to carry these at all times. You're going to need them now. No sense in being caught like you were last time," Alessandro said gruffly.

I took the gun as he handed it to me, impressed by the weight of it in spite of its small size. I tucked it into the back of my waistband as I had seen my own father do when I was much younger. The metal was cool against my skin, but it quickly warmed.

Before long, I was used to the feel of it against my back. I knew that it was like another body part now. I would keep it on me every single day. I glanced back to look at Leo and could tell he was having similar thoughts. The road we had been slowly going down was quickly getting to a point of no return.

Alessandro pulled into the parking lot of an unassuming building that looked like it was a few offices. When we got inside, I realized that it was yet another front for the family. Alessandro's men milled about inside, laughing and talking. When Alessandro walked in, they all quieted quickly and turned to face him, waiting for him to address them all.

Alessandro turned to me and smiled broadly.

"Welcome home, Elio."