Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 661 -

*Caterina*

My heart drummed in my chest like the beat of a club blaring over the speakers, or the loud warning of a siren screaming over the city about to be hit by a natural disaster. I drummed my fingers on the steering wheel, trying to keep my wits about me as I drove through the streets as fast as I could while still being mindful of the laws.

I hadn't even bothered to call the guards. I'd just gotten out of there.

The hair on my skin was standing straight up, and goosebumps had erupted over my arms as I finally saw our apartment building come into view. I breathed a sigh of relief, despite knowing I still had to get inside before I was truly safe, and I got into the lane to turn.

Impatiently, I glanced at the passing cars before I turned and hurriedly turned the wheel when I saw a flash of silver from the corner of my eye. I hit the brake out of pure instinct, the car screeching to a halt and sending me full force into the steering wheel. My seatbelt burned across my chest as it kept me from going through the windshield but just narrowly, I saw a car pass behind me, only an inch or two from hitting me.

If I had finished my turn, I no doubt would've been crushed like a pancake.

My nerves, already shot to death, had me one inch from spiraling into a panic attack. I took a long deep breath, finishing my turn slowly and carefully. I pulled into the parking garage attached to the apartment, flashing the pass Elio had given

me.

The guards there made me feel safer.

I was directed straight up to the second level of the garage where I finally parked. But this area was empty, and though my mind knew no one could be there without getting past the guards, the fear was starting to take over. My hands trembled as I pocketed the keys and threw my backpack on, shutting the door and locking it.

I made my way across to the stairs, eyes flickering to every corner, watching warily for anything that might suddenly burst out to send my heart straight into a full attack. I felt like I was in a horror movie, just waiting to be killed as I approached the entrance.

I calmed down a bit as I entered the building, and I gave a shaky wave to the doorman. He nodded in response, opening the elevator for me.

"You alright?" he asked, concerned when I passed by.

I swallowed, nodding as I hugged my arms around my waist, feeling like the worst liar in the world. He gave me a worried look, leaned into the elevator to press the top floor, and stepped out.

"Have a good night, Miss Caterina," he said kindly, his face disappearing as the elevator doors shut.

I breathed a deep sigh, trying to calm down as I shakily pulled out my card, sliding it into the reader.

The light turned green, allowing access to the floor and I waited as patiently as I could as the numbers counted up, sending me straight to my floor. When the doors opened, I ran off the elevator, not waiting for it to leave as I entered our penthouse.

"Elio?" I called out urgently, searching the living room and then the kitchen.

I moved quickly through the house, trying my best to replace my boyfriend before I burst through the door to our bedroom, breathing heavily as I felt like I just run a marathon.

"Okay, get it ready and I'll talk to them," Elio said cooly, the phone stuck to his ear as he gazed out the window. His shoes were by the door and he was in his socks and his slacks, his white shirt unbuttoned and flowing open.

He looked completely relaxed, not even noticing me until I raced across the room, throwing my backpack onto the floor and tackling him from behind.

"I'll be there-fuck-"

He broke off, barely keeping his balance as I threw my arms around his waist, clutching him like he was the only thing to keep me from falling off a cliff. I shut my eyes, trembling as I hugged him from behind, unable to move even if I knew he was busy right now.

"Cat? What's-" His voice trailed off. "I'll call you back."

He ended the phone call and threw it carelessly onto the bed, not even caring as it bounced off the mattress and hit the floor.

He turned around, not peeling me off as he wrapped me into a hug and I breathed a sigh of relief, finally feeling myself beginning to calm down.

I was safe.

"Cat, what's wrong?" He cupped my cheeks in his hands, lifting my teary eyes to meet his worried ones. "What happened, baby?"

I sniffed and opened my mouth to start but nothing came out. My lips only trembled. Elio acted immediately, lifting me behind the knees and holding me like a princess as he quickly transferred us to the bed, holding me in his arms as I slowly calmed down.

And once my heart had matched his rhythm and I no longer felt like I was losing control of everything, I spilled everything. Elio listened calmly and patiently as I told him about Alexi approaching me, how nervous I felt, and what he had told

me.

I even handed him over the slip of paper, telling him word for word what he said and how he knew things about me, especially about Mom getting injured. By the time I was done, my voice was hoarse, and I was tired enough that I had gone boneless in his arms, shutting my eyes as I leaned against his chest.

"You did good, Cat," Elio whispered once I went quiet, placing a kiss on the top of my head. "You protected yourself and came home safe and sound. That's all you needed to do."

"Is... is he telling the truth?" I mumbled, exhaustedly. "Does he really know what happened? How does he know about Antonio and Junior? Was there a leak or "

"It doesn't matter," Elio said firmly, a sharp anger in his voice. "This is my fault. I should've had a guard actually watching you instead of setting it up where you had to call them. I thought they'd be in hiding, not brave enough to make a big move again so soon."

"You think he's working for them?" I paled, pulling away with wide eyes. "That's how he knows? That he was part of them?"

"Probably. I told you they hired a lot of runaways, right? A lot of them went missing, were killed, but a small handful defected pretty early on. I'm betting he's one of them," Elio said coldly.

Elio's eyes were full of a burning anger, not directed at me but at Antonio and Junior, who kept invading our lives again and again. I was glad to have him by my side, to have him be so furious in my stead while I felt vulnerable.

I had never expected to be approached at my own school and it had me shaken a bit, but this wasn't the time for me to fall apart. I vowed to be strong enough to deal with all of this. I wanted in, and I had to prove I could handle it.

I slid out of his lap, pulling my phone out of my pocket. I debated for half a second and then grabbed the slip of paper I gave Elio, glancing at the number.

"Whatever his story, he knows about Antonio and Junior, so he might be able to lead us to them, or at the very least give us new information on where they are hiding or what their plans are. It's worth a try," I said with no debate left in my voice.

I could see by the sour look on his face that Elio didn't like this plan.

He just sighed though, wrapping his arms around my waist tightly and holding me like I was a teddy bear. I rolled my eyes but leaned back into his embrace, not wanting to admit how much it helped me feel safer.

"If you want me to have a guard watching closely, I'm okay with it," I conceded, giving him a small smile over my shoulder. "But you have to help come up with an excuse that Anna will buy in return, deal?" "Deal." He kissed my shoulder.

With Elio behind me, I took a deep breath and called the number, quickly switching to the speaker so we could both listen in.

"I knew you'd come around," Alexi's voice answered, as bright and energetic as when he first surprised me in the parking lot. "Miss Caterina."

"How'd you know it was me?" I asked suspiciously.

"You're the only one who has this number," he said simply. "I'm not stupid enough to use my real number, no matter how it might look to you." "How do you know Antonio?"

"Ah, right to the source, that's fine."

I could hear him moving around over the phone.

"Well, the easy answer is that I was part of his crew. Stupid to get involved with guys like him, I know. but Antonio found me and well, he paid good money. I'm broke and in college, so I needed the money, plus I had a few skills he liked." "What skills?" Elio demanded over my shoulder.

There was an awkward pause and then I heard Alexi cough to break the tension. "Sorry, I wasn't expecting you to have your boyfriend on the call too. But uh, I'm guessing you are Elio? Junior talked a lot about you." "Good things, I hope?" Elio smirked.

"Not really," Alexi chuckled awkwardly. "But uh, well, I'm a foster kid. Grew up in this neighborhood, so I know the place like the back of my hand. Plus, I've got a special ability to disappear whenever I want to. Part of the reason I got out and the other guys didn't."

"Why'd you leave? Did he stop paying you?" I asked sarcastically.

"As if." He snorted. "No, I left on my own aoford. Once I saw what they did to you and your mom, and how they treated you despite being innocent, I couldn't do it anymore. Both of them are some nasty pieces of work and Junior in particular -he's got some rather in-depth ideas of what he wants to do with you."

Elio's hands tightened around my waist.

"I felt like I had to warn you, to get that bastard," Alexi continued. "My own little version of fighting back. I'm going to text you some addresses-safe houses that they were using and common places he and Antonio liked to hang out. I'm betting they're still using some of them. Wish I could do more, but after this call ends, this phone goes dead, and 'Alexi' will disappear."

"Noted," Elio said roughly.

"Good luck, Caterina, and you, too, Elio. I hope you catch that rat bastard."

The call went dead. Only a few seconds later, my phone dinged with a new message, and I opened it up. There was a list of more than twenty addresses, all in alphabetical order. Elio took over from there, quickly forwarding the text to himself. He had to move to fish his phone off the floor and quickly forwarded the text to Leo. He called him really quick, saying simply, "Look into the addresses in the text I just sent you. We got a tip." "What the "

I heard Leo's loud voice over the phone, and then it cut off as Elio tossed his phone away like it was nothing once more.

I laughed, turning around in his arms so I was straddling his lap as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"See what happens when you let me be involved? I get shit done." I grinned.

He rolled his eyes but buried his head into my shoulder, holding me tightly like a content wildcat. "Fine, fine, you're right. I'm wrong. You're still too cold. Let me warm you up." He grinned mischievously as his hand dipped lower than my waist.