Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 663 -

*Elio*

I woke with a start in pitch-black nothingness, sitting up straight and looking around in the darkness, my eyes struggling to adjust. Confusion fell over me as I took in the unfamiliar surroundings of our new bedroom, but Cat's sleeping form next to me immediately settled my heart.

I reached out and gently laid my hand on her back, feeling her deep breaths in and out as she slept peacefully. She was so gorgeous, wearing nothing but one of my T-shirts. At some point in her sleep, the shirt had gotten pushed up so that I had a great view of the backs of her thighs.

I would've loved to trace my hand around those gorgeous thighs, but I knew she needed her sleep. She hadn't been getting enough lately between her classes and worrying about me and her mother. My heart always squeezed with concern when I saw the little smudges of darkness beneath her eyes in the morning.

Her hair trailed behind her on the pillow, and I couldn't stop myself from running my fingers through it. Her silky locks were always so enticing to me. They were so soft and luxurious, I loved feeling them on my skin.

When she stirred slightly, I finally forced myself to pull away and figure out exactly what had woken me. I glanced at my phone to see the screen still lit up with Leo's name and grabbed it, hoping that he had good news for me.

Not wanting to wake Cat, I snuck out of bed and walked out onto the balcony that surrounded our entire penthouse. The night air was shocking on my bare chest, but it invigorated me in the best way.

I called Leo back and he answered quickly, unwilling to waste any time. I began pacing back and forth.

"Alright, man, the guys we sent to watch the safe houses saw Paul go into one of them. I have the address right here," he said.

"Oh, hell yeah, that's great news," I answered.

"The only problem is we still haven't seen Antonio. And at this point that slimy fucker could be anywhere. I wouldn't put it past him to have fled the States entirely."

His voice was gruff with nervousness. I knew he was just as desperate to bring down Antonio as I was.

"Hm, I don't think that sounds like him," I said to calm Leo. "He's on a mission to destroy us. He wouldn't run away. I still think we should be happy that we've got eyes on Junior. With how much he knows about Caterina, I hate him running around unchecked."

"Yeah, me too, man," he audibly shuddered. "Gives me the creeps to know he lied to her about his identity for so long."

I appreciated that Leo cared almost as much about Cat's safety as I did. It made me feel better knowing that she had so many people looking out for her, especially now that she was insisting that she be a part of all of this.

It still felt wrong to let her know so much, but she was right. I had to let her in. She was a valuable resource between her knowledge and her willingness to get the information she needed from people. It still didn't make me feel better about letting her be put in danger.

"Thanks for the heads up. Alright, we need to keep watching all the safe houses. Surely Antonio will show up at some point. And besides that, we'd better keep an eye on Junior at all times. I want him to be trailed by at least two people 24/7." Really, I would've preferred to have at least three guys on Junior, but I knew that wasn't possible with our current manpower. I took a mental note to ask Alessandro about recruiting a few more guys.

"You got it. The guys are hungry for a win at this point. I know they've got this under control," Leo said coldly.

I almost felt sorry for the poor bastards who got in our way. I knew it had been so long since we'd been able to retaliate that we were all out for blood. There was a limit to our restraint, and we were coming close to it. "That's good to hear," I said simply, knowing that he knew I was just as bloodthirsty as him.

We had entered this life slowly, but now we were fully in it. My family was under attack, and I wasn't going to let anyone get in my way of protecting them. This was too important.

Leo grunted his agreement. "Alright, now go enjoy that fancy new apartment with your girl. I'll let you know if there's anything else."

I chuckled and hung up, glancing back through the glass door to catch a glimpse of Caterina. She was still sleeping soundly, barely covered by the blanket. Her body was so enticing, especially after talking to Leo about people who wanted to put her in danger.

I was overwhelmed with the desire to wrap myself around her and reassure myself that she was safe, but again I knew I couldn't allow my desires to win through. She needed her sleep, and now that we lived together in our own place, we'd have plenty of time to enjoy each other.

Instead, I decided to calm myself by wandering over to the bar cart in the living room. The doors to the living room swung inward so that they could be left open on nice days. I carefully let myself in, holding the knob to shut it so I wouldn't make a noise.

I knew Caterina would jump awake if she heard a strange noise in the house. The poor thing had been especially jumpy after Antonio's men had trashed her old house. I knew she had nightmares about being there when it happened. Our bar cart was sparse; we hadn't exactly prioritized getting booze, but there was an aged bottle of whiskey that my father had given me to celebrate our new home. I poured myself a little more than a shot's worth, just enough to calm my buzzing nerves.

Usually when I felt like this, I preferred to go for a run or take my nicest car out for a drive, but I knew I couldn't leave Cat like that. I knew she'd be scared if she woke up and I was gone, and then she'd be pissed because she'd assume I had gone somewhere to do business without her.

I walked back out onto the balcony with my drink, taking a sip as I stared out over the city. The lights were twinkling as brightly as ever, and I knew that somewhere out there, Antonio was hiding from me. The thought made me flex my hand. I wanted nothing more than to get that sorry piece of shit into one of our warehouses and make him regret everything he'd ever done to my family. I took another sip of the whiskey, trying to let the burn warm the cold thoughts that had invaded my head.

I still didn't like working with Alexi. It felt dangerous to trust someone who had formerly worked for Antonio, but I had to admit, his intel had been good so far.

I just wanted to replace a way to get him to work with me instead of Cat. The fact that he seemed to only want to deal with her made me uncomfortable. It just made me worry that it was a "Paul" situation all over again.

But I knew I had to stop thinking of her as being so fragile. If I continued this way, desperate to protect her from everything that could possibly put her in harm's way, I would lose her. She wanted us to be equal partners, and I wanted that too. I just knew it would kill me if she ever got hurt on my watch. It had never been her decision to be a part of the mafia life. It was only because of her father and now because of me that she had anything to do with any of this, and that weighed heavily on my heart.

I wanted what was best for her, and she insisted that it was best for her to be able to get involved in this life as much as possible. Although that didn't feel true to me, I had to accept it. She would never believe that I didn't see her as a child anymore if I continued on my path of desperate protection.

I had to let her make her own choices.

I wondered if I should tell her about the intel Leo had given me. I knew she'd want to know that we had eyes on Junior, but at the same time we didn't have anything concrete. I didn't want to get her hopes up only to have to give her bad news later.

It was agonizing trying to decide how much to tell her. I never wanted her to think I was hiding things from her ever again, but at the same time, I wanted to ensure that her mental health was protected. Fuck, this relationship shit was so much harder than I had thought it would be. She was the absolute perfect woman, and I was terrified that I would mess it all up. The idea of her ever wanting to leave this penthouse and me being forced to live here alone... that was inconceivable. I could never let that happen.

I finished the rest of my drink in one deep swallow and finally decided that I would at least wait to tell her about Junior until she finished her summer classes. She needed to focus on her finals right now, and the last thing I wanted was to distract her with something that might not even pan out.

I hoped we would have eyes on Antonio by then as well, so I could present the pair of them to her on a silver platter. I would gladly do anything she asked of me when it came to them. If she wanted me to torture them, I would in a heartbeat. I took my empty glass to the kitchen and sat it in the sink before making my way back to our bedroom. As I snuck in, the door made a noise and Caterina sat up in bed. Shit. I felt horrible for waking her, but at least I would be able to help her fall back asleep.

"What's going on?" she asked drowsily.

"Nothing, baby. I just had to get some fresh air. Lay back down."

She snuggled back into the covers, readjusting them so that her body was actually under them this time. I happily crawled back in behind her and pulled her to my chest, settling a kiss in the curve of her neck. I would do anything for her.