Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 666 -

*Caterina*

I couldn't breathe.

I couldn't think straight.

I couldn't even replace the strength to make it through the whole interrogation.

Somewhere between, what seemed like, the tenth and twentieth attempt to get Antonio's man to give us even just a piece of viable info I left the room. I had to.

There was no way my nerves were capable of handling another moment of it all. Between the agonizing silence and hearing Elio lose his temper, I was fairly certain that it was going to end up in another bloodbath.

I was just waiting for the final nerve to snap inside of him and watch him send his fist hurling through the air. Or maybe one of the men was getting ready to pull a gun or throw a blade at the guy.

I didn't know what frightened me more the unbreakable tension or the way that Elio shifted his entire demeanor for the sake of potentially gathering information.

Where did this side of him come from? Did it always exist? How come I'd never seen it growing up?

Growing up with Elio protecting me, I was certainly enough of a pain all on my own that I could have undoubtedly brought this side of him out.

But no. This unseen version of Elio was cold... unhinged... disturbingly ruthless. It was almost impossible to think that he was the same man I'd fallen in love with.

That made it all the more painful when I forcibly pulled myself away. I left the main room without so much as a single word and headed straight for the doors. I bared the weight and pushed my way out until I could feel the cool air hit my face. Only then did I feel like I could officially breathe again.

Why? Why the hell did Elio think that I needed to be a part of something like this?

The whole process was maddening at best. Even though no one necessarily acknowledged my presence, I felt as though it was wrong to be standing there witnessing it all happen like some kind of phantom.

This was not how I thought my day would go.

I leaned back against the wall behind me and took several deep breaths. I folded my shaky hands under my arms and pushed down the nausea that swirled in the pit of my stomach. Aside from the queasiness that made me sway, I was totally tongue-tied from the shock of it all.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted my car that was still parked just a few yards away.

'What if I just got in my car and left?' I asked myself.

Surely, I could just text Elio and tell him that something had come up and I needed to head back to the apartment.

'But wouldn't that be considered lying then?'

Even if it was just a white lie to escape the current moment, I couldn't do it, not when I'd put Elio through the wringer about secrets and purposely keeping things from me.

I needed to stick this out.

As long as Junior and Antonio remained in hiding, I needed to keep a firm standing in all of this.

The doors of the warehouse suddenly opened. Elio came rushing out, frantically turning his head to look around.

"Elio," I mumbled under my breath.

He snapped his head around to replace me breathless. His eyes held a sense of worrying and concern that managed to crack away at his stoic demeanor from earlier. I was beginning to see the Elio that I knew beneath the mask.

He took a few steps toward me but noticed how my body tensed up. My trepidation must have shattered what was left of his stoney behavior because he refused to hold himself back. He reached out his arms and practically hauled me into his chest.

"Caterina." He hummed my name to soothe me.

I lifted my hands to press against the planes of his chest to get some space between us. But Elio was not having any of it. He tightened his grip and held me closer.

"Is it easy for you?" I asked quietly.

"Is 'what' easy?"

"Being able to turn off your emotions when you need to," I explained.

My mouth felt dry and my neck grew sore. I felt him go stiff against me, giving me the chance to pull back a little. He angled his head down to look down at me through softened eyes.

I truly didn't know what to make of the business that was going on here. Worst of all, I didn't know how I felt about Elio's ability to switch his emotions off like a machine on a moment's notice. Was this how people were supposed to be in this type of lifestyle-cold and cut throat?

'God, this whole situation better have been worth it,' I thought to myself.

I wanted to believe that was. Maybe the man had finally told us something of value after I'd already left the room... something, anything. Any piece of information was better than nothing at all. This awful sensation that seemed like it was ready to take up permanent residency in my chest was an ongoing reminder that this whole mess needed to end.

What kind of life could Elio and I possibly have if we were always going to be looking over our shoulders for fear of a possible attack?

No. I refused to allow that kind of fear to rule my mind and ruin any chances of a peaceful future with my family.

Antonio needed to be stopped on all accounts, no matter what. If this was what needed to be done for it to happen, then so be it.

Elio slowly nodded his head. His expression was solemn as he went on to speak.

"No, it's not. I don't like it and it makes me feel sick. But I know it's required sometimes," he explained.

I nodded my head and tried to let the tension in my muscles relax. Elio started to rub small circles over my back while resting his chin on top of my head.

"At least now we know Antonio isn't even stateside. Hopefully, he'll offer more now too."

My eyes widened as a sharp gasp slipped from my lips. "You mean you actually got something out of that guy?"

Elio's mouth curved and nodded his head in pride. "Yup. Not too long after you slipped out, we actually got him to talk."

I scoffed in disbelief. "What did you do, threaten to shoot him if he wasn't willing to open his mouth?"

He raised his brows and tilted his head in silent contemplation of answering my question.

"Elio!"

"Relax, love. No one was shot at." He chuckled. "I will say that a few empty threats were tossed around for a bit of a dramatic effect, but nothing too serious."

I narrowed my eyes on him in heavy skepticism.

"I'm serious, Cat. How am I supposed to interrogate someone if they're on the brink of death?"

I didn't even want to dignify that question with a literal answer. All that truly mattered was that they got something real out of the guy.

To hear that Antonio wasn't even in the country should have made me feel a bit more at ease. But I found that it only left me wanting to know more. If he wasn't in the country, then where the hell else could he have gone? It wasn't likely that he'd go back to Italy given Alessandro's position there. Right?

And aside from Antonio's current position, I was fairly certain that the man inside hadn't mentioned anything pertaining to Junior.

'Just because Antonio was out of the picture for time being, doesn't necessarily mean that Junior is with him. He could still very much be floating around,' I thought bitterly.

Elio dropped his arms and took my hand in his. He led me over to his car.

"We should head home," he suggested while opening the car door for me.

I slid into the passenger seat without so much as a debating thought. He rounded to the other side and took his spot behind the wheel.

"I'll have Leo drive your car back to the apartment," he said before I even got the chance to inquire about my own car.

I clutched my bag to my chest and nodded my head. I was happy to leave, and no way was I going to delay our departure any longer than necessary. In all that had happened, I wanted nothing more than to go home and lay down.

But the reality of my situation came back to haunt me. I still had my finals to study for.

The thought of trying to hunker down and give even a half hour of my focus to something made my head ache.

We spent the majority of the car ride back in complete silence. By the halfway point, Elio took his right hand off the wheel and drew it over to my side. He curled his fingers around my thighs and gently squeezed every so often.

I briefly closed my eyes and let the warmth of his touch comfort me until we arrived back at the apartment complex. Elio pulled the car into its designated spot and turned off the ignition. Just as I was about to get out, he broke the silence between us.

"Caterina."

I drew my brows together in question. "Yes?"

"You don't have to do that again if you don't want to," he said. "Just because you may decide that you don't want any physical part in this business doesn't mean that you won't be involved at all."

I admired his reasoning for wanting me to be involved in this whale matter, but a large part of me wondered if this was a test to see if I had what it took to be involved.

Was I strong enough to handle the entire truth of things? My mother's words, 'ignorance is bliss' was really beginning to make sense in my mind. Maybe I didn't need to be a part of everything. "There are some things that I'm willing to let you protect me from," I told him.

Elio nodded his head with true enthusiasm. "You know that's all I want," he admitted with a smile.

I let out a sigh and sagged back into the seat. "Maybe I'm not entirely cut out for the physical end of things, you know? I mean, not that I really did anything but stand there and listen. But I think I'd much rather be the brains."

We got out of the car and headed for the main doors of the building. I took my phone out of my bag and dreaded checking the time. How much time had I lost during this unexpected venture today? And exactly how much studying was I going to have to make up to feel prepared for tomorrow?

Elio led us over to the elevators and pressed the button to our private level.

He rubbed my shoulders. "When we get in, I'll run you a bath. How does that sound?" he asked.

I glanced over my shoulder, barely looking at him.

"I'm afraid I'll have to pass."

"Why's that?"

"Because my finals for this summer are tomorrow," I said pointedly.

The doors to the elevator slid open and I could feel the intense stare of Elio's eyes in the back of my head as I moved forward.