Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 695 -

*Caterina*

He was going to stay there and send me away. My brows pulled together in confusion. What the hell was he talking about? My lips parted. As I was getting ready to speak, Elio instantly cut me off with a tone that was both concerning and stern.

"I'm having someone take you back to the apartment," he stated. "This is not up for discussion, Caterina."

My stomach twisted in knots. As much as I wanted to stand there and argue, I honestly didn't have it in me to try.

'He's not shutting me out,' I told myself. 'After everything that's gone on, Elio is not trying to push me away... he's merely trying to gain control of the situation again. And the last thing he needs to worry about is me.'

I asked about his plan before I left. Elio told me that he was going to stay back with Leo and Franky to help deal with the bodies and potentially create a new game plan should no word of Junior come through the wire.

So, I left without so much as another word, following the man he'd assigned as my driver. I was too stunned by everything that had happened to even remember the guy's name. I struggled to keep my eyes from lingering on those who hadn't made it through the shootout as we headed for the cars outside.

Once I was back within the safe walls of our penthouse, I tossed my phone to the side and headed straight for the bathroom. An awful wave of nausea hit me, and I was certain I was going to be sick. I had gone through yet another terrible event that was sure to leave a mental scar on me.

Thankfully, the feeling passed, and that just left me wanting a shower to at least help me unwind.

'They're going to replace him,' I thought mindlessly to myself.

It became my mantra for a half hour, or rather however long I'd been home since the shooting at the warehouse. In complete honesty, I couldn't remember much after I discovered that Antonio was dead. My mind grew foggy, and the horrid events of the evening were playing around like a broken record in my head.

I pressed my arm against the cool tile of my shower and allowed the hot water to stream down my back. The scolding temperature felt incredible as it helped bring my body's temperature back up to its normal level.

I hadn't realized how cold I was until Elio wrapped his arms around me earlier. It had brought back a warm, familiar sense of security that I needed desperately, one I was sorely missing right now.

'They're going to replace him,' I repeated.

I let my eyes flutter closed and let out a long-focused breath in hopes of leveling out my anxiety. I tried to make sense of all the troubling thoughts that clouded my mind.

I remembered hearing all the gunshots going off and the unnerving sounds of men shouting. My muscles tensed uncontrollably with every thought.

I had glanced at Antonio's lifeless body and made the rash assumption that everything was over. But when Francesco's men came back to tell us that Junior had gotten away, I felt the intense weight of my mistake.

Of course, the bastard had managed to slip away.

Elio was beyond pissed off, and who could blame him? Tonight was supposed to be the night this would all be over. Both Antonio and Junior were meant to be taken down. The job was only half done. And that was not good enough. I remembered how his eyes burned with rage as he directed Francesco's men to search high and low for Junior. But the question remained... where the hell could Junior possibly have gone?

I couldn't imagine he'd be dumb enough to head back to any of his safe houses. The second he discovered that the team had placed a tracking device on his car, he should've known that his location had been compromised.

And I wasn't entirely convinced that he had the same kind of connections as his father did when he fled the country. Even then, not even Antonio was able to replace a plausible situation when he was over in Italy, so I couldn't imagine that Junior would have much luck either.

'Be careful, Cat,' I thought mildly. 'You almost sound like you have sympathy for the guy.'

A humorless laugh slipped past my lips. Oh, please... there wasn't an ounce of sympathy or pity that I could possibly muster up for someone like him.

"My God, I need to stop," I hissed under my breath.

I needed to stop harping on Junior or I was going to drive myself insane.

Another intense spasm of pain ached within the muscles of my back. I reached over to adjust the temp of the water and set it to an even hotter level. My skin was probably as red as a boiled lobster by now.

I didn't care.

I tried to push all thoughts of Junior out of my head. At the very least, I should have been glad that Antonio was no longer an issue. But even though the man was gone, that didn't necessarily mean that the threat was over.

As long as Junior was still around, he would always be able to recruit more men. The organization would never be gone unless the root of the issue was gone itself. If we didn't take Junior down, then Elio and I would have no choice but to spend the rest of our lives always looking over our shoulders.

How was anyone supposed to live like that? Having nothing but fear and constant worry that something terrible was on the verge of happening was enough to make any person lose their mind.

"Goddamnit!" I grumbled.

So much for trying to relax.

I quickly turned the lever off the shower and kept myself leaning against the tile for a few moments longer. My skin was tingling from the intense heat of the water. I wrapped my arms around myself and took several deep breaths.

Yes, I wanted Junior to be found and brought in, but what I wanted more was to be with Elio. Instead, I was alone. The night felt like it was dragging on endlessly, and I knew we both could use the rest.

But Elio had made it clear that his work was far from being finished.

I turned my head at the sound of someone coming through the front door of the apartment. My heart slammed in my chest as heavy footsteps tramped through the halls.

"Cat?"

It was Elio's voice that echoed through the hallway. I let out a tremulous breath and quickly snatched a towel off the rack next to the stall.

"Jesus Christ," I whispered.

I needed to get a hold of myself.

"I'm in the bathroom," I called out.

Moments later, I stepped out of the shower and Elio was leaning within the doorframe. His clothes were slightly disheveled, and his hair was tousled. What I really tried to focus on was his expression. Aside from, of course, looking exhausted and ready to physically crash, Elio appeared tense.

"Still nothing on Junior?"

I wasn't sure what had possessed me to even ask such a question when the look on his face was all the answer I needed.

"Nothing as of yet," he grumbled.

I secured the folds of the towel around my waist and moved to close the distance between us. Now that we were both back in the safety and privacy of our home, I felt like I was finally able to properly embrace him.

Elio took the liberty of returning my affection and engulfed me in his large arms. His deep, masculine scent flooded my senses. I was nearly swept off my feet as he pulled me from the bathroom and into our bedroom. "Come. We need to talk," he murmured close to my ear.

My stomach flipped.

Elio guided us over to the bed, where we both sat next to each other on the edge. I folded my legs under me and turned to face him.

"I know I already asked you this before," he started. "But I really need to know. Are you alright?"

I let my shoulders shrug back.

"I'm fine. I mean, it's not like I was directly involved-"

"Cat. You know that's not what I mean," Elio said pointedly.

He came to rest his hand over my thigh and gave a light squeeze for assurance. What he was asking me was a lot more complex than I cared to get into at the moment.

"I'm... I... I don't know," I admitted weakly. "I can't exactly say that I'm okay with what went on, but I know, deep down, that there was very little choice in the matter."

Elio slowly nodded his head and drew small circles over my leg as a way to soothe me.

"Antonio had reached the end of his line," he said.

"That's what's making me second guess my feelings-his death," I said. "All the pain and misery he caused felt like it had finally been put to rest. Yet, at the same time, I feel like because of his death, we're on the edge of something... extreme." "To be honest, I think you and I have always been heading in this direction since the very beginning," he said. "Antonio was the one who killed your father to begin with, so I'll admit that I don't feel a bit sorry for his death. But you're right about that last part you mentioned. Now that he's gone, his men are going to be scrambling to figure themselves out."

"And there's still the worry of Junior."

Something dark flickered across Elio's eyes. I was sure that if he had the ability and the time, he would be out searching for the guy too. But I was glad that he wasn't. I needed him here with me more than ever.

"We've got everything taken care of, love," he said. "Franky has a team out looking for the sneaky bastard as we speak. I trust that they will replace him."

Hearing him say these things took a lot of stress off my chest. I already found it easier to breathe and focus.

I leaned into his side and gently let my head rest against his shoulder. My hair was still very damp from my shower, but he didn't seem to mind. Elio even leaned down to press a chaste kiss to my forehead before speaking. "Everything is going to be fine."

I wanted to believe him. Nothing in the world meant more to me than the safety and security of our family. I tried to think optimistically and hold some piece of faith in Francesco's men to replace Junior.

With Antonio truly gone, our lives were undoubtedly to become very different... for better or for worse.

All that I knew was... that there was no going back.