Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 716 -

*Caterina*

"We have a problem."

My ears perked up as soon as I heard Leo's voice from the other end of the phone, and I glanced at the seat next to me where Elio sat with a resigned look.

"Of course we do." He sighed heavily as an answer. He paused, then said, "Hold on."

Elio glanced at me, and I immediately looked away from him, leaning over to grab the book I'd brought from my bag. I opened it up to the bookmarked page, pretending to be reading it. I swerved my eyes across the words on the page, none of it actually making it to my brain, but I knew Elio wouldn't know that.

Satisfied that I wasn't listening, Elio said quietly into the phone. "What's the problem then?"

Despite Elio's attempts to be quiet and discreet, Leo was a rather loud guy, and I could hear him perfectly with just a little focus.

"One of Franky's guys has gone missing," Leo said, both worried and annoyed. "Teo. He and Ricardo were on guard duty at one of the warehouses last night since they had an upcoming shipment from Italy. Ricardo made it back but Teo's still missing."

"What about the shipment?" Elio asked urgently.

"Everything was fine. We looked there first to see where he went and he took off in his car, just like Ricardo. Only we found Teo's car abandoned in an alleyway. Nothing was touched or disturbed, keys were still in the ignition. It looked like he had just vanished."

I frowned at the description, my thoughts racing wild at the possibilities of what could've happened to the missing man.

"Any chance he defected? Secret girlfriend or kid we didn't know about?" Elio asked.

"No way, not Teo. He's been loyal for years, recruited by Al from the streets," Leo said firmly, but then hesitated, "Franky and I are going to check out his apartment and records to see if we can replace anything. I'm hoping this has nothing to do with Junior or some other vengeful hellbent-on-destroying-us psychopath, but this is weird, Elio. It doesn't make sense."

Both Elio and I looked up as the flight attendant came by, tapping her heels on the floor impatiently as she stared at Elio with a raised eyebrow. "Sir-"

"Right," Elio sighed, interrupting her as he rubbed his temples frustratedly. "Let me know what you replace."

"I'll call as soon as you touch down so send me a text."

The flight attendant pursed her lips, clearly not willing to wait another second. "Sir, we're about to leave, and the phone signal might interfere—"

"Noted," Elio said quickly as he ended the call, sighing heavily.

"What was that all about?" I asked him.

I played innocent, turning the page of my book as the plane's engine began to roar to life.

"Like you didn't hear every word." Elio sent me a knowing look.

"You should've been quieter," I smirked.

Elio rolled his eyes but then sighed, sobering up quickly. He looked troubled as he told me, "One of Franky's men has gone missing. There was no sign of breaking or entering into his car. They found it abandoned. But it's worrying. I hope he's just run off with some woman but... I'd hate to think it's something else."

I caught on to his worry immediately.

"Shit." I swallowed, then glanced at him seriously. "Have there been any signs that Junior is still around or his men?"

"Yes," Elio nodded, "but nothing concrete, mainly hearsay and some unusual purchases, but nothing nearby. Leo's heading the investigation for now, but Junior doesn't have the skills to make someone disappear like this. Either he's working with someone more dangerous, or he's not involved at all. What do you think?"

I smiled, shutting my book as he gave me a questioning look. There was full trust shining in his eyes like he would believe anything I said, and I knew he would. I could tell in moments like these, where he was being open and honest with me, how much he valued my opinion, not as his girlfriend but as a close confidant.

Despite how angry I was at him still, warmth spread from my heart all the way to my fingertips. I pushed my book aside, thinking deeply.

"Junior isn't quiet," I told him, thinking back to the man and his over-the-top dramaticism. "He's more likely to leave the body somewhere for you to see. He likes the attention, and having people know it was him. He'd at least leave some clues, but this... I don't think it's him this time, or if it is, someone else is calling the shots."

Elio nodded, giving a little smile. "I agree. I'll run it by Franky and Leo once we're back in LA."

Lift-off began and I gripped my armrest, still not liking the feeling of take-off as we pulled into the sky, my stomach doing flips in a nauseous-inducing way. Once we were stabilized, and I felt like I could open my mouth without spewing my guts out of it, I glanced at Elio.

He'd fallen silent, simply going through a file of papers, writing down his signature on a few and circling certain words. I wasn't sure what it was but by his serious work, it was related to the mafia business.

I glanced down at the cover of my book. I was happy in a way. He trusted me enough to do his work beside me, where I could easily read it over his shoulder, but that he also knew I wouldn't without his permission. His being open with me was one of the things I loved the most.

"Elio," I said calmly, and he glanced at me with a raised eyebrow, waiting for me to continue. "Thank you for being open with me just now. I... I appreciate it. And... I don't want to fight anymore."

I sighed, deciding to show him as much honesty as he showed me. I turned to him in my seat, gazing into his eyes. "I understand that not everyone can see me like you do. Franky hates me and I'm sure a lot of others do too. But that doesn't mean you have to stop doing including me in things, no matter what anyone else says. You're the boss, Elio. You have the power to decide for yourself."

"Cat-"

I held up my hand to stop him, needing to get this off my chest. He fell silent, waiting patiently as I organized my thoughts.

"That said," I sighed, relenting to him for now, "I can step back. I can focus on school and not be as involved anymore. That's... that's not what bothered me so much. I hate being lied to, Elio, especially by you, because I love you and I trust you wholeheartedly and it makes me feel like you don't trust me, that you're keeping me in the dark and treating me like a princess who needs to be protected from the world. I hate it. I can take care of myself, and it kills me that you don't think I

can."

"Cat." Elio sighed, gently grabbing my hands in his and pulling me close. Our foreheads bumped together, and I stared into his eyes, emotional. "I know you can take care of yourself, and I trust you but... this whole idea was Alessandro's." "What?" I reeled back wide-eyed.

He looked guilty, rubbing his thumb along my skin comfortingly. "Al had a stipulation for me to be in charge and to become the next leader after him. He thinks... he agreed to you helping with Antonio because it did involve you and you proved your input was valuable, but he's... old-fashioned."

"What the hell does that mean?" I snapped, crossing my arms.

My feelings for Al had officially hit rock bottom, and I really wished I could turn the plane around, head to Italy, and punch him in the goddamn face.

"Take Mia for example," Elio said quietly. "She stays behind the scenes, more of a supporting role without being too involved so that if God forbid, something happens and Al gets... arrested, Mia is able to take over temporarily. They keep their two parts separate so they can't both be taken down for the same thing. As long as one of them is still free, the family can still function, but if they both get taken, everything crumbles. That's why I have Leo and Franky. We can't all be traced to the same crimes."

I took a deep breath, struggling to calm myself from this info-drop. I understood how Al and Mia worked now and it made sense on a level, but that didn't mean I liked it. It didn't make me feel any better knowing that Al had purposefully driven a wedge between us, even telling Elio to not let me know what was happening.

If they had talked to me in the first place and explained why they didn't want me too involved, I might have been more receptive. Doing it this way... it was just manipulative.

Elio must've noticed my anger because he brought my knuckles to his lips, his eyes pleadingly soft. "I'm sorry. That's how Al does things and you're right, I'm not him. I'm the boss over here and I get to decide. I won't keep you in the dark anymore, but I still don't want you to be too involved, okay?"

I pursed my lips, still not entirely happy, but I could compromise.

"Deal." I leaned my head on his shoulder and before I could protest, he had already lifted my chin and our lips met in a hurried passion.

I melted into his kiss. All the tension from the past few days slipped away as I let my love for him take full throttle. He grinned in our kiss and he pulled me closer.

He practically lifted me onto his lap, chest-to-chest and I automatically shifted, resting my arms on his shoulders. He bit my bottom lip, begging for entrance and I granted it, softly moaning as our tongues melted together.

It didn't take long before I forgot everything around me, including where we were as I focused on his wandering hands, his magical tongue as he delved from my lips to my neck, leaving rosy bruises on my skin.

I breathed out, his hand snaking under my shirt, bare fingers tickling up my spine. I was so out of it that time passed without my noticing, only growing hotter and more indecent until we heard a loud coughing from beside us. I jumped, immediately staring at the intruder and reality came crashing back onto me.

The flight attendant spoke while looking the other way. "We've about to land, so please, if you could buckle up—"

"Of course," Elio said hoarsely, barely recovered from our kiss.

Embarrassment returned and I quickly sat back down, fixing up my clothes and buckling up.

"We'll pick this up later," Elio whispered in my ear, and I couldn't help the giggles that slipped out of my mouth.

We landed safely and Elio texted Leo as soon as we were on solid ground. I was excited to be back, the hot humid air just the temperature I was used to.

Elio drove us back home but didn't get out as his ringtone started blaring. "I have to go deal with this, but I'll be home for dinner," Elio told me, giving me a kiss before dropping me off with my luggage.

I sighed, watching him drive off before I rolled up to the driveway, pulling my suitcase. I was so tired that I didn't see the figure sitting on our front porch step.

"Caterina!"

I jumped a foot in the air, dropping the suitcases as Anna rushed toward me with a very pissed-off look.

"I cannot believe you!"