Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 150 -

Весса.

Too much time had passed since Neal had been gone, and as the sun slowly crossed over in the sky, I became more and more worried about what was going on. I tried a few times on the satellite phone to get hold of him, and yet, there was nothing. Nothing, but ringing and my constant aggravation over the entire situation.

"Nothing yet?" Layla had asked me this at least a dozen times, and as I turned to her shaking my head with a sigh, I saw the disappointment in her eyes.

"I'm sure everything is fine," I muttered quickly, pushing a smile on my face. "They just got wrapped up in things. Had there been an issue, the men outside would have come to say something."

No matter how often I tried to reassure her, I could tell she didn't believe me. She had already cried more than once today, and I felt terrible for it, but at the same time, there was nothing I could do.

I was just as much in the dark as she was.

"Okay, I'm going to find something to make for dinner. The kids will be up from their naps shortly."

That seemed to be her go-to when she was upset-cooking. It was better than me, though. I couldn't cook to save my life, and where there were a few things I could do-like boil water and make spaghetti-there wasn't much else I was capable of. Neal had found that out when we had our pizza fiasco.

As soon as Layla left, the phone in my hand began to ring, and my eyes widened with panic as my heart raced. Quickly I answered it, and as I did, Layla came flying back around the corner from the kitchen with her eyes wide as if she was just as hopeful as I was for some kind of news.

"Neal? Is that you?" I quickly stammered out not waiting for a hello.

"Hey," he said softly with a sigh. "We need to talk about something."

The sound of his tone wasn't reassuring, and the instant nausea I had been hoping wouldn't appear swirled around me as I moved toward the sofa and sat down. "What happened?"

"Sam and Zack are dead. They were ambushed at the house last night, and it was trashed-" Tears filled my eyes as I choked back a sob before glancing at Layla, who instantly began crying.

"Becca, where's Allegra? Where is she?!"

Holding up my hand, I told her to wait. "Neal, where's your sister? Is she okay? Did she make it to the panic room?"

Another sigh filled my ear before he responded. "No."

"No?" I cracked out. "Is she "

"No, Becca. She isn't dead."

A sigh of relief filled me as I glanced back at Layla. "She isn't dead."

Layla broke down in tears as she sat down on the sofa next to me, holding her hand against her chest. It was clear she cared about Allegra more than I realized and knowing that I broke a little for her. "Layla, it's going to be okay. She's okay." "I didn't say she was okay," Neal replied, cutting into my conversation. For a moment, I had forgotten I still had him on the phone, and as he spoke, I realized something else must have happened. "What do you mean?"

"I mean exactly what I said. She isn't fine. They took her, Becca. They took Allegra."

There were no words to form to explain how I felt at that moment. Hearing that my friend, a woman who had become like a sister to me, even if we did have our differences, was gone. "What-" "It's okay. I know where she is, and I'm going to get her back."

"I want to come with you," I stated, standing to my feet as I wiped the tears from my eyes. "I can have my parents and Layla watch the kids... take them somewhere safe."

"No, you're not doing anything but what I am about to tell you."

The way Neal spoke at that moment caught me a little off guard. There was a darkness to his words and a sense of warning in his tone. I wasn't sure what he was planning, but Allegra was everything to him, and if someone took her, he would destroy everything to get her back.

"Okay, I'm listening." The soft words of my reply seemed to cause him to sigh as his tone slightly changed.

"Do you remember Lester Johnson?" he asked as if I would ever be able to forget a name like that. It was the entire reason he and I had our major falling out. He was hiding shit from me and wouldn't give me the answer I wanted. "What about him?" I replied sternly. "Did he have something to do with this?"

A chuckle escaped Neal as he replied, "No."

"I don't see what's amusing. What does this have to do with Lester Johnson?"

"He's coming to get you, Becca." The comment took me back for a moment as I tried to understand his meaning.

"I'm sorry, what? I thought this guy was bad?" There was no way I was going with some man I didn't know. I had learned my lesson in trusting people I didn't know, and I wouldn't be doing it any time soon.

"Becca, Lester Johnson is no one you will fear, I can promise you that. Your father is with him, and they are on their way right now to collect you and the kids. I need you and Layla to pack everything and get ready because when he gets there... well, there will be a lot of confusion and a lot of questions, and it's just best if you're ready."

Standing in the living room by the window, I watched off in the distance, where a boat was cruising towards the island. It was still too far away to see who was on it, but with a sigh, I turned to Layla, who waited with hope in her eyes. "We're leaving. Get everything packed and get the kids ready. Hurry."

She hesitated for a moment, and what I told her was clearly not what she wanted to hear, but I would have to explain everything in detail to her later. Right now, I could tell Neal was being dead serious about what was about to happen, and if that was the case, I didn't need to waste time.

"How long are we going to be gone, and where are we going?"

"You're going to Italy, but I don't know how long you will be gone." The soft reply spoke volumes to his uncertainty about the situation. I wasn't sure what exactly in full detail was going on, but I appreciated that he let me know this much. The last thing I wanted to do was be left in the dark and not know where my next move would be. "Neal, you know I don't like this. How can I trust someone that I don't know?" "You do know him, Becca."

Taking a moment, I knitted my brows together and laughed. "Neal, I know for a fact if I knew someone named Lester Johnson, I would remember. That name isn't one that's easily forgotten."

A small chuckle from him echoed my own amusement as I pulled the sweater I was wearing closer around my chest and moved towards the front door taking the conversation out to the front porch. "Tell me... do you think she will be okay?" "Honestly, Becca... I don't know. But I'm going to do everything in my power to get her back, and when I do, I will send her to where Layla is. My sister may not have thought I knew about her relationship with the girl, but I did... and she deserves to be happy."

It was the first time in a long time I had heard him speak of his sister the way he did, and as the boat got closer and disappeared from my view towards the docks, I knew my time was up here on the island. Perhaps one day we could come back, but I knew that wouldn't be for a very long time.

"It looks like my ride is here," I whispered into the phone with a sigh.

"Good, stay with him and keep yourself safe."

"I will, and thank you for everything that you have done for me. You have no idea how much it means to me. Even if it seemed like I hated you." The admission was one that had been weighing on my chest a lot lately, and clearing the air right now was important. The last thing I wanted was for him to go into battle with me never being able to say that.

"I'd do it all over again, Becca. I wouldn't change a thing, but I will say that it's me who should be apologizing. Please don't hate me for the secret I kept. Just know I did it to keep you safe, and I hope one day you can forgive me for the pain the secret caused you."

Confused and speechless, I didn't know what to say to him. "What secret?"

As if he knew I was going to ask, the phone went dead, and I was left without an answer. He had hung up on me just when we were in the middle of having an important conversation, and as I looked up I spotted my father rushing toward me. "Becca, oh my god, you're okay."

Laughter escaped me as I let him wrap me in his arms. "Of course I am. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner what was going on. I didn't want you to get hurt-"

"Oh, stop. We can talk about that in a minute. Where are the kids? I want to see them."

Rolling my eyes with a smile, I turned and opened the front door gesturing inside. "They're in the back room with Layla. But Dad... be careful. She and Allegra were together, and she is a mess right now, so please—"

Nodding his head, he held up his hand with a smile. "I got it, sweetie. Don't worry, I'll go give her a fatherly hug and make sure she is okay. For now... I think you should stay right here and wait."

My father's eyes glanced toward the walkway behind me, and as they did, I furrowed my brows and turned around. My heart dropped into my stomach as my eyes widened in shock. Tears quickly filled my eyes, but I couldn't tell if it was from joy or pure anger.

So many times I dreamed of moments like this where the man who I had shared so much with was able to walk back into my life. Able to share in the memories I made with our daughter and his grandson but also knew that was impossible because he was dead.

Or at least supposed to be f*cking dead.

"James-" I gasped out, unable to believe what I was seeing.

"Hey, beautiful... did you miss me?"

"Beautiful?" I scoffed in shock. I was happy to see him and part of me wanted to kiss him, but the other part of me was so angry he was showing up like this as if him being gone for this long was no big deal. "Are you kidding me right now, James? You're f*cking Lester Johnson! You're a f*cking asshole!"

Perhaps it wasn't the reunion he was expecting or the one anyone else was from their severely shocked expressions, but turning on my heels, I marched right back into the house and slammed the door, but what did they expect.. For me to jump into his arms?

All the hell I had been through and he couldn't pick up the damn phone to call me.

He is lucky a part of me still loved him because I was so mad I could kill him myself.

James Valentino was a f*cking asshole, sexy as hell and a walking sex machine but still a pain in my damn ass. Now I knew why Neal was apologizing. He knew I was going to be mad... happy, but still pissed off they hid this from me.