Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 873 : A Declaring of War

*Leo*

It’s been hours since Franky and I have been tailing that rat, Manuel. Some could call it a sort of art form, waiting until the perfect moment is presented to pounce. The key is to never allow yourself to get distracted or else you might just miss it.

Which meant unfortunately for me, I had to put all thoughts of Bianca to the back of my mind. I had already been feeling guilty that I had to text her to let her know I wouldn’t be home until late tonight.

The situation with Manuel couldn’t wait any longer. The rat needed to be caught and drowned before he squealed information that could hurt us. That could potentially hurt Bianca and everyone living in the compound.

I knew she would be upset with me, but it was just something that I would have to deal with when the time came. I couldn’t let it distract me while I had bigger fish to fry.

Eventually, Franky and I followed him into the parking lot of one of our warehouses. I pulled our car off into a hidden spot and waited silently. We watched as he got out of his car with his cellphone in hand, his thumbs tapping wildly against the bright screen. Franky and I turned to each other with the same angry expression on our faces.

Sometimes, in situations like these, I’d find myself wondering what Elio would do. Not that I didn’t trust myself, but I can remember back when it would be Elio and I tailing someone in a car together. He’d tell me his plan and then we’d execute it expertly.

There are most definitely some days when I miss Elio and I working together. Some days I wish it could go back to how it used to be when Elio was the Don and I was his right hand man. Although, I supposed I couldn’t keep a girlfriend back then, either. With all the extra stuff Elio had me doing, I had lost the woman I had been dating from my lack of attention to her.

I’d hoped I wasn’t going to lose Bianca for the same reason. Especially, now that I am the Don and I have way more responsibilities than before. I had wondered whether or not this would all be easier if she were to know about my life.

Would she run away, being afraid of me? Or would she stay and accept me and my life for what it is? Honestly, I couldn’t be sure.

Quickly, I shook away all the thoughts of Bianca and returned my focus on the task at hand.

“We’ll follow in behind him and act like we had always been there,” I told Franky as we watched him unlock the door to the warehouse.

Franky nodded and we both got out of the car, closing our doors as quietly as possible. We moved through the darkness silently as Manuel closed the door of the warehouse behind him. When Franky and I reached the entrance, I turned the knob and we slipped inside.

Manuel was already halfway to the computers by the time we snuck up behind him.

“Looking for something?” I said in a deep voice.

Manuel turned on his heels so quick and sported a surprised look on his face.

“Oh!” He laughed shakily. “Leo. Franky. You scared me.”

“Did we?” I asked calmly, holding my hands behind my back as I leaned towards him.

“Have you guys been here the whole time?” Manuel asked, his eyes darting back and forth between Franky and myself.

I turned to look at Franky with a smirk on my face before returning my attention to Manuel. “Is that something you think you can ask me?”

“Oh. Uh, s - sorry,” he stuttered. “You know, I think I’ll just be on my way.”

I laughed evilly before staring down on him with darkened eyes. “You won’t be going anywhere.”

I nodded once in Franky’s direction to warn him to be ready.

“You see Manuel, I know what you’ve been up to,” I growled. “Did you really think your sneaking around would go undetected?”

“I – I have no idea what you are talking about,” he stuttered again.

Before I could speak, he tried to make a run for it. Without moving, I reached out my arm and grabbed a handful of his shirt, pulling him back.

“Really?” I scoffed. “You think you can run away from the likes of us?”

Franky shook his head slowly with a pissed off expression.

Manuel tried to speak again, but I cut him off before he could spin a lie.

“Tell me, Manuel, are you on drugs?” I asked sarcastically while still gripping his shirt tightly. “Because something must be altering the chemical make-up of your brain for you to seriously think you could be a snitch for the other mafia boss without me or Franky knowing about it.”

“Other mafia boss? Snitch?” Manuel sputtered, shaking his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

I sighed, becoming exhausted of him denying what we already know.

“All right. Let’s say you don’t,” I toyed with him. “Then, what are you doing here?”

Manuel looked around the warehouse for a moment before answering. “I – I was just, um, -.”

“Exactly,” I growled. “You were looking for some pretty damn important information to give to your boss. Yeah?”

To my surprise, Manuel cocked his head back and lunged at me. I couldn’t help but laugh in his face as I stuck out the palm of my hand. His forehead collided with the palm of my hand and when he realized that didn’t work out like he must have thought it was going to, he started swinging his arms wildly.

As swiftly as possible, I spun Manuel around and twisted his arms behind his back. Franky quickly threw handcuffs on his wrists, tightening them until there was no wiggle room. Manuel groaned in pain the tighter Franky pushed the cuffs together.

“You know why we are here, right Manuel?” I whispered to him closely as Franky went and fetched a chair.

“I’ll do anything! Please!” He cried in a panic.

“It’s a shame you’ve forced my hand,” I sighed, annoyed. “It’s time for me to end this.”

“No! Leo, please!” Manuel continued to cry out. “Come on, man. We’ve known each other forever! We were friends before you became the Don, remember?”

“I must have forgotten upon your betrayal,” I growled and threw him down into the metal chair.

“You’re not getting out this, Manuel,” Franky sneered as he held out Manuel’s cellphone. “Unlock it.”

“Why?” Manuel had the nerve to ask.

“Unlock the goddamn phone or I’ll start taking digits,” I boomed, carrying little patience. “I think I’ll start with the thumb.”

Manuel paused before giving us the passcode to his cellphone. Franky unlocked it and began scrolling through his contacts.

“What’s the name of the boss?” Franky asked without looking at Manuel.

“Michael Wallace, but I don’t have his phone number,” he squealed.

“Of course, you don’t,” I scoffed. “Because you’re just a rat. Not worthy enough to speak to the boss, huh?”

“Who do you speak to, then?” Franky asked him, patience lost from his voice.

“Elijah,” Manuel spoke quickly.

“Elijah got a last name?” Franky snapped.

“I don’t know! I only know his first name,” he cried loudly.

“Got it,” Franky said as he pointed the screen towards me to look at.

I nodded my head. “When he answers, you do all the talking. I don’t want him to hear my voice yet.”

Franky nodded his understanding and tapped on the green call button. It rang three times before a man’s voice spoke through the speaker.

“Did you get it?” Elijah asked.

I threw daggers at Manuel and mouthed, ‘Don’t say a fucking word,’ followed by the motion of my hand slicing my throat with a phantom knife.

“Nah, he’s not going to be getting anything for you,” Franky spoke in a deep, raspy voice.

“Where is Manuel?” Elijah demanded. “Which one of Leo’s men am I speaking to?”

“I have Manuel. Fortunately for him, he’s still breathing,” Franky replied, darkly.

Manuel’s eyes widened in fear.

“I’m going to give you two options, Elijah. My boss and I are willing to forget your stupidity and we can all walk away from this unharmed. Or you can become our problem. And let me tell you something, Elijah, our problems get buried, burned, drowned; whichever my boss sees fit in the moment. So, I’d choose wisely if I were you.”

Elijah scoffed. “I think we’ll take our chances. Your crew is nothing without Elio and we’ll prove it.”

“Do you have a preference for your demise?” Franky laughed.

“Goodbye Manuel,” Elijah spoke before the line went dead.

“War it is,” I declared, staring at Franky.

Franky nodded his head in agreement. I glanced down at my watch, cursing under my breath as I realized how late it had gotten. Bianca was most definitely going to give me an earful if she was still waiting up for me.

I pulled Franky to the side and spoke in a low voice. I didn’t want Manuel overhearing me talk about my personal life. Not that he was going to get out of here, anyway.

“Can you handle this?” I asked him. “I need to get home before Bianca has my head.”

Franky chuckled and patted my back twice. “I’ve got this. Get home.”

I nodded wordlessly and stormed out of the warehouse. I started the engine as I soon as I hopped in the car and sped off.

It would be a miracle if Bianca wasn’t angry, but I have a bad feeling she’s fuming. With all of her known suspicions about me and my life, being this late was going to stir up some trouble for sure.

The moment I pulled into the driveway, I killed the engine and bolted for the front door. I took a few deep breaths, unsure of what exactly my excuse was going to be or what dialog I’d need to convince her everything was fine once she started asking her questions.

When I opened the door, only silence greeted me. All right, I thought to myself, maybe she had decided to go to bed instead of waiting up for me. As I walked further into the house, I noticed the dim glow of the lamp filtering out into the hallway from inside the living room.

Shit.

Carefully, I step into the living room and sure enough, there was Bianca, sitting on the couch waiting for me. She had an open book in her hand, but slammed it shut the moment her eyes took in the sight of me.

I was right. She was pissed.

I looked back at her confidently and walked inside the dimly lit room, ready to get this over with.