Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 897 : End it all

*Leo*

I slammed my hand against Bianca’s chest as she went forward to move around the corner, following my previous all-clear. I could hear the wind being knocked out of her chest and I sent her a guilty look. I hadn’t meant to use so much force, but I didn’t dare whisper an apology when the enemy was so close.

As a dark brutish figure strolled into the house with a smug grin, I knew exactly who it was. The man behind all this and the one who’d been toying with us since the beginning.

Elijah.

He had a gun in his hand, his posture completely relaxed as he stepped over the broken glass of the front door, a triumphant look on his face like he’d already won.

Michael was nowhere to be seen, and I knew he wouldn’t be here. They were smart enough to keep one of them out of harm’s way so if something went wrong, they would be able to continue on. I grit my teeth.

As much as I wanted to end things right now, it would be impossible to do so. The bastard had us completely surrounded. If I became too reckless now, I would only be putting Bianca in danger.

“Leo!” Elijah called out in that grating sing-song voice of his, grinning widely as he swung around recklessly. I watched from the corner of the staircase as he swung the butt of his gun into the nearest vase, smashing it into pieces. “Come out, come out, wherever you are!”

This was a game to him, and I was trapped. He knew it too because he swung around towards the staircase, and I barely managed to duck behind the wall in time. A loud shot echoed out, hitting the chandelier above us.

The glass fractured, the light going out as it crashed onto the floor right at the bottom of the

Stairs.

“Don’t keep me waiting, Leo!” Elijah snarled impatiently.

I could feel Bianca’s hands clinging onto me, her whole body trembling as I glanced down at her. The look of terror in her eyes grew as Elijah unleashed three more shots into the walls and ceiling.

I couldn’t hide her here forever, not with Elijah throwing random shots everywhere. The risk of her getting hit was too big. The damn bastard knew exactly how to draw me out into the open.

I set my jaw, knowing there was only one way of getting her out of there alive.

With a sneer, I grabbed my gun, cocking it and checking that my ammo was filled. If he wanted a battle, then I’d give him one.

Bianca’s hand on my arm gripped me painfully tight and as I glanced over at her, I saw the realization in her eyes. She knew exactly what I was going to do. As she soundlessly shook her head repeatedly, mouthing no, I gave her a sad smile.

I knew she was scared but this was the only thing I could do to keep her safe. I was a man of my word, and I would keep the one promise I made to her, even if it cost me everything.

“Stay here,” I whispered, briefly pulling her forehead into mine as we locked eyes. Then I pulled away before she could stop me, bringing up my gun to eye level as I left the safety behind the wall and stepped out into plain view.

The moment Elijah spotted me, a slow wicked grin spread across his lips. He faced me down, pointing his gun straight at my head as I did the same. It was a stand down, just as I knew it would be.

“Ah, Leo, nice of you to finally join me,” He smirked. “I hope you don’t mind the redecorating. You’re a hard man to find, after all.”

“Elijah,” I acknowledged the piece of shit in front of me. “This isn’t going to go the way you think it is.”

His eyes gleamed with a smugness that I wanted nothing more than to punch off his face but I stayed still, keeping my sight on his head and my finger on the trigger at all times.

“Contraire,” Elijah gave a bark of a laugh, almost mad-like. “I think this is going exactly how I want it to. You shoot me, I shoot you, both of our lives may end but that’s rather fitting, don’t you think?”

I stiffened as I carefully surveyed him. I didn’t know if he’d truly gone mad or if he was just unhinged but what I saw before me was a man with nothing to lose. A man who had come here with one goal and one goal only and nothing was going to deter him from it.

But I saw one little weakness that Elijah couldn’t hide behind his eyes. No matter how determined he was, Elijah was a man of one sin above all else.

Pride.

His ego had caused him to seek me out and it would be his downfall tonight.

“Sure,” I shrugged, pretending to be uncaring as I eyed him carefully. “We could shoot one another but wouldn’t you be ashamed of such a pitifully stupid death? We’re both men of action, Elijah, honor among criminals. Don’t you think we should finish this the proper way?”

His eyes narrowed on me, and I could see the wheels turning in his head. Most likely, he knew I was plotting something but I doubt his ego would let him turn down anything.

“And what would you have in mind? A fight to the death?” He gave a bloodthirsty grin which fell in shock as I nodded.

“Drop the guns, no weapons. May the best man win,” I smirked confidently. “Unless you’re too scared to fight me in a real match.”

The dig at him had him grinding his teeth together but I could see him mulling it over, the eagerness behind his eyes to get his hands on me, and the overconfidence that he would win regardless, driving him to the option I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Fine then!” He smirked. “Drop your gun, first and I will as well.”

“We both drop on three,” I countered firmly, taking no other answer and he burst into cackles.

“Can’t fool you, can I?” He laughed blatantly, sounding more like an insane clown from a circus than the calm man he’d been at the beginning of all this. I guess I did more damage to his psyche than I thought.

I counted to three and true to behold, both of us dropped our guns to the floor. I kept mine at the top of the staircase while he kicked me down the hall. He gave me an overconfident grin, as I descended the stairs one at a time.

The glass shards of the chandelier crunched under my feet as I faced him, and I raised my fists in the familiar pattern. I’d learned how to fight with my hands when I was just a kid out on the streets, struggling to survive.

Elio had taught me after that, making sure I knew how to hurt my opponent and not myself with every blow. I knew I could win this, especially as I saw the sloppy stance he got in.

He had a heavier build than me, so I knew I had to be careful of his brute strength but otherwise, I knew exactly how to make him pay for everything he’d done to my family.

“It’s time to keep my promise, Elijah,” I called out to him before the fight started. “I’ll finally make you pay for getting close to my girlfriend.”

“Get ready to die, Leo!” Elijah’s eyes were filled with so much eagerness to cause me as much pain as he could, and it was shocking how a person could hold that much hatred. This is exactly what I expected because he took a step forward, swinging his fist up at me as hard as he could.

I dodged him easily, using my swiftness to get around him before launching my fist straight across his nose. The crunch was satisfying as was the grunt of pain, but Elijah wasn’t going down that easily as he swung around once more.

I danced around his swings, blocking them with my arms when I could and getting in a punch here and a punch there until I saw Elijah start to tire, panting as his movements slowed down and I finally got the chance I needed.

At top speed, I got behind him, sweeping my leg under his and sending him toppling onto his back. I wasted no time as I got on top of him, pinning his legs and arms as I threw punch after punch in his face.

So filled with endless fury that I didn’t notice the cries at the top of the stairs or the blood staining my knuckles until Elijah let out a scream of fury and swung his hand one last time near my head.

I watched in slow-motion, as the sharp piece of glass in his hand sliced above my eye and I hissed, falling off of him as I instinctively held my hand over the injury. It was deep, that much I knew as part of my vision turned red.

“Leo!” Bianca screamed in horror, alerting me as Elijah scrambled to his feet.

“Die!” He screamed in madness as he swung the glass down straight at my throat.

I rolled out of the way, hissing at the glass that was embedded in my arms but the adrenaline kept me from feeling it too much as in one smooth motion, I grabbed his wrist, crunching his bones tightly until he dropped the glass with a scream.

With my other hand, I grabbed the back of his head and used my momentum to swing his head down straight into my knee.

Elijah fell back, collapsing onto the floor with a groan. He struggled to fight, passing out, his face unrecognizable from how bloodied it was but he lost that fight, his body going limp.

“He’s down!” I declared loudly after a brief moment of silence and Franky and the men rushed in as I finally relaxed, leaning against the wall. I watched them detain Elijah before something came thumping down the stairs.

I tensed as something crashed into my arms before her scent washed over me and I held her close as she sobbed my name over and over, whispering she loved me in between. I softened, wanting to hold her but not wanting to get blood on her at the same time.

“I told you I’d be okay,” I whispered comfortingly to her. “I promised you we’d get out.”

Bianca didn’t let go of me at all, even when Franky stepped up as his men dragged Elijah out of there, uncaring about his wounds.

“He’s alive and I’ll make sure he stays alive so we can get what we need from him,” Franky said calmly, eyeing the cut over my eye. “In the meantime, you need to get treated.”

“I will. I’ll call the cop on our payroll. Make this look like a robbery gone wrong. Security stopped him, not me, agreed?” I gave Franky a meaningful look and Franky smirked, nodding in agreement.

As Franky left, I pulled Bianca and me upstairs to the now-ruined couch. She insisted on treating my wounds with the first aid kit our medic left. The wound wasn’t deep enough to need stitches, luckily, so she cleaned it up and removed the glass from my arms and back carefully as I made my calls to our cop.

Once we were both finished, me looking like a mummy with how much wrapping she’d used and her, still trembling and clinging onto me like she was scared I was about to disappear. I knew it was finally time to keep my promise to her.

I brushed her messy hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear as she gave me a tired look. I gave her a sad smile.

“I owe you an explanation.”

I just hoped she would forgive me for all of it.