Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 1044 : Everything to Lose

*Leo*

It felt like I had just been granted a moment of peace now that our daughter was doing better. Al’s sudden appearance put me more than a little on edge and while I was tempted to just send him out and tell him I would contact him once Bianca and our babies were released from the hospital, this had to be urgent.

After explaining to a couple of the nurses that I had a quick business meeting to attend to and would like to do it somewhere private, Al and I were led to a little office that the medical staff used for meetings.

“I really appreciate it,” I told the young nurse who opened the door for us.

“It’s no trouble,” she said. Then she grinned widely at me. “And congratulations on the birth of your children. Your twins are the cutest things.”

It was the first time that my children were complimented and it caused my fatherly pride to soar.

“Thank you,” I said, giving her a warm smile.

Al was watching the two of us. I could almost hear the wheels turning his head. We both thanked the nurse again before we headed into the office and shut the door.

“Hopefully you get out of here soon,” Al quipped. “You seem to be getting comfortable here.”

I laughed out loud at that, tossing my head back a bit. He had no idea that this was the first time I felt like myself in weeks.

I knew my friend didn’t mean it the way it sounded though. He was just making an observation and a dry joke to release some of the tension.

“I hope you come with good news,” I said and before he could even cross the room fully, I settled into one of the office chairs, feeling my shoulders drop slightly. “I won’t accept anything else.”

Al raised an eyebrow at me but I thought I noticed him roll his eyes slightly as he lowered himself into the padded chair across from me. “We managed to track down most of the Angel members. The majority have been arrested and the few that managed to slip away are being tracked down as we speak.”

This was definitely good news. Really, it was probably the best news we could hope for other than all of the members being captured but that would have been unrealistic. Even though they no longer had a leader, they were still one of the most ruthless mob groups in the western United States. They were masters at evasion, the cowards.

“Any notable members still out there?” I asked. That would be the only true concern if one of the leaders just below Andre had escaped. I had to be sure that they were no longer a threat, or at least, a more minimal one.

Al smirked. “No one that I foresee causing any significant problems toward us,” he said but then his expression became grave. “Still, I am warning all of the men to not let their guard down. We don’t have all of the information. As you can imagine, there has been a lot of temptation for the men to celebrate since we captured the warehouse.”

I couldn’t help but smirk also at the image. Darion would have been especially smug after the whole ordeal. He had a right to be this time. This was the first major event since he had mostly taken over the responsibilities of future Don.

He would be more than a little proud of himself and I likely would not hear the end of it the next time we were doing rounds together.

“How are the final stragglers being tracked down?” I asked.

“It wasn’t too hard to interrogate the locations of the remaining hideouts from the members who were arrested,” Al answered with a shrug. “Although, with many of our own injured and recovering, I imagine we’ll give it up sooner rather than later. They frankly, aren’t worth our time anymore. Allow them to cower and live in fear for a while. They’ll reveal themselves before too long. The Angels are done now that Andre is dead.”

I was barely able to suppress a chuckle at that. Al was being nonchalant about the few Angel members who managed to escape but I could see the fire in my friend’s eyes. I had no doubt that the final guys would be captured and when they were, there would be hell to pay.

“And what of Maria Moreira?” I asked carefully, trying to keep my voice even. I held my breath. 𝙧𝙚𝙚𝔀𝒆𝓫𝓷𝙤𝓿𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝙤𝓶

“Maria Moreira has been arrested as well,” Al answered. “In fact, she has been integral for several of the most recent arrests. She has been more than helpful in terms of providing vital information on the Angel hideouts. We just overtook one on the south side of their territory where more than a dozen of the remaining guys were hiding.”

I shouldn’t have been as surprised as I felt. Maria had given me her word that she would turn herself in after she brought me back to Bianca. Even more than that, I couldn’t help but have the sinking feeling that she saved my daughter’s life. If she hadn’t been there to help deliver my children safely, I don’t know what would have happened.

I didn’t even want to consider the alternate scenarios.

“With her help, we’ll be able to clear out the LA areas and this city will belong to the Valentinos alone,” Al said, straightening in his seat, pride practically rolling off of him in waves.

“I’m glad to hear it,” I said.

Al seemed to notice that I was distracted. “You were lucky to get back to Bianca when you did,” he said after a long stretch of silence. “You mentioned that they are all healing but I trust that that means they are well on their way to recovery.”

I knew Al well enough to know that this was his way of politely demanding details. “Bianca’s delivery was rough,” I said finally after deciding that the full truth was the best way to go. I swallowed hard. “I honestly feel like she came too damn close to not making it through. There was so much blood and without the proper medical support during the beginning of her labor, there were more than a few complications.”

Al listened quietly but I saw the dark look in his eye. He was protective of Bianca as well just like Taylor and Darion were. Valentinos watched over their own and Bianca was more than a part of that.

The trauma I experienced from nearly losing Bianca and our children made it difficult to talk about this soon but Al’s obvious concern for my family gave me the strength to continue the explanation.

“Bianca was already weak when she delivered the first baby, our son,” I said. “She was fading fast and that’s when we learned there was a second child. She nearly passed out from exhaustion and it was miraculous that she was able to give birth to our daughter. Thankfully, the paramedics arrived right after.”

“Bianca lost a lot of blood and is going to need to stay in the hospital for at least a couple more days. Our daughter was so small and weak, almost half the size of her brother but we just tried a new therapy that seems to be helping. They’re all going to be okay.”

The last part, I said mostly to myself, completely in awe that that was a fact now. It made my throat tighten up but I refused to cry in front of Al.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Al said and I could actually see the relief in his eyes, which I also appreciated. He reached across the table and clapped me on the back. “Congratulations. I imagine twins are precisely what they sound like, twice the gift you were expecting.”

I laughed, feeling as if that was truly an understatement. I thought back to holding my son for the first time, knowing at that moment that I would burn down the whole world for him. And somehow, that intense feeling was doubled when I looked at my daughter and then saw my two children together in that incubator.

They were everything.

“I can’t even begin to explain how relieved I was when I learned they were going to be okay,” I said in a low voice, hating how it was nearly shaking with emotion. My fingers curled into fists at my sides. “I nearly lost Bianca and our baby girl and I am still beating myself up for it. I should have been there. I am their protector and I nearly failed before my little girl was even born.”

If I had been speaking with anyone else, they probably would have immediately started to comfort me and assure me that this wasn’t my fault, that I hadn’t had control of the situation, and that everything would be alright.

That wasn’t Al’s style though and I was actually grateful for it. I was staring down at the table between us but I could feel his eyes on me, studying me and debating his next words.

I was surprised when his next sentence was actually a question. “So, what are your plans for your retirement then?”

My head snapped up and I met the other man’s gaze evenly but with more than a little shock.

Al just stared back at me, raising one eyebrow at my reaction but he waited patiently for me to form my thoughts and my words.

This had always been the question. Even when I learned that Bianca was pregnant, I hesitated to completely hand over the role of Don, realizing that doing so felt like handing over a larger part of myself than I realized.

That all changed as soon as I learned that Bianca had gone into labor and I couldn’t get to her. I realized I couldn’t live with that level of fear and helplessness ever again. I had to go through with my retirement. There was no going back now. I had far too much to lose.

I now had everything to lose.

“While I understand that the Angels being out of the way means that things are safer,” I started, choosing each word carefully. “I also know that there will always be threats coming after us. For the time being, I will remain the Don and help with the transition of turning Darion into the next head. Then, I will retire.”

Al nodded, not seeming the least bit surprised. If anything, he looked understanding. “And what do you foresee retirement looking like?” he asked once he digested that.

I blinked, taking a moment to consider this. “Well, obviously, I will be with Bianca and our children,” I said, realizing I liked the sound of that very much. “As for the other details, I honestly haven’t given it much thought but maybe we’ll go back to Italy.”

Al grinned and reached a hand out to shake mine. “Again, congratulations,” he said, the two simple words weighing heavily. “By the way, Elio sends his regards. I’m sure he would have loved to deliver them but I don’t have to explain that to you.”

I chuckled and nodded. Elio has been off the grid with Cat for years now but I was more than a little overjoyed to hear anything from the man that I considered a brother.

“I should be thanking you as well for everything,” I said seriously, realizing just how much this man had sacrificed for me. “But I must ask for one last request.”