Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 932 : Unresolved Rage

*Leo*

I knew my emotions were completely out of control. I knew I should take a moment to calm down and regulate before heading into the warehouse, but it felt like there was a weight in my chest that wouldn’t go away.

It fed on my frustration at not having caught Michael yet, my guilt for having to deny Bianca something as small as going to visit her family, and my regret of having even put her in this situation which had nothing to do with her.

And above it all, the self-hatred that brewed under my skin.

Like an itch, I couldn’t scratch no matter how much I dug my nails in. I felt like everything I did or said was wrong, fuel to feed the flames and keep the cycle burning for longer and longer.

Everything was falling apart in front of my eyes and there was nothing I could do to stop it. I slammed my car door as I got out into the scorching desert heat, the hair on my arms bristling as I saw the vultures overhead.

I knew as soon as I saw our men in the back carrying shovels and the freshly dug hard soil in a large pit.

I clenched my teeth together hard enough I swear I could feel them crack and I stormed into the warehouse, pushing past the men who dodged out of my way skillfully. I felt like a plague being avoided as everyone made way for me but I had more important things to care about at the moment.

I saw a few guys playing a round of poker at a table in the corner.

“Get back to work!” I snapped at them ferociously, ignoring them as one of the guys tilted all the way back in his seat and collapsed onto the floor while the others jolted and their loot pill spilled over.

I hated the fearful looks they sent me so I only turned away, storming up the stairs to where I knew Franky was.

“What the hell happened now?” I demanded as I flung the door open hard enough it slammed against the wall with a thud. Franky turned to me with an irritated look but said nothing.

The few other guys with him exchanged looks like sharing a secret code I wasn’t in on.

“Tell me now!” I slammed my hand on the table. It’s our tech guy who cracked first.

“There was another incident, some of our guys got hurt but no fatalities,” he said with a hesitant look at Franky.

“Who are they burying in the back?” I demanded, finally leaning back now that I knew nobody else was dead.

“Correction, sir, there were no fatalities on our side. They fell into one of the traps we had planned though. It looked like it wasn’t a serious operation,” The guy reported dutifully. “I can show you the feed we got-”

“No need,” I said sharply, pinching the bridge of my nose to take a deep breath. “Any movement on Michael’s part?”

“None,” Franky answered this time with a deep frown. “Either he got the hint or-”

“He’s planning something,” I finished angrily, crossing my arms. “Find out what. Now.”

“I’m just tech, Boss-”

“Now!” I pointed straight out the door with a snarl. He flinched, nodding as he rushed out of his seat followed by the five other tech guys still there. Franky watched them go with an unreadable look.

Once the door was shut firmly again, I breathed out a heavy sigh as I collapsed into the nearest chair. As I slumped into my seat, pressing against my temples to try to calm the sheer irritation wanting to burst out at every word out of my mouth, I noticed Franky take the seat across from me.

“What’s going on with you?” Franky stared at me blankly, just waiting patiently for an explanation.

“I don’t know what you mean,” I snarked, not wanting to get into any of it. Even if I knew he didn’t deserve my ire, I just couldn’t stop myself.

“You’re irritable and more pissy than normal,” Franky retorted bluntly, not giving me an inch. I cast him an ugly look and he just raised an eyebrow in response. “See?”

“I just want to find Michael and blow his head off so we all need to be working on that. Where was he seen last?” I shrugged him off, pulling over the nearest laptop as I accessed the information we stored there. As I sorted through it all, I felt Franky’s eyes on me.

I figured a little peace and quiet would help me sort through things but unfortunately for me, things didn’t go that way.

“I think I left something here-” The same tech guy from before popped his head in expectantly with a grin and before he could even finish his sentence, I glared at him in fury.

“Get the fuck out!”

“But my—” he said in dismay, pointing at the table but I bristled harshly. He shut his mouth with a snap and nodded before scurrying off once more.

I then breathed in through my nose, before settling back down.

“See? Pissy,” Franky said in just the right tone to set me off again.

“Don’t you think I know that?” I exploded in rage, glaring at him firmly as I shoved the laptop away from me. It slid across the table and Franky easily caught it before it crashed to the floor. He just stared at me in disapproval as I paced back and forth in front of him, lost in my anger.

“I know I’m being an ass! I know everybody’s pissed at me and I’m fucking pissed at myself too but what can I do? As much as I’d like to put a bullet in Michael’s fucking head and end all of this, I don’t know where he fucking is. To find him, I need to spend more hours working here but then Bianca is pissed at me and I’m pissed and you’re pissed and everybody’s fucking pissed!”

My outburst died down as I breathed out heavily and shame filled me as I saw Franky’s pointed look. My shoulders collapsed under the weight of everything I’d been carrying and I sunk into the chair I’d just left.

“I’m a failure,” I admitted quietly, the first time I’d said those words out loud. “Elio never should’ve trusted me to be the Don because I’m goddamn bad at it.”

“Maybe,” Franky shrugged and I shrunk even further in on myself at the admission. “But he wasn’t the only one who chose you.”

“What do you mean?” I frowned.

“Elio approached me before he left, asking me who I thought would make the best replacement. I didn’t think he believed me when I told him your name,” Franky said calmly, crossing his arms over his chest as he watched me for a reaction.

My eyes went wide and I looked at him in pure shock.

“But why?” I asked, utterly bewildered by this new piece of information. Franky and I had always had a rocky relationship, me annoying him with my casual happy-go-lucky demeanor and his uptight ass always dragging me along.

“Despite your many, many faults,” he said as I rolled my eyes, “You are loyal and one of the few I consider trustworthy. I believed you had the charisma and likeability to make them follow you, which I was right about. I didn’t consider you’d fall apart so easily the moment a girl showed up.”

“Hey,” I said halfheartedly in warning but he just gave me a look and I hung my head.

“Look, all these issues you’ve concocted in your head don’t make you a failure. It does make a failure when you start taking your insecurities out on the team. You’re pushing everyone away and that is unacceptable as a Don. You’re better than that and we both know it.”

His words hit hard, brutal like iron spikes sinking into my flesh and all I could do was grit my teeth and take it. Because he spoke the truth. He’d never been one to hold back and it was one of the things I actually appreciated about him.

I leaned back in the chair, staring up at the ceiling as I tried to make sense of the thoughts and emotions running through me.

“I feel terrible. Bianca’s angry with me and every time I fix it, I do something to piss her off again. She wants to go to Italy to visit her family over the holiday but...”

“It’s too risky with Michael after her,” Franky finished.

“Yeah. I feel like between Michael and now this asshole, Taylor who’s trying to sweep her away from me, I just can’t protect her anymore. I’ve completely lost control over my entire personal life. All I know I can focus on is finding Michael. Killing him won’t solve everything, I know that but at the very least, putting a bullet in his skull will make me feel a little better.”

“Twisted but understandable,” Franky snorted. “But you can’t just leave it like this between you two. Especially when you’re this wound up. Take the day off, and go do something fun with her. It should be fun as long as you take plenty of guards with you.”

“No,” I sighed disappointedly. No matter how much I wanted to do that, I knew I would never be able to focus. And she’d be angry we’d have to be followed the entire time and it would be an endless cycle. “The best thing I can do is focus on finding Michael and end him as soon as possible.”

“Stubborn as always,” Franky sighed, but he finally relented, pushing the laptop across over to me. I caught it in one hand, glancing at him questioningly as he rose to his feet. He headed over to the security feeds we had running on the monitors. “I’d suggest looking over at Santa Monica first.”

“Santa Monica?” I asked with a confused look.

“That’s the last location we have of Michael,” Franky added, looking at me like I’m a dumbass. “You said you wanted to find him. Let’s find him then.”

I shot him a grin, nodding in agreement as I opened up the laptop and got to work. Better to be productive than sit there moping about things I can’t change.

All I have to do is find Michael, get to his location, and kill him. Easy enough.

And once he’s dead, I can give Bianca the life I promised her. I can take her back home to Italy for every holiday if she wants. I can sweep her onto a vacation to Paris or the Bahamas. Then we can finally talk about the future.

About marriage and kids and everything she could ever want.

All I had to do was kill Michael.

That will solve everything.

I pretended like I wasn’t lying as I threw myself into my work.