Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 991 : Guns Poised

*Leo*

I had a feeling that they might strike tonight.

I’ve already given the orders for my men to lock up what they could. Gunshots could be heard from outside as my men did just that, flipping switches to bring metal panels down over the windows. Then, we all gathered our weapons, snatching guns off of where they hung on the wall.

I grabbed a handgun for myself before rushing with the guys into one of the safe rooms. I was grateful for all the training these men had as we moved quickly but efficiently. We all filed into the room, the guys with stone cold faces. There was no doubt that they were afraid but they knew better than to break down now. It was far too important to hold it together now.

As soon as we heard the shots, I knew what was happening. The Angels were here and they were pissed.

“Bring up the surveillance footage,” I ordered, standing before the large screens that took over an entire wall.

Franky obeyed immediately, probably already on his way to do just that. The screens flashed to life and my eyes scanned each one, taking in the different scenes just outside of our doors.

Nothing could have prepared me for the chaos. Angel members were rushing around, shooting their guns at our doors. I winced at the few bodies of our men that littered the ground. A couple of them were tied up and being dragged away.

My fingers curled into the table in front of me. There was nothing I could do, no matter how badly I wanted to grab a gun and storm out the doors, firing madly at all of them. We had to be smart about this. Our guys wouldn’t appreciate me coming to their rescue now, knowing that it would put the others in danger.

We were bred to be ruthless but we were still a family. We had to do what was best for the whole.

I hated that about being Don. It was these decisions that often tore me apart inside. No matter what choice I made, someone had to suffer for it.

I wondered how long we could hold out. We were sitting ducks in here. Even if we were mostly safe in this bulletproof room, it was only a matter of time before they burst through or just waited us out.

We needed to act. And fast.

“We need to be ready for them,” I told the group. “Prepare the weaponry, make sure everything is fully armed and ready for action.”

The guys cried out exclamations. We all gave each other meaningful looks, knowing that this was a deadly situation and some of us may not survive it.

But that was what we lived for.

That’s how I used to live. Before I met her.

I had known for years that this life I chose was a hazardous one, that I had a giant target on my back and therefore, could really drop dead at any moment. I accepted that as my fate. I didn’t fear death back then. It could come for me when it wished.

My life was way different now. I had something to live for now. I had everything to live for. I shut my eyes and thought about Bianca, imagined her deep shimmering orbs in my mind. I thought about the way she held onto me, looking up at me as if I could do no wrong despite the life I’ve lived.

Death wouldn’t take me today. I needed to get back to her, needed to be able to look our child in the eye after they were born.

It grew deathly quiet when the screens shut off, bathing us all in darkness.

As our vision adjusted to the sudden loss of light, Franky and I shared a look. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

I opened my mouth to bark out an order when the first explosion sounded, coming from our main door.

“Get to your battle stations!” I roared, already grabbing my weapon and sprinting toward the bulletproof door that kept us safely tucked in the room. We had too much at stake to just sit here and wait for the Angels to break in.

One of my men had the door opened which was good since I was going to break it down if it was in my way. We flowed into the hallway. The sound of metal breaking and the shouts of unfamiliar voices confirmed that the Angels had made it inside the warehouse.

They were at our front door. Well, more accurately, they had broken down the door downstairs. I turned to my men.

“Go through the secret passage,” I said in a low voice. “You all need to escape.”

“What are you going to do, Boss?” one asked.

I leveled them all with a look. “I will hold them off as long as I can,” I told them firmly.

They looked ready to argue. I could tell my the way their expressions firmed up but I didn’t give them the chance. “Go!” I barked before I turned the other direction to face our enemies.

I could tell that they were obeying me by the way their footsteps sounded behind me. They were quickly growing quieter and it gave me some relief to know that they were on their way to safety.

Perhaps it was foolish to try and take on these guys on my own but I knew that I had the best shot, literally and figuratively. I was the most skilled when it came to shooting. I didn’t miss. I wasn’t going to fail. I was determined to give my men enough time to make it out and as far from here as they could.

But I was even more determined to see Bianca again.

I had a reason to live and that was somehow far more powerful than my previous fearlessness.

I stopped dead in my tracks when I heard another set of footsteps behind me. My eyebrows rose when I saw Franky. “Go with the others,” I ordered him.

Franky held his ground, staring at me unflinchingly. “And let you have all of the fun of beating Angel asses into the ground?” he asked rhetorically. He smirked and shook his head. “Not happening, Leo.”

I opened my mouth to give the order again but it was clear that Franky was not going to budge on this and I would never admit it to him but I was grateful.

Franky was like a brother to me and he was also the best shot out of the other guys, aside from me.

Chances of survival were rising exponentially now.

I smirked at Franky, the only sign of my appreciation, before the two of us hurried down the hall and descended the stairs leading to the main area. It was chaos down there and we were lucky enough that none of the Angels noticed us.

Another reason I was glad that it was Franky who was being stubborn about staying behind with me was that he and I worked together long enough to where we could communicate wordlessly. All I had to do was gesture downward and nod a couple of times and he knew what I wanted him to do.

He stepped ahead of me so that we were on opposite sides of the stairway, aiming his gun toward one side of the building so I could take the other.

I gave him one more curt nod before we opened fire, sending several bullets raining down on the Angels. Cries rang out as men were hit, falling roughly to the hard floor. Franky and I rushed down the stairs, firing off shots as we went. We jumped the last several steps, landing in the center of the chaos.

We stood back to back so that we couldn’t be snuck up on too easily. We ducked and dodged bullets, being forced to jump apart from one another as we fought separate foes.

I tried not to focus on Franky, watching the men in front of me, firing shot after shot, taking satisfaction after each one fell to the floor in a bloody heap. We were vastly outnumbered but we were clearly the better shots.

Franky and I came back together, standing side by side as a barrage of men burst through the doors. More Angel members. I cursed under my breath, wiping a bit of blood off of my cheek.

“We won’t be able to keep this up forever,” Franky yelled to me.

“We will for as long as we’re able,” I shouted back.

One guy managed to squeeze past, jumping out at me from the side. I was too slow to raise my gun before he raised his to me. I sucked in a breath when Franky jumped in front of me right when a shot rang out.

Time slowed as Franky was struck, his body jerking back toward me from the impact. I cried out in rage when my friend hit the floor. With frightening precision, I shot that Angel member right between the eyes, taking note of the way his dead eyes met mine before he hit the ground hard.

I tucked my gun away so that I could grab onto Franky, pulling him behind some barrels to safety. “Why would you do that?” I growled at him.

Franky coughed and I winced at the nasty wound on the front of his shoulder. He was lucky that that guy had been a bad shot. He completely missed his chance to kill my friend.

“I couldn’t let you take that bullet when I could easily jump in,” Franky said weakly. “You have a kid on the way.”

“You still shouldn’t have done it,” I said roughly, even though I didn’t mean it. I was grateful to him. I could have missed my chance to meet my child face-to-face. Now, I had another chance and I wasn’t going to let it go to waste. “Thank you, you idiot.”

Franky chuckled once and then shut his eyes. I grabbed his wrist. He was still alive but for how much longer? I lifted my head to see yet another Angel member, his gun aimed right at my face.

I shut my eyes, anger boiling inside of me when I realized that Franky’s sacrifice was going to go to waste. I gritted my teeth as I silently told Bianca that I loved her and that I was sorry that I was going to have to leave her and our child behind. I should have left long ago when I had the chance. I should have listened to Bianca and just told Al that I had to go.

Bianca and our child were more important than any of this. Even if I ended up in heaven, I knew I could never forgive myself for this, even if God did.

A shot rang out and I stiffened. A few seconds passed and I didn’t feel pain.

I opened my eyes just in time to watch the Angel member fall, revealing a pale and horrified Darion, his gun poised right where the guy had been.