Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad-Chapter 780 : The War Is Over

*Elio*

I drove to the warehouse in tense silence, my hands gripping the steering wheel hard enough that they turned white and I couldn’t help but remember the bloody scene MS13 had left behind before.

And the threats they had echoed since then.

MS13 had been quiet since Ignacio’s last call to threaten us and I was hoping that with the Feds on both of us, they would remain that way. At least until things calmed down. There had only been a few small incidents since the major firefight and all of them we had quickly crushed with more force than was necessary probably. We always came out on top.

It was Al’s idea, to show them that the Valentino Family was unbreakable.

But the serious tone in Franky’s voice as he called me, telling me to get there as fast as I could had left me thinking I was wrong.

I didn’t know what the emergency he was talking about could be but Franky never sounded the alarm unless it was of great importance. Another strung-up body in our warehouse? Another kidnapping?

I had no idea what it could be but with MS13, I knew it was never good.

I pulled into the driveway, and the warehouse was pretty quiet, much to my surprise. Only a few cars were parked outside, one I noticed being Franky’s. As soon as I stepped out of my car, the scorching heat of the sun and the dryness of the actual desert we were in was unbearable.

I brushed away the sweat forming on my brow, cursing myself for wearing black on such a hot day as I made my way to the entrance. A group of our guys all outside smoking nodded at me as I passed and I eyed the growing pile of crushed butts at their feet, giving them a stern look.

“Sorry, Boss,” one said immediately, picking up on the hint. “We’ll clean it up.”

I nodded to them as they murmured similar words, heads low in respect as I entered. The air conditioning we paid out here was certainly worth it as it felt like going from the Sahara to an actual winter wonderland.

Thank god for modern wonders.

Franky was up in the surveillance area as usual, chewing on what looked like a toothpick. There were boxes of takeout piled up on the table he worked at, nearly drowning him and his laptop but he didn’t seem to care.

Based on the shadows under his eyes and his slicked-back hair, he hadn’t gone home last night.

“What’s the emergency?” I asked as I took one of the free seats, sitting on it backward as I tended to do and he gave me a scathing look in response.

“You could at least try to look dignified,” he snorted. “Then maybe somebody would be fooled into taking you seriously.”

While I would’ve been offended a year ago, I knew Franky and his aggressive comments. As much as he wanted to play the devil’s advocate and piss me off at the same time, I knew there was actually a hint of hidden concern in his words... either that or he was taking his bad mood out on me again. Whichever it was, I took no offense as I just waved at him to explain what he called me down here for.

“Ignacio reached out,” Franky sighed, taking out one of our burner cells and passing it toward me.

I grabbed it, seeing the one number saved matched the one Ignacio would call from to threaten us.

After the fire-fight, he’d learned his lesson and the number was untraceable now, always showing from impossible locations. After all, he couldn’t be in Greece and some random town in Indiana at the same time.

I flipped through the phone, taking a particular interest in the text messages.

“He wants to meet? And you agreed to it?” I gave Franky an incredulous look. “What on earth are you thinking?”

“You missed the call so I had to answer,” Franky said gruffly in return, crossing his arms. “He wants to establish a truce, or so he said. I made all the arrangements last night. You just have to go meet him, not alone, of course. Take anyone but Leo, though. That idiot will mess it all up just for his stupid pride.”

That was true, I thought. Leo was still taking a break from everything after being kidnapped and tortured at the hands of MS13. He was bouncing back from it just like he always was but the grudge he held toward them was something else.

He would never forget what they did to him. I trusted him with my life, but I didn’t trust him not to fuck up a potential truce.

“Do you think he’s serious about it?” I asked Franky. “Wanting a truce? This could just be another trap.”

“He sounded serious to me, but that’s not my expertise,” Franky shrugged. “If you think it’s worth it, then go but if you think Ignacio’s only trying to trap us again, then we could always set up one of our own.”

I sighed, realizing he was right as I leaned back, leaning my arms over the chair back as I thought about it. A truce....

Honestly, my first instinct was to say hell no. After what he’d done to my men, killing them and defacing their bodies just to send a message–it was past disrespectful, and even after that, threatening my unborn child and future wife?

It was unforgivable, especially after what they’d done to Leo.

But I thought of all the men who were still in prison, awaiting a freedom that would probably never come. Of the Feds on both of our backs just waiting for a chance to tear us down. Of my men’s paranoid glances, reporting to one another their whereabouts at all times in case they would be next.

I wasn’t the only one tired of all this fighting. Exhausting themselves beyond their means out of worry. They deserved a little peace after all of this fighting, of not having to worry about what their families would do without them.

It was a gamble, this so-called truce, but if Ignacio’s men were anything like mine, then he might have been honestly just trying to stop the fighting. One he had started in the first place but I digress.

The grudge I held toward them wouldn’t be over with a truce, but if they backed off, I could as well, out of respect for my men at the very least.

“When is it?” I sighed.

“In an hour or so,” Franky shrugged like that wasn’t a big deal.

“Then let’s go.” A new voice piped up from behind us and both of us turned around to see Leo standing there, arms crossed and a determined frown on his face.

“No,” Franky said immediately.

I sighed as Leo opened his mouth, eyes shining with a stubbornness I knew neither of us would outlast.

It took all of fifteen minutes before Franky gave up, letting Leo come to the meeting and Leo smugly drove the car as we rode to the place Ignacio had specified. I don’t know how Franky did it, but this time, it was on our turf, a random warehouse still in construction that we owned. When we arrived, we saw the usual black cars, no plates that Ignacio’s men drove, only two this time but it was enough to keep us on guard.

As planned, Leo and a few of our guys stayed in the car to watch from outside, ready to pounce if Ignacio tried to double-cross us as Franky and I and a few guards headed inside.

Ignacio was right where he said he would be, sitting at a simple table, hands folded neatly on top with a polite look. As soon as he noticed us, he gave us a nod, attempting to smile like he was the one in control here.

But we all knew the truth.

I’d let him think whatever he wanted, though, so long as it got this mess over with.

He only had two men near him, both disarmed, and Franky and I pulled off our guns as well, setting them on a table away before sitting across from Ignacio.

“Ah, Elio, and Mr. Frank, I presume. Good to see you again,” he said with an insincere smile. “Since you are here, I take it you want to sign the truce I proposed? How utterly kind of you.”

I stared at him blankly, not giving an answer as I tilted my head. I couldn’t see his true intentions behind that mask of his, not cracking a bit even under the amount of pressure we sent him but I decided to take him a face value.

“Franky,” I said and my partner immediately pulled out the map and contract we’d drawn up earlier. It took hours of negotiating, as Ignacio tried to push his lines from where they were before and we remained solid on keeping every piece of our territory.

Then he tried to negotiate with the contract, getting a better deal with suppliers but Franky was ruthless, cutting through any shady wording and making it extremely clear what MS13 could and could not do.

Eventually, though the contract was signed, the lines of our territories cemented and though Ignacio was disgruntled about not getting his way, he didn’t say another word.

“Nice doing business with you, Elio,” Ignacio said, the curl to his lip less of a smile and more of a sneer but despite his bad attitude, I still shook his hand, though it made my skin crawl to do so.

Ignacio went to let go but I forcefully gripped his hand even tighter, using all of my force until I saw him wince in response. I leveled my glare at him.

“If anything else happens because of MS13, especially if you make threats against my wife and child again, I will make sure your presence in LA comes to an end, do you understand?” I warned him coldly. “I can be a great friend, Ignacio, but I’m a terrible enemy to have.”

Despite my threats, Ignacio’s lip curled into a half-grin, staring at me with a bit of respect in his eyes now.

“I have no doubt of that.” He chuckled, giving me a firm nod. “I will watch myself and my men from now on. No harm shall befall your beloved or child from me or mine. You have my word.”

I nodded, glad to have this all over with as I let go of Ignacio and he left soon after. It wasn’t until I was sure he was gone that I let out a sigh of relief.

“Finally,” I breathed. It felt like things were finally falling into place, finally starting to improve since all of this had started. Or I hoped so at least.

“I need a vacation,” I told Franky.

Franky nodded solemnly in agreement but then gave me a strange look. “Caterina isn’t your wife.”

“Yet,” I emphasized with a grin.

“Whipped.” He rolled his eyes.

We only had a few more matters to settle before I rushed home, plans forming in my mind as I grinned like a loon. I needed a good long nap with my soon-to-be wife and baby girl. I was ready to get home and tell Cat everything that happened, to tell her that finally, the war was over.

And I swore to god, I would never do anything to piss her off enough that she would force me to sleep alone again.

One night without her had been sheer hell.