Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 109

I groan again, pulling a pillow over my face in my frustration, not wanting to ask these questions and again and again, hard, before falling back against it and continuing to stare at the ceiling. The kicking didn't work. My mind is still racing.

What the hell was Ivan thinking? In the moment, I really did believe him when he told me that he just But Natalia did find us. Did Ivan plan that and just lie to me? Is he trying to drive a wrench between m were alone -

Or! Did Natalia just outsmart him?

God, what a mess - not only Ivan messing with my head like this, but Natalia finding out, and then tel I'm about to start kicking again, when suddenly I hear a knock on my door. For a split second I go com

And then I snap up in my bed, my eyes darting to the bottom of my door where I can sometimes see t But there's nothing -

No, wait...

I jump up and hurry over to the little folded square I see sitting there. I fall to my knees in my eagerne delivered it -

But I dismiss the idea, tearing the envelope open as my curiosity gets the better of me.

I pull out the little slip of paper and see only two short lines written there, in the same neat, tiny hand Press the top right corner in the back of your wardrobe, hard. Then come downstairs.

Destroy this note.

What the hell?

that I can't stop my mind from going there. I'm still furiously upset and need to take out my emotions on something, so I kick my feet against my mattress

I to get me alone so that he could warn me, to tell me to get out of this house. And honestly, that's what my instincts still tell me now is true.

he Lipperts? Or between the Bianci's and the Aldens? He's played tricks like that before, like when he brought me to that mob bar and let me think that we

ht, making me look not only like I betrayed him but like I was deliberately embarrassing him and Daniel in front of his family - still.

dow of feet standing -

et it, dying to know precisely what it is, and as I grab it I realize that it's a little sealed envelope. For a second I consider pulling open the door to see who

that I found in the books I read in Kent's room. My eyes eagerly pass over them, and then my brow creases with a confused frown.

Confused, but intrigued, I get to my feet.

I stalk to my wardrobe, throwing open the doors again and pounding a fist against the top right cornel

Iwood at the back -

And my jaw falls open when the wood clicks, a magnetic lock behind it releasing and revealing that the back of my wardrobe - which I thought was solid - is actually a god damn door.

I shake my head with rage at Kent for putting me in a room with a fucking secret passage that he never told me about. And then, my anger finding a new focal point, I dig my fingers behind the wood and swing it forward to reveal a very tight winding iron staircase that heads straight down.

"God damn it, Kent," I growl, and then, crunching the note in my hand and not letting myself think about it, I climb through the door, pulling it closed behind me as I begin to storm down the stairs.

The iron is cold against my bare feet and I regret, for a moment, not bothering to put on any socks or slippers - but I let my anger warm me, building in me as I hurry downward, honestly getting a little dizzy as I wind my way down at least three stories - I don't hesitate when I hit the bottom, marching forward with my hands fisted by my side. There's only one way to go anyway - down the long stone corridor that's dimly lit with florescent ceiling lights and arched slightly so that I can't see what's at the end. I pass door after iron door built into the stone walls, passively wondering what the hell Kent keeps in those, letting my imagination run wild and letting that fuel me even more so that when I finally come around the final bend, when I finally see him standing there in front of a set of stone steps, his hands shoved in his pockets, glaring at me already -

I'm good and steamed.

"What the hell, Kent," I growl, quickening my pace, ready to rip into him. "You give me a room with a secret door?! Anyone could have broken in!"

"Don't be ridiculous, Fay," Kent snaps back, "obviously I'm the only one with access to this corridor -"

"This corridor?!" I return, raising my voice to speak over him. "Oh, you mean this bullshit mafia Narnia that I found on the other side of my wardrobe!? Am I going to meet some magical faun who's going to cut my throat because I dishonored his family!?" "God damn it, Fay," Kent bites out, taking a step towards me, even more livid now than he was when he summoned me down here.

"What, Kent," I seethe, my voice low and slow as I close the distance between us so that there's just inches between our chests. I glare up at him, inviting him, frankly, to lay into me. I want this - want this fight. "What do you want to yell at me for now? Because I have done everything you've asked me to do. I've played all of the roles you want me to play - I'm your whore when you want me to be, your spy when it's required, Daniel's princess bride when I'm in front of your family!"

Kent opens his mouth to interrupt but I don't let him, pressing forward. "I keep your secrets when you tell me no one can know about us," I grind out, letting my anger race through me, "I even come when you whistle for me in the middle of the night! WHAT, Kent!" I yell up into his face, grabbing the lapels of his suit to bring him closer, the stupid note he sent me still gripped in my hand.

Kent glares at me, hard, and then slowly he shifts his gaze to the crumpled note in my fist before dragging his gaze back to my eyes.

And then, a little bit of malice, knowing precisely what he's doing, Kent says his next words with perfect control.

"Not everything I asked. I also told you to destroy that note before you came down, Fay."

And I....

Fucking lose my mind.

I feel my eyes go wide with fury, with his gall - and I grip those lapels even tighter in my hands, my nails biting into the fabric as I tilt my head back and scream in frustration -

He grabs me, then, pulling me against his chest and slapping a hand across my mouth, working to muffle my noise -

"What the fuck, Fay," Kent barks, stumbling backwards and looking around as if someone's going to come find us -

My scream is cut short as I lose my balance, stumbling against Kent as he tries to find his footing against the stairs behind him. My weight falls totally against him and he throws out a hand to catch us against the wall, -

Then, once he finds his footing and we're steady and that I'm not shrieking anymore, Kent glares down at me again, livid. "What the hell, Fay," he whispers, his voice harsh. "This house is full - people are going to hear you and start checking rooms to find out who is screaming - are you trying to blow your cover tonight? Again?"

"Again?" I gasp, trying to push away from him. But Kent doesn't let me, holding me tight against him as if he's scared that if he let's me go I'm going to scream again. "Again, Kent?" I repeat, shaking my head as I stare at him, hating him right now. "I didn't do anything tonight except what you paid me to do -"

"You got caught -"

"It wasn't my fault!"

"You let him put his hands on you, Fay," Kent accuses, staring down at me and I notice something different in his face when he turns to this point - something...I don't know. Something deeper, once a layer of his anger has been stripped away.

"That didn't bother you before!" I counter, ignoring the change in his expression, my lips tightening. "When you sent me on an overnight with him, Kent -"

"That was before we -"

"We what?!" I shout, unable to help myself. "Spent one full night together, Kent? A night I'm apparently never allowed to mention, or tell anyone about, or talk to you about, except apparently in creepy secret basement corridors when you summon me?" Angry, hurt, I pause and shake my head at him. "Fuck, Kent," I exhale. "What do you want from me?"

Kent goes silent, staring at me with his face shut down tight, not letting me in. And I stare right back knowing quite suddenly that beneath all of my anger is... This...desperation.

I'm desperate. I've got to know.

And then Kent's mouth curl in a sneer and I can see in his eyes the mirror of my own emotions. He, too, is desperate. And he also hates me right now, just a little bit.

"God damn it, Fay," Kent whispers, the worlds shaking out on his breath. "I want you. All I fucking want is you," he shakes me now, unable to help himself. "And it's a god damn curse."

And I open my mouth to throw something cruel back at him - but I have no idea what, and I never find out, because in the next instant he seals his mouth against mine as he pulls me roughly against his chest.

And, for the second time in about two minutes, I absolutely lose my mind.