Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 166

"Hey, kid."

I open my eyes when I hear Daniel's soft voice behind me. Slowly I turn and look at him.

"You all right?"

I don't answer his question. Instead, I keep my face impassive, forcing myself to move on, wanting desperately to do something. So, I act. "Call the lawyer," I say, pulling myself up straight with an effort and uncrossing my arms. "What?" he asks, confused.

"Ivan said Kent's bail - or lack thereof - has been determined," I explain, looking at him seriously. "Maybe Jerome's has too. We can at least do that."

"Fay," Daniel says, turning his head the side, his face dropping with sorrow. "We don't need to do that now - we can -"

"We need to do something now, Daniel," I snap, looking at him a little desperately. "Or else I'm going to go insane. Okay? So - can you please just go call the lawyers?"

Slowly, Daniel nods to me, agreeing. "What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get changed," I murmur, looking down at the pink pajamas Janeen brought me from our old house. I just feel too...silly, and sweet, and girly in them. I need to feel... Well, if I'm going to take charge, and do something? I need to feel like a boss.

Without another word, I walk away to my room and close the door behind me, wanting to be alone.

About half an hour later, Janeen, Daniel and I are again gathered on the back deck. I'm showered and dressed more somberly now - though by no means formally - in jeans and a black top. I make a mental note to order some serious clothes online and get them rushed to the house.

My dad watches us anxiously from the kitchen, but he again lets us have our space. Janeen stares down at the table now, worried, and I wonder if she's starting to take this seriously. But I don't have time to wonder too much before Daniel walks over to us, hanging up his phone and tossing it onto the table.

"Well?" Janeen asks, looking up at him. "What's the deal with your boy, Jeremy?"

"Jerome," Daniel corrects passively. "He's got a bail of 25k."

"Ohhh, that's a lot," Janeen says, one of her classic grins starting to stretch over her face as she works pretty hard to lighten the mood. "He must be big time."

Daniel flashes her a look and shakes his head a little.

"Jerome's low level," I inform her as Daniel sits down at the table with us, pulling Janeen's laptop over to him and beginning to type.

"Oh," Janeen says, surprised. "Then he must be hot."

I look up then, wanting to see how Daniel reacts, but he keeps his face totally impassive, ignoring her. Janeen turns to me and I can't help smiling and giving a little shrug, confirming her suspicions. And I honestly do feel a little lighter as Janeen throws her head back, laughing at her suspicions proved correct.

I shake my head at her, grateful again for her sense of humor.

Daniel smirks as well but doesn't say a word. Then he blinks at the screen, sitting back in his chair with a surprised look on his face.

"What are you doing?" I ask, leaning forward towards him.

"I'm checking our bank accounts," Daniel says, still staring at the screen and clicking around, "which is what I was doing before someone interrupted. I want to see if we have enough money to get Jerome out at least."

I nod, understanding and intrigued.

"And?" Janeen asks, leaning eagerly forward. "Do you?"

"Well," Daniel replies, still staring at the screen but scratching his head. "I've got about a million," Daniel says, at which Janeen lifts her hands in the air and whoops for joy. My eyes go wide at the sum - I mean, I know I've been living in the house of a multi- millionaire for months, but we didn't have much to spare growing up, so that number just sounds exorbitant to me.

"But Fay here," Daniel continues, pitching his voice loud to carry over Janeen's celebration. She goes eagerly quiet as his eyes lock on mine. "Has about four times that much."

My face goes pale as Janeen gasps and spins eagerly to me. "Fay!" she shouts, shoving me on the shoulder. "You're like, rich rich! What did you do?"

"Seriously, Fay," Daniel says, smirking and leaning back in his chair, draping an arm over the back of it. "What did you do."

I hold his gaze for a minute, shaking my head slowly back and forth. "Seriously, Daniel?" I say, pitching my voice lower so he understands precisely what I mean. "Do you really want to know?"

Daniel sticks his tongue out then, pretending to gag, and Janeen throws her head back, laughing even harder now, which makes me smile.

However, my joy is short lived.

Because we have just...so much to do. And so much to decide.

"Well, Fay? Daniel?" Janeen asks, stretching her arms above her head. "What do you want to do now?"

"The million-dollar question," Daniel sighs, slumping back and staring down at the table. "Or, the five-million dollar one, really."

Janeen ignores him, turning her eyes to me. Somehow, she's intuiting that this decision is in my hands, not his. I'm a little annoyed by it - it's Daniel's dad, after all, who we're talking about here. How has this fallen into my lap?

But then, as I look down at my lap, I remember the baby. And I grimace, realizing that this is...as much my problem as his, now. If I want it to be.

"Daniel," I say quietly. "What do you want to do?"

"Honestly, Fay?" he responds, looking up at me with sad eyes. "I think we should run."

My mouth drops open a bit, and so does Janeen's. It is...the last thing that I expected to hear from him.

"I mean, wasn't that always the plan?" Daniel asks, leaning forward with a beseeching expression. "Before things...started, between you and my dad - we were always planning to run to Europe, to get away from all of this mess."

I cross my arms then, frowning at him, because he knows - he knows things have changed for me now.

Daniel sighs, seeing that I disagree, but he doesn't give up just yet. "It's what he'd want, Fay," he says softly, leaning back in his chair and holding my gaze seriously.

"Is it?" I ask, truly curious.

"If he knew that he was totally screwed? That if, as Ivan suggests, he's just never getting out of there - that the city, and the state, and probably the nation is determined to make a martyr of him in the name of a strike against organized crime?" Slowly, Daniel swings his head back and forth. "He wouldn't want us caught up in it. He would take the hit for us - for me, for you, for..." he sighs, and looks down at my stomach.

And then I look down at my stomach too, wondering...

God, wondering what the hell is actually best for my kid.

My kid.

I grit my teeth, closing my eyes and fighting the insane string of emotions that run through me in the moment as I consider, for the first time, that this pregnancy that is scaring the hell out of me is going to potentially result in a child, which is going to have needs, and that I have to think about the baby as well now -

But. I work hard to slam the brakes on the string of fear, and horror, and anxiety, and...and maybe excitement? That starts to flood my veins.

Because I have things to do things to put into motion before I let myself have a nice long breakdown over this.

"What do you want to do, Fay?" Janeen asks quietly, and I open my eyes and look at her, solemn.

But even though I know that I shouldn't know, that I should - like Daniel - be considering what is practical and logical...

I've already decided.

I decided hours ago - I don't know precisely when. But for me? There's only one real option.

"Call the lawyers, Daniel," I say, sighing and looking over the table at him. "Have them process the bail for Jerome. Go and get your boy."

Daniel's mouth drops open at this as I lean back against the cushion of my chair. "Seriously, Fay? That's your priority right now?"

"I need my team," I say, giving a little shrug. "And we both know that Jerome is...scrappier than we are. He has a set of knowledge that we're going to need."

"Need?" Janeen asks, curious.

"Yes," I say, looking between the two of them. "Daniel and I are smart, and we can study and talk to the lawyers. But Jerome is useful in other ways - you'll see, Janeen," I say, smiling at her. "You'll like him. But yes, we're going to need him if we're going to get Kent out."

Both stare at me for a long moment and I look softly down at the table.

But for once, I am not shy or demure.

I am just determined, to the ends of me, to fight for him. As he would for me.

"You're either with me or you're not," I say quietly.

And when I look up again, both Janeen and Daniel each nod their agreement.

And I nod back, grateful for their help, because we've got a long road.

Without another word, Daniel gets up from his chair to call the lawyer and have them post Jerome's bail.