Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 198

"Something's wrong," Ivan murmurs, chewing on his lower lip as he watches Daniel Lippert sitting in the coffee shop, his back to the window. Why the hell isn't he moving? Why is he alone - shouldn't he have some sort of team in place? It was going to take a hell of a lot more than just Daniel to snatch Kent Lippert on his way into the state penitentiary. So why...where was everyone?

Ivan, at least, came prepared. The state wouldn't consent to delay Lippert's transport on such short notice, or add any extra force to the escort, so Ivan had called in every damn favor he could muster and gathered everyone he could here. There were at least twenty cop cars waiting, all focused on Daniel Lippert, waiting for him to make his move.

Daniel Lippert, who is sitting in a damn coffee shop eating a croissant...

“F**k," Ivan murmurs, sitting back hard in the passenger seat of the police cruiser and smacking a hand against his leg. He's missing something - he knows it.

But all morning - all of it - each of his suspicions had been confirmed. First, the dark-haired Lippert had come out of the beach house, alone, and taken the Tesla the Alden corporation had given him out onto the road - in the opposite direction of his job. They had trailed him for hours, and it was all exactly as Fay said it would be - Daniel, trying to get close to the state penitentiary on the day his father is being transferred there. Trying something, though Ivan doesn't know what the hell yet... But now...he's just sitting in a coffee shop? Having cup after cup of coffee, alone? What the hell...

Suddenly, a voice buzzes through on the police scanner.

Car crash involving a prison transport -

Ivan's head whips towards the scanner and he stares at it, his jaw dropping open.

No fatalities police officers found bound and gagged -

"Shit," Ivan breathes, his eyes going wide. Because...

Two inmates recovered - the third, Kent Lippert, escaped - we're tracking a black van now, anticipating that Lippert is inside -

"FUCK!" Ivan shouts, moving instantly for his door, pushing it open and throwing himself out.

"Kaminski!" his partner shouts from the driver's seat. "Where the hell are you going!? We need to -"

But Ivan ignores him, striding across the street towards the coffee shop, ignoring the fact that traffic is screeching to a halt all around to avoid hitting him. He doesn't care - he wants answers.

Ivan hurls the door open to the shop and crosses it quickly, slapping a hand on Daniel's shoulder and making him turn. "What the hell is -"

But before Ivan can finish his sentence, the man turns to him and smiles. Ivan freezes, his jaw dropping, his eyes going wide.

Because...because it's not Daniel Lippert.

It looks a hell of a lot like him - the same height, dark hair, square jaw - hell, he's even dressed like Daniel - god, they could be...brothers... But it's definitely, definitely not him.

"Can I help you?" Donnie asks, but he's no good at keeping the smug look off his face.

"Where the fuck is he," Ivan growls, leaning over to glower at this imposter.

"Don't know what you're talking about, man," Donnie says, grinning a little.

"Up," Ivan says, making a snap decision and grabbing the larger man's arm. "You're under arrest - you're coming with me for questioning -"

"I am not," Donnie says, the smile dropping from his face. "I didn't do a damn thing - I'm just having a nice cuppa coffee -"

"You're -" but Ivan stops, because this guy is right. Arrest him for what, looking like a Lippert? Driving Daniel's car? Sure, they might be able to get him on some kind of aiding and abetting - but...they don't even know what the crime is yet - "That's what I thought," Donnie snaps, pulling his arm out of Ivan's grasp and turning back to his coffee as the other customers all watch in silent shock.

Ivan's head whips back to the police cruiser across the street, outside of which is partner is still standing, looking pissed as hell.

"God damn it," Ivan snaps, realizing finally that he's been had. That whatever Daniel was planning - Ivan got the wrong timeline, he's in the wrong damn place -

Fuck, it had better not be too late - he's invested too much in taking Lippert down -

Ivan strides towards the door of the coffee shop, but as he reaches for the handle a voice calls out from behind him.

"Hey!" Donnie shouts, and Ivan turns. "Hey, the little one - she wanted me to give you a message."

"What?" Ivan asks, going suddenly pale.

"The little one," Donnie repeats, "the redhead?" When Ivan nods, letting Donnie know he understands precisely who he's talking about, Donnie's face breaks back into his smug grin. "She asked me to say to you: 'Am I lying now, Ivan?" And then Donnie laughs, shaking his head and turning back to his croissant.

Ivan stares at the back of Donnie's head as his heart feels like it stops in his chest.

And then shatters into a million pieces.

Jerome freezes like a rabbit for a second as he stares up at Kent, and then he slowly takes a step back.

"What are you doing?" Kent asks, his eyes narrowing as Jerome slowly backs away from him.

"Getting away from you," Jerome murmurs, his eyes watching Kent for any movement.

"Why?" Kent asks, frowning.

"Because," Jerome answers, his voice tense. "You punched the shit out of me twice when you falsely accused me of dating Fay. So, what the hell are you going to do when I confirm that I actually am dating Daniel?" And Kent, despite himself, bursts out laughing.

"I'm not going to punch you, Jerome -"

"Then what are you going to do!?"

"Nothing!" Kent sighs, laughing and running a hand through his hair. "I just...I'm surprised I didn't see it."

"Yeah, well," Jerome murmurs, still keeping his distance and a wary eye on his boss. "The secrecy was kind of on purpose. You know, to avoid the...punching."

Kent just chuckles, shaking his head and looking Jerome over. He has to admit, the kid is more capable than he had given him credit for before. If this is Daniel's choice...well, he can't say it's a bad one. "Listen, I know you say you're not going to hit me, but history would suggest otherwise." Jerome says, watching Kent warily from a safe distance.

"Listen," Kent says, smiling at the kid, liking him despite himself, "have you kept your hands off Fay?"

"Yes," Jerome says, spreading his hands out as if it's obvious. "Because beyond knowing what you'd do to me if I touched her, I actually have no interest in any of Fay's many charms. I prefer...." But then Jerome just blushes, realizing...well, that any description he gives of what he actually does prefer is going to sound a lot like a description of Kent himself, considering that Daniel is essentially his replica.

Kent laughs again, a wide smile on his face. "Well then," he says, "I have no reason to punch you, do I? As long as you don't go breaking Daniel's heart or anything. Then I'll beat the shit out of you again."

"No problem," Jerome says, raising his hands innocently. "I will... refrain."

Kent opens his mouth to say something else, but before he can, they both hear a car - or, is that two? - crunching in the gravel in front of the barn.

"They're here," Jerome says, turning towards the front of the barn. "Ready?"

"Sure," Kent says, standing up straight and sinking his hands into his pockets. "Surprise number...six today. Let's do it."

And then Kent follows the kid out of the barn, where a car waits, parked next to a truck with a horse trailer attached.

Kent blinks in the light of the setting sun, looking around, but his face bursts into a smile the moment he hears his name called.

"Kenny!"

Kent laughs, turning towards his favorite uncle, who climbs down from the passenger side of the truck hauling the trailer. Kent opens his arms, welcoming the shrunken old man into a hug. "Uncle Gino," he says, shaking his head in a little bit of wonder as the old man holds him tight for a brief moment before letting him go. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Your girl sent me," Gino says, smiling up at his favorite nephew. "She knew I'd take care of the horses better than anyone else. I'm going to take them back, give you the car so you can get to the port."

"Port?" Kent asks, confused.

Gino just waves a dismissive hand. "I don't know much about it - she said she'd tell me what I needed to know when I needed to know it." Then he laughs, looking at Kent slyly. "Sounds like someone else I know."

Kent laughs too, slipping his hands into his pockets, a little amazed at how...easy this is. How with every passing moment he feels further and further from prison and captivity and more like his old self. "Yeah," he replies, "I think she picked up a thing or two from her time with me."

"Don't let this one go," Gino commands, lifting a gnarled finger to point in Kent's face. "She's a good one."

Kent, to his own surprise, blushes a little. He hadn't been aware that Gino...figured it out - that anyone had. Damn, and he thought he'd been so closed down about it. Who else knew -

"Don't overthink it, kid," Gino says, laughing and patting Kent's cheek with an open palm. "I've known you since you were born. I can read you. I saw the way you watched her."

Kent smiles, just a wry twist of his mouth. "Yeah well. Can you blame me?"

"I cannot," Gino says, laughing and moving away to the door of the stables. He waves a hand over his shoulder. "Good luck, Kenny! I'm glad I got to see you before you left. Come see me again when you can."

Kent stands still a moment, watching his uncle disappear, thanking Fay silently in his mind for giving him a chance to say goodbye to the one person he'd actually regret leaving behind. Because as much as his final destination is a mystery, Kent knows that they're leaving - that their only choice now is to go somewhere far away for a long, long time.

"Ready?" Jerome says, already at the driver's side of the sedan, accepting the keys from a man that Kent doesn't recognize. One of Fay or Fiona's guys now, he assumed. Not his.

Laughing a little at the bizarre changes the world has taken on in the past two months, Kent nods and makes his own way to the passenger side of the sedan. "I'm ready," he says, opening the car door and climbing in. "Where are we headed?" "Coast," Jerome says, giving him a wide smile as he sits and pulls his door shut. "We're close, though - she didn't want us on the road too long. Just pray we don't hit any police check points on the way."

Kent nods, fastening his seatbelt and lowering the back of his seat so that his head can't be seen above the window. And then he closes his eyes and puts his trust in Jerome as the kid begins to drive.

It was going to take a hell of a lot more than just Daniel to snatch Kent Lippert on his way into the state penitentiary. So why...where was everyone?