Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 256

I grab Janeen's arm on the way to the table, pulling her back just a little. "You're going to do whatever he asks you to, Janeen!" I hiss, glaring at my sister. "I'm going to hear him out, Fay!" Janeen says, gesturing towards the table.

"What!?" I gasp, appalled at her lack of instant assurance.

"He's right!" Janeen says, stopping to argue with me in whispers while the men begin to settle themselves at the table, leaving a space for me at Kent's right-hand side. "I mean, I'm probably going to say yes, Fay, but Kent does not get the same blank check that you do! I want to hear what he's asking first!"

"He'd never ask anything of you that -"

"He would," Janeen says, raising her eyebrows at me. "You think I didn't read every article I could on this guy during those months he wouldn't let us talk to you, Fay? I know you're in love with him, and I'm certainly becoming aware that there's more to him than just the ruthless mafia boss, but if you think he's not capable of throwing people under the bus to get what he wants then you're being naïve."

"Not people he loves," I growl, glaring up at her. "Not people I love."

Janeen's mouth tightens as she looks down at me. "I said I'd hear him out," she says. "But I did not sign up to join the mafia, Fay. I'm here for you," she says, pointing in my face, "and this baby," she moves her finger to point at my stomach now. "Not for him." "It's one in the same," I snap, baring my teeth a little at my sister.

We stare at each other, each locked in our stubborn glare, but I flinch out of our standoff when I hear someone clear their throat.

Together, Janeen and I turn to see the entire table of men looking at us.

"It's fair, Fay," Kent says, looking at me evenly. "She has a choice."

I glare at my sister again before stalking to Kent's side and sitting down there, making my own loyalties perfectly clear. Janeen keeps her face even, sitting down quietly at the far end of the table next to Jerome. As soon as Janeen is seated, Kent begins.

"It's a heist," Kent says, looking calmly around at all of us. "Casino de Monte Carlo."

I blink at him in what feels like slow motion. "W-what?"

He turns to look at me, a little line forming between his eyebrows. "I said seven words, and you already have questions?"

My mouth falls open a little bit. "You say those seven words and expect me to believe that you're describing what we're going to be doing for the next four months and not the plot of the next James Bond film?" "They already kind of did that one, actually," Jerome says with a little grimace, and I gesture towards him as proof of my claim.

"Regardless," Kent says, crossing his arms and looking around at us. "That's the deal."

"Bianci said this was in your wheelhouse, Kent," I say, peering at him closely. "Have you...done this sort of thing before?"

"My first job," he says, flicking his eyes to me. "First solo, at least. I was...young. It went well, but there was suspicion regarding who was behind it. One of the reasons I went to America - to wait for the dust to settle a bit." "We just fled one continent," I mutter, suddenly anxious. "Where do we go after this one? Asia? Africa?"

"What does he want us to take?" Daniel asks, moving on without me.

Kent describes a particular high-roller who visits the casino on a pretty regular basis - one of Bianci's enemies who owes him a great deal of money and won't pay up. The job is relatively simple and more crime-y than I'm used to. We broke Kent out for love and family but this? This is all revenge. And money.

As he speaks, Kent lays it out as simply as he can. Our job is to take out the guy while he's there having a good night, seizing not only his winnings but also as many of his high-roller possessions as he can - cash, jewels, bank cards so that we can drain what funds we can. We have to leave the area clean, but with some kind of particular signature that lets Bianci's enemies know that they need to pay their debts or they'll meet the same fate.

We're all quiet for a long moment when Kent finishes speaking, processing this insane plan.

"Why does he want you to do it, Kent?" Gio asks, his voice soft. "It seems...the sort of job any of his regulars could do."

"Because they don't know I'm here," Kent replies, shifting his eyes to his nephew. "And I've been away long enough that I wouldn't be immediately recognized as a connection to the Bianci family."

"Though I would," Gio says, tilting his head a little.

"Which is why you're staying in the hotel room," Kent says. "Base operations."

"And me?" Janeen asks, perking up. I move my eyes away from Kent for the first time, surprised by my sister's tone. My eyebrows arch when I see her so enthused. She catches my eye and shrugs at me. "This one sounds more fun than yours, Fay. Do I get to play a role? Can I be a femme fatale?"

"You do get to play a role, Janeen," Kent says, crossing his arms over his chest. "Though I need you to take it seriously. This is not for fun."

"It can be both," Janeen says, but the way she nods at him lets us all know that she understands.

"Janeen and Jerome are the most unrecognizable, if he's willing to participate," Kent explains, his eyes moving to Daniel's boyfriend. Jerome quickly nods his head, confirming that he' sin. "They'll be on the floor - gamblers or staff, I haven't decided yet. We have to see what we need. Daniel and I will do the job itself."

My heart sinks when I hear this. Not that I want Janeen doing any of the actual job - the thieving and the murdering - but hearing that it's going to be my baby daddy and my husband on the line?

Well. I'm not happy about that at all.

"What about me?" I ask when Kent silently surveys our little troops.

"You'll help me plan it," Kent says, turning to me.

"No, I mean day-of," I say, peering at him. "Am I going to be on the casino floor too?"

"You're going to be here, Fay," Kent says, looking at me like I'm a little crazy. "With your dad, and whatever guards I can get Bianci to loan me for the weekend."

"What!?" I gasp, appalled.

"You'll be more than eight months pregnant!" Kent explains, his confusion only deepening. "Fay, you'll barely be able to move, let alone travel to Monaco, let alone be an effective member of a heist team -" "That is such bullshit!"

"It's true!" Kent says, looking around the table for support. Everyone stays stone-faced and silent, not getting in the middle of this. "Fay, are you - are you serious? Did you honestly think that I was going to risk my pregnant wife in a dangerous heist at the end of her third trimester?"

My mouth falls open in shock, but I almost immediately snap it shut in rage. "We are not married," I growl at him, getting to my feet as I point my finger into his face. "And if you think I'm not going to fight with you about this every minute for four months, you're dead wrong."

With that I storm out of the dining room, and through the kitchen. I hear Kent call my name but I don't turn around as I head out of the house, absolutely livid. I keep walking, my feet slapping against the cold stone terrace, and then the cement around the pool, and then grass, and then a little bit of gravel as I come to the edge of the house's property so that all that stretches out before me is a field and then the sea beyond.