Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 262

Jerome takes another shaky breath and raises his eyes to meet Kent's. The air sticks in his throat, his lungs, because he knows this could... This could go very badly for him.

"You'd better start f*****g talking, Jerome," Kent snaps, slamming the gun down on the table as he loses his temper. "Because I have methods to make you talk, and I don't have the f*****g patience right now to use the easy ones." "Okay," Jerome says, putting up his hands and backing a step away, starting to talk very, very fast. "Okay, Kent. Um. I've been...I've been meaning to tell you for a while -"

"Skip the f*****g preamble, Jerome!" Kent shouts.

Jerome's eyes drop and his shoulders start to shake. "Okay. Okay. But it's important for you to know that I would never betray you, Kent. Or Daniel. Or Fay! All right?"

Kent doesn't say anything, but the fact that he doesn't say a word lets Jerome know both that he understands and that Jerome is on very, very thin ice.

"So," Jerome says on an intake of breath, "there might be...someone else looking for you who has a particular interest in Fay. Besides the cops in New York. Besides...besides Bianci." "Who?" Kent asks, his voice terrible and cold.

Jerome looks up through lowered lids, his whole body starting to tremble as he comes out with it. Fuck, I'm going to die, he thinks, shaking his head. He gulps. "The...the woman who hired me. To get myself into your good graces. She -"

But he doesn't get another word out, because before he can Kent is across the room, his fist flying through the air.

Jerome shouts as Kent's fist connects with his cheek, sending him stumbling to the side, clutching his face. Jerome groans, pain flashing through him as he bends over, his face cupped in his own hands-

Somewhere in the back of his consciousness, he hears the door creek open -

"Jerome!"

It's Daniel's voice but Jerome can barely focus on it, because the fucking pain -

"Stop!" Kent shouts and there's a scuffle behind Jerome, who finally blinks back to himself and begins to stand up, turning to see Kent shoving the door to the room shut, Daniel's shirt wrapped in his fist. "Your f*****g boyfriend betrayed us, Daniel," Kent growls, shaking Daniel hard, making him listen.

"Wha- what?" Daniel gasps, going still and turning to stare at Jerome, his face horrified.

"It's not like that!" Jerome gasps, desperate for Daniel to see - Kent too, but especially Daniel -

"Stay right the fuck there," Kent growls, not letting go of Daniel but grabbing his gun from the table and pointing it right at Jerome's heart.

"Dad!" Daniel gasps, but Kent just shakes him again, silencing him.

"Talk," Kent snaps, his hand holding the gun steady. "You have about fifteen seconds, Jerome, to convince me not to kill you."

"Please," Jerome says, putting up his hands now, his pain disappearing in the wake of his blind terror. "I swear - it was years ago - she she hired me, she told me to put myself in your view! To let you notice me! And then- um - when I got in your good graces, I was supposed to report back! I was a mole, or whatever!"

"Jerome," Daniel says, his voice breaking on his name, desperate and devastated. "How could you -"

"No!" Jerome continues, shaking his head frantically, his eyes wide and locked on Daniel's. "I swear - Daniel - I reported to her like twice - stupid shit, because I was nobody, I didn't even know any secrets at the time! And then once I got into the family? Once I met you?" His voice breaks as he focuses only on Daniel now. "I - I decided that's where I wanted to be! I cut ties completely! I never spoke to her again - she tried to get me back, but I completely broke away -"

"God, fuck, Jerome," Daniel moans, and his father lets his shirt loose as Daniel buries his face in his hands and turns his back on him. "How could you f*****g do this -"

Jerome's heart breaks as he hears Daniel gasp, his breath thick with tears as his world pretty much falls apart - his best friend f*****g kidnapped, his boyfriend who he is completely in love with confessing an insane betrayal -

But Kent isn't so easily distracted.

"So did you do this?" Kent snaps, narrowing his eyes and taking a step closer to Jerome, the gun still pointed solidly at his chest. "Did you put this woman in contact - did you tell her where Fay was going to be?" "N-no!" Jerome gasps, his eyes going wide as he focuses again on the man in charge. "I'm not lying, Kent! I cut ties ages ago - I have been loyal for years -"

Kent strides forward and hits Jerome again, the butt of the gun in his fist connecting solidly with the side of Jerome's skull. Jerome moans and falls to the ground, covering his head and curling into a ball.

"Tell me!" Kent shouts, looming over him. "What the f**k did you tell her!?"

"I didn't tell anyone anything!" Jerome insists, covering his head.

"Dad!" Daniel gasps, coming forward and grabbing Kent's arm, stopping him from hitting Jerome again.

Jerome peeks through his hands to see Daniel pulling hard on Kent, making him turn towards him. "He didn't," Daniel growls, defensive, putting his body between Kent and Jerome. "I swear to god - if Jerome was up to anything? If he'd been betraying me for years? I would know."

Kent seethes but locks his jaw shut, staring into his son's face, probably deciding...fuck, Jerome doesn't know what. Whether to kill him? Whether to trust Daniel? Whether any of this actually matters - because honestly, Jerome doesn't know who took Fay - it's just a hunch - "Please," Jerome moans, shaking his head. "I'm sorry - but you needed to know -"

Kent snaps his attention back to Jerome at that. "Tell me," he demands, his voice more even now. "Who is it? Who hired you to watch me, to spy?"

Jerome takes a deep breath, still clutching his head and hiding his face.

"Jerome," Daniel begs, pleading with him.

Jerome takes a single steadying breath before moving his hand from his face, looking up at the mafia boss and his boyfriend, who - f**k - look so strikingly similar, but who are so...totally different.

Just like Fay. And that woman.

God, the first time he'd seen Fay...

"It's her mom," Jerome moans, shaking his head, tears leaking out the sides of his eyes. "The one who hired me? It was Fay's mom."

Kent and Daniel stare down at Jerome for a long moment in complete shock.

And then Kent lets out a stream of curses, turning away and storming from the room. He slides some guns at random into one the black bags on the table as he goes, not checking to see what he's got. He doesn't look behind him either as he moves through the closet, through the bedroom, and into the house.

He barely looks around as he strides for the door, grabbing his set of keys on his way to push it open -

Except -

"Kent." Thompson's cold voice rings out behind him, agonized and terrified and pissed.

Kent slowly turns to look the man in the eyes.

A thousand words run through his head - apologies, pleas for forgiveness, excuses that this wasn't supposed to happen -

But he swallows them all and nods once.

"I'm going to get her back, David," Kent says, his words tight.

Thompson just stares at him, livid, his jaw clenched.

Kent nods once and pushes through the door.

Gio's already waiting for him at the car.