Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad
Chapter 285

Something soft caresses my cheek, but it takes me a long, long moment to come back to the waking w My eyes slowly blink open but I lay with my heavy head pressed into my pillow.

"Hey," I hear Kent's voice say, and I slowly turn towards it. "Time to get up, sweetheart."

"What?" I ask, confused. I start to sit up then, leaning hard against the pillows and the headboard as I And then my eyes go wide as I realize, duh, that I have a baby. "Where's Dominic?"

"Right here," Kent says, and my eyes finally focus on him sitting on the bed a foot away from me, hold anywhere."

I exhale then, leaning back against the pillows, kind of unable to take my eyes away from my beautifu "Always coffee," Kent murmurs, nodding to the cup already on my bedstand. I grin when I see it, but, a "Let me feed him first -"

"He's not hungry, Fay. Not right now."

"What?" I ask, confused. I mean, judging by the way I feel, I know I've been asleep for more than six ho "I made him a bottle," Kent says softly. "I wanted to let you sleep."

"WHAT!?" Any sleep that was in my veins instantly fades from me as I glare at my child's father, reachin Kent does his best to keep from smiling as he opens his mouth to explain.

"I told you she'd be pissed," Janeen says, interrupting and making me jump as she comes out of the cl I instantly feel relief when I feel the weight and warmth of my little boy curled against my chest. But I' "Fay," Kent says, and I turn to him. "Things have gone a little sour. Bianci - he is..."

"He's keeping Daniel and Jerome locked in his dungeons," Janeen helpfully supplies, grinning at me as "What!?" I stare after my sister and then at Kent, aghast.

He just shakes his head. "I should have waited until she was gone to explain."

"What is happening!?" My voice is a little shrill, but I honestly at this point feel like it's kind of justified.

eyes, trying to remember...

fussy little baby in his arms. I reach for Dominic instantly, but Kent laughs, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Take a second, Fay. Wake up. He's not going

Kent's arms. I stretch my arms above my head, though, and then run my fingers through my hair. "How long was I asleep? Is there any coffee?" comes back to me, I reach for the baby again.

he baby must be starving-

enly for my little boy. "You gave my baby formula!?"

th an overnight on her shoulder. As I stare at her with open surprise, Kent passes the baby over into my arms.

bissed at his dad and confused by my sister's presence to pay my son the attention he deserves. "What - what the hell is going on here?"

bunces over to the door. "Meet you outside!"

"Bianci's pissed," Kent explains quietly, moving closer to me and putting a warm hand on my arm, rubbing it softly. "He...he wants us there. Now. He won't let Daniel and Jerome leave until we go explain ourselves for Victoria, for letting the Monaco deal fall apart." My face goes slack as I put together the pieces and guilt sweeps though me. Because, I mean, some of this was beyond my control - I was the one kidnapped off the side of the road for heaven's sake. But the plan to put off Monaco so that we could take down my mom? I mean, Kent agreed to it, but that was all me.

This? All of this?

It's on my shoulders.

"It's going to be fine, Fay," Kent murmurs in an attempt to be comforting as my infant son fusses in my arms.

"You don't know that," I breathe, shaking my head at him.

"I do," he insists, moving again so that he sits at my side, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, keeping me warm and safe. "We'll make it be all right. Bianci - he hasn't lost anything in Monaco deal just yet - and I'm too useful to him to actually piss me off by hurting Daniel or Jerome -"

"Kent," I snap, turning to stare up at his face. "Don't you fucking do this -"

He frowns at me, confused.

"You're talking," I say, my voice low and angry, "like you're going to let Bianci rope you back into this - that you're not walking away from this today with your freedom -"

He hesitates, looking down at the bed now.

"Kent!" I gasp, appalled.

"Well, we might have fucked that up a little bit, Fay," Kent returns, lifting his head to look at me seriously. "We made a deal with Bianci - Monaco, done, today. We set the timeline for that deal. We reneged on it. He has every reason to hold me to the fire for that failure."

"We gave him my mother," I seethe, shaking my head at him, appalled.

Kent just looks at me, his face quiet and calm. "It was a good move, Fay," he replies, steady. "But we never knew, truly, how he was going to respond. This was his reaction. And now we have to go."

"What?" I ask - again, honestly, I'm starting to get annoyed by all of this mystery. "Where!?"

"Villa Bianci," he sighs, tightening his arm around me. "Cars are all packed. You just have to get dressed."

"Kent!" I gasp, shoving him away a little bit as Dominic fusses even more in my arms, starting to cry - maybe sensing my agitation? I don't know - I'm new to this. "I just had a baby! Like, hours ago! I'm not going anywhere!"

"I'm sorry," Kent says, and I can see his genuine sorrow all over his face. "Fay, we need to go - my f*****g other son..."

And I groan, and shut my eyes...

Because as much as the last thing I want to do on earth is leave this bed...I know that if we've been summoned? And we refuse? And Bianci has Daniel and Jerome?

Well. He might not hurt Daniel...

"Okay," I sigh, nodding, getting it. And then I look down at my baby boy. "Poor baby," I murmur, stroking his little face with my finger as he peers up at me. "I wanted a simpler start for you. With breastmilk." I turn to shoot another glare at Kent then. "It was doctor's orders, Fay," a voice says from the doorway and I look up to see Gio standing there, fully dressed. "Your sleep was more important. Formula is a modern miracle - it won't hurt the baby -"

"Excuse me," I say sharply then, holding up a hand, "I am his mother. I will be in charge of how he is fed. Now if you would please," I say haughtily, turning to Kent now and starting to shift the baby, "take your son, I need to go get dressed."

Kent just nods, doing as I say and taking Dominic before offering a hand to help me up. I take it and get to my feet, groaning a little at the strange new aches all over my body.

And god - after so much sleep, you wouldn't think that I'd be this tired - but I am completely exhausted. I move to take a confident, self-composed step forward but I surprise myself by stumbling awkwardly to the side.

"Gio," Kent calls, holding me steady with one hand as his nephew comes forward. Kent offers Gio the baby and I frown to see my son handed off again - I just want him with me right now. "Can you help the baby into his carseat? I'm going to help Fay get dressed." I sigh, accepting the help as Kent wraps an arm around my waist.

"Bring the coffee," I mutter as Gio turns towards the door and Kent starts to guide me to the closet. Kent nods, laughing, and reaches for the coffee on the bedside table. "And where's my dog?"

Kent just laughs then at that, handing me my cup and shaking his head at me. "So many demands all at once."

"Well, I wanted to stay home and be a new mom today," I say, glaring at him as we walk together into the closet and I find my balance again. "But someone is requiring me to play mafia instead. So, you reap what you sow, Kent." "Yes, little donna," he murmurs, pressing a kiss to my head. "Come on. Your clothes are all laid out."

Thirty minutes later, I look around our packed silver SUV, kind of baffled by the strange crew we've amassed here.

"All right, baby?" dad asks from the other back seat, Dominic's little carrier strapped into the middle seat between us. Titus, in dad's lap, peers curiously into the newborn car seat, maybe wondering if he can fit in there too.

"Yeah," I say, glancing forward at Gio in the driver's seat and Kent in the passenger, and then backwards over our luggage through the back window to see Janeen in the front seat of her little Porsche. "Are you sure you want to come, dad?" I ask, hesitant. He has previously not really been interested in the business side of our family.

"Oh, I'm sure," he says, smiling happily at his grandson. "I'm not letting you all leave me all alone in that house - especially not when I got my new buddy here to hang out with."

I smile a little, looking down at Dominic in the little blue Yankees beanie that my dad mysteriously produced this morning, which of course made me instantly burst into tears.

"I'm glad you're here, dad," I say softly, and my he reaches out a hand to stroke softly over my hair.

"Me too, Fay," he whispers. "I'll help you out, and the baby will be just fine. Especially when we've got Janeen's nice doctor in the front seat."

I grin at him then, catching the way dad called Gio Janeen's nice doctor. He winks at me, letting me know it was intentional.

I glance in the driver's seat and wonder if that's a blush on Gio's cheek? Or just the pink light of the rising sun.

"All good?" Kent asks, turning from the passenger seat to look at us, his eyes warm and worried at once. "Do you need anything?"

"Nope," I say, smiling at him and doing my best to keep my voice cheerful even though dread curls in me. "Let's hit the road."

Kent just looks at me for a long, fond moment, and then turns back to the front of the car. "Hit it, Gio." And then he leans his head back on the headrest of the car as Gio starts to drive. "Wake me up when we get there."

"Here we go, little baby," I whisper to Dominic, unable to keep the smile from my face as he turns his head towards me. "Baby's first road trip, followed by baby's first mafia negotiation! Big day for you!"

And I can't help but laugh, just a little, as Dominic yawns and closes his eyes, turning his head away as if that's just a little bit too boring for him.

I sigh, content, and then spend the next few hours in and out of a daze, half sleeping, half staring at my beautiful son and chatting with my dad, and all the time worried about what the hell is going to happen next.