Filed to story: Falling for My Ex's Mafia Dad Novel Free PDF (Fay Alden & Kent Lippert)
Her scent after all these years, god…I remember what she smells like.
Tears fill my eyes again, and my stomach aches, and I am just…completely overwhelmed.
“Here,” she says, pulling a little folded piece of paper from her skirt pocket and holding it out to me. When I don’t move she leans forward and tucks it into my little purse for me. “That’s the number you can reach me at tomorrow,” she says quietly, “to give me your answer.”
I nod and she backs away, crossing her arms and nodding at Ivan.
“Come on,” he murmurs, slipping a hand behind my elbow. “Let’s go.”
And without another word, barely able to understand anything that I’m thinking or feeling, I let him lead me out of the room, the little puppy fully asleep in my arms.
When the door closes behind us, Ivan sighs and moves his hand from my elbow, slipping his arm around my shoulders instead. “Come on, Fay,” he says, surprising me by leading me to a little blue car. “Let’s get you home.”
I don’t say anything as I let him tuck me into the front seat, buckling my belt over my lap before he moves to the driver’s side and climbs in.
Because I’m really at his mercy, aren’t I?
As we pull away from the dirty little roadside motel I keep my eyes on my mother’s door.
And wonder where the hell Ivan’s really taking me.
â??Iâ??m sorry about that,â? Ivan murmurs, shaking me out of my stupor a little bit. He keeps his eyes on the road. â??I didnâ??t expect her to beâ?¦that cold.â?
â??Seriously, Ivan,â? I breathe, shaking my head at him, holding the little puppy on my lap, close to my belly. â??What the fuck was that?â?
â??Do you have any room to talk?â? he asks dryly, glancing at me. â??Sending that knockoff Lippert to the coffee shop to lure me away â??â??
â??That was business,â? I snap, rolling my eyes, sick of it. â??This wasâ?¦â? I shake my head.
â??Well, it was personal to me,â? he throws back at me, but then he sighs. â??But. Yeah. I guess springing your dead mother on you isâ?¦next level.â?
â??How did you even meet her â??â?? and then I go a little still as I realize something. â??Ivan, have you known this whole time that sheâ??s ali-â??
â??No,â? he says, abrupt, turning to frown at me. â??I wouldnâ??t have done that to you, Fay. Not when I thought that we meant something to each other. I would have told you immediately.â?
I sigh, sinking back into my seat, believing him. I take a minute, working over the thousand questions in my mind. â??So?â? I ask quietly. â??How did you find her?â?
â??She found me,â? he responds dryly. â??Apparently, sheâ??s been keeping an eye on you, on this whole situation. She figured out my connection to it and,â? he shrugs, â??asked me if I wanted to team up.â?
â??So, are you like, part of the FBI now?â? I ask, confused.
He shakes his head. â??Weâ??re sort of doing this freelance. Your mom â?? she isâ?¦passionate about this project. Really, crazy dedicated. So much so that she burned some bridges at the Bureau, got placed on temporary leave herself.â?
â??So, you two are just likeâ?¦vigilante cowboys, out here seeking justice?â? I ask, letting precisely how stupid I think that sounds bleed into my tone. Ivan narrows his eyes but he doesnâ??t say anything. â??What were you trying to get out of this?â? I ask quietly. â??Like youâ??re going to show up back in the USA with Bianciâ??s head on a platter and what, theyâ??re all going to applaud you and give you your jobs back?â?
â??Kind of,â? Ivan snaps, turning those narrowed eyes on me now. â??Plus, I get the justice Iâ??m looking for.â?
I turn my head a little at this, considering him. Because, actually, Ivan patently does not get justice out of this. For all I know, his vendetta is against Kent, and Kent alone. So, why would he team up with my mother, who wants to take down the mafia as a whole?
What did she promise him?
But I donâ??t bother to ask, not only because I donâ??t think that Ivanâ??s going to give me a straight answer, but because I donâ??t want him to know that Iâ??m seeing beyond his lie that taking Bianci down will satisfy the vengeance heâ??s held onto since childhood.
Luckily, the little puppy gives me an opportunity to turn the conversation when he lifts his head and gives a sad little howl.
â??Aww, baby,â? I murmur, stroking a finger across his head. â??Poor thing, kidnapped and scared, away from your family.â?
â??Heâ??s probably just hungry,â? Ivan mutters, looking at the dog from the corner of his eye.
â??And whoâ??s fault is that,â? I coo, my focus still on the puppy. â??If someone hadnâ??t hauled him into a van by the side of the road â??â??
â??If someone had just dropped him â??â??
â??Donâ??t listen to your kidnapper,â? I whisper to the puppy, ensuring that Iâ??m loud enough for Ivan to hear me. â??Starvation techniques are part of Stockholm syndrome â??â??
â??Oh my god,â? Ivan sighs, slowing suddenly and swerving into a service station.
â??What?â? I ask, surprised and a little freaked out. I do not need more surprises today. â??Whatâ??s happening?â?
â??Iâ??m not going to let you accuse me of starving the puppy, Fay,â? Ivan growls, rolling down his window a little and waving the surprised attendant away from the pump, beckoning him towards the car and speaking in swift, near-fluent Italian.
I blink in surprise. Seriously, am I the only one who doesnâ??t speak Italian anymore?
The attendant looks between us, shrugs, and then heads into the gas station.
â??Whatâ??s going on?â? I ask, watching him go. But then I start to laugh when, a few seconds later, the man comes back out of the station with a wrapped sandwich and a bottle of water. He comes around to Ivanâ??s side of the window as Ivan pulls out about ten euros and hands them over, waving away the offer for change. Then he pulls forward into a little parking spot, though he doesnâ??t turn off the car.
â??Here,â? he says, offering me the sandwich.
â??Thank you,â? I say, my voice bright because Iâ??m honestly touched. He didnâ??t have to do this. I lift the puppy up and hold him out to Ivan.
â??What?â? Ivan says, confused, leaning away a little bit.
â??Take him,â? I say, holding him out with more insistence.
â??Why?!â?
â??Because,â? I laugh, plopping the puppy down in his lap. â??I canâ??t hold him and feed him at the same time â?? and I want the food to come from me so he loves me.â?
Ivan grumbles but lets the puppy stay in his lap as I smile and start to unwrap the sandwich. The puppy looks up at Ivan with worried eyes as Ivan continues to lean way from him, looking at him warily.
â??You can pet him, you know,â? I say dryly. â??He wonâ??t bite.â?
â??How would you even know that, Fay,â? Ivan snaps, â??you just met this dog.â?
â??Because heâ??s just a cute little baby,â? I coo, leaning forward with a piece of chicken from the sandwich, offering it to the pup. He sniffs it and then eagerly bites, taking it from my hand in his teeny tiny teeth. I laugh, offering him more, and when I glance up at Ivan I see that he canâ??t help but smile a little bit too.
â??Okay,â? Ivan sighs, reaching out a finger to stroke the puppyâ??s head. â??He is cute.â?
â??And he was hungry,â? I say softly. â??Thank you.â?