Filed to story: Falling for My Ex's Mafia Dad Novel Free PDF (Fay Alden & Kent Lippert)
Valentina whips her head to him and says something low and dangerous in Italian, gesturing towards the child I think protesting that it’s not fair that he got to see the baby when she did not. But Alessi just sighs and ignores her, looking first at me and then at Kent.
“Are you ready?” he asks. “He is waiting.”
None of us need to ask who. Kent simply nods and the six of us follow the two of them into the house. Janeen takes a moment to stroke a hand over my hair, murmuring a hello to me and the baby before she falls back with dad. I walk at Kent’s side, Gio slightly before us.
When we get into the house, Valentina falls back, kindly inviting Janeen and my father to join her in the kitchen for some refreshments, offering to get a bowl of water for the puppy clear code that they are not welcome at the meeting upstairs. Janeen hesitates but Kent nods solemnly to her and so they go.
I shoot Gio a look, silently asking if they’ll be okay with his mother, and he gives me a solemn nod. So I sigh, and send one last glance after my wonderful family, and begin to climb the steps after Alessi. Were all silent as we walk up the stairs, going slow to accommodate my pace, and then across the house to the same gorgeous study that Bianci has always used for these little chats.
When we arrive, though, I’m a bit surprised to see that Bianci is far from alone.
Relief instantly floods me when I see Daniel and Jerome standing together at the far side of the room, healthy and whole. My knees actually go weak, a little, but Kent is instantly there, his hand under my elbow to support me.
“Do you need me to…” he murmurs, glancing down at the baby.
But I shake my head, determined, and move instantly across the room to my husband. On the way, I catch a glance of Natalia from the corner of my eye, looking devastating in a tight black dress, leaning against the fireplace mantle and studying us all as we come in.
“Fay” Daniel breathes, wrapping his arms lightly around me as I come close. He give me a gentle squeeze but then instantly looking down into my arms. “Oh my god, oh my god…” he shakes his head in awes. “Is this.is this him?”
“No, Daniel, this is a loner,” I say, my voice a little dry.
Daniel starts for a second but then lets out a little laugh, glancing up at me as Jerome takes a step forward, pressing a hasty kiss to my cheeks.
“He’s beautiful, Fay,” Jerome murmurs, his eyes a little misty.
“You guys are all right?” | whisper, looking frantically between them as Kent joins us, greeting his son with a warm hug
“We’re fine,” Jerome says, nodding eagerly to me, letting me know that nothing is amiss
“And did..you…” I bite my lip, wondering if everything went okay with…well, with my mother.
“We did,” Jerome whispers, reaching out a hand to squeeze my shoulder. “We don’t know anything but…Bianci took her.
That’s all we know.”
“Okay,” I say, nodding and glancing up at Kent with a steady exhale of breath. Daniel stares at the baby in my arms, softly stroking his sleeping cheek, apparently in awe of him.
But Kent nods firmly to me and puts a hand between my shoulder blades, turning back to the center of the room, where Bianci is waiting and taking me with him. As we cross, I see Gio moving to Daniel’s side, wrapping his favorite cousin in a warm hug.
“Apologies, Don Bianci,” Kent says. “But I’m sure you can understand Fay’s eagerness to allow Daniel to meet his first born son.”
“Of course,” Bianci says from his place in his leather chair, a little cup of espresso balanced neatly on his knee. “It seemed to me a…unique decision in the first place,” he continues, his eyes shifting to me now, “to allow the child’s father to make the trip to my home. On such an auspicious day.”
I go a little cold at his words, because of course we did the opposite of that Dominic’s actual father stayed where he belonged at my side. Still, it was a great sacrifice to not have Daniel and Jerome there not to mention the actual sacrifice of my mother.
And this guy is just going to sit there, calmly drinking his coffee and commenting on my priorities?
I step forward. “I hope it only emphasizes my dedication to you, Don Bianci,” I say quietly, my little baby held tight in my arms, “that I would send my husband on such an important task the day his son was born.”
Bianci studies me for a moment, a little smile turning his lips, but then he simply nods. “Bring the child,” he says, gesturing towards me with a little curl of his fingertips. “I am eager to meet the next generation of my bloodline.”
Dread pools in me, just a little, as I bring Dominic forward.
Because, of course, my baby doesn’t have an ounce of Bianci blood in him. But if the Don believes that he does?
Well, that can only work in our favor.
Daniel comes to my side as I tilt the baby so that Bianci can see him, Kent standing just behind us.
“Beautiful,” the Mafia Don murmurs, studying the child with a small smile. “Congratulations, Daniel, Fay,” he continues, looking up at us now, “on the birth of your son. It is a blessing. Family, of course, is everything.”
We murmur our thanks to the Don before stepping back a little, and I look around to see that Jerome stands quietly in one corner of the room with Gio, both of them watching intently.
Alessi and Natalia come forward to stand on either side of Bianci’s chair, facing Daniel, Kent and I in the center of the room.
And thus the battle begins.
To my surprise, Kent throws the first blow. “Why have you called us here,” he says, his voice cold, “the day after Fay has her child, threatening my son’s safety if I didn’t come running? Are things so broken between us that this could not wait?”
Bianci has my full attention when he answers. “To speak of broken things,” he says slowly, a cat’s smile playing on his lips, “is a bit ironic here, Kent. Considering it is your word that was broken this weekend.”
I hear the sharp inhale of Kent’s breath at my side, but I don’t look at him. I know he’s working hard to keep his temper that this is more emotional for him than Bianci knows.
“I am aware that we missed the deadline for the Monaco deal. But there’s nothing there that can’t be salvaged -“
“You gave your word, Kent,” Bianci snaps, glaring at him, knowing he has the upper hand. “What kind of man am I if I allow someone to give me their word and then break it. It is unacceptable.”
“Circumstances,” Kent objects, gesturing towards me now,” were beyond our control -“
“So you say,” Bianci interrupts, shifting his eyes to me now.
“Though I have no proof of the rather ridiculous story.”
My mouth falls open a little bit at this I mean, the story is a little bit ridiculous, but it is very real.
“A road-side kidnapping?” Bianci says, his voice twisting a little with disbelief, “and the convenient return of Fay’s long-lost mother, who just happens to be an FBI agent?”
“Are you,” I say, stepping forward and speaking a little despite myself, “are you suggesting that I’m lying about my mother? When I’ve turned her over into your hands?”
As I wait for his answer l’m a little struck by the irony of my accusation because I am lying to this man about the child I’m claiming is his great grandson. But some part of me is still appalled that he’d doubt the other parts of the story.
“I do not doubt that she’s your mother,” Bianci murmurs, his eyes moving over me from head to foot, “the striking visual connection between you two is proof enough of that. But the short, too-convenient timeline? The hasty demand that I accept her in place of the deal we set up in Monaco?”
He clicks his tongue and shakes his head, slowly sipping from his coffee cup, clearly indicating that it is not something he accepts.
I laugh a little in disbelief at this man, but before I can speak again Kent takes charge.
“It’s a fair trade,” Kent says, folding his arms over his chest.
“The information that Victoria Thompson can give you -“