Filed to story: Falling for My Ex's Mafia Dad Novel Free PDF (Fay Alden & Kent Lippert)
â??Donâ??t give me too much credit, Janeen,â? he murmurs, lowering Dominic from his shoulder to his arms. â??Rest up.â?
Janeen murmurs her own goodbyes, turning towards the hall, when suddenly Kent calls her name. Janeen turns, her brow raised, curious.
â??When I say get some rest, I mean sleep,â? Kent says, his voice dry. â??No accidentally stumbling into Gioâ??s room tonight, all right? Save it.â?
â??No promises, Lippert,â? Janeen says, giving him a wink. And then she turns and flounces down the hall.
Something soft caresses my cheek, but it takes me a long, long moment to come back to the waking world.
My eyes slowly blink open but I lay with my heavy head pressed into my pillow.
â??Hey,â? I hear Kentâ??s voice say, and I slowly turn towards it. â??Time to get up, sweetheart.â?
â??What?â? I ask, confused. I start to sit up then, leaning hard against the pillows and the headboard as I rub my eyes, trying to rememberâ?¦
And then my eyes go wide as I realize, duh, that I have a baby. â??Whereâ??s Dominic?â?
â??Right here,â? Kent says, and my eyes finally focus on him sitting on the bed a foot away from me, holding the fussy little baby in his arms. I reach for Dominic instantly, but Kent laughs, putting a hand on my shoulder. â??Take a second, Fay. Wake up. Heâ??s not going anywhere.â?
I exhale then, leaning back against the pillows, kind of unable to take my eyes away from my beautiful son in Kentâ??s arms. I stretch my arms above my head, though, and then run my fingers through my hair. â??How long was I asleep? Is there any coffee?â?
â??Always coffee,â? Kent murmurs, nodding to the cup already on my bedstand. I grin when I see it, but, as logic comes back to me, I reach for the baby again.
â??Let me feed him first â??â??
â??Heâ??s not hungry, Fay. Not right now.â?
â??What?â? I ask, confused. I mean, judging by the way I feel, I know Iâ??ve been asleep for more than six hours â?? the baby must be starving â??
â??I made him a bottle,â? Kent says softly. â??I wanted to let you sleep.â?
â??WHAT!?â? Any sleep that was in my veins instantly fades from me as I glare at my childâ??s father, reaching suddenly for my little boy. â??You gave my baby formula!?â?
Kent does his best to keep from smiling as he opens his mouth to explain.
â??I told you sheâ??d be pissed,â? Janeen says, interrupting and making me jump as she comes out of the closet with an overnight on her shoulder. As I stare at her with open surprise, Kent passes the baby over into my arms.
I instantly feel relief when I feel the weight and warmth of my little boy curled against my chest. But Iâ??m too pissed at his dad and confused by my sisterâ??s presence to pay my son the attention he deserves. â??What â?? what the hell is going on here?â?
â??Fay,â? Kent says, and I turn to him. â??Things have gone a little sour. Bianci â?? he isâ?¦â?
â??Heâ??s keeping Daniel and Jerome locked in his dungeons,â? Janeen helpfully supplies, grinning at me as she flounces over to the door. â??Meet you outside!â?
â??What!?â? I stare after my sister and then at Kent, aghast.
He just shakes his head. â??I should have waited until she was gone to explain.â?
â??What is happening!?â? My voice is a little shrill, but I honestly at this point feel like itâ??s kind of justified.
â??Bianciâ??s pissed,â? Kent explains quietly, moving closer to me and putting a warm hand on my arm, rubbing it softly. â??Heâ?¦he wants us there. Now. He wonâ??t let Daniel and Jerome leave until we go explain ourselves for Victoria, for letting the Monaco deal fall apart.â?
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 â?? I was the one kidnapped off the side of the road for heavenâ??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?
Itâ??s on my shoulders.
â??Itâ??s going to be fine, Fay,â? Kent murmurs in an attempt to be comforting as my infant son fusses in my arms.
â??You donâ??t know that,â? I breathe, shaking my head at him.
â??I do,â? he insists, moving again so that he sits at my side, wrapping an arm around my shoulders, keeping me warm and safe. â??Weâ??ll make it be all right. Bianci â?? he hasnâ??t lost anything in Monaco deal just yet â?? and Iâ??m too useful to him to actually piss me off by hurting Daniel or Jerome â??â??
â??Kent,â? I snap, turning to stare up at his face. â??Donâ??t you fucking do this â??â??
He frowns at me, confused.
â??Youâ??re talking,â? I say, my voice low and angry, â??like youâ??re going to let Bianci rope you back into this â?? that youâ??re not walking away from this today with your freedom â??â??
He hesitates, looking down at the bed now.
â??Kent!â? I gasp, appalled.
â??Well, we might have fucked that up a little bit, Fay,â? Kent returns, lifting his head to look at me seriously. â??We made a deal with Bianci â?? 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.â?
â??We gave him my mother,â? I seethe, shaking my head at him, appalled.
Kent just looks at me, his face quiet and calm. â??It was a good move, Fay,â? he replies, steady. â??But we never knew, truly, how he was going to respond. This was his reaction. And now we have to go.â?
â??What?â? I ask â?? again, honestly, Iâ??m starting to get annoyed by all of this mystery. â??Where!?â?
â??Villa Bianci,â? he sighs, tightening his arm around me. â??Cars are all packed. You just have to get dressed.â?
â??Kent!â? I gasp, shoving him away a little bit as Dominic fusses even more in my arms, starting to cry â?? maybe sensing my agitation? I donâ??t know â?? Iâ??m new to this. â??I just had a baby! Like, hours ago! Iâ??m not going anywhere!â?
â??Iâ??m sorry,â? Kent says, and I can see his genuine sorrow all over his face. â??Fay, we need to go â?? my fucking other sonâ?¦â?
And I groan, and shut my eyesâ?¦
Because as much as the last thing I want to do on earth is leave this bedâ?¦I know that if weâ??ve been summoned? And we refuse? And Bianci has Daniel and Jerome?
Well. He might not hurt Danielâ?¦
â??Okay,â? I sigh, nodding, getting it. And then I look down at my baby boy. â??Poor baby,â? I murmur, stroking his little face with my finger as he peers up at me. â??I wanted a simpler start for you. With breastmilk.â? I turn to shoot another glare at Kent then.
â??It was doctorâ??s orders, Fay,â? a voice says from the doorway and I look up to see Gio standing there, fully dressed. â??Your sleep was more important. Formula is a modern miracle â?? it wonâ??t hurt the baby â??â??
â??Excuse me,â? I say sharply then, holding up a hand, â??I am his mother. I will be in charge of how he is fed. Now if you would please,â? I say haughtily, turning to Kent now and starting to shift the baby, â??take your son, I need to go get dressed.â?
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.