Ch. 161..165: Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad Chapter 161-165

Chapter 161

"What?!" Ivan gasps, his gun falling to his side as he gapes at me, his eyes wide.

Daniel groans and drops the pretense of holding his hands up, burying his face in them instead.

"You're pregnant!?" Ivan asks, aghast.

"And YOU!" I say, pointing an accusing finger at him. "Are a cop, Ivan! So if we're trying to compare surprises here - I still think I win!"

"Ohhh my god," Ivan groans, turning his back to us and scraping his free hand down the length of his face, apparently completely forgetting his job of keeping us at gunpoint. He turns to glares at me over his shoulder. "I can't believe you let him knock you up, Fay," he says, like it's the worst god damn news he's ever heard. "You're such an idiot."

"Um, excuse me," I say, appalled, "I didn't let anyone -"

"So," Daniel interrupts, his face curious as he steps forward and looking carefully at Ivan. "You're...not the father?"

"Daniel!" I gasp, betrayed, at the same moment in which Ivan remembers he's a cop and turns to point his gun at Daniel again, scowling and shaking his head.

"No," Ivan snaps. "I'm not. Now back against the wall."

Daniel does as he's told, pressing his back again against the wall and tiredly holding his hands up again.

But as much as Daniel's willing to play nice, I am livid. "You're such a fucking dick, Ivan," I growl, crossing my arms across my chest and glaring at him with all of the hatred I currently feel.

"I'm a dick!?" Ivan snaps, turning his head to look at me again. "Seriously, Fay? After everything you know Lippert did - after everything he confessed to you?! I'm a d**k!?"

"Um, ya!" I retort, leaning forward and laying the words out like it's the most obvious thing in the world. Because it is. "You're. A. D**k. Ivan."

"I'm a cop!"

"Precisely! You completely betrayed me, Ivan!"

He bares his teeth at me then, full of rage. "He's a fucking murderer, Fay. He killed my dad."

My eyes go wide at this and I stand up straight. "What?"

"Yeah!" Ivan says, still livid and distracted again from keeping his gun trained on Daniel. Not like it matters, though - Daniel is paying just as much rapt attention as I am. "What?" I ask, completely bewildered.

"Yeah, that cute little confession pillow talk you guys had last night? When he casually mentioned that he's killed cops and you told him it didn't matter to you? Yeah, he was talking about my dad."

And I go pale then for...many reasons.

One of which is that...I feel suddenly so horrible for Ivan, for having lost his father like that. I'm reminded, suddenly, of the tattoo on his arm that I saw at the taco stand - when he told me about losing his dad, about missing him.

And I had had...no idea that Kent was the one who took him away.

But - perhaps horribly - the thing that really shakes me to my core is...

"How...how do you know about that conversation?" I ask, my voice hardly more than a whisper. That conversation was held here...in my bed. Wrapped up in these pretty floral blankets, hardly louder than a whisper.

"Remember my jacket, Fay?" Ivan retorts, spitting the words out like they're venom meant to sink into my veins. "That night you were so cold, and I put it around your shoulders, and you wore it inside?"

My face drops as I realize...

And then my eyes shift to my headboard.

"Yeah." Ivan says, cruel. "It was bugged. It's been bugged for months. We've been listening to every conversation that's happened in this room. If anyone's the betrayer here, Fay? It's you. Because you gave us everything we needed to take Kent Lippert down." He gives me a nasty little smirk now, rubbing it in. "Without you? None of this could have happened."

"What's he talking about, Fay," Daniel says, his voice cold.

And I turn to him, my eyes filled with tears, and just shake my head.

The guilt rolls in me now.

Because - because I was selfish, and scared -

And I wanted a piece of Ivan to keep, and that Kent wouldn't take away -

But of course Kent would have taken it away, because Ivan was his enemy in more ways than one. But I - I hid it, so I could keep it...

Even though Ivan...was playing me too.

"Fay!" Daniel snaps. "What is he talking about!"

And slowly I push myself away from the wall and stand up straight. Ivan doesn't stop me as I move to my bed, doesn't even point the gun at me as I pull the headboard forward and pull out, from behind it, the formal jacket that Ivan gave me that night when I was cold. That I slept in, thinking it was going to give me peace.

That I tucked back there and forgot about.

That has...completely ruined all of our lives.

"Everyone at the NYPD has really been enjoying listening to all of your conversations, Fay," Ivan says, nasty, as the tears slip down my face. "You've been very popular," he sneers, "especially every morning, when you come back upstairs and fill Daniel in on how his dad f****d you -"

"Shut the f**k up," Daniel snaps with a snarl.

"You shut the fuck up!" Ivan shouts, losing his temper again and taking a long step towards Daniel now, the gun redirected back at his face.

"Leave her alone! You jealous asshole, you're just bitter that -"

"STOP!" I shout, my whole body shaking, hurling the jacket to the floor in anger and despair. "Everyone just shut the hell up!"

And then, my teeth gritted, I glare at Ivan with as much pride as I can muster. Which is not much.

"If you're going to arrest us, arrest us," I say. "We are done talking."

And then I cross my hands over my chest and turn my face away from him, pressing my eyes shut, determined not to say another word.

Daniel and Jerome apparently follow suit because silence reigns in the room for a long moment. And in that long moment, I realize that the shooting has stopped downstairs. That whatever was done is...done.

After a second I hear Ivan click his radio on again, telling the men downstairs to check the passage that I told him about. Some response comes but, again, I can't hear it well enough to understand.

And then we're all silent for a long, long time before we start to hear the sound of footsteps coming up the stairs. I open my eyes when the steps approach the threshold and see Ivan moving towards my door, twisting the lock and pulling it open.

"In here," Ivan murmurs, stepping back so more police can come in the room.

I stand perfectly still as cops move roughly past me, sweeping the room and the bathroom to make sure there are no threats here. But there's no worry about that. When they finish, two cops lift Jerome off the floor, setting him on his feet and leading him from the room in silence. Then, another - an older man who looks less mussed than everyone else - addresses Daniel and I.

"If you'd come down to the station, Mr. Lippert, Miss. Alden," he says, his voice even, "we'd like to ask you some questions."

"I need to call our lawyer," Daniel murmurs, lowering his hands to his side.

"That's fine," the man says, nodding to him as a cop takes Daniel by the elbow and guides him away. Then, the man turns to me.

"Miss. Alden?"

"Fine," I sigh, walking towards my bedroom door with my eyes on the floor. Someone touches my elbow as well, seeking to guide me, and when I look up I'm shocked to see that it's Ivan.

I immediately sneer and pull my arm out of his hand, moving quickly away.

"Miss," The older cop says, his voice low with warning, and I snap my gaze immediately to him.

"Not him," I say, jerking my chin in Ivan's direction. "I'm not going with him."

The cop looks at me evenly for a moment before nodding. "All right," he says, offering his hand. "I'll take you myself."

I lift my chin as high as I can - admittedly, not very high, not after today, and walk towards the cop. When I get close enough, he gently takes my arm, and together we walk down the stairs. Ivan follows slowly behind.

 

Chapter 162

We're at the police station for a long, long time before we get any hint of what's going on.

Since we're not under arrest, I'm allowed to sit with Daniel in an uncomfortable grey chair in the lobby, with lots of cops' eyes on us. We don't say much, even though Daniel takes my hand and holds it tight. His lawyer - our lawyer, I guess - shows up about forty-five minutes later and stands stolidly next to us.

"Say nothing," he snaps, staring straight ahead. "They want you for questions, but you don't have to say a god damn thing. If you say anything it all, your only answer is 'I can't recall.' Got it?"

"Yeah," Daniel replies, but I just nod my head, too tired and overwhelmed and exhausted to do anything more.

Jerome didn't come in with us. He was taken, with a lot of Kent's other men, to the other part of the station to be booked.

"Why didn't we get arrested?" I ask after a long while of silence.

"Because we didn't do anything, Fay," Daniel sighs. "They don't have any crimes to arrest us for."

"Enough," the lawyer snaps. So we both clam up.

The minutes drip past. And all I can do in that time is...speculate. About what happened. About whether Kent is alive or dead.

Unconsciously, my hand drifts to my stomach and rests there. And when I notice where I put it, I don't pull it away.

We're still sitting in those chairs at what must be one or two in the morning when we finally find out what's taking so long. And, unsurprisingly, it's Ivan that breaks the news. "Where is he," Ivan snaps, striding across the room to us, several detectives at his back.

Daniel and I look up at him confused. Ivan, still in his bulletproof NYPD vest and his face as stern as it was before, just glares at us, waiting.

"What are you talking about?" Daniel sighs, leaning back in his chair and crossing his arms. He's not even being defiant, I know. He's just exhausted.

"Kent!" Ivan snaps, glaring at us. "We didn't see him leave. We didn't find him in the house. We know that place he built is full of little rat holes to hide in - so where is he?"

My mouth falls open. "You - you didn't find Kent?"

Ivan just glares at me and shifts his eyes to Daniel as Daniel starts to laugh.

"What?" Ivan snaps.

"He's not in the house," he says, smirking.

"How do you know that?"

"Marco DeBrassi," Daniel says, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees, still smirking up at Ivan. "Did you find him in the house?"

"No," Ivan says, his eyes narrowing as he studies Daniel. "DeBrassi left hours before the raid - he was alone in the car."

"Which car?" Daniel asks.

"Escalade," Ivan answers, fast. "Black."

"Yeah, whatever." Daniel says, laughing a little, smirking at Ivan as he leans further back in his chair. "Marco is dad's driver. If you think dad let Marco take the escalade out for a joy ride, alone..." Daniel starts to laugh harder, shaking his head at Ivan like the fool he is. "You had a full perimeter on the house, didn't you? And you let Marco out, but you didn't check the back seat..."

Daniel's laughter fills the room now.

Ivan lets out a long string of curses, turning and kicking hard at one of the metal chairs that fill the waiting room. It skitters across the floor, falling on its side.

I stare at Daniel as Ivan and the detectives walk away, apparently needing to go back to the drawing board.

"Is that true?" I whisper to Daniel. "Did he did he leave the house? How did you know?"

"Because," Daniel whispers back to me, low enough that not even the lawyer can hear, "do you seriously think dad's just going to hang around, Fay, sulking, the minute he finds out you're pregnant and he could be the father?"

My eyes go wide as I figure it out. "No," I whisper back, shaking my head. "He - he'd want answers." "Exactly," Daniel murmurs.

He went to a doctor, I think, my mind whirring. Or a clinic, to get his s***m tested. But which one? "Enough of that," the lawyer scolds, stepping closer to us. "I'm serious, kids. Not another word." And so we shut up, both of us sitting waiting, wondering. When will they catch Kent?

Or...will they? At all?

Kent sits in a chair in the doctor's main office, his head hanging low, his arms crossed across his chest. Marco dozes in the chair next to him.

For the third time, the doctor peeks his head in through the door. "Are you...sure you wouldn't like to come into the house, Mr. Lippert?" he asks quietly. "You'll be more comfortable in here."

Kent just shakes his head.

It's not that he's actually comfortable...he just. There's no reason to move.

He is not going anywhere until he gets the word back from the lab. And considering that they paid an exorbitant amount of money to convince the lab workers to process his specimen immediately and provide them with the results as soon as possible... It could be any minute.

The doctor sighs and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

Kent doesn't even turn on the light, preferring to just sit in the dark.

Which is how he notices the flashing blue and red lights driving down the road.

Kent's head instantly snaps up, his body tense as he watches the lights grow brighter, grow closer. No sirens - which means the cops aren't in any hurry.

Which means...

The lights grow so bright that Kent knows they're just outside of the house now. But they don't dim. They're not passing by.

"Marco," Kent snaps, jumping to his feet. Marco is slow to wake so Kent grabs his arm, hauling him to his feet.

Marco looks around, confused. "What?" he murmurs, but Kent just shakes his head, listening carefully, as hard as he can.

There's movement outside - Kent's eyes flick to the window, where he sees dark figures running across the lawn, keeping low to avoid being seen. Men in black tactical gear - a swat team.

They're surrounding the doctor's house.

"Fuck," Kent breathes, and then his head snaps towards the office door when he hears beyond it, in the house, a pounding on the front door. "Shit."

They are here for him, he knows it. But how the f**k did they know where he went?

Kent hears a door open in the house, and then the pounding of feet rushing towards them.

"On your knees, Marco!" Kent shouts, dropping to his own, throwing his hands in the air above his head. He knows - knows that this is it, that they've got him surrounded. That if he runs, he'll be dead before he even hears the crack of a gun. "Hands UP!" Just - just as Marco sinks to his knees - as his hands barely reach for the ceiling - the door to the office slams open and they flood in -

It's chaos instant chaos - all at once-

A body hits Kent, hard, taking him down to the floor, but Kent doesn't respond, doesn't resist.

Don't give them any reason to hurt you, he remembers his father whispering to him the day the other family came to kill him. Just stay still - let them do what they want. If you move, they'll kill you too.

The advice rings as true now as it did then.

A punch hits Kent hard in the face and he groans, flinching away, but he doesn't retaliate, even though every bone in him wants to tear these guys apart. Instead, Kent goes limp until they start barking orders at him, and then he does everything they say. Everything. Kent rolls over, puts his hands behind his back when he's bid to. He lets himself be cuffed and he watches Marco go through the same process with impassive eyes. It's not like he can do anything to help him anyway.

Kent doesn't do anything more than breathe when they pull him to his feet and march him through the doctor's house, past the doctor's scandalized wife and two high-school age children. The doctor is the last one he sees, standing gaping at the red front door as the police work to escort him through it.

Then, and only then, does Kent resist. He stops dead in his tracks, holding the doctor's eye as the cops holding him work to tug him along. "The results," Kent says, staring hard at the doctor and ignoring the men with guns. "You'll keep them for me?"

"I'm still your doctor, Mr. Lippert," the man says, raising his chin. "I will keep the results for when you are ready."

Kent tries to nod but he doesn't have time - something hits him - hard - across the back-

He hisses in pain and stumbles forward. The cops get a better grip, hauling him along, but Kent doesn't protest anymore. He got the answer he wanted. Now, he knows, he's in their hands.

Fuck, he thinks, ducking his head as the police force him into the back of the police car. The lab was going to call...any minute. Any god damn minute. Kent curses the NYPD's timing as the police car begins to pull away with him locked securely in the back seat.

 

Chapter 163

I'm startled from my nap on Daniel's shoulder a little while later by a gentle shake at my shoulder. I raise my head, groaning at the crick in my neck and wiping at my mouth where I'm horrified to see there's a little drool. Blinking, confused, I look around. Where... "Hey, baby," a soft voice murmurs. My eyes focus on the figure crouched down in front of me, on her head of pretty purple hair... "Janeen!" I gasp, and then I pitch forward into my sister's arms. She lets out a little surprised gasp as knock her to the floor, holding her tight to me. Then she laughs a little as I duck my head against her shoulder. "Okay, kid," she says, patting my hair. "It's all right. We came to take you home."

"We?" I ask, raising my head. And then I look up to see my dad standing there my real dad, who I haven't seen in weeks, and I burst into tears.

"Oh, darling," he says, holding his hands out to me. I reach out for him instantly and my dad pulls me first to my feet and then into a warm hug where he holds me for a long time, rocking me back and forth.

After a few long moments of this, I hear someone awkwardly clear their throat behind me. When I turn, I see Daniel standing up from his seat, looking hesitantly between us. Of course, he's figured out who these people are - but he's never been introduced. "Dad," I say, stepping away from him and wiping at my eyes. "This is Daniel. My...um, he's my fiancé." And then I gesture towards Janeen as well. "Daniel this is Janeen."

"It's a pleasure to meet you both," Daniel says, all formality, saying precisely what is expected of a fiance upon meeting the family. "I wish it was...under better circumstances."

Janeen laughs, a harsh thing, but not without humor. I turn to glare at her a little but she doesn't see, her eyes on Daniel. "Oh, we all wish it was under better circumstances, Danny." Then, even though he opens his mouth to reply, Janeen turns to me. "You ready to get out of here, baby?"

Eagerly, I nod, but I fix my eyes on Daniel and the lawyer. "Um, can we go?"

The lawyer, looking exhausted, sighs and nods. "They want to bring you for questioning later in the week, but considering they only just captured Lippert now, they're distracted -"

I gasp when I hear the news and Daniel reaches out to take my hand. "I'll tell you all about it," he promises. "He's okay."

I nod, clenching my jaw with something between relief and anxiety as I squeeze Daniel's hand, agreeing. Then I look at Janeen and my dad, wondering...

"Is he coming with us?" Janeen asks me, raising an eyebrow and nodding towards Daniel.

"Of course he is," I say, frowning at her, a little pissed that she'd even ask.

"Okay," she says, raising her hands innocently, though I can see a sarcastic little smirk on her mouth. Just asking. I just wasn't sure if you'd want the reason you got shot at tonight to come along home -"

"I didn't get shot at," I snap, narrowing my eyes at her. "And none of this is Daniel's fault."

"Whatever," she says breezily as my dad tightens a supportive arm around my shoulders. Then Janeen starts to move towards the door. "Let's just go. Bring your little mafia boy toy along all you want."

My jaw drops open, aghast, but Daniel squeezes my hand again. "Let it go," he murmurs to me. "Her are..justified."

"Damn right it is, son," my dad says sternly, and I look up at him, surprised again. Dad is usually so mild-mannered. When dad sees my surprise, he just gives me a shrug. "Well, it is, baby."

"Okay," I sigh, dropping Daniel's hand as we start to move towards the door. I lean into my dad, wanting his warmth. "I get it. Let's just...go home."

When we climb into the car, I'm surprised that dad drives us not to our little city house - but instead hits the highway and starts to take us towards the shore. It doesn't take me long to realize that we're heading for the shore house - my shore house, which I've mostly turned over to Janeen.

Janeen sits in the back with me, leaving Daniel to awkwardly take the front seat next to my dad. We're all silent for a long time before Janeen asks dad to turn on the radio, which he does. But when she turns to me and leans close, I realize that the music is just a

cover.

"How are you?" she whispers, unbuckling her belt so she can scoot closer to me. "Are you okay?"

I ignore her questions, instead countering with some pressing ones of my own. "How did you even know we were here, Janeen?"

"That guy," she says, blinking at me in wide-eyed surprise. When I glance at Daniel, she takes my hand, pulling my attention back to her. "No, the other guy. Ivan. He - he called, he told me that you were going to need a ride from the police station tonight." "What?" I gasp, yanking my hand out from hers. "Janeen! You're talking to Ivan!? He completely betrayed me!"

"Did he?" Janeen asks, her eyebrows going up. "I mean, how -"

"He's the reason Kent was arrested, Janeen," I say to her through gritted teeth. I mean it's not really her fault, how would she know this? But still, I'm frustrated. "He set it all up! Ivan is behind all of this -"

"Really," Janeen says sarcastically, crossing her arms and giving me a dubious look. "Seriously? It's all Ivan's fault? Kent did nothing to deserve to be arrested. He's completely clean."

I hesitate then, realizing that...well, yes, Kent broke several national and international laws, but...

"Precisely." Janeen says, smug.

I turn and give my sister a nasty look. "You don't know the whole story, Janeen," I snap. "You weren't there."

"Damn right I wasn't there," Janeen says, shaking her head at me. "Because you have pushed me and dad further and further out of your life, getting completely wrapped up in this Lippert bullshit! So much so that you were in a police raid tonight - you could have been killed!" Her face pales then, and she raises an anxious hand to her cheek, clearly picturing it in her mind. I hesitate then, leaning forward, seeing her point.

"Okay," I sigh. "You're right. I get it. But Janeen," I shake my head again. "He's...it's..."

"Whatever it is," Janeen says, her voice tense as she glances at dad - clearly implying that maybe what I'm going to say next is not something dad wants to hear - "all I know is that I got a really nice phone call from a good-looking blonde who has a lot of sexy tattoos and clearly cares about you, Fay. And from my perspective? It looks like he put a lot of effort into getting you out of a very bad situation."

I glance at Daniel, who has his head turned towards us just slightly, clearly listening but pretending he's not.

"The Lipperts are my family, Janeen," I say, looking at my best friend and then back to my sister. "And yours now," I continue, putting a hand on my stomach. "Whether you like it or not."

Janeen frowns at me for a second, but then looks down at my hand and goes white. Her eyes are wider than I've ever seen them when she looks back up at me. She glances quickly at dad - who is, thank god, oblivious - and then mouths some words to me: are you f*****g serious?

I shrug then, tears springing to my eyes.

Janeen leans back in her chair, giving an agonized groan and covering her face with her hands. I watch her for a few long moments as she stays precisely like that, clearly processing the news that I've barely had time to work through myself. Then, slowly, she drags her hands away from her face and looks at me again.

Slowly, she cocks her head to the side and points at the back of Daniel's head, clearly asking if he's the father. I shake my head no, scrunching my face in distaste, and she groans again before heaving with a long sigh. Then she turns to me and mouths another single word:

Kent?

Slowly, I nod.

Janeen's eyebrows go up, almost as if she's impressed. And, seeing the tears starting to drip down my face, Janeen clicks her tongue and goes into big sister mode. She scoots across the back seat to wrap her arms around me, drawing me tight against her and making soft shushing noises to me as we drive down the long empty highway to the coast, letting me silently cry myself out into her shirt.

"It's okay, baby," she murmurs against my hair, just once. "We'll get it all sorted out. Though I have to admit, if you had made me lay a bet on which one of us was going to get knocked up by a mafia guy who was in jail..."

I can feel her shake her head and I laugh, just a little. At that, Daniel looks over his shoulder at both of us, his face clearly worried and pained.

"You okay?" he asks, looking only at me - probably not yet ready to face Janeen's wrath.

"Nope," I reply, giving him a tight little smile. "Are you?"

"No way," he says with a sigh, sinking back in his chair. "Not at all."

"Well at least we're on the same page," I sigh. And then we all ride in silence the final few miles to our house, listening to the oldies station dad picked out.

I close my eyes and rest my head against my sister's shoulder, seeking sleep - oblivion -

But it evades me.

Instead, I just think, and scheme, and plan.

Just as Kent taught me to do.

 

Chapter 164

When I walk out of my bedroom the next morning Janeen comes over to me with a glass of orange juice - what I always started my day with as a kid - but I barely notice as she places it in my hand because I am too busy gawking at the incredible view from the

second-story living room of my house. My house.

"Oh my god," I murmur, walking over to sliding open the glass door that leads to an expansive back deck. Janeen comes with me, smirking a little, as we both look over the silent ocean that seems to stretch for miles in front of us. "Is this...is this a private beach?" I breathe.

"It's supposed to be," Janeen says with a little sigh. "But you can't really stop people from walking up and down it. Nor would I want to the beach belongs to everyone, not just Mr. Lippert."

I give Janeen a little glare before I continue to turn and stare around the gigantic, far too beautiful house with its incredibly high ceilings and walls covered in windows...

"This place," I murmur, shaking my head and taking a sip of my orange juice. "It's....unbelievable..."

"I know, right?" Janeen says, grinning at me a little wickedly. "What did you do to Mr. Lippert that made him this happy -"

"Ew, Janeen," I say, glaring at her again before walking over to the empty kitchen. We're both up before dad and Daniel, which I guess is good - because I know Janeen and I have some stuff to talk about that I'd prefer dad not year. Not yet.

"What!?" she says, chasing after me and laughing a little as I move to the coffee machine and pour myself a cup of the pot Janeen already made. "Seriously, Fay, I'm impressed with your work. Mr. Lippert must be-"

"Stop calling him that," I mutter, starting to get mad. I know my sister is teasing me, and that I've got a lot to answer for, but honestly.

"Fine," she says, leaning against the counter with a smirk, "Mr. Baby Daddy."

"Janeen!" I gasp, swatting at her with my free hand, which she easily evades, laughing at me.

"What, that's also no good?"

But when she sees me take a deep breath, and my face go red - which it usually does when I'm holding back tears - Janeen rolls her eyes and sighs.

"Fine, Fay, I'm sorry," she says, not meaning it. But I accept it nonetheless. "But honestly, what were you thinking, getting knocked up? Didn't you -"

"He had a vasectomy, Janeen," I explain with a sigh. And then, as fast as I can - my eyes always on the door that I know dad is right behind - I tell her the whole story.

"Wow," she says, genuinely shocked at the end of it. "That is some...soap-opera level drama, Fay. Who knew you had it in you."

"I knew," Daniel says, coming up the stairs now, his hands in the pockets of his pajamas that dad loaned him. I smile to see him and then laugh when I notice that the pajamas are somehow simultaneously too short and too baggy around the waist. We both turn to him as he comes into the kitchen. "Fay has been nothing but a delightful source of drama since the moment we met her. Kept us on our toes."

"Excuse you," I say, giving Daniel his own little glare as I turn towards the coffee machine to get him a cup. "But I did not ask to be carried out of a strip club on your dad's shoulder -"

"Is that what happened?" Janeen gasps, grinning at me and shoving my shoulder playfully. "Fay Thompson! Naughty girl!"

We all laugh a little, and I admit it does my heart good to be laughing with my sister and my best friend and not concentrating on the...much bigger questions at hand. At least, not yet. "So," Janeen says, turning her wicked grin on Daniel now as she looks up at him. "You're the gay one, right? Where's your boyfriend?"

Daniel blinks to hear Janeen say it so blatantly, but then he smirks, glancing at me. I grimace a little, realizing that I never told him...well, just how much I filled Janeen in, over the weeks.

"He got arrested," Daniel says, deciding not to deny it and taking a sip from his coffee. "As part of the raid."

"So you're both nerds who are into mafia bad boys," Janeen says with a wide, delighted grin, laughing and looking between us as she crosses her arms. "Makes sense why you're engaged to each other."

"She's just jealous," I say to Daniel, smiling at him over my coffee cup. "She wishes she could land a Kent or a Jerome."

"Accurate," Janeen says with a shrug. "If you know anyone...."

"Pickings are slim," Daniel says, grinning at her. "All in jail for the moment. Though if you're into girls, I know some Russians..."

Janeen raises her eyebrows, clearly intrigued, but I interrupt.

"Enough of this " I say, stepping between them. "We need..." and then I sigh, deciding how to phrase this. I turn to my sister. "Janeen, Daniel and I need to make plans. And you're welcome to be in on them, but if you do...I need you to either be in or out. You're either a part of this, or you should - for your own safety - stay out of it completely."

Janeen goes quiet for a moment, studying me, and then flicks her eyes to Daniel. "Did you do this to her?" she asks quietly. "Turn my geeky little sister into a mafia boss?"

"Nah," I hear Daniel answer, and I don't look at him. "That's all dad."

"Well," Janeen says, returning her gaze to me. "I kind of like it."

"So, are you in?" I ask, needing an answer and wanting it now.

"Of course I'm in," she says, giving me a frown. "You know you can count on me, Fay. Always."

I turn to Daniel then, because no matter what - we're in this together. "You good with that?"

"1 I am if you are," he says, looking down at me with his steady green eyes. My heart twists a little as I look up at him. He just looks...so much like Kent.

I quickly look away, needing...well, needing not to go there right now. There's too much to do. Briskly, I nod. "Okay then. Let's get started."

Daniel and I set up camp on the second-story back deck, which is almost too luxurious and comfortable to serve as the base of our command. But we make do, curled up at the circular wooden table with the blue umbrella open above us. Dad, when he wakes, makes us breakfast and brings it to us while the three of us chat. He doesn't interfere or join in, though - clearly deciding to give us our space.

I thank him and hope he knows how grateful I am that he's here, but I don't ask him to get involved - both because I know he doesn't want to, and because....well, because I can't stand to put him in that kind of danger. My father is a gentle soul.

Janeen, however, is a terrier. I have much less worry about her - and frankly, she's even better than Daniel about getting organized and bringing all of our pieces together.

Daniel contacts our lawyers, getting all the information he can about Kent and Jerome's incarceration as well as our finances. It's not long before we have a pile of mixed news to sort through.

"So, the bad news," Daniel says, ending his call and sitting back down at the table with us, "is that all of dad's property and bank accounts are locked down because he's under investigation."

"Oh," I say, sitting forward, disturbed by this. "So, um. How are we going to pay lawyers and stuff?"

"They'll do a certain amount essentially on credit," Daniel sighs, running a hand through his messy hair, "under the assumption that they'll get paid when dad goes free, or when his accounts and stuff get unlocked. But until then..."

"Are we broke?" I ask, a little afraid. I mean I'm no stranger to being poor, but this situation gets a lot more complicated if we don't have resources.

"That's part of the good news," Daniel says, looking at me and leaning back in his chair. "You and I still have access to our accounts and property."

"We have accounts and property?" I ask, tilting my head to the side.

"How do you not know this, Fay?" Janeen scoffs.

"I was busy, Janeen," I growl, glaring at her.

"Getting knocked up," she murmurs, which makes Daniel laugh. I lean over and shove her hard enough that her shoulder knocks into Daniel's, and they both stop laughing, seeing that I'm mad.

"Can we be serious, please?" I say before I turn my attention back to Daniel.

"My property is in Europe," Daniel says casually as if it's a normal thing - "and you have this house, which is paid for outright." A little thrill of security goes through me at that - at least we have somewhere to stay. "And as for accounts, apparently dad gave the lawyers a list of our assets in case something like this happened. I'll access them now."

But while Daniel types on the computer, pulling up our bank accounts, the doorbell rings.

I frown at Janeen. "Were you expecting anyone?"

Slowly, she shakes her head. So, I stand up, heading for the stairs down to the front door.

 

Chapter 165

When I open the front door to my shore house, I'm a little appalled - but somehow, not surprised - to see Ivan standing there. "Are you serious," I growl, moving to slam the door shut.

But he throws out an arm, stopping me. "I just want to talk, Fay."

I stare up at him, hatred all over my face. "Where was all the talking, Ivan, in the past few days before you destroyed my life?"

"I didn't destroy anything," he snaps back, his temper rising as he leans forward to glare down at me. Kent did that. But somehow, I'm the bad guy?"

"Yeah, Ivan," I hiss, staring up at him. "People who lie to me for months about their entire identity are the bad guy -"

"I was undercover!" he shouts, starting to lose his cool. "It was my job!"

I open my mouth to throw something back at him, but my dad's cool voice cuts me off.

"Can I help you, young man?" he asks, and I turn to see my dad with his arms crossed, looking Ivan up and down unhappily.

"Sir," Ivan says, standing up straight and looking a little chagrined to have been caught yelling at this man's daughter. "Apologies sir. I'm Detective Kaminski. I've been... involved in the Lippert case for several years now. I'm...acquainted with your daughter." "He means he's in love with her!" Janeen's voice calls down from upstairs

My cheeks instantly burn with embarrassment and when I look back at Ivan I see that his are too.

"Well then," my dad says, his eyebrows nearly to his hairline as he moves back to clear the path to the stairs "Guess you should come inside, my boy."

I scowl at Ivan as he passes me, but shut the door behind him.

"How did you even know where I live," I murmur to him as I we climb the stairs after my dad.

"I know everything, Fay," he sighs back. "Besides, it's public record - you own this house."

"Jackass," I murmur, but I don't say anything else as we reach the second floor, where Janeen and Daniel are waiting for us in the living room - Janeen grinning eagerly and Daniel looking stoically at Ivan even though he's still dressed in my dad's pajamas. The five of us stand awkwardly together before my dad clears his throat and breaks the silence. "Quite a selection of young men you've gathered, Fay," he says, a little smirk on his face as he looks between the two incredibly good-looking guys standing in the living room, one dark and one fair.

Janeen bursts into a stuttering little laugh. "Oh dad," she says, putting a hand on his shoulder and grinning around at us, enjoying every moment of this. "You don't even know the half of it -"

"Janeen," I growl, swatting at her, but she evades me and loops her arm in dad's. "Come on," she says, sing him towards the kitchen. "Let's get our guest some iced tea."

Daniel takes a step closer to us, closing the circle.

"Do you mind," Ivan says to him through clenched teeth, "if I have a moment alone with Fay?"

"Hell yes I mind," Daniel snaps, crossing his arms over his chest. I do the same, likewise glaring at Ivan and wanting Daniel there.

"Why are you being so ridiculous, Fay?" Ivan says, losing his temper again almost immediately. I consider him, realizing that I've never seen him this worked up - not even that day in the stable. "I did this for you - for -" he glances at Daniel, "for us -" "What!?" I exclaim, shocked. "Ivan, you did this for you - for your fucking job, for your father -"

"That was the start of it," he agrees, staring intensely down at me, not looking at anyone else anymore. "But the end of it - moving now, getting him out now? I was setting you free -"

I take a step closer to Ivan, glaring up into his face and speaking between clenched teeth. "I did not ask you to set me free - I am not some ridiculous caged bird! I wanted to be there -"

"He had you locked up!" Ivan exclaims, getting heated now, "tied into that ridiculous contract!"

"Contract?" I hear Daniel ask, but I ignore him.

"That's all bullshit, Ivan," I say, placing a hand on his chest and shoving, hard. "I made my choice - weeks ago. I picked him."

Ivan stumbles back then, staring at me - and it's not just my shove that pushed him away. It's also his disbelief that...even with Kent out of the picture. I still pick him.

He glances down at my stomach. "Is this because you're..."

"No!" I shout, advancing on him again and going pale as I glance towards my dad in the kitchen, who I still haven't told.

"Because he's never getting out Fay," Ivan says all in a rush, his eyes wide now, almost as if he's trying to explain my freedom to me - as if I think I'm still wrapped up under Kent's control.

"You've got some kind of Stockholm Syndrome bullshit - but Lippert is so wrapped up in all of this that he's never getting out - he's going down -" Ivan steps forward and takes me by the shoulders, staring closely into my face to make sure I hear him. "There's no bail - the judge refused it. And he's - they're going to ask for the death penalty, Fay. The best he can hope for - ever, even with a plea, is several life terms in prison. He's not getting out."

Ivan studies my face as I go pale - as he waits for me to realize that I am free -

But he's going to be waiting a damn long time for that, because no one was forcing me to stay in the Lippert house. I wanted to be there -I tied my life to Kent and to Daniel because I want them. Because they're my family.

"I will help you raise this baby," Ivan murmurs, stepping closer to me now.

"That's fucking enough," Daniel growls, stepping forward to intercede, but I put up a hand to stop him.

"How did you do it," I say, my voice hard, as I stare up into Ivan's face. "Because we both know you don't have enough on Kent to get him six life sentences."

Kent confessed to me some horrible crimes that night in my bed and Ivan has a recording of that - but I'm well aware that kind of pillow talk isn't going to hold up in court. So, there's got to be something else.

Ivan sighs and glances at Daniel, not wanting to say. But I stare up at him, waiting.

"Other testimony," Ivan sighs, looking away - I think, somehow, a little ashamed. "Other bosses are coming forward, testifying against Kent in exchange for immunity. They're...they're loading him up, Fay. That was the deal: Kent takes the blame for some other boss' crimes and the city gets a huge part of their organized crime wiped out - the entire Lippert enterprise, liquidated."

"Who," I whisper. "Who else, besides you."

Ivan just shakes his head at me.

"Who!" I demand.

"You already know, Fay," he says, gritting his teeth.

"My father," I whisper, staring up at him, needing the confirmation.

Slowly, Ivan nods.

And then he takes a step closer to me, as if to take me in his arms -

But I step back and I turn away, wrapping my arms around myself and moving slowly towards the back deck, where I stare at the sea.

"Fay," he calls after me, but I just shake my head.

"You should go, Detective Kaminski," I say quietly, the name feeling odd on my tongue. But he's not Ivan anymore - not the one I knew.

He says my name again, pleading this time. But I don't reply.

I hear footsteps, a little protest, maybe even a light scuffle. But then a single set of footsteps echoes behind me. "I'll give you time," Ivan says, "to realize that this is right. I'll be back, Fay."

"I'd prefer it if you didn't," I murmur, heaving a little sigh. But I don't look back at him, and he doesn't touch me. Instead, the footsteps just fade away behind me. And when they're gone, I just rest my head against the door frame and close my eyes.

And then I spend the next half hour wondering how the hell I'm going to deal with the fact that I'm probably never going to see Kent ever again.