Ch. 216..220: Fall For My Ex’s Mafia Dad Chapter 216-220

Chapter 216

Kent stares at me for a long moment, steady and serious, before he slips his hand from my cheek to my neck, pulling me to him and kissing me, hard and fast like he can't help it. My mouth opens to him in an instant and I reach for him, wrapping my hands in his The kiss is desperate for a moment as we both consider how close it was - that possibility of losing each other, of me having to raise this baby without him.

shirt and using my leverage there to pull him close.

But now that we're here, and we have another chance?

There's no way in hell that we're letting anyone take this from us. Never again.

Kent breaks the kiss after a long moment, resting his forehead against mine and staring down into my eyes. "I love you, Fay," he whispers, and a thrill runs through me to hear it.

"I know," I murmur, my breath coming hard as I force myself to loosen my grip on his shirt.

He leans in again, moving his mouth to mine, eager to continue, but I put a hand on his chest, very aware that we're indecently close to getting caught in a very compromising position here on this very public deck.

I lean back a little, willing myself into a little more self-control, taking a deep breath.

"So," I say, wracking my mind looking for a safe subject of conversation that isn't going to make me want to tear his clothes off any more than I already do. But...I don't come up with much.

What were we even talking about before?

My brain goes fuzzy as I stare at him, this impossibly good-looking man, with his full lips -

And god, that body that I know is hidden under these unassuming clothes, thick with muscles and so tall and broad -

I lick my lips a little, my eyes drifting from his mouth downward, doing my very...very best to reign myself in.

I flick my eyes back up to Kent's face to find him staring seriously at me, his stillness and silence communicating that he's thinking precisely, precisely what I am right now. But I smirk, smiling, because dinner is in half an hour. And while that's probably enough time...

Well. We've got the rest of our lives for that, don't we? Besides, it will be fun to make him wait.

At least, fun for me.

I smirk a little, leaning forward and placing an innocent hand on his thigh, pretending I don't know what I'm doing. "So, Kent," I say idly, trying again to come up with some small talk to distract him. "How do you feel about -" "No," he snaps, shaking his head and grabbing me suddenly around the shoulders and under the knees, standing up in an instant with me already in his arms. "Absolutely not, Fay," he growls. "This is ridiculous."

He's already well on his way to the door by the time I gasp my surprise and then start to laugh, wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling myself close to him. Somehow he gets the door open and is already striding down the stairs. "What!" I protest. "I wasn't doing anything -"

"You seriously think," he growls, striding down the corridor to our cabin, "that I spend two months in jail thinking about you and we're going to spend our first full day together chatting on the sun deck?" He's angry now - honestly, anyone else would probably think him a little dangerous, but seeing Kent like this? It just sends a little thrill down my spine and lights a fire in my core.

Kent practically kicks the door to our cabin open and then slams it shut behind us.

"Fuck that, Fay," he mutters, tossing me laughing onto the bed and before he pulls off his shirt. "Absolutely not."

And then Kent climbs on top of me, and again seals his mouth to me.

And we are very, very late for dinner.

Janeen grins at me broadly when Kent and I finally do get to the dinner table, resting her elbow against the table and eagerly propping her chin in her palm. "Heyyy Fayyy," she says, blinking innocently. "We saved you some supper. Did you lose track of time?" I blush a little, shaking my head at her, but Kent doesn't raise to her bait at all as he sits down at the table and nods a hello to everyone. He looks completely nonplussed by our activities this past hour, though I am...well, I can't keep the smile off my face. I love Kent for many reasons, but our physical connection? It's...definitely not at the bottom of the list.

I sigh happily, reaching for a dish of macaroni and cheese in the center of the table, suddenly ravenous.

Janeen just laughs at me, shaking her head, while my dad flips through a book of old sea stories he has propped on the table, clearly not wanting to know.

Daniel, in on the joke, wraps an arm around my shoulder and gives me a kiss on the head. "Ah, my faithful little wife!" he says, grinning at me as I spoon cheesy noodles onto my plate. "I've missed you. What on earth have you been getting up to without me by your side?" Kent, reaching for a dish of broiled fish, sends Daniel a little glare but doesn't say anything, letting it pass. Daniel's grin broadens at this and I laugh, considering that Kent letting him get away with a cheeky mark at his expense is probably a new experience. "Well, I, for one," Jerome says, raising a half-drunk glass of whiskey in my direction, "did not miss you, Fay, as Janeen and I have a chance at Scrabble when we can gang up on Daniel together."

"You say this like it's a good thing," Janeen chimes in, rolling her eyes. "As if we hadn't already lost by agreeing to play Scrabble anyway." "Hey!" Daniel protests but Janeen glares, pointing a fork in his direction.

"Next time we're playing strip poker, as I suggested," she murmurs before stabbing a bite of potato with her fork and lifting it to her mouth.

I laugh at this as Kent and I fill our plates, and then dinner devolves into the usual chaotic chatter that I got used to in our weeks at the beach house together, an atmosphere that fills me with joy. This, honestly, feels quite like my element - sitting with people who love each other very dearly, chatting and teasing, sharing a meal. Quietly, and I hope privately, I watch Kent from the corner of my eye, seeing how he takes it. Because as much as I love this, I know that it's very different from the home that he built for himself over the years. Even though he always had Daniel in his house, Kent's mansion...well, it never really felt like a home, did it? He always had barriers up, rules and restrictions that made it very difficult to have these kinds of connections. Silently, I wonder why he did that, or if it was even his choice.

And if it was...my stomach turns over, because...will our new life together mean that I have to give this up? Because I desperately don't want to. But if Kent prefers something quieter -

Suddenly, Kent turns his head and meets my eyes, huffing a little laugh. "Will you stop staring at me?" His words are low, whispered, just for me. The family around us keeps talking, either not noticing or giving us our space.

"What?" I ask, blinking. And then I blush, realizing that I was staring at him.

"It's fine," he says, smiling at me and slipping a hand onto my thigh, giving it a little squeeze. "It's good, Fay. It really is. I like it," he says, gesturing around the table. "Stop worrying about me."

"It's just...different," I say, shrugging and hoping he understands. "Than anything you had."

"It's better," he murmurs, leaning a little towards me. "It's what I would have had - I just...honestly, I don't think I knew how to create anything like this. You're...better at social stuff than me." "What?" I say, turning my head, a little confused. "Kent, you throw beautiful parties -"

He waves a hand, shaking his head. "Real social stuff, Fay. Between people who love each other? That's all so much harder than picking a venue and the right drinks to be served. And I want it - I really do. All right?"

"All right," I say, smiling and running my fingers briefly through his hair before sighing happily and turning back to the table, hoping that he's not faking enthusiasm for my sake. Because I love my obnoxious, loud, funny family - and if he doesn't? Honestly, he's just going to have to get used to it.

 

Chapter 217

I'm perfectly happy to let our days pass as a strange mix of shared, noisy meals together book ended by a great deal of time alone with Kent. The two of us spend the spare hours between meals in our cabin or out on the sun deck, talking quietly about our plans, or about nothing. It's precisely what I wanted - just time to reconnect, to decompress from the stress of planning the perfectly-timed execution of several felonies, to recommit ourselves to each other. But after about a week of begin pretty much constantly at each other's side, I turn over in bed one morning and nudge Kent on the shoulder with my fingers.

"You have to talk to Daniel, you know," I murmur, frowning at him.

"What?" he asks, frowning down at me over the reading glasses I picked out for him. He's already awake, letting me sleep in a bit while he enjoys a cup of coffee and reading some international news on a tablet. I think I surprised him by being awake. "Seriously," I say, yawning and reaching for his coffee. "You have to talk to him -"

"You won't even like this," Kent mutters, pulling the coffee out of my reach and making me scowl. "There's no sugar or cream -"

"Little baby Bell Pepper wants the caffeine - "

He rolls his eyes. "Well, tell Pepper to get her own," he says, making me laugh. So I sigh and pull myself out of bed, wrapping myself in my ratty robe and heading for the French press, which is waiting with my own cup of coffee still in it.

"I'm serious, though," I say, pouring my cup and adding my sugar and cream before coming back to bed and curling up at Kent's side, resting my head on his shoulder. "You have to talk to him."

"Why?" he asks, looking at me, confused. "Is there...is something wrong?"

"No," I say, shaking my head. "But you haven't talked to him."

"I have too talked to him! I've -"

"Not one-on-one," I insist, knowing that I'm right. "You've been avoiding it."

Kent scoffs but I look up at him, raising my eyebrows and calling his bluff. "Fine," he sighs. "Maybe a little."

"Why though?" I ask, confused. "You and Daniel love each other - we all know you do. But you two never sit and talk."

"Because we never have," Kent sighs, flicking off his tablet and putting it down on the bed, wrapping an arm around me. "It's...different with us. We've had twenty-plus years of not speaking to each other about anything...significant. About how we feel or what we think. It's a difficult pattern to unlearn."

"Well, you do those things with me," I point out. "It's not like you can't talk about your feelings."

"I barely tell you my feelings, Fay," he murmurs, growling a bit, and I smile because I like it when he's disgruntled. At least, when he deserves to be. "You just...intuit them."

"Yes, I'm very intuitive," I murmur, pressing a kiss to his shoulder. Then I sit up straight. "Well, I'm very sick, and I want my sister, and I want to be alone." I quip, clearly lying. "What?" he asks, confused.

"I want you to bring my sister to me so she can nurse me to health, and I want you to leave me alone while she does," I say, flicking a hand at him in dismissal. "So, go away. I need girl time." "Fay," he groans, shaking his head.

"Go!" I say, shoving him a little and laughing. "Honestly, Kent, I'm sick of you - we haven't left each other's side in a week -"

"It's going to be longer than that when we're married -" he growls, moving closer to me, intent on staying.

"Oh, it is not," I sigh, pulling away and pointing at the door. "Besides, that's impossible, I'm already married. Now go speak with my husband, your son! Send Janeen here when you find her."

Kent grumbles, dissatisfied, and glares at me the whole time that he gets dressed. I ignore him, opening his tablet and continuing to read his article where he left off.

"Mine," he says, snatching the tablet out of my hands.

"Rude," I say with a tsk, crossing my arms and glaring at him.

"Two hours," he says, heading for the door. "Then I'm coming back."

"Bye, baby!" I call as he opens the door. "Talk to your kid! Bond!"

Kent grumbles something noncommittal as he slips out the door.

I spend the next ten minutes pulling myself together, getting changed out of my nightgown and putting on some comfortable clothes. Though honestly, I don't know why I bother - I'm probably just going to end up back in bed. The seas and the baby are not going easy on me today.

As I comb my hair in the bathroom mirror, I hear a little knock at the door and turn, surprised.

Because...Janeen probably wouldn't knock if she knew Kent wasn't here. She'd probably just barge right in, as she's done my whole life.

Frowning, I move to the door and pull it open, my mouth opening in a surprised smile when I see Jerome standing there, leaning against the doorway with one hand behind his back.

"Janeen said she wouldn't be beckoned like a puppy," he says, twisting his lips a little in apology. "I hope you will accept me as a replacement."

I laugh, grabbing his arm and pulling him inside. "Even better," I say, grinning at him. "She's in a foul mood, all cooped up on this ship, anyway. What snacks did you bring me?"

Jerome's smile grows. "What makes you think I brought you snacks?" he asks, cagy.

"Um, probably the fact that you did," I say, rolling my eyes and quickly reaching behind him, grabbing for the bag of popcorn in his hand. He just laughs and willingly gives it up, following me when I head to the bed and cheerfully sit down, my legs crossed. "So," I say, pulling open the bag and starting to eat. "Are you as bored as Janeen?"

"Nah," Jerome says, sitting down on the bed and then laying himself out on his side, propping himself on his arm. I offer him the bag of popcorn but he shakes his head, leaving it all to me. "Janeen is just stir crazy because there are no men on this ship who she can flirt with. I, alternately, am on a 10-day cruise with my boyfriend. I have plenty to do."

I laugh at this, shaking my head in wonder. "I mean, how does Janeen not have anyone to flirt with?" I ask, confused.

"Well," Jerome says, holding up his fingers as he counts people off, "gay, gay, dad, and ridiculously obsessed with you," he points out, shrugging. "So, pickings are slim."

I roll my eyes, because obviously that's not what I meant. "Jerome, there are like thirty other men on this ship. And Janeen's hot! Surely one of them is hungry for some company."

"Well," Jerome says, smirking a little. "I think Daniel had something to do with that."

"What?" I ask, my eyes going wide.

Jerome laughs, shaking his head. "Yeah, he told them day one to keep their hands off the one with the purple hair or else they'd lose their jobs."

"Just Janeen!?" I gasp, a little appalled that I wasn't included in the ban.

"Well, there was no need to include you," Jerome says, smirking, "considering you've got your gigantic baby daddy at your side at all times. No one even has a chance to hit on you."

"Wait," I say, turning my head at him now. "Why did Daniel do that to Janeen? Are the sailors like...bad guys? Everyone has been so nice..."

"Nah," Jerome says, grinning deeply now. "He just wanted to see her spin her wheels. She's been throwing herself with more and more desperation at the crew, who want nothing to do with her - he's getting a kick out of it -"

I throw my head back and laugh when I hear this, delighted. But then I shake my head, bringing my gaze back to my friend. "No, that's mean - poor Janeen, she loves a sailor." I unfold my leg and give him a little kick. "Tell him to take it back - let the poor girl run free." Jerome shrugs and nods. "I'll do my best," he says, shaking his head.

"Who knew," I say thoughtfully, munching on more popcorn. "Ivan had the gall to warn me about you, but the whole time Daniel was the devious one."

I'm still laughing a little and reaching for another handful of popcorn before I realize that Jerome has gone silent. Confused, I let the popcorn fall from my fingers and move my eyes to my friend, a little surprised to see him laying perfectly still on his bed, his face worried.

"What?" Jerome asks.

"Huh?" I ask in response, not understanding.

"What did you just say?" Jerome asks, sitting up and looking at me carefully.

I shake my head at him, still not getting it. "About Daniel being devious? I'm sorry, Jerome - you know I don't really think that -"

"No," he interrupts, peering at me closely. "About Ivan. Warning you about me. What did he say?"

 

Chapter 218

"Um," I say, sitting up straight, my hands darting anxiously to play with my hair as they rarely do anymore. "I don't really remember, Jerome -" "Yes, you do, Fay," he says, frowning at me and pushing. "I know you do. Seriously, just tell me."

I take a deep breath then, looking at him seriously now. "He said that I should watch out for you. That he had done his research on you, and that you were shady and..." I bite my lip now, not wanting to say more. Jerome just narrows his eyes at me and raises his chin once, urging me forward.

I heave a sigh. "Jerome, he said you were grasping and that you always move towards the most powerful person you can. That you'd worked your way up from the streets and were now...conveniently shacked up with the heir to the Lippert fortune." Jerome leans towards me now. "What else," he says softly, intuiting that I'm leaving something out.

I shake my head at him then, sighing as I drop my eyes and my hands start to braid my hair. "He asked me if I thought you were actually gay."

"What?" Jerome gasps, offended and appalled.

"I didn't listen to him!" I say instantly, whipping my wide eyes up to him now, begging him to believe me. "Obviously I didn't listen! I trust you, Jerome! Our entire fate was in your hands, you could have turned Kent in in half a second!"

Jerome groans then, covering his face with his hands and flopping back on the bed. "Yeah," he grumbles sarcastically, "but why would I do that when I've got this amaaaazing gravy train taking me to Europe! If I turned in Kent, I'd lose my meal ticket and I wouldn't get to go on this luxury cruise!"

"Jerome," I groan, scooting closer to him and putting a hand on his stomach. "That is not what I think! It was just a joke!"

He keeps his face covered. "If it's not what you think, Fay," he murmurs, "then why am I just hearing about it now?"

"Because it was stupid! And Ivan was just grasping at straws, trying to convince me that you and Daniel weren't really on my side!"

"That's precisely right, Fay!" Jerome says, sliding his hands from his face and glaring at me now. "I don't know why you even listened to that guy! At all! You gave him way too much freedom in that house -"

"We needed him!" I insist, my eyebrows going up, shocked that I even have to defend myself on this point. "You know we needed him to trust us, Jerome!"

"Did you need to go that far with him, Fay?" Jerome snaps, sitting up now and glaring at me. "Did you really need to let him into your inner circle to get him to trust you that much? I mean, does Kent even know that you kissed him?"

I blink at Jerome now, my eyes going wide that he'd throw that in my face.

But then I get mad. Because who the hell is Jerome to throw that in my face?

"Yes, Jerome, I did tell Kent that, and he understood why I did it." I say quietly, leaning in to glare at him now. "Though we're both very confused about why you hit on me so much before I found out you were dating Daniel!"

Jerome's mouth falls open all of a sudden, and I don't know whether it's in shock or because he wants to throw something else at me, when suddenly the door opens.

"What's going on in here?" Janeen asks, frowning as she comes into the room. "Are you guys...actually fighting?"

Jerome and I both turn to stare at her, going silent. But then Jerome snaps his mouth shut. "It's nothing," he says, not looking at me as he gets up off the bed and heads for the door. "Forget it."

Janeen just watches him with wide eyes as he pushes past her, not even looking at me once before he heads down the hall. Janeen stares after him before she turns her eyes to me.

"Seriously, Fay," she says, staring at me. "What the hell was that?"

And I groan and fall back on the bed, covering my face with my hands. "Honestly, Janeen? I have no idea."

Kent sighs as he leans against the doorframe of the little dining room, which the six of them frequently use during the day as a kind of living room. There's no place to comfortably relax except the table, and Kent can't decide if he's lucky or unlucky that Daniel's the only one sitting there today, reading a book and drinking a cup of coffee.

Sighing again, Kent knocks on the open door next to him to get his kid's attention. Daniel looks up with surprise that turns a little into chagrin, but then then back to surprise when he sees the bottle of whiskey in his dad's hand.

"What's that for?" Daniel asks, confused, nodding towards the liquor. "It's not even noon."

"Yeah, well," Kent says, walking to the table and sitting next to Daniel, putting the bottle between them. "I have a feeling we're going to need it."

"Uh-oh," Daniel says, looking at the bottle instead of at his dad. "Are we...talking?"

"Yup," Kent says on a deep exhale. "She's making me."

Daniel laughs at that, looking up at Kent now. "She's not wrong, you know. We need to."

"I'm aware, kid," Kent replies, wrapping a hand around the neck of the bottle and pointing it towards his son. "So, do you want this in your coffee? Or..."

Daniel scoffs and starts to rise. "Don't be ridiculous, dad," he murmurs, moving towards the kitchen. "I'll get us fresh glasses and ice."

"Atta boy," Kent sighs, smiling as he watches his kid pass through the door.

When Daniel returns with the promised glasses, Kent pours and they both drink deeply in silence. There is just...so much that they've left unsaid for years. It's difficult for both of them to even know where to begin, so used are they to dancing around the important subjects that they've left lying between them.

But as the whiskey begins to loosen their lips and the minutes tick past, it gets easier. Daniel starts by telling Kent how glad he is to have him back and confessing, guiltily, that he actually suggested they leave him in jail. Kent sighs, assuring him that he doesn't blame him for that, which lifts the first of many weights off of Daniel's shoulders. From there, the conversation really begins.

And it turns, as perhaps was always necessary, to Lenai.

"We never talk about her, dad," Daniel says quietly, looking down into his second glass of whiskey. "I always....wanted to. But...I feel like we can't."

Kent looses a long breath then, covering his face with his hand, shame running through him. "That's my fault, Daniel, and I'm sorry for it. I didn't...know what to say. Your mom was...she was always so much more in touch with you, with how you were feeling. I didn't know how to handle you when you were upset - and it's not an excuse, it's my fault. But when you cried? God, Daniel, it broke my damn heart, and all I knew how to do was run away before I went to pieces too."

Daniel briskly wipes at his cheeks and Kent pretends not to see, but then he catches himself and forces himself to look at his son, to witness his emotions, to watch him cry. And he has to clench his jaw so tight that he swears his teeth will crack, because the sight of it...

But to Kent's shock, Daniel just laughs at him. "You know you can do it too, dad," he murmurs. "You won't dissolve like a pillar of salt if you let loose a few tears."

Kent smirks a little, grateful for Daniel's sense of humor. "You sure about that?"

"Nope," Daniel says, sniffing and shaking his head, meeting his father's eyes again. "We just...mourned so separately for her, dad. I never felt like I could talk to you about it. Never felt like you wanted to talk."

"I don't want you to ever think I forget about her, Daniel," Kent says, his jaw again tight. "Or that it didn't mean something to me when we lost her, just because...we didn't, and we don't, talk about her."

"I don't think that -"

"No," Kent says, shaking his head and taking another big sip of his drink. "Let me say this. Because it's important - your mom was an incredible person, and a wonderful mom, and a good wife. She was my partner in everything. She is singularly responsible for anything good I ever did, and any good traits that either of us have come directly from her. But we married and had you so young, and it was such a...a stressful time in our lives."

Kent's words fade out and he shakes his head, remembering it - the stress of having to go out and complete whatever task the Bianci's sent him to do, licking whatever boots he could to get a foot in this underworld, trying to restart the Lippert crime organization to pay the Bianci's back for...for saving him, for raising him.

And in doing so, selling his soul to the Bianci family.

And god damn it, selling Daniel to them as well - the grandchild they desperately wanted, that Lenai wanted as well.

"I was...so fucking scared, Daniel," Kent murmurs, raising his eyes to meet his son's. "When you were born? I was terrified of how much I already loved you, of...not being able to build a good enough life for you. Of someone hurting you, of using you against me?" he shakes his head, looking down at the table, unable to bear the memory of it.

"God, dad," Daniel murmurs, and Kent looks up to see his son wiping tears off his face again. "You could have told me. I thought you...didn't like me."

Kent scoffs, shaking his head again. "I love you, Daniel. You're everything to me. Seeing you happy, these past few days, laughing with Jerome and Fay? Safe?" He sighs, looking down. "Fay gave you everything I always wanted."

Daniel and Kent take a long time then, sharing memories of Lenai, of Daniel's childhood, some of which Kent doesn't remember. But some things are vivid, and some are the same - the grief and heartache they both felt as she grew sicker, the disconnection they felt when she died. The shared desire that they both had to reach out to each other, though neither knew how.

It is a long, difficult chat, dredging up mountains of memories that both had neatly stored away.

But the whiskey does its work, loosening their tongues, giving them courage to ask the difficult questions that have been on their minds for years.

And so finally, as Daniel pour their third glasses, he draws himself together and speaks the one that's been in his heart for months now.

"Did you love mom?" Daniel asks, taking a deep breath. "The way that you love Fay?"

 

Chapter 219

Slowly, Kent raises his head and meets his son's gaze, but he doesn't say anything. Daniel lets out his breath slowly, beginning to nod.

"I don't want to lie," Kent says softly. "Or to undermine what I had with your mom. She was....my partner and my wife. I treasured her, and loved her deeply, but we were...playing roles that her father picked out for us. We were a very strong match as far as a mafia marriage went, but there was never, between us..."

"I

I get it," Daniel says, raising his eyebrows. "I mean, it's going to sound weird but... is it kind of how I feel about Fay?"

Kent pauses in shock but then laughs, raising his eyebrows as he considers the possibility. "I mean, I was actually attracted to your mother, Daniel - she was a beautiful woman -"

"Okay, yeah," Daniel concedes, "but beyond that. A deep friendship and dedication? Fay - if we were actually going to raise this baby together, we'd be good at it. We'd be a good match - and we love each other. But between us..."

Kent nods, considering that perhaps Daniel does understand it more than he thought he could. Fay and Daniel, after all, were likewise an arranged match between two old mafia families from the start.

"Well," Daniel says, taking a deep sip of his whiskey. "You should probably tell Fay all of this too."

"What?" Kent asks, his brows knitting together. "Why?"

"She thinks mom was your one true love," Daniel says, shrugging and filling Kent's glass too. "She's said it to me, I think more than once."

Kent groans, looking down into his glass before taking a big swig. "Damn it," he murmurs. "I wanted to be done with difficult conversations for the day."

"That one won't be so bad," Daniel says, leaning back in his chair. "Fay's easy to talk to."

Kent pauses before lifting an eyebrow at his son. "Are you implying that I'm difficult to talk to, Daniel?"

"Oh, no, dad," Daniel says sarcastically, rolling his eyes. "You're just the most terrifying person on the planet -“

Kent laughs then, shaking his head and taking another sip before sliding his glass onto the table. "All right," he says, smirking at Daniel now, finally ready to face the other elephant in the room. "So. How's Jerome doing?"

"Oh my god," Daniel mumbles, looking at the glass of whiskey resting in his hand. "I'm not sure there's enough whiskey in the world for this conversation."

"Nope!" Kent says, leaning forward and smacking his son on the shoulder. "I'm all liquored up now. Let's get it all out in the open, kid."

Daniel sighs, shaking his head and still not looking up at his dad for a long time. Kent waits, trying to be patient. When Daniel finally speaks, his words come out shakier than he thought they would. "Did you know already? That I'm gay, before you found out about Jerome?"

Kent lets his hand slide from Daniel's shoulder then as he sits back in his chair, studying his son seriously. "I did," he replies, his words as simple and honest as he can make them.

Daniel stills for a moment and then looks up a bit, but not yet enough to meet his father's eyes. "How long?"

Kent hesitates for a second and then speaks softly. "Since you were a kid, Daniel. Your mom knew too."

"What?" Daniel breathes, his eyes going wide.

Slowly, Kent nods. "She saw it first. That you really liked the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and not for the girl in all the corsets and lace."

Daniel snaps his head up, his jaw open, staring at his father. "Are you...are you serious?"

Kent starts to laugh then, shrugging. "I mean, was she wrong?"

"No," Daniel says in shock, leaning back in his chair and sliding a hand down the length of his face just as his father does, mildly appalled at the idea of his parents having this conversation when he was a kid.

Kent laughs harder now, shrugging apologetically.

"Did she...did she care?" Daniel asks. And then, "...do you?"

"She didn't," Kent says quickly, his words a promise. "And I don't. We were...worried for you, because we knew the world you were going to grow up in wasn't going to be kind to you if that's the way you felt and who you loved. And because we knew you had to marry "It's not your fault," Daniel says, pursing his lips. "I...I get it."

a woman no matter what arrangement you came to with her. We talked and decided not to talk to you about it until you were older, until you came to us. Which in retrospect...was a mistake."

"You shouldn't have to get it, kid," Kent says, raising his eyebrows. "It was my job. I should have been a better dad."

"Well, you've got another chance now," Daniel says, raising his brows at his dad and giving him a little smile. "With the new baby."

"To fuck it up in all new ways," Kent groans, tilting his head back and letting out yet another deep sigh.

Kent feels a touch on his knee and brings his head back up, surprised to see Daniel leaning forward. "You didn't fuck it up, dad," Daniel says softly. "You did your best. We all have regrets. I forgive you for it."

The words...they pierce Kent in a way he didn't think was possible. And despite desperately clenching his jaw, the tears fill his eyes anyway. But Kent forces himself to unclench his jaw and lets the tears flow - just a little bit, not too much. Just a couple, to loosen the pressure.

"All right," Daniel says, laughing a little and leaning back in his chair as he shakes his head in awe. "I think that's enough therapy for one day. Seriously, I don't think I've ever seen you cry - not once in my life."

"Well, don't get used to it," Kent mutters, wiping at his face. But then he looks seriously at his son. "But I'm glad we talked. That we can do more of."

Seriously Daniel nods, raising his glass. "To more chats, and less tears."

Smiling, Kent raises his and clinks it with his sons. Then he shakes out his shoulders and inhales deeply, pleased to be on steadier ground with his kid, who he really does love so, so much more than Daniel can guess. Still.

He needs a break.

And maybe a bit of a laugh.

"So," Kent says, smirking a little. "Which pirate had you glued to the screen, Orlando Bloom or Johnny Depp?"

"Nope!" Daniel says, turning beet read and laughing anxiously. "None of this!"

"Come on, Daniel," Kent says, leaning forward and grinning, teasing. "We're close now, we're open with our emotional lives, like the Thompsons are. We have these chats!"

"We do not!"

"Fine," Kent says, laughing and getting to his feet. "I'll make Fay ask, and then she'll tell me."

"That works!" Daniel says, pouring himself more whiskey. "I think you and I...we might still need a Fay buffer on some subjects."

"A role I'm sure she'll be glad to play," Kent says, turning for the door and waving over his shoulder. "Love you, kid! Good chat!"

"Good chat, dad," Daniel says back, a happy smile on his lips. "Love you too."

Kent wonders if he's hit his two-hour limit as he works his way back to his cabin, blinking a little to clear his head from all the whiskey. Honestly, he had more to drink than he thought he did. But...well, considering that there's nothing else to do all day besides lay in bed with his gorgeous girl...

Kent smirks to himself, thinking it's not so bad.

"Ohhh," he hears someone say, and looks up to see Janeen smiling wickedly at him as she comes down the hall in the opposite direction. "Are we day drinking?" she asks, eager. "Did I miss it?"

"Daniel's still going," Kent says, pointing down the hall towards the dining room. "Though I am tapping out."

"What a baby," Janeen sighs, and Kent laughs, shaking his head. This girl - she's got guts, that's for sure. He supposes he knows now know where Fay got it from. Kent gives Janeen a little wave and continues on his way down the hall. "She's upset, you know," Janeen calls, and Kent turns back towards her with a frown.

"What?" he asks.

"Fay," Janeen says, lifting her chin towards the cabin door. "She had a fight with Jerome. I don't think it's a big deal, just...warning you before you go in. She's all worked up about it."

Kent nods, grateful for the advice and waves to Janeen again as he continues towards the door. What on earth could this be about? Fay and Jerome - they're tight. Hell, Jerome's the first person Fay told she was pregnant.

When Kent presses the door open, his heart sinks to see her curled up on the bed, blankets wrapped around her even though the room isn't cold.

"What happened?" Kent asks, shutting the door behind him and slipping his hands into his pockets, not wanting to move to the bed just yet if he has to leave the room to go punch someone.

Fay looks up at him with sad eyes. "How did you know?"

"I'm psychic," he murmurs, not bothering to go into the details of meeting Janeen in the hall, knowing it will just be a distraction. It's not important how he knows - he wants answers. Fay studies him for a moment and then a tiny smile finds her lips. "You're not psychic," she says slowly, "you're drunk."

Kent laughs at that, unable to help it, hanging his head a little. "I'm not drunk. I don't get drunk."

"Come here," she says, holding out her hands and he goes to her then, sitting on the bed. She takes his face in her hands and studies him. "Okay, now breathe on me, just a little bit -" "What!?" he says, shocked, flinching back. "Fay - I'm not going to breathe on you -"

"Oh, come on," she moans, slumping a little. "I miss the way it smells and could seriously use a drink right now - I don't get to have one for like five more months at least -"

Kent mutters something about her being ridiculous and crawls across the bed to his side, leaning against the pillows and wrapping an arm around her waist to pull her tight against him.

"Tell me," he orders, kissing her head and then taking a deep sniff of her hair, smiling at the familiar scent of her shampoo. God, he was gone for what, an hour? An hour and a half? And he had missed her. How had he survived two months? But he's distracted from the thought when Fay heaves a deep sigh. "I think we need to have a talk," Kent," she murmurs. "About Jerome."

 

Chapter 220

Kent nods slowly, looking down at me, but his face doesn't register any surprise. "All right," he says, his voice even. "Where do we begin?" I frown at this, a little - it's almost as if he was expecting this.

"Why aren't you more surprised by this?" I ask, pulling back a little. "Are you - do you have reasons to want to have a talk about Jerome too?"

Kent sighs and rolls his eyes a little. "I don't - Jerome's been nothing but loyal to me since the day I hired him. I just met Janeen in the hall on my way here - she briefed me. Don't read into it too much, Fay."

"Oh," I say, tilting my head to the side, relief running through me. Because the last - the absolute last thing I want right now is to have any more reasons to suspect Jerome. But seriously - the way Jerome responded to the idea that Ivan told me to be suspicious of him...

"What happened?" Kent asks seriously. Quickly, I tell him all of it - about Ivan telling me to watch out for Jerome and then Jerome's extreme reaction when I casually mentioned it. Kent listens carefully, his eyes on my face the whole time. I reach out and take his hand while I speak, inwardly a little pleased to see Kent slip into his boss role, assessing the situation.

It's much sexier than he probably knows.

But, well. We have other things to concentrate on right now.

"Don't you think, though?" I say, wrapping up. "That, I mean, if Jerome thought that it was ridiculous then wouldn't he have just laughed it off? I mean, it's Ivan of all people."

"Why is it ridiculous if Ivan says it?" Kent asks, frowning. "I mean, he's not stupid. He had us all fooled."

Slowly I shake my head, looking up at him. "He had us all fooled, Kent, but he...he really did think he was getting me on his side. And he was very eager to sow whatever discord he could between Daniel and Jerome and I - he was trying to separate us, to change my loyalties to his side."

"Again," Kent says, staring off into space and considering it. "It wasn't a bad tactic, if that's what he was doing. It's a system that many who seek control - particularly abusers - use. And especially if there was some truth behind it..."

"Are you suggesting Ivan was an abuser?" I ask, wrinkling my nose. Because... I mean, I think that pushes it a bit far, doesn't it?

"No," Kent says, smirking a little and smiling down at me. "Though it's interesting to see you defend him, Fay."

I roll my eyes, brushing it off. But I have to admit - as much as I've firmly chosen team Lippert? I don't hate Ivan - I hope he finds his own peace and just leaves us the hell alone.

But something in me...well, it suggests that Ivan's not done just yet. He's too dogged for that. The idea curls in my stomach, but I move on from it, wanting to continue the conversation.

"So, what did you mean?" I ask.

"That those who seek control over people - abusers, cult leaders - will typically try to separate people from their loved ones in order to get them away from people who would tell them to get out of the situation."

"Oh, you mean like how you made me cut ties with Janeen and my dad?" I ask, raising my eyebrows right back.

This makes Kent genuinely laugh, tilting his head back a little. He looks a me a little ruefully. "All right," he says, "fair. But I'm not trying to separate you from them now, am I?" He tugs me a little closer, a bit of apology on his face. "I've repented."

"No," I say, smiling up at him. "You've been quite good lately, Kent. Maybe we should send you off to little two-month stints in jail more often. Reformed Kent is quite nice."

He murmurs something dark about how he'd like to see me try before lowering his face to mine, seeking a kiss. But I put my hands on his chest, laughing and pulling my face away. "Pay attention!" I scold, pleased despite myself but wanting to have this talk. Kent, I know, especially after having a little morning whiskey, would be pleased to let us get distracted - but this is important to me.

"Right, right," he sighs, settling back on the pillows but not moving his hand from the place where it has dipped low on my back, perilously close to my ass. I narrow my eyes at him, shaking my head and squaring my shoulders, hating that he's making me be the responsible one right now.

"So, do you think that was it?" I ask. "That Ivan was just trying to sow discord? Or, do you think there's anything about Jerome to be worried about?"

"Well," Kent says, leaning back against the pillows and taking me with him a bit so that I'm nestled warmly against his side. He lets his eyes glaze, clearly thinking it through. "I think Ivan's own motives for asking you to be suspicious of Jerome are certainly a factor." "And since you met Jerome - you have no reason to suspect him as anything but a loyal employee?" I ask, curious.

"Except for the fact that he was quietly sleeping with my son for months and deliberately keeping it a secret?" Kent asks, looking at me and turning his head dubiously.

I laugh, shaking my head at him. "I've lived with them, Kent. I - they're in love with each other. I have no doubts about that - I don't think they could have faked it this long, not with the way that they treat each other."

"All right," Kent says, nodding, taking my word for it. "Then no, I don't have any suspicions."

"Will you tell me?" I ask quietly, watching his face. "How you...found him, or whatever?"

Kent nods and then begins. "It was about two years ago," he says quietly. "I saw him on the streets a couple of times. You have to understand - there's pretty much two ways to get loyal guys on your team. The first is through...referrals, of a sort. If a guy on your team brings you his family? That's the best. If he brings you a friend, or someone he met recently...it can be good, but not always great, because you don't know what that new person's motives are."

"What do you mean?" I ask, curious, soaking this all up. Because while I now have proof that I am at least mildly criminally adept, I've never grown a team like Kent has. I find myself fascinated.

"You never know," Kent says, "where that 'friend' came from - he could be a rival guy, or someone else's man who just found a way in. You've got to be careful with that kind."

"Like Fiona?" I ask quietly.

"Precisely like Fiona," Kent says, sighing a little, I think still frustrated that she got by his radar for so many years. "I was introduced to her by a mutual friend; I should have been more suspicious, but...she did her work well, and her background check came out clean. But now that she's your cousin and she's killed for you, it's different. You two are deeply tied and more likely to be loyal to each other. Yes?"

I nod, letting him know I understand. "So, is that how you met Jerome?" I ask, getting him back on track.

"No," Kent says, shaking his head, frowning a little as he looks away. "Jerome was the third way, which is as good as family. I noticed him - he didn't even introduce himself to me, or know I was watching."

"Where?" I ask, my voice quiet, not wanting to interrupt.

"I met Jerome when he was hustling on the streets," Kent says, smirking a little. "Stealing hubcaps off fancy cars and reselling them to parts dealers. Other things too - I noticed him a couple of times. He made a lot of money, but he didn't blow it all on booze and girls or impressing his friends, and he wasn't hooked on drugs, like so many of these young guys are. All of which suggest to me someone eager to work, and eager to rise. I liked that."

I smile a little, recognizing Jerome in this description, loving him more from it. "So, when did you bring him on board?"

"I did it casually," Kent replies, looking at me now. "A couple of small jobs, which he performed well. Then, when he passed any background checks we could pull on him, I had him shadow Marco for a while. Marco gave a good report, said he was hard working and eager. So," Kent shrugs, "I put him on the payroll."

"He moved up fast," I say, raising my eyebrows, "if you soon had him driving me."

"Maybe too fast," Kent murmurs, considering it with a little frown. "But...he knew horses. So, if I was going to send you to the stables, I wanted you with someone who wasn't going to be a total idiot there."

I smile a little, remembering the early days getting to know Jerome, whom I had liked instantly. Even if Kent was glad to know Jerome could handle himself around horses - still, I wonder at him sending me away with a good-looking young guy - especially since I now know that Kent was into me basically from the start.

"Did you know Jerome was gay?" I ask, curious.