Chapter 0360

“All right,” Jerome whispers, not pushing me on it. But then he takes his hand away and sighs,

stepping back and studying me.

“What?” I ask, confused.

“I just think it’s time for you to loop Daniel in a little more,” he says, giving a shrug. “After all, he has

to do all the stuff with the boats.”

I bite my lip, anxious. “You don’t think it’s too soon?”

“Two weeks, Fay,” Jerome whispers, his expression worried now. “It might not be soon enough.”

I groan and sit back down in my chair, hard, staring at the paperwork spread out on the table. After

a long moment I nod. “Fine,” I say, my hand rubbing passively over my belly. “We’ll tell him tonight.

And then tomorrow…” I look up at Jerome, seeing if he already knows.

“Tomorrow we go see…her.”

“Yup,” I say, taking a deep breath. Because now that I’m getting my team involved? It’s no longer

just a speculation in my mind.

This is real now. And after tonight, it will have consequences.

_____________________

“Anything you want me to pass along to Fay, tonight?” Ivan asks as he flips through his notes after a

long interrogation session with Kent. He watches carefully as Kent declines to reply, smirking when

he sees Kent’s shoulders raise in a deep sigh.

“Seriously,” Ivan says, slapping the notebook shut and leaning back in his chair, looking Kent over

from head to toe. “I don’t mind. I’ll pass on a message - whatever it is you want to say.”

Slowly, Kent raises his head to meet Ivan’s eyes. He blinks once and just shakes his head at the

kid, knowing that he’s needling him again. Kent’s determined not to let it work, but – as Ivan’s said

before – he knows his weak spot.

Ivan’s mouth spreads into a slow smile. “She’s getting bigger,” he tells Kent, his voice soft. “Not fat –

just…a cute little belly, like she’s smuggling a melon under her dress.”

Kent’s heart seizes when he hears it, and he believes him. Not only does Ivan have any reason to

lie but…well, that’s how he imagined Fay would look. Keeping his gaze, Ivan leans forward to rest

his elbows on his knees.

“She’s sick all the time now too,” he whispers, “just…morning sickness, all hours of the day. And

when she runs to the bathroom? Sometimes I go with her. To hold her hair, rub her back…really,

anything that she needs. That’s what a good guy does, isn’t it? He’s there for his girl, when she’s

sick. A good dad, too.”

Kent just closes his eyes and looks away. Because even though he knows exactly what Ivan’s

doing…well, he’s right, isn’t he?

That is what a dad should be doing for the mother of his child.

And here he is, rotting away in jail.

And there Ivan is, more than happy to take his spot.

“Why don’t you let her husband do those things,” Kent murmurs, not knowing why the hell Daniel

keeps letting Ivan into the house. Unless Fay has a reason for it…

…or Fay is…considering him. Considering Ivan as a real replacement.

But the bare thought of that threatens to crush him, so Kent dismisses the idea.

“Daniel’s distracted,” Ivan says with a casual little sigh. “Working for Alden now, and he’s got

Jerome to think about – don’t want him getting jealous - “

Kent’s eyes flash open at this and his head snaps to look at Ivan. What?

“Oh,” Ivan says, genuinely surprised. And then Ivan laughs, delighted, as he leans back in his chair.

“Oh, you didn’t know about that, did you?”