The Heart That's Meant to Love You [COMPLETED]

Chapter 56: Interrupted

Kieran spotted Donovan as soon as he disembarked the bus. Amazing, how that man could speed on any road and manage not to get caught. Many would pay decent money for that kind of superpower. Kieran didn't care to chance getting a ticket. He couldn't afford any more debt.

With his duties and responsibilities finally ended, Kieran wasted no time ditching the class. Nothing that the students could say or do would merit Kieran's attention more than the brooding childhood friend leaning against a black car nearby.

Donovan, patient as always, neither moved nor spoke. For years, he had been trained not to make the first move when it came to Kieran. Kieran couldn't say whether the training was paying off or whether it had become Donovan's worst habit.

Kieran stopped a mere foot in front of Donovan. "Where'd they go?"

"He took her home," Donovan confirmed.

Kieran let out a breath of anger and relief. "You're sure?"

"I watched her go inside." Donovan raised his brows, the question evident in the look he gave Kieran.

Kieran chose not to answer. Donovan didn't need to know about Kieran's fury at seeing Annoying Oliver manhandling Naomi. Nor would Kieran admit his panic when Naomi got into Oliver's car. No one knew how Oliver would react, especially since Kieran had thought that Oliver would never lay a finger on Naomi. Apparently, he had been wrong about the wimp.

And if he had been wrong about one thing, he could be wrong about others.

"Look into him for me. I want to know every bit of dirt he's ever stepped in." Kieran gave the command with the air of someone who had been in charge for decades.

Donovan accepted the order, as he always did, without asking anything. In a few days, a week at most, Donovan would have his first report on the subject.

Kieran didn't ponder what emotion drove him to make the request in the first place. Rage?Possessiveness? Jealousy? It didn't matter. Kieran would leave Naomi's life one day, allowing her to return to the path she had already chosen. If he had to leave Oliver by her side, he might as well know that Naomi would be in stable hands.

"Anything else?" Donovan asked.

Kieran shook his head. For now, finding out more about Oliver was priority.

Donovan pushed off the car and turned to open the driver's side door. "I'll drop you wherever you're going."

"Take me to—"

"Excuse me?" A high-pitched, feminine voice interrupted Kieran. "Are you Kieran Colburn?"

Donovan released the door handle, his fingers instead headed toward the back of his waistband.

Kieran turned halfway, unable to do anything but blink at the appearance of the woman behind him.

Short would be a generous description of her height. A height only made a couple inches taller by the white-blond stack of hair atop her head.

The woman lifted a hand to wave awkwardly. "Kieran Colburn, right? You work for Jacky."

"Jacky?" Suddenly, puzzle pieces began to click in Kieran's head. Only one crazy person would refer to Jack as Jacky. "You're Natasha?"

Donovan's hand slipped away from his waistband and back toward the door handle.

Natasha nodded, sheer relief washing over her face. "He's told you about me."

"You could call it that." Kieran eyed the tiny woman in front of him. She didn't seem like a lunatic. "Listen, from what I've heard you're either insane or delusional. Don't you know what kind of guy Jack is?"

"Yeah. But it's not the guy everyone else thinks he is." Natasha shrugged. "And it's my funeral, so..."

"I just feel like I should warn you about what you're getting into."

"Trust me, I've heard all the arguments against him. His mother begged me to find someone else." Natasha laughed aloud. "But that's not why I'm here."

It wasn't any of Kieran's business whether Natasha was crazy or not, so he stayed silent about that. Instead, he asked the most pressing question. "Why are you here?"

"Jacky's been avoiding me for a couple days now." Natasha rolled her eyes. "As if he thinks that's going to solve anything. I just want to ask you to pass a message on to him. If that's okay?"

It still seemed strange to Kieran, that someone as grounded and down-to-earth as Natasha seemed to be would fall for Jack. Of all people, why Jack? But he didn't want to get into that out in the open.

"What message?" Kieran asked instead.

Natasha pressed her hands together in a thankful motion. "Let him know I'll abide by any decision he's made. I just want him to give me a straight answer."

"I told him that already. Jack's not that kind of guy."

"He is. He just doesn't know it yet." Natasha's eyes filled with tears. "It's okay if he doesn't love me back. It won't change how I feel about him. But I need him to answer my question so I know how we move forward."

The request seemed fair and logical, but something stood out to Kieran. It's okay if he doesn't love me back. It won't change how I feel about him. Was that what love was supposed to look like? A selfless giving of everything you had, even if you knew that the other person would never give anything back? It didn't seem just. But, then, who ever said love had anything to do with justice or equality?

"I'll tell him. But no guarantees."

"I only ask that the message gets to him." Natasha held out a hand for a shake. "Thank you."

Seeing as how this woman was chasing Jack and not Kieran, he shook her hand firmly and then let her go.

One last question stopped him from leaving immediately. Kieran shouted it to Natasha's retreating back.

"How'd you know I would be here?"

Natasha spun, walking backwards with her hands thrown up in surrender. "Jack talks too much."

Kieran chuckled, knowing her statement to be truth. Along the way, Jack would have inevitably told Natasha about Kieran's side gig as a substitute professor. Natasha's presence made sense. If she knew that much, it wouldn't be a big deal to find him. Resourceful, Jack's clingy girlfriend. Kieran sincerely hoped that things worked out between them. Natasha might be exactly what Jack needed.

Donovan rolled down his window and tapped his palm on the side of the car. "You getting in?"

"Yeah." Kieran rounded to the passenger side. "Drop me at the studio. Jack and I need to talk."

"You got it, boss."

Then, with a squeal of tires and a prayer for safety, Donovan and Kieran set off.