Her Heart

Chapter 23

Riley's POV

"I don't know it seems like something weirds going on." Nadia says.

"Nothing weird is going on." I tell her for the millionth time.

Emily squints her eyes, "Spit it out."

"Her family is just so loving." I whisper.

"Carter's family?"

I nod, "Like they genuinely love each other."

"What's the problem with that?" Nadia questions.

"I just don't know."

"Riley I'm gonna slap you if you don't spit it out."

I take a deep breath, "I just have a bad feeling. Has Brandon found anything?"

Nadia nods, "Sort of. He told me the consigliere hasn't been in Italy for a while. The Xavier's have also been lying low. No one has also heard of the heir and what's she's been up to.

I groan, "So we have nothing."

"Actually there's one more thing. There's been whispers about something."

"What?"

"We don't want to give you false information. They're just rumors." Emily says.

"I don't care. I can't keep waiting around for my uncle to catch up to me I need to find them and kill them."

They both nod, "Apparently their people have been looking really hard to find something."

"Find what?"

"Medicine." They both say at the same time.

I laugh, thinking they're joking but when I see how serious they look I stop, "Medicine?"

"There's rumors someone close to them is sick."

"If someone's sick then they have to be in a hospital right?" I ask feeling adrenaline go through me.

"We're already on it we thought the same thing. There has to be a paper trail. Brandon is searching and he's also trying to get the medicine they need to find out where it was going."

I take a deep breath, "Are you saying this is almost over?"

"He said we should know by tomorrow where the destination was going to be."

"I have to go to dinner at Carter's house tomorrow. Tell him to call me afterwards."

"Ooo meeting the parents already?" Emily teases.

I groan and walk away, "Its just dinner. I couldn't say no."

"Riley I know you really want to get to them but have you really stopped to think about how this could affect their families?" Nadia asks making the conversation serious again.

"What do you mean?"

She also stands up and follows me to the kitchen, "I mean they have kids, significant others they have lives. You already tried to kill them once doing it again wouldn't be a good idea."

I sigh, "How else am I supposed to get my uncle off my back. He's getting closer to finding me every single day. It's either them or Maya and I will choose Maya over and over."

"And do you just plan on disappearing after you kill them?" Emily asks.

"That's the plan."

Nadia sarcastically laughs, "What about Carter?"

I stare her down, "What about her?"

"You're falling for her. Are you just gonna leave her?"

"I'm not falling for her."

She raises an eyebrow, "Who are you trying to lie to?"

Am I falling for Carter?

Once the job is done I would most likely move and start a new life somewhere where nobody knows who I am and nobody can find me.

But Carter. The way she looks at me. The way I feel my heart be at ease when she's around.

Her presence is a whisper in my chaos, a lighthouse in the storm. Every glance, a promise of something real. Every touch, a reminder of what it means to be human.

Can I really leave her behind? Can I bury this feeling, uproot this fragile seed of connection, and vanish into the void?

She's a fire I can't extinguish, a melody that haunts my silence.

In her eyes, I see something real. Something unique. I saw it when I slept with her all those years ago and I see it now again too.

Maybe I'm not falling for her. Maybe I've already fallen.

...

Megan's POV

"Cute eyes I'm telling you she looked familiar."

Avery takes her jacket off, "I've actually met her once before at Carter's school. I don't think she remembered so I pretended I didn't either."

"Did you see her demeanor when she saw you though? It was like someone knocked the wind out of her. I don't think she was even processing who she was seeing."

"Baby it could have just been an accident."

"Can you sit down for a second you're giving me a headache woman." She's always cleaning something.

Avery gives me a look but comes and sits on our bed right next to me, "You're usually not this worried. Do you think maybe you're overthinking?"

I put my head on her lap, "It's just I didn't like the way she looked at you."

She laughs and she starts massaging my head, "You're jealous?"

"Territorial is the word for it. Being jealous is envy being territorial is marking what's already mine, and what's mine is mine."

She shakes her head at my childish acts, "What are you worried about my love? If it's about our extracurricular actives you know no one knows I'm involved."

"But then why did she look like she recognized you from somewhere but couldn't place it." I grab the back of her neck and make her kiss me.

Avery smiles, "You're worrying too much."

"I just have a bad feeling."

"Do you want to call Kai?"

I shake my head, "I don't want to worry her it could be nothing."

"I would say trust your gut Megan. You always know best. You remember the promise you made me right?"

I nod my head, "No matter what keep our children safe."

"Good. And please find that heart for our baby."

I nod again and kiss her cheek standing up. It's true that the Mafia can get their hands on anything.

Anyone and anything.

I also know Avery would never actually say it but she's been wondering why it's been taking me so long. But is it really humane to kill someone and just take their heart.

What gives me the right to do that.

I love my child but will it really come down to me having to kill another persons child to save mine?