British Exchange Agent

Chapter 29

Sorry for the late update! Hope you enjoy this one! And thank you to everyone who has made me smile with your votes and comments and whotnot :) You honestly make my day :D

Also, any ship names? So far @alicecullen204 has given two awesome ones for Cyrus + Kayla :

Crya and Kayrus ;)

Any others? I love hearing your opinions and ideas! :D

xxx

*~*~*~*~*

I let the words sink in for a second. They echoed around the room, triggering all sorts of emotions inside of me. I glanced at him.

"So what do you want me to do?"

Cyrus exchanged a relieved glance with Alejandro, before turning back to me, his eyes a storm of...something. I didn't quite know what.

"We need - I need - you to assist us on this mission. This way, you'll have the mafia, plus an inside source."

"Why hasn't this 'inside source' just locked his father up already?" I enquired, raising an eyebrow. His jaw clenched slightly.

"Dereck is planing something - and it must be pretty important, considering he hasn't even told me about it."

"Well, what's he planning?" I asked, my voice raw and impatient.

"That's just it. We don't know." Alejandro chipped in, his brows furrowed in thought. "There are bits and pieces everywhere, but we're still missing parts of the puzzle."

"An you want me to help you find the missing pieces." I said slowly, testing the words out on my tongue. Cyrus nodded, his dark eyes fixed on mine.

"Exactly."

"Well, I just don't know about that, Montegalo." I pondered aloud, my eyes sharp. "Despite your best intentions, our agencies will kill us both if we made this deal. You do realise that they basically run the world, don't you? Never mind about your father's organisation."

Cyrus's muscles tensed, his black eyes murderously dark. I glanced at his shirt, feeling sorry for the constricting fabric which looked like it wanted to burst.

"I promise you, Kayla, I will die before any harm comes to you."

I raised an eyebrow, scanning his face. I tried to keep mine emotionless as voices shouted inside my head. No one had ever cared that much before. Trey, maybe - but I barely knew him anymore. We never saw each other.

I had nobody.

"My head is a whirlwind right now." I murmured, wringing my hands together. Alejandro scanned my expression carefully.

"What does your heart tell you?" He asked seriously.

"My heart?"

I let out a bitter chuckle, the sound leaving a sour residue on my lips. My eyes were locked with his as I shook my head slowly.

"Let me teach you something about life, Alejandro. Everything in life is a choice. You make that choice? Then you live with the consequences of that choice."

I tilted my head slightly, raising an eyebrow.

"Now, those consequences aren't always bad. No - they can bring you joy. But, they can also bring you heartbreak."

I glanced at my clenched fists, breaking the suffocating eye contact. I still felt their eyes on me, scolding my skin.

"Destruction." I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath in. When they opened again, they were sharp. Emotionless. Guarded.

"Some people make those choices based on family. Love. Friendship. But me? I have no family. No one loves me. I have no friends. My choices? They're based off facts. What's going to get the job done with the least amount of consequence."

I took a step forward, my expression unreadable.

"I don't have a heart."

Silence echoed around the warehouse for a few minutes as they digested my words. Eventually, Cyrus looked up, his jet black eyes meeting mine. They were hollow.

"So what will your choice be, Kayla?" He asked softly. I took in a shaky breath.

"I'm going to bed now, then I will be catching one of your private jets back to my host family - who, thanks to you, probably have the whole US Army looking for me. You better be there in the morning because we are going to talk long and hard about strategy." I took a second to stare them each in the eye, my heart pounding. "Don't make me regret my decision."

I turned on my heel and strode towards the doors, my hands shaking. Cyrus's voice cut through my thoughts as my hand connected with the door.

"You do have have a heart."

I paused, my fingers trembling.

"Maybe it's been crushed and battered over the years, but it's still there." He promised me, his voice a mere murmur. "Don't forget that."

I swallowed, ignoring the tear that ran down my cheek as I pushed the doors open. Maybe I did have a heart. Maybe I didn't. But even if I did, it didn't matter anymore.

Because I wasn't willing to find out.

*~*~*~*~*

Hey!!!

I know, this update is TRAGICALLY LATE!!! I've been really struggling to find time to sit down and actually write, and I'm so sorry!!!!!!!

Did you like this chapter? Does everyone get what's just happened over the past few chaps? What do you think of Kayla's decision?

Hopefully I can get a next chapter up soon (especially as this one was kind of short ;) )

A big THANK YOU to everyone who has commented, voted, added this book to a reading list, and generally just been awesome!! You have all contributed to this book, and made me think through all the plots differently :D I LOVE reading through your comments and it's great to know people actually like what I'm writing :)

Sneak peak: host families can be a pain, can't they?

Thanks for reading!

xxx