Ava's POVWe got on the road about thirty minutes later so I wouldn't miss my flight back. The entire ride, I felt a little sick and tired —very tired, but I guessed that was what happened when you skipped your night's sleep.I couldn't get any sleep last night. Things were far too complicated and stressful. I yawned and rested my head on the window, dozing off for a minute.I felt a light tap on my shoulder a few minutes later.“Are you okay?” Perez asked. I nodded slowly, lifting my head from the window and turning to him.“We are here,” he announced.We stepped out of the car, and Perez grabbed my bag from the trunk, walking me inside the airport. Perez walked me to the gate, and then we stopped there, facing each other. Perez dropped my bag on the floor and dug into his back pocket.“Here,” he handed me my flight ticket, “Do you have your passport?” he asked, and I nodded, digging into my handbag to retrieve it.I slipped my ticket inside my passport and watched Perez retrieve s
Ava's POVMy heart stopped. A momentary pause, and then I gasped. My eyes broadened as I stared at the doctor, unsure if I heard him right. Well, I heard him, but —I wasn't sure, or it was simply not that simple. My head became jumbled and nothing made sense anymore.Minutes passed with nothing but silence, and the news echoed in my head. The doctor looked at me like I was supposed to say something, and I looked at him, utterly perplexed by the words I thought I heard. I swallowed hard, trying to digest it—whatever it was that I just heard him say to me. It couldn't be. My heart was thudding faster now, betraying my doubts.“Did you just say… Pregnant?” I mouthed the words like the meaning was alienated from me. I was displaced. It felt like I had suddenly lost understanding of what the word meant or what it should mean.Pregnant. I was pregnant. “Yes,” the doctor grinned broadly. Being pregnant was happy news, at least to him but not for me. For me this changed everything.“Yo
Ava's POV“So, what do you plan to do now?” Celine interrupted my thoughts, and I glanced at her, “You’re pregnant, Ava,” she said, taking her eyes off the road for a second. She grinned, “That’s a lot of responsibility.”She wasn't wrong there, “I know, which is why I need to be ready. I want to give my kid a wonderful life,” I said and turned back to the window, “The best life possible,” I added."You are right," Celine replied.“I need to find a job and save enough to raise my child properly,” I told her, and she nodded.“You do, and I'll help you.”“Thanks, Celine.”“It's fine. I'll do anything for my goddaughter or son.”I chuckled, and just like that, it was official. I was carrying Miguel’s baby and I was going to be a mother. I rubbed my stomach and imagined for a second how Miguel would have reacted to this news.The light in his eyes, the happiness in his voice, and it made my heart hurt, for I was never going to see that happen.***I spent the next few days job-hunting wit
Miguel's POVMy room was in an utter state of disarray —clothes littered the ground, broken furniture, broken wine glasses. The floor was a mess, and It had been that way since one of the worst things I could have ever imagined happened —Ava left me.I was still trying to cope with that loss. But I was sucking at it. It was like she had ripped a massive hole in my chest, and it was just… there. Empty and large. I felt drained completely of life and everything else, and I just wanted it all to end.Every morning I woke up and wondered why. Why did I wake up or why was I even alive? I felt destroyed inside, and my whole existence just seemed pretty meaningless to me.I sighed loudly, and leaned forward, grabbing my phone and looking through her picture. It was becoming a habit.My chest hurt, and my heart felt heavy, watching her beautiful face. I rubbed a thumb over her picture wishing that I could touch her even for a minute.I flipped through her pictures, seeing her smile and kn
Miguel's POVThree against one didn't seem like a fair fight, not to them at least. I have had the shittiest week, and this just felt like a good opportunity to finally vent and get some of this anger out.To think they even brought knives. If they wanted me dead, they should have brought machine guns.Bastardos.I ducked as one of the masked guys took a swing at me before I could even settle into the fight. His movements were a tad bit too slow which gave me enough time to avoid it and landed a punch in his stomach.I watched him stumble backward before falling to the ground. Weaklings.Pathetic amateurs.The other two guys came at me at the same time after they saw what I did to him. Perhaps they thought that two could make a difference. They thought wrong. One of them tried to land a kick but I dodged it, grabbing his leg before flipping him over. The other one managed to graze my hand with his knife but it didn't faze me. It was just a cut and the cut Ava had left in my heart
Miguel's POV“Let's try that again,” I mumbled while he was still screaming and bleeding all over the floor, “Who sent you?”He was hesitant for a minute, and I twisted the knife in his leg, earning another beautiful scream from him.“I'll tell you,” he groaned through gritted teeth.“Oh will you now?” I arched my brow and twisted the knife again, “Funny, I can't hear anything yet.”“Lino!” He exclaimed, breathing heavily.I darted my gaze to Perez, giving him a knowing look before returning my gaze to the assassin.“Where is he?”“I don't know." He panted. “He just handed us your photo and ordered us to kill you for a ridiculous amount of money, and that's all,” he gushed.“I see. Thank you for your cooperation,” I grinned and took out Killer from my coat.“No, wait. Please, don't kill me,” he begged, “I told you the truth.”“I know,” I mumbled and pulled the trigger, shooting him in the head. “You were right,” Perez said, looking a little surprised when I reached him, and I headed
Ava's POV“Fernando?” I raised a very confused brow, watching him as he stood up from the chair. To say I was shocked was nothing more than an understatement. How was he here? It was puzzling, and I couldn't wrap my mind around it.The last time I saw Fernando was in Naples when he sorta kidnapped me and showed me the videotape of Miguel from the day of the accident.I didn't think he could be here. To say I was surprised was putting it nicely. Of all the people my brain imagined, I didn't think I would see him here in Chicago, and not just anywhere but the supposed new “Strange” company that wanted to hire me. I didn't understand. I couldn't understand. When did he even get the money to start a company? My mouth formed words but I didn't quite know what to say so I started with the most confusing part of it all, “What are you doing Here? How are you even Here?” I asked with emphasis on the here as I stepped toward the desk, tilting my head to the side.“Well, I boarded a flight
Ava's POV“Yeah, sorry about the last time. I'm Niko,” he stretched his hand to me.I merely looked away from him, ignoring his extended hand and glancing at Perez.“What are you doing here? What is he doing here?” I asked swiftly.Perez stepped forward, “I'm really sorry for the intrusion and all but can we talk for a bit. It's important. Very important, otherwise I won't be here,” he said earnestly.His face looked very convincing, and I didn't really have a choice, “Alright. Let's go in then.”I unlocked the door, and opened it, ushering them in. Before their asses touched the couch I was back at their throats again.“So, what is so important, that you had to fly here, and Intrude into my life. Again.”“No tea?” Niko arched a playful brow, and I ignored him again.“Perez?”“Your life is in danger,” he answered.“What?” I blurted, “I don't understand.” “I'll explain. Lino sent some guys to attack Miguel—”Miguel? My heart skipped a beat.“Is he fine?” I interrupted before I even kn
Ava's POVIt had been a week since the Jet incident, and Mason's death.The cops had done their part with the investigation and had managed to connect the hospital explosion, and the van explosion together linking it to Lino.They had also traced some of his illegal businesses to Naples among other crimes and shut it down but since there was no one to punish that was all they could do.Angela, on the other hand, was arrested, and sentenced to ten years in prison for impersonation, fraud, and for being Fernando's accomplice which was a lot less than she deserved.Miguel and I had stuck around for the investigation, and I was pretty glad when it was finally over and done with. There was nothing more that I wanted in my life than to put the hellish past behind us and focus on the promise of the future.Whatever was in store for Miguel and me was something I was dying to see.The days after the incident at the Jet
Ava's POV Miguel was there, sleeping peacefully with Mary Grace cuddled into his side.My heart felt hurt and I wished for just one second I could turn back the hands of time —just to make myself worthy again.But all of those were just wishes.I couldn't risk another moment around them for fear of causing them more problems. It was clear that I was the secret ingredient for trouble. And for the people I loved to be safe, I had to be far from them.I scooped Mary Grace from her bed quietly not wanting to wake Miguel. I kissed her forehead, tears gathering in my eyes as I whispered. “I love you, sweetie, and I'll always be here. I'll always be watching you like a hawk but for now, mama has to go,” I pressed my lips to her head again, and again.“I'm going to miss you, darling, but don't worry you're in safe hands. Your dad will take good care of you,” I squeezed her in my arms and then finally laid her in the crib, not wanting to risk waking Miguel up by dropping her by his side as s
Ava's POV A gun rolled to the entrance of the cockpit and I only hesitated for a second before handing Mary Grace to Gracie. I knew what I had to do.I walked over to the door and picked it up as Lino stretched out his gun to Miguel. I stood behind them but none of them noticed my appearance in the room.The weapon was heavy but that didn't matter much. It was now or never, and I had to make a quick choice —a scary one but I didn't have much of a choice. I had never fired a gun in my life until this moment. But I had to do it, our lives depended on it.I focused my vision on him and the gun went off in my trembling hands.Lino's body dropped to the ground with a loud thud.If I had been just a second late he would have killed Miguel. I saved him. I saved the man I loved. Something about that numbed the guilt that came with taking a life.The gun slipped out of my hands to the ground as tears rolled down my face. Miguel's eyes met mine.I saw the worry etched on his features as I rush
Miguel's POVI raked a hand through my hair, listening to Perez fill me in about what happened at the hospital, and the men he had lost in the van explosion on their way here.Bastardo! My blood stirred.“Those were good men,” I mumbled, reeling in the loss as I ground my teeth and clenched my fist, “Lino. That scumbag,” I cursed, fuming inside.“I have everyone looking for him, and Mason. Perhaps he could lead us to him—”The sudden sound of the engine roaring to life echoed from behind us, and my head swirled to the Jet which was getting ready to take off.What the hell? I thought. Stunned.I creased a brow at the unbelievable sight before me. I could hardly believe it. I had no clue what was going on but that Jet was definitely not supposed to take off without an order from me.I couldn't understand it but Ava and my kids were in there, and that was all that mattered.Instantly, I sprinted towards the Jet, and Perez joined me as we raced to the aircraft. I grabbed the entry door be
Ava's POV“It's you. You're the traitor,” I mumbled as the realization hit me. This was why Perez couldn't tell me. It was Mason.How could this be? Even I couldn't believe it.It suddenly felt like my brain was processing in slow motion.My eyes darted to the injection in his hand, then to my daughter, and my eyes widened in shock.Panic washed over me and my hands began to tremble.“What were you trying to do to her?” I flared, clenching my fist tightly, “Were you going to hurt her—”“No, Ava—” he tried to cut me off but I didn't want to hear anything right now.“Get away from her!” I raised my voice. “Mi—” I opened my mouth to scream for Miguel but before I could make a sound Mason grabbed me quickly, pressing his palm to my lips tightly as he pushed me against the wall behind me.He sandwiched me to the wall, “Quiet,” he said, “Don’t scream, please,” he whispered against my ear, “Please,” he repeated, staring me in the eyes for over a minute.I tried to shove him off me but I fail
Ava's POVI bolted upright, my heart pounding against my chest as though it was trying to rip itself out of my body. I was anxious. No. More than that I felt unsettled and for no reason too. I just had this bad feeling in my gut that I couldn't quite shake. Something felt very wrong but I didn't know what it was.I sat up in bed, staring into the darkness with the only source of light being the moonlight spilling in through the window. The air in the room felt heavy, suffocating, as if laden with an ominous foreboding that I couldn't quite place, and the uneasiness tightened in the pit of my stomach. I suddenly felt stuffy and needed some air.I slipped out of bed and glanced over my baby’s crib to see if I had woken her. I hadn't. Mary Grace was still sound asleep.I sighed with relief and made my way to the door. I stumbled towards the door, but my heart jumped again as I heard the sudden sounds of hurried footsteps.My stomach tightened and I pushed the door open gently, peeking
Miguel's POVLino was alive? That couldn't be.I had set the place on fire. I had watched it burn. It had to be a lie. Nando was definitely lying. I glanced at him, “You're lying,” I said.“I'm not!” He yelled with desperation in his voice and words, “I swear it. Mason is involved. I can prove it. Where is he?” I hesitated and turned to one of my men, “Where is Mason?” I asked, right in front of Nando.The man shook his head, “I haven't seen him all day. None of us have,” he responded.The words echoed in my head, and Nando's voice echoed beside me, “He knows... he knows you're onto him, and he's made a run for it.”Nando’s words made sense, and my mind was starting to churn with all sorts of thoughts. There had been something off about Mason since we caught Nando— maybe even since Lino.He hadn't come down to the cell for once, and I had barely seen him. It was almost like he had been hiding away all this time, and I just never really noticed.Everything was starting to align in my
Ava’s POVIt was midday, and Gracie helped me with a napkin to wipe the breast milk that spilled down Mary Grace’s clothes while I was breastfeeding her. I wiped it, cleaned her face too, before lowering my shirt.I pulled her to my chest and cradled my precious baby in my arms as I began to hum a gentle lullaby. Miguel’s favourite one and I hoped it would one day be her favourite one too.The melody flowed from my lips like a soothing river, wrapping us in its tender embrace like a blanket and its effect was tremendous on my baby. Mary Grace fell straight to sleep with her palm clutched tightly around my finger. I noticed she loved to do that, and I loved the feel of her palm around my finger. It was warm, and it made me feel a tremendous amount of peace. I rocked her back and forth, with the rhythm of the lullaby, and Gracie grinned beside me, wrapping one hand around my arm while caressing Mary Grace with the other, although she let her be the minute she was asleep so she wouldn't
Miguel’s POVI walked out of the underground cell, making my way up to the ground floor. Perez spun around the second I entered the room, “I was just coming to see you,” he said as he slid his phone in his pocket.“I spoke with the doctor, he will be here shortly,” He reported, and I regarded him with a nod. “How’s he holding up?”“He’s still a long way from hell but I'll make sure he gets there,” I replied. Perez smiled, “He's more than earned it,” he remarked, “Care for a drink?” he gestured, raising the bottle for a second before going on to pour himself a glass.“Sure. I haven't had one in a while,” I motioned towards him, taking notice of the room. “Where's Mason?” I asked after a minute of not spotting him anywhere around the room. “I’m not sure but he should be outside,” he said, and offered me a glass of scotch. I gulped it all at once and lowered the glass to the table.“Any lead for the antidote yet?” He asked.I shook my head, “Not yet,” I paused, “But I was thinking, per