AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ava scrapes the pancake out of the pan and flips it onto a plate. “Don’t beat yourself up about it. You just need to start believing what people show you, not what people tell you.”
I nod at the advice. It’s wise for someone so seemingly closed off like her. Even though it all seemed like common sense when she spoke, it made me feel a little bit better.
“I’ve had to learn to do that over the years,” she continues. “It isn’t easy to let go of the past, but it’s necessary if you want to grow. Getting caught up in regret is what will ultimately kill you.”
I tilt my head. “Why do you say that?”
“Because empty promises are what keep you complacent, Nella. You’re never going to move forward if you’re hoping for action from someone who will never be able to show it to you. Words are words for a reason.”
“You seem like you’ve had a lot of experience in the area of letting go, Ava.”
“Of course, I have. I’m in the mob for God’s sake.”
“Have you had to let go of someone you cared about because they lied to you?”
“Of course. I’ve had to do many things that I didn’t want to for the sake of this family.”
I feed Leo another piece of scrambled egg.
“Like what?”
Ava sets her plate down at the chair across from me, slowly taking a seat while a pinched look comes over her. She lifts her fork and knife, absentmindedly cutting into her stack of pancakes while she thinks.
“There was this boy that I dated back when I lived in Ireland. Sweetest boy. He was wonderful to me, and I fell for him hard. I’d been back and forth on assignments from my uncle, Killian’s father, jumping from the States to Ireland a few times a year. I never really felt settled down and having that kind of schedule doesn’t allow for many social interactions.”
I nod. “But you did meet someone.”
She sighs, stabbing her fork into a piece of her pancake. “I did. Like I said, sweet boy. Kind, smart. Handsome. Everything a girl could ever ask for, really.”
“So… what happened?”
Ava shoves the piece of pancake into her mouth and chews slowly. “I found out that he was only dating me to sell information back to one of the gangs in Dublin. Fucking dreadful crew.”
I wince. “How did you find out?”
“I followed him one night. Thought he was cheating on me. Turned out, he was trading info for money. Asshole.”
I shake my head. “I’m sorry, Ava.”
She shoves another piece into her mouth, shrugging. “After that, I did what anyone in my family would do. I took care of the problem.”
“So, you cut him off, just like that?”
“Cut him off?” she laughs, “In a way. I made sure that I buried him six feet under so that he couldn’t rat on anyone else again.”
My eyes widen. “Youkilledhim?”
“Of course, I did.”
“Did you ask him why he sold your info for money before you did that?”
Ava looks at me like I have ten heads. As ifI’mthe crazy one.
“I didn’t care why he did it. He betrayed me. What’s that famous saying? ‘Off with his head’?”
I practically choke on my spit with her callousness.
“Anyway,” she waves her fork in the air, “I tested one of my poisons on him. It was a success, so I guess he was good for something after all. I even named it after him in memory.”
