Adonis | H.S

chapter twenty-one: ambivalence

"Hey!" Harry snapped. "Be fucking careful with that or you'll be eating led."

His men apologised, and treated the shipment with more care. No matter how hard he tried to remind them, his minions were never mindful of this part. They were shuffling shipments around while Harry played his favourite role: the overseer.

"Boss of the year," Sebastian grumbled from beside him. He splayed his hands on his hips and whistled lowly. "Job well done, aye?"

"Can't help but feel like we missed something."

"The fuck are you on? It went smooth as shit."

"I wanted more."

"You always want more, H. You're never satisfied, never settle. That's what makes you a fucking god. A cocky one, but that's why you have me to help bring you back to earth."

"Seb, the only thing you help with is pissing people off."

"...Pissing people off is helpful, though."

"Damn right," Harry smirked, slapping Sebastian's shoulder. His phone buzzed incessantly in his pocket but he ignored it. It was crucial that he stayed focused. Interrupting a god at his craft? It was unacceptable. Focus. Rome wasn't built in a day, and his empire didn't allow for error.

He watched his team work, barking orders and flashing his gun subtly to the ones who were slacking. This was where he could turn into a full asshole. Controlling, terrifying. No slips-ups were allowed and he had no trouble reminding them of that. Or if he was having a smoke break, he'd pass the reigns to Sebastian. And no one wanted to face the wrath of him.

Harry slipped outside, the London air chilly and brisk. His fingertips were numb as he lifted them and lit his cigarette, taking a calming drag and letting the inhalation swarm his lungs.

His phone buzzed again and he pulled it from his pocket, vexed. A couple of missed calls from Xander- standard that he called often at that point during a job.

3 missed calls from Scarlett and 1 voicemail.

He cursed, flicking the ash from his cigarette as he slid open his phone and put it up to his ear.

That voicemail broke him. It really fucking did.

You promised me that you would keep me safe. If you think you're protecting me by keeping me in the dark, you're wrong.

He knew she was right. He'd not given her an ounce of insight when he dragged her into his world. And what's worse- he left her defenseless and alone. A consequence of that was that she'd been a victim of the dangerous people around him.

But there was nothing, no one, more dangerous than Harry trying to protect those he cared about. Whoever followed her would be wishing for hell by the time he was done with them.

Through the onslaught of panic and guilt, he dialed her back but she didn't answer. The guilt intensified. Her life had been put at risk because of him and she'd tried to contact him. He called her again, but it was a wild goose chase that taunted him with the pattern of it.

He called Xander, taking a shaky drag that he inhaled further into his lungs through his teeth.

"Harry, been tryna reach you, man."

"Yeah, I gathered that. What the fuck happened?"

"Someone followed her, about a block or two from her apartment. I searched like eight blocks after and didn't see anything."

"Do we know who it was?"

"I could take a good guess."

"That fucker." Harry kicked the ground.