Voodoo [H.S.]

Twenty Six

September 2nd, 2022

"Harry, you can't keep me here forever."

"Why not?" My arms snake around Cassie's waist, covered by only a pair of snug panties that make her ass look fucking phenomenal. "I kind of like having you here, actually. You make good breakfast."

"Fuck off," she rolls her eyes, which are completely bare of any contacts as she's comfortably made herself at home this last week.

"I'm serious, I do like having you here." She wriggles out of my hold and steps around me to make her way to the dining room table, crossing one leg over the other and grabbing her mug. "But I feel better right now knowing you're here and safe."

"I think you're overreacting. I know, what happened was scary and should be taken seriously, but I can't hide out at your apartment forever. I'm not going to pay bills in a place I can't even live in," she scoffs.

"It's just temporary, just until we figure some things out," I tell her as I make myself a cup of tea.

"Yeah? And how long is that going to take? Don't get me wrong, this has been an amazing week with you, but I'm not sure we're really at the moving in stage yet," she says with humor in her tone and gives me a pointed look.

This has been an amazing week. More than that, actually. Most mornings are spent full of domesticity with Cassie waking up early to make breakfast while I get ready for work, and me cleaning up the mess while she gets ready for her own job. Nights are spent out on the terrace, smoke filling the air, music surrounding us while we talk about everything -- our favorite memories, what we wanted to be when we grew up, the amount of candy canes it would take to stack to the moon.

In between is spent with my head between her legs, usually.

I shrug and make a face. "Why not?"

She flips me off. "I'm going back to my apartment tonight. I'm tired of alternating between the same clothes I have here anyway. Listen, I have a day off on Thursday. Let's do something, okay?"

I want to argue with her, but I know I can't keep her hostage here. I just want her to be safe. Knowing she's going to be alone in that apartment puts me on edge more than I'd like to admit. There's someone after her, clearly. The second I told Zayn about the note waiting for me at my apartment with the ominous warning message is when he hired extra security for the party that night and they still found a way in. I'm at a complete loss.

It has to be someone we know or someone close to us. Or someone from the inside, from the network of people surrounding us through Jim. Or someone who knows someone. Or someone who--

I don't know. I'm fried trying to figure this out.

Cassie knows more than she's letting on. It's obvious in the way she avoids the subject of why she would be a target for anything in the first place. At first I chalked it up to trauma, she's had a lot happen to her in a small amount of time. I don't think she knows who could be doing this, but I definitely think she knows why.