Toxic (Harry Styles)

Chapter 33

Harry is pushed back and I'm in action.

My flat palms connect with Emily's shoulders, shoving her backwards into the desk behind her. The force is enough to make the solid wood rattle in its place. Emily yelps from the sharp edge jabbing into her flesh. Her nails latch onto my arms, snarling.

I aim for her throat and blonde locks, any of them would do, but a body is wedged between us. My wrists are taken captive, held powerfully behind my back. I struggle in the grasp of whoever this is; trying to peer around his large shoulder and see that Emily is doing the same.

"Get them out of here! We need to get going."

I'm faintly aware that it's Lucas' voice that overpowers every other noise in the room. The men do as told, everyone else moving out of the way as I'm pushed backwards to the lift. Emily is taken the opposite direction, towards the back of the room, but her heated glare is still focused on me.

The lift doors shut and I'm released when the man knows it's safe. The man's not Harry, though. It's Steven, one of Harry's friends and co-workers that I've been around when Harry's taken me to bars and such.  

"Where's Harry?" I ask breathlessly from shouting profanities in the recent events.

"He has to go with Lucas and everyone else," Steven says in a clipped voice.

I felt like my heart was tugged on even more with the words spoken. He's going to confront Evan, and surely Evan knows it's coming, that they're coming, and he'll be prepared. He'll be waiting with his army of men and weapons. Will Harry have to use a gun? Will he have to kill someone? Will he even have a choice? Am I going to see him tonight?

That's all I need for a tear to spill over and run down my face. Another follows, but I don't make it noticeable. I swallow hard, my eyes falling on Steven as he waits for the doors to open again. When they do he throws his arm out to keep them from closing on time, and turns to me waiting.

"So why aren't you going with him?" I sniffle. Stevens sees my troubled look, gazing down at the floor almost guiltily.

"I'm kind of out of commission as of now," he says shyly. I don't move, hoping he'll explain further, which he does. "I, uh, got shot in the shoulder on my last operation. So now I've been given the task of taking you back to Regina's and wade it out, worrying."

Words abandon me. I can't ask how he got shot, surely that's rude, and I don't know if I really want to know. So I walk up to him and say, "I'm sorry. About...your shoulder, and ─ and now you're stuck babysitting me."

He laughs, "Don't be sorry. It's an honour."

HARRY'S POV

"You shouldn't have gotten in the way, Harry."

I slam the driver door; sticking the keys in the ignition and making the Rover come to life. I hate these kinds of missions because I'm stuck with Emily bitching in the back seat and a silent William in the passenger seat.

Now Emily's nagging me about breaking up the fight between her and Shay, but I couldn't care less about what's coming from her too big of a mouth. But I do wish she'd shut it. I don't know how I ever was around her when we were together.

"Honestly, Harry," she whines. "The bitch was getting what she─"

"Oh, yes, because that makes perfect sense!" I snap, wanting to turn around and rip her head off. I take deeper breathes. "Shay's the bitch because she cares about her best friend. If anyone is the bitch, Emily, it's you for being inconsiderate."

That got her quiet. The car falls into a silences that's never been there before. I follow the black car that Lucas, Kylie and Ty are in at the front of the line. At least fifteen other cars, all the same styles and colour, are behind us, filled with offense attackers. They're the best in the organization, and we, my people, are the ones that will track Evan and his men.