Get The Girl [h.s] AU

27

I hadn't even gotten the chance to secure myself with the seatbelt because Harry had already sped down the road. I wanted to ask him where the hell he was taking me, but as I snuck a glance I can see that he's driving on a short fuse. I didn't want to do anything to anger him, Harry lashing out was a true fear of mine.

The drive in silence had my mind running while also trying my best not to panic. He wasn't giving me anything, my mind made up every possible reasoning for this outing. Was he going to sell me? He told me before that he much rather get rid off people than sell them, so that couldn't be it. I'm not going to completely scratch that out from the list of possibilities just yet. Is he going to kill me? Had I been completely engulfed by him to realize his true intentions?

Harry making a sharp turn forced me to snap out of my intrusive thoughts. We reach a building, a strip joint to be exact and I turn to him in disbelief. "Are you selling me to a strip joint?" I say with my mouth agape. "I told you about my pole dancing in a way to entice you, not for you to sell me and get your money." I glare at him. Harry furrows his eyebrows, reaching behind the seat to grab the duffel bag.

Harry soon yanks open my door and steps aside. "Let's go." He sternly says. When I stay inside, he groans and grabs my forearm, forcing me out. He slams the door shut behind me and fixes the duffel bag on his shoulder. I stay behind him, his tall figure shelters me from what's about to happen, regardless I follow him inside like an idiot.

"What are we doing here, Harry?" I shakily ask, wrapping my arms around myself in a way to comfort myself. Harry notices the panicked pitch in my tone and looks back.

"It'll only be a few seconds. If anyone asks you anything, say nothing. I'll answer for you. Don't touch anything." Harry instructs and with no other choice, I nod. What was I supposed to do?  When it comes to Harry's morals, if any, I was very ambivalent. If he was sent to protect me, he wasn't a very good protector. The smell of cigarettes, alcohol and other foul smelling drugs smacked me right in the face as we entered the dark place with flashing lights and loud music. Some of the dancers had little to no lingerie, some had pasty's on their breasts to cover as little as possible.

Harry looks ahead, his gaze stern and focused on a singular man in a booth enjoying the show some girls were giving him. When he sees Harry, he held a a cigar in his mouth before blowing the smoke out and plastering a chilling smirk on his lips. "Styles." The man greets, waving the dancers away.

"I've got what you asked." Harry says, cutting straight to the chase. He lets the heavy duffel bag drop on the table, the mans bourbon rattles from the impact. The man puts the cigar back on his lips, opening the bag enough to where I am able to catch glimpse of brown packages. I recognize these all too well, I turn to Harry but he avoids my gaze.

The man smirks, gesturing to the empty adjacent side of the booth in front of him. "Sit." He demands.

"We're not in the position to stay." Harry grits.

"I want to meet the person who's responsible for all this havoc," His eyes trail from me to Harry in a menacing way. "Sit." Harry's hands turn into fists but we sit regardless, I look around the smoke filled place. "Valentina, huh?" I say nothing as I stare at him tentatively, something about this man gave me the ick. "My name is Alfio Mancini, a close friend of your father." He says, his hand asks for mine and I hesitated. Harry glances at me through furrowed brows and clenched jaw, I notice his knee bobs up and down and he plays with his rings under the table. I place my hand in Alfio's and he clasps his other on top of mine, giving it a squeeze. "I gather Styles here is taking well care of you?"

I glance at Harry nervously, seeing no point in discussing my living conditions with this stranger. So I nod. "I'm alive so far."

"I can see why your father is moving hell and earth for you," He blows the smoke from his lips, I look down to my hands finding it hard to keep eye contact with this man without feeling like he's staring into my soul, like he's trying to figure out what I taste like in a predator way. "I can't imagine the hell you've been through. All these years confined? But just know we're working to get you back to your father. I'm sure your reunion with him after so many years will be touching."

I look back up at him at this. "What?"

Harry tenses up beside me. "Alfio." He grits, almost in a low growl. "She doesn't know." I couldn't help but feel like I've just walked in the middle of an inside joke, I looked from Harry to Alfio in a way to see if they'll keep talking so that I can know what the hell they were talking about.

At Harry's words, Alfio looks back to me and then back to Harry. "I believe we're done here. We'll stay in touch." He stands up, gathers the bag and walks away towards the back where two burly men stood by the back doors. I was now left with Harry in a dark strip joint, trapped between the wall and him. He said nothing and I controlled my running mind, choosing a question to finally ask. "What was he talking about? What don't I know?" Harry says nothing still but he does stand up and walks away, I am then forced to chase after him. "Harry!"

He grabs my forearm and practically shoves me inside the car, slamming the door behind me. Once he gets behind the wheel, he instantly pulls out of the drive way and speeds off. "Please don't leave me with so many unanswered questions, I wouldn't be able to take it so just tell me."

"This is nothing that concerns you, Valentina." I couldn't pinpoint the tone in his voice. Was he angry? Was he calm? "The less you know the easier this can be. There's no reason for you to make this any harder, you won't like that." Harry turns to me momentarily, he held a slight furrow to his brows. Somehow, his calm demeanor terrified me way more than when he was angry. Something about being unable to figure his emotions out was very unsettling to me.

I need to stop allowing his sex appeal to control me, I need to be in control at all times around him if I wanted to keep myself alive. I couldn't rely on this man to do it for me, he's clearly got some shady shit to him that I probably may never know because he refuses to talk to me.

Regardless of how hard he makes it, I need to keep my distance.

—

Dylan McDermott as Alfio Mancini