Zayn Malik
"I'm just gonna accept this is all a fever dream and that I'm still kidnapped, locked in that dark room, and waiting to wake up." I took a very deep breath as both Harry and Cleo were staring at me.
I knew this was very much real but maybe if I tried hard enough it could turn into an illusion. It would hurt less.
Well, the physical pain was now bearable and I was doing the usual things without any help and I stopped taking the painkillers. My arm was still a bit sore but other than that I was okay...
Not okay, I mean, I still didn't remember shit. My head still hurt at random times and I had to deal with this huge void inside my mind... memories that could be so fucking useful if I had them because I could've seen or heard something, but now we'd never know.
We would probably get arrested before I even tried to remember because I just found out my dear ex girlfriend was a fucking fed.
June, or should we say Amber, was a goddamn FBI agent... and I really hated cops. But I hated her more.
Cleo and Harry had spent the past two hours telling me everything that happened while they were out, and I regretted staying behind even if it was the safest and smartest option for my health.
Truth was, I was pissed at Harry because he wanted to torture Amber and I was pissed at Cleo for even considering she could be behind the list... for even thinking she could've been lying about anything at all.
I knew Cleo was her friend, she was probably the only one who could understand a small percentage of what I was feeling at the moment.
Anger was one word to describe it. Maybe betrayal and hurt. Heartbreak. Frustration.
All of those at once.
Amber was actually the first girlfriend I had, my previous relationships had consisted of fuck buddies and that was all, and I loved her. I really fell in love with her and I was considering quitting my job and moving to a different state with her if it meant we could be together without putting her life in danger with this whole family drama.
But now I discovered she was a fucking liar and there was no family drama. It was all a fucking act.
Everything was a lie.
My mind was still trying to process the fact the last months of my life had been in vain because I wasted them on a relationship that wasn't real. I loved someone who purposely targeted me only to get close to Harry's family. I was just a fucking useless pawn.
And that wasn't the biggest problem because Cleo and Harry had taken a fucking immunity deal and they were going to work with Amber. That meant she was going to be around and I really wanted to see her... I wanted to say so much to her fucking face.
I wish I could hate her enough to want her dead, but I was pathetic to still love her. There was no way you could simply turn those feelings off but I was working on it.
My brain was fucked, let's put it like that. But I honestly couldn't begin to understand how Cleo and Harry were feeling at the moment. I had read the new crime board written on his window over a hundred times now and I was completely shocked... but it actually made sense. We would just never think of such a possibility because we were induced to think a certain way. Brains were easy to trick, but nothing is ever what it seems.
People can never be trusted and there were always two sides to a story.
And now we were hearing that other side after a whole life of lies.
It was actually ironic because the same way Harry and Cleo had teamed up to be the most unexpected and yet powerful duo, their parents working together was so unlikely that it was smart.
Desmond and Catherine kept this whole truce facade while they actually controlled the city.
And the FBI was investigating the trafficking for ten years now... this was a huge operation and actually taking them down was going to be impressive.
That didn't change the fact I didn't trust Amber. She hurt me... she really did.
"This is real and it sucks. So we need your brain." Harry sighed, grabbing the black marker and walking closer to Cleo by the wall-length window.
It was six p.m. and they had slept most of the day, I couldn't blame them. I was glad they got some rest because they looked exhausted and they had quite an eventful night.
Cleo had this bandage around her neck and a few bruises on her face, Harry had a new cut on his cheekbone... they explained that they fought Amber when they broke into her apartment, and I had to remind myself these two psychos had broken into the home of an FBI agent and actually started a fight.
They were also hurt, and Cleo was suffering the most with this. She had recently found out her dad was a disgusting son of a bitch and now her mother was the same? And maybe her brother? She didn't deserve this, it was the worst feeling of it all.
Her blue eyes were sad and just tired, her cheeks were slightly blushed and she looked younger today... maybe because she didn't seem like she was about to stab someone.
She was just... numb, maybe?
Harry was a bit more agitated, running his fingers through his hair every two minutes and I just knew he'd have to wash it later because it was gonna get greasy. His anxiety often got the best of him without him even noticing it, and this had just gotten complicated.
He and Cleo hadn't even bothered to get dressed, he was still wearing his briefs and I could see her initials on his chest... literally.
And since she was wearing just an oversized unicorn sweatshirt, her thighs were exposed and there were faint H.S. bruises on them.
I was still having a hard time processing that they didn't want to kill each other anymore, plus the very loud sex I heard the other night, and the way they were literally so synchronized that they didn't even notice... they were so similar in different ways.
And they obviously didn't know they were in love with each other, but who was I to say anything.
Cleo didn't even admit she liked him when I asked her, but I knew that if I asked Harry he'd be more honest in his answer. But they probably didn't understand it... did they even talk about it?
I thought I didn't understand it too with Amber, because love is sudden and overwhelming. It takes you a while to realize what's going on, and once you do it's too late. You're fucked and the person is already too deep under your skin, and now I had no idea how to scratch her out.
Was anything she ever told me real? Probably not. Cleo said she cared about me but that was bullshit. The lies I told her about my job and what I really did were to keep her safe, and I was planning on being honest one day... little did I know that she already knew.
I shook my head and looked away from them, trying to force myself to focus and stop wasting time on Amber.
"My brain isn't functional enough." I sighed, looking at them again and watching as Cleo walked closer until she sat down next to me. "That is a lot to take in... and I still think it's a terrible idea to trust a cop. Why do you trust her, H.?"
"I trust Cleo." Harry shrugged, writing my name on the board. "Your kidnapping is the only piece not adding up in your theory."
Right... the theory Desmond and Catherine were behind the list so they could get them to kill a few annoying clients perhaps? I didn't buy this.
It seemed to me that they were focused on their job and they wouldn't bother to waste their time asking their own children to kill some random men. Plus, they weren't a threat... and why ask both Cleo and Harry?
I had a theory of my own actually, after seeing this board.
My guess was that Desmond had been working with the Horans for a long time, before Mason died. They had this cartel thing going on and they were partners... something happened and Harry's mother was killed... then Mason was killed... and now we had Catherine opening a strip club to use it as a literal shop.
She kept working with Desmond and they didn't actually know that their children had the same list.
Now, Harry and Cleo thought that maybe the person behind the list wanted them dead. I only thought they wanted them to cross paths... discover the truth about the trafficking while killing a few motherfuckers along the way. Maybe there was another connection between the names on the list but I honestly had no idea what it could be.
And we had Louis... he wanted to kill Cleo and Harry, that was certain. From what they told me, Louis was already suspecting their families weren't rivals, and maybe the small detail that Harry and Cleo were fucking wasn't very helpful.
So Louis had people following them with the SUV, taking pictures... maybe to prove that their families were indeed working together. And he was the one behind the shooting at the hotel, since he wanted them dead or very hurt.
I knew Harry was going to kill him because he added a 'still needs to die' under his name on the board, but I thought we should ask him a few questions first.
Basically, I believed that the person behind the list didn't want them hurt... they wanted them to find out the truth.
So it couldn't be their parents. I doubted Cleo's brother knew, too.
"I still don't know about the kidnapping, if only I could remember... it would solve a lot of our problems." I sighed. "I can't believe we're working with the FBI, this is too much."
"You have immunity too," Cleo spoke up and I glanced sideways at her. "Amber included you."
"If that's her way of thinking we're even now, she's fucking mistaken." I huffed, watching as Harry walked closer and sat down on the armrest of the couch, next to Cleo. "I know they have a lot of info, I'm just conflicted."
"So am I," Harry admitted, placing his arm on the back of the couch, behind Cleo's head, and she actually leaned closer to him instinctively.
Fuck, they didn't even notice.
I never thought I'd see Harry fall in love... especially with Cleo Horan.
"What about that Luchas? You still haven't killed him... are you going after him and try to figure out some other connection?" I asked, scratching the back of my neck.
"Amber said she'd call... I still have the files she needs, so she's definitely going to call. But I gave her the names on the list and we're waiting... we're still safe here." Cleo said, tucking her hair behind her ear. "We have to handle Louis, figure out why you were kidnapped... and also find out if my brother knows."
I noticed Harry's body tensed and I just knew he didn't trust her brother.
But before I could tell them that I thought Niall was actually just as clueless as we had been, the lights around the pool outside turned on, shining brightly through the windows.
We all froze and looked outside, trying to figure out what the fuck was going on... it was starting to get darker and Harry slowly stood up, and Cleo followed.
She reached for the pockets of her hoodie and the moment she pulled out a knife I realized the detail I had overlooked.
"I'm really not in the fucking mood," Harry said under his breath, walking towards the cabinet near the piano.
I watched as he grabbed the guns he kept inside, loading two of them and walking back to the couch so he could hand me one.
"Cleo doesn't like guns, be careful." He said simply, and I also stood up from the couch.
This was the worst timing ever, our minds were so affected by all the information that we were vulnerable.
And who the fuck would be stupid enough to break into Harry's house?
"Wasn't it a malfunction?" Cleo asked, flexing her fingers around the snake handle of her knife as her gaze was focused ahead.
She had completely changed her expression and she was ready to fight, while I looked down at the gun in my hand and hoped I actually remembered how to use it.
Harry pushed his hair back and tightened his grip on his gun, carelessly taking a step closer to the windows, squinting his eyes.
"No, baby. Not a malfunction" He spoke up. "There's someone hiding behind the tree."