Harry looks down as soon as he says it, as if he didn't mean to say it aloud.
I stare at him as a pink blush creeps onto my cheeks.
I'd wish for you, Rose.
I'd wish for you.
Wish for me? What does that mean? It could mean so many things, but with Harry, I could never know.
"What do you mean, you'd wish for me?" I breathe.
Harry blinks, bringing his gaze back to mine. "I don't exactly know," he says. "I think I..." He stops himself when his phone vibrates in his pocket.
What? He thinks he...what?
"Hello?" He says into the phone.
He immediately stiffens. "What do you mean?"
I part my lips.
"Louis, slow down. Tell me what the fuck you're talking about."
Harry's eyes flick to me.
"Fine. We'll be there."
He locks his phone and pinches the bridge of his nose. "Damn it," he curses, beginning to pace in front of me.
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"Alec...Alec's angry that Aaron didn't recruit you, so he's sending people to look for you. It's not safe to go back to the apartment right now."
My heart rate quickens. "So...what do we do?"
"We're meeting at Zayn's place in an hour, we'll figure it out then."
Harry's jaw is clenched tight as I follow him back to the car, getting in on the passenger side.
I'm dying to know what Harry was going to say, but his earlier comments are long forgotten as he speeds back into the city. The peaceful time when we stared at the stars is now gone.
"Fuck, fuck, fucking..." Harry curses under his breath as we drive along.
"Why do they want me?" I ask.
"Because you're smart. Everyone can see that."
"What use would I be? I don't understand." I shake my head.
"Rose, you're a copy editor, yes?"
I nod slowly.
"Your job then requires close examination of a piece of literature for mistakes of any form, correct?"
"Yes."
"That skill is...highly useful for someone like Alec. You're observant, like Aaron said. You could potentially be Alec's most valuable tool."
"Is he going to try to force me into working with him?"
"Yes," Harry says. "He's going to do everything he can to persuade you, but remember what I've told you, Rose. Once you're in, you can never get out. And I won't let you be subjected to his schemes."
"I won't be," I tell him and he nods.
"Good."
Harry soon pulls up to a brick building similar to ours, but I recognize the neighborhood as Forest Heights.
"Stay close, alright?" Harry looks over at me.
I nod faintly.
"Are you afraid?" He asks me.
"No," I answer.
He stares at me for a moment longer before nodding and getting out of the car.
I follow behind him into the building, looking over my shoulder every so often. This is nerve wracking, knowing I'm being sought after by Wolfe Enterprises.
Harry presses the button for the third floor in the elevator, his foot tapping against the floor nervously.
He leads me down a hall, to a door where I assume Zayn lives, lifting his cost and knocking. I notice he knocks in a specific pattern.
"Morse code," he informs me and I nod as Zayn opens the door.
"Hey," he greets us. He seems to be just on edge as Harry.
"Hi," Harry says as we step into the place, the door shutting behind us.
"Niall and Louis are on their way," Liam says from the couch.
Zayn's apartment is decorated contemporarily, with lots of art on the walls. Even the furniture he chose is almost abstractly artistic--the couch is bright red and the coffee table is sleek black.
Harry motions for me to sit beside Liam on the couch and I do so as he turns to talk to Zayn.
"How are you, Rose?" Liam asks.
"I'm alright," I say. "I've been better, you know, when a psychotic conman isn't after me."
Liam chuckles. "Likewise."
I look down at my lap. "Do you think that this...rebellion thing you guys have going will be successful?"
Liam chews on his lips thoughtfully. "I can't say," he replies. "But I certainly hope it will be."
I hear commotion in the foyer area and then to see Niall and Louis entering, throwing their coats onto a chair by the door.
"Evening, Rose," Louis greets me as the rest congregate in the sitting area where Liam and I are.
"Hi," I say. Although I have no fear of him now, I am still wary of Louis (and Niall, really) because of how they attacked me some time ago when I was walking home. I know they were only doing it because they had to, though, and they are an important part of the alliance.
"First order of business," Harry says, remaining on his feet while everyone else sits. "What the fuck is Alec thinking?"
"He spoke a lot of Rose at the meeting today," Niall says.
"Meeting?" Harry's eyes widen. "Fuck!"
"Shit, Harry," Zayn groans.
"That gives him another reason to be pissed, Christ." Harry presses his palms to his eyes, stressed.
"You need to go talk to him, so he won't suspect you " Liam says.
"I agree," Louis says. "Go now, before he leaves Ivory."
"What's Ivory?" I ask.
"Code name for Wolfe Headquarters" Niall tells me. They really have codes for everything--even knocks.
"I can't fucking go, he'll know something's up if I go," Harry says.
"What are your other options, then?" Niall shoots back.
Harry lets out a frustrated sigh.
"If I go, Rose needs to stay here," he finally says.
"She's fine with us, just go talk to him and make him think you're aligned with him one hundred percent. He can't have any doubt's about your loyalty to the enterprise," Zayn says.
"No, I think Rose needs to go," Liam says. "Alec knows that Rose and Zayn work together as well, he knows they're friends. He'll send people here, it's only a matter of time."
"What if we just give him what he wants?" I speak up.
All eyes turn to me.
I sit up a little straighter. "If I go to, uh...Ivory...to talk to him, maybe he'll see that I'm no threat."
"That's fucking insane," Harry snaps.
"No, it's not," Louis says. "This is a game of cat and mouse, all of this is. The more Rose runs, the more intent he'll be on finding her. If we send her in, and have her act like she knows nothing, he'll leave her alone."
"We can't just send her in, though," Zayn points out. "If she shows up in her own will, Alec will know something is up."
"I could take her in," Louis says. "Alec doesn't suspect anything of me, and he's sent me after her before."
"You're overlooking the big problem, here," Harry says. "Alec wants to recruit Rose."
"If he sees how little she knows about the enterprises, he'll lose the desire," Niall says.
"He can easily educate her on it," Harry rebuts.
"He wouldn't, because what if I refuse?" I say.
"Rose's right, he wouldn't risk it," Liam agrees.
Harry pulls at the roots of his hair. "Fine. What do we do?"
"I'll take Rose, the rest of you should stand by along the perimeter," Louis says, standing from his seat.
"None of us have shifts tonight," Niall points out.
"We're close to Alec, anyone standby will believe us if we say we have a shift," Zayn says.
"True," Niall agrees, nodding.
"Alright, let's go. If all goes well, we'll be back here in less that two hours," Liam says.
I stand and nod, following along as everyone files out of the apartment.
We take the elevator down, the atmosphere heavy with angst.
In the parking lot, everyone spreads off to their respective cars, but Harry grabs my arm.
"Be careful," he says, his brow furrowed.
"I will."
"Rose..." He sighs. "This is exactly what I wanted to avoid. You talking to Alec."
I nod. "I know."
His hand runs down my arm to meet mine, lacing his fingers through my own and squeezing.
"Stay hidden, if you have to," he says and I nod.
He lets go of my hand as Louis pulls up in his car, nodding for me to get in.
I slide into the seat next to Louis and have barely shut the door when he speeds off, pulling out of the lot.
"Rose, I hope theres no hard feelings about the time Niall and I stopped you on the street," he says, humor glinting in his dark blue eyes.
"No, there's none," I say, smiling.
"Good, I was afraid you hated me or something."
"Well, you did scare the shit out of me."
"True." He smirks.
I look out the window as he drives. "Why do you call the headquarters Ivory?" I ask.
"It's just a code, I guess. We have codes for a lot of things."
"I can tell."
"Most of them are pretty stupid, actually. Alec's not a creative guy."
We laugh lightly.
Despite the small smile I put on for Louis, I'm terrified inside.
What will Alec ask me? What if he successfully convinces me to join Wolfe Enterprises? What if he hurts me? What if my answers to his questions give away something?
Louis parks in an alley, pulling his keys from the ignition. He turns to me.
"Whatever happens now, you cannot reveal anything. I know it's going to be difficult, because Alec's a cunning guy, but don't ever, for a moment, let your guard down."
I nod. "Okay."
"Are you doing alright?"
"Yeah. I'm jush nervous."
"You're fine. The others are standing by, if anything happens."
I take a breath.
Louis looks at me for a bit longer before stepping out of the car, and I follow suit.
I feel like I'm walking to my doom here, but I know I need to do this.
I follow Louis across the street and into an alley I recognize.
The sleek door is unmistakably the one I followed Harry into. Sure enough, Louis punches the same code into the keypad and gestures for me to follow him inside.
My nerves skyrocket as we walk down the narrow corridor.
Louis pushes open a door to the side wrapping his hand around my arm. At first I'm startled by his contact, but he gives me a look and I know it's part of the act.
Inside is a different room from when I followed Harry here. This one is considerably smaller, and it has another door of to the side. A silver desk sits in the middle of the room, with two small fountains on either side of it. Clear, blue water bubbles out of each, creating a serene atmosphere. The wall of the room is white, with paintings of famous historical leaders on them. George Washington, Miguel Hidalgo, Abraham Lincoln, Queen Elizabeth each portraits---to name a few.
My eyes fall from the paintings to the man sitting behind the silver desk.
Alec.
He seems to look menacing as ever, writing something rapidly, his brow furrowed.
Louis gives me a rough shove that I also interpret as part of the act and I step forward, looking down.
"Alec, we've got a visitor," Louis' tone has shifted to how it sounded when he and Niall stopped me on the street.
Alec looks up from his work, a sinister smile spreading across his scarred face. Shivers run down my spine.
"Well, well," he says, folding his hands on the desk. "Rose Knight. How nice of you to show."
I swallow.
"Leave us, Tomlinson."
Louis nods curtly and cuts the room, leaving me ten times more terrified.
"Have a seat, Rose."
I sit in one of the metal chairs in front of the desk with great trepidation.
"Let's chat, shall we?"
I chew on my lip.
"How are you?"
"Fine."
"You're looking lovely."
"Thanks."
Alec leans back in his seat. "What do you think of this room, Rose?"
I look around. "It's very clean," I say.
"Did you notice of the paintings?"
I nod. "Yes."
"What do you think they signify?"
I'm about to open my mouth to tell him, when I stop myself. The key is to make him think I'm as stupid and unknowing as possible."
"I don't know," I say.
"Any guesses?"
"No."
"None?"
"No."
"Interesting." He stands from his desk, holding his hands behind his back, beginning to pace. "Rose, I have been notified you possess knowledge of Wolfe Enterprises."
I blink. "Wolfe Enterprises?"
"Yes." He stops pacing. "Proceed to tell me what you know."
"I don't know what...Wolfe Enterprises, or whatever...is."
Alec blinks. "You know Harry Styles," he states.
I nod. "He works with me."
"Correct. And you are involved with him romantically."
I burst into laughter. "No," I say, shaking my head. "No."
Alec stares at me, raising an eyebrow. "What's funny here?"
"I am not involved with Harry in any way," I say confidently.
"You have no feelings for him?"
"No."
"What does he mean to you?"
"I---"
"What does he mean to you?" Alec raises his voice, slamming his palm down on the desk. I jump slightly.
"Nothing!" I shout. "He means nothing to me!"
"Nothing whatsoever?"
"No! I feel nothing for him, nor will I ever," I spit. My chest aches.
Alec grins widely. He slowly sits back down, leaning on the armrest of his chair.
"Once again, Rose, the security cameras have betrayed you," he says, his eyes flashing.
"W-what?"
"Styles!" He shouts. The door off to the side I noticed earlier opens, and Harry steps out.