NH
"All I remember is some guy walking into the bar, asking the bar tender something, then suddenly, I remember LT coming up to me. I was drunk mind you, he told me some address and got me to pass the message to the guy who came in. So I did. I didn't know what I was doing, okay? All I remember is that LT was the one who gave me the address, to which, I don't even remember what. So really, ask him how he got it."
"And did he make you say that your name was Liam?" I ask, quirking an eyebrow.
His eyes widen with realisation, before he nods hurriedly. "Yeah. Now that you mentioned it, he did get me to say my name was Liam."
I heave a deep, annoyed sigh. "I don't get it. Why does he even want Harry's address for? Why did he want you to pose as Liam?" I ask under my breath.
"Here's your chance to ask." He suddenly says and I raise an eyebrow.
"What?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows in confusion.
He nods his head to the side, gazing behind me. I slowly spin around, the blood in my veins running cold, and my heart suddenly feels like it's crawling back up my throat.
You know those scenes in movies where the popular kid strolls down the hall and everything is in slow motion? It feels exactly that. Only thing, this feels real and this has only happened to me twice. One being right now, and the second, when I met Harry for the first time in the club when we crossed paths.
Leo's eyes catch mine, fixing his gaze on me, a knowing smirk on his lips. I swallow thickly, a shiver racing down my spine. Nothing like how when I first locked eyes with Harry. This feels much more... 'spine-chilling' where breathing almost feels like a chore, air just wouldn't want to enter your lungs, which makes your heart race at tremendous speeds.
He confidently strides towards us, expertly manoeuvring his way through the crowd before he's just meters away from me. His smirk widens as he takes a last step towards me, his body towering over me just slightly, more than enough to intimidate me. Shit, I really wish Harry's here.
Usually, I wouldn't be that nervous to meet him. But for some reason, tonight I am. Maybe because this time, it involves Harry and I don't wish for anything to happen between us.
"Hello Niall. It's been awhile, hasn't it?" He says, all too innocently, with a way too friendly smile. I angle my head in a nonchalant manner to help keep up my brave facade, resisting the urge to take a step backwards.
A tight smile forms on my lips. "LT." I manage to greet out, keeping my voice as steady as possible.
"Oh come on Niall, I thought we would be on first name basis by now." His smirk widens.
"Leo Tatum." I say, with an overly exaggerated false smile.
He chuckles. "Good to see you too, lad." He claps me on my back and I swallow back the profanities that are on the tip of my tongue. How the hell can he act like nothing has happened?
"Where's that boyfriend of yours? Thought you guys were joined by the hip?" He asks, pretending to look around.
I feel my fingers curling into tight fists by my sides.
"He couldn't make it." I speak lowly through clenched teeth.
"Oh?" He brings his eyes back to mine. "He must be too busy working at the studio." He clicks his tongue, shaking his head. "He's always overworking, that lad. No wonder his studio's doing so well." He sighs melodramatically. There's a sudden rush of blood to my head, my veins feeling like it's swelling up, just waiting to explode.
"Funny you should say that. Because, ermm... if I remembered correctly, I think you embezzled from his very successful studio." I state sarcastically, pretending to look like I'm thinking.
He simply chuckles. "Now now, no need for accusations." He smirks, acting completely ignorant and I narrow my eyes at him. "Anywho, without him here makes it a whole lot easier. Now the two of us can talk in private." He says. He cocks his head to the side, his eyes darkening and the smirk he's wearing suddenly seems wicked. I find myself gnawing on the insides of my cheeks, not willing to show that he makes me nervous.
He nods his head to the side, gesturing for me to follow. I glance over to Zayn, and I can tell, he's silently begging for me to not go. But I have to if I want to put an end to all of this. I might not be able to, but I need to at least see which screw is screwed wrongly in this guy's head, find out why he's doing what he's doing. This guy in front of me, is playing a huge part in ruining Harry's life, and I'm not going to let him have his way.
I sigh softly, nodding my head reassuringly, before leaning closer to him, bringing my lips to his ear. "I got it covered. But if anything goes wrong tonight, please look out for Harry for me." I speak lowly, just enough for Zayn to hear me over the loud chatter going on in the bar.
His eyes widen, slight fear in his eyes. He pulls me over to the side slightly, using his body to block my view on Leo. Not that I want to see his stupid face anyway.
"Do you really want to speak to him, Ni? He's just going to try to manipulate you into doing what he wants." He warns. I sigh.
"I don't have a choice, Z. I just need to find a way to get him off our backs, plus, I think I've got a plan."
"Which is what?" He asks.
"I can't say at the moment, but just trust me, yeah? I've got it covered." He sighs, but reluctantly nods. I give him a weak smile, nodding, before I'm turning back to Leo, who has a smug smile on his lips. He starts walking to the nearby back exit, and I hesitantly follow behind.
He pushes open the back door, leading me out to the back alley of the bar. I look around, at least grateful that there's none of EJ's men lurking around back here, just waiting to beat my arse up to a pulp if need be.
He leans on the wall opposite me, pulling out a joint from his back pocket, flicking a lighter on, before burning the other end of it, inhaling a long drag out of it.
I slide my hands into my back pocket, feeling the items that I bought earlier, holding onto it tightly just in case.
"Want some?" He offers, with raised brows, handing me the joint. I scoff rolling my eyes, refusing to answer him.
He shrugs. "More for me, then." He says casually and a grimace forms on my lips as I stare at him with hard eyes.
"How'd you find Harry's address? Who told you?" I finally ask. He brings his gaze up to mine.
"Why don't I give you a hint?" He says, hanging the joint between his lips, his dark blue eyes staring me down smugly. "It's someone he used to be close with."
I furrow my brows and purse my lips at his words in thought. I gasp softly when realisation suddenly hits me.
"Louis. Louis Tomlinson." I whisper through clenched teeth. He smirks smugly, bringing the joint down from his lips.
"Bingo." He says, releasing the white smoke.
I swallow thickly, my brain desperately scrambling to make sense of it all. Louis. Louis was the one who gave out Harry's address. To Leo fucking Tatum of all people. Why? Why would he want to do that? Their breakup wasn't all that good, I'll admit, but why would he just give out Harry's address like that? What exactly is his motive? It just doesn't make any sense at all.
"I know what you're thinking." He speaks up, and I snap my gaze up to his. "You're thinking of why he did it, aren't you?" He raises a brow. And even if he was spot on, I refuse to show any sort of emotion.
"I'll tell you why." He says casually. "I made a deal with him he just couldn't refuse."
"Which is what?" I speak lowly.
"If he told me where Harry lives, he can have Harry back." He smirks smugly. My heart falls. No. No fucking way can he 'have Harry back'.
"You see, Niall. Harry broke his heart. And Louis wants everyone he loves away from him. Both Liam, and you." My eyes widen in realisation. Liam. That's why Jay was told to say he was Liam. They were making him the scapegoat so Harry would hate him.
"Why Liam? What did he do?"
"Nothing." He shrugs. "He just wants Harry for himself. Plain and simple." I swallow thickly at his words. Louis is one psychotic motherfucker, that's who he is.
"But don't get mad at him." He says. "He was just... acting on his emotions." My jaw tightens and my fingers dig into my palms as they clench into fists.
"Why do you want to know Harry's address anyway?"
"I don't." He shrugs and I glare deeply at him in fury. "Oh come on," he says, chuckling, when he notices the daggers that I'm shooting him with. "It's not like I'm gonna send bombs or skulls or body parts to his house. I just wanted to shake him up a little." I narrow my hardened eyes at him. Does he think this is some game or some shit?
"Why are you doing this to Harry and I? What did we even do to you guys?" I ask exasperatedly.
He chuckles. "Oh, Niall." He shakes his head, blowing out the deadly drug. I squint my eyes against the white smoke that he puffs out. "You didn't do anything to us." He smiles.
"Then what the fuck is your problem?" I spit in frustration.
He cocks a brow. "Don't have to get all hostile, mate. We're just having some fun." He taunts. My face has become rigid, jaw clamped tight, teeth grinding.
"Fun?" I hiss out through clenched teeth. "You think this is fun? Getting my boyfriend's address from his psychotic ex, embezzling funds from his studio he worked so hard on, making him pay up a ransom that was threatening me?? Is that fun??" I bark, but he doesn't seem the least bit taken aback by my outburst. In fact, he's the exact opposite. He's amused. Sick bastard.
"You need to see it from my point of view, mate. Making those deals, watching you guys try to find out who's the account holder. It's funny, really," he snorts out a laugh. "Funny to see you guys trying so hard." My jaw clenches tight as his smirk widens.
"Want to know what's even funnier? What's funnier is that you guys are absolute idiots. You took so long to figure it all out when the answers were displayed out in front of you all along. We wanted you guys to find out who we were. Do you really think we're that stupid? Don't you think it was a little too easy to find out that I was the sender of the email? That I was the one embezzling the funds from his studio?" I feel the blood in my veins freeze at his words.
"Why?" I croak out. "Why'd you want us to find out it was you?"
"Simple. We just wanted you to come to us." He shrugs lazily. Everything that he has been doing... getting Harry's address, with us finding out that it wasn't Liam, the email about the ransom, the embezzlement from his studio... they went through all of that, just to get to me?
"What made you so sure we wouldn't call the cops on you?" I raise an eyebrow and he scoffs.
"Dumb question. Because I know that you wouldn't want to go to jail too, and leave your precious boy toy behind." I swear, I'm this close to smashing his head against the wall behind him. Not that I'm able to.
"What do you want?" I ask defeatedly in a low whisper. He brings the joint back up to his lips, before taking another long drag out of it, his eyes getting a little more dilated.
He casually leans his head back on the brick wall as he eyes me up, with the slyest smirk on his lips.
"We want to make you a deal." I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously.
"Like hell I'm gonna make a deal with you snakes." I snap.
"Oh, but I'm sure you'd like this." He says with a taunting smirk. "How 'bout this. We'll return all the money that was embezzled from your boyfriend's studio, plus, I'll call off the 35 million dollar debt. As a bonus, I'll let you ask me one question, anything at all. If you just do three simple things for me." I swallow thickly. It's a good deal. In fact, it's too good of a deal. Whatever 'simple' tasks he wants me to do, are definitely going to be almost impossible, I'm sure of it.
"Let's hear it first." I speak lowly, silently cursing myself for starting to sink into his trap. His smirk widens.
"First, no calling the cops on us." I swallow thickly, but nod slowly anyway, gesturing for him to continue.
"Second, we want you to traffic some loot for us." I raise an eyebrow.
"How much of it?"
"A million." My eyes widen and I choke on the oxygen I'm breathing in.
"A million?" I sputter out. "A million dollars worth of drugs?"
"Up for it?" He cocks an eyebrow, tilting his head to the side. I purse my lips. A million dollars worth of drugs is like... 15 kilograms of it. That may not be very heavy, but it's a shit load of it.
"What's the catch?"
"Smuggle it over to Paris." My eyes widen. "Get the drugs to the rendezvous point, hand it over to the buyer and half the deal is yours."
"You're fucking crazy." I snap. "Don't you know how risky it is to transport 15 fucking kilograms worth of drugs? Let alone to another fucking country?!" I speak in a harsh whisper.
He shrugs casually. "A million worth of drugs, versus 40 million dollars back to your boyfriend. It's a pretty good fucking deal if you ask me." He says smugly with a heartless laugh, looking down at me as though I'm just another child begging him for pity. Fury blurs my sight. I tighten my jaw and glare at him.
"What's the last of my part?" I ask, just to hear it. He smiles wickedly, pushing himself off the wall, bringing his face closer to mine, exhaling the toxic white clouds into a large circle. It was as if someone had put a piece of coal into my lungs.
"This is the interesting part." He speaks lowly. "I want you to cut that boyfriend of yours, out of your life. If not, we will be the ones to do it."
My stomach is tied up in a tight knot, feeling my entire body going pale and cold. The dread creeps over me like an icy chill, numbing my brain. In this frozen state, my mind offers me only one thought— keeping Harry safe. But not this way.
"Like fucking hell I will." I spit furiously.
He chuckles. "Tell you what," he pauses, obviously trying to test my patience. "Cut him off, and we swear to never bother him ever again. No threats, no ransoms, all his money returned. It'll be like he doesn't even exist to us." My body freezes and I feel the blood draining from face, my lungs shallowly rising and falling. Keeping Harry safe and happy is the only thing I want, but I can't do it. Not this way. I can't just.. drop him. Not when I've already fallen too deep.
As brutal as it sounds, in my mind, I could see his neck snapping, my fist smashing into his nose, splattering red blood on the dirty walls. But instead of doing those things, I just reply as if my jaw is wired shut, "You're fucking sick. Why are you doing this? Do you get some sort of sick thrill out of ruining people's lives?"
He shrugs nonchalantly, a small, but sinister smirk on his lips.
His indifferent attitude was what caused the breaking point of my patience. In this moment, anger boils deep in my system, and I get blinded by rage that tastes bitter, yet surprisingly satisfying. Before I even knew what was happening, my fist flies up to his jaw with a hard punch. He falls to the ground, the blunt dropping from his lips as he groans in pain and I try to shake the aching feeling I feel in my hand.
"You guys are a bunch of fucking sadistic dickheads." I yell. He chuckles humourlessly, which only fuels the anger in me. He pushes himself up and spits out some blood onto the ground.
In his head, this is a victory already. In his fucked up logic, my anger only means that he knows that he is going to get his way. Because as much as I hate to admit, he might just get his way.
"I guess I sort of deserved that." He continues to smirk, using the back of his wrist to wipe the blood off his lips. "Either way, you have up till Sunday midnight to tell me. Bye now."
"You owe me an answer to a question." I say before he starts walking off.
"Right, I almost forgot. What do you wanna know?" He asks, a little too nicely. I purse my lip in thought.
"I get that Louis is just a psycho ex who just can't let go and is pissed at Harry, and I get that you're just doing your job based on orders. So really, what exactly is Elijah fucking Reynolds' motive? Why is he doing what he's doing?" His busted lip tugs up into a small smirk, cocking his head to the side slightly.
"Haven't you heard the phrase, 'greed and jealousy has poisoned men's souls'? He has been poisoned way too much. And now, all he wants is... control." And with a last smirk, he's making his way down the alley, and onto the dark street.
"That's a fucking shit answer, Leo Tatum! What is that supposed to mean? That he wants to control our lives?! That he's just a fucking sadistic bastard?!" I shout after him, but he's already out of sight.
I grunt, leaning my back against the brick wall.
I'm definitely fucked. But.. so are they, because right now, I know exactly how to screw the two of them over.
•••
"Baby." I hear someone whisper into my ear. My face scrunches up slightly in protest and I let out a whine, burying my head deeper into the pillows that smells faintly of Harry.
I hear a soft chuckle before I feel some movement beside me, and an arm encircles around my waist, a whiff of his cologne filling my senses. A small smile tugs on my lips and I snuggle further into him, feeling the warmth radiating off of him.
"Baby, it's three in the afternoon, love." Harry speaks softly into my ear.
"What's your point?" I mumble lazily. He chuckles again, pulling me closer by the waist, and pressing a soft kiss in the crook of my neck, causing goosebumps to race across my skin.
I finally peek my eyes open, only to see Harry's smiling face right in front of me, my favourite pair of emerald eyes glistening. I notice that he's fresh out of the shower. He must have just gotten back from the studio.
"What are you doing back so early? Don't you have work?" I mumble, my voice still laced with tiredness. Going to bed at 4am is definitely not ideal.
"Just wanted to come back to see you." He simply says. I smile slightly, before I feel a soft pair of lips on mine. My smile widens, and I'm kissing him back just as tenderly.
I pull back just slightly, before pulling him to my chest, and wrapping an arm around his shoulders instead, pressing a soft kiss on his temple.
"What time did you get back last night?" He asks.
"About four." I hum out.
"That late, huh." He murmurs, snuggling his face deeper into my chest. "What happened? What did Zayn's friend say or tell you?" He asks. At the mention of his question, I tense up very slightly, which obviously didn't go unnoticed by him. He props himself up with his elbows, peering at me questionably with concern laced behind his eyes.
"Ni, what happened?" He asks softly. I release a soft sigh.
"I found out who was the one who gave your address to my brother." I tell him. He raises an eyebrow.
"Who was it?" He asks.
"It was Zayn's friend." I mutter. "The insider." I watch as his eyes widen in surprise.
"But how-"
"LT was the one who told him and got him to say that his name was Liam."
"Why?" Harry asks in barely over a whisper and my heart falls slightly at the answer I'm about to tell him.
"Niall." He says, slightly firmer.
"Louis." I whisper. "Louis was the one who told LT where you lived. LT made a deal with Louis, saying that if he told him your address, he'll 'have you back' or some shit, which is obviously fucking retarded. I took awhile to figure it out, but I think Louis told them your address to freak you out. He wanted you to think that because of me, your life just might get fucked up because of all these dealers. Which, is partially true." I whisper the last line under my breath, to which, I don't think he caught. Thankfully.
"And, LT said that Louis wanted everyone you loved away from you. Both Liam and I. That's why the insider had to pose as Liam." I explain. Now that I said it out loud, it sure makes Louis out to be some creepy ex boyfriend.
The blood from his face drains. His eyes go distant, and he parts his lips slightly to say something, but closes it right back.
I swallow thickly, starting to get a little worried when he doesn't even show an ounce of emotion on his face.
"Har.." I call softly, reaching up to his jaw. His distant eyes slowly gazes back down to mine, an obvious storm behind them. A storm of emotions. Confusion, hurt, disappointment, and the most prominent of all, anger— something that Harry rarely shows.
"He was the one who gave my address?" He asks, his voice low and laced with fury.
I pull my bottom lip between my teeth, nodding slowly, not really knowing how to answer him.
"I'm gonna fucking kill him." He speaks in a harsh, husky voice. He starts to get out of bed, but I grip onto his wrist, before pushing myself up into a sitting position.
His hard gaze snaps to mine, before the edges of his eyes start to soften slowly.
"There's really no point, baby. With you going to confront him, it'll only mean he's winning." I tell him gently.
He doesn't say a thing, but he doesn't move from his spot either. I release a soft sigh, pulling him closer by his wrist, letting him situate his tall, lanky body between my legs, lying his head on my shoulder, burying his face in my neck.
"I can't believe he would stoop so low." He murmurs. I nod, wrapping an arm around his waist gently.
"He's not worth it." I whisper into his ear. He releases a shaky sigh, raising his head off my shoulder to look up at me.
His forest green eyes start roaming my face, before he reaches out to cup my jaw gently. I smile lightly, fitting my cheek into his larger palm.
"I won't let anything happen to us." He says firmly. "Especially not if it's because of Louis." I swallow thickly, Leo's words about the deal ringing in my head.
'I want you to cut that boyfriend of yours out of your life. If not, we will be the ones to do it.'
Either way, I mask on a weak smile. "I love you, remember that, okay?" I mutter, not wishing to tell him anything about the deal. Not yet anyway. Not when he's already so mad at Louis.
A smile tugs on his lips as he nods slowly.
"Kiss me." He whispers.
Raw emotions and the need to hold him close overwhelms and completely takes over me. Every part of me ached for him— my mind, my body and my heart.
Without hesitation, I close the gap between us and press my lips eagerly to his.
He guides me back down onto the bed, hovering himself over me.
His hands were everywhere, my face, my hair, my back, and for all things holy, my arse.
After drugging me with delicious kisses for not nearly long enough, his warm lips skim my throat, down the center of my chest, and right down towards my hip bones. My back arches, and I start to lose my mind.
Without meaning to, I moan and whisper his name when his hands wander to my thighs, parting my legs seductively.
"I love how you smell. I love how beautiful you are." Harry whispers as he trails his lips back up to my lips.
I reclaim his lips, hooking a leg around him as we move in rhythm with each other. In between frantic kisses, I repeat the same three words, "I love you." Because I do. I love him more than I've ever loved another person in my life. And right now, nothing is more important to me than savouring and treasuring every second, every minute with him. After everything that has been going on in our lives, I just want nothing but him. I have less than four days to think about the deal and tell Leo my decision. But frankly speaking, I think I've already made up my mind.
——