Harry found Zayn in the love seat in the library. He was doing something on the laptop.
"Hello, beautiful."
Zayn glanced up at him, then back at the screen. "Hello."
"Hiding from me?"
"Yes."
"Why?
"Because I can."
Harry sat next to him and draped an arm around his shoulders. "Our babies are sleeping."
"Good. Let's hope Charlie sleeps through the night this time."
"I think he will. I don't think anything we gave him tonight will give him gas."
"Hopefully not."
Harry looked at the laptop screen. "What are you doing?"
"Some online shopping. I'm bored."
He chuckled. "I think it's cute that you shop when you're bored."
"Really? I think it's pathetic."
Harry leaned closer and left a long kiss on his cheek. "It's not pathetic. It's cute."
"Randomly spending money just because you have it when you're bored is cute? Rich men are so weird."
"You're talking about yourself. You know that, right?"
"Nope. I'm not rich. You are and it's your money I'm spending, babe."
"Our money. We're married. What was mine became yours and what was yours became mine. Together, everything is ours."
"Hmm."
"So what are you looking for?"
"A summer dress for Nema and I. She says she wants us to match one day. So I'm looking for something suitable for us both. Something that doesn't look too old for her or too childish for me."
"How about that one?" Harry pointed to a black dress with multicolored hearts all over it.
"No. I don't think so. That's ugly."
"It's not that bad. I think you could pull it off."
"Seriously?"
"Yes. You can pull anything off."
"Please. Do you not see this thing? The only thing I would be pulling off is the dress to throw it in the trash."
Harry threw his head back with a laugh. "Wow. That's harsh. Somebody designed that dress, you know."
"And?"
"And apparently the people they submitted it to thought the design was good enough to be sold on a dress."
"Well, they were wrong. I could do better than this. Easily."
"Oh really?"
"That's right. As a matter of fact, I think I might do it."
"Design women's clothing?"
"Yep."
"That's sounds interesting. I bet you could."
"You do?"
"Of course. I think you can do anything you put your mind to. And if you choose to, I will support you and help you get your designs out there."
Zayn softened. It always made him feel so good when Harry said things like that. He didn't know how things would turn out but with Harry encouraging him, it was always worth the try.
"Then I will. I'm going to do it. Tomorrow after work, I'm going to go to the art supply store, get a giant sketchpad, some pencils and Copic markers. And then watch me be amazing."
"I will. And I bet your mother will enjoy hearing about it when she comes to visit in a couple weeks too."
When he smiled, Harry pressed his mouth to Zayn's for a kiss.
"Love you, baby." He whispered as if it were a secret kept only between the two of them. So Zayn whispered back.
"Love you too."
That night kept replaying in Zayn's head over and over again. No matter how many times he closed his eyes, that moment was repeating from beginning to end. All he could see was how much Harry loved him and how much Harry wanted what was best for him and wanted him to be successful. It made him think about his children and his mother and best friend. He knew Patricia and Niall were worried. But the only thing that kept him from getting anxiety about never seeing them again was seeing their faces in his mind and pretending that they were there right beside him and talking to him.
However, when the door to the shed opened, Zayn was forced to open his eyes. He faced the doorway and blinked towards the shadow figure. Rod came in with his arms folded and his gun was in his hand. Reality was back.
"Miss me?" He asked.
Zayn kept quiet.
"That's okay. You don't have to say anything. By the bruises on your face, you must still be in too much pain to talk much. I whacked you pretty good, huh?"
With the smirk on his face, it was clear he was bragging about hitting Zayn with his gun.
"I came to tell you I had a dream about you last night."
Zayn scoffed and turned away from him.
"What's the matter? You don't sound pleased."
"I'm not."
Zayn felt the bed go down next to him so he knew Rod was sitting next to him.
"You didn't hear the rest of it. I didn't get to tell you all about it. All the things you did for me. I was wrong about you."
Zayn turned his nose up in disgust but still didn't bother to look his way.
"Maybe no man can ever truly love you. But it doesn't mean you aren't useful to us. Because you are. Especially to me." He placed a hand flat on Zayn's stomach. "I could lay it out in detail, if you'd like."
"No thank you." He tried to push his hand away but Rod grabbed that hand and held it tight."
"I have to be honest here. I'm not a loyal man. I never was. You know why? Because I don't need anyone but myself. And if that's the way it is, then why be loyal now?"
"Terrible reasoning."
"It isn't. It's the truth. And since when is telling the truth wrong? Exactly. It isn't." When Zayn faced him, he let go of his hand. "You ever have dreams about anyone other than Harry?"
"No."
"At all? Not the cute guy at the coffee shop or the fit guy down the hall at Anne?"
"No."
"Really? No wild sexual fantasies that you wish your husband was capable of fulfilling?"
"Excuse me, but why do you care? You don't like men."
"Neither did Harry, right? Yet somehow you are now married to him."
"Harry had to grow to love me first. And he eventually did. You on the other hand are just a horny asshole who wants nothing but to use me."
Rod found that funny.
"I love it when you call me names."
"Ugh."
"Don't be like that. Remember who I am. You can call me whatever you want to call me. Just as long as you remember that at the end of the day, I'm still your master."
Then he picked up his gun and ran his hand over it.
"About that dream... I didn't see your face. But I knew it was you because you were wearing what you're wearing now. And you were here in this bed. But the difference was that you wanted me so bad. Can't lie. I woke up feeling a little confused although I'm sure the dream was triggered by yesterday's events. But then I realized it's not so bad. Nobody has to know. It's just fun right?"
He took a deep breath and then ran his hand through Zayn's hair. "We could just say... I am going to give the man in my dreams what he wants. I could fill his fantasies in a way that leaves him always wanting more. Specifically from me and only me. Would you like that?"
"No."
"Eh. But you'll come around. Just give me a little time to get myself up for it. Once I get over the fact that you're a man, I'll have you like putty in the palm of my hands."
There was the sound of the door opening and shoes knocking against the floor. Rod quickly took his hand from Zayn when he saw Kelly come in with a glass of water.
"Oh. Hey. I was just telling him about how we'll be getting what we want soon. Our money."
She put the cup on the table and rolled it over to Zayn.
"That's good. Because I'm starting to worry."
"About what?"
"Us getting caught. It's been a week. This'll all be over soon, right?"
"Of course it will. Don't you worry about a thing. I promise I'll make sure you don't get caught. Alright?"
"Alright." She clasped her hands behind her back and then left the shed again.
"You don't even like her. Let alone, love her." Zayn drawled out. "You're only using her for sex and to get whatever else it is that you want."
"So? Why do you care? Jealous? Do you want to take her place?"
But Zayn wasn't going to entertain that. He simply turned sideways away from him as much as he could.
"Alright fine. I'll leave you to yourself. But just know I'll be back for that phone call tonight. I'm sure Mr. Styles will be wanting to hear your voice."
When he left and closed and locked the door behind him, Zayn groaned and poked at his still swollen jaw. He really didn't understand everything that was happening right now. All he knew was that he did not trust the man that had him locked away here. Sometimes he could get away with saying certain things. But then other times, Rod was so scary that he would not dare try him. Regardless of how much his moods changed, Zayn just hoped that in the end, he would be back home in Harry's arms and swallowed by endless hugs and kisses from Niall, his mother and his children.
* * *
Shortly after four thirty, Harry pulled up in Louis' driveway next to Amos's car. He got the kids out of their car seats, took them up to the front door and knocked. Louis was the one to answer the door.
"Come on in."
Nema happily walked in but as usual, Harry had to nudge Charlie in. He was always very particular about going into houses that weren't his own. Especially ones he had never been in before.
"Wow. So these are the two children I read about in Gloria Mag."
"Yes. That's Nema and this is Charlie. Nema is six and Charlie is three."
"Three." Charlie said.
"Wow. Did you know my daughters are the same age as you? They're triplets."
Harry was surprised. He only got a brief look at the girls when they were kicking his ankles earlier. But now that he thought about it, they all did look to be the same age.
"Pa, what's triplets?" Nema asked.
"It means three children were all born from the same mother on the exact same date."
"Whoa."
Louis smiled down at her. "Would you like to meet them? They're in the living room with the baby sitter."
"Yeah."
"Well go on. They're just inside there." He said pointing his finger down the hallway and towards the right. "Jeanette will introduce you to them."
"Take Charlie with you." Harry said. "And be good. Remember what daddy and I say about bragging about what you have." He gave her a pointed look and she understood right away.
"I got it. Come on, Chip."
She led him away and Harry handed Louis cash money for him to give the baby sitter. "Kids, Huh?"
"Yep. But they're all potty trained so at least Jeanette has that going for her."
"Absolutely."
Louis gestured his head further down the hallway. "Come on. The kitchen is this way."
Harry followed him down the short hall and around a corner where they reached the kitchen entrance. When they went inside, Amos was there and he was leaning against the counter, reviewing notes on the yellow notepad.
"You made it."
"Yes. I'm here. Are we ready to go now?" Harry asked.
"Not yet. We need to go over the rules of the stake out first."
"Rules?"
"Of course. There are rules to everything. Especially things like this. So this is our briefing room to get you ready for it."
"Okay what are the rules?"
He sat the pad down and folded his arms. "The rules are simple. First of all, we need to try our best to limit or eliminate bathroom trips altogether. Remember, this is a stake out in the middle of the day. We can't be seen getting in and out of the car. It will either get us in trouble or get us caught by the people we're watching. Unfortunately, summer has started. So it's going to be hot. I've brought cold water bottles in a cooler to sip from. So if you should have to go, I've got an orange juice carton."
"An orange juice carton?"
"Hey, it's the best I can do. Not only can you not go pissing in people's yards, the people who kidnapped Zayn know both of you by face. So you can't be seen. That's why either you hold it or you take the carton. Alternatively, I would highly suggest you go before we leave. Then, even with drinking a little water to cool you down, you should be able to hold it for two and half hours until we get back here."
"I can."
"Me too."
"Good. We'll be taking my car. When we arrive at the stake out location, I will scoot over to the passenger side. You two will remain in the backseat so you're less likely spotted. Understand?"
"Yes."
"Got it."
"I spoke to Louis before you got here and he said she lives in a gridded neighborhood with multiple ways in and out. So we'll park three to four blocks down from the house if we can. Still, one fact remains. A foreign car is usually deemed suspicious by neighbors. So we need a cover story in case someone comes out to the car to check on us. Ours will be that we're waiting for our friend to come out of one of the houses. We'll pick which one it is when we get there."
"Sure."
"Since we'll be far away, we should be fine turning the engine off and leaving the windows cracked. The heat of the day is passing so in an hour, it will be cooler than it is now. Just in case, I bought some small cheap misting fans anyway. I've also got three binoculars from home for us to get a good look. Remember Louis, you are the only one who knows what she looks like. So you will have to pay attention in order to point her out to us."
"And what if I do see her? What will happen then?"
"You simply tell me. And depending on what she's doing, I'll decide what we do next. Whatever you do though, do not jump out of the car and make a scene. This is surveillance. She or whomever she's working with is not supposed to know we know. Understand?"
"Right."
"Harry?"
"I understand."
"Good."
"Then that's it. You can bring your phone to take pictures or video if you'd like. But make sure flash is not on. Rememeber, we are not the police so we cannot apprehend anyone. We are only trying to figure out the people who have Zayn and where they may be keeping him. That's it."
"Right."
"Okay then. So if those instructions are clear, you've been fully briefed. I'm ready to leave when you're ready."
"First, I'll give this money to Jeanette and then use the bathroom." Louis said. "I'll use the one in my room. You two are welcome to use the girls' in the hallway."
"Thanks."
He left the kitchen and just when Amos was about to make his move out of the kitchen, Harry quickly stepped in front of him. "Wait."
"What?"
He looked back to make sure no one was coming in, then he began to speak in a low tone. "Earlier when we were here, you said something that made me curious. But I didn't get to ask you about it at lunch."
"That's okay. You can ask me now. What is it?"
"You said one of the reasons they chose to kidnap Zayn was because they know how much I love him. I just don't understand how my love for him makes him a target for kidnapping."
Amos sighed lightly and put a hand on his shoulder. "It's not a bad thing on your part. It just means they know you'll do anything to get him back alive, including paying the ransom money and refraining from calling the police when they threaten to harm him if you don't obey. But don't think too much about it. You're not being completely taken advantage of. It turns out they don't know you as well as they thought they did. If they did, they would have anticipated you calling me. That's why you shouldn't worry. We'll get them."
His hand slid from Harry's shoulders as he left the kitchen, leaving Harry in his thoughts. He sure hoped Amos was right. Because right now, his words of assurance were the only thing he had to hang on to.