aesthetics for this chapter and the next
***
Anticipation has a habit to set you up
For disappointment in evening entertainment but
Tonight there'll be some love
Tonight there'll be a ruckus, yeah, regardless of what's gone before
I was ready... Natalie wasn't.
I had reasons to believe she was struggling to put on the dress, I had chosen the tightest one out of the two and it probably wasn't a smart move from me. I mean, she was on her period after all.
We had thirty minutes till ten, which was when the event started. We were lucky the house was close to the building where the fundraiser was taking place, because the trade was happening at ten thirty sharp and we couldn't lose the guys.
We had gotten a lame description of the two men that were going to exchange the diamond, but we had no idea if there was going to be security or something that could count as an obstacle. To be honest, I was kinda scared for the result of this mission.
Natalie's appearance was going to come in handy for sure, her cleavage was more than visible and that wasn't the only part of her body exposed. I was sure there would be a bunch of pervs at the event that would try to get on our way, but we were ready for shit like that.
Honestly, I was highly concerned about her. Her cramps had decided to show up now and I was afraid it was going to be a handicap to the mission. She was slower and less strong, a massive obstacle that was scaring the shit out of me.
I had no idea what was up with me when I told her I was in. I should've insisted for her to stay and not risk her fucking life just because. Well, not just because, but it wasn't like we couldn't wait for one more week.
Or maybe those were my attachment issues speaking once again.
Fuck, we still hadn't got a chance to discuss what happened last night. Natalie wasn't giving any signs that she wanted to actually talk about it, but I did and I was going to consult it with her afterwards, if we made it out alive.
My mind was still a mess with a bunch of thoughts that had nothing to do with what my focus should be put on, which was the fundraiser. I should've known better to clear my mind before joining Natalie, but oh, well.
I had chosen to wear a simple black suit because I really never wore fancy clothes, so my closet wasn't what's called 'ample'. The swallows on my collarbones peaked from under the shirt and, in my opinion, the whole attire was persuasive enough.
I had no clue how this was going to work out, but I couldn't back away right now if I didn't want to have a knife down my throat. I knew Natalie would be quite easy to take down if someone punched her anywhere near her lower stomach, so that put me in a compromising position to make sure she wasn't leading herself into a suicide mission.
She could take perfect care of herself, I knew that. I mean, she had taken down a bunch of FBI trained agents in less than five minutes without allowing anyone to see her face, if that wasn't the definition of flawless then I didn't know what was. But she wasn't in the greatest place physically talking.
I really didn't want her to die, and I wasn't exactly sure what that meant.
I wasn't upset about her punching me. I knew she wasn't in full control of her actions, or she was, but I couldn't care less. She was a killer, violence was her first instinct in arguments and I understood that. If coping with it meant getting punched a few times, then I could take it.
Not that I hadn't been punched before. I had been hurt worse than that, including gunshot wounds and stabbings. Liabilities of working for the FBI.
Plus, she hadn't even used her whole strength, and she had hurt herself more than she hurt me. The knife thing was kinda exaggerated, but there was something inside me that wasn't allowing me to stay mad at her. I had already forgiven her though, there was no turning back now.
I was currently in the living room, playing awkwardly with my hands as I waited for Natalie to be ready once and for all. Movies always said girls took too much in getting ready, and I honestly thought of it as an overstatement till now.
Sorry, Natalie, you did take a lot of time to get ready.
The idea was to act like a couple to blend in and add suasion, people couldn't suspect us under any circumstances. Not that we were about to provoke a bloodshed, but we needed to, in fact, kill at least one person to get what we needed.
I really fucking hoped there wasn't much security, especially not people such as the FBI. I knew this was Spain's FBI, which meant it wasn't the same as back in London, but every FBI department started and finished in the same spot: the CIA.
The whole 'couple' part of the story was making me nervous, because I had no idea what was supposed to happen with Natalie Perkins and Harry Styles acting like boyfriend and girlfriend. I wasn't even a good actor, and I was already really nervous around Natalie. More than I should, actually.
Why though? Why was she so different from other people? Why the fuck couldn't I get her off my mind? She discharged a different vibe than anyone I had ever met, and it was freaking me out because I couldn't seem to decipher her at all.
"Harry?" A voice snapped me out of my thoughts, and I turned around to meet a very fancy-looking Natalie.
My eyes landed downwards though, on her appearance. She was standing on the last step of the staircase, one of her hands on the wall next to her and the other smoothing up and down her side awkwardly. Still, she looked as confident as ever.
The dress fit her amazingly, hugging her curves in the perfect spots to make her look even more immaculate. Her hourglass body was unavoidable and I couldn't bring myself to compliment her, I was just gawking at how beautiful the dress looked on her.
Her hair was pushed to the side and slightly curlier than before, cascading down her shoulders. She had gone for a smokey eye makeup and bright red lipstick that made her lips plumper and more perfect.
There was a small design on her eyelids, three dots on the center and a small star beneath. I had never seen this kind of makeup before, it really looked like she was just experimenting, but it only made her look even prettier. The cute blush on her cheeks was a colossal addition too.
I couldn't stop myself from staring for a bit too long, and of course my mind was the most unholy place in the world, but that wasn't something I could control. And yes, the thought of fucking here right here right now was present.
The attire left too little to imagination, and yet I didn't want to think of her just like a hot person.
I knew she noticed where my eyes were, because the small smirk on her lips didn't go unnoticed. It was hard not to stare, I probably looked like an idiot, but I wasn't worried about that at the moment.
I was thinking though... how was she managing to cope with the cramps in that tight dress? It looked beautiful, yeah, but not comfortable at all, and I would probably have been dying of claustrophobia.
"Are you even breathing?" Natalie chuckled, making me slide my eyes upwards to meet her face once more.
She had a pleased expression on her face, and I knew I had been feeding her gigantic ego for the past minutes. I was still sitting on the couch, halfway turned around and frozen in my place because I was trying to find a way to describe how she looked.
"You look-" I started, but was interrupted mid-sentence before I could say anything else.
"Hot? I know. Now let's go, please." She huffed in frustration.
Her mood swing caught me off guard, but I quickly remembered that she was on her period and stopped worrying. Still, I couldn't help but drift my mind to the simple fact that I wouldn't have used that word to describe her appearance.
Not everything I thought was sex-related, and 'hot' was both an understatement and the wrong word. She didn't just look hot, this was way beyond hotness. She looked so fucking beautiful.
I stood up, watching as Natalie grabbed a small black purse. Her eyes shamelessly raked up and down my body, giving my collarbone a specific amount of time before going back to my face. Well, at least I wasn't the only one feeling like this.
"Look at you," Natalie frowned, smirking lightly. "Let's go, boyfriend."
Oh, fuck.
"Wait," I stopped her before she could head to the door, and she looked at me with the most cryptical expression that kinda scared me. "Come here."
The confusion in her face was visible as she walked towards me, and I fumbled my pocket for a certain package that had been hidden the whole day. I grabbed her shoulders and guided her to stand with her back towards me.
I wasn't planning on giving her the necklace now, but I knew it'd look really fucking good on her and I had a feeling she'd love it, so I thought there was no better time than this one. Actually, the chain wasn't supposed to be revealed any time soon, but there was no turning back now.
The soft touches of my fingertips against her back were enough to make goosebumps erupt all over my skin, and I was already holding my breath in case I did anything wrong. I hadn't even asked if she was okay with this.
"Move your hair to the side, please," I told her softly, watching as she gathered her hair in a side ponytail and left her shoulder blades exposed.
With carefulness, I took the chain out of the package and put it around Natalie's neck, hooking the tiny clasp. Her head tilted forward, probably to check out the pendant, and I was feeling my heart thumping against my chest at the suspense.
"It's beautiful." She whispered, so quietly that it seemed as though she was talking more to herself than to me.
She then turned around, and she caught me really off guard when I saw her eyes were glossy. It took me a minute to process the new mood swing but, before I knew it, she was already hugging me like we had known each other for our whole lives.
Natalie then let go of me, sniffling a bit before looking down at the rose pendant once more. it really did look beautiful on her, and I was so happy she liked it.
She stretched her arm towards me for me to hold it, and I hesitated before doing. I would have to get into character, because I was way too nervous and I was sure Natalie could hear my heart pounding against my chest the most aggressive it had ever been.
We left the house together and got into the car Louis had sent for us. Natalie almost refused to accept it, but I convinced her that it was way better to just get into the fucking car instead of walking ten blocks in stilettos.
Her relationship with Louis Tomlinson was a mystery to me. Everything about her was a mystery, I didn't know her at all. I knew about Louis because she had given me a brief explanation on the topic, but she never mentioned what type of relationship they had.
Maybe enemies? That would explain why she didn't want to accept both the car and the jet, but why would she ever accept the job in the first place? That made no sense, so my other theory was that they were crushing on each other and that was why she got all flustered whenever he was mentioned.
Maybe he was her boyfriend? Or maybe not. If I was him, I would've never let her go on a mission where she would be risking her life for at least a couple of months, that was senseless too. I had no other logical explanation, but I was talking about blacks and whites; either enemies or a couple.
My mind was such a mess, mixed up thoughts of Natalie, Louis, the dress, the event, everything. I had no idea what I was supposed to take care of first, maybe about getting my shit together every time I was around Natalie?
Too many maybes.
The other side of my brain was stuck on all the worst case scenarios where Natalie was involved in a fight and something bad happened to her. I didn't know what was up to me and why I was worrying so much about someone who didn't reciprocate the feelings, everything was such a mess.
I didn't know what was expecting us in the fundraiser. Maybe Alex would appear again? I had no idea who he was, but he had tried to interrupt our mission earlier and maybe he'd try again, that was unpredictable. I was good with theories most of the time, so the most rational one was the one of Alex, in fact, showing up and trying to ruin everything once more.
Maybe not only Alex, maybe he had brought backup this time. Or maybe he died? I didn't shoot him in a place that could kill him on the impact, but there was always the possibility that he hadn't made it to a doctor and he had died of blood loss.
A small part of me wished he was still alive, because maybe he was innocent and my mind wasn't being nice to me about killing innocent people. Like that guy back in the pub. I killed him, I threatened his family. I was a damn FBI agent. Or at least I used to be.
There wasn't time to think about what-ifs, I had to get my shit together right the fuck now before I ended up committing a stupidity which would get me killed. By Natalie, probably. She was extra sensitive about my actions at the moment and she wouldn't hesitate two seconds before shooting me in the eye.
"Earth to Harry." Natalie called, waving her hand in front of my eyes.
Earth to star.
"Yeah?" I blinked the whirlwind in my mind away and finally met eyes with her hazel ones.
She was sitting on her knees on the car seat, looking at me with expectant eyes. I noticed the door was open and I could see a huge-ass building with a bunch of people wearing fancy clothes coming in and out. We had arrived.
I wetted my lips as I watched Natalie crawl backwards in the most childish way. Once she was standing up next to the car, she smoothed her hands up and down the sides of her dress and adjusted it, looking at me while I stepped out too.
Orange lights were illuminating the building and I could hear muffled music coming out from the inside. The guys walking up the large staircases were wearing very fancy clothes, tuxedos and expensive suits, and I looked like a piece of garbage next to them. Fuck.
Natalie, on the other hand, was the best looking out of everyone. Her dress ended right under her ass and it was a huge difference compared to the long dresses every single woman was wearing. She really stood out in the crowd.
I stretched my arm and Natalie hooked hers with mine, which was my cue to start guiding us up the staircase and to the huge door. Her stilettos and my dress shoes tapped against the floor at the same pace, and we really did look like a couple. A very young couple in comparison to everyone else around us.
None of us had said a word yet and I could really feel the tension. It was probably just me, because Natalie looked the most unwinded I had ever seen her and that worried me a bit.
We were about to kill innocent people.
Oh, of course. Why did I keep forgetting she was a cold-blooded murderer?
There was a small smile on her lips, and I couldn't stop myself from glancing sideways at her mouth. They looked so good, and I was dying to kiss them. Which was wrong. No kissing, no touching, nothing. Stop.
"Ready for this shit?" She leaned closer to whisper, and goosebumps erupted all over my skin the minute I felt her hot breath crashing against my neck.
"Yeah, let's do this." I cleared my throat awkwardly as we reached the end of the staircase.
But what caught me off guard was that there were two guards on the entrance, reading names from a list and checking in people to enter the place. Fuck, of course there had to be security, but I was too stupid to remember that small detail.
"Oh, for Christ's sake." I saw Natalie rolling her eyes before adjusting her dress, and now her tits were nearly spilling out.
Jesus motherfucking lord.
I knew what she was planning to do, and I doubted it would work. If the guards had been trained correctly, then they wouldn't even look downwards. I really hoped they had had a shitty training, or else we were out of the picture and we'd have to wait for the next trade.
I didn't even know how we were going to communicate with them. We were in Barcelona, and none of us knew Spanish. Or well, I didn't know Spanish. Natalie was a whole different topic. Fuck, I didn't know her at all.
That made reality hit me in the face like a sack of bricks. I was getting too attached to a complete stranger, and not just any stranger, Natalie Perkins, a killer. This couldn't be happening, my attachment issues were being a bitch.
"Act distracted, never look at me or at the guard." She whispered as we got nearer to the entrance.
They were both big and muscular, wearing black suits and hingeless sunglasses that made it impossible to see past the lenses. They were pretty much identical, both of them with dark skin and no hair, and they seemed almost impenetrable.
I did what Natalie said the moment we were face to face with the dudes, pretending to be really interested in a weird sculpture on the side of the door. It was made out of stone, and I had no fucking idea why I was actually caring about it.
"English?" I heard a rugged voice with a terrible accent, definitely the guard's one. Well, they did speak English after all.
"Yes, sir." Natalie answered back in the most cloying tone, making me repress a laugh.
The guy scanned us up and down, taking some extra time on me as though he was suspecting me or shit, "Names?"
"Natalie Perkins and Harry Styles." Natalie said perkily, her voice sounding three pitches higher and I could practically hear the fake smile she had on her face.
"Your names are not in the list, ma'am." The guard answered, and I took a second to glance at the exchange.
Natalie was pouting, clearly trying to get the guard to look downwards, and she fortunately succeeded. The man's eyes lowered to her lips and then to her boobs. I clenched my jaw, wanting to snap this guy's neck in half.
He cleared his throat and looked at me askance, which only made me look back at the sculpture. Before I could even process the whole conversation, Natalie was speaking again. "Please, let us in just this once... it'll be our little secret."
Oh.
The guard's eyes immediately widened the minute she reached out her hand to play with his tie. I could notice the tension, but it wasn't noticeable for Natalie. She looked like she had done this plenty of times before, and I didn't doubt she had.
"O-Okay, I'll let you in just for today." The guy gave up, and I was surprised by how quick it had been.
I looked back at Natalie, who had stopped fiddling with the guy's shirt and was smiling cheekily at him. The guard nodded his head to me awkwardly before moving aside to let us in, and I gave him a tight-lipped smile that was hiding quite a lot of things behind.
God, the world was so fucked up these days. The guard had given up so quickly, and the fact I was with Natalie made it even worse. Why? Because he didn't know what the relationship between Natalie and I was, what if I was her real boyfriend?
I was glad she had gotten us in, but I wasn't fond of the way she had chosen to do it. I was watching her adjust her dress so that her boobs were back to their previous position, and I couldn't take my eyes off her.
But my mind quickly drifted away when I noticed where we were. Apparently, the actual fundraiser was upstairs, because this place was full of security guards checking people for weapons. Damn, this was going to be hard.
I knew Natalie had a knife holster right where the dress ended, on her upper thigh, and she wasn't carrying any guns because there was no place to fit one. On the other hand, there was a gun tucked on the back of my pants, under my coat. We were really fucking screwed, if the guards' hands went anywhere near my lower back, then they would feel the gun through the fabric.
"Fucking hell." I said, keeping my arm over Natalie's shoulders as I felt her muscles tense under my grip.
We were directing ourselves to one of the lines of people, and I was about to say something when two guards stood in front of us with cryptical expressions. Natalie and I looked at them in confusion before they talked.
I didn't understand what they were saying, because they weren't talking in English, but apparently and for my surprise, Natalie astounded me with perfect Spanish. I didn't understand a single word, but they looked like they got what each other said perfectly.
"W-What's going on?" I asked when we were told to follow, leading us away from the crowd of people waiting to be checked.
"Don't worry, they'll let us in." Natalie didn't care to elaborate further, so of course I had to ask.
"Huh? Why?" I frowned, looking at her even though she wasn't looking back at me. We had already left the multitude behind, we were now walking up a set of stairs.
"Apparently Louis paid them so that we wouldn't be checked. He knew we'd have weapons with us." She sighed, giving me the reaction I was used to by now when she mentioned Louis.
Again, that dude. I was starting to really believe in the possibility that they were a couple. Louis was being too nice to us, and I had my suspicions about a lot of things. Did he even know I was helping Natalie? That I was here?
We kept walking up the stairs till we met a pair of doors. The guards stood each of them on one side and opened them for us, revealing a whole-ass hall with marble floors and walls, columns and a bunch of fancy-looking people that were dancing to classical music.
Everyone was older than we were, probably between their thirties or forties, and all of them were here for the auction. I knew the event would officially start at eleven, and it was currently quarter past ten.
I reached out for Natalie to hook her arm with mine, that way we would look more serious from the outside. We had about fifteen minutes to find our guys, so that gave us little to no time before we lost the opportunity. We had to start right away if we didn't want to miss them.
They were called Marcel Ronan and Gaten Marina. Marina was white, bald and sturdy, while Ronan was skinny, tiny and wore glasses. That was just a vague description that was barely going to help, and we needed to hurry the fuck up.
"Keep your eyes open, whoever matches the description is a possible suspect." Natalie talked tight-lipped, probably trying to avoid people from hearing. I gave a steady nod and raked my eyes all along the hall, scanning each person's face.
My eyes soon landed on a consolidated group of people, most of them security guards surrounding a smaller crowd. In the middle, with his arm around a girl's shoulder, was Gaten Marina. He was the only person I could see that was actually similar to my mental image, the problem was all the security around him.
"Gaten Marina, two o'clock." I whispered, keeping my eyes fixed on the guy.
Natalie's head soon turned to where I was looking at, and her eyes told me she agreed on it. We didn't know if Marina was the guy with the diamond or the guy who would receive the diamond, and that complicated the whole thing, we had to make a quick decision.
"You go." I suddenly said, an idea popping in my mind. Her eyes were now on me, looking surprised.
"What?" She whisper-yelled, furrowing her brows in either concern or denial.
"You heard me." I met her face, and the way the hazel of her irises was now nearly brown made an odd chill go down my spine. "We need to seduce him, and out of the two of us, you're the pretty girl."
"What if he's gay?" She shook her head, and I rolled my eyes at her statement. The way she was refusing to do this was a huge contrast to how flirty she was with the guy outside.
"C'mon, go. I'll be on the bar," I practically pushed her towards the small group, and the glare she gave me didn't go by unnoticed.
I chuckled a bit and sat down on the bar, the perfect spot where I could see Natalie amidst all the heads. I wasn't good at reading lips, though I knew something. I had no idea what was going to happen if Marina didn't buy the whole seducing, but the bunch of girls surrounding him told me he was just as much a perv as the guards outside.
Up to now, we had had no major problems, and I was thinking if we'd be able to leave this place without leaving bodies behind. All of this people looked so innocent, and I felt so bad. I never meant to hurt anyone.
"Fancy meeting you here."
My blood went cold on my veins and I froze in my tracks. I knew that voice, that unmistakable deep British accent that made my eyes widen in both surprise and concern. Why was he here? How did he know? Just... how?
I turned around slowly to meet his tall figure. He was sitting down on the stool next to me, a martini on his hand and a cigarette on the other. The ashtray was set right in front of him, and he was wearing a simple suit.
I inhaled a sharp quantity of oxygen, my lungs felt like they were burning while I spoke, "Hi, Alex."