the song for this chapter is Ain't No Rest For The Wicked, by Cage The Elephant :)

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Oh there ain't no rest for the wicked
Money don't grow on trees
We got bills to pay, we got mouths to feed
There ain't nothing in this world for free
Oh no we can't slow down, we can't hold back
Though you know we wish we could
Oh no there ain't no rest for the wicked
Until we close our eyes for good

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Tate

   Harry and I actually chatted some on our drive. It was nothing too eventful, just small talk, but I had to say, it felt nice to have a conversation with him without one of us wanting to rip the other's head off. For parts of the conversation, we actually were both laughing, and I finally realized what a nice laugh Harry had, especially when it wasn't about something messed up.

One odd thing I noticed though was that the closer we got to his headquarters, the more shut off he became. It was like with each mile that brought us nearer to our destination, another piece of him disappeared back into the hard shell that he locked them in.

   It struck me that probably none of the people he worked with knew about his more sensitive qualities. Perhaps Abel did, as he had told me before that Harry really wasn't that bad if you got to know him. The irony was too funny. I had been in complete and utter disdain of Harry when Abel had told me that, and now...I could almost see where he was coming from.

  Harry did have his moments, especially when it came to me, which was something that I didn't know if I would ever understand completely. He hardly knew me, yet he was willing to kill for me. I think part of that was due to the obvious fact that I was an essential part of his organization's current agenda, but I would also go as far as to say that the other part was simply because he cared about me.

  It wasn't like I found myself to be some unlikeable person, it was quite the opposite. I always tried to be nice to everyone, I made an effort to go the extra mile to make people smile, even if I didn't know them. In school, I won the superlative for "friendliest face on campus," so being liked wasn't something completely foreign to me.

   But being cared for by a highly trained assassin who worked for one of the biggest organized crime groups in the world? Yeah, that was definitely new.

  As for me, I didn't know what I felt about Harry. At first, I hated him. And I don't use the word "hate" casually. With every fiber of my being I hated, loathed, and despised Harry. I was terrified of him, I genuinely thought he was the scariest man on the planet. He annoyed me, with his sarcastic and rude remarks. I found him completely repulsive if I'm being honest.

  But now?

I didn't hate him, I knew that. As far as kidnappers go, I am fairly certain that not many of them would kill for their captive, or cook dinner for them or drive them to a quaint little Inn so that they could have a hot shower and get some rest. I wasn't as terrified as I used to be of him, although I'd be lying if I said that there weren't moments that he still made me nervous. But after what happened with that man in the park, I knew that no matter how terrifying I found Harry when I first met him, there were people who were far worse than him. People that made him look like an angel. And that was probably one of the most terrifying things of all.

   While I didn't always like his sarcastic remarks, I had to admit that now, I sometimes thought they were funny.

   There were no circumstances in which I would consider what I was going through right now was good. However, I knew that I could also have it a lot worse. I could have been kidnapped by someone like the man who attacked me in the park. Someone who wouldn't hesitate to physically and mentally break me in order to get what they wanted, and once they did, they'd use me to their heart's content, and dispose of me. Even though I knew Harry had done terrible, unspeakable things to many people, I also knew that he would never lay a hand on me.

  From what I knew about kidnappers and people like Harry, they don't care about the wellbeing of other people. They only care about themselves. They wouldn't tell their captives that they were beautiful, they wouldn't hold them just to ensure that they could sleep, and they most definitely would not kiss them.

   So no, I didn't know how I felt about Harry, but what I did know was that the initial feelings I had about him, the ones that I was so sure were concrete and would never break, were slowly starting to change, breaking off piece by piece.

   I was snapped out of my thoughts by the car pulling to a stop. I lifted my eyes to look out of the windshield, revealing a large concrete building, covered with large windows that looked to have black glass, and they glinted as they reflected the grey skies. The building was very inconspicuous, and I know that if I ever drove past it, I would just assume it was a factory or warehouse of some sort. It was honestly quite alarming to me how oblivious the general population was to the evil that occurred behind closed doors.

     "We're here," Harry spoke, and I looked up to smile at him, but his face looked cold, just as it had when I first met him. I set my lips back into a straight line, feeling a blush creep on to my face after the silent rejection Harry had just given me.

   He pulled around the back into the parking lot, cutting the engine off, before first going to the backseat to grab his black duffle, and then coming around to my side of the car to open my door for me.

   I always found that interesting, how even when I hated Harry, he still had some gentleman tendencies.

   My heart fluttered and faltered as I stepped out of the car, excited to finally see Abel, but anxious about who else I would encounter. Obviously, this group of criminals went farther than just Harry and the boys that I had met. I sheepishly walked behind Harry's confident strides as he marched over to a back door, which looked like any other door.

   Harry grabbed the handle and pulled it open, stepping aside to let me walk in first. I went to walk forward but my actions were immediately halted as a second set of doors appeared in front of me.

    Harry lightly brushed passed me and went over to a padlock on the door, pressing in a code. Two panels of metal on the door slid apart, startling me slightly, and a screen with a scanner appeared. Harry pressed one of his thumbs onto it until it beeped, and then leaned forward and I watched in amazement as light skimmed over his eye, doing a retina scan.

   "State your name," a robotic voice from the screen demanded.

He sighed in annoyance. "Harry Edward Styles."

  The big metal doors then began to creak open, and what they revealed left me completely slack-jawed. There were computers everywhere, with large display screens and numerous people sitting by them, typing wildly. There were weapons stations, so many that I think they could supply an entire army.

    Harry began to walk through the doors, and I snapped out of my daze to scurry along behind him. He abruptly came to a stop though, causing me to thump into his back. He turned around to look down at me, and I gave him an embarrassed grin, earning a smirk from him. I don't think I had ever felt more out of place than I did now. I felt like a fruit loop in a bowl of cheerios, and it seemed like all eyes were on me.

   Harry groaned as a large man walked up to him. They didn't look too thrilled to see each other.

  "Styles," the man huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

   "Ralph," Harry shot back in a mocking tone.

  "I haven't seen you here in a while, I would get on you for slacking off, but honestly, I've enjoyed the break from you," he spoke smugly.

   "Oh, trust me, Ralph, the feeling is mutual," Harry hummed in reply.

I watched as Harry was searched from head to toe, and his annoyance seemed to increase with each second that passed. He then walked through a metal detector, immediately setting it off.

   Ralph tsked at Harry, causing him to throw up his arms in defeat.

"Ralph, you know I have metal on me! I'm an assassin for fuck's sake!" He cried out, causing me to laugh a little bit.

  Both of their eyes shot over to me, and my laughter stopped, a rush of warmth flooding my face.

   "And who are you?" Ralph asked.

  "I'm-"

"Her name is Tate," Harry snapped, obviously not too happy about how long this was taking.

"Um, I can speak for myself," I replied cooly, beginning to grow irritated as Harry went back into work mode, and was acting dismissive towards me.

  This made Ralph smile, and he walked over to me.

"I like her, she's spunky," he laughed, earning a small smile from me.

"She's a smart mouth," Harry quipped, and Ralph shot him a glare, before turning back towards me.

"Don't worry about Styles, he always has a stick up his ass. As for you, you're good to go, and you are always welcome here anytime," he smiled, patting me on the shoulder. "You have a good day now, and let me know if this one gives you any more trouble, and I'll be sure to put him back in his place."

  I grinned at his words. "Thank you, Ralph! I hope you have a good day as well! And don't worry, if he keeps acting up, I'll let you know," I winked at him, earning a deep chuckle from Ralph. We waved goodbye to each other and I walked forward to stand next to Harry, who was looking at me with his mouth slightly open.

  "What?" I shrugged. "Maybe if you were nice to people, they'd be nice back," I suggested, a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

  "I don't think I've ever seen Ralph actually smile," he admitted, looking astonished.

I grinned smugly at him. "I guess I just have that effect on people," I replied, lightly patting him on the chest.

  He rolled his eyes at me. "Yeah, okay. Come on, let's go," he instructed leading me down the long walkway towards the elevator, and I felt every pair of eyes on me, making me feel very nervous and unsettled.

  The elevator was made of glass, and as we went got in and began our journey upwards, I peered down at all of the commotions on the bottom floor.

   The doors slid open once we reached the fifth and final floor, revealing a very sleek office space.

   Harry walked me down the long hallway until we reached a large set of doors, which he promptly pushed open.

   My face began to beam as the doors open, revealing exactly the person I wanted to see.

  "Abel!" I cried out, so happy to see his friendly face.

He tore his eyes away from his computer screen at the sound of my voice, his face lighting up as he focused on me.

  "Tate!" He exclaimed, pushing back his chair and walking over to me. He placed his hands on my shoulders and looked at me, grinning, before surprising me by pulling me into a hug.

  "I'm glad you're okay," he mumbled into my neck, and I squeezed him tighter.

Harry suddenly cleared his throat, causing Abel and me to pull back from our hug. I looked up at him quizically, but he avoided eye contact with me, although I had to say, he looked rather annoyed.

   It was then that I was made aware of the presence of other people in the room. I peered over Abel's shoulder to see Niall and Will. I waved at Niall, who smiled back at me, but I brought my hand down as I stared at Will, whose eyes seemed to be boring into my very soul.

  "Okay, let's get to work," Abel spoke, walking back over to his seat. I pulled out the chair next to him and sat down, shrinking down into it and crossing my arms over my chest. Harry took the seat next to me, and I couldn't help but notice as he scooted closer towards me when he noticed Will was still staring me down.

   He moved his hands underneath the table, and suddenly one landed on my thigh, giving it a reassuring squeeze, and no matter how hard I tried to fight it, I knew that my face was bright red. I watched out of the corner of my eye as a smirk spread across Harry's face, before he removed his hand and brought both of them back to the table, pressing his elbows down against it.

   "Okay, Tate, so you said your uncle lives in Scotland, right?" Abel asked, typing some things down on his computer.

  "Yeah, in Melrose," I replied, and it didn't take long for Abel to speak again.

   "Okay, found it," he stated, sitting back in his chair.

    I furrowed my eyebrows at him. "You found what? Melrose?"

   He and the other boys began to laugh, and I felt as though there was some inside joke that everyone was in on except for me.

   "No, his house," He replied, causing my jaw to fall open slightly.

"So what's the plan?" Harry asked, seeming completely unfazed at how quickly Abel had figured out where my uncle's house was. The internet was a scary place, and I began to realize why my dad had chosen to document the passwords for this software on paper.

   Niall sat up a bit and began to speak. "We arranged to have a private plane tomorrow at around one in the afternoon, we will arrive at two or two-thirty, and then we will go to the safehouse that Abel secured for us. We are planning on being there for two or three days, but it just depends on what Abel finds out about her uncle's patterns. We need to find a time that he is out of the house so that we can get in and out quickly," he explained.

   "Or, we could just go in and get the journal, and kill anyone who stands in our way like we normally do," Will suggested, a hint of irritation lacing his tone.

  My eyes widened at his words, and before I even got a chance to protest, Harry was already speaking.

  "No, we are not doing that. We are getting in and out with no casualties," Harry responded harshly. Will just rolled his eyes and twiddled his thumbs in his lap.

   "Did you hear what I said?" Harry spoke again.

Will glanced up and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. I heard you. Once again, you're being a real buzzkill, Styles," he shot back, and his eyes flitted over to me, glaring at me slightly.

   I suppose he was putting the blame on me for all of this. Although there was no way I was going to apologize for trying to protect the people that I love, so instead, I shot a glare back at him, causing his eyebrows to raise slightly in surprise.

   "Don't worry, Tate. I will monitor the street cameras by your uncle's house constantly until we find a good window to make our move. If you think of anything that might help us determine a time frame, just let me know," Abel spoke, giving me a reassuring smile.

   Our conversation was interrupted by the doors to the conference room we were sat in being pushed open, revealing three men. I craned my neck to see who they were. I didn't recognize two of them, but a glare reappeared on my face as the third man came into my line of sight.

James.

   He made eye contact with me and then quickly looked away, shame flashing across his face.

"Ah! Finally! We get to meet the girl causing all of the commotions around here!" One of the men cried out, pulling back a seat at the head of the table, and James and the other man took the seats next to him.

    "Tate, this is my boss, Whit," Harry explained, and I gave an awkward wave to him. He looked to be in his early thirties, with medium length dirty blonde hair and bright blue eyes, a light layer of scruff on his face.

    "Tate, it is lovely to meet you, although I am sorry it is under such...unpleasant circumstances," he remarked, wincing a little as he spoke.

   "Nice to meet you too," I replied, focusing my eyes on the table, suddenly feeling very small as the room full of men stared at me.

   "I wanted to thank you for being so cooperative!" He remarked. "Trust me, it is just making this whole thing easier for everyone, including you!" His words seemed to be laced with the faintest hint of a warning as if to say that I should continue to be cooperative, or else.

   My eyes flitted over to Harry's hands, which were place under his chin. As Whit spoke, Harry's knuckles began to turn white as he clenched them, and I assumed that he picked up on Whit's veiled threat.

   "I am Grayson Peters, the leader of another organization like this, and you've met my partner, James," he gestured, reaching his arm out towards James, who was slumped down slightly in his seat like a small child that had been put in time out. Grayson looked to be about Whit's age, maybe a little older, with dark brown hair and thick eyebrows.

   "Yes, we have met," I replied cooly, glancing up at my neighbor, who had me so convinced he was someone I could trust until he betrayed me entirely.

  "H-Hello, Tate," James stammered, not being able to make eye contact with me, and I noticed that his cheeks were turning a little bit red.

  I'm glad that he felt ashamed, at least it proved that he had some sort of humanity in him.

"So, do we have the plan for retrieving the journal all worked out?" Whit hummed, looking around the room expectantly.

"Yes," Harry replied, not offering any further information.

Whit raised an eyebrow at his attitude but didn't press any further.

"Okay, well, may I just remind everyone that we are on a time limit, and the threats keep piling up more and more every day. So, the sooner that we get this done, the better," Whit spoke.

     My heart began to thump at the mention of new threats, and I knew Harry was concerned too.

"What new threats?" He asked, trying to sound as casual as possible.

  Whit sighed before replying. "Well, at first, we just assumed that they were all from Quinton's group, that he was toying with us to remind Grayson not to pull anything. Luckily, he still doesn't know about our involvement with Grayson and his operation, so if he was the one sending the threats, they were solely about the software, and towards Tate. But...I don't know. I mean, I knew word about the software would get out eventually, but the threats just seem to be coming far too often to be from just one person. I don't know who the others are, or how much they know, but all that I am saying is, continue to keep your guard up. This situation is proving to be very unpredictable, and we need to be prepared for someone to strike at any minute."

   My stomach began to churn inside me, and I looked down at the table again as Whit continued.

"We need to remember our goal: get the journal, get the passcodes, and takedown Quinton. We will handle any situations as time goes on, but we need to make sure that we don't stray from the mission. We need to focus on what is important," he finished, and I couldn't help but notice the emphasis he put on the last part, or the way that his eyes quickly flitted over to Harry. But just as quickly as they landed on him, they fluttered back towards the rest of the group.

  "Understood?" He asked, and everyone nodded in agreement.

He clapped his hands together and smiled.

  "Alright, let's do this thing then."

AN: AH I HOPE YOU ALL LIKE THIS CHAPTER! ILY ALL SO MUCH THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR CONTINUED SUPPORT ON THIS STORY IT SERIOUSLY MEANS SO MUCH TO ME! I HOPE YOU ARE ALL HAVING THE BEST DAY/NIGHT EVER! DON'T FORGET TO VOTE AND COMMENT! THE NEXT CHAPTER SHOULD BE UP TODAY OR TOMORROW HOPEFULLY!!!!! xx