Chapter Twenty-One

Harry

I wanted to grab Tom's hand that was resting on Ethan's back and snap it. The hint of a smirk on his annoying face was enough to make my blood boil and make me forget to keep my cool. I could see Hugh eyeing me, trying to salvage the situation I was causing. But it was useless. I went into this mission, determined not to have any regrets – but right now, regret was the only word screaming in my head.

To see how emotionless he was killed me... I knew it was selfish of me to be disappointed by his lack of emotion but I had hoped he would have had some sort of reaction towards me returning. I had been a wreck on the flight back over, going against everything Harvey and Jennifer had told me. I knew they wouldn't be happy that I came back. They doubted my strength on seeing him face to face. They had told me I wouldn't be able to handle it – I wouldn't be able to keep up the act. Apparently, they were right to doubt me judging by my behaviour.

I wasn't strong enough to act around Ethan – I couldn't bear keeping up the pretence.

But I had to come back – for Georgie. Hugh let it slip to me that his remains had been found and that the funeral was being held this weekend. Nothing or nobody could have kept me away. And to be honest, I needed to see Ethan – I overestimated how strong I was. I thought I could do this, be away from him for so long, knowing that it was to finally end this hell once and for all. To end this torturous chapter of our lives.

That had been the opening phrase of Harvey and Jennifer's plea to me to undertake this secret mission. It had had the wanted effect – I was all ears at the prospect of finally ending the sad excuses of humanity that were Dawson and my sadistic pig of a father. But leaving Ethan – I was sure nothing could be enough for me to do that. Until something was enough – information that changed everything.

I had counted on Ethan being hurt, angry and then murderously livid at me once I returned. But I knew he would understand in time... I had done this for us. For our futures – for Barbados. I counted on all of these things. There was one thing I had never counted on, however.

I never, ever counted on him moving on. From the updates Harvey had been sending me every week, Ethan was as far from being 'okay' as I was. This often brought me to my knees as I imagined him, so lonely and confused about why I did this to him.

Harvey's updates offered me little happiness other than the fact that I knew Ethan wasn't going to fall out of love with me. Our love for each other was too strong for it to ever end. As long as he still cared for me, I could latch onto the hope I needed so much that what I was doing was right.

To hear how badly he was taking it often killed the hope in me – I had to fight every day to get up and do my duty. But even then, I saw his face in my head during every waking second. Harvey had sent me a photo he had taken of Ethan one week, teaching a younger agent how to fight. He was still as physically perfect as I remembered. But his eyes were dead – no light left in them.

I stopped feeling sorry for myself from that moment on.

At least I knew he loved me... But he thought I had left him. He thought I didn't want him anymore. Playing the part of being unhappy with him all those months ago was the worst thing I had ever done in my life – being tortured by my father came second to the torture I was put through seeing Ethan's face fall every time I snapped at him. Or every time his eyes saddened when I pulled away from his embrace.

But now that I was thinking about it, did I even know that he still loved me anymore? From the scene unfolding, the shock was starting to hit me. He didn't care that I was back. Either he was an unbelievable liar or my reappearance was a genuine inconvenience to him. I didn't think he would be able to hide his feelings around me, though. Not with these circumstances being so fucked up and intense.

I had begged Harvey and Jennifer to let me tell him months ago – I couldn't cope with hurting him anymore. But it would have been detrimental to the mission if Ethan were to find out. Because if he found out what we were doing, he wouldn't let me go alone. And even if he did let me go, there would be no way he would stay away from me for that long – knowing who I was with. Knowing who's gang I was about to infiltrate.

So I was given no other option. If I were to just disappear in the night with a note telling him not to worry, he would have immediately come after me, looking for me for as long as it possibly took. If I brought him with me, he would have instantly been recognised by the leader. The leader we were all led to believe was dead, until he resurfaced a year ago.

"Let's go," Ethan murmured to Tom, turning around without a backwards glance and walking towards the exit of the graveyard. I was utterly shell-shocked. Every nerve in my body was in overdrive as I tried to comprehend what was happening. No. He wouldn't have moved on – not with Tom.

"You told me –," I started to snap at Harvey as Ethan and Tom walked away, but he cut me off.

"I thought him and Tom were just friends. I... I don't know..." he trailed off, seemingly lost for words. "You shouldn't have come back, Harry. Not today. Not when we're at such a critical point in the mission."

My vision was impaired by the tears that had flooded my eyes and I shook off Hugh's hand of comfort on my arm. I couldn't tear my eyes away from Ethan and Tom's retreating figures, getting further and further away.

"He doesn't care about me anymore," I whispered.

"Oh honey, he's just hurt. He does still care," Jennifer sniffled. She was crying. Over the past few months, I had been speaking to Jennifer on a regular basis. It helped me when I was feeling down and missing Ethan to speak to her – she was a hopeless romantic and we used to daydream together about what Ethan and I were going to do when I returned. Get married, honeymoon, kids...

Something suddenly snapped in my head and all loyalties I had to Harvey, Jennifer and the mission suddenly evaporated.

"This... this can't happen. I can't lose him – I'm sorry, I can't," I looked at Harvey and Jennifer before walking forward, "Ethan!" I roared desperately. Fuck this mission. I couldn't lose him. I felt like I was about to vomit at what I had just seen and if I left again, there would be no hope. Ethan would be all sad and the hero Tom would be there to cheer him up.

Was there still even hope for Ethan and I?

Hugh pulled me back roughly as I went to sprint after him. I was about to punch him to get him off me but he held me against him tightly – I had been training him over the past few months and he had apparently gotten fond of weight-lifting. I couldn't budge.

"Harry! Stop it. There are only a few months left in Australia at most – we can't stop now. Coming back will just jeopardise everything and everyone we love. We need to see this through. You and Ethan are meant for each other – he's so obviously destroyed by thinking you left him that he can't fathom our return. But this is all to save his and every other agents life. So get a grip – you knew this wouldn't be easy when we agreed to do it. Abandoning the mission now is a death-sentence."

Hugh spoke so frankly and strongly, I barely recognised him. His words hit home, though. I knew I couldn't stay. I had to go back and finish this. I just couldn't pretend that everything was alright anymore, though.

It seemed to hit me that I wouldn't see Ethan for God knows how long more. Would he be with Tom in that time? Would they fall in love? Would he even take me back, after explaining all of this to him? I knew that if the roles were reversed, no matter his reasons, it would take a shit-load of grovelling from him to right things with me.

Oh God... he was going to hate me. But I had to do this.

Tears started dripping from my eyes until I couldn't stop them anymore – I blamed this breakdown on a number of contributors but the main contributors by far were the coldness of Ethan's eyes.

Harvey and Jennifer gathered around me, trying to comfort me but it was futile. I knew they felt responsible for this. They were the ones who approached me almost a year ago, informing me they had uncovered the potential supplier of weapons to Dawson and my father. Infiltrating this supplier and gaining their trust until we were given the job of delivering the weapons ourselves was what we needed to finally pinning down where exactly Dawson and Michael were. Once we had their location, Harvey and Jennifer would be ready with a team.

There was one problem, though. There was a mole in our agency – confidential information regarding our tactics had been leaked to Michael and Dawson. And, as we probed deeper, this hadn't been the first occurrence. We suspected it was the reason they had been tipped off the day they found George's body. It was that tip off that allowed them to get away.

We couldn't trust anyone outside of Harvey, Jennifer, Tom, Hugh, Ethan and I. This big problem meant that the only candidates for this mission were Hugh and I.

Tom and Ethan were out of the question. They couldn't be told a single detail regarding this mission – otherwise, it could blow the whole thing.

We couldn't trust anyone else to undertake this mission without Michael and Dawson finding out – myself, Hugh, Harvey and Jennifer were the only four people in the world to even know the existence of this mission.

I calmed down significantly after five minutes by using the breathing exercise Hugh had taught me whenever he got emotional – which was often. He missed Ethan terribly, and it was usually me who calmed him down when he had bad days.

Every day was a bad day for me.

"Okay. I'm calm. I said I'm calm!" I snapped to Hugh when he didn't stop stroking my back.

"You have to go back, Harry," Harvey said with a sad smile. They were like surrogate parents to us and I knew they had no ill-intentions. But I really had to fight the urge to punch Harvey in the face when those words left his mouth.

Going back meant not seeing Ethan again for months. Going back meant I had to go back undercover as a sleazy and selfish bastard. This drained me.

My cover was as a sleaze-ball named Vinne Carter. Hugh was my cousin, JJ. From Harvey's impressive network of undercover friends all over the world, we were easily able to get good references as been the best kind of bad guys there were. We had little issues getting into the supplier gang.

The main issues would be rising in the ranks. For the past few months we had spent our days making guns and explosives to give to the guys who double check that they were up to standard to give to the guys who gave it to the guys who gave them to Dawson and Michael.

It was a very fucking confusing system. And it was a dangerous one. You had to fend for yourself – or in my case, I was fending for both Hugh and I. Yes, he was getting better with all the training he had done beforehand and whilst we were undercover. But it was still no place for him to be.

I had many scars on my body from the fights that had broken out between workers. Fights weren't prohibited. They were even encouraged to break the tension of nonstop working days. But whoever lost had to either leave the gang or fight someone else of the leaders choosing. And that person was always a four-hundred pound, six-foot-ten monster of a man named Gunter. Not even Ethan and I combined could take him. Thankfully, I had won every battle – both mine and Hugh's so I had never had to face that beast. I always stepped in for Hugh when was ever challenged to a fight. Even when he begged me not to.

We had moved up in the ranks as of recently, however. Now, we were the guys who gave it to the guys who gave the weapons to Dawson and Michael's crew. The leader had taken a liking to us when I demonstrated just how advanced my weapon skills were by shooting a butterfly they set loose in the room.

I was a skilled gunman. But I wasn't that skilled. I thanked Georgie and Freddie who I was sure were looking down on me, wherever they were, for that accomplishment. I thanked them for all my miracles as of late.

"We have a flight back scheduled for tonight – don't worry," I said bitterly to Harvey. I knew it was pointless being angry at anyone other than Dawson and Michael for these circumstances but right now, anyone who wasn't Ethan could fuck right off.

"What are you going to do in the meantime?" Jennifer asked, putting her hand on my arm.

I tensed. I was in the foulest of moods I had ever been – anything could set me off. Even the genuine affection of a woman I looked to as my non-biological mother.

"We'll just hang out in the airport..." Hugh answered for me. I knew he was disappointed at my outburst to Ethan. He had been hoping to return to the mansion for a while after the funeral. Although it would be risky, we had become much better in the art of deception.

Plus, everyone knew Hugh was an emotional wreck as it was so even if they saw him crying they wouldn't think twice. I had been the one he was scared of fucking up our chances. And I did. The second I set eyes on Ethan I knew I would fuck it up.

I knew deep down anyway that Harvey and Jennifer would probably not allow us back into that mansion until the mission was complete – whether or not I fucked up my cover by getting too emotional around Ethan. It wasn't fair on him for us to parade around the place we had called home for a while only to leave again on a plane.

That had been my reasoning, anyway. But now... Now I didn't know if he would even care if we went or not. Another stabbing pain in my heart at this thought – I needed to just stop thinking and start moving. Moving and planning gave me no time to stop and think.

"We'll contact you once we're back in Sydney," I said over my shoulder as I walked away from the group. I wouldn't even give Jennifer a chance to try and convince Harvey to let us back to the mansion for even an hour.

I wasn't going to stand around and watch Ethan and that snake Tom, knowing I couldn't do a damn thing about it.

I heard Hugh kiss them both on the cheek goodbye before he ran to catch up to me. I started to feel guilty I hadn't said goodbye to them properly but these days, goodbyes only made things worse. It was better if I didn't acknowledge I was jetting off again and to just focus my mind on when I would see them again.

We had rented a car from the airport so we hopped in, me behind the driver's seat of course. Hugh drove like a seventy-five year old woman.

"That was... interesting..." Hugh murmured as we drove towards the airport. I had my sunglasses on and I was glad they disguised the tears that had filled my eyes.

I didn't reply for a couple of moments until I couldn't hold it in any longer. "Do you... do you think they're..."

"No." He knew exactly who and what I was talking about.

"How could you know?"

"Because I saw the look on Ethan's face when he saw you. Before he could turn back into the robot with no feelings. I know him – when you were in that coma he had the same look on his face whenever your eyelids flickered or your finger moved a millimetre."

I swallowed hard. "And what look would that be?"

"Hope."

A tear fell and I felt like the walls were closing in on me again before my phone started ringing.

"Shit – is that?"

"Yeah. It's my Australian phone." The panic in Hugh's voice matched the panic in my head at hearing that phone ringing. The leader's assistant had given Hugh and me phones for whenever we needed to be contacted. I had never heard it ring before.

I pulled onto the hard shoulder of the dull, grey and never-ending motor way we were on. I would have been happy for the distraction if only it had come from a different source.

Why would they be phoning me? Hugh and I – or rather, Vinnie and JJ – had told them there had been a death in our family in New York. They held surprisingly high values when it came to family and due to my reputation of being a badass, they allowed us the weekend away.

I gulped before answering. "Hello?"

"Vinnie – so glad you answered. Hope I'm not intruding..." the voice was menacing as hell and I was sure that even if I was on my deathbed I could never tell this man he was intruding on me. Not when it came to him and what he was capable of.

"No, of course not."

"Good. You're in New York, yes?" The Australian accent belonged to the leader of the gang and I could barely comprehend what was happening. I had only ever seen him in person a handful of times and heard his voice when he was giving meetings in the huge auditorium in the massive warehouse where we all worked.

"That's right."

"I've a job for you."

Hugh squirmed in his seat. He could hear what was being said since I put the phone's volume up to the highest – I wouldn't dare put him on speaker. He would know instantly and I would be a dead man.

"No problem."

I knew he was a no-nonsense man and small talk wasn't his forte. I had also portrayed Vinnie as the kind of guy who didn't give a shit about anything. Kind of like Ethan in the early years...

"There's a big order coming in on a jet to JFK in three hours. It has to be delivered to one of our important clients. I'm sure you're aware of which client I'm referring to."

I frowned, my heart pounding. "I'm sorry but you're gonna have to elaborate."

The gang had a load of different clients all over the world but it was a known fact that Dawson and Michael were the biggest ones. I felt the dreaded hope seep into my head.

"Michael Taylor and company. I assume you know who he is?" I could tell he was smirking confidently. He thought he was so fucking smart – if only he knew who I was. That would wipe the fucking smirk off of his face.

"Yeah – I know him."

"Great. I'll forward you on the flight number and the delivery address. The guys at the jet will be expecting you. Don't let me down."

And then, it was over. He hung up before I could reply.

"What are the fucking odds of this?" Hugh breathed. We were both stunned.

If it wasn't for the pure coincidence that we were in New York, we wouldn't have been given this job.

Thank you, Georgie...

Something hit me then. If the weapons were being delivered into JFK that meant that Michael and Dawson were close – we had assumed they were in Asia. How had they gotten so close without us even noticing?

The fucking mole. It had to be.

"What are we going to do?" Hugh tried to hide the tremble in his voice but I knew he was scared shitless.

"Ring Harvey, that's what." The relief at being in the same country as Harvey and every other agent who was up against Dawson and Michael was overwhelming. I hadn't admitted it but I had been terrified of being over in Australia and being faced with this huge task alone.

And by alone, I mean without Ethan. I never wanted to be on another mission without him again. Scratch that – I never wanted to be on another mission again ever.

I dialled out Harvey's number with my regular phone, feeling myself get more and more agitated the longer he didn't pick up. Jennifer didn't answer either.

We had no other option – we had to get back to the mansion and warn them. Make sure that they were ready to go the moment we called.

I took a deep breath. It took forty minutes to get to JFK from here. The mansion was twenty minutes away if I took the next exit off of the motorway and turned back. Time-wise, we would be okay.

I sped back onto the road, going way past the speed limit.

We made it back to the mansion in seven minutes – Hugh had nearly shit himself from the speed I was going.

"Jesus bro, you've no faith in me!" I scoffed as I pulled onto the long driveway of the mansion.

Memories flooded back of the last time I had driven this road. I had cried uncontrollably once I sped off, letting Ethan chase after us. Hugh had needed to steer the wheel as my vision was so blurred. Once we had driven far enough so that Ethan couldn't catch up to us, I pulled in and had my first ever panic attack.

The mansion looked the exact same and that was comforting. It was nice to see a familiar place.

Parking messily outside the main doors, I could see from the front windows that the living areas were full of people. This must be Georgie's funeral reception.

"We can't just walk in the main doors!" Hugh hissed as I started walking up the steps.

"Time is precious Hugh – we don't have time to be climbing in windows or going through back ways – Harvey and Jennifer need to be told now."

Nobody seemed to notice us being there until we were practically through the entire crowd and headed down the back hallway towards Harvey's office. I hadn't spotted him in the sea of people so I assumed he was there.

I didn't bother knocking and strode straight in, the adrenaline still pounding throughout my body.

I stepped back when I saw the scene in front of me.

Harvey and Jennifer were seated on the couch with a distraught looking Ethan sat between them, tears rushing down his face. His expression immediately stiffened when he saw me.

"Harry – what are you doing?" Harvey stood up with a glare in his eye. He looked furious.

I struggled to tear my eyes away from Ethan's face. I wanted to run over and pull him into my arms. To promise that I would never leave him again. To beg him not to fall in love with Tom but to stay in love with me. Or to fall back in love with me, or whatever was going on in his head.

"Harvey, we need to speak with you. Privately." Hugh finally spoke up when he knew that I was incapable of speaking. Pulling me back so I was standing behind him and out of view, he took charge. I couldn't see Ethan from where I was standing now and I was glad in a small way.

I was being selfish once again but I couldn't cope seeing him so upset.

"Hugh, can't this wait?" Harvey said with a pointed look.

"No."

"What's going on?" Jennifer finally spoke.

"We need to speak in private." Hugh reiterated. We couldn't reveal anything to Ethan or anyone else in the agency until Harvey or Jennifer deemed it safe to do so. If this plan fell through and we needed to go back to Australia and we had told Ethan, it could ruin everything.

"This is absurd, Hugh, couldn't you have done this over the phone?" It seemed Harvey and Jennifer were jumping to conclusions. And I was certain that the conclusion they were jumping to was that I needed to see Ethan and tell him.

They continued to bicker back and forth until I felt my temper raising. Time was running out.

"Oh for fuck's sake can we please just step outside for one fucking minute and discuss something with you?" I shouted, my eyes blazing. I stepped around from behind Hugh and regretted it instantly.

Ethan was standing now and his expression was murderous.

"Okay, okay," Harvey said, giving me a confused look. He didn't take well to me raising my voice.

"And why is it you can't discuss your business in front of me?" Ethan spat out as we turned to leave the room.

I closed my eyes briefly. I knew that if the roles were reversed I would be on top of him by now, punching the truth out of him. But he was far too reserved for that.

"Ethan, love, it's okay," Jennifer said.

"I'm not talking to you." His tone had dropped a few octaves.

I kept my back turned, hoping this could be resolved without me having to face him.

"It's nothing important Ethan – honestly," Hugh lied. Very badly.

"I'm not talking to you, either."

My breathing slowed as I turned around slowly to face him again, knowing I couldn't avoid it. I swore the whole room could hear my heart beating. How could I lie to him again?

"Ethan –..." I began.

A buzzing sound filled the room again. My Australian phone was ringing once more. Hugh actually jumped.

Sudden knowing entered Harvey's eyes. I had told him all about the Australian phone – there was nothing about this mission that he didn't know.

"Jesus Harry why are they calling you?" Harvey seemed to forget himself and walked to me, staring at the phone that was now in my slightly shaking hand.

"That's what we need to discuss," Hugh whispered with a tremble. I glared at him to man up.

"What the fuck is going on?" Ethan demanded, walking to the where we were stood. The shakiness of my hands increased with his closeness.

I raised my eyes to Harvey.

"Ethan, I'm going to have to ask you to leave the room," Harvey requested. The phone kept ringing and I had to answer it. I knew Ethan was going nowhere and I couldn't let this ring out.

"Like hell am I going anywhere," Ethan snarled.

"I have to answer it," I said in a desperate voice.

Harvey closed his eyes and nodded, knowing he couldn't go up against Ethan now. There was no time.

"Hello?" I changed the tone of my voice slightly when answering. Vinnie's voice was low and uninterested.

"Change of plan, Vinnie. The plane is actually early and will be arriving in about forty-five minutes. Yes?" The leader's voice held no room for anything other than 'of course'.

"No problem," I said calmly. Hugh started pacing around, freaking out. The whole room could hear the conversation again.

"Good. When you come back you will be rewarded – if Taylor is happy. Comprendé?"

"Don't worry – he won't be disappointed."

The dial tone replaced his voice as he hung up, obviously his usual way of ending conversations. I dropped the phone the second he did.

"Harvey, you need to get your team into gear right now. There is a plane full of weapons almost in JFK and I have to deliver them to Dawson and Michael. I need to leave right now if I'm going to make it to JFK... Fuck how am I going to get there in time!" I put my hand to my head and tried to calm myself.

"That fucking prick! He can't just change the time from three hours to this just like that!" Hugh cried.

"He can, Hugh. He's the boss," I said in defeat.

"Harry and Hugh, you need to go right now. I'll ring you once you're in the car and we can talk there. Drive as fast as possible – I'll send out a message to all highway patrol to ignore your vehicle if you pass them," Harvey started to get into gear and ran to his desk to grab his phone.

"No – Hugh stays here." I didn't want Hugh out in the field like this. He was shaken up enough as it was – he couldn't handle this.

"I'm not leaving you alone with them, Harry!" Hugh replied, throwing his hands in the air in frustration.

"You can't go alone, Harry," Jennifer said, backing Hugh.

"Fine! But you better stay fucking back, Hugh. If things get nasty, you do what I say – okay?" I said in annoyance. I didn't have time to argue with them.

"Just go, Harry! I'll take care of everything this end," Harvey said confidently. I suddenly felt better about all of this, knowing he would be on the other end of the line. Knowing I wasn't facing this alone.

I ran to the door of Harvey's office, ready to sprint back to the car only for Ethan to place himself in front of the door, blocking Hugh and I.

I had nearly forgotten he was still in the room. His eyes were wild with accusation and confusion.

"What the FUCK is going on?" he roared.

"Ethan, we don't have time –," I began but he cut me off by grabbing me and slamming me against the door, holding me by the scruff of my neck.

"You tell me what's going on right now or I'll break your fucking arm," he snarled, his eyes burning with fury. I had never seen him as angry, hurt or lost in my life. I wasn't afraid of him but I was getting increasingly overwhelmed. All I had wanted over the past few months was to come back home and tell him everything. Now, he was screaming in my face for me to tell him. I snapped.

"I can't tell you!" I roared back, tears springing from my eyes.

My deafening reply silenced the room. I was like a wildcat and I couldn't contain it.

Ethan stared into my eyes, holding me against the door all the time he searched for answers. "Why?"

I was breathing so heavily I thought I was going to pass out.

"Ethan, let him go," Hugh said sternly. Ethan ignored him, holding me put, his eyebrows creasing in utter confusion.

I stared back at him, unable to speak anymore. I couldn't talk knowing I couldn't tell him what he wanted to hear.

"Ethan," Hugh repeated. Ethan continued to ignore him.

Suddenly Ethan was pulled back from me roughly and I was free. My eyes widened as I saw Hugh had pulled him away from me. This wasn't going to end well.

Ethan lunged for Hugh, resulting in Hugh automatically screaming and blocking his face. This reminded me of the fights we would have in Australia and my body immediately went into action.

I ran, pushing Hugh out of the way and taking the brunt of Ethan's force. I don't even know if he had meant to hit Hugh but from my sudden movement his fist automatically went out and connected with my stomach.

I collapsed to the ground, winded.

"Jesus Christ boys, stop this!" Jennifer shrilled, running to my aid. I tried to raise my arm to beckon her away but she still took my face in her hands, inspecting my eyes to make sure I was okay.

I took a few deep breaths before standing up again. Ethan was in shock and seemed even more shocked by my standing. Normally I was down for a good half an hour after being winded. But after my time in the weapons warehouse, I had built up a tolerance.

Ethan looked torn and I wondered if he was as torn as I was about either punching him in the face for winding me or running to him and kissing his lips and face until my lips were raw. There was a tense silence in the room, apart from my heavy breathing. Nobody budged.

"Harry and Hugh have been undercover for the past few months on a secret mission that was devised to end this chapter of our lives for once and for all."

I swung my head to look at Harvey, shock covering my features. He seemed tired and in his years of wisdom, knew that this was the only resolution. I realised he was right. Telling Ethan the truth was the only way he would allow us to leave this room.

"What... Why wasn't I –"

"Yourself or Tom couldn't be told of this mission for the reason that you know the leader of this weapons gang and would be easily recognised if you were to infiltrate it along with Harry and Hugh." Harvey answered Ethan's question before he could even finish.

Ethan slumped against the table, leaning on it for support.

"I don't..." he seemed utterly shell-shocked.

"We were afraid that if either yourself or Tom knew the identity of the leader it could compromise the mission. We also knew that if you knew where Hugh and Harry were going and the dangers associated, you wouldn't have allowed them go alone. We couldn't take any risks – not with such an important assignment." Harvey spoke fast and matter-of-factly. There was no time for emotion or apologies now.

I was still breathing heavily and holding my stomach, trying to ease the sharp ache away. Ethan brought his eyes to mine, looking utterly betrayed. Still, even through his betrayal his eyes dropped to where I was clutching my stomach. Yes, through all of his hatred and betrayal he still managed to summon up some concern for me.

He would always be a better man than I ever could be.

"We have to go, Harry..." Hugh urged, a tremble to his voice. Neither of us wanted to leave Ethan behind in such a vulnerable state – not when this had just been landed on him.

I kept my eyes on his as I walked to Harvey's office door.

"I'm sorry," I whispered hoarsely.

He didn't reply and just kept his eyes on me, tears falling from his at a steady rate. We had opened the door and were about to walk out when he stopped us.

"Wait. Who is this leader?"

Hugh and I turned around, looking to Harvey to answer. When he didn't, I finally spoke up.

"It's Tom's dad, alright?. He's still very much alive and kicking. And still very much evil."

Disbelief covered Ethan's face. I couldn't stand around and wait for him to react – if I saw that, I questioned my ability to leave him in that state again. And I had approximately fifty minutes to get to an airport that was over an hour away. I couldn't be late.

I turned to follow Hugh but walked into his back, stumbling backwards.

"Hugh, what the fuck? Come on!"

I was about to push him when he still didn't move, only to see what was obstructing him at the last second.

Tom was standing there, his eyes wide. I started wondering if he had heard what I had just said but from his facial expression, it seemed obvious.

The whole room stilled and we all waited for Tom to lash out. His eyes were getting narrower by the second and I felt my own body temperature rising just by looking at him. Holy shit this was going to be bad.

"I'M GOING TO FUCKING –," Tom started to roar/scream but was immediately stopped. By my fist.

Ethan had told me years ago that if I wanted to just knock someone out and not fight to the death, hitting them on their temple really fucking hard was the trick. So I did. And once I did I instantly ran back behind Hugh. I had acted on complete impulse and once again it was after I'd done something that I started thinking about my actions.

I crossed my fingers, knowing there was no way I could have succeeded. Tom was a beast of man. There was no way I could take him down. He was so full of muscle, bravery – oh wait.

He slumped forward, out cold, with Hugh running to catch him. Harvey didn't even scold me and instead, nodded his head solemnly. Ethan just stood there, bewildered.

I strode from the room, not looking back with Hugh following me once he placed Tom's limp body on the ground. Even through all of that, I couldn't stop the smirk on my face.

That was for putting your hands on my boyfriend, dickhead.

Chapter twenty-one... things are getting exciting!! (Well, I think they are anyway xD)

Thoughts? Comment what you think is going to happen and who your favourite character is! I hope you're all proud of how fast I uploaded after chapter twenty – very unlike me!!

Anyway, hope you enjoyed and have a nice day (:

Song – 'Photograph' by Ed Sheeran <3

-O.