032. DRUNK BABY

When Harry left the meeting, his mind went a thousand miles a second.

He gave the other three a brief goodbye, saying he would explain what had happened at the house and got straight in his car. It wasn't unusual for him to act this way; they had been around him long enough to be accustomed to his usual ways of being after something serious like this. Harry was thankful his friends understood because he wasn't sure how long he would last making conversation about the events that had just unfolded.

There was only one thing he needed right now: seeing her.

Speeding down the city streets, he reached the bar in record timing. Harry checked his watch. Rory's shift was almost over; he was happy to wait and have a drink while she finished.

But the moment he entered the bar, the blonde he had grown to hate for Rory's sake turned her head. "You just missed her," Amber called over her shoulder. "She already left."

"When?"

"I don't know... ten... maybe twenty minutes ago? Some guy came by, and she went with him."

"Who?"

Amber waved her hand dismissively. "I don't know! I'm not that whore's babysitter."

Hearing that comment, Harry fought the urge to paint the inside of the bar red with Amber's blood. And if it weren't for the pressing fact that Rory had gone off with some unknown man, he may have done it.

Storming out of the bar and back to his car, Harry checked his phone for a message. Maybe there was a simple explanation, like Andrew coming by to take her home. He had a forgettable face; it wouldn't surprise him if Amber didn't remember who he was. Harry would have at least expected Rory to let him know she was leaving. Picking her up still wasn't something they arranged; it was more of an unspoken understanding. But that was still deserving of a heads up, right?

Noticing a familiar car pull into the spot behind his, Harry walked over and tapped on the window. "What the fuck are you guys doing here?"

"We saw the car," Dallas said. "The one we've been trying to track."

"What? Where?"

"Circling outside the warehouse a few minutes after you took off. The kid spotted it. We wanted to make sure it didn't come here, and-" Colson stopped, noting that Harry was alone. "Where is she?"

"Apparently, she left with someone. Ten or twenty minutes ago."

"Who?"

"Don't know."

Kip leaned forward, turning his laptop screen. "Isn't this her ex?"

"Shit," Harry cursed, spotting the familiar, smug face entering the bar on the security footage. "Where did they go?"

Kip continued to type away on the laptop. "Around the corner, to the back alleyway..."

"Are they still there?"

"Yup... and you might want to hurry." He turned the laptop around once again to show the live feed.

After the night he had, the last thing he needed was for his Bambi to be in trouble. Tanner had his hand around Rory's neck and repeatedly bashed her back against the wall. Rory tried to scream, but his hand covered her mouth, muffling her cries for help.

A fit of fiery anger burned inside him upon seeing the computer screen. For the second time tonight, he wanted to paint the building with someone's blood. Harry wanted that fucker dead.

"Can you wipe the cameras clean?"

Kip nodded. "In my sleep."

Dallas grinned from ear to ear as he popped open the glove compartment, looking like a kid on Christmas morning as he pulled out his gun and zip ties. "Let's go have some fun, boys."

Making their way to the alley, Harry checked the corner, watching as the red lights on the security cameras dimmed, signalling they had been successfully turned off. His eyes found their way to where Tanner stood with his hand around Rory's neck, taunting her as she whimpered for help.

"What's wrong, Roro? Why aren't you swinging back, hmm?"

Rory only replied with a gasp for air.

"Fucking pathetic," he sneered.

Harry pulled his gun out of his waistband. He blood boiled seeing her get hurt; the urge to kill that piece of shit was only one pull of the trigger away. But he couldn't kill him, not yet, at least.

"We have to take him alive," Harry whispered.

"Alright, well then put that fucking thing away," Colson said, lowering his gun. "There's no way you'll get a clean shot."

"I can always get a fucking clean shot!"

"Don't be an idiot. Unless you want to shoot her in the process, no, you fucking can't. Your only option is the head."

"So what do you propose we do?" he snapped back.

Dallas's eyes lit up. "Drunk Baby!"

"We are not doing Drunk Baby."

"Aw, come on!" Dallas whined. "It'll be easy. Entrance from the other side, and you tackle him from the front. Colson will check on Rory. Boom."

Colson let out a sigh. "I think it's our only option."

Taking a quick look around the corner and seeing Rory's state, Harry knew he had to agree - only since time was running out.

"Fine. Go!"

Dallas immediately scaled up the side of the building and made his way onto the roof. Harry let out an annoyed sigh. "Drunk Baby," he muttered to himself. "No wonder people don't take us fucking seriously."

"The Romano's do. That's saying something."

Harry responded with a short nod. The last thing he needed to add to the night was alerting the others about Stefano's proposal - in fact, he wasn't sure if he would ever honestly tell them what the man knew. Or the fact that he was still considering the deal.

"I think he's starting," Colson said.

Harry crouched down and around the corner. Dallas stumbled his way into view, pretending to sway back and forth with every step. Walking into a metal garbage can, the sound altered Tanner's attention, and he (kindly) stopped attacking Rory for a brief moment.

"Sorry, m'lady!" Dallas apologized to the inanimate object, tipping his non-existent cap. "Hey, you! You!"

Harry crawled forward, shielding his body with the dumpster as Dallas continued to call out for Tanner's attention. He had to admit - Dallas had his acting perfected playing the role of a drunk idiot stumbling his way down an alleyway.

"What?" Tanner snapped. "Bar's inside, idiot!"

"I'm lookin' for someone," he said, stumbling forward. "Blonde, big boobs, goes by the name-" His eyes widened. "Oh shit! Sorry, man! Didn't realize you were fuckin'!"

As Dallas approached, Tanner shielded Rory's body from being seen, pushing her to the other side. She didn't see Harry, but he could see her. The fight she had in her eyes to keep holding on was evident, and Harry wanted nothing more but to save her right there and then. But he knew his feelings couldn't get in the way and fuck things up. The last thing he needed was her ending up dead by accident.

As Dallas stumbled forward, Tanner released his hold on Rory's neck and yelled, "Do you fucking mind?"

"Sorry, my guy," Dallas let out a burst of fake drunken laughter. "I'm going, I'm going! But one more thing," he said, wagging his finger. "Where is my mommy with my bottle?"

Harry immediately rolled his eyes at the dumb signal.

"Look, man," Tanner turned his body to face Dallas, exposing a perfect blind spot. "I don't know what you're doing-"

Harry ran forward, tacking Tanner to the ground. In one quick motion, he flipped the guy onto his back and immediately swung his fist into his jaw. Blood pooled from his mouth but Harry couldn't stop himself. Blow after blow; he continued to throw punches, feeling the skin of his knuckles split open. All he could see was red. It was the colour that flew out of Tanner's mouth, covered his hand, and clouded his vision. 

God, he missed this feeling. 

It felt good to be back.

"Hey, slow down there, Boss," Dallas chuckled, grabbing hold of his arm. "You said to keep him alive, right?"

Harry let out a breath. "Yeah. But I still don't want him to talk."

"Ah, don't worry about that. You did some damage with the first hit." Dallas helped flip him back over and pulled out his zip ties. "He's got enough blood in his mouth to drown himself. He'll be good."

"Haz!" Colson called out, waving him over. "We need to get her to a safe place right now. I need to start fixing her up."

Harry caught sight of Rory and the damage done to her. The poor thing was crying, gasping for air as her head rested in Colson's lap. Blood covered the side of her face; large wounds and red scrapes were evident across her skin. Colson was right. She needed to be moved to a safe spot. The question was, where did a place like that exist these days.

Looking over his shoulder, he told Dallas, "Get Kip to bring the car around. You two take him to BLUE."

"Not PURPLE?"

Harry shook his head. "No. Not tonight, at least." Turning his attention to Colson, he asked, "My place or hers?"

"Yours would be the safest. Then we can check her apartment and make sure it's clean."

"Good idea. I'll get the car." 

As Harry went to stand up, Rory halted his movement by gripping his arm. The tears spilled faster from her eyes as she let out a whimper.

"I'll go," Colson said, gently moving her head onto his lap. "Just keep talking to her, so she stays awake."

Harry nodded, looking down at the scared Bambi. "We've had quite the full circle moment in this alley, haven't we, Bambi?" he teased, noticing the corners of her mouth tug up as much as she could through the pain.

"You'll be okay," he said calmly, "I'm here for you, Rory. I'll always be here for you." Brushing the hair from her face, he gave her a small smile. Even covered in blood, she was still the most beautiful thing he had ever witnessed. "I'll always be here to protect you. I hope you know that."

Rory remained silent, but he hoped she would agree if she could. He meant every word of it.

A memory flashed through his mind remembering the way she looked the first night he picked her up from work. He spotted the bruises on her cheek that she attempted to cover - ones that she said were from the floor. He should have done something about it last night; it would have stopped her from getting hurt now. Guilt wasn't a known feeling to him, but it was beginning to take a permanent residence in his body over thinking what he could, should, and would have done to protect her better.

Kip pulled up with the car, and Dallas effortlessly loaded Tanner's unconscious body into the trunk. Watching as the two of them drove off and exited the alley, Harry pulled out his phone.

"Harry," the voice on the other end greeted, "I am surprised to hear from you so soon."

"We have a deal."

"Do we? Excellent."

"One more thing," his eyes focused on Rory. "I'm getting that job done tonight." 

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