034. THE BET

Harry never imagined he would carry someone bridal style.

There was a first for everything.

Rory just had to be recovering from head wounds and blood for it to happen.

After Colson had finished stitching her up, he stayed with her - much to Rory's dismay - and held a pack of frozen peas against her bottom lip to help make sure it didn't swell to twice the size. Harry took that opportunity to grab a quick shower, washing the dried blood of Tanner and Rory off his skin before changing into a fresh set of clothes.

It seemed Rory approved of his new body wash because as he carried her up the stairs, he heard her hum a quiet sound of approval, followed by murmuring, "Mmm, soap."

Placing her down on the ground, he asked for the hundredth time that night, "are you okay?" to which she responded with her infamous nod. Harry grabbed a selection of clothing from his room and returned to the guest bedroom with abundant choice.

"This might be the easiest for tonight," he said, picking up the zip-up sweater. "You won't have to bend your arm."

"Okay."

Dropping her towel with no warning, Rory watched as Harry quickened his pace to cover her up with the sweater. He managed to get her arms in without further injury and fumbled nervously with the zipper. Placing her hands on his shoulders for balance, she stepped into the pair of cotton shorts he grabbed and stood still, resting her hands on his shoulders for balance as he slid the material up her legs.

"Comfortable?"

She nodded. "I'm sleepy."

Noticing her evident heavy eyelids, he said, "I think Colson's magic blue pill is working. Let's get you into bed."

"Do you take those for your Little Harry?"

Turning down the sheets, Harry stared at the girl at the end of the bed. "What?"

"Aren't magic blue pills for your penis?"

"You didn't take erectile dysfunction medication, Rory."

"Oh." She let out a loud yawn. "Can I sleep now?"

Guiding her to the bed, he helped her settle down onto the mattress and lay her head on the pillow. Harry sat on the edge and brushed the hair from her face. With half-opened eyes, Rory let out a giggle.

"What's so funny?"

"Little Harry," she mumbled, erupting into more giggles.

Not wanting to condone such behaviour and risk her not going to sleep, he fought the urge to laugh along and said, "Get some rest, Bambi." Harry turned off the lamp on the bedside table and made his way out of the room.

"Wait!" she called out, lifting her head off the pillow. "You're not going to stay with me?"

Harry hesitated by the door. "I didn't think it would be appropriate."

"Oh." She looked down and admitted to him, "I don't think I can handle falling asleep alone tonight."

"I didn't think about that." He took a step towards the bed. "What if I stay with you until you fall asleep?"

"You wouldn't mind?"

He shook his head and instantly replied, "Of course not."

Intending to make a move for the chair, he quickly learned that wouldn't be an acceptable option as Rory adjusted the sheets on the empty side of the bed. He fought the voice in his head that screamed it wasn't a good idea - something he knew to be true. But what else was he to do? Rory was scared. And he promised to keep her safe and to protect her.

If that meant he had to put his internal battle of romantic feelings and confusion aside for a minute so he could lie down next to her and help her sleep, then so be it.

Tonight had nothing to do with him.

It had everything to do with her safety.

Laying down on the bed, he turned his head to the side, catching her glance. She let a small smile show before allowing her eyes to close.

There was something comforting about laying beside her again. He missed this; he desperately missed these moments with her.

"Harry?"

"Yes, Bambi?"

"I wish we were still together."

Harry didn't realize how desperately he had longed to hear her say those words until the moment they left her lips. But given her current state, he did his best not to get too excited over the idea of her feeling the same way once she sobered up and healed.

Yet, it didn't stop him from quietly admitting, "Me too, Bambi. I think about it all the time."

When it was apparent Rory had fallen asleep, Harry crept out of bed. He wanted nothing more than to lay next to her for the rest of the night. But unfortunately for him, his night was far from over.

Closing the door to the guest bedroom behind him, Harry made his way down the stairs and met three pairs of angry eyes.

Colson stood from his spot. "Care to explain why the fuck Kip says our account just got a wire transfer of ten thousand dollars from Romano Enterprises?"

"I accepted his business proposal."

"Are you fucking insane?" Colson yelled. "Without speaking to us about it first?"

"Keep your voice down!" he whispered harshly. "Rory just fell asleep, and the last thing she needs is to wake up and hear you yelling about this!" Harry walked over to the cabinet and pulled out a bottle of alcohol. "I had no choice. Stefano doesn't give a shit about the bar - he wants us for our other services."

Dallas appeared alarmed. "You mean he knows?"

"He knows enough," Harry half-lied, pouring himself a drink. "The first target is Tanner. I didn't have much of a fucking choice."

"Oh, shit."

Harry drained his glass. "There's no fucking chance I'm letting him live after what he did to Rory. So, either we killed him without taking the deal, leaving Stefano to likely assume we went behind his back. Or, I take the deal, we get fucking paid, and we still get to kill him." Refilling his glass again, he added, "That was just a signing bonus, by the way. He appreciated that I was so quick with getting back to him."

"Oh, shit!" Dallas repeated, eyes running wild. "How much do we get for killing him?"

"Twenty-five for getting it done. Another twenty-five if we get all the information he's after."

Dallas instantly went to cloud nine, becoming giddy over the idea of thousands of dollars and picturing himself rolling around in a pile of cash. On the other hand, Colson wore a look of concern and asked, "How do we know killing Tanner won't put a target on our backs?"

"We're planting a set-up in his apartment. Apparently, whoever is in charge has been suspicious of him for a few weeks. So we make it look like he got into something he shouldn't have." Harry shrugged. "It's easy, Colson. We've done this shit a million times before."

Colson stepped forward. "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"I've killed since. What's the big deal?"

"The big deal is that those were your decisions. Not someone else."

"I'll be fine. This is far different from last time."

"How so?"

"First, we're getting fucking paid," he said, taking a sip from his glass. "And second, it doesn't matter who kills - just that we get the job done. If it's too much for me, I'll step back, and Dallas can take the lead. I'm sure he'll be good with that."

"Fuck yeah, I will, Boss!"

"See?" Harry said, tipping the glass in Dallas's direction. "Everything will be fine. And if it isn't, at least we'll have money."

Colson sighed. "As long as you're sure you'll be okay."

"I'll be fine," he lied. After finishing yet another glass, Harry asked, "By the way, what the fuck did you give her?"

"What we always take for pain when we don't have proper medication."

"You gave her the dose we take?"

Colson nodded. "You can't break those pills easily without crushing it into powder. And I thought slipping powder into her drink would look suspicious."

"Well, she's high out of her mind now."

"It's not like it's going to kill her. She'll sleep it off for a few more hours than we do. It's probably for the best - then she can't go snooping around the house."

"Speaking of the house," Dallas said from his spot on the couch, "What's our plan with our guest in the basement?"

"Stefano said someone will drop off the file in the morning. So, for now, he stays alive. But I feel we'll have to go through his apartment regardless - there's no way this son of a bitch will give us anything we need." Harry took a seat on the couch. "Kip, I'm going to need you to start surveillance on his apartment - find all our entry and exit points, watch for anyone that comes in and out. Once we know more about what Stefano is after, Colson, you'll go through his shit and Dallas, you'll deal with him downstairs. Good?"

The three men in front of him nodded in agreement.

"And while all this shit is happening, we must keep in mind that Rory is staying here. That means we have to be very fucking careful with what we say or do when not in the basement," Harry said sternly.

Dallas cleared his throat. "Are we going to tell her about who's..." he pointed down at the floor.

"No," he said quickly. "I have a feeling knowing he's in the same house won't help her feel any better about what happened. Plus, we still need to figure out why it happened in the first place. She needs to feel safe - she needs to trust us." Harry shifted his gaze around the room. "I don't know how long she'll be here. It could be a day, a few days, or a week. I'm not rushing her out of this house. But one of us should always be around for her."

Colson scoffed. "Like a fucking babysitter? What am I supposed to do? Make her soup? Fluff her pillows?"

"Rory has one arm she can use right now and half of her face swollen and bruised. So, yes, Colson. If she needs help making soup at some point, you fucking help her. Alright?"

"You know, Boss," Dallas said with a sheepish grin, "I would be more than happy to be on soup duty."

The three others in the room responded with an immediate eye roll.

"Yeah, probably a bit too happy," Colson muttered. "You realize she's never going to fuck you, right?"

"Wow, Colson," Dallas replied sarcastically, sitting up. "Is that all you think about? Fucking?" He tutted, shaking his head. "You know, sometimes people do shit for others out of the pure kindness of their hearts. Rory's a beautiful girl, don't get me wrong. But I know she's Boss's girlfriend. I'm not touching that with a ten-foot pole."

Hearing that comment, Harry instantly refilled his glass. "She's not my girlfriend."

"Oh, right, sorry," he scoffed, "Rory isn't your girlfriend. She's your fuck buddy that you're in love-"

Harry's body tensed over his friend's teasing. "I swear to god-"

"You faked dated her for, like, three days and became a love-struck puppy over it." Dallas slumped back down on the couch cushion. "She's got you whipped, Boss."

Draining his glass, he muttered an angry, "Shut up, Dallas," before exiting the room.

Dallas wore a goofy grin and leaned over to Kip. "Ten bucks says they fuck before she leaves."

Kip adjusted the glasses on the bridge of his nose. "Deal. This will be the easiest ten bucks I've ever made."

"Yeah? You think so? What's got you so cocky there, tech boy?"

"There's no way that's going to happen. She has a boyfriend."

"Oh, please. That's never stopped him before," he said. "Are you forgetting how he ended up with Juliet?"

little harry hehe