Devil in Your Smile

Chapter 39, Mother Mayhem, Father Fire

Today's chapter isn't very long, but hopefully still as good! Enjoy :)

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HARRY POV

After the drive home and dealing with a sleepy Louis, I try to keep my distance from him. He hasn't brought up the fact that I told him I didn't want more with him, something that my brain and my heart seem to constantly battle over, and I can feel it coming. When I see him on Monday morning, all dressed to perfection, I make it as obvious as possible to seem professional towards him, taking my eyes off of him before he sees me staring and barely glancing at him when he addresses me. Who am I kidding? He could be wearing a plastic bag and I'd still have to resist falling to my knees. I dismiss him, sending Liam out with him so that I can still have a set of eyes on him without it seeming clingy. After hearing the front door open and close, I continue telling everyone in the room who we are dealing with, and I answer questions when they are asked. After about an hour of repeating the same things, I put Mitch in charge of things, leaving him and his girlfriend Sarah to answer the annoying things. I head out of the meeting room and into my personal office a few doors down, putting a record on before I sit in front of the computer. I hate this, the office part of this job.

 Growing up, my father was always gone, leaving me with my Mom or Connie, or sometimes even my Nan, but it wasn't because he was sitting in some leather chair hunching over a computer all day, that's for sure. When I was thirteen, I was deemed 'old enough' to follow behind my father everywhere he went, and for five years I stood behind him almost every day as he beat the life out of someone or took money from someone. Every day was action packed, and I was kept on my feet, fighting with him or for him. When I turned eighteen, I started fighting him more than I was fighting anyone else. Being under his wing was a cruel repetitive thing, getting the shit beat out of me for disobeying him for minor things.

My mind drifts away from the Email I'm writing as a memory weasels its way into my brain,

"You can't do things like that Harry! No man under our protection is worth the life of someone who isn't, do you understand?" I look up at my father from where I was knocked onto my ass, wiping the blood from my lip as I struggle to stand up. When he doesn't get a response, he turns and hits me again, aiming his fist at my face for the third time today. "I SAID, do you understand? That boy was practically a man, Harry! Who David sees is none of our business, he's an associate of mine, and a very good friend. You cannot just punch a man because you THINK that he was abusing someone!" I nod, not agreeing with him but not wanting to look too bruised when I go home to Mom and Gemma. I stay quiet until he says I can leave, brushing past Zayn when I sling the door open. "H, wait up. Look, I think you did the right thing. I talked to the kid, and he said he was barely sixteen and that he was being held in that house because his father 'owed a debt'. You were right to beat the shit out of that prick, he had it coming." I shake my head, brushing him off as I walk into my room and pack a few pairs of clothes for the weekend.

I clear the memory from my mind, finishing off the Email with my final requirement before I move onto the next one. I find myself getting distracted by the song that comes on, The Arctic Monkeys flowing around the room as I go through messages requesting money from the gang or protection, or even entrance. The thought of someone sending a formal Email to be jumped into a gang makes me snort, but I open it and read it anyway, just for humor. After reading it, I forward it to Niall and Zayn to see if they think it's funny, before I deal with it. No fucking way am I going to let someone into the gang through email. I send back two things, a time, and a place. After I set that up, I text one of our Patsi's, someone who takes the fall when one of us gets caught, and tell him he has someone to meet, and that it might be a set up. After setting a price and getting his confirmation, I start to work on other issues that can be handled without meeting face to face. I ignore the Email from my father, skipping to the invites for gatherings, accepting the invite to the Nicoletti Ball that I attend every year.