Reckless {HS}

forty-eight

Harry's Pov

The room was dimly lit, the heavy air thick with tension. My dad sat at the head of the table, his fingers drumming impatiently on the wooden surface. Niall, Louis, Liam, and I sat around him, waiting for what we knew was coming. It had been quiet for too long, and in our world, silence wasn't a good thing.

"We've been playing small," my dad began, his voice cutting through the silence like a knife. "But that's over."

I exchanged glances with the boys, feeling the weight of whatever was about to come down. My dad had been involved in risky things before, but there was something about his tone tonight—something darker, more dangerous.

He leaned forward, his eyes narrowing as he surveyed the room. "This next job... it's not a heist. It's an extraction."

"Extraction?" Louis asked, leaning in with a grin. "You mean we're taking someone?"

My dad nodded, his face expressionless. "There's a man—Anderson. He's connected to a larger network, one we've been trying to get intel on for months. He's got information we need, but he's not going to give it up willingly."

I felt my stomach churn. We'd done a lot of things before, stolen a lot of things, but this? This wasn't just a step up—it was a whole different game.

"And what happens when we get him?" Niall asked, his voice a little shaky, though he tried to cover it up.

"We make him talk," Dad replied coldly. "We get the information by any means necessary."

There was a pause, the air between us growing heavier by the second. Torture. That's what he was talking about. We weren't just grabbing someone and shaking him down. We were going to break him.

Louis cracked his knuckles, a twisted smile on his face. "I can handle that."

I felt sick. Louis had a way of brushing off the reality of things, finding the thrill in the violence. But me? I couldn't shake the unease settling deep in my gut. This wasn't just stealing jewels or breaking into a high-security vault. This was taking a human being, putting them through hell, and hoping they'd give up what we wanted.

"How dangerous is this guy?" Liam asked, his brow furrowed. He was always the most level-headed, but even he seemed rattled by the change in tone.

My dad smirked. "He's a high-level operative, deep in with people who don't mess around. But he's alone for now, cut off from his team. We've got a window to grab him, but once we do, we'll have to be fast. His people will be looking for him."

"So what's the plan?" I asked, forcing my voice to stay steady.

"We take him from his safe house," Dad explained, his eyes flickering with that dangerous excitement he got when a job was about to go down. "It's off the grid, low security. He won't see us coming."

I nodded, but my mind was racing. This wasn't like anything we'd done before. We weren't just stealing something. We were stealing someone. And once we had him? It wouldn't be over until we broke him, until we got what we needed.

"We'll be in and out before anyone realizes he's gone," Dad continued, a hint of satisfaction in his voice. "Niall, you'll be driving the van. Louis, you'll handle any guards. Liam, you'll be backup."

"And me?" I asked, my stomach sinking further.

"You..," Dad said, his tone leaving no room for argument. "..will be the one getting Anderson to talk."

I felt the blood drain from my face. I knew what that meant. I'd be the one in the room with Anderson, forcing the information out of him. The thought of it made my skin crawl, but I couldn't show that to my dad. Not now.

He leaned back in his chair, the smirk still on his face. "We get him, we get the intel, and we walk away clean. Simple."

Simple. Right. Except it wasn't.

As the conversation shifted to logistics, my mind wandered to Delilah. She wasn't supposed to be part of this. She wasn't supposed to get involved in something like this. But after the last job, I couldn't stop thinking about how excited she'd been, how alive she'd looked, the adrenaline still buzzing through her veins.

Would she want to get involved in this too? Would she push to be part of it? And what the hell would I do if she did? This wasn't some high-stakes thrill. This was dark, dangerous, and there was no going back from something like this.

"Harry?" My dad's voice pulled me back to the present. He was staring at me, waiting for an answer.

"Yeah," I said, my voice a little hoarse. "I'm in."

I didn't have a choice. If I backed out, if I hesitated now, it wouldn't just be my dad who'd notice. The boys would too. And I couldn't let them see me flinch. Not when things were about to get even more dangerous than before.

As Dad continued talking about the details—Anderson's schedule, his escape routes, the timing of the extraction—I tried to keep my focus. But my mind kept drifting back to Delilah. What would she say if she knew? Would she still be excited? Or would this be the thing that finally scared her off?

I wasn't sure which outcome I was more afraid of.

When the meeting ended, the boys filed out, discussing strategy and logistics, their voices low. I lingered, staring down at the papers in front of me, a pit forming in my stomach. This wasn't what I wanted. But I didn't have a choice anymore. My dad had set the plan in motion, and I was just another cog in the machine.

"Harry," Dad said as I stood up to leave, his voice cutting through the silence. "Don't screw this one up."

I didn't respond. I just nodded and walked out of the room, my mind already racing with the chaos that was about to unfold.

And the worst part? I couldn't stop thinking about Delilah. Would she be involved? And if she was, could I keep her safe in something like this?

The thought of her getting caught in the crossfire, or worse, being part of this dark plan—it terrified me. And yet, I didn't know if I had the strength to push her away.