Sweetened || HS AU (COMPLETED)

• fifty-nine •

| Harry |

As I stood next to Zayn, leaning on the hood of his car, I tried to calm my heartbeat.

He handed me a cigarette and I took it without looking at him. I kept my eyes on the entrance of the warehouse. Zayn assured me that the cameras had been disabled and suddenly it felt like the old days. The days before I became the CEO, the days way before Jailen when Zayn and I were simple "errand boys" for my father.

The errands consisted of nothing other than threatening or killing those who owed him.

I guess something never changed, except this time, he was the one who owed us.

"If you aren't up for it, Harry, just let me know," Zayn said from beside me.

"What are you talking about?" I inhaled the cigarette slowly, the taste coating my tongue as my hands shook with anger.

The image of Jailen lying on that cold fucking table was engraved in my brain and I was almost positive that it was going to haunt me for the rest of my life. I broke the biggest promise I ever told her. I made a vow to never let anyone hurt her and that's exactly what they did. I failed myself. I failed Jailen. Most importantly, I failed my children.

I wanted to scream. I wanted to burn the world for allowing this to happen, but I knew that there was no one left to blame other than myself.

"That's your family in there, shit can get complicated and I need your head to be in this, man." Zayn was concerned, he let that be known on the drive over. I was too calm, he said.

I shook my head, "My family is dead. Cold in a metal box in the basement of some hospital in a state I never wanted her to go to in the first fucking place." I turned my head towards Zayn, finally looking at him, "Don't question if I'm all in. I'm here, aren't I?"

"Yeah, but-"

"But nothing, Zayn," I tossed the cigarette to the ground, "Whoever's in that building means jack shit to me.

With a weary look, Zayn nodded, "Let's go, then."

It was almost too easy to walk through the doors of this warehouse and if it wasn't for the shocked look on Lucas's face, I would've thought we were being set up. Arthur stood next to him, his confused expression quickly turning to shock as I reached behind me and pulled the gun from the back of my pants.

His security guards rushed towards us and without even blinking, Zayn aimed, two bullets in each of their heads, the sound making my ears ring.

They fell to the floor with a hard thud and Arthur was pissed, "What the fuck?!" He yelled as I aimed my gun at Lucas, firing a shot at his left knee, my eye twitching as his screams pierced the space.

My blood boiled, watching him fall to the floor with a grunt that quickly turned into a laugh. I couldn't contain myself, rushing forward to whip my gun across his face before taking a step back, not hesitating as I shot a bullet through his right knee.

Arthur tried to move towards me, but Zayn was faster. He was behind Arthur within seconds, his gun aimed at the back of his head and his finger on the trigger, challenging him to make the wrong move.

"I told you to stay away from her," I spat, raising my gun until it was aiming at Lucas's head.

Lucas groaned, a bloody smile on his face, "I never touched her."

I leaned closer, my fist connecting with his face once, twice, three times until he was laid flat on the floor, "I told you to stay the fuck away from her!" I repeated, standing up and kicking him in his side, the sound of at least one of his ribs cracking at the impact.