Nowhere to Run ✓

twelve | ❝i know i look like adonis.❞

❝Some women fear the fire; some simply become it.❞

☀︎︎

ANNA COULD FEEL her heart beat wildly in her chest. She could be tried in court for what Harry was suggesting. She was determined to reach Florian, no matter what. But being charged as an accomplice, even undercover, was something she did not want on her résumé.

She let out a deep breath and stood up, pointer in hand. She hoped beyond hope that they couldn't see her hands shaking. Anna stood near the console, hands on her hips. She felt Harry's intense eyes grilling into her back and so she turned around.

Trying her best to keep a neutral smile on her face, Anna spoke, "Here's what is going to happen. With a ten inch electrified wire surrounding the complex, there's no way we'll be able to get in without looking like charred coal," Anna said, and turned to the screen flashing her pointer at it.

"The only way is going underground." She pointed at a small circle, easily missed, off the side of the lines showing the wire. "This manhole will be our way in. We have to blow up the lid because they won't be dumb enough to leave it open. Mark? Think you can manage that?"

"I am an explosive in the flesh, baby. I'll get working on a soundless bomb, don't worry," Mark said, a flicker of admiration in his eyes.

Anna nodded and returned back to her speech. "We travel whatever area we need to cover. You see this?" She clicked on multiple buttons and pushed the joystick to zoom in. A small rectangle could be seen now. "This is the sewage duct. It runs from the women's washroom to the manhole outside. No armed guards here."

"That's great but how do you propose we get out of the women's washroom? Our team will have another woman but the men?" Harry crossed his arms in front of his chest, smiling. He thought he'd pulled a one over on her.

Anna bit her lip. "Why do you think a man would enter the washroom with a woman?" She raised her eyebrow at him and a corner of her lips rose up.

Harry shook his head. "You're good. Go on."

"We exit, two at a time, from here and mingle. No one's going to suspect a thing. We move forward with the crowd, towards the open glass case. We hack into their system, cut off the lights and swap it with a fake one. There'll be too much chaos for the guards to reach the case in time.

We exit the same way we came in. I'm supposing you'll have a van waiting outside. We climb in and voila," Anna said, pointedly, "Agapi Mou is ours for the taking and no one is none the wiser."

Harry threw his head back and laughed. Anna could see the gold in his eyes twinkle and the light dusting of freckles on his nose dance. He looked beautiful as the sunlight streamed in from a crack in the dusty window and played on his hair. He looked like an angel, happy and lively.

Anna shook her head. What the hell was she thinking? She'd never looked at a guy with interest, let alone being in a relationship with one.

She wasn't the quintessential cover model and guys at her high school were as superficial as oil on water. The only lasting male friendship she had was with Zach and now she wasn't even sure it was just friendship. She liked him no doubt, but she wished she had the courage to talk to him.

"I know I look like Adonis, but you don't really have to stare at me that way," Harry snapped his fingers. "It's creepy, Bermuda."

Anna narrowed her eyes at him, "You know, you can just call me Anna."

"Think I'll continue with Bermuda, thank you very much," Harry said, his hair tousled in all direction. Anna felt drawn to pat them into place but she stopped herself with surprising will.

"So, I can go back home, right? I'll see you tomorrow, bright and early," Anna said, relief rushing throw every vein in her body. She knew she had done a good job convincing them. Now, she just had to get back home and update Zach and Tia. The sooner they got reinforcements, the better.

"Uh, no, you can't actually," Mark spoke up suddenly. He waited for Harry to go on and explain.

"You are going to stay here, with us and the team, till the heist is done," Harry said, indifferently. "There are storage rooms on the floor above. We've cleared them out to function as bedrooms. You can go up using the stairs on the right side of the lobby and select the one you want."

Anna picked up the shawl Harry had handed her. She wrapped it around herself and walked out of the room, into the lobby. She climbed up the steps, her hands trailing the dusty bannister. She reached the landing and took to her right. A small but clean room was the first one to greet her and she fell in love with it.

The room had floor to ceiling windows, a desk at one end, fairy lights covering the walls and a sizeable dresser. She walked towards it and pulled the drawers open. Stacks of clothes sat waiting. A small mirror was placed inside one of the drawers along with a few make up sets.

The only problem was the single mattress on the floor. It looked lumpy and was probably inhabited by rats, for all she knew. Shuddering she turned around, determined to go down and ask for a proper bed, when she felt herself collide with a wall of muscle.

"Ouch, why-" Anna stopped herself when she looked into Harry's eyes. He was standing dangerously close to her, her body pressed up against his. He was a few inches taller than her and the way he looked down at her, set her soul on fire.

She immediately took a step back, coughing and twirling her bracelet. "Haven't seen you do that in a while," Harry said and Anna followed his eyes to her hand.

She dropped fidgeting it and he noticed. "I'm sorry if I startled you. I just wanted to ask you if you liked the room."

She cleared her throat, "That's alright. Although, I have a request. I want a bed."

He gestured towards the mattress. "And that is an elephant?" His eyes locked into hers and she wrapped the shawl tighter around her.

She sighed. "You know what I mean. It's definitely infested with insects, if not rats."

"Then choose a different room." Harry started walking away from her, the shine in his golden eyes no longer there.

"But- I like this room," Anna said in a small voice, treading as lightly as possible. "I'll be living here for weeks, Harry. I'm not asking for much. You know this isn't unreasonable." She understood he didn't want to go out and he couldn't let her go out alone either.

He raked a hand through his dark hair, veins strong in his arm. He still had his back to her so she couldn't see his face, but she knew he was contemplating. "Fine. Let's go," he turned to her and a ghost of a smile passed over his face, "but only after you meet the rest of the crew."

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