❝She never said she was a good girl.❞

☀︎︎

A DEEP MALE voice echoed behind them and Anna froze. "Running the show without me, eh?"

She would know this voice anywhere. She had grown used to this voice speaking lightly around her. She had become so familiar with the voice that now it almost seemed like an irritating buzz in her ears.

"Harry," Anna turned around to face him while Mark took a step away from her.

He looked dreamy but the kind you'd see in your nightmares. His dark hair was tousled and fell in artful circles around his head. His golden eyes shone like death's torch and the veins on his neck prominently stood out. His black shirt was sticking to his torso and his black leather jacket added to his appeal.

"Anna. You waste no time in making plans, do you?" Harry walked towards them, his posture lazy but alert. His broad shoulders tensed as he passed Anna and stood directly in front of Mark.

Mark's eyes narrowed as he moved closer. He pushed himself to be straighter and taller, squaring off against Harry. Their eyes locked and for a fleeting moment, Anna saw a darkness in Mark's eyes that hadn't been there before.

"Why are you here, Mark?" Harry asked, his eyes never blinking.

"Why do you care? We just came here after a day of work. Is it so wrong to-"

Before Mark could finish, Harry grabbed him by the collar. "I'll tell you what's wrong. Growing closer to a goddamn crew member is wrong. Sneaking away alone is wrong. How many people even knew about you going out?"

Harry pulled Mark closer, his left knuckles turning white. "One more time. One more time I see you breaking protocol, I'll fucking end you."

Mark snickered, seemingly unaffected by the pull on his neck. "Is that a warning?"

"Consider it a threat. Out. Get out," Harry snarled, letting Mark's collar go with a push.

An ominous feeling rose in Anna's chest and she immediately placed herself between them. "There's no need for a testosterone contest. Harry, back the fuck off. You chose what you chose. You don't get to decide who strikes a friendship with me or anyone else."

Anna now looked at Mark. "And you. I expected better from you. Stand back." She pushed Mark behind and looked up at Harry's dark golden eyes. They held anger, admiration, sadness, and just a little bit of regret.

She felt a tap on her shoulders and she spun on her heels. Anna groaned as a young female bouncer with short black hair, pinned her hands behind her back. "Ma'am, you've all been causing a lot of commotion. Please exit with us peacefully and no one gets hurt."

With a bewildered expression on her face, Anna nodded and let herself be cuffed. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Mark following suit. On the other hand, Harry seemed to be having a harder time.

"No. I am not putting my hands into those. God knows what you've been doing with them," Harry winked at the male bouncer trying to cuff him and raised his hands up. He followed Anna and Mark, close on their heels while the bouncer roughly pushed Harry along.

In the commotion of the guys' fight, Anna had completely disregarded her surroundings. She now saw hundreds of eyes fixed on them, as they paraded the walk of shame. Anna bent her head down, never having been humiliated this way before.

She wished the ground would swallow her whole and leave no trace behind. She tightened her arms just a bit behind her back, letting the pain cancel out the snickers and the stares. She hated being laughed at. Just my luck, she thought, ruefully.

The bouncers led them back to the entrance door and shoved them out. "Five days. You don't want to be seen here for the next five days." The female bouncer said and the guard from earlier snorted with disgust, closing the doors with a loud bang.

Anna caressed her aching wrists, mentally cursing everything under the sun. She turned to the guys and rested her hand on her hips. "So? What do you two have to say for yourself?" She tapped her foot, waiting for an answer amidst the silence that suddenly seemed to surround them.

Breaking the silence, Mark said, "It's a question that he needs to answer." Mark threw an icy glare at Harry which apparently had no effect on him.

Harry shrugged. "Not my fault you left the members for quality time with the first girl you set your eyes on."

Mark's hands trembled, as lines of rage patterned themselves across his forehead. "Me? I was supposed to stay with them? You were there, weren't you? And what the fuck is this about seeing a girl for the first time? Can't you just say you feel jealous?"

Harry interjected, calm but with a coldness that had not been there before. "Far from it. I don't really care what you two do with each other as long as the plan stays on course. But protocol is protocol and you are my second in command so you go nowhere without my permission. Is that understood?"

Mark shook his head at Harry, still furious but he decided to let it go. "Yes, boss," he spat and briskly walked to his motorcycle. He put on his helmet and drove off, leaving Anna and Harry in his dust.

"And there goes my ride. Thanks for the testosterone battle, very unique," Anna rolled her eyes. She walked further away from Harry, desperate to create space between them. Every time they were alone, they kept coming closer to each other. She felt a magnetic force pulling her to him and she hated every bit of it.

"You know, I didn't walk all the way over here."

Anna kept walking. "My bad, I thought you did walk all the way over here."

She waited for a response, not turning back. Furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, Anna was about to look for Harry when she suddenly heard the roar of an engine cutting through the silence. She whirled around to find a bright light flashing over her.

Squinting her eyes against the blinding light, she took a step forward to inspect the source. Before she could go any further, the vehicle zoomed ahead and Anna jumped back. A sleek, dark, and leather seated Harley Davidson stood waiting in front of her.

"Yeah, I know how to pick them," Harry winked, noticing Anna's elated expression. She quickly stripped it off, worried he might latch on to it forever.

"I've seen better," Anna said indifferently. But she couldn't contain the little bounce in her feet and the stupid smile on her face.

Her father, a retired colonel, had a vast collection of bikes. Everything, ranging from Davidsons to Enfields, was a staple in their garage. He used to take her out every night for a spin when he came home for the holidays. He used to say he'd teach her to ride, that it was easy, and his darling daughter would ace it.

One winter night, they'd gone for another late night spin when the engine had died down. The bike twisted out of control and she had fallen off, rolling against the hard gravel. Her father had screamed and rushed to her but was baffled on seeing her laughing.

"It's nothing, Dad. Just a scratch." Her father had laughed along with her, picking her up. He carried her home in his arms, calling for a tow truck to take the bike away. That night, after applying some ointment to her knees and elbows, her father had said, "Do you know how I know you are a fighter?"

She'd shaken her head. He then tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and said, "It's because you called a deep bleeding gash, just a scratch. You are strong, Ann-bear. Never ignore that." She was only fourteen.

Anna closed her eyes, images of the crash now flashing through her mind. It was like a kaleidoscope of images. The steaming car, her parents buried under the debris, a crowd forming, her tears on receiving the phone call, the hospital waiting rooms.

A tingle shot down her arm and she opened up her eyes. Harry was looking at her, concern behind those dark amber eyes. His hand was on her shoulder and she stepped away. He must have felt the tension too and he dropped his arm.

"You okay, Bermuda?"

At that moment, her heart reached out to him. Not because he asked how she was feeling. But because of the underlying care with which he said the words. An emotion she never thought to associate with his stern exterior. The way he seemed to open up to her. The way he treated her as an equal, someone who could fight him. She was drawn to him and she could no longer deny it.

She was here to destroy him. She was here to destroy everyone. She was on a mission. She knew what she had to do. Her whole life, she had waited to prove herself. To be strong once again. She had waited for a big mission to come to her. And now it was.

It was here in all its six foot three inches, amber eyes and tousled hair glory. It waited in front of her with a quizzical expression on its face, studying her. It was here. Finally.

But why was it feeling so conflicting to her? Why was she growing closer to the team? Her team? They felt like home now. Her home.

She looked up into his dark eyes. "Take me home, Harry, take me home."

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