*The song for this chapter is Do What I Gotta Do - Landon Tewers.*

[There should be a GIF or video here. Update the app now to see it.]

Harry

"You do understand what I'm asking of you, don't you Mr. Styles?"

Sitting on the opposite side of Antoni Delgado's table in his home office, I tried my hardest to keep my composure calm and collected. Mr. Delgado was known for his ability to be able to read people within a few minutes of a conversation with them; his methodical way of keeping a conversation flowing, yet never having it pinned directly on himself, was a skill that most mafia leaders envied and wished they possessed themselves.

Eye contact was crucial to ensuring that Mr. Delgado wouldn't suspect a single thing. A single flicker of broken eye contact would result in a bullet straight through my skull before I even finished my sentence.

"I understand perfectly, Mr. Delgado. You needn't worry about the translation of your message," I replied in a collected manner, knowing the dire situation I'd found myself in was beginning to get serious.

A deep sadistic chuckle left his lips as he stood up to make his way to his liquor table, pouring two bourbons on the rocks as he continued with, "I don't worry about the translation of my message, boy. That translation lies fully on your head, no fault of mine if it's mistranslated."

The man was an absolute sadist; he held no value or remorse for human life. He could walk into a house and gun down an entire family then return home and eat dinner with his daughter as if he hadn't just performed a massacre. In this world, the value of human life was a personal issue that you were expected to deal with on your own terms; I didn't value the life of people who got caught up in our world, that was a conscious decision they made and they had to deal with the consequences. Mr. Delgado, however, would take the lives of innocent children just to maintain his authoritative stance.

We all played God in this world, a dangerous game to play, but Mr. Delgado played the Devil.

"Understood, Mr. Delgado," I replied, nodding my head as a thank-you for the drink that he placed on the table in front of me.

He returned to his seat opposite me, never taking his dark brown eyes off of me as he observed and made mental notes of my mannerisms and body language. I knew enough about Mr. Delgado to know that he wasn't easily fooled; he was surrounded by the toughest, most trusted men in Los Angeles after 'the accident'.

Accident, Mr. Delgado?

"I would like to apologise on my daughter's behalf for her behaviour last night, Mr. Styles. She's often impulsive," he spoke suddenly, keeping his eyes solidified on mine as he took a sip of his bourbon.

I shook my head instantly, picking up my own drink as I replied, "Oh, not at all, Mr. Delgado. I can imagine it's quite difficult to contain a personality as bold as Miss. Delgado's."

"Quite. I sympathise with the man who ends up with her as his wife," he stated with a low chuckle, leaning back in his chair.

I returned the chuckle, taking a small sip of my bourbon as I too sat back in my chair. I couldn't help the overwhelming feeling of guilt I felt towards Celeste that took over me at that moment. The conversation we'd shared outside before I had to enter the Devils layer had been running circles around my mind.

How am I supposed to live if I can't successfully survive?

The rawness of the statement that was laced with no emotion, made me realise that there was so much more to Celeste than what she presented at surface level. She put on a mask every single day because that was all she knew. She had nobody other than her father and the friend she'd had with her at the club, and I knew that one of those two people hid more from her than she knew. The confidence that exuberated from her, the confidence that was infectious and clung to you when she entered the room, wasn't the whole truth. There was a darkness that lingered around the woman, a darkness that I was all too familiar with.

I came into this believing that I knew everything there was to know about Celeste Delgado.

I knew nothing at all.

I was broken out of my thoughts by Mr. Delgado sliding an object across the table to me. I looked down at the object and back up to him.

"Is this necessary, Mr. Delgado?"

His composure and tone remained completely one level, his eyes staying solidified on my features as he replied with a chilling, "An attempt is a failure, Mr. Styles. A perfect deliverance is the security of your life."

I simply nod, placing the object in the black briefcase that I'd brought with me to this meeting. Picking up my drink and finishing the bourbon, I stood up from my chair and adjusted myself.

"Very well, Mr. Delgado. I trust you'll be in touch before the deadline?"

He stood up and mirrored me instantly, holding out his hand for me to shake before replying with a sinister, "All the best, Mr. Styles."

I shook his hand firmly, turning on my heels and exiting the room in a brisk stride. I didn't change my composure until I was certain I was out of sight of Mr. Delgado's office. Taking the stairs on the outside of the property two at a time, I quickly made my way out of the Delgado Estate to the safety of my black Porsche.

"Fucking hell, mate. What took so long?" Niall questioned as soon as I slid into the driver's seat, the briefcase on my lap.

I shook my head, starting the car up instantly as I replied with, "I had to wait twenty fucking minutes whilst his office got cleaned, Niall."

"Whilst his office got cleaned? What the fuck happened in there?" Seth responded from the back seat of the Porsche.

I shrugged as I put my foot down on the gas, my knuckles flexing on the steering wheel in stress as I snapped back with, "I don't fucking know, Seth. Do you really believe he'd have fucking told me if I asked?"

"Jesus, mate. What's gotten into you?" Niall asked, snapping his head in my direction at my outburst.

I exhaled in exasperation, keeping my eyes firmly on the road as I made my way onto the freeway. I was definitely going over the speed limit, but I couldn't have given a fuck at that moment. It felt as if the briefcase was burning on my lap; my fate was in the hands of successfully completing the brief given by Mr. Delgado. One single fuck up and I was a dead man. The boys didn't understand the severity of the situation because they weren't the frontman of this whole operation. They had their individual roles, but their faces weren't on anything. They were in the shadows of this, they didn't have to worry.

"Do you two fucking idiots not understand that this operation here is bigger than each and every one of us? One foul move and we're all dead," I retorted, my knuckles turning white on the wheel as I kept my grip tight.

"We fucking get it, Harry. We got it the first fifty fucking times you told us. How's the girl coming along?" Niall responded, his gaze moving from me to the road as he gripped onto the door frame in reflex at the speed of my driving.

"I'm working on it."

My stomach dropped instantly at the mention of Celeste. There was no use in telling Niall and Seth about the exchange between us today; it was irrelevant to the operation. However, I couldn't stop my thoughts from flickering between guilt and practicality. I had a job to do, getting involved with the intricacies of Celeste's personal thoughts and feelings would serve me no purpose. On the contrasting side, I also knew that Celeste wouldn't just fall into my hands like putty, which is what the boys were expecting to happen. She was so much more complex than either of their premature brains could comprehend, they wouldn't be able to understand that I was going to have to be so much more methodical with my approach.

I had to get her to trust me.

I just didn't know how to do that.

"Was she there?" Seth asked, lighting up a cigarette in the back seat and leaning over to put it in between my lips.

I raised one hand off the wheel and took a drag off the cigarette, lowering the window slightly as I exhaled the smoke and kept one hand on the wheel.

"Mhm."

"You didn't think to try and make a move on her?" Niall snapped at me, his arms flailing up in the air as he pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration.

"Yes, Niall. The thought crossed my mind, however, I didn't feel like getting a bullet through the skull off her father today."

Niall went silent next to me, rolling his eyes as he plucked the cigarette from between my lips and took a drag himself.

It was as if a light bulb flashed and appeared on top of my head, my eyes widening slightly at my own realisation.

I knew exactly what I had to do.

/. Hmmm, what is Harry planning?