Unknown

I watched as he led her into the condo that he assumed was a secret to everyone other than his close associates; I wouldn't like to give him the gratitude of saying the word 'friends'.

He didn't have any friends.

People weren't around him out of their desire to be in his company. He was feared, detested, and loathed, by those who he kept around him. He kept them there out of convenience, not because he enjoyed their presence.

There was something peculiar about how he decided to keep her around him. He didn't have a desire to form relationships with the women that he associated with. They were nothing but one-night stands, or returning fucks, that he had no problem discarding of the minute he was done with them. He used his charm and status to lure them in before throwing them away like they were trash.

She was supposed to be nothing more to him than the key part of the mission that we'd been given. It was a simple enough task; it shouldn't have taken more than a month at best. He shouldn't still be fawning around with her because he wanted his cock wet. He knew how often I was on the receiving end of angry phone calls because we were no further forward than we were when we started.

He was supposed to be the best at what he did.

My line of vision into the condo was shut off abruptly as soon as the door slammed shut and the gate slid closed. I groaned out in frustration as soon as I realized that there was no way for me to get insight into what was going on inside of the building without triggering the security system that I knew he had fitted. I stood up from my crouched position in the shrubbery over the road from the condo, stretching out my legs as I tried to figure out my next move. I knew that climbing the wall was out of the question but there had to be another way to gain insight into some information.

I jogged over to my black Range Rover, climbing inside quickly and closing the door. I rooted around for my cell and dialed the only number that I knew would be dumb enough to fall victim to my charm, no persuasion necessary. The phone trilled several times before it abruptly stopped, greeting me with a gruff voice on the other side.

"What do you want?"

"Pleasure to speak to you as well, Niall. How're things?"

"Fine. Yourself?"

A slow smirk began to form on my lips; this was easier than I thought.

"I'm good. Thanks for asking, darling. Have you spoken to Harry recently?"

The line went silent for a few moments before Niall responded with, "Not recently. Why?"

"Oh, no particular reason. He just hasn't returned my calls recently and I needed to check the progress of the mission."

The line went silent once more, not a single breath ringing through my ears as I awaited his response. I knew that Niall knew something about what was going on with him and her. There was no reason for them both to be inside of the condo, fleeing Los Angeles shortly after the hit. Things had detoured too drastically for this to be salvageable without all relevant hands on deck.

"The mission is going well. Nothing to be concerned about. As for Harry, I haven't seen him for a few days now. I'm sure if you give Zayn or Cora a call, they'd be more than happy to assist any further. Have a good night now, love."

Before I got a chance to respond, the line went dead. I groaned out in frustration, discarding my phone to the passenger side of the car and slamming my fists on the steering wheel of the jeep. I rested my forehead on the cool steering wheel, closing my eyes as I tried my hardest to keep my composure. I should have known that Niall may have been dumb, but he was by no means disloyal to Harry or any other member of their group. Calling Zayn, or the grotesque thing he called his sister, was out of the equation. Zayn was far too switched on and in the loop, for me to try and intrude whatever secrets they had concealed.

She had to go.

There was no other option.

He was under her spell.

Trapped in her web.

She was getting in the way of what truly mattered.

The truth.

It was time to kick things up a notch.