so much shit happens all at once — it's an example of how impulsive decisions are not always the best idea. i'm not gonna say WHICH decision was good or bad, but there are two. kind of. yeah, let's just go with two.

super long chapter ahead, over 7k words. lex, if you read this, i'm waiting for your messages LOLOL

—-

"adrian. long time no see," harry said into the phone, leaning against the side of his audi.

"hi, harry. how's it going?"

"fucking going, let me tell you," harry chuckled dryly. "what's up? it's been a while since we've spoken."

"i know, and i'm sorry i haven't kept in contact with you guys. um, about that. i couldn't get ahold of mine and midas's abuela still. she has been in a nursing home this whole time and nobody has said anything. so i did more extensive research. and i mean extensive, paid hundreds for dna logs and all to try and branch out our family tree. that luke kid you guys had that brawl with? he's nowhere in our family tree."

"no way." what?

"i swear to god. midas did have a little brother, though. that part was true."

"did you find out who it is?"

"his name is dominique."

"is he from nevada?"

"sparks, yeah."

harry pushed himself off of his car. "what's his last name?"

"santiago."

"no fucking way."

"do you know him?"

"he owned the car that drove away from the scene when louis' mercedes got busted out back in january, we found out it was him and he's been buddy-buddy with my boss lately. we had a uh...few sticky situations come up in the last few weeks. a car of ours was bugged that my boss got from someone, then i was drugged, it's been a shitshow."

"who did boss get the car from?"

"someone named ace."

adrian sighed heavily. "this has got to be a coincidence. dominique the boss of the spades gang up in sparks, they call him ace."

what the fuck?

"well that crosses a lot off of my list, then," harry ran a hand through his hair. "mylo's brother?"

"from what i've gathered, he was in the system and got adopted out at twelve. took his adoptive mother's last name. he grew up in sparks through his teenage years. i didn't know he was out in los angeles now."

it's been sitting in front of them this whole time. that's...wow. that's a long time. why now? why didn't he try to ambush and get it over with all of those months ago instead of waiting for a code to be cracked? what was the point?

"jesus fucking christ. he's my bartender at my fucking club, adrian. he's been there for ages. since mylo died."

"do you need me to come to cali, harry? i can get louis into a safe house. i have a friend down there that would happily let me use it."

harry looked at the front of his house. behind that door was a sleeping louis, probably with their two cats curled up on him or on pillows surrounding him. behind that door is his best friend. his flame. his bunny. and he'll be damned if another fucking person lays a finger on him.

"i have three safe houses available if it comes down to it. if you want to come, that's fine. i have to be at a storage unit in a couple of hours to get dominic's car, so i won't be back until late tonight."

"what's up with his car?"

"nothing...yet."

"i know you're smirking, you shit."

harry's facial expression drops. bosses. they know everything, the bastards. "dominic was the one that vandalized louis' car, so i'm playing my turn."

"i'll be there as soon as possible."

harry twirled his keys around his index finger. "see you then."

when the call ended, harry immediately called zayn. he told him to stay as far away from the bar as humanly possible, but then scratched his statement and told him not to come into work at all tonight. niall got the same message, but the irish man said he had too many deals to tend to and couldn't just flake on his customers. he called liam, and michael, and texted cara to have her finger breakers ready, before storming through the front door.

he wanted to throw shit. he wanted to scream at the top of his lungs. how could he be so stupid? he knew dominic was a potential bad guy but didn't think it was this bad.

he knew- he fucking knew they were working together, dominic and mitch. mitch confirmed ace was a boss and wouldn't give harry the information he needed in order to coordinate a meeting. he knew this whole time just who the fuck he was.

so what about luke? what about the coke in the locker, the locker room fight, what about the shit luke told louis? did dominic set up the drive by? is dominic behind the safe thefts?

harry went straight upstairs, dying down to small steps when he remembered that louis was sleeping. he opened the door carefully, halting when he saw that his partner wasn't in the bed. the house was dead silent minus the loud meow from shark (he was trying to alert the world that his dad was home.) the lights to the conjoined bathroom were off, and the door was closed as usual.

he opened the bathroom door just to check and see if louis may have just decided to hang out in the dark. he felt the blankets and pulled them off of the bed to make sure he wasn't cocooned beneath them. then, he heard a tiny sneeze from the closet.

he slid the door open to the walk in closet and found louis searching through his sweaters, hiding his yawn behind his fist.

louis squeaked when harry yanked him into his arms, colliding cheek first with his shoulder. arms locked around him, a kiss was placed at the top of his head, and faint sniffles were buried into his hair.

"hi," louis said softly.

harry whispered out a choked, "hi, bunny," holding him a bit tighter and apologizing for the sudden scare.

"i got cold but i didn't want to put pants on so i was looking for a-" louis stopped talking when harry tipped his head back to kiss him. he put his hands on harry's chest, standing on his tiptoes so he could return the sudden affection.

louis drew away when he felt something wet on his face. he wiped his cheek and noticed the tear tracks down harry's. "why are you crying? i was literally just getting a sweatshirt. i'll put it back if it's that big of a deal."

harry plucked the sweatshirt from louis' hands and put it on him, making sure he was nice and cozy before kissing his forehead. he shook his head as louis thumbed away his tears.

"slow," louis told him. "take a breath, and then talk slow to me."

harry took a deep breath with him, closing his eyes when louis pressed his lips to his cheek. "luke was never mylo's brother. it's dominic."

"what?"

"adrian's coming here tonight." the underboss added, watching louis' look of horror turn into something undescribable.

louis took two steps back and ran his hands through his hair. clasping his fingers at the back of his head, he turned and started to pace the closet. small whispers came from him as he walked back and forth, squeezing his eyes shut. slow, deep breaths. one, two, three, harry heard him count all the way to ten.

"i think i'm gonna be sick."

harry got him out of the closet and into the bathroom, flipping the light on. just in case louis did get sick, he got a washcloth set on the countertop to soak. he stood against the counter while louis cradled his head in his hands.

"so you're telling me i did that shit to luke for no reason?" louis asked softly.

"not for no reason. luke was trying to kill you. self defense doesn't make you the bad guy. you never were at fault for any of that and still aren't. he got what he deserved for trying to fuck with you."

harry sat behind the man on the floor and pulled his hair back for him. he pulled a hair tie off of his wrist and tied the smallest ponytail, fawning over the little curl it made at the top of louis' neck. his hair was getting long again, and he loved it.

he rubbed his hands up and down his back and kissed the back of his neck.

"brother?"

"'s what adrian said, yeah," harry mumbled. "said he was adopted out when he was a kid."

louis leaned against his chest. what the absolute fuck. how? all this time, them working together, somewhat tolerating eachother up until just recently, how could he have not seen the signs? he didn't like dominic at first, but he started to grow on him. then he didn't like him again and it stuck.

"remember the night we talked about ace? and you said that someone came to the bar looking for him?"

louis nodded slowly.

"do you know who the spades are?"

"only spades i know were out in sparks," louis muttered. "mylo worked with them quite a bit."

"dominic is their boss. he is ace."

louis sucked in a deep breath. that's where he knew him from. he couldn't put his finger on it back then, but now it makes sense. the guy at the bar asking his name still was undetermined whether or not he actually knew louis or liam just gave his name out. he didn't look familiar at all. only dominic.

"i knew he made me uncomfortable for a reason," louis mumbled. "he probably knows everything. about us, about the clique, do you think he knows about you and what happened with mylo?"

"mitch said someone's been onto something about it. he has the ring with your name on it and my old lighter that i dropped. he told me to trust him."

"does he have any clue who did it?"

"he thinks it was you. but there were multiple fingerprints on the lighter. like four or five sets."

"mitch knows he thinks it's one of us?"

"yes, otherwise he wouldn't have shown me the evidence from the scene."

"why would mitch hide this, though? that's what i wanna know. why would mitch hide working with another boss, knowing that boss is bad?"

"i don't know, bun," harry said, "but i need to find out."

he gave the smaller man a squeeze, laying his forehead on his shoulder. bombs like this dropping at nine in the morning are immediate trips for chaos. louis just woke up. he probably didn't even have the chance to brush his teeth before harry barged in like a madman.

"what now?" louis asked after a few minutes of silence.

"do you want to go to a safehouse?"

"will you be there?"

"no."

"then no. what are you gonna do?"

"'m gonna fucking kill them both."

—-

the sheer look of horror on louis' face when he watched harry help park the camaro right in front of the employee parking lot of inferno made the underboss almost second guess his choices. almost.

"are you fucking nuts?"

"fuck no," harry laughed. "karma's a bitch, lou. he busted your car, so he's getting a taste of his own medicine."

the underboss paid the tow truck driver and dismissed him on his merry way, thanking him for his work. once the truck was gone, harry twirled the baseball bat in his hand and asked, "you got a sharpie in your backpack?"

louis nodded, putting his backpack on the ground. he dug through it until he found his blue permanent marker and handed it over.

harry scribbled -H onto the handle of the bat and gave the marker back. he sat the bat on the windshield, ready to be used when needed.

the underboss climbed on top of the car, completely stepping over the front window, and stood on the roof. he took a seat, crossing his legs, and waved down at his partner.

"alright." louis sighed to himself. "no turning back now."

"nope. one way or another i'm getting my hands on him."

"i'm not saying you shouldn't. but-" louis motioned to the environment around them. "here? of all places?"

"he busted your car here. he tried to kill me here. it's only right. this is my fucking stomping ground, not his, and he's an idiot if he thinks he can walk around here like his shit doesn't reek when everyone knows what he did. it's just a matter of time, my darling. do you want to help me with this one?"

what else is there to do at this point besides just kill him? maybe he doesn't want to end his life. maybe he just wants to torture him for the rest of eternity.

standing outside of inferno at 12:30 in the morning with a now soon to be shitbox of a sports car was not how louis expected his day off to go. definitely not.

he had already met with adrian and gotten a hard copy of the research he did, involving mylo's family tree and what potential gangs were linked to him. so far it was montana, spades, rockwall, and pandora. louis had never heard of the last two, but adrian said those were new connections on his part. these gangs know about midas's demise, they know how bad of a leader he was, and were sworn to never speak on it unless adrian was the one to say something first. out of respect for being a new leader, adrian wanted to change the game of montana. he wanted to make it bigger — maybe better, but he wanted montana to have a better reputation now that mylo was gone.

when harry gave him the keys to the audi earlier and told him to drive, he knew something was up. it's been a while since he had been behind the wheel of his boyfriend's number one vehicle. driving it to the storage unit (where louis got a glimpse of everything that was trapped in harry's mind), watching harry get the camaro on the tow truck and then following it back to the club was not on his to-do list. but now it's checked off.

"i thought i wasn't allowed to help."

harry shrugged. "you kind of have already, might as well let you keep playing. i think i might take a nap right here. or stargaze," he hummed. he leaned back on his hands. "wanna join?"

"you need to get off of the car, h."

"but why?"

"because i said so. we need to get out of here before someone sees us."

"if you think i'm worried about someone seeing me, you're wrong. unlike him, i own up to the shit i do. i will sit right here until he walks out of that door. you can stay with me, or you can take the audi and i'll have liam bring me home because you are not going inside that club alone while he's here. it's too risky now."

louis threw his head back with a groan. "you are so fucking stubborn."

"unapologetically so."

the smaller man stepped to the car. he bunched the sleeves of his hoodie in his palms and looked up at the underboss.

"you're fucking crazy for this, you know."

"i think i'm quite sane, actually. you're telling me if the roles were reversed you wouldn't have done the same thing? you shot the guy that pulled that drive by stunt on us. you're just as normal as me."

fair point.

"and if this had happened to someone else, say, niall, or zayn, or anyone else in my circle, i still would have done the same shit. i am not the one he wants to fuck with. because i will kill him, lou. no remorse. i'll blow him to bits like his brother." harry added with a shrug.

"please be careful, harry."

harry laid on his stomach so he was lower and closer to the smaller man. "i will."

"swear on it right now."

harry held his pinky out. louis sealed the pinky promise with hesitant eyes.

"trust me when i say he's not getting away with this," harry said lowly. "and mitch will eat his words. once this is over, we are getting the fuck out of here."

louis nodded. "okay."

"i'm serious. we're getting out of los angeles. i don't care if we move to new york, or chicago, or even go back home to england. we can find a spot and settle down for once. only if you do me a solid first." harry grabbed louis' chin and tipped his head back.

"what?"

"marry me."

he scanned louis' eyes, watching his eyebrow furrow then relax. harry couldn't help but run his thumb over his lover's bottom lip as louis tried to speak. he was too stunned.

"you said it yourself that you'd do it. i told you i'd do it. in a god damn heartbeat." harry said. "i don't have a ring yet. i still haven't found the perfect one. we don't have to do it tonight, or tomorrow. we can do it whenever...please?" his voice dropped down to a whisper, eyes never leaving louis' wide ones. "will you marry me?"

what. the. fuck.

louis stood on his tiptoes to press a hard kiss to harry's lips. with his hands on either side of harry's face and gravel crackling beneath his shoes, he couldn't help but laugh at the situation at hand. he just got proposed to from on top of a vehicle his boyfriend stole and is on the verge of destroying because his dead ex-husband's "brother" turned out to be someone else and not the guy he killed. the said vehicle belongs to his actual brother, who smashed the windows out of his favorite car, drugged his boyfriend in attempts to kill him, and has become allies with their own boss.

what a time to be alive.

"of course i will, you idiot," he said softly. "you should know better than to think i would say no."

a wide smile split harry's face as he pulled louis in for another kiss. "tomorrow. ring hunting."

"you got it."

"i'm serious."

"i am too."

"oi, lovebirds! quit sucking faces! this is a strip club, not a makeout spot!"

louis kicked some of the rocks towards the blonde haired man walking to him. niall jumped back, letting out an embarrassing yelp, before staring at harry like he was a maniac.

"you really fucking did it."

"i did. isn't she pretty?" harry sighed happily. "i'm gonna make her gorgeous after this."

"most definitely." niall nodded. "lou. come walk in with me?"

"i-" louis bit his lip, looking up at his partner. "will you be okay if i go?"

"don't be alone. i'm just gonna sit and watch traffic."

louis hesitated to step away. he slowly raised up and kissed his cheek before hopping back over the rocks scattered around his feet.

"loves you."

"most."

"and i love me. c'mon, lou. mikey wants to say hi to ya." niall wrapped an arm around louis' shoulders as they walked to the entrance of the club.

louis looked back to see harry sliding off of the vehicle. whatever he decided to do next would be out of sight and out of mind.

"niall?"

"yeah?"

"it's about to get ugly, isn't it?"

niall sighed, squeezing his shoulder. "yeah, babe, it is."

the employees inside said hello to the pair walking through the crowd. michael kissed the top of louis' head and gave him the last redbull they had in the fridge. he made him take a seat while niall went and got everyone rounded up to make sure their closing tasks were done or ready to be finished.

"i need you to stay right there."

"i have to go back out soon," louis said. "harry is making me remain supervised and i think he wants it to be by him."

"you don't wanna go out there."

"i've seen and dealt with worse. you do realize the locker rooms got remodeled because of me, right?"

"i know. and we got word about who dominic really was, harry told us all earlier. we're under strict lockdown by him. mitch argued to keep us open, but nobody is to go unarmed tonight. i found out some more shit, too."

first, that's a lot. mitch wanted to keep inferno open knowing harry's about to go balls to the walls? that's asking for a disaster. second, everyone's armed? what about dances and private shows? ty, mitch, and liam usually carry at all times, michael keeps a gun under the bar, and harry has one in his office, but what about niall and cara?

the bartender leaned forward, saying lowly, "he paid luke fifty fucking grand to try and kill you, and when he failed, he hounded ashton about it. it drove him nuts. that's one of the reasons why ashton made that scene."

"how do you know about all of this?"

"i found contracts in dominic's locker back in the storage room. it's all in writing. and get this-" michael looked around the bar before adding, "there's a contract between him and mitch as well."

"harry said they might be working together."

"they are. dominic thought you killed mylo. then he suspected mitch did it. mitch signed some sort of waiver. i don't remember what it was because i gave it all to liam. i think mitch is leading him on about it though. like, making him think he did it."

"mitch," louis whispered to himself. "michael. if he thinks mitch did it and mitch is leading him on about it-" he throws his head back, downing his entire redbull and stands. of course. it would make so much sense for him to do this. "i have to go."

"not by yourself, lou."

"liam is right there. i promise i will be okay." louis leaned across the bar to throw his can in the trash bin, making it in. "watch me leave if it helps you."

he found liam at the doorway and asked to look at the contracts, which were handed over as long as he would read them while the bouncer was present.

one was a sheet stating that fifty thousand dollars would be paid for the hit, which was signed. the other was an agreement between dominic and mitch to merge these two gangs together. blackwater and spades would work with one another when it came to shipments and profits.

where is harry involved in that?

the contract was signed when dominic first started in the beginning of october. these papers have been right in front of their eyes for 11 months?

louis checked the date. it's september first. it's really been that long. nobody knew about this for so long...what else has been hidden?

"where's mitch?"

"i don't know, bub. i haven't seen him."

louis stuffed the contracts in his backpack and booked it out of the front door. he followed the sound of shouting and swearing until he rounded the corner near the employee parking lot, where harry had mitch pinned to the side of the club. both of them were throwing hits back and forth until harry swept his leg behind mitch's and made him stumble over his feet.

louis stood like a deer caught in headlights. harry was really fighting his own best friend.

he dropped his bag and sprinted towards them when harry got mitch on the ground, both of them still swinging until a crack was heard.

"harry-" louis grabbed the underboss by the back of his shirt and yanked him back. "harry, stop. you've done enough."

"no, i haven't," harry panted, looking down at mitch when the boss sat up.

he wasn't unrecognizable, but he was definitely bloody. both of them were. harry had blood around his mouth and nose while mitch's eye was swollen, nothing but blood came out any time he leaned over to spit on the ground, and his nose was not in the correct spot. both of their hands were covered in blood, be it their own or eachothers. mitch's shirt was covered in blood more than harry's from the fluid trickling down the lower half of his face.

"you can't kill me," mitch said lowly, also catching his breath. "you won't."

"why wouldn't i?"

"because he's not the bad guy here, h."

"bullshit he isn't. fucking look at him. working with another boss and letting his own clique burn to the ground. he's fucking-"

"-taking the rat for you, yeah. i know."

harry stared at louis wide eyed, then down at mitch. the boss had his head down, blood still dripping onto the concrete beneath him. he knew he broke his nose the second his hand hit the middle of his face. "what?"

louis went back to his backpack and carried it to them, pulling out the contracts. "look at these."

harry skimmed over the contracts, louis held up so he wouldn't get them stained. he turned back, glaring at mitch. "eleven fucking months ago."

"haz, think about it. he won't let you leave the gang for unspecified reasons. you weren't supposed to know who ace was. he's working with dominic, who is ace, knowing exactly who he is. knowing why he's here. do you not see the picture here?"

louis rose his eyebrows at mitch. "am i wrong?"

mitch shook his head, dabbing at the blood pooling at his nostrils.

harry wiped the blood off of his face and hands as much as he could, but he was certain there was still some stained on his skin. his head is throbbing. mitch got a very good left hook in on him that made his ear pop. his heart continued to beat rapidly from adrenaline and fury.

"he had speculations that i tried to squash. instead of killing me he proposed to get three quarters of my weapon trades, one of my best heroin dealers, and a position at inferno to keep business in line. and i did it. that's why i've kept you here, kid. i need you under my supervision as much as possible in case he breaks and finds out i'm lying. it's not about the position or the gang. it's the fact you're my little brother and i would kill myself if you were taken out because of me trying to save you."

"it kind of-"

"harry, let him speak," louis mumbled.

the underboss sighed heavily. "all over a ring and a lighter?"

"all over a ring and a lighter. he remembered louis from back in the day-" the boss coughed into his arm, muttering, "jesus christ, harry, fuck."

harry bit the corner of his lip and looked down at his sneakers. all of that internal rage was taken out on the boss. he's not sure how he's still conscious.

"he- he knew lou and mylo were together and then broke up. when mylo died, he found that stuff and tried his best to dig information up. i told him this was business between him and i, and not to touch you."

"well, he did..."

"'s not like you could do anything about it in any other way than what's about to be done." louis shrugged. "bosses are pathological liars. manipulative. they're two faced-"

"alright, lou."

"-you know, the lot." louis dismissed mitch's interruption by finishing his sentence. "speaking from experience, that is."

"right," mitch chuckled dryly.

"what did you do when harry overdosed?" louis asked. "be honest. you didn't come to the hospital until later that day."

"i found dominic and gave him a black eye for breaking his promise to me. and i stripped him of his management position."

"i still don't understand how he got that."

"i gave it to him to keep him from suspecting anything else but i feel like he found something that made him try to kill harry like that. he had to have."

"there was a piece of paper missing from my notebook..." harry muttered. "i admitted to killing mylo on it."

louis put the contracts in his bag and shuffled through it until he found his spare pack of wipes he keeps on hand for his eye makeup. he grabbed a few for harry then took them over to mitch, gently placing the package beside him.

"my ankle biter is rubbing off on him," he said softly.

"he's a fucking demon, that's for sure."

when louis turned to tend to harry, he spotted the underboss walking across the parking lot.

"just let him be, lou."

"he's gonna fuck him up, mitch. bad."

"do you not see me? if you didn't pull him off of me, he would have killed me. i'll keep my broken nose, he can do what he wants with him. all i wanted was to keep him alive and i did it."

"yeah..." louis swallowed the lump in his throat. "i don't want to say thank you because everything has been a fucking madhouse lately but i guess i appreciate you for attempting to keep him alive. you could have just told one of us, you know."

"i don't think it would have changed anything, kid."

"no?"

"nah. i still would have lost his trust."

"did you know dominic was going to drug him?"

"no. he had promised me that he wouldn't touch anyone on my side. when all of that happened, i went off on him and we haven't spoken much since."

louis sighed softly. "why did you look so guilty when we tried narcanning harry?"

"because i had a feeling that dominic cracked us."

louis watched as harry opened the trunk of the audi and pulled something out. he eyed him close while he walked across the parking lot to where the camaro was sitting isolated away from other vehicles.

"what the fuck does he have in his hand?"

"a gas can."

louis leaned against the building with a sigh. "he's repeating history."

"i assume there will not be a body in the car when he sets it on fire this time. there are too many other vehicles around."

"he knows he could potentially burn the club down, right?"

"at this point, lou, i don't think he cares." mitch muttered as he propped his arms on his knees.

harry didn't move. he didn't say a word to anyone that walked in or out. he remained sat on the hood of the camaro propped up on his hands as if he were waiting for dominic to find him just like that. the club closes in thirty minutes and crew should be leaving within forty five.

the underboss moved twice. once to smoke a cigarette and the other to wave louis over to him.

"do you still have the keys to the audi?"

"i do."

"i'm giving you the option to take it and leave while you have the chance, or stay and lock yourself in it. you are not to come anywhere near me when dominic walks out of that building, clear?"

nodding, louis leaned forward to kiss his forehead. "are you okay?"

"i told my best friend i hated him. i'm not okay, lou. i'm really fucking hurt."

harry's voice wasn't harry's voice. it wasn't the loud, bold, happy tone he's used to. it's not the bitter snap when he's enraged and telling someone how it is. it's not the quiet tone when he needs consoling and a little love from time to time.

it's distant. it's weak. it's a side louis rarely sees from the man. he doesn't bottle things up, but he also doesn't get shit off of his chest as much as he should.

it's the voice of exhaustion. harry's mentally exhausted. running himself in circles nonstop, never reaching an ending point, until the circle had a slight dip and he could take a second to breathe. he got that breath, but it wasn't fresh air. it was yet another draining toxin. from the moment harry went on that jewelry store robbery, he has been running and running and running until it was time to think about dropping.

louis let out a soft sigh and wrapped his arms around harry's middle. "i know, babe. i know."

the younger man gave him a squeeze. "i'm sorry you've had to deal with all of this shit. and i mean all of it. from the start to here."

"hey." louis turned his head to kiss harry's cheek. "'s okay, harry. i promise. i'm alive, you're alive, we're okay."

"are we still going tomorrow?"

"well duh."

harry sniffled and grinned against his shoulder. "loves you."

"loves you," louis murmured. "so much."

louis took the car keys out of his pocket and unlocked it from their spot, watching the lights blink. he gave his partner a kiss and walked to the audi, locking himself inside of it. the camaro was almost in perfect view being by itself. they were still a fair distance away from one another.

two fifteen rolled around and louis started getting antsy. he wasn't going to leave. no way in hell. not even zayn could drag him out of this car. he didn't want to stay to watch harry do whatever (he knows what extremes he can take and how bad it can get) but he wanted to make sure he was at least okay. and if making sure he was okay meant hiding in the floorboard behind the driver's seat then so be it.

while he sat in the car, he took a peek around. mitch was still sitting on the curb with his head bowed. to his left, he could see the shadow of his partner moving under the club lights. his arms were raised above his head as he stood on the roof of the blue camaro. his arms lowered, raised, and lowered again. the bat in his hands went with them. louis could hear him through the windows. he had taken the notion to use the rest of his frustrations out on the car.

keeping his decision the same, he found himself texting zayn that harry was going feral and that there is a slight possibility that he may need his help. keyword may.

"is that my fucking car?!"

jumping off of the vehicle, harry grabbed dominic by his shirt and slung him onto the hood of it. he pinned him at the throat with the baseball bat he had been waiting to use, grinning wickedly as the boss beneath him began to squirm.

"yes," he said softly. he held more pressure down on his throat, gritting his teeth.

dominic gripped the bat and pushed against harry's weight. both men strained to keep the bat in place until dominic lost his grip. harry dropped the bat and pulled him off of the car. the leader was coughing and sputtering, still trying to gather his breath.

harry held a tight handful of dominic's hair as he used all of his strength to smack his face into the front windshield. the glass cracked beneath dominic's jaw, spreading as high as his eyebrows and low as his adam's apple.

"thought you could get away easy, huh?" harry asked, pushing dominic's face deeper into the busted glass. "i know who you are, ace. i know everything about you."

"good," dominic panted. "it's about fucking time."

harry ducked when dominic threw a punch and pushed him back to the camaro, making him hit the driver's rearview mirror. dominic grunted out at the impact. the mirror broke off when dominic grabbed harry by the throat to turn them over.

harry smirked when he felt something pressed against his stomach. "you're just like your brother. both of you can't take a fist fight."

dominic snarled and raised the knife in his hand up to harry's throat. "don't fucking talk about him."

harry blinked at the blade pointed at him. "he put a gun to my head then ran like the bitch he was as soon as everyone else showed up."

dominic drew his arm back and lunged in attempts to stab the underboss.

harry headbutted dominic and made him drop the knife. he kicked him back and grabbed the weapon, crouching down in front of the boss. his nose was gushing blood, heavier than mitch's did.

he narrowed his eyes at dominic. "who were you after this whole time?"

"mitch."

"why?"

"we both know why, harry."

"after suspecting it was louis and finding out you were wrong? when was that?"

"when louis stopped working. all signs pointed to him when he killed luke. if he could break someone's skull like that, he had the capability to kill my brother."

"that doesn't answer my question. when did you stop suspecting louis killed him?"

"i never stopped," dominic said. "you leave a man and not even a few months later he winds up dead with your engagement ring in his car? exes are the first suspect."

"it wasn't him, i promise," harry murmured. "what made you think mitch did it?"

"eyewitnesses."

"give me a better answer."

his chest still heaving, dominic shook his head.

"the bug on the car mitch got from you. what about that?"

"i thought it would be nice to spook him a little. let him know just who he was playing with."

"it didn't spook him. he didn't know until i told him."

"so he didn't go."

"no. me and two other lads, that was it. why did you try to kill me?"

"did you know he killed my brother?"

"i know who killed your brother, dom," harry said softly. "so does mitch. so does louis. so does everyone in my fucking clique. is that why you tried to kill me? to show them what it was like?"

dominic nodded slowly.

harry grabbed the gas can that he had sitting on the other side of the vehicle and opened it, pouring the liquid over the hood of the car. he circled around the vehicle and tossed the can backwards when it was empty. he pulled a pack of club matches out of his pocket and lit one, throwing it down at the hood where the gasoline was most covering it.

he stepped back when the front half of the car caught fire, eyes travelling down to the ring of gasoline surrounding it. it wasn't a shirt in the gas tank, but it works.

"looks familiar, doesn't it?" harry smirked at dominic, who was now on his own two feet. "it was beautiful, dominic. it really was."

dominic stared at the burning vehicle in shock before coming to realization. harry took a few more steps backwards as the fire grew.

"you son of a bitch."

"it wasn't easy." harry shrugged as dominic balled his hands into fists and started walking toward him. "i had a good time. can't say much about him though."

a loud gunshot echoed in the parking lot, then dominic was on his knees.

standing behind them was mitch, weapon pointed down at the man that had collapsed.

"go." the boss said, refusing to look up. "i'll take it from here."

"mitch-"

"go, harry, before i change my mind."

the underboss flinched when a siren blared down the highway, heartbeat picking up. the flames and smoke could be seen from anywhere driving down the road by the club. someone must have called.

dominic laid bleeding on the ground, clutching his stomach. mitch tucked his gun in his jeans.

"what are you waiting for? get the fuck out. you wanted out, so go."

louis climbed into the driver's seat and watched two police officers pull into the front parking lot of the club. he sat frozen in his spot, hands glued to the steering wheel.

he hurriedly unlocked the door and stuck his head out. "what the fuck are you two doing?! get in the fucking car!"

a third and fourth cruiser pull in, plus a fire truck. flashing lights covered one half of the club's exterior, blending in with the bright flames.

harry took a step back, eyes not leaving mitch. "we can still go."

"no, harry. i can't."

"mitch. just get in the fucking car and-"

"i said no!"

harry jumped. "okay, okay."

"go. please."

"you're not taking this one, mitch. you've done enough."

"harry, get in the god damn car," louis hissed. "now."

harry looked down at dominic, taking more steps backwards. he turned and sprinted to the audi.

"there is no way you can drive out of here and not get caught. run," he told louis. "grab your backpack and run."

"but-"

"go, louis. before they see you."

"are you coming?" louis asked softly, eyes then welling up with tears. "please tell me you're coming."

"i'll meet up with you soon."

louis nodded, climbing back in to grab his backpack.

"look at me."

the smaller man sniffled, putting his bag over his shoulders.

"bunny," harry said. "i'll be okay. i promise."

"but-"

"no buts. just trust me."

louis whimpered as he spotted mitch with his hands on his head. "oh fuck."

harry grabbed him by the chin and kissed him. "i love you. so fucking much. i promise i'll be home soon, okay?"

jesus fucking christ. louis could kill him right now.

"go."

louis nodded and climbed out of the car. he wiped his eyes and kissed the underboss again and again before he had to let him go.

he ran to the other side of the building, ducking between cars until he knew he wouldn't be seen. he poked his head around the corner and saw harry on the ground, hands raised just like mitch was moments before.

he wanted to scream for them to let him go. he wanted to scream at harry for allowing himself to get arrested. not only did he set that car on fire but dominic could very well possibly be dead and they're giving themselves up.

it's over.

this is it.

there's really no turning back now.

—-

well... you see, what happened was-

hi. i can't apologize for breaking hearts because i broke mine first. :) i was literally so nervous to post this chapter. i'm still a little iffy on it but here we are. it's not THAT bad...right? just a little overdramatic hehe

thoughts about everything?

was mitch in the right or wrong to try and protect harry like he did, even if he failed for the most part?

was harry in the right to stay behind with mitch and turn himself in?

what do you think is going to happen next?