Stolen Love (A Cartel Romance)

13

Harley's POV

"Harley." A voice said, followed by a hand shaking me lightly. My eyes slowly opened with a yawn as I looked up to the see the owner of the voice. It was Sir bent down to my level and looking at me. It appeared that he had been sitting there for a while.

"You look tired." He commented as he pushed himself up from the position he was in. I know I looked horrible, but I'm sure that was just his nice way of saying I look like shit. He slowly started walking to his desk with a file in his hand. It had to be the one that Evan took. It was labeled with the same flowers I put on all the other important files. However, he didn't look content at all, even though it was recovered.

"I-Is that the lost file?" I asked. I pulled my legs off the sitting area and stood up. My legs hurt because of the way I fell asleep. My shoulders ached as well since I did pass out on hardwood without any cushion.

"Yes." Is all he said. I couldn't tell if he was aggravated or just tired. "Are you sure that's the right one?" I asked pointlessly.

"Yes, Harley. I can tell by the ridiculously drawn flowers you labeled them with." he spat. My mouth turned into a slight smile as the words left his mouth. I wasn't offended by his comment but more so amused and wanted to laugh at his words but there was no way I could do that in front of him. It true that they were drawn ridiculously. I wasn't much of a artist at all.

"Why are you smiling?" He said. I hadn't even noticed he was looking at me. The entire time I thought I was grinning internally. My smile was a mixture of his humorous words and the way he says my name. Forceful yet gentle.

"N-nothing." I shook my head and straightened my face to blank look the best I could.

"You do have a lovely smile, Harley." he paused between his sentence before saying my name. My eyes snapped to his face when the words left his mouth. I tried to convince myself I didn't hear him correctly but I know I did. My stomach fizzled with an unfamiliar feeling. "Well, you should go get some rest. Henry will come to get you in a couple of hours." He followed. He was now leaning against the corner of his desk and continuously running a hand through his hair. As he stroked through his hair, I finally noticed the dark crimson marks all over his knuckles, along with drops of black dried blood on his forearm. Not to mention he was all stretched out, and his shirt looked see-through and soaked with sweat, so all his muscles visible through his clothes. Swiftly my eyes shifted to the small splatters of dried black, reddish blood on the cuffs as well.

I didn't even want to think about what happened to Evan after Sir found him. He wasn't the kind of man that would brush something like this off at all. He didn't look like he knew seconds chances or gave seconds chances. Still, I was ashamed to admit that I felt worse for sir than Evan at this very moment.

"L-let me clean your wounds. T-they could get infected." I shifted my gaze away from his face. I didn't want to see his face before he said something harsh to me. It stayed silent for longer than I would've liked before he spoke.

"There is a first aid kit in that cabinet over there." He answered, motioning to a long armoire in the corner of the room. I nodded and walked over to it quickly without a word and brought the kit towards him. It was brand new and had never been opened. With this being a cartel and him being the boss, I would think it'd be at least opened.

"I guess you don't get hurt often." I said, slowly opening it and examining the content in the case.

"It's not that." he spoke as he watched me place the case on the desk in front of him and bend down slowly so I could better reach his hands. The position we were in looked anything but professional. Nevertheless, I tried to ignore it and proceeded to pull out all the supplies I'd need. "It happens frequently. I've just never had anyone care for my injuries before." He said calmly as he watched me take his hand in mine. His hands were warm and rough and rigid, with scars and marks scatters on them. His veins bulged out easily. After he told me those words, I looked up at him to see his reaction, but of course, his face remained emotionless. I guess sir was more lonely than I thought. It was just hard to believe since the estate was full of people, men, and women. I never realized that he has a lonely job at the end of the day.

"Well, I'm here now." I smile to try and lighten the gloomy mood. "I'll take care of your injuries as long as I'm around." I said confidently. But I instantly regretted my words as they came out. I sounded too compliant and accepting of these circumstances. He didn't say anything after, making me feel slight embarrassment for saying such things. He simply watched as I pulled an alcohol soaked wipe out of its package and ran it over his open wounds. I hissed internally, thinking about how much the alcohol must sting on his injuries. To no avail because he didn't so much as twist his face in pain. His face remained calm and blank. Some of the wounds were so deep I thought I could see his bone. Evan must've got beat to death at this point. "S-sir." I said, still wiping.

"Yes."

"What happened to Evan?" I asked.

"Does it matter?" He replied. I expected a response like that.

"I just didn't mean for anyone to get hurt o-over me." I nodded, trying to comfort myself.

"Were you friends with Evan?" He asked suddenly.

"W-No, not really." I picked my head up to look at him.

"Did you Fuck Evan?" My forehead frowned in confusion.

"Of course not."

Did you love Evan?" He repeated the same pattern.

"No, but what does-" I began but was interrupted.

"So why do you care about what happened to the man that fucked you over and me over." He said softly, but his words were meant to be harsh. I guess he was right, but that didn't make me feel any better. In fact, it made me feel worse. Now I know that the boss doesn't care in the slightest bit who he kills, and I have to work for him for who knows how long. He could mercilessly kill me whenever he wanted and not care. Henry assured me he wouldn't, but I took his words like a grain of salt.

"I don't know," I replied, completely speechless.

"You'll learn what I mean, Harley."

"Yes, sir," I mumbled. I didn't know why he said that or what he meant by that, but I knew better than to ask more questions right now.  I moved my small hand from under his large one and picked up a couple of band aids from the case along with an ointment. With his gaze on me the entire time, I felt my body sweat and nervousness fill my stomach. I softly rubbed the ointment on and peeled the bandaids back and patted it on.

"A-All done," I said before senselessly rubbing the spot I had just covered lightly. Trying to extinguish the tension I had just created I quickly got up and put away all the supplies I used into the case. Still the bosses eyes followed me with every move I made.

"Thank you." I heard him say behind me.

"No problem." I whispered but loud enough for him to hear.

"Now go get some rest." I heard him getting up and walking towards me. "I'll see you later on." My back still turned away from him.

"Okay," I nodded. With that, I took my leave towards the door.

"And Harley-" He spoke again, making me turn to look at him.

"Don't talk about Evan ever again...to anyone." I watched while he stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. "Do you understand?" He asked.

"Y-yes, I do." I replied. Without waiting for him to speak again, I quickly exited the room. The tension he had just created within a couple of seconds was overbearing. Evan stole an important file from sir but it had to be more than that. The more time I spend with sir, the more I learn about what goes on in this place. I might not completely understand everything, like why Daniel Miller is involved or why Evan stole that file, but I know more than others. The difference is I know Mr. Miller, and I was aware of Evan, so these things will continue to meddle in my mind. My curiosity will continue to grow despite everything telling me not to let it. I need to know more. I need to know why Evan was tortured or killed, What was in that file and why Daniel Miller is a part.
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HI HI HI!!! We got some sparks kind of flying between Harley and Xander. They are small sparks, but it's a start. Harley is frustrated with the fact that she can't know more about what's going on. What lengths will she go to learn more about Daniel Miller's involvement????

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