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Pansy has had moments of insanity and impulsiveness, but she believed this took the cake.
“This is not my Harry!” Astoria repeated. Her voice sounded muffled, as if she were inside a deep cave.
Pansy twisted her head to stare at her. She wondered if killing Astoria would be tantamount to self-defence. Pansy looked at the beautiful man in the white t-shirt and the green overalls tied to the chair. She wanted to make sure he was breathing. She put a finger under his nose and was relieved when she felt his warm breath.
Pansy’s chest tightened. In hindsight, she should have known the plan was doomed - colossally stupid and fucking insane. They were fucked! They had no one to blame but themselves.
“You told me he frequents the coffee shop at night like clockwork and is the last customer.”
Astoria’s face had a sheepish expression.
“Well, that’s true, but this is not Harry. This must be someone else.”
“You told me you confirmed he would come to the coffee shop,” Pansy’s voice raised an octave higher.
Astoria took a step back as if she wanted out of harm’s way.
“Well.. I might have fibbed a little..” Astoria took another step back.
“I assumed he would be there!”
Assumed? Assumed?!
Pansy felt heat travel through her body. Her heart thundered with adrenaline and anger. She was going to kill her. She pictured herself in front of a judge, in an orange jumpsuit.
Your Honour, she made me do it. Her kind of insane shouldn’t be allowed to live!
Astoria leaned down to peer at the man’s face. She straightened and shrugged her shoulders as if she didn’t know him. Pansy felt the beginnings of a headache. She rubbed her forehead while her thoughts raced.
She should have at least got a photograph of Harry instead of going half-cocked based only on Astoria’s assurance.
Pansy turned to face Daphne and Theo, who had entered the garage. Theo must have noticed the tension; he looked at her questioningly.
“What’s wrong?” Daphne asked Pansy warily.
“Apparently THIS. IS. NOT. HARRY!”
Daphne flinched. Theo gaped at Astoria in what must have been disbelief.
“Is he alive?” Daphne looked nauseous.
“Of course he is. He’s just unconscious.” Pansy snapped.
Theo looked at Astoria and shook his head.
“Who did we even kidnap?”
“I do not know,” Pansy whisper-screamed. The whole mess was because of Astoria’s idea. Pansy rued the moment she agreed to do Tori’s bidding. Tori used the biggest weapon in her arsenal - tears. She was always an unsuspecting fool for her tears.
“So what was the plan? Kidnap Harry and then what? Threaten him?” Theo asked, deadpan.
Astoria huffed and looked at her nails nonchalantly.
“Well, what do we do now? Keep him back?” Daphne asked.
“Keep him back? We didn’t get him off the rack at Nordstrom’s. It’s a human being, Daph,” Pansy said with clenched teeth. Pansy was going to lose it. She might kill them all finally.
Pansy, who was deep in the throes of her own despair and anger, had failed to notice that someone else had joined them.
“What’s happening? What’s wrong?”
Draco looked half-asleep.
Pansy got startled by Draco’s voice. She felt like a kid who got caught with her hand in the cookie jar. They all waited for Pansy to speak. She looked at the ceiling and sighed.
“Nothing, we were…”
“Who is that?” Draco interrupted her. He stared at the stranger, who was tied to the chair.
“Well, it’s a long story.”
“I think we have time,” Draco said unimpressed.
Draco’s face slowly paled in what might have been realisation or horror. He looked close to hyperventilating. Pansy wondered if she should offer him a chair.
“Please don’t tell me you kidnapped someone!”
Pansy held her palms up as if to placate him.
“You see, Tori was seeing this guy Harry, and he broke up with her over a misunderstanding. He was refusing to meet her, so she wanted a little time to talk to him. So we thought we might make a conducive environment for that.”
Pansy didn’t need to see Draco’s face to realise how absurd it sounded. It was not just stupid, but it was obsessive and stalker-ish. In her defence she was juggling way too much these last few months to notice how odd it was.
Their exile took a toll on them. The only way they left Chicago alive was if they agreed never to set foot there. So they had to say goodbye to whatever family they had left and start over somewhere else. They were at the mercy of yet another Mafia family in New York. But beggars couldn’t be choosers, and they needed the protection. Draco was their de facto leader, the one who took care of everything. At least they were not destitute yet. The off- shore Cayman Islands accounts and the jewellery became useful.
Draco just shook his head. He turned to Astoria.
“Tori… you better tell me what you are hiding.”
Astoria slightly backed away. Pansy knew there was more, and whatever it was, no good.
“I… Harry is not my boyfriend. He… It was a one-night stand.”
Pansy shook her head as if she hadn’t just heard that. She should have pressed for more information before jumping the gun. She had just committed a felony and was going to jail.
Pansy tuned them out. Draco was laying it on Astoria, and she looked close to tears. It was pointless; they needed to figure something out.
“Do we kill him or something?” Theo asked.
“NO,” Draco and Pansy simultaneously whispered.
“I think it’s fair I’m given an opportunity to plead for my life before you all murder me,” a deep voice murmured amused. They all turned to face the voice.
Pansy felt a shiver run through her spine at that baritone. Pansy always had a weakness for voices. The deeper it was, the more it affected her.
“We can explain…” Draco began.
“I've heard enough. You were going to kidnap Harry to force him to be with your friend.”
“It’s not like that,” Pansy tried defending, even though it was exactly that.
“It’s not?” He questioned silkily. Pansy felt her breath hitch at the intensity of his eyes. He was so beautiful with the brown hair, greenish-hazel eyes and square face. His nose accentuated his natural pout. He was sporting a two-day stubble. He was all man – the kind of man that made Pansy weak in her knees.
Pansy looked away without answering.
“Why don’t we reach an agreement? You let me go, and we'll forget this ever happened.”
“What guarantee is there that you will keep your word?” Draco questioned.
“You’ll have to trust me,” he replied calmly.
Draco gestured to Pansy to follow him. Draco wordlessly signalled to the rest to wait with the guy.
“Pans, he knows the guy Astoria slept with. We can take a chance. Right now, I don’t want to make waves. We have to lie low until we meet the Irish. Letting him go makes sense.”
“Yeah… Okay,” Pansy agreed with his assessment, so she didn’t put up a fight.
Draco and Pansy walked back.
“Okay. It’s a deal. We will let you go, and we will forget this ever happened.”
The man nodded.
“I can untie….” The man broke the ropes and got up before Pansy even completed her sentence. She took a sharp breath.
“One more thing. I also need a favour that I will collect later.”
Draco’s brows furrowed in anger, and he started to protest. But Pansy interrupted.
“Okay.” Pansy was not sure why she agreed. Maybe she wanted to see him again.
“It was nice doing business with you.” The man shook Draco’s hand and smirked.
“I assume someone will take me back?”
Draco looked at Pansy. She nodded.
“Please come with me.” The man followed her without a word. She went to her bike parked outside. She gave him an extra helmet. He raised an eyebrow but accepted it without a fight.
“Where to?”
“The coffee shop works.”
Pansy nodded and hopped onto her bike. The man got in behind her.
“Hold on,” Pansy murmured, started the bike and rode away.
She felt him at her back; his hardness nestled against her softness, the vibrations of the bike and the high of the ride sent desire thrumming through her body. He clasped his hands tightly against her stomach. She felt the roughness of his palms through her thin tank top. She wanted him.
She didn’t even know his name. His quiet strength and self-assured demeanour pushed all her buttons. For all she knew, he might be a mass murderer. But she wanted him. She wondered whether he felt the same.
His hands tightened against her torso and pulled her closer to him when she took a sharp turn. She stifled a moan and wondered if she had heard an answering chuckle.
Pansy stopped the bike in the alley next to the cafe. He hopped down and removed his helmet. Pansy too followed. His eyes traced her face as if he were committing it to his memory.
“Thank you, Ms….”
“You can call me Pansy,” she replied reluctantly.
“I will collect that favour soon, Ms Pansy…”
She didn’t know what to reply. So she merely nodded.
“May I know your name?”
“You can call me Nev…”
He started to turn back but stopped.
“Oh… one day soon you will have to tell me how you kidnapped me.”
He walked away without looking back. Pansy watched him leave. Once he was gone, she started her bike and rode back. She still had to kill Astoria.
»»————- ♔ ————-««
Pansy fixed the masquerade mask and picked up a glass of champagne from the tray passing by. She took a sip and sneaked out to the balcony. There was a slight chill in the air. She heard a faint sound of music coming from the closed door. The entire party was opulent and reeked of wealth.
Draco warned everyone to be on their best behaviour. It was their first official meeting with the mafia family that controlled the city. They were going to meet ‘the boss’.
Pansy was tired of all the pandering. She hated what would be expected of her. She knew she would agree to whatever they wanted, anything to protect her family.
She leaned against the railing and looked at the garden. The scent of roses and jasmine assaulted her senses. She was deep in her thoughts and didn’t notice she was not alone. A jacket was draped over her shoulder, she opened her mouth to thank them, thinking it was Theo or Draco, but the scent of sandalwood stopped her. She realised it was a stranger.
She turned to face whoever it was and became silent. It was Nev. His masquerade mask dangled from his fingers while he watched her with an unreadable expression.
“Ms Pansy…” He said her name by way of greeting. His deep baritone left a tingle down her body.
It was Nev, in a black tailor-made fitted tux. She felt warmth pool in her stomach. She did not know why she was so affected by him. It defied logic.
“What are you doing here?” Pansy asked instead of answering.
He smirked in answer. He took a step closer to her. Pansy took a step back. He took one more step; she stepped back and hit the wall. Nev gave her a wicked smile. Pansy would have melted into a puddle if it were not for her sheer determination.
“I know someone who knows someone.”
Pansy stared at him as if she didn’t understand. He cocked his head, and she realised it was the answer to her question. She nodded and drank the champagne in a big gulp. A drop of champagne dribbled down the side of her lip. Nev caught it with his thumb and sucked on it. Pansy stifled a groan. A part of her wondered about the wisdom of what she was about to do, but she needed to know if he kissed as equally calm and collected as he looked. She kept the glass on the railing and pulled him closer by the lapels of his jacket.
She leaned up and stopped a breath from his lips, as if asking for permission. Nev crossed the distance and captured her lips with his. The first touch was like an explosion of fireworks. Nev kissed and nibbled on her lips slowly, deliberately and unhurriedly. It was almost as if he was studying her. He gently nipped her lower lip, and she opened her lips. His tongue swiped hers as if to say hello.
His hand that was at her hip, travelled to her hair, grabbed it and tilted her head for better access. Their tongues duelled for dominance. They nipped, sucked and kissed as if they were starving. Pansy wanted more. Nev caressed her thigh and moved in between her legs as he hoisted her legs around his hips. They continued kissing until the sound of a phone ringing broke the trance.
Nev slowly disengaged himself from her. He pressed his forehead against her. They both were panting. Pansy’s eyes were closed.
“Fuck!” he swore.
“I need to go.” His face filled with remorse. His thumb caressed her lower lip. She opened her mouth and sucked the digit in.
Nev stifled a groan. “Brat.” His eyes smouldered.
“I have to go…” Nev murmured and turned to leave but stopped. His eyes traced her face and murmured.
“Until next time…”
It sounded like a promise and not a farewell. Pansy watched him leave with so many feelings coursing through her.
When Draco found her, she was still leaning against the wall.
“Pans, let’s go. It’s time.”
Pansy shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and followed him. Draco, Theo, Blaise, Astoria, Daphne and Pansy climbed the stairs and reached a corridor that was manned by guards. A tall, redheaded man met them and gestured for them to follow him.
They walked ahead silently. They reached a big double-oak door that again had armed guards standing at the entrance. The doors opened, and they all entered a vast library. There were shelves and shelves of books all around. Pansy noticed a table at the back of the room. Someone was sitting on a chair. He was flanked by people on either side.
Astoria stared at a green-eyed man with brown hair and specs in shock. Pansy saw her whisper soundlessly — Harry. Pansy felt almost afraid to look at the man sitting at the desk. She heard a collective intake of breath at the sight of the man.
Pansy stared at the man she had met a few minutes ago, the man who kissed her senseless and left her a panting, mindless puddle, the man who disarmed with a single glance.
“Welcome. I’m Neville Longbottom. I believe you wanted to see me.”