Under Cover

“When are we going to do something about my dad, Harry? It’s been months.” I complained as I got in the car with him.

“First of all, it’s only been six weeks since we found out he was alive. These things take time, Charlie. We still have no idea how many men are surrounding him at a time and we can’t make a plan to get him out if we don’t know where he is. You know how much they change their position. We need to do this carefully otherwise we could get killed ourselves. In the meantime we have a job to do.” he said.

I sighed deeply, obviously not liking the idea of leaving him with those monsters but I knew he was right. We would be risking so much by trying to run in right now and save him without knowing what we were up against. Not being able to do anything about it was killing me and I was so scared that when we were finally able to put a plan together it would be too late.

“Hey. Look at me.”

Harry turned my chin so I was facing him and cupped my cheek with his hand.

“We’re going to get him out of this. I promise.” He said softly.

I tilted my head into his hand and nodded slightly, allowing him to pull me in and place a soft kiss on my lips.

“Thank you.” I murmured, giving him a soft smile.

Harry was the only one keeping me sane at this point and I was so thankful to have him. He had been close to my father as well so he was just as motivated to find him and I knew that I could trust him to keep it between us until we could figure out who else we needed to bring into the loop. I had been considering telling Jensen, but I also didn’t want to drag him into this when he had a family of his own to worry about. I couldn’t risk putting them in danger.

“So I was thinking we could go on a date tonight. What do you think?” Harry asked, snapping me out of my thoughts. “I mean we haven’t actually been on a date yet and we’ve been together for about a month and a half now.”

“We never have time for dates.” I told him.

“We’ll make time. We can put our secret investigation on hold for a night. He’s not going anywhere and he would want you to have at least some sort of normal life.” he said to me.

As much as I wanted to argue with him I knew he was right. We both needed a break from work and our search for my father. Maybe a night out would be good for us.

“Alright. Let’s go on a date then.” I smiled softly.

Later that night I pulled out the red dress I had yet to wear even though I bought it over a year ago. It was odd to think that I hadn’t been on a date since the early academy days when I was with Dylan. Even then I don’t think we ever went on a proper date. It was more like us sneaking out late at night or into each other’s rooms to make out or get laid. It was definitely a bit nerve racking going out with Harry now, especially when I was quickly falling for him.

After doing minimal makeup and some red lipstick I pulled my the top half of my hair back and in a small loose ponytail to keep it out of my face then slipped on the black heels I once again rarely wore. I gave myself one last look in the mirror then headed downstairs to meet Harry outside, having heard him come in a few minutes ago while I was finishing up.

He looked up from the bouquet of roses that he held in his hands, smiling up at me which made me blush a little. Even more so as he kissed my cheek sweetly, handing over the flowers that he got me.

“These are beautiful, Haz. Thank you.” I smiled softly, placing them in a vase before I returned to his side.

“Ready to go?” He asked with a grin.

I smiled and nodded, taking his hand as we got in his car then drove to the restaurant that he decided to take me to. Although I assured him I didn’t need to be spoiled with more expensive things he insisted on taking me to one of the suit and tie type of restaurants in town. It was a nice change from what I was used to, but I also didn’t expect this to happen all the time. Especially on a cop’s salary. He ordered us some wine which I had never heard of then helped me decide what to eat because the language on the menu was so foreign to me. He got quite the kick out of my confusion, but I just playfully rolled my eyes.

“This is why I don’t come to places like this.” I said with a soft laugh.

“I don’t usually come to places like this either, but I figured after all we’ve been through we can spoil ourselves and try it out a bit. I mean it's worth going to once right?” He chuckled.

“I suppose that’s true… but if we don’t like it we’re hitting up the closest McDonald’s for some nuggets.”

“Deal.”

We smiled at each other and I played with his fingers while we held hands over the table, not really having much to talk about besides work. This was supposed to be a break from that, but I guess with both of us being married to our work it was a hard habit to break away from.

“I just think it’s worth trying out. What if we could get in? We could find my dad and finally bring him home.” I said as I took a break from eating my food to look at Harry.

“It’s too dangerous and you know it. Even if we did break your dad out we would still have the entire Irish Mob to deal with. They would never let him live even if we got him out safe. They would hunt him down until he really was dead and then we would be right back where we started. We need enough evidence to put them away for good before we even attempt to break your dad out. He knows that and I bet that’s why he hasn’t tried to escape yet. I’ve seen how your dad works and he’s perfectly capable of doing that if it were possible.” He said.

Of course he was the more logical thinker between the two of us and it annoyed me to no end because I knew he was right. It wasn’t that simple. We had to figure out a way to bust them for something that’s bad enough to put them away for life. In order to do that we needed almost airtight evidence to prove that which could take who knows how long.

“We can figure something out. Fake an arms deal or something. I can’t stand the thought of him being alive and having to work with them. Especially with my mum the way she is. Pretty soon she isn’t going to remember him at all. She barely talks about him anymore which means she’s forgetting. We have to at least try, Harry.”

He let out a deep sigh and shook his head, rubbing his face slightly.

“I’ll think about it.. I still think we should bring Jensen into this. We can trust him.” Harry added.

“I know we could trust him, but don’t you think I would have brought him in a long time ago if I thought it was a good idea? He’s got a family, Harry. I can’t put them at risk. Not when he’s done so much for me and my family.” I shook my head, refusing to drag him into something as dangerous as this.

“We’ll talk more about this later.” Harry said as he sat back in his chair to finish off his wine.

I sighed softly and nodded, deciding not to talk about that subject anymore.

“Enough about my family. I never hear you talk about yours. I barely even know your interests besides work and the good older music.” I said as I looked at him.

“Well. I grew up in Holmes Chapel, obviously. You knew that. My parents divorced when I was seven but both of them remarried great people and I have a few step siblings and my sister, Gemma. Robin, the man my mum married, was a great man. He was so good to her but unfortunately he died when I was in my early twenties so my mum has kind of just been dating around lately. It’s fine I guess, but I don’t trust half the men she goes out with. They aren’t good enough for her.” He furrowed his brows and I giggled softly.

“You’re so cute. You’re a total mummy’s boy aren’t you? I can tell by the way you talk about her.” I smiled softly, seeing a blush form on his cheeks.

“She’s been asking about meeting you, you know… My mum. She wants to see you when she comes to visit this weekend.” He said.

“This weekend? Why didn’t you tell me? I would love to meet her and your sister, Harry.” I said. “Unless you don’t want me to meet them?”

“No, no. Of course I want you to meet her. I’m just a little nervous I guess. You’re the first girl I’ve dated that I actually introduced to her.” He said as he messed with his glass a bit.

I smiled over at him, finding him to be completely adorable. I felt like such a lucky girl to have a man like him in my life, especially now that there was so much sadness and complicated situations. Before I could help myself I grabbed onto his hand that I had been holding and tugged him closer until I was finally close enough to plant a kiss on his lips. He seemed to relax under my touch as I brought my free hand up to his cheek to keep him close for a moment longer.

“You’re too good to me, Harry Styles. Some days I wonder if I even deserve you.” I said softly.

“You do deserve a good person in your life, Charlie. One who can take care of you and help you carry the burden you’ve been carrying on your own for so long.” He murmured.

I smiled at him and pecked his lips once more, pulling back as our food finally arrived. We enjoyed our nice dinner and finally began talking about things other than work, which was surprising but also amazing. It was the first decent time I’ve had in a long while and for once I actually had fun.

By the end of the night we were just in a happy place and couldn’t seem to keep out hands off each other. Clothes were thrown around the house as we stumbled upstairs to the bedroom and it didn’t take long for us to become tangled up in each other’s arms. The night ended in pure bliss and I got the best night's sleep I’ve had in years since my father’s disappearance. It wasn’t just because we slept together… but because for the first time I finally got a glimpse of what it would be like to be happy with someone.

We decided to put our secret case on hold for the next few days, mostly preparing to meet his mum and sister for the weekend. Harry had told me that they were both pretty excited to meet me, but it didn’t stop the nerves from bubbling up in my stomach when it came to the day of the meeting. We had been working on lunch together as we waited for them to arrive and when the doorbell finally rang I felt sick to my stomach.

I hung back in the kitchen for a moment, taking a deep breath before finally joining Harry in the entryway. Before me stood a beautiful woman with brown hair and green eyes who closely resembled Harry. I could definitely tell just from one look that he got his looks from her. Behind her was a younger, but similar looking woman who I assumed was his sister Gemma. She was beautiful as well and I could already tell by the way that she was interacting with Harry that she was a good sister.

“Mum, Gem… This is Charlie. My girlfriend.” Harry introduced as he stepped aside to let them see me properly.

“Hi. It’s nice to finally meet you both.” I said politely as I stepped forwards to hold my hand out for them, but instead of a handshake I was surprised with a hug from his mother.

“We hug in this family, dear. Look at you. You’re so beautiful and you look so much like your mum.” She said with a smile as she cupped my cheeks.

“You know my mum?” I asked with my brows furrowed.
“Yes. I actually went to college with her before your family moved here to London.” she smiled.

“That's a crazy coincidence. I'm glad to know you two were friends though.” I smiled softly then let them in so we could talk some more.

She told me all about my mum in college and stories about her and my dad that I never knew about. It was nice hearing about them because I could never get them out of my mother now when she barely remembered she had a daughter.

“I'd like to go visit her tomorrow if that's okay with you. I tried to go yesterday but they said only family can visit unless I have permission.” she said.

“Of course. I was going to go see her tomorrow morning if you want to come. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you. I can't guarantee that she'll remember you though. Things seem to be slipping away from her more and more each time I go.” I sighed softly and messed with my necklace that she gave me when she first started to forget and got diagnosed.

Anne reached over to grab onto my hand, giving it a small squeeze.

“I'm sure it’s been hard on you. My grandmother had dementia so I sort of understand what you’re going through. She used to believe I was some sort of spy coming to kill her.” She laughed slightly, but I could tell it still pained her.

“Does it ever get easier?” I asked with a slight laugh, eyes watering a little as I looked at her.

“It does… The worst part is finally letting go and there will be a split moment of relief which will make you feel guilty, but you'll know she’ll finally be at peace once she passes.” She said softly.

I nodded and wiped my eyes then excused myself to get some more tea. It wasn’t long until I felt Harry’s arms around me and I turned to hug him slightly, allowing him to comfort me which was something I hadn’t let anyone do since my father disappeared. He was slowly breaking down my walls and giving me a chance to trust people again, but I knew I still had a little ways to go yet before I would be completely healed from everything I've been through.

“You okay?” he asked as he pulled back to cup my cheeks.

“Yeah, I'll be fine. It’s just kinda hard to deal with and I feel sort of relieved knowing I finally have someone I can talk about this stuff with who understands. I mean, I know I can talk to you about a lot, but this is something you'll never understand until it happens to you.”

He nodded and placed a soft kiss on my forehead, thankfully deciding to drop the subject as he helped me prepare the tea and bring it in to fill up everyones cup. The rest of the night went fantastic and I grew to really like Harry’s sister, Gemma. She was so straight forward and strong. I could already tell that she was someone that I would look up to in the future once we got to know each other more. Not to mention the fact that she told me all the best stories about Harry’s childhood which made him red in the face from embarrassment.

When they finally turned in for the night and went back to stay at Harry’s place I looked over at him with a content smile on my face. I was so in love with this man and it both excited and terrified me. He raised a brow as he paused from straightening up the living room of my parents house to look at me.

“What?” he asked.

“C’mere.” I murmured, pulling him over so I could wrap my arms around his neck and place a kiss on his lips.

“What was that for?” he asked with a smile. “Not that I'm complaining one bit.”

“You’re amazing. You know that?” I smiled and pulled him in for another kiss.

This time it was much deeper and more passionate than the last. He lifted me up to wrap my legs around his waist as he carried me upstairs to the bedroom where clothes were thrown off, leaving us both in a breathless mess once we finished.

We laid in bed together for a little while until I finally drifted off, but not before hearing a soft whisper coming from him that made my heart flutter.

“I love you, Charlie.”

Notes

Sorry it's taken so long for me to update. I lost inspiration for a while, but I have a few ideas for this story now. Just working on writing them so look out for the next few chapters in the coming week or two.