The Snake

Chapter 2: Threats, Promises, and Messages

Harry

Valentina called me with a place and time to meet just three days after the day in the parking lot. She was leaving with Zayn and Louis for Colombia for a week and requested we meet at her plane hangar so she could hand over Javier. We didn't have any kind of plan for him, we mostly just wanted to use him as leverage in case anything went sideways with her. Handing over a top-earner would be her biggest gesture of good faith. And hopefully it would get Niall's head out of his ass, because if he ruins this deal then an angry queenpin would be the least of our problems.

They were late, though. And part of me was worried they wouldn't show at all. Until I saw an all black car approaching the building.

The all-black G-Wagon pulled into the hangar with a screech. I could see Zayn behind the wheel and Louis in the passenger seat through the windshield as the car curved to park facing slightly away from the open hangar door. The rest of the windows were tinted so dark you couldn't see anything or anyone else. Niall, Liam, and I had been waiting for a few minutes. I could tell they were annoyed with having to wait, but this was her territory, so we played by her rules.

Zayn and Louis stepped out. Zayn turned to open the back door behind his as Louis opened the trunk and took out a large cooler-style box. I saw a leg dressed in red straight leg dress pants step out. Pointed black heels with a distinct red bottom clicked as they made contact with the slick cement ground.

She stepped out and looked back at Louis with an arch of her eyebrow. He nodded curtly. They all turned to walk towards us, and I heard a low whistle come from one of the guys behind me. "Damn," Liam breathed.

Valentina walked with one hand in her pocket. The other unbuttoned her expensive looking red blazer that matched her pants. Under it, she wore a bodysuit. It was black lace, and you could see her caramel skin through it. With the same hand, she pulled the sunglasses off her face and handed them to Zayn, who stood to her right. He tucked them in his leather jacket pocket.

She wore red lipstick the same shade as her suit. Her long black hair was pin straight, and her expression was blank and hard to read. Her heels clicked on the ground followed closely by the equally scary men flanking her. I found myself mesmerized by her fashion sense. I wondered how she made such a statement without even saying anything at all. I looked down at my plain, loosely buttoned black shirt and jeans and felt so plain in comparison.

"She looks like she's made of money. Jesus," Niall whispered. I agreed with him completely. She just looked like money. She looked like she inherited a drug cartel from her father and ran it flawlessly while looking amazing. It made me hate her even more.

"Valentina," I clipped when she stopped about six feet in front of me. She ran her tongue along her top teeth and faked a tight smile, "Harry."

"Do you have what I asked for?"

She chuckled, "You know when I was a little girl, my father taught me that loyalty was the most admirable trait a person could have."

I nodded, not hearing an answer to my question.

"He taught me that showing a sign of loyalty is a way to gain respect. Proving you're loyal to your people, both personally and professionally, makes for lasting relationships. Do you agree?"

I nodded, tucking my hands in my pants pockets, "Yeah, I guess." I decided to play along, but my already non-existent patience was wearing thin.

Her accent was very faint. You could barely pick up on it, but it poked through every now and then. "And your men, they're loyal to you, no?" She gestured to Niall and Liam with a jut of her chin.