HIRED GUN // H.S AU

fifty-four

AMARA

"Hello, Amara," my mother had a scowl on her face as Harry pushed me behind him, cocking his gun in his hand. I frowned at Harry as he aimed the gun at her, stepping around her so we were out of the elevator. He kept me behind him the whole time, walking backwards to distance us from her.

"Harry, what are you doing!" I hit his back, making Louis shake his head at me as I tried moving past him to see my mother. "What is going on?"

"You disappoint me, Harry," my mother tutted as she stepped towards us, her perfectly manicured nails tapping against her crosses forearms. "You had a job, and you failed."

"What is she talking about?" I sighed in frustration, feeling as if I was left out of the circle once again, for something that most likely concerned me.

"Don't," Harry's tone was warning as he took safety off his gun, raising it to aim at her forehead. I reached out to stop Harry, being pulled back by Zayn before I could even touch him. Zayn's hands kept mine behind my back, my body thrashing in his hold.

"One of my parents is already dead. Don't kill her too," I yelled hysterically, Harry's back muscles tensing as I struggled to escape Zayn's grip.

"Oh, your fathers not dead," my mother laughed, making me snap my head to her. She laughed loudly as I stared at her, wondering if this was the same woman that raised me since I was a baby. "That funeral invitation was fake."

"Where is he?"

"He could be anywhere. He's looking for you, after all," she glared at me from across the room, envy flashing through her features.

"Why are you doing this?" I breathed out, no longer struggling against Zayn. He let me go when he realised I wasn't going to go on a rampage and attack Harry, still keeping me close in case.

"You signed a contract Harry. You agreed to fulfil a task and you failed to do so. You signed it knowing what would happen if you didn't pursue the act," my mother ignored me completely, pointing her finger at Harry angrily. What did she mean? Harry had protected me in more ways than one, he'd cared for me more than she ever had.

"You never said anything about a contract," Louis hissed at Harry, making him shake his head, as if saying 'not now'.

"Oh, he didn't? Wanna tell them what I'm allowed to do, now that you didn't do the task?" My mother smirked at Harry as he shook his head, his finger hovering over the trigger. I wanted to step up and stop him from shooting her, but my body had done the same thing than when I'd found out my father was dead. I completely froze.

"I get the pleasure of killing Harry Styles, because he didn't have the guts to kill her," my mother threw her arm towards me, her wicked smile blinding me as my whole face fell.

"You'll kill her right after you kill me, sign it in writing that you won't harm her once I'm dead," my mouth remained open as I stared at Harry's back, choking on a sob as my knees buckled, my whole body falling down to the floor in a heap. I felt Zayn's hand rest on my shoulder as reassurance that I had somebody by my side.

"Why would I do that? I want her dead," my mother didn't even glance at me as I gasped. My own mother assigned someone to kill me. We never had a close relationship or the usual mother-daughter bond, but I didn't think she'd ever be capable of hating me or wanting me dead.

"Why?" I managed to choke out, blocking out Harry when he twisted his neck to look at me. I didn't want to even look at him. He'd hidden a huge lie from me. It wasn't just a small lie, he was hired to assassinate me.

"Isn't it obvious? You infuriate me! I have lived in your shadow ever since you were born. Your father completely blocked me out once you arrived, and his love for me was replaced by his love for you. I thought the gang was my thing, everybody was afraid of me and paid attention to me. But then you had to go and ruin that too! You took everything from me," my mother ranted, not hesitating to let the words out. Had she felt this way since I was born? Since I was a baby?

"Stop fucking talking," Harry growled at the woman who'd raised me, motioning for Zayn and Louis to back him up. All three now had their guns aiming at the woman, fear glinting in her irises so quick I barely noticed. "You can shoot one bullet, but you'll have three in your head the second you do."

"I'll take the chances," she smirked as her gun switched from Harry to me, my ears ringing when a piercing bang shot through the air. I gasped as my body collided with the ground, Zayn's heavy body falling on top of me. My heart dropped as I lifted my hands from under Zayn, red staining them.

"No," I choked out, watching Louis pull Zayn's body off mine. I breathed heavily as I looked at Zayn's motionless body, my eyes falling to the floor where his gun laid. I sucked in a breath as I hurriedly picked up the object, biting back tears.

I flicked my head to where my mother previously stood, her figure now gone from the spot. My heartbeat quickened in my chest as I looked at the elevator, seeing her wave at me as the doors closed.

"Your time will come," she mouthed to me, the doors closing her in. I heard Harry scream at me as I bolted to the stairs with the gun between my hands, jumping down multiple stairs at once. I hid my surprise when I hit the last step, my mothers frame only now stepping out of the lobby.

I fast walked behind her, making sure I wasn't too loud. I followed her as she turned into an alleyway, turning around with a smile on her face.

"I knew you'd follow me," she circled me as she spoke, stopping in front of me. Her hand lifted to rest on my cheek, my face twisting into a scowl as she rubbed her thumb under my eye. "You're weak."

"You're a monster," I lifted the pistol, resting it on her chest. My hands shook as my finger rested over the trigger, gritting my teeth when she cackled, her chest shaking as the gun pressed further into her sternum.

"You won't kill me," her hand dropped from my face, her head dropping to look at my shaky hands gripping onto the pistol. My knuckles had turned to a ghostly white from holding the gun tightly, my face reddening as I took in her words. She was right, I couldn't kill her. I was better than her.

"You're right, I don't kill family," I lowered the gun as anger flashed across her face, throwing the gun to her feet as I stepped back. I nodded to the gun as she looked down at it. "Go on."

"I have big plans for you, it's not over yet," she kicked the gun to the side with her boot, slowly walking backwards out of the alley. My eyes watered as she walked out, disappearing from my sight completely.