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"𝙄'𝙈 𝙎𝙊 𝙎𝙄𝘾𝙆 of this shit!" Charlotte snapped, her voice carrying across the once quiet room. 

"What, Charlotte?" Rafe shot back, his voice just as loud. "I'm trying to keep you safe here and you keep fucking me over!"

"You're a fucking douche, Rafe! All you've done is treat my sister and I like shit. I'm not going to stand here and take it anymore." Her voice was even louder now...surely loud enough for someone right outside of their room to hear. 

Rafe smirked, giving Charlotte a quick wink before raising his voice once again. "What the fuck are you going to do about it?"

Charlotte shifted her tone, being sure she was in position before nodding at Kiara who was holding a glass vase. "Rafe, no─DON'T!"

Smash. 

The vase shattered against the wall, thrown by Kiara who promptly positioned herself against the wall closest to the door, hiding herself from immediate view. Rafe stood behind the bathroom door, meanwhile Charlotte sprawled out on the floor, really trying to sell the act. 

The idea for the plan had come to her rather quickly when they realized it was now or never to get the hell out of here.

Lure the guard in, jump him, and get the hell out of this place while they still had the chance to do so. 

She couldn't see from where she was lying, but Charlotte could hear the guard's voice as he entered the room. 

"Hey, you three! What'd you do?"

Evidently, none of them responded. 

His footsteps creaked along the wooden floor as he slowly advanced into the room. Within seconds, he seemed to have spotted Charlotte. 

"What be 'dis?" He whispered, now right outside of the bathroom where the three of them were hidden. 

Charlotte could feel her heart pounding against her chest in anticipation as she waited for the moment she could move. Rafe had only second to make his move. Seconds before their plan was unveiled. 

Luckily, he did just that. 

The sound of the wooden door slamming against something filled the room, the pained grunt from the guard soon following. 

Charlotte scrambled up, shoving Kiara─who had popped out of her hiding spot─behind her as she followed after Rafe and the guard who had stumbled into the bedroom. 

The guard's gun had been discarded on the floor, and without hesitation, Charlotte bent down and scooped it into her already shaking hands. 

The sound of ceramic shattering sounded off once against as Rafe bashed a flower vase over the guard's head, rendering him dazed for a moment. 

Pointing the gun at the guard, Charlotte watched as Rafe drove a knee into his back. "Stay down."

"Don't move." Charlotte ordered, gun still raised as Rafe worked at tying the guard up. 

She couldn't hide the trembling of her hands. The last time she had held a gun was to Limbrey in the air hangar. She had fired the gun that day, the first time she had ever done so. She had been prepared to kill that women if she made a single move to hurt Rafe. 

Charlotte was pretty sure that was the day everything changed for her. Even if she didn't want to admit it. 

So now, holding a gun to another human being wasn't an entirely positive feeling. 

"Big mistake." The guard gritted out as Rafe used one of the sheets to tie his hands behind his back. "You'll regret this."

"Thanks for your concern." Charlotte muttered, a small breath escaping her lips. "We'll let you know how it turns out for us."

"Gimme the phone." Rafe ordered the guard, fumbling to pull the cell phone from the pocket of the guard's uniform. 

He stood, completed securing the sheets around the guard's hands. "Lottie, give me the gun." He prodded, holding out his hand. 

Already uneasy with holding the weapon, Charlotte instantly placed it in Rafe's hands. Kiara's eyes flickered between the two of them, still unconvinced that she could entirely trust her sister's boyfriend. 

Stealing a glance down at the guard, Charlotte nodded toward the open door. "We should go." She declared, her chest tightening with anxiety. This was their first hurdle in escaping, they had many more to go. 

"Yeah." Rafe breathed, taking a step in front of the girls. "Let's go."

The three of them made quick work in exiting the bedroom they had been held captive in, locking the door behind them for good measure. The longer it took that guard to be found, the longer they had to make their escape. 

As they reached the bottom of the staircase, Kiara spoke in a hushed tone. 

"Rafe." She said quietly, to which he ignored her. "Rafe. Rafe. Rafe." His name came out in rushed whispers. 

Both Charlotte and Rafe turned to face her, exasperated expressions on their faces. "What?" Rafe demanded. 

Kiara held out her hand. "Give me the phone."

"Why?" Charlotte challenged, eyes darting around to ensure there were no guards hiding behind the corner. 

Kiara's eyes shifted to Rafe for a moment before settling on her sister. Whatever the reason was, she wasn't going to tell Charlotte with Rafe's prying ears. "Because."

Knowing he had no time to argue, Rafe placed the device in the youngest Carrera's hands. He then looked to Charlotte. "You ready?"

She nodded, standing so closely behind him that her chest was practically pressed to his back. "Yeah." She whispered, fearful of what was on the other side of the door in front of them. 

Wordlessly, Rafe pushed open the door, stepping into the room with the gun ready. 

Thankfully, there were no guards actually in the room, but there were some stationed outside of the exterior door. 

"Damnit." Rafe muttered, head already swivelling to look for an alternative exit. Charlotte was doing the same, taking quiet steps across the room to the next door she could see. 

"Here." She whispered to Rafe who had arrived next to her. "This is our way out."

Rafe quirked a small smile, "Good job." He praised, lightly pushing Charlotte through the threshold before turning. "Kie!" He snapped in a hushed tone. "Let's go."

Kiara was still standing in the middle of the room, staring down at the cellphone. 

"Kiara." Charlotte gritted out, voice constricted with anxiety. "Come on."

"Okay." Kiara snapped back, shoving the phone into her pocket. "I'm coming."

The minute she was with them, Rafe and Charlotte opened the door that led to the outside, quietly stepping onto the porch. 

There were no guards to be seen, but the loud chatter could be heard on their walkie talkies nearby, their own voices carrying from somewhere beyond the fence. 

"Look." Charlotte whispered, peering through the cracks. On the other side of the fence was a supply truck being loaded up, surely headed off the property within in matter of minutes. 

"You see?" Rafe breathed, the pieces of their plan falling into place. 

Slowly, the truck began to roll forward, quickly throwing a wrench into their aforementioned plan. 

"I got an idea." Kiara announced, already hurrying toward the gate. "Come on!"

Both Charlotte and Rafe knew there was no time to argue, and so the two of them took off after Kiara. 

Signh's estate seemed to unfold in front of them as they ran the length of the lawn, doing their best to keep at pace with the supply truck that was barrelling down the dirt road that led out of the property. 

The ragged breath of the three teens seemed to meld together as they pushed themselves to move even faster. 

Charlotte's legs and lungs screamed in opposition as she picked up her pace, knowing that they had to catch the truck...it was likely their only hope of getting out alive. 

"It's slowly down!" Charlotte declared, watching as the truck slowed its speed to take one of the corners. 

"Come on." Rafe encouraged, grabbing onto Charlotte's hand to ensure they weren't separated. 

"Kie, go." Charlotte prodded her sister, wanting to make sure Kiara made it on the truck no matter what. 

Kiara was the first to grab onto the pack of the truck, hoisting herself up. Charlotte and Rafe were close behind her, Rafe helping Charlotte up before ensuring his own safety.

But despite the fact that they had caught up to the truck, they were not in the clear. That was indicative by the man that was sitting in the bed of the truck, staring back at them in alarm. 

He stood, swaying as the truck hit a bump. "No, no, no."

Those were the only words he managed to get out before Rafe had rushed him, driving him into the side of the truck bed. 

Charlotte reached out, pulling her sister toward her as Rafe and the man battled. 

Kiara gripped onto Charlotte's arm, her eyes wide as Rafe delivered a series of hits to the man's face before managing to all but throw him off of the truck bed, sending him plummeting into the ditch below. 

With her breath hitched, Charlotte stared back at Rafe, a mixture of emotions overcoming her. She wasn't sure if she was pissed at Rafe for what he had just done, or thankful that he had just eliminated their chance of being caught. 

Kiara, on the other hand, seemed to know exactly how she felt. She watched Rafe with eyes full of fear, full of fury. 

"What the fuck?" She whispered, voice cracking as she looked over her shoulder at where the man had been. 

Releasing her grip on her sister, Charlotte glanced to Rafe for a moment, quickly sorting out her emotions. "He had to." She defended. "That man would have given us away in a heartbeat. We weren't safe with him on here."

He tried to hide it, but Charlotte swore she saw a flicker of a smile on Rafe's lips. 

"You don't know that." Kiara argued, tearing Charlotte's attention away from Rafe. "He didn't do anything to us."

"Yes, I do." Charlotte shot back. "I know exactly what would have happened."

And she liked to believe she did. 

Her eyes had been opened the past few months...she no longer saw the good in everyone. 

She wasn't quite sure whether that was a good thing, or something she should be scared of. 

─☼☼☼─

They had made it off of the estate unscathed. 

Upon their escape, Rafe had offered Kiara a ride off the island...wherever she wanted to go, under one condition; he wasn't helping Sarah or the other Pogues. 

That sparked an inevitable argument between him and Charlotte, one that neither of them won. They had just given up at some point, both of them dropping the topic with the hopes that the other would give in. 

Charlotte felt like she was being ripped in half. 

She couldn't leave Kiara...but she couldn't leave Rafe either. She promised him she wouldn't, and she liked to believe that she always kept her promises. 

As they arrived at the docks, Charlotte had never been so happy to see that boat of Rafe's. But with that excitement came the dread...the conflict. 

"Make sure your shoes are off!" Rafe called to Kiara as the three of them prepared to board the ship. 

Kiara rose her brows, looking to her sister as if expecting Rafe to be kidding. 

"He's serious." Charlotte muttered, slipping off her own shoes before stepping aboard. 

"Okay, listen." Rafe declared as he began untying the ropes that held the boat to the dock, "We should have enough juice to get to St. Lucia at least."

Charlotte started untying the ropes at the far end, her back turned to her sister and Rafe as she worked. She couldn't see them, nor could she hear them from where she was on the boat. 

Her hands trembled as she attempted to undo the knots, the events of the past twenty four hours seeming to come to a head. 

Admittedly, part of her was almost more anxious of what was to come than what had already happened. 

She had no idea what she was going to do about Rafe and Kiara. No idea how she could avoid losing either of them. She wasn't sure if there was a way. 

The sound of someone behind her caused Charlotte to turn her head slightly. 

But as she did, something hard came in contact with her skull, blurring her vision as she toppled over, her body hitting the boat deck with a thud. 

The last thing she heard was a quiet, "I'm sorry," from an all too familiar voice. 

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