─☼☼☼─

─𝙅𝙅─

𝙃𝙀𝘼𝙏 𝙎𝙒𝘼𝙍𝙈𝙀𝘿 𝙏𝙃𝙀𝙈 in the small plane, and Kiara's head pressed against this shoulder did nothing to relieve the sweltering temperature. But he didn't have the heart to move her. She breathed softly, finally giving into the exhaustion of the past day as JJ drank in her features, still a bit taken aback by what had happened in the cabin.

Kie loved him, and he loved Kie...right?

Subconsciously, he felt his eyes drifting toward the wrong Carrera sister.

Charlotte sat across the aisle, her back pressed against the wall of the plane as she played with the ends of her hair. She had barely spoken a word since they had left Kitty Hawk. She was more than thrilled to have her sister back, but something was bothering her.

Selfishly, JJ hoped it had something to do with him, and for that he felt like the biggest dick on the planet. He couldn't have both sister. He'd made his choice and it was Kiara...or had the choice been made for him? If Charlotte wasn't still with Rafe, would the ending to this story be the same?

"You okay?" He whispered, speaking quietly enough as to not awake Kiara.

Glancing up at him, Charlotte gave him a smile he knew was forced, "Just tired." She lied, JJ seeing right through it. "Long day."

"Yeah," JJ breathed, "Guess it has been quite the day, hey?"

Charlotte fell silent for a moment, exhaling deeply as she laid eyes on her younger sister, "I'm happy for you, J." She said softly, the small smile on her lips not quite meeting her eyes. "You found your someone."

JJ stole a glance at Kie, his heart aching in conflict.

Kiara was amazing. She was perfect for him, exactly what he needed. But part of his heart would always beat for Charlotte, she would always be the blueprint of what was good in this world. Did that make him a horrible person, for holding a torch for the sister of the girl he had just professed his love to?

"She was right in front of you this entire time," Charlotte breathed, eyes refocusing on JJ.

JJ met her gaze, something passing between them, "Yeah," he agreed quietly, still focused on Charlotte, "Guess she was."

─☼☼☼─

─𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙊𝙏𝙏𝙀─

Charlotte had barely slept on the almost eight hour flight, her mind racing. She watched her sister and JJ as they slept, heart clenching. She wished Rafe were here.

She'd sent him a text before they took off, letting him know where she was headed. She was done lying to him. At this point he couldn't stop her, so what was the harm?

He'd never texted her back, but she didn't have much time before she lost service anyway. She was sure he'd have responded by now.

Charlotte wished she could call him, hear his voice. She needed a reminder of what he could do to her with a simple 'hello.'

By the time they had landed, Charlotte was absolutely exhausted. Her eyes barely wanted to stay open as the three of them exited the plane, stepping into the suffocating heat of the Orinoco Basin.

Kie turned in a small circle, taking in the farmland they had landed on. They were no where close to any town or city. "So where do we go?" She wondered, it was clear they were not going to find their friends out here.

JJ pulled out a map, fanning it out in front of his face, "Tres Rocas is about a couple hours that way," he pointed over his shoulder. "Barracuda Mike says there should be a bus we can catch."

Charlotte readjusted the strap of her bag over her shoulder as she squinted beneath the sun. This was going to be a lot harder than expected.

"Jayj," Kiara said quietly, "What if they're not there?"

JJ didn't let his smile falter too much, "If they're not there, then free vacation. Right, Charls?"

A small smile came to her face as she nodded, "Yeah, we've already got an itinerary of sunbathing and surfing set up."

Kiara let out a soft laugh, shielding her eyes from the sun, "Well, we'd better go find that bus so we can get this vacay started."

Bidding their farewell to Barracuda Mike (which entailed a stern warning from him to JJ), the three of them caught a ride with a local farmer to where the bus would pick them up.

Charlotte so desperately wished that the rest of the Pogues were in Tres Rocas, and that they were all okay. And she hoped that Rafe, wherever he was, wasn't too upset with her for leaving with such little notice.

By the time they caught the bus (if you could call it that), Charlotte was so overwhelmed with her running thoughts and physical exhaustion that she barely made it five minutes before her eyes shut and she fell into the sleep she had desperately been needing.

Her thoughts didn't cease in her slumber. It seemed that every dream was plagued with something going wrong. She dreamt of Rafe tangled in the sheets with the girl she'd heard on the phone the other day, dreamt of JJ and Kiara leaving her behind, and she'd dreamt of horror. Of someone dying right here in South America.

The final dream shook her from her sleep, her eyes flying open as a deep breath shot through her lips.

Eyes adjusting to the light, Charlotte realized she was leaning on someone's shoulder. Dragging her eyes up, she was met with the concerned gaze of a certain blonde haired boy. "You okay?" JJ wondered, eyes scanning Charlotte's for any sign of what was wrong.

She nodded, sitting up in a hurry, "Yeah," she mumbled, "Just a dream."

"We're almost there," Kie announced.

Charlotte turned, looking out the sides of the bus. Sure enough, the fields had turned to a small town. Buildings were clustered together, winding roads dotted with vendors trying to make a living.

"Geez," JJ whistled under his breath as the bus came to a stop, "This place makes the Cut look like the Taj Mahal."

Kiara and Charlotte both shot him a look as they surveyed the area around them...he was kind of right.

"What's our plan here?" Kiara wondered, asking the question they were all wondering.

Feeling like she needed to stretch her legs, and give her sister and JJ some much needed time alone without her prying eyes, Charlotte stood. "I'm gonna go talk to some of the locals, see if they've seen any of the Pogues, or Big John for that matter."

Kiara stood as well. "You want me to come with?"

Shaking her head, Charlotte passed her bag to her sister, "Nah. I'll be right back. You guys just...hangout or whatever."

JJ furrowed his brow slightly, "Just stay where we can see you."

Charlotte raised her two fingers to her forehead in a mock salute. "Alright, boss."

A snicker could be heard tumbling from Kiara's lips as Charlotte maneuvered her way off the bus.

As soon as her feet hit the ground, Charlotte let out a shaky breath, the whirlwind of the last twenty four hours finally catching up with her. Part of her imagined what she would be doing in that moment if she had stayed back on Kildare with Rafe...it probably would not have involved standing in the middle of a foreign village hoping to find her friends that could be literally anywhere in the country at the given moment.

Scanning the vendors, Charlotte moved away from the bus, trying to find the most approachable looking local.

An older man selling fresh fruit looked nice enough to approach. "Excuse me?" Charlotte wondered, hoping he spoke at least some English. The man looked up, giving her a kind smile.

"Las frutas?" He motioned to the fruit in front of him.

Knowing she had no money to give him, Charlotte gave her head a small shake, "Lo siento. Sin dinero."

As she attempted to recall the Spanish she had learned in high school, Charlotte pulled up a picture of the Pogues on her phone, holding it in front of the man. "Mis amigos. Los has visto?"

The man squinted at the picture for a moment before shaking his head, "No. Lo siento, mi amor."

Charlotte gave him an understanding smile as she re-pocketed her phone. "Gracias."

Reaching out to take her hand for a moment, the man pressed a mango into her grasp. "Gratis." He smiled. Free.

A grin broke across Charlotte's face, "Thank you." She smiled, wishing she had something to give him in return.

Nodding, the man grinned at her, his generosity and pure joy breathing life back into Charlotte. Damn...she really should move here.

In the midst of Charlotte's thoughts of uprooting her life and moving to an entirely different continent, she didn't catch the dropping of the man's smile until it was too late. Fear flooded her body as something cold pressed against her lower back. "Move and I'll kill you," the voice warned, the breath of the unknown assailant sending chills down Charlotte's spine, even beneath the warm heat of the Orinoco Basin.

Freezing, Charlotte turned her head slightly, her eyes catching those of a man she recognized ever-so briefly. She dug through her mind, trying to place him as he spoke again, "Where are you friends?"

Fuck.

He was one of Singh's men...Ryan, she thought.

Without drawing his attention further, Charlotte's eyes flickered toward the bus where her sister and JJ had been. She couldn't see them from where she stood...good.

"I don't know," Charlotte answered, trying to keep her voice from shaking, "I was just looking for them."

The fruit man nodded, seeming to understand Charlotte's words, "Sí," he agreed, "Verdadero."

Ryan reached out, grabbing Charlotte's upper arm with one hand, the other still gripped on the gun that was pointed at her. "Let's go," He snapped, yanking her away from the man who desperately looked like he wanted to do something...but what could he do?

Charlotte stumbled as Ryan pulled her away from the crowds, away from anyone who could help her. God, why did shit like this always happen?

Every couple of seconds or so, he'd shove the gun against her, as if to remind her what would happen if she tried something.

"I don't know what you want from me," Charlotte declared, voice as steady as she could manage, "I literally don't know anything about any of this."

And that was mostly true. She knew some of the facts, but none of the Pogues, aside from John B, knew much about El Dorado, no less where to find it.

Ryan ignored her, not even looking down at her as he neared a black Jeep. Charlotte knew the minute she was in that vehicle, there was no hope for her. So, with a vote of confidence, and some stupidity, she tried to free herself from his grasp, spinning around to kick him in the groin.

A curse flew from his lips as he doubled over, groaning as he released the hold on her and lowered the gun, "Get her, you idiot!" He snapped through a pained gasp. Charlotte had barely taken three steps when a pair of strong arms encircled her waist, lifting her feet from the ground and destroying her escape attempt.

"Let me go!" She yelled, struggling against the iron grasp whoever it was hand on her.

The person spoke, his voice sending Charlotte's heart to her stomach. "I'm sorry, Charlotte."

Charlotte stopped fighting, the shock too severe at who was currently holding her. This was the last place she would have expected to see him again.

"Mateo?" She balked, his grasp loosening slightly as she gave up her fight, "What the hell are you doing here?"

Mateo. He'd done so much to help her back in Guadeloupe, just to turn around and stab her in the back by working for Singh. But he'd seemed so regretful, she'd never thought he'd still be working for the man who had kidnapped her, her boyfriend, and sister.

His eyes held sincere guilt, but they'd done so before and nothing had changed. "I'm sorry," He muttered, carrying her back toward the Jeep. "He was going to kill me."

Ryan, who'd regained his composure from Charlotte's assault, stood back up, cocking his gun as he pointed it directly at her head this time. "Try it again and I swear to God, I'll shoot you."

Charlotte didn't know him well enough to tell if he was lying or not. Reluctantly, she allowed Mateo to place her in the back of the Jeep, a pair of handcuffs were fastened around one of her wrists, the other attached to the back of one of the seats. She wasn't going anywhere.

"This is stupid!" Charlotte huffed, yanking on the cuffs. "What the hell do you want with me?"

Ryan ignored her, shoving Mateo out of the way before slamming the door. Charlotte knew instantly that her best bet was to get to Mateo. If anyone was going to let her go, it would be him. She just needed to get him alone.

How ironic...the boy who had betrayed her so severely was now her only hope.

─☼☼☼─

-an-

the reunion is so close i can smell it tehe