─☼☼☼─

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙊𝙏𝙏𝙀

𝙏𝙃𝙀 𝙂𝙀𝙉𝙏𝙇𝙀 𝙏𝙍𝙄𝘾𝙆𝙇𝙀 of the stream in front of them was a welcomed sound as they approached. Ryan had forced them to walk, what felt aimlessly, around the jungle for another close to half a day. 

He was definitely looking for something...or someone, he just hadn't a clue where to look, clearly. 

Without being told, and at risk of being reprimanded, Charlotte dropped to her knees in front of the stream. She cupped her hands, gathering the cool water in them before splashing it over her face. She hummed at the short relief from the stifling heat. 

Mateo did the same next to her, going so far as to pour the water over his head. Ryan didn't bother. He stood watching them with a stone-cold expression. "Let's go," he ordered, barely having even stopped for a minute. 

Charlotte turned to him, "Can you just let us rest for one fucking minute?"

Ryan didn't like her attitude. As quickly as the words had left her mouth, the back of his hand had collided with her face. Charlotte let out shocked gasp as her lip exploded in pain, blood soon coating her teeth. "What the fuck!?" She snapped, spitting blood onto the ground next to her. 

Looking like he wanted to rip Ryan's head off, Mateo let out a deep exhale. "You didn't have to hit her, man."

Ryan grabbed onto Charlotte, pulling her back onto her feet. "I'm not your man," he muttered to Mateo, "Now start moving."

Charlotte shot Mateo a look, encouraging him not to take it any further. Whatever had happened when he had left them, Ryan was pissed and Mateo and Charlotte were the only people he could take his anger out on at this point. 

Thankfully, Mateo adhered to Charlotte's wish, and clamped his mouth shut before beginning to walk once again. Charlotte tried not to show how much she wanted a real break. She knew that the more she did, the less likely Ryan was going to give them one. 

As her legs grew more and more tired, her breathing more and more laboured, all Charlotte could think about was Rafe. She wished more than anything that she was home with him in that moment. And she thought of her sister...and JJ. She hoped they were okay, wherever they were. 

─☼☼☼─

𝙍𝘼𝙁𝙀

"This is pointless!" Rafe huffed, settling onto the bank of the small stream next to where the others had gathered, "How the hell are we supposed to find her in the middle of this fucking jungle."

Another full day had passed, and while he still wasn't thrilled about working with the Pogues, he'd learned to accept it. They all had a common goal right now ─ find Charlotte. At least Sarah and John B weren't with them anymore, that was an upside. 

"Would it kill you to not complain for like five seconds?" JJ fired back, rolling his eyes as he dipped his hands into the water, "How the fuck does Charley deal with you?"

Anger surged through Rafe as he clenched his fists, willing himself to calm down. He heard Charlotte's voice in his head, what she would say if he attacked the Maybank kid. He took a deep breath, eyes fluttering closed for a moment. 

"We'll find her," Another voice spoke, gentler than JJ's had been. Rafe didn't need to open his eyes to know who it was. Kiara and Charlotte sounded more alike than either of them cared to admit, and if he tried hard enough, Rafe could picture it was his girlfriend speaking to him, not her sister. 

"And if we don't?" That Cleo girl wondered. 

Rafe's eyes flew open, his calm suddenly gone. "Then we don't leave until we do. I am not getting back on that damn plane without Lottie."

Cleo raised her hands in surrender as Pope shook his head at Rafe's outburst. JJ had now just resorted to ignoring him and was splashing water onto his face. Kiara looked dejected as if she couldn't believe she'd let her sister be taken. Rafe wasn't sure who he was more mad at for what had happened to Charlotte, himself or JJ and Kiara. 

"Wait," Pope spoke, sitting up slightly, "Do you guys hear that?"

─☼☼☼─

𝘾𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙇𝙊𝙏𝙏𝙀

"I don't understand what we're looking for," Charlotte declared, her body now screaming in protest with every step she took. They needed to take a break. 

As expected, Ryan ignored her. 

She huffed, coming to a stop, "Ryan, we need to take a break," she pleaded, hoping she could soften him just a bit, "Please."

Not that she had asked for much, but with her small request, Charlotte managed to piss her captor off even more than he had been. He reached out, reaching behind Charlotte's head and clutching onto the hair at the nape of her neck. "You don't make the rules here!" He snapped, pulling her head slightly, "You keep moving or I kill you, got it?"

Charlotte winced, trying to break free from his grasp. With every minute that they were out here, the chance of Ryan killing her and Mateo grew tenfold. 

Mateo seemed to recognize that as well. He watched the two of them with a fire in his eyes, this time not staying silent. "Let go of her," he demanded, taking a step forward. "Now."

Ryan looked toward him, letting out a humourless laugh. "Back off," he ordered to Mateo. 

"Let go of her." Mateo repeated, his eyes dark, chest heaving with angered breaths. "I'm not asking you again."

Ryan waved his gun in the air, "Do I need to─"

Charlotte wasn't even sure what happened it happened so fast. One second she was wincing beneath Ryan's tight grip, the next she was on the ground. 

Somehow Mateo had gotten in between them, freeing Charlotte before tackling Ryan to the ground. Charlotte pushed herself back as the two men struggled on the jungle floor. Her eyes were wide as she adjusted to the sudden development. 

"Charlotte, run!" Mateo ordered, managing to gain the upper hand for a moment. His fist drove into Ryan's face again and again, the sickening sound of his opponents nose cracking beneath his fists jarred Charlotte to her feet. "Go!" Mateo repeated, risking a glance at her. 

With no idea where she was going, Charlotte scrambled away from them, her body jumping into overdrive. Even if she had no energy left, she was running on pure adrenaline. 

But barely away from the men, the sound of a gunshot broke through the heavy air. Charlotte felt her heart plummet as she turned to look back. The gun was in Ryan's hand, and while it seemed that he had passed out from the beating he'd received, he'd managed to fire a single shot. Charlotte's eyes scanned the area, her eyes soon landing on Mateo who withered on the ground a few feet from Ryan. He'd tried to run. Why hadn't he taken the gun from Ryan!?

"Fuck," Charlotte whispered, unsure for a moment of what to do. Mateo had betrayed her for Singh all those weeks ago...but he had saved her now hadn't he?

"Fuck, fuck, fuck." That's all Charlotte could manage to mutter to herself as she made her decision. 

Mateo was letting out bursts of pained breath when Charlotte reached him. Blood pooled on the ground beneath him, coating his shirt in the crimson colour. His eyes sprung open at the sound of her footsteps and instantly he was shaking his head. "Go." He ordered, gritting his teeth as he spoke. 

Charlotte shook her head, dropping to her knees next to him, "I'm not leaving you." She rolled him slightly, wincing at his scream of pain as she tried to see where the wound was. 

Searching through the blood, she felt her heart break a little. The wound was right above his heart...and judging by the amount of blood, it had nicked something. "Come on," she said gently, "We gotta get you away from him."

Shaking his head, Mateo swallowed hard, "I'm not gonna make it, Charlotte." He was already three shades paler than he had been before. "You gotta get out of here."

"No." Charlotte repeated again. "Get up!"

Mateo Fernández didn't know Charlotte Carrera as well as most, but he knew she wasn't about to give up. 

A scream, so laced with pain it brought tears to Charlotte's eyes, escaped Mateo's mouth as he allowed her to help him into a seated position. He paled even more at the movement. Charlotte's hand shook as she ripped open the buttons on his shirt, her eyes scanning his chest where the wound was. 

She wasn't a doctor...but this was bad, really bad. 

"Hold as much pressure as you can," she instructed, balling his shirt up. "I'm going to get you onto your feet."

Mateo didn't argue, he knew there was no use. 

It took all of Charlotte's strength to get Mateo standing. He had nothing left to give, and Charlotte knew she wasn't going to be able to get him very far. She just needed to get him away from Ryan so she could try to help him.

Charlotte's eyes burned as she pushed down the lump in her throat. She couldn't help but feel responsible for this. Mateo was protecting her. No matter what he had done in the past, he'd ended up on the right side. 

"Come on," She said softly, guiding Mateo away from where Ryan still lay. She knew it was only a matter of time before he came to. Part of her wanted to pick up the gun, aim it at Ryan and end it all...but she couldn't.

Mateo leaned into Charlotte heavily. His eyes could barely stay open as Charlotte all but dragged him through the jungle. It took every muscle in her body to keep him upright, and even then she knew she couldn't get him very far. One of her hands was placed over Mateo's limp one, trying to keep pressure on the wound. "Good job, Mateo." She praised, trying to encourage him to keep going, "You can rest in a minute."

He muttered something she couldn't hear as they slowly made their way deeper into the jungle. The heat seemed to stick to them, and that mixed with the blood coating Mateo's entire chest made it extremely difficult to hold onto him. 

The two of them stumbled as they hit a root that stuck out just a bit too far. A cry of pain fell from Mateo's lips, and Charlotte knew then that she couldn't force him to go any further. 

"Here," she said softly as she allowed him to sit, "Let's take a break." She knew full well that this break would be the last thing Mateo Fernández would ever do. 

Reaching up to wipe her tears, Charlotte flinched as Mateo's warm blood touched her cheeks. She'd forgotten that her hands were coated in it. 

"So pretty," Mateo murmured, his eyes barely open. 

Charlotte looked to him, she wasn't sure if he was taking about the jungle around them or her. To preserve her own heart, she told herself it was the jungle. 

"You can rest now," She whispered, reaching out to dab some of the sweat from his face, "You're going to feel so much better."

Despite not knowing him for long, and not being on the best terms for half of their relationship, Charlotte's heart broke in that moment. More tears trickled down her cheeks as her breath caught in her throat. "Just rest, Mateo."

He watched her through partially closed eyes, "You deserve better." He grimaced, adjusting against the tree. 

Charlotte shook her head, "What?"

Mateo's eyes grew droopier, "Your boyfriend. You deserve someone way..." he trailed off, his breaths slowly slightly. "Just don't...don't trust him."

"We don't have to talk about this." Charlotte assured, taking Mateo's hand into her own. "Just think of something that makes you happy."

He seemed to do just that, a small smile coming to his lips. "Can you tell my brother...tell him I'm sorry."

A sob broke from Charlotte's lips. She reached up with her free hand, trying to muffle it. "I'll tell him." She promised, her grip on Mateo tightening. "And I'll tell him what a hero you are. That you saved my life."

Mateo shook his head slightly, "No, I think you saved mine." He mumbled, "Even if I didn't realize it at the time."

Charlotte had no idea what he meant, and she didn't have time to ask. 

Mateo let out a shuttered breath, "I'm so tired," he said so quietly Charlotte almost didn't hear. 

She nodded, warm tears dripping onto her shirt as she held onto Mateo's hand, watching as his eyes slowly closed. "You can rest now. You're safe. You can rest."

Mateo Fernández took his final breath under that tree in the South American jungle with his hand clutched in the grasp of a girl he'd only know for a few short months. But if you had been able to ask him, he would have said that was the best way to go. 

He'd fixed his wrongdoings, he'd done better. In the end, Mateo Fernández died being exactly the man he wanted to be. 

As Mateo's final soft breath fell from his lips, another sob clawed its way from Charlotte's. She couldn't help but be riddled by guilt. His blood was on her hands, both literally and figuratively. 

She leaned over, pressing a teary kiss to his forehead before releasing the grasp on his hand. She wanted to give him a proper burial, to honour him for all that he had done, but the sound of someone moving through the vegetation in the near distance forced her to her feet. 

"Thank you, Mateo." She whispered quietly. "I'll remember you forever."

With her heart in her throat, Charlotte let him there, against that tree in a place that wasn't his home. If she could, she vowed, she'd come back for him. 

But now, now she had to move or she'd be dead right next to Mateo. 

A new determination settled over Charlotte as she took off running. She was not going to let Ryan find her...and if he did she was going to fight back. 

She had no idea where she was going, not a clue. But she ran anyway. 

Something sent her in the direction she was headed, and she didn't have time to question what it was. 

Mateo's blood had begun to dry on her hands and face, and she wanted nothing more than to submerge herself in the stream and no come up for air until all of this was washed away. But she knew she couldn't do this. 

All the exhaustion had been replaced by adrenaline, and she was thankful for it in this moment. 

She ran and ran, her feet nimbly passing over the vegetation. This was life or death. This wasn't a game anymore. 

Her breath tore through her chest as she ran, her heart pounding in her ears. She had never felt so─

Her body collided into something, catching her so off guard she almost stumbled. Ryan had been behind her, how had he...?

Her mind raced as she prepared for the worst. A pair of hands grabbed onto her, steadying her before she could fall to the ground. 

A scream tore from Charlotte's lips as she tried to free herself from his grasp. She couldn't let him take her! She couldn't─

"Lottie?"

The voice sounded so unsure, as if they were seeing a ghost. Charlotte felt a lot like that too. 

Her eyes sprung open, a sob falling from her lips as her focus cleared on who was holding onto her. 

It was Rafe. 

A flood of emotions broke from Charlotte's chest. She couldn't believe he was here. She couldn't...she couldn't even think straight. 

More tears, more than she thought possible, streamed from Charlotte's eyes as she choked out another sob. 

Rafe's eyes were watery as he pulled Charlotte against his chest, pressing a kiss to the top of her head. "I've got you, baby. I'm here. I'm here."

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