A day of relaxation for them was probably worrying the shit out of the others back at the pub. They had to move as quickly as possible. Waiting may have been the right call, but now they had to return. Jimin wouldn't hesitate to hijack a tank from a military base and ram it through the museum's walls in an attempt to find her. Charlotte admired the determination. However, that was exactly why they needed to move.
She was adjusting her clothes, Jericho watching behind her. "Do you feel the need to watch me?" she asked as she peered in the mirror attached to the dresser set. There was nothing of note on the surface. It was barren like the rest of the apartment, dust on the corners of it.
Jericho moved across the carpet, the floor creaking under his shoes. "We should talk, don't you think? We can't have distrust between us."
"It's not that I don't trust you, it's that you did something so fucking disgusting that I feel vile when I think about it, let alone say it. It's your secret to tell, but if you don't tell him soon, I'll do it for you. I'm not keeping that secret when it..." She broke off, staring at him in the mirror.
The bed was unmade. She slept on the floor while Jericho took the bed, but he didn't bother to make it. The nightstand had just as much dust as the rest of the environment. The floor caused grime to settle on her attire, but she didn't care. She didn't want to go anywhere close to Jericho.
"You know I'm not that person anymore, right?" Jericho asked, and Charlotte froze her hand despite it being mid-air. "What I did is inexcusable, I know. I'll suffer the consequences for it later. There's no way I can apologize for this, but I'll try to."
Charlotte pressed her hands against the surface in front of her, keeping her eyes on him and shaking her head. "It's not me you should apologize to. Listen, I'm pissed at you, but I'm not going to judge you when we've all done fucked up shit. For whatever it's worth, I know you wouldn't do it again. I'm just pissed because of who you did it to."
"I know," he said, coming up next to her and rubbing his hand over her shoulder. She was astonished she let him do it, but the comfort was enough to bring her strength back. "I'm sorry, Char. I'll apologize to everyone, even Kayden. They deserve an apology."
Right before she could reply, the door snapped open. Ivan was there. Jericho and Charlotte swiveled their bodies with their heads, crossing their arms over their chests to question the meaning of the intrusion.
"June thinks we should leave now. Like, now. Get out here."
They agreed, stepping out in time to see June holding his shirt. He was stretching, and his combat boots were on. Since his bare back was visible, she was able to see the tattoos he had all over his skin. There was a moon sequence down his back, a dragon's scales on the back of his shoulder blade. There was even a trio of butterflies hiding near the bottom of his waist, his pants cutting off the third one. The smallest one.
He turned and noticed her staring, him hesitating to put the shirt back on. "They represent each member of my family," he said, using his free hand to trace over the butterflies. "My father, my mother, and my little sister."
"Where are they?" Charlotte asked before she could stop herself.
"I don't know. When I got involved in some serious shit, they were at risk. I left when I was just a kid. My sister and I were close, so I had to leave. She was safer that way. She loved butterflies and magical creatures like dragons." He paused, his hand pressing against his neck. "Serpents too..."
He trailed off, throwing the shirt over his head and picking up his rifle. "There's two options. I leave my rifle here and risk someone attacking us, or we take it and risk someone seeing and calling the police on us."
"Leave it. I'd rather risk having to run than police," Charlotte said. Just like that, June dropped it.
"Fine, but let's do this my way. There's a parking garage a few blocks over. Let's slip through the alley and get there. It's gigantic and not very crowded, we'll only see the occasional person going in or out of the mall it's connected to. If we pass through there, we have lots of cover, and the exit is close to your little pub."
"So it's a shortcut?" Jericho asked, June nodding.
"It's better than walking around the streets with the risk of security still looking for us. They know we're in this area, they probably have assassins dispatched. I wouldn't be surprised if the next random civilian we see is actually an assassin. We need to be more careful. Now that it's night, there's less visibility."
Charlotte pulled out the scarf she never used, wrapping it around her face. Then, she let out a soft breath.
"Let's do this."
~~~
The walk to the garage was full of pauses to check if anyone was following them. June was leading them, Jericho by his side. Charlotte stayed with Ivan in the back. They kept a bit of distance between them as they traversed the garage. June was right. It was gigantic and dark. The lights flickered occasionally, none of them bright enough to light each corner.
They were on the first floor of the garage, heading toward the other side. They decided to send Ivan into the mall to pick up more clothes and disguises. He was the one with a face mask, so he covered his face and went inside. He returned with a bag so large, it rivaled the spacious arena they were in.
Parking garages always freaked Charlotte out, but this one even more so. It had cracks in the concrete, the lines distinguishing each spot faded and chipped. The pillars holding up the structure were stained and had graffiti on them. Some of the walls and handicapped parking signs had graffiti on them too.
Charlotte played with her fingers until she noticed Jericho was doing it too. She parted her hands and instead raised one to her lips, biting on the nails. Her eyes darted around as they quietly progressed. They had to have been inside the garage for 15 minutes now. Between Ivan stopping to shop and the sheer size of the place, they could have been there for up to half an hour. That gave them more chances to be seen. People popped out every once in a while, but now it was silent. Charlotte wasn't sure what she preferred.
The vehicles on their left and right varied between trucks, motorcycles, sports cars, and more. She slowed her pace when she saw a bumper sticker that had Spongebob on it. Jericho held them up, going back to Charlotte to see what the issue was.
"My brother and I used to watch Spongebob together," she mumbled, and he wrapped an arm around her. It was meant to comfort her, but also meant to move her along. She understood. They didn't have time to stall. Yet she did it anyway. "I played clarinet for a year cause I loved Squidward so much. I know it's stupid, I just..."
"It's not stupid. It's a part of who you are," Jericho said, rubbing her arm with his hand. She gave him a weak smile, and he returned it before guiding her away. They took the lead, June and Ivan sinking to the back. They stayed a few feet away, checking their rear to ensure no one was following them.
Another minute passed. Then, June came up and left Ivan behind them for a beat. "Hey, just so you know, once we get out of here, we can slip into an alleyway and get back to your pub in minutes," he said. However, neither of them could reply.
A single figure strode out into the open, all of them slowing their pace when they saw it was a woman covering her face with a mask. Her eyes were covered with sunglasses, her brunette locks braided and draping down her right shoulder. A skin-tight dress made of dark fabric came down to her thighs, leggings underneath it to help her blend in.
Her boots squeaked against the pavement, a bag strapped around her waist. She reached into it, pulling out a ball that Charlotte couldn't make out from her position. The woman began moving again, and as she closed the distance, Charlotte realized what it was she was holding.
Right when she knew what it was, the woman threw it. The sphere bounced toward them, Charlotte's shouts echoing around the garage. Ivan jumped back, Jericho pulling Charlotte behind him while June went to the side. He was about to jump past the stone barricade, but Charlotte lost sight of him due to the frenzy happening in front of her.
Jericho and her ran, him keeping her as far away from it as possible. Each beat of her heart brought another action. One beat. Her feet pushed off the ground to grow distance between her and the blast radius. Two beats. Her lips dried up from the yelling she did to warn the others. Three beats. Jericho wrapped his arms around her at the last second, jumping down to take her to the ground while he protected her with his body. Four beats. The grenade went off, and her body shook from the shattering boom it made.
The world went fuzzy. The heartbeat she was counting dissipated into the wind. Her nails were bent and chipped from the contact she made with the floor, grime plastered on her face while her legs were numb. Although she wanted to whip her eyes back and see if they were still on her body, Jericho was on top of her. He was heavier than she expected. So heavy that in her weakened state, she couldn't budge.
Her mouth opened to let out a wail for help. It never came. Her eyes were clogged with tears and dots of black that made it impossible for her to see. It smelled of smoke and gunpowder. The smell was so strong that her tongue gagged and screamed when it ended up on her taste buds, dancing its way down her throat to stuff her lungs full of the substance.
Charlotte coughed, her ears ringing. Even with the ring, she could hear the screams. Male screams. There were gunshots and grunts of exerts. They were the familiar sounds of a fight. That had Charlotte waking up, her eyesight coming back in time for her to see cars.
There was a car not far ahead, and she saw two figures were on the ground. Most of their bodies were concealed by the car. She only knew they were there thanks to the legs flailing on the ground. Charlotte stared, helpless. Jericho was awake, but barely. Like her, he was adjusting to what had happened, and what was yet to come.
"Ivan!" June's frail voice shouted, him coughing after. He limped his way from one side of the garage to the next, going toward the figures and attacking.
Jericho rolled himself off of her. She gripped the broken concrete and didn't bother listening to the car alarms going off, and she didn't bother peeking behind her to see where the blast hit. Instead, she brought herself to her feet and stumbled.
The vehicle a few feet away was the only thing she could get her hands on. She steadied herself, her feet dragging and creating a sound that was grating her ears. Charlotte cried as she went forward, searching for the woman who came after them. The one who was likely an assassin who tracked them either in the mall or on the streets. How she found them wasn't Charlotte's priority. It was how they'd beat her that was.
June tackled the woman off of a screaming Ivan. His screeches were torn from his throat. Charlotte thought he'd make her go deaf. Each sound was more intense than the last, blood dripping down the cracks in the roads. People who were coming back out to their cars saw the scene and fled, sobbing about the horror of it all.
Charlotte managed to lean against the pile of metal that Ivan, June, and the assassin were battling behind. Ivan was passed out, blood all over his face. Then there was the assassin. A pistol was on the ground, probably from either Ivan or June knocking it away from her.
June was on the concrete, pinned by the woman. A knife rested by Ivan, and since it was closer, Charlotte opted for that. She dove to the ground and took it, the assassin peeking up at the commotion. Before she could react, Charlotte used all her strength to hop over and stab her in the shoulder.
The woman howled from the sudden pain, June coughing and spitting from the choking he received. He wasted no time. He kicked her gut, sending her flying backwards. The woman reached into her bag to grab another grenade, Charlotte knocking herself into her to prevent it.
June crawled back and got the pistol, Charlotte sliding off of her to allow the man a clear shot. He took it, and she died. Charlotte panted after it was over, taking the grenade out of the bag to make sure it wasn't active. It wasn't. There was one more grenade in the tiny bag. Military grade. She took both of them in case they needed them down the line.
By then, Jericho was coming over as well. They both had their legs still on their body, but the odds were, they had concussions and other injuries they couldn't address yet. Not when Ivan was unconscious and in a pool of his own blood.
"G-Get a car. Hotwire it. Now!" June said, going over to Ivan and picking him up with a strained yelp.
Jericho took the assassin's knife and Ivan's bag, then obeyed without question. He checked the car doors of the rows of vehicles, finding nothing for several beats. Charlotte stared at Ivan, and the sight made her turn over and vomit. She had witnessed tortures, killings, explosions, and more. Seeing it on her friend was what made it so vile.
Ivan's left eye was popping out of its socket, his right one slashed down the middle, a gash on his eyelid and cheek. More bile rose, but she held it back when Jericho announced he found a car. With the civilians fleeing the scene, there was a high chance law enforcement would come. They needed to leave before it got any worse.
"What happened?" Charlotte asked when she could feel her voice again.
"He got the gun out of her hand, but he wasn't expecting the knife," June said, tears staining his face. "He tried holding her off, but she cut out his fucking left eye, then went to stab him through the head. He barely held back long enough for me to... for..."
June cut himself off with a bawl, slipping and tripping his way over to the burgundy sedan Jericho picked. Charlotte did the same with her mind springing from thought to thought. There was no way she could process what was occurring, so she dipped inside the passenger's seat while June took Ivan in the back. Jericho started the car and reversed, taking them out of the spot and swerving. There was no time for caution. Jericho understood that and went before Charlotte could even get her seatbelt on.
It was trivial. Worrying about her seatbelt when Ivan was bleeding out behind her. In the moment, it was the only thing she could think about. She pulled on the string of the belt even after it was secured. She tugged and tugged, not noticing the liquid covering her face. It was the same liquid that was on Jericho's and June's faces.
"We need to get him to Theo, he has enough experience with medicine to know what to do," Jericho said. "I made him my right hand for a reason. He's an excellent combat medic. We'll get him back there, I'll get rid of the stolen vehicle. Got it?"
No one disagreed. There was nothing left to say as Jericho made the escape from the garage. When they broke free of the walls, Charlotte recognized the street they were on. It was close to the pub, yet it felt so far. June was sobbing in the backseat, holding Ivan against his lap as if that would ease the pain. All that was left was getting back to the hideout as fast as possible.
Ivan would die if they didn't.
YOU ARE READING
Heartless || •OG• ✔️
Bí ẩn / Giật gân|| 18+ Enemies to lovers gxb and bxb || Infamous NYC mafia leaders Charlotte and Jericho have been rivals for years. However, all of that changes when one of the leaders of their Underworld is assassinated. The rivals are forced together and must re...
