Abrade - [Charles Leclerc] A Sequel To Corrode

Quindici

        With trembling fingers, Jules covered the gaping wound in his chest that was spilling blood. He sank to his knees, another shot of pain shooting up his spine at the harsh way his legs collided with the floor. His heart was beating so fast, he swore he was getting a heart attack. "I want you to look at me, Leclerc." Black dots were clouding his vision as he wanted to stop the bleeding, barely able to lift his head and look up, eye to eye with the barrel of the gun that shot him. "I want you to look at me when I kill you."

Jules gasped for air as he sat right up in bed, padding his chest and looking down at his hands in the dark. Nothing. No blood, no wound. Just his own sweat. He sighed deeply, closing his eyes and laying back on the pillow to try and control his uneven breathing pattern. He had nightmares more often ever since they were chasing the other crew. And they were getting so close to finishing the way now. He had never been part of such a big operation before, and he would lie if he said he wasn't nervous about him. Jules felt the pressure of wanting to do well in the eyes of his father, especially as he had messed up and now Liam was doing amazing. He didn't want to feel jealous of his brother, because he knew Liam didn't care about this business at all, he just did it to help him. But it still stung a bit that Liam seemed to be a natural in all of it, and he slipped into his new character so easily when he was out with Charles.

Jules rolled over to his other side, reaching for his phone on the nightstand to check the time. A little past four. There were some notifications as well, and he scrolled through them before placing his iPhone in the drawer of the nightstand to not be distracted by it anymore. The screen of the burner phone lit up just that moment. He frowned, sitting up again to take it out. He tapped on the screen once more, seeing a message from an unknown number.

[Unknown]: Monza

Jules' heart skipped a beat as he realized it was Nadine. Liam had given her a note that said to text the name of Charles' yacht, where Jules wanted to take her for their first date. He was incredibly grateful that she remembered, and also that she was brave enough to text them, because this would be such a big step in their mission. Jules felt wide awake now, and there was no way he would go back to sleep after this text. It was too early to wake Charles. He didn't want to either, because he needed to know if Armando wasn't fucking with him and this was him texting Jules while holding Nadine at gunpoint. He took his phone with him and walked out of the room, crossing the hallway silently to move into Liam's room. Jules quietly opened the door and closed it behind him. "Liam," he whispered, hoping he wasn't scaring his brother. "Bro," he continued, pushing his shoulder. "What the hell, dude," Liam groaned, rubbing his eyes and opening them to make sure he wasn't the one dreaming now.

He reached for the lamp on his nightstand, flicking it on to look at Jules. "Nadine texted," Jules said, pushing the phone in Liam's face. He swatted his arm away, barely able to adjust to the light, but he as soon as he did, he grabbed the phone from Jules to have a better look. "We can't wake up dad," Jules muttered. "I think we need to," Liam replied. "The sooner we move, the better, right?" Liam softly said. "Now?" Jules asked, his hand reaching for the back of his neck. "Come with me?" he asked then, making Liam chuckle. "We're looking like five year olds," his brother grumbled, swinging his legs over the edge of his bed. They walked up to their parents' room together, looking at each other while Liam lifted his hand to knock. "Dude, what if they're..." Jules stopped them, making Liam glare at them. "Don't put the images of our parents having sex in my mind, please," he said. "Sorry," Jules muttered. They were quiet for a second before Liam decided to knock.

He knocked again before he opened the door, Charles already stood next to the bed. "What's wrong?" he asked, moving onto the hallway and closing the door behind him to prevent Joanne from waking up. "Nadine texted to the burner phone," Jules said, showing his father the phone. Charles nodded slowly. "Good," he said. "Go downstairs and into my office. We need to geolocate it." Charles watched the boys go downstairs as he quickly went back into the bedroom to get some slippers and a pair of joggers. "Charles?" Joanne asked, her hand reaching for the lamp on the nightstand. She sat up with sleepy eyes as she watched him get dressed. "There's some progress in the case," he muttered. "It's not even five in the morning?" she replied. "I know, baby, but don't worry," Charles said, moving to her side of the bed and pressing a kiss to her forehead. "Go back to sleep, everything's okay," he assured her, caressing her face before he leaned down to kiss her lips. Joanne moved under the duvet again and rested her head on the pillow, her eyes already closing again as he turned off the light.