Keep Your Enemies Closer | a Bars and Melody Story [COMPLETED]

Chapter Fourteen

It took them 5 hours, but eventually Charlie was shaking Charlotte awake and saying, "it's safe." She jolted upright, regretting falling asleep on the hard concrete floor as she pushed herself to her feet. Leo was walking towards the box, but Charlotte quickly walked towards him. "No, let me." She said, wanting to be the first to know her mother's secret. Leo shrugged, "suit yourself." He stepped back, almost as if he silently expecting it to still blow up. Charlotte gingerly reached towards the box, gently lifting the lid and placing it on an old wooden table. "I'll be taking that." A deep male voice said from one of the tunnels. Charlotte spun around, to see Leo's father walking towards her. "Dad?" Leo said, like a question. "Focus." She hissed underneath her breathe, not wanting this to get personal. "You'll be doing no such thing." Charlotte said firmly, picking up the box and taking a quick step backwards, away from the man she could never trust. But he was looking past her, straight at Leo and saying, "no hug for your old man?" Leo's eyes narrowed, as if he were trying to work out his fathers intentions. Charlie was moving closer to Charlotte all the time, guiding her towards one of the tunnels, towards their escape. They were almost at the forth tunnel, when Leo's dad turned his attention back to them. He spun around, hand raised. Charlotte saw the gun, her heart rate quickened as all the blood drained from her body. "Dad don't." Leo yelled, but it was too late. The shot had been fired, Charlie ducked pulling Charlotte with him. The wooden box carrying her mother's secrets fell to the ground with a thud, but she didn't have time to grab it. The papers flew free, scattering across the cold concrete floor as Charlie grabbed her hand and they ran. The tunnel was too close, the walls felt as though they were closing in. Charlotte skidded, pulling with all her might to force Charlie to stop and look at her. "We've got to go." He said, searching her eyes. "Leo..he's..I've got to get him." Charlotte said, already backing away and back down the tunnel. "No." Charlie shook his head, but he didn't move. It was like he was stuck between being normal and being a spy. "You can't always run away, you know." Charlotte said. "Sometimes, the best thing to do, is run towards." The smell of smoke was funnelling towards them. "Please don't let him die." Charlotte's voice cracked. "Okay." Charlie nodded.

"What is she doing back here?" Leo yelled when Charlotte and Charlie appeared back in the circular cave room. Charlie shrugged, "she's very persuasive." Leo was up and moving towards them fast. "It's not safe." He said to Charlotte, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Which is exactly why we need to go, now!" She said, grabbing his hand, but Leo pulled back against her. She stared at him, trying to work out why he would possibly want to stay in that smoke filled room. "Tsk tsk tsk." The sound sent shivers down Charlotte's spine but she tried not to show it. "Your friends just couldn't stay away, could they?" Leo's dad was striding towards them, gun still in his left hand. "Leo, please." Charlotte said, ignoring his dad. "I didn't want you to see me kill him." Leo whispered, a hint of a smirk on his face. "What a lovely family." His dad was saying, his voice dripping with sarcasm, his eyes filled with insanity. "He burnt your mum's secrets." Leo said. "I'm sorry." Charlotte shrugged. "It's okay." Charlie was pacing impatiently by the tunnel. "Guys, we should go." The flames in Leo's dad's burn box were getting wilder, so Leo pushed Charlotte towards the tunnel as he reached into his pocket for a hand bomb. Charlotte vaguely remembered finding some in his dad's old house. "Wait." She said, running towards a piece of paper that lay on the floor, unharmed. "Charlotte, go!" Leo yelled at her, she didn't need a second warning. She and Charlie sprinted down the tunnel, the subtle sound of an explosion echoing through the underground space. "Will he be okay?" She asked Charlie, as they reattached themselves to the rappel-a-cord. "Of course he will."

"Maybe we should go back to the cabin." Charlie suggested 20 minutes later. "No." Charlotte snapped, she was shaking partly from the cold and partly from fear as she watched smoke rise out of the entrance to the underground labyrinth. "He's dead, isn't he?" She said, refusing to look at Charlie. "Leo won't die. He's too stubborn to die." Charlie said, it almost made her laugh. Just then, a hand appeared from the tunnel, and another. Charlotte jumped up, pulling Leo to the ground and safely away from the edge. "You idiot." She yelled, she might've hit him if he hadn't of looked half dead. Leo looked at her and smirked, "you didn't give up on me, did you?" He tilted his head. "No." Charlotte said, just as Charlie whispered. "Only a little bit." She glared at him, starting towards the safe house. "Are you badly hurt?" She asked Leo as they walked. "I'll live." He smirked. He glanced at the piece of paper Charlotte was carrying. "What is it?" He asked, she shrugged looking down at the brown envelope. "It's the only thing I could grab, hopefully it'll explain something." They reached the safe house but before Charlotte could step inside Leo grabbed her arm. "Maybe not knowing is better?" He asked. "Why? How is possibly not knowing why I killed my mother better than knowing?" Charlotte snapped. "At least then, I can know I had a reason." She shook her arm from Leo's grasped, not letting her mind dwell too much on his words. Every spy knew, after all, that ignorance is bliss.

"What are you doing?" Charlotte jumped at Leo's voice. She spun around, saw him reaching for the light switch. "Don't." She hissed, trying to be quiet. Leo crept across the old wooden floorboards towards Charlotte, sitting on the floor next to her. "What are you doing?" He asked again. "Looking at this." Charlotte said, waving the brown envelope she had saved from her mother's secret box, at him. She had her phone's torch to help her see, and Leo smirked. "Why don't you want the light on?" She glared at him. "I don't care what you say, I still don't trust him." She didn't say Charlie's name but Leo knew who she was talking about. "Believe it or not, I'm not a bad judge of character." Charlotte laughed. "Your dating a double murderer." She didn't hide the duh in her voice. "No." Leo sounded serious. "I'm dating a seriously good spy." Charlotte laughed, but he wasn't joking. "Okay." She shrugged, reaching inside the envelope, pulling out a firm piece of paper. "What is it?" Leo leaned over her to get a better look. "Leo, has Charlie seen his birth certificate?" She sounded serious but Leo couldn't help but laugh. "Leo this isn't a trick question!" Charlotte snapped, before lowering her voice again. "Has Charlie ever seen his birth certificate?" Leo thought for a second. "Yes? No? I don't know!" He said, as if he'd never been interrogated before. "Why?" Charlotte sounded disgusted as she spoke, "cause it looks like we're a lot more closer than I'd like." Leo raised his eyebrows, "what are you on about?" She rolled her eyes. "He's my brother, or half brother anyway." She shoved the birth certificate into Leo's lap. "And yours." Leo stared at her before looking down at the piece of paper in his hands. "What? I don't-" Charlotte cut him off. "Looks like mummy dearest had a thing for your daddy." Her voice was dripping with sarcasm. "No. Thats not..no." Leo was up and pacing, back and forth. "Charlie can't know." Leo nodded agreeing. Neither of them noticed the dark figure standing in the doorway, until he said. "I can't know what?"
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A/N - the end! I'm sorry it's such a cliff hanger but I lost the inspo to write this, so you'll have to deal with.
I hope you all enjoyed this. Let me know what you thought in the comments.

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I hope you enjoyed!

I n s t a g r a m: pengmendes

- Naomi x