Now or Never ⇀ John B Routledge [1]

epilogue

Luke,

I guess I'm supposed to start this by saying 'hey I'm alive', so hey big bro I'm alive. Sorry if we scared the shit out of you by going out in that storm, but we didn't have any other choice. Those cops had us cornered and Sarah and I were determined to get John out of there one way or another.

All three of us are alive and well. We're currently hitchhiking on a cargo ship to Nassau (funny turn of events, right?) and going for the gold.

We're still in the G game baby.

Anyways, onto the real reason behind my letter. Luke, it's up to you to save Hughes Enterprises before Claudia tears the company to shreds.

I'll be back soon to claim my title as CEO, but until then fight for the rights. You're the first born son; related by blood. She just married our father and doesn't deserve to reap the benefits his family earned from decades of labor.

I believe in you and now I need you to believe in me. Please don't share this with the Pogues. We'll contact them soon, but for now this is our little secret.

I love you Lu, take care of yourself.

Sincerely,

Your sister from beyond the grave

----

A pair of strong arms wrapped round Ashtyn as soon as she finished writing, startling the sixteen year old enough to almost stab her boyfriend with her pen. She didn't trust the captain of the ship, believing Terrance would turn on them in the blink of an eye, so there was hardly a moment where she wasn't on edge.

"Hey, it's just me." John whispered, pressing a kiss to the younger girls' temple.

Unlike his girlfriend and Sarah, the shaggy haired male was too trusting. He believed the three of them were safe onboard, but that's only because he hadn't noticed the wandering stares from crew members. No matter the time of day, there was always someone watching them and that was a bad sign.

"Hey, sorry." She attempted to relax in his embrace, praying this hellish voyage across the Atlantic would end soon. Their small bedroom was located right above the engine room, leaving the teens sweaty and seasick for the last twelve hours. "You know I'm not comfortable here. I just have a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, like something bad is about to happen."

The male dropped his chin to her shoulder, "I thought we agreed to contact everyone once we got to the Bahamas?"

"He's my brother John."

"Yeah, but if someone finds this Ashtyn-"

"No one is going to find it." Ashtyn snapped, knocking John off balance when she slid her chair back to stand. "I trust Luke, and you should too after everything he's done for you. He needs to know I'm alive or else it's 'bye bye Hughes Enterprises'. He won't care to do anything if I'm not in the picture anymore."

She watched her boyfriends eyebrows knit together, forehead scrunching in frustration. "If we get the gold then you won't have to worry about the company's money. We'll be able to sustain ourselves."

"John," Ashtyn groaned, "Do you even hear yourself right now? That's a big 'if' because one, what if the gold isn't even at Paradise Island? For all we know, Ward already moved it to an offshore account. And two, it's my family's company. My father's company. I can't just do nothing."

Guilty hazel eyes found Ashtyn's lifeless blue ones for a moment before darting away, "I'm sorry."

"I know." The mainlander sighed, frowning at the letter on the desk. "I just can't let her win. Claudia, she always wins Johnny."

He nods in understanding, pulling the shorter girl into a hug shortly after. "I hate fighting with you. It makes me feel like shit."

"That's just because you're always wrong." She teased, pressing a soft kiss to the side of his neck. The sensation sent chills down the mans spine, unable to recall the last time they'd been intimate with one another. "I'm going to bring this to the bridge, okay? I shouldn't be gone long."

John's hope deflated when she pulled away, leaving him standing there in Toppers uncomfortably tight shorts. It was the first time they'd been alone together in days and here she was leaving again. "Mhm, yep okay. I'll be here babe."

"We'll take care of your issue when I get back." She giggled, shooting a wink in his direction when she opened the door. "Come find me if I'm longer than ten minutes."

"I love you!" John shouted before the door latched shut, giving her enough time to say it back before rushing to the vacant stairwell at the end of the hall.

While she didn't trust Captain Terrance enough to call him an ally, he did promise to send her letter out with their priority mail that afternoon, which she was grateful for. If it were done with standard shipping, Luke wouldn't get it in time...

"Hey captain I-" Ashtyn stopped in her tracks when she realize the bridge was empty, well, almost empty. A single girl with long, braided hair sat on the chair she'd been in that morning, looking rather unamused. There was a knife in her right hand, causing the mainlander to gulp. "Um hi."

The stranger studied her, trying to decide whether or not she was a threat to their operation. "Hi."

"Um Terrance was expecting me tonight." The brunette awkwardly shifted her weight from one foot to the other. She didn't know what to think of the woman with her strong accent and hard exterior, but something told Ashtyn she could be trusted more than most of the crew on that ship. "Could I leave this with you? It's for my brother."

"You must be Ashtyn." A kind smile washed over the woman's face as she extended a hand for the letter, sheathing her knife back in its case. "I can get this to the mailroom for you. I'm Cleo by the way."

"Nice to meet you."

---

Cleo has arrived folks!

Thank you so much for reading Now or Never and showing your love for Ashtyn and Luke's storyline. It means a lot to me!

As I said before, Season 2 will be written in a separate book called Mind Over Matter and it'll be up in the next couple of days!

I'll post an update here when it's officially published!

Again, thank you so much for reading, voting, and commenting!

I can't wait to start working on season 2!

xx