𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 - jj maybank

- 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞

𝗝𝗝 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗸 held Kaci Flores close to him as though he was going to lose her again. Every few moments, as the conversation around the boat flew right past his ears, he'd press a soft kiss to her bare shoulder. He'd never seen her smile so much, either, and he swore it was the most beautiful sight in the universe. A part of JJ couldn't believe he had them back. His killer and his princess. They were his. Forever. He would protect them. Forever.

Nobody was splitting up their family again. He wouldn't let it happen again.

Kie giggled and gushed over how much Kaz had grown in the little while she'd been separated from him, and Pope filled everyone in on this Limbrey person, flinching whenever the girl brought Kaz up to his face without any warning.

Another surprise on the boat was Luis Flores, who everybody thought was dead for a little under a year now. He was still calm, although he hadn't yet given JJ the nod of approval. He was the one most protestant about going home, but he couldn't lie — now that he was almost there, the excitement and thrill of it started to jump into his veins.

Sarah and John B couldn't wipe the smiles off their faces at the sight of all their friends again. Their family. Pope and Kie laughing and smiling, JJ and Kaci cuddled up together, Kaz having the time of his life with all his aunts and uncles — it was one of the best days of their lives.

However, there was one noticeable absence around the small group. One that made all their conversations seem a little quieter. Pope, Kie and JJ didn't know where Jordan was or what happened to him. The others didn't say anything about it, but it made their hearts go heavy. They all knew there was no way Kaci would've left the Bahamas without her little brother, so that only left one outcome in their minds.

The shivering thought of it made JJ hug his girl tighter.

"Anybody else starving?" asked the blonde boy, resting his chin on Kaciʼs shoulder as he hugged her from behind. "We need to grab some sort of breakfast."

The others nodded in agreement, seeing that they were getting closer to a dock that sat in the middle of nowhere, a few miles close to Outerbanks. Pope and John B tied the boat off and the three girls started to get up.

"We're gonna get some food," said Sarah, jumping onto the dock with Kie.

JJ pulled Kaci back when she tried following them, staring at her with warm eyes, feeling instantly cold without her touch.

"You stay with Kaz," she told him, a gentle shine in her chestnut eyes. "I'll be right back."

He frowned a little. "That's what you said last time."

Kaci shook her head, leaning down again to kiss him. He cupped her cheeks, savouring every second they spent together, before she pulled away again. "I love you." She patted Kaz on the head and left with the other two girls.

Once Kaci was gone and out of hearing, JJ and Pope turned to Luis and John B.

"Where's Jordan?"

𖧷

𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆, 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿 having searched through an entire farming garden, the three girls settled down on a nearby bench with a well-deserved watermelon each. Not having had fresh fruit in a while, Kaci and Sarah almost moaned at the taste of it, the watery texture tasting like magic on their tongues.

"Okay, so you really got married?" asked Kie after Kaci and Sarah caught her up on most of what went down at the Bahamas.

Sarah waited for Kaci to mention what happened to Jordan, but she didn't say a single thing about that situation. All that she contributed to the story was about how hot Cleo was and that Kie would literally die for her.