Blue | Rafe Cameron

xliii

"Where the hell is he?" Kiara groans, frustration and dread lining every inch of her face as she paces on the pier, her eyes gazing out at the open dirt road- waiting for John B.

"Give him a second," Pope mutters, his frown deepening when his eyes meet mine and I quickly glance away, "He'll be here."

"If he was caught, we would know about it," I clear my throat, feeling Pope's unflinching stare as I climb off the boat, my entire body numb. "He's just late."

"Hey," There's a gentle hand at my back and I swallow down the lump in my throat as I glance over my shoulder to JJ, his face full of worry. "You alright?"

"I'm fine," I lie, and it's unconvincing making JJ's face tighten but I rip my eyes from him, instead looking down at my hands- at the dried blood coated under my nails and staining my palms. "Seriously, I'm just focused on John B getting here."

"He attacked us first," JJ mutters, and I sigh when he climbs off the Phantom and comes to stand beside me, his eyes beseeching with me, "What happened was not on you, it was on him."

"Pope nearly killed him," I whisper, my voice tapering, and I can feel the glances of Kiara and Pope from across us, not hearing our hushed voices but seeing the harsh lines marring our faces. "We're meant to be better than them, we can't fall to their level, JJ, we can't."

"I know," He sighs, and I gaze at him as he runs a hand over his tired face, wincing when his finger comes into contact with the cut on his lip.

"He got you good, huh?" I frown, my hand coming up and running over the outer edge of the cut, and JJ sucks in a sharp breath at my touch, his eyes unblinking as he stares down at me. "You don't need any stitches, thank god."

"It could've been worse," He shrugs, and I see how thickly he swallows, his body so still as I trace my fingers across that wound. I narrow my eyes at his words, my lip curling in ire as I draw my hand away, and I don't miss the yearning on his face as I do so.

"Yes, it could have been worse- you could have got shot," I raise a brow at him, and he smiles sheepishly under my glare, "Seriously JJ, you aren't bulletproof stop putting yourself in front of me like some kind of fucking armour, you're gonna get yourself killed."

"Better me than you," He says simply, and my eyes widen at his words- at the sincerity behind them.

"You don't mean that," I shake my head, my eyes starting to squint from the glare of the setting sun, his tall height half-shielding me from its hard shine. "You don't."

"I think we both know I do, Rory," His lip tugs at the corner, an easy, lazy smile, but his eyes are solemn, sincere with the weight of his words.

"Shit, shit-"

I turn at Pope's words and my face falls, and so does JJ's, at the sight of a cop car pulling up the track, stopping just a few feet from us, its sirens dimming into silence.

We were done for.

"Get back on the boat," JJ grabs me by my hips, steering me back to the boat behind us, his eyes widening as he glances from Kiara to Pope, "Quick, get back on the boat-"

"Wait, wait-" I pull at JJ's firm hold, looking in shock as that car door opens- and John B comes out.

"No way," JJ scoffs, and then his face splits into a grin and he laughs, "You've gotta be kidding me."

"Should we even ask?" I laugh, a grin stretching across my face as John B walks over to us- and we're all grinning, laughing, disbelief and relief on our faces as he comes closer. "There's no way."

"Shoupe let me take it for a spin," He winks, adjusting his backpack across his shoulders and my heart seems to calm at the sight of him- he was okay.

"That's believable, I'll buy that for now," Kiara snorts and John B's face melts into something quiet and sad as she wraps her arms around him, just as glad to see him as I was.