Audacious//JJ Maybank (Outerbanks)

Chapter 86

{Crowbar}

Sleeping on the porch again was amazing. I didn't think I'd be able to sleep comfortably here with my father in the next room and the threat of our enemies coming after us, but I slept like a baby.

All of a sudden, I woke up to the sound of John B yelling. "Shut up, John B." I groan. "Jackie, dad's gone." John B rushes over to the porch and shakes my shoulders, forcing me to open my eyes. "He's not here!" John B raises his voice. I sighed sweeping my hair out of my r eyes. It was then that I noticed Sarah standing behind John B, a concerned look on her face.

"Sarah?" My eyes widen as a small smile tugs at my lips and I rush over to her. "Hey," she chuckles pulling me into a hug. They made it back. "Is JJ with you?" I asked urgently once I pulled away from her. "No, they just dropped me off. JJ didn't think you guys would be back yet." Sarah says with a frown. My heart grew heavy at the thought and I could feel the baby kicking, just like it's momma, it misses JJ.

"Okay, we can get JJ late. We have to find Dad." John B says. I roll my eyes at John B sudden lack of concern for his childhood best friend. I watched as he ran around the yard and down to the dock, where the boat was still secured. "I'm sure he's fine." I let out a sigh and Sarah glances at me with wide eyes.

"Wait, so Big John is actually alive?" Sarah asks and I nod my head. "Didn't you hear me on the phone?" I ask, shrugging. "No, it kept cutting out," Sarah replies. "You think I made it all up?" John B scoffs, clearly offended by her. "I mean you guys always say the same thing a lot."

"Hell, I wouldn't believe him either." The three of us whip our heads towards the house, where Big John walks back into the hard. Sarah's mouth falls open in shock as she walks over to him. Big John smiles at her as he hugs her, making eye contact with John B over her shoulder. "Good to see you, Ms Cameron. Or should I say, Mrs Routledge?" Big John teases and I burst out laughing. "Welcome to the family."

We all pull into a group hug, celebrating our family reunion. After a while, Sarah left to go get some things from Tannyhill, and I made sure to tell her if she saw JJ send him my way. It wasn't until she was gone that an engine could be heard nearby and big John rolled up in the Twinkie. "Brought an old friend to see you."

"Where'd you get this?" John B asks. He comes rushing out of the house in new clothes and his signature back hat. I leaned against the railing of the house, staring at my father. "The impound lot. Where do you think?" big John says stepping out of the van. "I'm trying to figure out why you didn't say when Sarah was here." John B mutters. "Because he doesn't trust her." I deadpan glancing at my father.

"Seriously?" John B's mouths fall open. "Just Jackie, you and me." Big John states seriously. When it came to treasure, I knew my father would never let anyone else intervene unless he completely trusted them. I supposed I should've known he wouldn't trust Sarah: she was a Cameron, faster all, and he wasn't around when she proved her loyalty to us.

I let out a sigh and moved closer to the Twinkie. It looked even rustier than before and the shattered windshield made me wince. I loved the van dearly and it pained me to see it in such disarray. "I found the diary, alright. It was a big pile of mush. The window was left down and got rained on. You coulda shut the window."

"Uh, there were some complications and we weren't planning on being gone that long." John B mumbles. "We'll that diary's done." Big John snaps. He leaned closer to us and I shied away from him. "But I got another idea. Plan B. Come on"

My mouth fell open at how quickly our father could switch between anger and calmness. "Great." I mutter as John B sighs and I reluctantly climb into the Twinkie, but before John B gets in he leaves a note on the door saying "Found the Twinkie. Off with our pops. See you soon.- JB & Jackie"

Silence hung over us as the van chugged along the road. "Just so we're clear, we're not keeping anything from Sarah." John B speaks up. "She's one of us, dad." John B declares.

"You lost the gold, right?" Big John mused. "To her father. And the cross to her brother."I scoff crossing my arms, leaning back in the seat. "It was a coincidence, dad." John B huffs. "Look, it's better to keep intel on a need-to-know basis. Trust me, I learned that the hard way."

"Look, it's just us three." Big John assures patting John B on the shoulder. "Yeah, so where are we going?" I ask as I peered out the window at the quaint house settled before us. "We are making a stop at your history teacher's house." Big John explains. "Mr. Sunn?" We both say at the same time. I glance at John B with a grin. "He had the original diary, right and he vanished once word got out that he had it."

"But it ain't gonna hurt to check." Big John pulls the Twinkie to a stop and we all step out of the van. I trail behind them, lingering in the yard while Big John walks up the front door and peers inside. "No one's home. We should probably get out of here." John B says urgently turning around to leave but Big John grabs him and pulls him back. "Let's have some fun." Big John exclaims.

"Have some fun? You said he's in hiding." I point out. "I said he was missing." Big John corrects. "He could be in hiding or he could be—pew." He held a finer gun to his head and mimicked it going off, making me gasp. "Dad." I hiss.

Big John pulls out a little note and fiddles with the lock until it clicks, allowing him to open to door. "Breaking and entering with our father," I mutter under my breath. "My child is coming into a family with criminals." I roll my eyes, as I begin to rummage through the kitchen. Big John mutters to himself as he searches for the leather-bound diary, completely unbothered by the consequences if we get caught.

Suddenly a hand grabbed my hair and yank me backwards, causing a scream to rip through my throat. John B spins around at the sound but is met with a crowbar to the head. "John B!" I yell as he falls to the ground and groans, cradling his head. The man goes to attack John B again, I reach my hand to hit him but then the crowbar is swung my way.

The crowbar was hard and pain erupted in my skull at the impact against my temple, sending me to the floor. Black dots danced across my vision as I struggled to keep my bearing but another hit to the head had me completely black out. The last thing I see is Big John and John B being held at gunpoint, and the men saying "too late." And then everything went blank.

"Jackie!" The familiar voice cut through the haze as I felt a gentle hand grasp mine. John B's face came into view, worry etched into his features. "Are you okay? The baby?" His eyes searched mine, frantic and desperate.

I tried to answer but my mouth felt dry, and I couldn't barely manage a shrug. "I...I don't know." I stammer, my voice weak. I could feel the pulse of the pain throbbing in my head, and I instinctively brought a hand to my temple, wincing at the touch.

Big John steps into view and helps Mr Sunn out of the ropes tying him. "We have to go after them, they have to diary." Big John snaps. "Go, I'll be okay," I reassure John b and he nods before standing up and they both run out of the house. "Jackie? Are you okay?" Mr. Sunn is at my side in an instant. "We have to get you to the hospital." He says urgently and I don't even have the strength to protest so I just nod my head. He helps me to my feet and into the car.

To be continued...