Audacious//JJ Maybank (Outerbanks)

Chapter 117

We're speeding toward the docks, the waves crashing against the HMS Pogue, but my mind is elsewhere, focused on JJ. I can feel my heart racing, and when I realize where he must be, it's like a punch to the gut.

"So, you're telling me that JJ thinks that Chandler Groff, the heir to Goat Island, is his real dad?" John B's voice pulls me back to reality, his expression a mix of disbelief and concern. He, Sarah, and Kiara are all looking at me, waiting for an answer.

"I don't know... maybe," I reply, trying to sound casual, but it doesn't come out right. I sigh. "I wouldn't have told you, but he's been freaking out ever since he got that letter, and I know that's where he went."

"Why would the Genrettes keep that a secret for so many years?" John B presses, his brow furrowed in confusion.

"People keep secrets for a lot of reasons," Kiara answers before I can.

I glance at Sarah, who's been quiet this whole time. She just shrugs, defeated. "Okay, well, it's the last place we've looked, so dealer's choice," she says, her tone more resigned than anything.

John B starts up the engine, and the boat rumbles beneath us as we head toward Goat Island. The night is thick and dark, the only sounds coming from the engine and the occasional splash of water against the boat.

When we finally reach Goat Island, everything seems eerily still. That is, until I spot the boat in the distance. My heart stops.

"Kill the engine, kill the engine!" I shout urgently. John B reacts quickly, cutting the engine, and the boat coasts to a halt in the dark water. My eyes lock on the figures on the other boat, and my blood runs cold when I spot JJ standing there. He's with Chandler Groff—the man who's been after the scroll, the man who killed Terrance.

"Oh my god, it's JJ," I whisper, my throat tight with dread.

"And that's Groff," Sarah adds grimly. "Those are the guys from Charleston who took the scroll."

"Scuba guy," Kiara mutters, visibly shuddering.

"What do they want with JJ?" John B asks, his voice laced with confusion and fear.

"I don't think it's JJ they want," I murmur, my eyes narrowing on Groff's imposing figure. "We have to do something. Now."

"We could ram them, create a distraction," Kiara suggests, her voice frantic but trying to stay focused.

"Ram that?" John B exclaims, looking at our tiny boat, then back at the massive vessel across from us. "Are you serious?"

Sarah, who's been rummaging in the back of the boat, holds up two bottles of vodka. "We have these. And gasoline in the back," she says, a wicked glint in her eye.

"That's psychotic," Kiara protests, but Sarah's already pulling at the bottles, determined.

I nod, feeling like I don't have time to waste. "Let's find some rags." I quickly scramble, grabbing a few old rags and tossing them to John B. He sets up the makeshift Molotov cocktail with precision, lighting the rag and getting it ready to throw.

"We'll use the fire to distract them," I explain quickly. "JJ will get free, jump over, and we'll grab him."

"Just don't hit him with the bomb, please. I'd like him in one piece," I add, feeling the pressure mounting.

"Don't hit JJ with the Molotov cocktail. Gotcha," John B grins, but it's tense.

"Anybody got a lighter?" he asks, scanning the boat. I quickly hand him JJ's lighter, the one he always carries, the one that's been a part of him since forever.