𝐛𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞- 𝐣𝐣 𝐦𝐚𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐤

4.

🦋☀ 🌊 - 4

The Pogues huddled up at John B's place like they always did. The air inside the old shack was thick with heat and salt, the kind that clung to your skin even when you weren't near the water. Everyone sat in their usual spots-Pope pacing, Kiara cross-legged on the couch, JJ leaning back in his chair with a beer, and Olivia beside him, one leg tucked under the other.

She reached over without asking, plucking the can from his hand and taking a long sip. The look JJ shot her could've burned through the humidity.

"So, um... we didn't see anything, we don't know anything," Pope muttered, pacing the floor like he was about to wear a hole in it.

JJ pointed at him, grinning. "Actually, Pope's right for once."

Pope froze mid-step.

"See? I agree with you sometimes," JJ added. "Deny, deny, deny."

Kiara crossed her arms. "Guys, we can't keep that money."

JJ's eyes flicked toward her. "Not everyone can afford unlimited data plans, Kie."

"Funny," she shot back. "We gotta pass that off to Lana Grubbs, or it's bad karma."

"Listen-Kiara's right." Olivia finished what was left of JJ's beer and set the can down between them. "It's not ours to begin with."

JJ leaned forward, irritation flashing in his eyes. "God, what is going on with you two? Sorry we're not frickin' rich." His voice rose with every word. "Glad to know you have nice lives."

Olivia frowned, meeting his glare head-on. "Fuck you, JJ."

He rolled his eyes, crossing his arms like a stubborn kid. "I'm keeping it."

John B exhaled, rubbing his forehead. "I don't agree."

It was obvious none of them did. Even though John B could use the cash, everyone knew it screamed trouble.

"Think about it," John B continued. "We're talking about Scooter Grubbs-the same guy who buys single cigarettes at the Porthole, who begs for gas money at the dock. The dude never had more than forty bucks to his name. And now he suddenly has a Grady White?"

He lifted his hands in defense. "Just saying."

"They were smuggling," JJ said quietly, looking around at them.

Pope shook his head. "Taking that money would be stupid."

"Stupid things come with good outcomes." JJ snatched the cash from Pope's hands, a half-smirk tugging at his lips. "We just have to figure out how to get into the cargo. For now, we lay low."

Olivia leaned back, crossing her arms. "How?"

Kiara smiled-one of those mischievous, we'll-find-a-way smiles. "I think I know."

And that's how they ended up at the Boneyard.

Music thumped from a half-broken speaker, the smell of beer and bonfire thick in the air. The Pogues moved through the chaos like they owned it-JJ and John B passing out drinks, Pope talking about something no one was listening to, Kiara halfway into a rant about the environment.

Olivia sat on a log, sipping a beer that wasn't hers and making lazy small talk with a couple of girls she didn't know. For a moment, she forgot the tension back at the house. She even laughed when JJ sprayed beer in her mouth, his grin a flash of something familiar-wild and stupid, but hers.

Then she heard it.

"Heyy."

Olivia looked up to see her brother, Noah, walking toward her-with Rafe Cameron at his side. Her smile dropped.