She was the first person he trusted with his secret. His safe place.
He was the first guy she let all the way in. He could ground her when nobody else could.
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"𝐓𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐮𝐧𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲, �...
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I pull up in front of a large garage. I stop the car, getting out. Kie and I follow JJ up to the garage door.
"There she be." He says opening the door. "Hey, girl. A 1983 Formula 403 SR1." He pulls the tarp off the large boat. "The Phantom." He clicks his tongue looking at Kie and I.
I loved watching him talk about the Phantom. He had talked to me about it before. He had always been so fascinated by it and the stories of it. JJ's passion for boats was so cute.
"Mm-hm." I say nodding with a smile.
"The first boat to make the run to Bermuda in under 16 hours, ladies. Forty years old! Forty! And still the fastest thing Kildare's ever seen."
"It's kind of a junker." Kie observes.
I let out a little giggle.
"Really, Kie? She's right there. She can hear you. Let's just put it this way. You would not be smokin' weed right now, if she didn't exist, okay?"
"Oh brother." I say shaking my head.
"I just hope she runs." Kie says honestly.
"Oh, no, she'll run alright. She's faster than any cutters the boys in blue got." JJ mumbles, prepping the boat.
A motorcycle engine revs outside before hearing it halt to a stop.
"Pope, finally!" Kie tells jogging around the boat.
"Hey there. What's going on?" Rafe appears around the boat.
My breath hitches in my throat, catching JJ's attention. He looks up at me before Rafe calls our names.
"Kat, JJ? How you guys doin'? Heard y'all were official, congrats." Rafe hops up on the side of the Phantom.
A shrill whistle sounds from behind us. I whip around quickly. Barry walks around the side of my car, tapping it as he goes.
"Well, well..." Barry pulls out a gun, cocking it. He points it directly at JJ. "Now don't think I forgot about me and you on the side of the road. I'm here because I want my motherfuckin' money!" Barry attacks JJ to the ground.
"JJ!" I call out running at him. Barry pushes me away, knocking me off balance before turning back to my boyfriend. Rafe picks up Kiara as she tries to help JJ, pulling her away too.
"That's what I'm here for!" Barry punches JJ again while he's still on the ground.
"Get off of him!" I yell standing up.
"It's not you we want, Kat. Where's John B?" Rafe says turning to Kie.
"I don't know!" She yells slapping him. The sound echoes through the room.
JJ tries to get up but Barry kicks him again telling him to stay down.
"I really wish you didn't do that." Rafe says to Kie. He walks over to me pulling me over to her. I try to pull away because I knew he was just here to keep Kie and I busy while Barry handles JJ.
"We know what you did!" Kie tells Rafe.
"What? What did I do?" He asks.
"You murdered Peterkin!" Kiara yells.
Rafe reaches out and grabs Kie around her neck, choking her. "Don't you ever say those fucking words again."
I grab his arm, trying to pull him off of her. "Rafe, get off!" He shoves me to the ground with his free arm.
"Where is John B?" He yells at Kie again.
"I don't know!"
Suddenly Pope is running in and smacks Rafe across the back with a metal rod. "Don't touch her!" Rafe drops Kiara as Pope continues to hit him.
She rushes over helping me to my feet. Barry moves to help defend Rafe but JJ catches his ankle, making him trip. I watch as the gun clatters to the ground. I move to pick it up. Barry moves back to grab at JJ to tackle him again.
I point the gun at Barry. "Step away from him." My voice comes out low and threatening.
"You won't shoot me." Barry states confidently.
"Try me." I say taking a step toward him. I cock the gun, letting it click loudly.
Barry backs up with his hands in the air. I toss the gun as far as I can before turning back to the other fight. Pope was still hitting Rafe. He wasn't stopping. It almost looked as if Pope wasn't actually aware.
