Chapter 8
John B's POV
I sat nervously at the table with her uncle. The two men he was with, stood behind him staring me down. It felt like Thomas was here all over again.
"Do you care for my niece?" Her uncle asked me.
"Yes, sir I do." I said nodding.
"Her mother was my sister. I was left with guardianship of her by her parents when they passed. My niece is a spitting image of her mother, a little firecracker at that age. I saw my sister's life happening all over again. Meeting her drugged up husband, working and dealing for me to pay off his debt he acclimated since he was 16. That's why I sent her here. So, she could have a different outcome in life. Now she has met you and I see a different life for her. A different light. Yes, she still hangs out with my men, but I can't keep her from them. She loves them. Hardy and her are a different story. They've been together since kindergarten; I can't pull them away." He said.
"I understand." I said.
"The real reason I want this sit down. Her mistakes, her lifestyle, her friends are nothing to be thrown out to hurt her. If she wants to offer a meeting with me for you to help get something you want, then you listen. She knows this business, like I do. You don't throw it up about her criminal friends. She trusts you, more than anything or anyone." He told me.
"Yes. Yes sir." I said nodding to him.
"Now, my offer to you. I will help you get the gold from where it is and get it at the right price with the right people. But if you hurt my niece, in anyway, anyway at all, I will pull this deal and you nor your friends won't see a single penny of this gold." He said.
"I won't, I promise." I said.
"And the Cameron girl? My men have informed me of that little kiss at the Ferry. I'm surprised she has controlled herself this long around her." He said.
"I was just using her to get what I needed to help us find this gold. Nothing more. Her boyfriend or whatever he is, already paid it for me." I said holding up my wrist.
"Hmm. Well deserved." He said nodding.
"Her and Hardy said the same thing." I said sighing. He chuckled and stood up. I stood up with him.
"You better keep her happy, Mr. Routledge. From what I've seen tonight and from what my men have seen recently, there are a few other gentlemen in town that have set their eyes on her. One screw up and I'm sure one of those higher appearance gentlemen will be able to repair her heart." He said buttoning his coat.
"I'm falling in love with your niece, sir. I couldn't imagine losing her to someone else." I said shaking my head. He nodded and patted my shoulder.
"Tell her before it's too late." He said walking towards the door.
"I'll be in touch with Christina through Hardy or Tony until the towers get up and running." He said walking out. Tony stopped and squeezed my shoulder.
"Hurt my cousin again, I will end your life." He told me. I nodded and he let me go. I walked out the door after them. Christina was at the car, talking with her uncle. She nodded and kissed his cheek. He got in the car. Tony and Greg nodded to her and got in as well. Then they were gone. I walked down and walked over to her. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and kissed her head then the side of her neck.
"Can we talk?" I asked her. She nodded and we walked down to the pier.
"What do you want to talk about?" She asked me. I leaned against the dock and sighed as I looked at her.
"Your uncle has agreed to help us." I told her. She nodded and crossed her arms.
"Good. He can be useful in helping you." She said.
"He also said I shouldn't use your past, your lifestyle as a way to hurt you when we argue. I shouldn't have done it." I said.
"No, you shouldn't." She said.
"I should've listened to you instead of snapping like I did. I'm sorry." I said.
"It's fine. Is that it?" She said.
"No. I want to say something else." I said walking up to her. I blocked her against the dock and leaned down. I put my forehead against hers. She placed her hands on my neck.
"I'm falling in love with you. I want us. I don't want anyone to come between us, no other guys or girls. Just you and me." I told her.
"You're falling in love with me?" She asked.
"Yes." I whispered.
"Why?" She asked.
"You drive me crazy. We've slowly moved you into this house without realizing it. I don't want anyone else to have you. Not a kook or even another Pogue." I told her.
"Damn, and there goes my chance with JJ." She said shaking her head. I rolled my eyes and leaned down and kissed her. She kissed me back. I pulled back slightly.
"I'm falling in love with you too, John B." She whispered. I placed one hand on her cheek and slid my arm around her waist. I kissed her again. We pulled away to breathe a few minutes later.
"What umm. What did you and my uncle talk about?" She asked panting.
"He offered his help to get the gold and get a good deal with the right people. If things go south with you and me, we won't see a penny of the money." I said.
"Then we better keep each other happy then, huh, Mr. Routledge?" She asked biting her lip.
"Yeah, we better, Ms. Hayden." I said smirking down at her. She laughed and kissed me again. I held her tightly against me. I pulled away but held onto her. She turned to look out at the water.
"He told me a little bit about your mom. How she helped out your dad when they were younger. He sent you here for a different outcome from what she had; he sees it. He doesn't want you like them." I said.
"He won't keep me from Hardy or Steven." She argued.
"He won't. He already said he won't be able too." I said rubbing her arms. She sighed and relaxed against me.
"Your uncle said something else tonight." I said.
"What?" She asked.
"From what he saw tonight at dinner and what his men have seen, other guys have had their eyes on you." I said. She turned back around to me.
"Rafe was there tonight. But my aunt had already put him in the mood by not having someone answer the door. The Cameron's did their introductions, then uncle started in on Marissa not having photos of the family, and I pulled Rafe to the side with me by his arm when he was walking around, then dinner was awful, then I walked them out after we got dismissed. Rafe gave me a verbal invitation to a kook party, but I told him I had to be here. Then they left and I came here. As for the other guys you are referring too, I have no idea." She told me.
"Rafe is bad news." I told her.
"He was nice to me. Even if I am a Pogue." She said smirking.
"He probably likes you." I scoffed. She slid her arms around my neck.
"Well, I don't like him. I love you, and you're all I need." She told me.
"Well, I'm glad." I whispered.
"As for the other guys, I haven't noticed anyone." She said touching my cheek.
"Besides your security around all of us, I noticed some old friends of yours, maybe Topper and Kelce." I said nodding.
"Remind me to send Topper a thank you basket for pushing you." She said giggling.
"You're so mean." I said shaking my head.
"Oh, I'm downright evil." She said nodding. I grabbed her head and kissed her deeply. I felt her melt into me and I knew I had her. I pulled away from her completely.
"I can be evil too." I told her. I winked and walked up to the fire pit. I grabbed a beer and sat down.
"So?" JJ asked me.
"We talked, everything's good, we're getting the gold. Everything great." I said nodding.
"To going full Kook." He said slapping my shoulder.
"To going full kook!" I cheered. Kie and Pope cheered too. A few minutes later, arms slid around my shoulders and Christina kissed the side of my neck to ear. I pulled her around into my lap and she kissed me. I groaned and kissed her back. She slid her fingers into my hair and tugged. I pulled away panting.
"Wanna go on a boat ride?" I asked. She kissed me lightly and stood up. I stood up and grabbed her hand.
"No thanks. I'm going to bed." She said smirking.
"But I thought?" I started.
"Don't tease, a teaser, John B." She said winking at me. She pulled her hand away and headed to the house. I groaned.
"You got owned, JB." Pope said laughing. I nodded and looked at the house. I smirked. Two can play this game, I thought. An hour later we all decided to go to bed. Everyone stayed the night. I walked into my room and saw her lying on the bed. She had my captain shirt on and was curled into my pillow. I got in bed and slid my arms around her. She sighed and rolled over.
"John B." She whispered.
"I'm here baby." I told her. I kissed her head and fell asleep. I woke up the next morning to someone shaking me. I groaned and looked up at JJ.
"Dude, man! There're people out here and they don't speak a lick of English and they look angry." He said panicking. I untangled myself from Christina and got up. He and I walked outside. Two men in suits and a man in a hard hat stood out there.
"Uhh. Can we help you?" I asked nervously. The man in the suit started speaking to me in a different language.
"I'll go wake up Christina." I said nodding. He and I walked back into my house and into my room. I got on the bed and kissed the side of her head.
"Baby. Hey, wake up. There are men here that don't speak English." I whispered to her. She groaned.
"Who are they?" She asked.
"Don't know. Two of them are in suits." I told her. She shot up and rushed to her bag. She pulled a gun from her bag. She checked it and walked past us.
"Your girlfriend just got hotter." JJ said walking after her. I shook my head and followed them.
"Can we help you?" She asked. The tall one walked up and held out his hand. He spoke the language to her again. She sighed and put the gun behind her back. She spoke back and took his hand.
"They are associates of my uncle." She told us.
"Oh." We said nodding. The man spoke again.
"You'll have to tell them where the stuff is." She said.
"It's under a house on the 8. We can take you there." I said. She told him and he nodded but waved the other man to us. He spoke to her, and she nodded.
"Is the house empty or is someone staying there?" She asked us.
"Ms. Crain is there." I said nodding. She told them and the other man walked off. An old bronco pulled to a stop behind the Rover. Hardy and Steven got out and shook hands with the men. They came back over and talked with Christina. She turned to us.
"They've listed the house for sale. Enrique is jumping on it now. Old bat is going into a nursing home because she doesn't feel protected in her home, since it got broken in to recently. Good job, guys." She said smirking.
"That wasn't. It was not intentional." I said shaking my head.
"But it worked." She said. She leaned up and kissed my cheek before walking inside the house.
"You spoke with her uncle?" Hardy asked me.
"We both did, yes. She was going to talk with him about setting up a meeting for me, but I snapped then he showed up and we talked." I explained.
"She must really like you." He scoffed. He walked inside with Steven.
"Why are all the people she's associated with so mean?" JJ asked me. I shrugged and we walked inside the house. Her and Hardy were arguing in another language. This one was different than the one she spoke outside.
"Can we speak English! Please!" I snapped at them. They stopped and looked at me.
"What are you speaking anyway?" JJ asked them.
"Spanish and Italian. My uncle thought it would be a good idea to start us at a young age learning certain languages." She said crossing her arms.
"What else do we not know about you still?" JJ asked.
"When I think of something, I'll tell you." She said nodding to him. Someone knocked on the door behind us. We turned and saw the two suit men. They spoke again.
"You got the house. If we get dressed now, we can show them, and they can get started." She told me.
"That was fast." I commented.
"We get shit done. Break her heart again and find out how quickly." Hardy said nodding to me. She elbowed him. Making him grunt. She rolled her eyes and walked to the bedroom.
"John B!" She called out. I walked over to the room and walked in.
"What's up?" I asked her.
"Shut the door." She said nodding to it. I closed it and she walked over to me. She slid her arms around my neck and leaned up then kissed me. I kissed her back.
"Hi. Good morning." She said pulling back. I captured her lips again and deepened the kiss.
"Good morning." I said pulling away. Her hands slid down under my shirt.
"I think we need each other's help getting undressed, don't you?" She asked smirking at me. I nodded and lifted up my arms. She pulled my shirt off and kissed me again. I picked her up and laid us down on the bed. I slid my hand down her hip and up her side, lifting the shirt as I went. Someone started banging on the door.
"Let's go!" Steven yelled. She groaned and pulled away. I sighed and got up. We got dressed and we got in the Rover. The bronco followed us.
"We're definitely getting another one of these when we get the money." I said as I drove the Rover.
"Still keeping the Twinkie, right?" Christina asked.
"Well of course. Can't lose all my roots when we go full kook." I told her. She smiled.
"You two are so cute, it's gross. Really." Kie said from the backseat. We laughed. Christina turned around in her seat.
"You and I are having a girls talk later. Okay?" She said.
"Can you turn around? Cause I don't want a ticket." I told her. She waved me off.
"Girl talk? What's girl talk?" JJ asked them.
"We talk about all the things girls do. Except we'll have beer and weed, instead of doing hair and makeup." Kie said.
"Boys, clothes, mostly boys." Christina said shrugging.
"I'm scared to know what you two will talk about." Pope said.
"That's the thing. We don't tell what we talk about." Kie said laughing.
"Can you turn around and sit down?" I asked Christina.
"No. I'm talking to Kie." She said.
"Do I have to tell your uncle?" I asked her. She just shrugged and continued her conversation with Kie. We pulled up to the old Crain House. We got out and the bronco pulled around. Hardy and Steven got out.
"They already removed her from the house. They're coming tomorrow to take all the stuff out and donate it." Steven told us.
"Great. Let's go." JJ said. We walked through the yard over to the basement door. I pushed it in and ducked under. Someone said something in Spanish making Christina laugh. I uncovered the well and everyone looked over.
"Wuss!" We heard. I turned around and saw a guy walking out.
"Mason doesn't like wells anymore." Hardy said sighing.
"Why?" Pope asked.
"We grew up with Mason. And his aunt had a well in the back of her house, and somebody got mad because he threw her stuff animal in a wood chipper, so she decided to shove him down the well." He said looking over at Christina. We looked at her.
"That was my favorite bear." She said shrugging.
"He could've died!" Steven said.
"As you see, he didn't! They got him out in time!" She argued.
"He was seconds away from hypothermia." Hardy told us. She shrugged again and looked around. They started to set up a pulley system.
"How far down is it?" A man asked.
"15 feet, I guess. There's a hole on the right side and if you crawl through it, it's there." I explained. He nodded and looked down. We walked out and stood by the car.
"We can trust these guys, right?" JJ asked.
"Yes. They know better than to cross my uncle." Christina said. Someone walked up and started setting up a table with a laptop. She thanked them and started setting up the laptop.
"Alright. Here we go. Hector is wearing the hard hat with the camera, so you will be able to see all the gold they dig up." She told us.
"How will they know if they got it all?" Pope asked.
"They'll know." Hardy said from his spot. I looked over at him. He had a look on his face that I couldn't tell what it was or meant. Part of me felt like he didn't trust us. Someone yelled from the house.
"Down they go." Steven said. Christina stepped back and we surrounded the computer. An SUV pulled up. Her uncle and the two guys got out.
"Sir. Tony, Greg." Hardy and Steven said nodding to them.
"Gentlemen. How is it going?" He said walking up to us.
"They're scaling down now." I told him. He nodded and looked at the computer.
"Uncle this is, Pope, Kiara, and JJ. They are John B's and my friends. More so, John B's. Everyone this is my uncle." Christina said introducing them.
"It's nice to meet you, sir." Pope said holding out his hand. He shook their hands and kissed Kie's.
"You too, kids. Are you a part of this treasure hunt as well?" He said.
"Yes sir." JJ said nodding to him. He nodded.
"Good. John B is lucky to have friends to stick by his side." He said clapping me on the shoulder. They nodded too. He looked at Christina, Hardy and Steven. He spoke to them and nodded over to his car. They followed him. I looked between them and the camera. Christina ran her hands through her hair then over her face. Hardy kicked the SUV and yelled. Everyone looked over at them.
"What's going on?" I asked Tony.
"I'm not allowed to discuss personal business." He said.
"But aren't you?" JJ started.
"Yes, I'm family. I know what he's telling them, I'm just not allowed to tell you." He said crossing his arms.
"I'm dating Christina, doesn't that make me family?" I asked. He smirked and stepped closer and placed a hand on my shoulder.
"Oh young, naïve, little boy. You don't become a part of this family till you marry and impregnate my cousin. Don't do it anytime soon." He said squeezing my shoulder tightly. I grunted but nodded. He let me go and backed up a step. Christina walked up to us.
"Hey, I have to go with my uncle. Hardy and Steven will be here. But I'll be home later, okay?" She told me.
"Everything okay?" I asked.
"I'll explain it when I get home. I love you." She said. She leaned up and kissed me. I kissed her back. She pulled away and leaned her forehead against mine.
"I love you too." I said biting my lip. She kissed my cheek and ran over to her uncle. Something felt off. Tony and Greg followed them and got in the car. They sped off.
"What's going on?" JJ asked as Hardy and Steven.
"She'll tell you when she gets back." Hardy snapped at us. He walked off to the Bronco and got in. I looked at Steven and he shook his head.
"Don't. Especially right now." He told me. We nodded and continued watching them pull each bar out of the dirt. We ran over as they pulled it out from under the house.
"We did it. Oh my God! We did it!" Pope cheered. The pieces were being loaded up in crates and added to a truck.
"Don't worry. It'll be safer with her uncle. Lock and protected, no one will touch it." Steven told us. We headed to the Wreck after the last one was loaded up. We grabbed breakfast or a late lunch and headed back to the Chateau.
"So, what happens now?" Kie asked.
"Do we keep the gold or sell it?" JJ asked looking around at all of us.
"We sell it. $400 Million is what it went down as. Maybe if Mr. Clarence can contact the highest bidder, we can get more than that." I said as we sat on the porch.
"You think he can do that?" Kie asked.
"He got us the gold. We set up a meeting to get it to the highest bidder, then we live like the Kooks." I said shaking my head.
"No offense to your girlfriend and all but how can we trust that he won't take it all for himself? What if he's been behind all this tragedy just to get the gold?" JJ asked. I scoffed and shook my head.
"They wouldn't do that. Not Christina, not her uncle." I said standing up.
"How do you know? John B, you're an easy trustor, okay? Me? Not so much! How do we not know they're not meeting with someone right now to sell our gold too?" He asked. I looked at him.
"Christina wouldn't do that." Kie said shaking her head.
"How do we know though? We haven't known her that long!" He scoffed.
"Then we ask her when she gets back. Full honesty, full truth." I said nodding to him. He huffed and nodded in agreement. I started thinking about what JJ had said, and it made me doubtful. I shouldn't be thinking it, but it happened. A couple hours passed, and the SUV pulled up behind the Rover. She and her uncle stepped out of the car. They walked up to the porch and looked at all of us.
"We should talk inside." Her uncle said softly. JJ looked at me as we all walked in.
"First off, I'd like to congratulate you all on finding the gold, your gold. As for safe keeping, I'm having it locked in a safe until we all can meet up potential buyers. That meeting will happen the next time I'm in town which will be in two weeks. If you have any questions or concerns about the gold, feel free to ask Hardy or Steven. I'm not trying to keep the gold away from you, I'm trying to keep it safe from harm. I did my research and there are a lot of people out there looking for the gold. As proof of my assurance of its safety, I'd like to give you each one of these." He said nodding to Christina. She handed him some folders, which he handed to us.
"I've set up an account for each of you. Each containing $50,000 in it." He said.
"How did you get our information?" Pope asked him.
"I made a few calls." He said smirking.
"Thank you, sir. We really appreciate it." I said standing up. I held out my hand and he shook it.
"It's no problem." He told me. Pope and JJ shook his hand, Kie hugged him. He looked at Christina and nodded for her to say something.
"There's something else." She said sighing. I leaned against the table.
"Bad or good?" Kie asked her. She looked at her uncle and he nodded for her to continue.
"Bad. The reason we left earlier was to file a restraining order. My uncle heard from his lawyers back home in Tennessee, who was contacted by the local police." She started.
"Restraining order against who?" JJ asked.
"Cody and Corey. Cody got released from jail. He was supposed to have life in prison, but they filed against it again and he's out on bail." She explained.
"That's the guy." I started.
"Who stabbed my niece in the side and beat a senator's kid almost to death. Corey did the same thing a few months before." Her uncle said.
"That's why Hardy was and still is in his mood." She said crossing her arms.
"I'll be upping security around here. Cody and Corey are smart. They'll ask around about her friends and they'll use you to get to her." Her uncle told us.
"What do we need to do?" Pops asked him.
"Keep close together. No one is to be alone. There will be someone with you at all times." He said nodding.
"I offered to leave for awhile until this is settled." Christina started.
"No, you won't." I told her.
"John B." She started again. I stood up and shook my head.
"You're not leaving. Corey might be a big, muscled, meat head with anger issues but we can handle him. You're not leaving." I told her.
"But." She said.
"No! No buts! We're in this together and that's final." I snapped at her. She raised her eyebrow. I realized I had just raised my voice at her. I looked at her uncle and he was trying to hide his smirk.
"I'm not sure whether to be proud or upset that you stood up to my niece." He said letting out a small chuckle.
"Well, she doesn't listen." I said shrugging.
"You're my boyfriend, I don't have to listen to you." She scoffed at me.
"Christina, whatever John B tells you, you will do it. No questions asked." Her uncle told her. She went to argue but he held his hand up to her. She went quiet and huffed.
"I don't like you anymore." She told me.
"No, you love me." I said.
"Debatable as of now." She said nodding. I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms.
"The town sheriff already knows of everything, except for the gold. I will be reselling the house after a remodel, and I will add that to your accounts as well once it sells. Remember John B Routledge, hurt my niece again, I will pull everything we've done." He reminded us.
"Yes sir. But what if she hurts me?" I asked.
"Then I won't worry about hiding a body." He said nodding. She giggled and looked down.
"Well, the rest of you have a good evening. I'll be back in two weeks." Her uncle told us. He walked out and Christina followed.
"Think he's trying to screw us now, JJ?" I asked looking at him.
"There's still time." He said looking at the papers.
"Dude, they set us up an account with money in it. None of us have ever had this much before." Pope said shaking his head.
"Yeah. What if they set this up so they can get it back after they kill us?" He asked looking around. Christina walked back in then.
"Then you would've gotten a lesser amount. If you decide not to trust us, have at it. Just give your part of the money to one of your friends and walk away." She said shrugging. She walked into my room and shut the door. I placed my folder down and walked into the room. She was lying across the bed, looking up at the ceiling.
"Baby." I said shutting the door.
"I think we should all get drunk tonight. Go into town, grab a few cases, get some hard stuff, and enjoy our evening." She said not looking at me. I laid down beside her and grabbed her hand.
"You okay?" I asked her.
"No. But I will worry about that in the morning, not right now. I want to get drunk with my boyfriend and have one last worry-free night." She said sitting up. I grabbed her arm as she slid off the bed. I turned her as I sat up. I pulled her between my legs.
"Hey, it's okay. We'll be okay." I said nodding. I placed my left hand on her cheek. She grabbed my hand and looked down. She sniffled.
"I love you, John B. I don't want to see you get hurt because of me. I don't want to see any of you get hurt because of me. If I have to leave and lead him away, from hurting the guy that I love and his friends. Then I have to do that. You will get tired of having someone follow you around and jump into every little thing, every fight, and it gets aggravating, trust me." She said looking at me. She had tears in her eyes.
"We can handle it. I promise you." I told her.
"I believe you, but I know what they're capable of. I. I've seen first-hand what harm Cody and Corey both can cause to someone. Cody put a guy in the hospital for whistling at me. Corey put a nerd in the hospital for helping his drunk girlfriend off the ground after another girl pushed her." She said.
"What kind of people did you hang out with?" I asked.
"I was just at parties with them. I mostly stuck with Hardy and Steven and our group of friends." She told me. I shook my head and held her close.
"We'll be okay. I promise." I said rubbing her sides. She leaned her forehead against mine.
"I love you." She whispered.
"I love you too." I told her. She leaned in and kissed me lightly.
"Can we go get drunk now?" She asked pulling away.
"I don't know. You talk a lot when you drink." I said smirking.
"But I speak the truth even when intoxicated." She said shrugging.
"Tell me the truth. Do you really love me?" I said. She nodded and grabbed my head in her hands.
"I do. I love you, John B Routledge. I'll love you till the end of the line wherever that leads us." She told me.
"Did you write that yourself? Or steal it from a movie?" I teased her. She rolled her eyes and pulled away from me. I grabbed her and dropped her on the bed beside me. I rolled onto my side and faced her.
"Until the end of the line wherever that may lead us. I love you too, Christina Hayden." I told her. I leaned down and kissed her. She pulled me closer and deepened the kiss. Things got heated and clothes started being removed.
"Yo! You two we should! Oh! Oh, I'm sorry!" JJ yelled. The door slammed shut quickly. I looked up at Christina as she giggled.
"Think we scarred him for life?" She asked panting. I shrugged and kissed her again. I wasn't about to lose this moment with her. I didn't want to lose her. Not now, not ever.