John B's POV
I stood on the porch after talking with Ronnie about everything. She was down at the docks by my boat. She yelled at me for several minutes, then limped her way down to the dock. She wanted the truth, so I gave her the truth.
"You okay?" Kie asked me.
"Yeah. She's pissed at me." I said nodding to the docks. She looked and sighed.
"Well, you were finally honest with her." She said patting my shoulder. I nodded and rubbed my face. Ronnie sat down and put her head in her hands.
"Think she will understand?" I asked her.
"Might take her a minute." She said shrugging. Ronnie got up and tried making her way back up the dock. She stopped halfway.
"JJ!" She called out. He jumped up from the couch.
"Yup! Coming!" He yelled out. He took off her the dock where she was. I shook my head and scoffed.
"Think if she told him to high five a shark, he would?" I asked Kie. She chuckled and nodded.
"He would fight the shark in a heartbeat if the shark messed with her." She said shaking her head. I laughed and leaned against porch post. JJ and Ronnie walked up the porch.
"Kie, help me change please?" Ronnie asked her. Kie and JJ changed spots and the girls went inside. I looked inside and sighed.
"I'm going to in." I said. Pope and JJ followed me in. I opened Ronnie's door and stopped. I saw the balck and purple bruises on her side as her shirt got lowered.
"Ronnie." I started.
"No." She told me. I nodded and walked into the kitchen. I leaned against the counter and crossed my arms. She and Kie walked in a few minutes later. She sat down at the table and ran her fingers through her hair.
"I asked you for only one thing, John B. And that was to not lie to me. I don't care what you do, who you do, or anything as long as you're safe about it. But I asked for one thing and that's not to lie to me." She said.
"I know." I said nodding.
"Then why have you kept this from me? Why would you lie to me about it?" She asked me.
"You would've yelled at me. Gave me a lecture." I said.
"Cause your chasing the same thing dad did! The same thing that got him killed." She said shaking her head.
"And I found it." I argued.
"And look where it's gotten you, John B. Almost killed in prison, ran out of town, chased around the Bahamas." She said standing.
"Here we go." I said sighing. She scoffed and shook her head again.
"Excuse me for wanting my brother alive and not 6 feet under." She scoffed at me. I shook my head and placed my hands on the counter.
"You're overthinking this." I said. Tears were in her eyes.
"I don't want to fight, not now. I'm sorry, JB, that the only blood relative I have now is my only brother. Sorry that I care if he dies, just like our dad did. So, keep on with your treasure hunt, Dora." She snapped. She limped into her room and shut the door.
"Dora?" I asked. Kie shook her head and knocked on Ronnie's door.
"Ronnie, open up, please." She said. I went over and knocked.
"V, open up." I told her.
"Go away." She told us.
"Either you open up or we come in." I warned her. The door swung open as I reached for it. She moved past us with a bag.
"Where are you going?" I asked her.
"Out." She answered. I saw headlights pass the window. I looked outside and saw Topper's jeep pulling up.
"Why is Topper here?" I asked.
"He's picking me up." She said putting her bear in her bag.
"No, you're not leaving." I told her.
"Oh boy." I heard Pope say. She turned to me and raised her eyebrow.
"You don't have the right to tell me where I can go and who I can go with." She told me. I grabbed her bag and held it above my head.
"Try leaving now." I told her.
"John B." JJ said warningly. She nodded then gut checked me. She grabbed the bag as I doubled over.
"Serves you right. Jerk." She said huffing. I groaned as I stood up. She went out the door with Pope right behind her.
"Why did you ever teach her to gut check someone?" I asked JJ.
"Her defense." He said shrugging. I sighed and walked out the door.
"Ronnie!" I called out. Topper was shutting the passenger door and getting into his side of the car. I groaned and tossed down my hat as they pulled away.
"You're a huge idiot." Kie told me.
"How? I was honest with her." I scoffed.
"That's not what she's talking about, dude." JJ argued.
"Then what?" I asked.
"Dude, you're the only person she's got left. Your dad is gone, you are all she's got. You're her only brother and if you die, she's got no one, you moron." Kie said walking inside. I picked up my hat and we all walked back inside. We were sitting around drinking.
"She was the one who paid your restitution, JJ. I took the money this morning." Kie blurted out. JJ sat up and looked at her.
'What?" He and I asked.
"How did she manage to get 30 grand?" Pope asked.
"Don't know. She handed me 4 Ziplock's and told me to go pay it." She said shrugging. I threw my beer can on the ground.
"My sister. Taking care of everyone else but herself. As usual." I said sighing. I leaned back in my chair and rubbed my face.
Veronica's POV
I sat passenger in Topper's jeep. He was taking me to Rafe's. He offered his place but then changed his mind when he remembered Sarah was staying in the boat house. I ran my hand through my hair and sighed.
"You okay?" Topper asked me. I looked at him and nodded.
"Yeah. I will be." I said softly.
"This is the third time, you know." He said laughing. I chuckled and shook my head.
"You're my night and shining armor, then. Twice saving me after arguments with my brother, and once for a fight. Thank you, Topper. For saving me each time." I told him. He reached over and grabbed my hand and squeezed. I looked at it.
"You held my hand too. While I was in the hospital." I said.
"Yeah, I did." He said nodding.
"I can tell. I feel the familiarity of it. It's different from Rafe's." I said nodding.
"I called him on my way back. Told him I was bringing you to him." He said. I was looking at the bruises on his fist.
"He say anything?" I asked.
"Just to bring you safely." He said laughing. I hmphed and nodded again. We pulled up to the Cameron's house. Rafe walked out and opened my door.
"Hi, gorgeous." He said smiling.
"Top, is there a mirror in front of us again? Or is talking about you and me?" I teased. Rafe mocked me and helped me out of car.
"Thanks, Topper." He told him.
"You're welcome. Bye, Ronnie." Topper said.
"Bye, Top. Thank you, again." I told him. He nodded and Rafe grabbed my bag. Topper left and Rafe looked down at me.
"Come on, let's go inside." He told me. I nodded and we walked inside. We walked to the living room.
"Sit down. You need to get off that leg." He told me. I sat down on the couch and sighed. He picked up my leg and placed a pillow under it. I sighed again when the pressure was off.
"You've been on it too much." He told me.
"I'll be fine." I said. He sat down beside me and put his arm behind my head.
"Topper told me what happened with Sarah earlier. I'm sorry." He said. I shrugged and leaned against him.
"Not you who needs to be apologizing." I said sighing. He grabbed my casted hand and looked at my fingers.
"You're okay, though?" He asked. I nodded.
"Just bruised up, but I'll be okay." I said nodding. He sighed and tightened his arm.
"Where is everyone?" I asked yawning.
"Rose, not sure and Wheezie is upstairs somewhere." He said shrugging.
"How dare they leave the life of the party alone." I said teasingly. He laughed and pulled me closer.
"I don't mind. Means I get to hang with the coolest girl in the OBX." He whispered. I looked up at him then looked around.
"Where is she? I might have to call Topper back and fight your sister again for a bed." I said smirking. He laughed.
"I'm looking at her." He said grinning. I hummed and bit my lip. I leaned up to kiss him when someone knocked on the door.
"Don't answer it. Maybe they'll go away." I told him. He laughed. They kept knocking on the door. He groaned and got up.
"Stay here, don't move." He told me. I nodded and groaned as he got up.
"We're not buying any girl scout cookies." I told him. He chuckled as he went to the door. I sat up and watched him open it.
"Hi. You must be Rafe. You look a lot like your father. I'm Carla Limbrey." A lady said. She walked in and I saw the braces on her arms. I stood up and crossed my arms.
"Can I help you?" Rafe asked her.
"Yes. I'd like to see the island room." She told him. A man walked in behind her, looking around. I gasped when he turned around. He laid eyes on me.
"Sweetheart. Lovely to see you again." He said grinning.
"Rafe." I said nervously.
"Uh, this way." He told Carla. He nodded upstairs. The man walked into the room.
"Come on, darling. You won't be left out of this." He said nodding.
"I'm perfectly fine where I am." I told him. He nodded and grabbed my arm tightly in his grip. He dragged me upstairs with them.
John B's POV
We were sitting on the porch the next morning. I tried calling Ronnie multiple times, but she wasn't picking up her phone. JJ was playing around with the basketball and Pope.
"She still not answering?" Kie asked me.
"No." I said sighing. JJ dunked the ball and landed on the couch.
"Great. Another broken couch." I said dialing Ronnie's number again. I jumped up when I heard it ringing outside.
"Ronnie?" I asked. Sarah walked up and tossed me Ronnie's phone.
"Shouldn't you be on the Figure 8 with your little group of polo players? Or did you break up with Topper?" I asked sitting back down. She scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"Nice shiner, bitch." Kie said. I laughed.
"Taught little sister well, didn't I?" I said smirking.
"Yeah, you did." She said.
"Look I'm not here for you two, okay? I'm here for Pope." She said looking at him.
"Why?" JJ asked.
"I think I found the island room." She told him. We all sat up and looked at her.
"What do you mean?" I asked. She nodded. We jumped up and got our shoes on.
"Why did you have my sister's phone?" I asked as we drove to the Cameron's.
"It was by the door at the house. I thought she had done left it or something." She said shrugging. I went to say something, but Pope interrupted.
"Listen to this. The diary says the cross holds the most holy relic in all of Christendom, the Garment of the Savior." He told us.
"So, wait, he's saying there's a holy garment inside the cross?" Kie asked.
"Yeah. It says the garment is capable of healing the sick from any malady." He said.
"Mmm. Yeah. "If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well."" JJ quoted. We all looked back at him.
"What? I went to Sunday school." He said shrugging.
"That explains why Limbrey wants the cross so bad. She thinks it can heal her." Pope said. He continued reading until we got to the Cameron's. We walked inside and up the stairs.
"This place still freaks me out." I said sighing. Sarah opened the door to a room.
"Pope, look." She said as we entered. We looked around the room. Denmark had painted the entire room. Everything matched.
"How did you know to uncover all of this?" I asked Sarah.
"I didn't. It was this way when I got home." She said looking around.
"What?" JJ asked.
"Well then who did?" Kie asked.
"The freaks." Someone said from behind us. We all jumped and turned to the door. It was Wheezie.
"What freaks are you talking about, Wheezie?" JJ asked her.
"Uh that sick lady and her attack dog. They showed up last night, wanting to talk to Rafe." She told us. Kie nudged JJ and Pope.
"Uh, pale blonde lady? Crutches?" JJ asked.
"Yeah." She said nodding.
"What happened?" I asked her.
"Well first they search the whole house looking for something, then when I met with Rafe he told me to go upstairs, but I didn't want to miss anything so I listened through the grate. They tore apart the room, then they were talking about getting across the sand flamingo." She said.
"That's code." JJ said.
"The cross. The cross of Santo Domingo?" Pope asked her.
"Yeah, that's it. Oh and angels. Something about angels." She said.
"Denmarks famous last words! He buried the real treasure at the foot of the angel. They're looking for an angel. We have to find the angel in the room." Pope said. We all started looking for the angel on the walls.
"The tree! The tree on the island! Know what it's called?" JJ asked.
"Angel oak." Pope said.
"And look? There's a keyhole." He said poking at it on the wall.
"Wait." I said.
"That means the cross is buried at the foot of the angel. That must be where he put it." Pope said clapping JJs' shoulder.
"We have to go! They could be there right now!" JJ said. I turned to Wheezie.
"Do they have my sister?" I asked.
"Yeah. The guard dog wouldn't let her out of his sight." She said nodding. I nodded and we ran down the stairs. We drove out past the church that Denmark built. We came up to the trail.
"Great. Tides coming in." I said stopping.
"Clearly Limbrey and them made it." Kie said.
"Not in a 2-wheel drive, they didn't." JJ argued.
"Since when do you do anything the safe way? You know you're going to do it." Sarah scoffed. We looked at her and back at JJ.
"She's got a point." I said shrugging.
"Okay, down in second and hammer down brother. Speed is your friend." JJ told me. I nodded and floored it. We made it to the other side barely.
"Woah! That's my girl." JJ said hitting the side. We parked and got out. We walked through the woods, keeping an eye out for gators. We heard them as we crossed the creek. I looked around. Rafe was helping them dig.
"I don't see Ronnie." I whispered. Carla was talking with her stepbrother. He sat her up in a chair by the hole then looked back at the car.
"Get her." Carla said nodding. He went back to the car and bent down. He pulled up Ronnie and dragged her over beside Carla. He shoved her down on the ground. She was tied and gagged.
"It helps if you don't struggle." Carla told her. We heard a crunch from the kabota. They stopped and jumped in.
"It's smaller than I thought." Carla said amazed.
"If I know your sister, I know what she's thinking." JJ said smirking. I smacked his arm.
"Demark put it in the casket. Get it up!" Carla told them. They hauled up the casket and sat it down. Limbrey got on the ground as they opened it.
"It's just a corpse. I'm sorry Carla." Renfield said. She stood up and shook her head.
"Get the girl. We must have missed something." She said panting. Renfield hauled up Ronnie and they walked to the car.
"We're going to back to the island room! We're going to back! It's not over!" She told her workers. Rafe walked over.
"So?" He asked looking at Ronnie.
"She stays with us." Renfield said. He touched Ronnie's cheek. She glared at him.
"Don't do it." I whispered. She headbutted Renfield. We groaned.
"And baby sis for the win." JJ said proudly. Renfield spat and then back handed her. She fell against the car.
"Enough! Let's go." Carla said. They got in their cars and left. We went over to the tree and looked down. It wasn't here. We missed something too.
Veronica's POV
I sat on the patio with the dude I headbutted and Rafe. I didn't understand why I was being dragged along in all of this. I found out that the guy's name was Renfield.
"Does she have to be tied up?" Rafe asked him.
"Yup." He said.
"Does Carla really believe that shit about the magic bathrobe?" Rafe asked him.
"Full-on. She got nothing else to believe in. Why not that?" He said walking back over. He ungagged me and held up an apple.
"Bite?" He asked.
"I will headbutt you again." I told him. He laughed and bit into the apple.
"The cross? That really exists?" Rafe asked.
"At some point in history." He said sitting down beside me.
"Is it valuable?" Rafe asked. I looked back at him. He shrugged at me.
"Seven feet high, plated in gold, and full of diamonds. You tell me. You sweetheart? How would you like a nice diamond necklace or a fancy ring?" Renfield said.
"How about my fist to your face?" I asked. He grabbed my face tightly in his hand.
"How about I bruise that pretty little face of yours?" He asked.
"Let her go, man. She's just hungry. She gets bitchy when she gets hungry." Rafe told him. He let me go and sat back.
"Rafe." I said nodding to Topper's jeep. He looked up.
"I'll handle him." He said walking over. They talked for a few seconds.
"You think I want my sister with John B? John B of all people?" Rafe scoffed loudly. I went to stand up when Renfield pulled me down and pressed something to my side. I looked down and it was a gun.
"Let the boys talk, honey." He said.
"Is that where she is? With John B?" Topper asked.
"Where else would she be, huh? With some other sucker, probably." Rafe scoffed. Topper pulled out his phone.
"What're you doing?" Rafe asked taking his phone.
"Tracking her. We shared our locations." He said. Rafe looked at the phone then sighed.
"Go home, Topper. Trust me, you don't want to be near her right now." He said walking towards the doors.
"Hey. Come on, I got something." Rafe told Renfield. He stood us up.
"Ronnie? You okay?" Topper asked me. Renfield tightened his hand on my arm.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." I said nodding. Topper looked at Rafe.
"Hey, Rafe? Did you tell Ronnie the real reason why you keep her around? Wasn't it something about, I get her we stop the Kook and Pogue war?" Topper called out to Rafe. Rafe groaned and glared at Topper as he left. I looked at Rafe and shook my head.
"Let me go." I told Renfield.
"Not yet, sweetheart." He said.
"Let me go or I start screaming." I warned him.
"Get inside." Rafe told me.
"No." I said shaking my head. He walked up to me and Renfield.
"This is not the time to start not trusting me. Get inside the house, now." He snapped. I jumped and Renfield pushed me inside. We drove to the old church after they checked Sarahs location. I saw Kie's dads truck and everyone was rushing to get in it.
"Somethings wrong." I said panting. They drove off fast. Renfield pushed me to the church, and we walked in. I gasped when I saw the cross.
"Oh. My." I said looking at it.
"You two stay here. I'm going to call in a truck." Renfield said walking out. Rafe laughed and ran his hands through his hair.
"Oh baby. Look at this. We're going to be rich!" Rafe said grabbing my arms.
"No. This isn't ours Rafe, it's Popes and his families." I told him. He shook his head at me.
"No, no, no. It's ours." He said.
"Let me go. I won't be a part of this Rafe." I snapped at him.
"But you already are, baby. You already are." He said grabbing my head. He kissed me hard then shoved down onto a bench. He did a line as we waited. An hour later they had it loaded up on a truck. Rafe was driving, I was in the middle and Renfield was by the door. It was dark as we were driving. I saw smoke and headlights.
"John B? Rafe, stop! It's John B! Stop the truck!" I snapped at him.
"Renfield, she wants out." He said looking at me.
"But she's fun." He said chuckling.
"Put her out." Rafe said. Renfield slammed my head against the dash making it all go dark. When I woke up, we were pulling up to an airfield.
"Rise and shine, doll face." Renfield said dragging me out. He walked us to the back of the truck. They uncovered the cross and brought it down. Limbrey walked up to it.
"It's time for a miracle." She said unlocking something.
"Here, let me help." Renfield offered.
"No, it's meant for a Limbrey." She told him.
"Oh, I get it. You're the half-brother. You don't get the say in anything." I said panting. He back handed me again.
"I like you better when you're quiet." He hissed. I looked at him and smirked.
"Magic scarf was eaten by bugs." Rafe told Limbrey. Renfield started laughing at her. She slapped him hard.
"How dare you mock me!" She snapped at him. He looked at her.
"Not fun being slapped, is it?" I snarked. He grabbed her and shoved into me, and we both fell down.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Rafe yelled. She sat up the best she could.
"That's it. You're cut off. You're not getting a penny." She hissed at him. He knelt down beside us.
"I don't need your money. I got the cross now." He said nodding to it. He grabbed me up and cut the ropes off. He dragged me over to the truck.
"Get up there, help your boyfriend out." He said putting me in the back.
"And how am I supposed to help, idiot? Lift with my pinky?" I snapped. He growled then got in the back.
"Rafe come on. Don't worry, you'll still get your cut." He said. Him and Rafe got it back on the truck.
"Renfield get over here and help me up!" Limbrey told him.
"Help you up? You're lucky I don't back up over you." He said laughing. I screamed when I got hit with blood. Renfield finally shut up. He fell down to the floor.
"Rafe!" I yelled.
"Ronnie?" He asked panting. Renfield was gasping beside me.
"Rafe, get your girlfriend down then get over here and help me up. Rafe!" She said sternly. He swallowed and motioned for me to come to him. I didn't want to die so I did as told. He leaned me against the truck and went to help her up. He bent down and picked up her gun.
"What're you doing? Rafe? Rafe?" She asked. He came back over and shut the doors.
"Rafe? What're you doing?" I asked him.
"Come on. Get in the truck." He told me. He pushed me to the passenger side and put me in.
"Rafe! You better shoot me, because I swear to God, there will not be a place that you can hide from me! Get back here!" I heard Limbrey yell. He pulled away from the air hanger. He called Rose on the way. We parked the truck then he dragged me inside.
"Rafe." I said yanking away from him.
"What?" He asked.
"Was Topper, right? Were you just using me to stop the Pogue and Kook feud?" I asked him. He sighed and looked down.
"Yes. Yeah, you were. In the beginning." He said nodding. I nodded and turned around to walk out. He grabbed my arm and spun me around. I slapped him. Hard enough his head went to the side.
"I trusted you! I trusted you and Topper! And you both made a fool of me!" I yelled at him. I went to turn around, but he grabbed me again. He and I fought struggled against each other. I tried pushing him off but he was stronger. He pushed me against the wall. I groaned and looked up at him.
"Get off of me." I said panting.
"Yes, you were the object of my using in the beginning, then you weren't. Okay? But every moment I spent with you since, brought something out in me. You weren't like the others." He said panting.
"Get off of me." I hissed at him. His grip tightened on my hands then he released them.
"I'm going to get a quick shower. You are going to stay here and be quiet. You got that?" He said grabbing my chin.
"Ronnie." He said slamming his hand against the wall. I jumped and nodded shakily. He kissed me quickly then walked to his bathroom. I sighed and looked around the room. I needed a way out. I jumped when the door opened slowly. Sarah eased in. She gasped when she saw me. I walked up to her.
"Don't. Okay? I wouldn't. He's a million steps ahead. Go. Go. Tell my brother, I'm sorry." I whispered to her. She nodded and slid back out the door quietly. I sighed and sat on the bed. The bathroom door opened, and Rafe stepped out. He was only in a towel.
"Like what you see, baby?" He asked smirking. I shrugged.
"I've seen better." I said looking away. He grabbed my chin and made me look at him.
"Have you?" He asked.
"You forget, Cameron. I worked all over the Island, seen many hot bodies of the Kooks of our ages." I said looking him in the eyes. He kissed me roughly then bit my lip. I gasped.
"My body will be the only one you'll ever think about again, baby. I promise you that." He said pulling away. He pulled me off the bed.
"Go clean up. I'll get you a shirt." He said pushing me to the bathroom. I cleaned up and looked down at the sink. I walked out a few minutes later and took the shirt I was offered.
"How're you feeling?" He asked.
"Honest?" I asked.
"Yeah." He said.
"My leg and arm are both numb. The guy I liked is dragging me all over like I'm some sort of rag doll. I've been slapped, thrown, shoved, and threatened to much in one day for my liking and I'm tired of it. I want to go." I said throwing my old shirt at him.
"And we will. We just got to meet Rose and Wheeze and head to the ship." He said putting the shirt in the hamper.
"I didn't agree to a ship, Rafe! Correct that! I haven't agreed to anything that's going on here!" I snapped. He grabbed my head in his hands.
"Baby, listen to me. It's all going to be okay. I promise. You have got to believe in me, okay?" He said nodding.
"I probably would've believed in you, if none of this wouldn't had happened." I sneered. He let me go and grabbed his bag.
"Put the shirt on. We got to go." He said.
"Now!" He snapped at me. I jumped and placed the shirt on. He dragged me down the stairs with him.
"Rafe? Have you seen Sarah?" Rose asked coming from the kitchen. She looked at me then at Rafe.
"No. We haven't. Uh. We need to take care of something then we'll meet you at the wharf okay?" He told her.
"Rafe? What happened at the hangar?" She asked.
"Limbrey shot the guy in the back of the truck. We're going to go take care of him and meet you back at the Wharf. It's okay. I got it covered." He told her.
"Veronica." She said.
"She's fine." He said nodding. He grabbed my hand in his and we walked out of the house. I heard a poor excuse of a bird call. I looked around confused.
"What?" Rafe asked.
"Nothing. I thought I heard something." I said shaking my head. He helped me into the truck and ran around to his side. We drove away from the Cameron house.