𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 | jj maybank

XXXI. The Pogues Are Back, Baby!

Without another word, he pulled open the gate and walked through. The remaining three shared a hesitant look before following in his footsteps.

"If these people are so rich, then they've had every opportunity to get rid of them," Stella mumbled, glancing at the spikes with narrowed eyes. Why would anyone want a reminder that their family used to be slave owners?

Loud knocking echoed through the air as Pope's fist made contact with the front door. There was a stretch of uninterrupted silence as they waited for someone to greet them. Pope was about to knock again when the door swung open to reveal an older man with a five o'clock shadow and an indifferent expression on his face.

Stella's brows furrowed. There was something about him that seemed familiar, but she knew she had never met him before. Perhaps she had passed him in the street or maybe he just had one of those generic faces.

"You must be Pope," he drawled, crossing his arms as he leaned against the doorframe.

Pope nodded. "Um... Are you Mr. Limbrey?"

"Ms. Limbrey was expecting you yesterday."

"Oh. I'm... I'm sorry. My car broke down on the way here."

From his spot behind Pope, JJ spoke up. "Carburetor blew up in the middle of Nowheresville. Sorry about that."

The man's gaze flickered over to the blond, then to Kie, then to Stella. If he showed any sign of recognition, she didn't see it. "Yeah, she was, uh, real upset when you didn't show up."

"We tried to call," Pope defended weakly, "but there's no number on the invitation."

JJ cleared his throat, ignoring the way the two girls beside him gave him the look. He didn't like the arrogance floating around the man and had enough experience with scumbags to spot one a mile away. "We got here as fast as we could."

The man returned his attention Pope. "She also expected you to come alone. The instructions were explicit. Your friends can stay outside."

JJ raised a brow. "We're kind of a package deal, man."

Pope turned and mustered up the best look of reassurance he could. He was anxious and anyone could tell, but he claimed that he had the situation handled and told them to wait in the car. His three friends reluctantly complied.

The return to the truck was accompanied by Stella's return to her thoughts. Lately, it felt like her life was just one big question mark.

Why was her mom so against helping John B? Why didn't JJ talk to her instead of ghosting her? Who was this older guy and why was he so familiar? How did Limbrey get their evidence?

"What is it?"

Stella looked over at the blond sitting next to her. "What?"

The corners of JJ's lips quirked at her confusion and his eyes softened in amusement. "You have your thinking face on."

"Okay, and...?"

"What are you thinking about?"

A sarcastic smile graced Stella's lips. "I'm thinking that I don't want to talk to you right now." She shook her head and rolled her eyes, turning to look at the house. Outside, Kie was leaning against the hood of the truck, paying no attention to the couple inside of it.

"'Kay, I deserved that." JJ nodded curtly. Until last night, he didn't even think about how he would feel if their positions were reversed. He knew how devastated he'd be if Stella was the one to ghost him. "I meant what I said," he continued. "I'm going to fix this—us."