𝐆𝐎𝐋𝐃𝐄𝐍 | jj maybank

XXXVI. Love Walked Out

He nodded. "He sent somebody to the prison who yoked me up and almost killed me."

Kie's back straightened and she lowered her own sunglasses onto the tip of her nose. With furrowed brows and a slight look of disgust for the real estate tycoon, she asked, "You serious?"

"Yes!"

JJ shifted, careful not to disrupt Stella. In the past few weeks, he had grown particularly protective over the lives of his friends, never wanting to feel the way he did when he thought John B died. "Do we know who this dude was?"

John B shook his head. "No, I have no idea." He moved to sit beside Kie and fixed his hat in frustration. "Dude, I just swear to God, one day I'm gonna kill that son of a bitch."

"It's okay," Kie assured, her eyes settling on something in the distance.

"No, Kie, it's not okay. We gotta find Sarah."

"No, literally, it's okay. She's right there."

Stella moved to look behind JJ. Following her best friend's line of sight, she saw the figure of a familiar wake-setter cruising through the marsh. Her eyebrows raised when Sarah stood from her spot behind Topper, and she anticipated a testosterone driven interaction about to take place.

"What the hell is she doing with Topper?"

The Malibu slowed to a stop next to them and Sarah threw a rope over to Pope so he could tie the two boat together. In less than a second, she was on the Pogue, wrapping her arms around John B.

Watching the reunion, JJ leaned down so his mouth was close to Stella's ear and whispered, "Five bucks says shit hits the fan."

Having faith that the boys would exchange nothing more than a few passive aggressive insults, Stella nodded and raised her hand to shake his. "You're on."

They turned their attention back to the other couple and watched the scene play out like it was a daytime soap opera.

"I didn't know if I'd see you again," Sarah said as she stepped out of John B's embrace. "What happened?"

John B shrugged. "Uh, they dropped all the charges. I'm a free man."

A smile started to grow on Sarah's face. "That's amazing."

"I know. It's great, but..." He let out a sigh and JJ and Stella shared a look of anticipation. "But listen, Sarah, they're coming after Rafe."

"Good. He's completely unhinged." Sarah took a sharp inhale, still feeling the aftershock of her brother's hands around her neck. "He jumped me last night."

Kie looked over in concern and Stella's mood shifted. "What?" They chorused.

With her gaze flickering between John B and Sarah, Stella continued, "Why do people keep trying to kill you two? It's like you're staph aureus or something."

Her friends gave her an odd look as JJ quietly asked what staph aureus was ("It's a bacteria," informed Pope), and Sarah nodded. "That's why I didn't come back," she explained.

Finding that this was the perfect time to insert himself into the conversation, Topper nodded and leaned against the side of his boat. "Yeah, man. Rafe has lost his mind. He literally almost drowned his own sister. Thankfully, I got there just in time."

"Here it comes," JJ whispered, earning a pinch from Stella.

At John B's apprehensive look, Sarah touched his arm. "Yeah, he did," she affirmed softly, hoping that he'd know that that was the only reason she was with Topper. She was well aware of her reputation when it came to boys, but John B was different and she didn't want him to think she was doing anything worth worrying about.