𝐂𝐎𝐔𝐏𝐋𝐄 𝐎𝐅 𝐊𝐈𝐃𝐒 - jj maybank

- 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

During their short stay at the Bahamas, they'd lost the gold (again), they'd lost Jordan (again), and now John B was being hunted down by cops (again). It was safe to say that none of the pouges were giving the island a five-star review. Now, all they needed to do was leave. Which was hard, considering the whole place was swarmed by cops that were looking for them.

But they met Cleo. And despite the fact that she did threaten people with knives a lot, she was a good person. A good friend. Kaci liked her.

It was beginning to get dark outside, and John B was able to pull up outside a dock. The three girls in the back turned around cautiously to check for anyone that might've been lurking around near.

"You sure we're good, Cleo?" asked John B.

"Yeah, man," she answered with a nod. "We'll just wait here until it cools down."

Luis shifted around in his seat, growing a little tired from all the sunlight he'd had today. He turned around to face his younger sister, who seemed caught up in her own mind again. He understood. She and Jordan were so close people used to mistake them as twins when they were younger. "You good?"

She nodded. "Fine."

𖧷

𝗔 𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘁𝗹𝗲 while later, and Kaci had her sweet angel back in her arms. Kaz remained calm all afternoon, curious about his momʼs state. The moment he was handed back to her, he dug his hands into her shirt, latching himself onto her with much-needed comfort. He loved his mom. He didn't want her to be sad. Kaz was way too young to understand most things, but babies were often misunderstood for idiots. They knew when things were wrong — they could catch onto the negative energies like animals.

"Streets is quiet. I can get you to a boat," said Cleo, leaning on the fencing. "You have somewhere you can hole up?"

"Yeah, we're gonna ride the Gulf Stream north as far as it can go," John B answered. "Look for some deserted island to shell up on."

Sarah shook her head. "And then what?" she asked. "More running?"

He sighed. "Sarah..."

"Look, I know you don't trust the cops, but you're innocent," she reminded him surely. "I think we should go home."

"To OBX?"

"Yeah, you literally said, like, an hour ago that we were going to see JJ," added Kaci, eyes narrowing at him. "We are going to see JJ. And Pope and Kie."

"What about Ward?" he asked, then met Kaciʼs hard eyes. "What about Mikel?"

Kaci shrugged. "Fuck them both."

"I gotta say, I agree with JB," Luis spoke up. "It's a crime to fake your own death."

"We were kidnapped," Kaci pointed out. "We didn't fake shit."

"Yeah, and they're the ones who should be running, not us," said Sarah, going back to the topic of their parents. "Ward said he would tell the truth if we came back. I can confront him."

"Okay, but it's not about you confronting him. He's completely untrustworthy."

"Sure, but I'm your alibi. Trust me."

Kaci rolled her eyes, pulling Kaz further up her side as he was starting to get a little heavy. "I don't care what happens," she told the two boys. "My kidʼs not growing up without his stupid daddy."