chapter fifty eight
"stay off the cut"
———
"THERE SHE BE, HEY GIRL."
Lynn followed JJ and Kie as they all entered the old, rusty warehouse that apparently held the Phantom. The racing boat that JJ's dad used to use, and apparently would win almost all of them.
"I better not be outsold by a freaking boat," Lynn retorted, rising an eyebrow at her boyfriend as he pulled the dusty sheet off of the boat.
"Of course not, baby," JJ responded, winking towards her before going back to staring at the boat. "A 1983 Formula 402 SR1, the Phantom."
JJ happily hummed while staring it, and both Kie and Lynn shared a jokingly concerned expression before turning back to JJ, who clicked his tongue to get their attention.
"The first boat to make the run to Bermuda in under sixteen hours, y'all," JJ grinned, and Lynn grinned herself at how happy JJ seemed to be in the moment. "Forty years old! Forty. And still the fastest thing that Kildare's ever seen."
"It's kind of a junker," Kie admitted, shrugging slightly whole her face seemed unimpressed.
"Really? She's right there, Kie, she can hear you!" JJ whined, pointing towards the boat with a straight face. Lynn let out a chuckle, but after earning a pointed glare from JJ, she bit in her bottom lip in hopes of stopping the laughs. "Let's just put it this way. You guys would not be smokin' weed right now if she never existed, okay?"
"Okay, I'm sold," Lynn caved, smiling towards JJ as she raised her arms up in the arm in defeat.
"I just hope it runs."
"Oh, no, she'll run alright," JJ answered, and he walked over towards the bow, and started fiddling with the boat trailer so they could attach it to Kie's car. "She's faster than any cutters the boys in boy got."
Kie and Lynn gazed past the boat as they heard a dirty bike wheels screech near the back of the warehouse. Lynn rolled her eyes as she checked her phone in her back pocket, revealing that Pope was almost ten minutes late.
"Pope, finally!"
"Wow, and he yelled at us to make sure we weren't late," Lynn grumbled a big, stuffing her phone back into her pocket as she helped JJ with cranking down the trailer so it would match the same level as the car.
"Right?" Kie rolled her eyes, and she hopped over the wrench and towards the back door of the warehouse.
"Hey there, what's goin' on?"
Lynn froze in her body as she immediately recognized the voice, and she quickly glanced up to make eye contact with JJ. The two blondes immediately stopped the cranking and gazed up to make eye contact with Rafe.
"JJ, oh, and the beautiful Evelynn Bardot, how you guys doin'?"
JJ jaw seemed to tense up when Rafe complimented her, and he moved his body so he would be standing in front of her.
"Great," Lynn grumbled, and she pushed past her overprotective boyfriend to step closer to Rafe. "Is there an app I can download to make you get the fuck away from me?"
Lynn would've usually been proud of herself for such a snappy comeback within a moments notice, but that was quickly pushed to the side as Rafe threw his face into Lynn's, making her backup a foot or so, surprised that the boy was already ready to snap.
"Today's not the day to mess with me, baby," Rafe responded, a slick smile crossing his face as his eyes raked Lynn's body.
She heard someone whistle, and when she glanced over her shoulder, she saw Barry the Drug Dealer taking a few steps towards JJ.
"Okay, look, I'm sure we—"
"Can you shut up, bitch?" Barry interrupted loudly, and Lynn nervously swallowed as she took a few steps towards JJ, making her back almost pressed completely against his.
Her eyes were more focused on the apparent sheriff killer in front of her where JJ was preoccupied with the dumb drug dealer.
Lynn glanced towards JJ with anxiety as she heard a gun click, and when she saw over her shoulder that Barry was directly pointing a gun at her boyfriend, something inside of her thought it was going to break.
"See, don't think I forgot about you and your little girlfriend on the side of the road," Barry growled, and he took another threatening step forward towards JJ. "I'm here, because I want my motherfuckin' money."
He grabbed JJ by the neck of his neck, and threw him onto the ground. Immediately, Lynn and Kie launched themselves forward towards the wrestling boys. Barry slammer JJ's hess into the cement, and then while the boy was trying to come back from the injury, collided his boot with JJ's ribs.
"Hey, hey! I'm the one who stole your money!" Lynn yelled, grabbing Barry by both of his shoulders so he would be focused on her and not JJ.
Kie was interrupted from helping either of her two best friends when Rafe picked her up by wrapping his arms around her waist, and then throwing her into the cement. She instinctively curled into a ball at the pain, and worried that her shoulder might've popped out of place.
"It was you, bitch?" Barry snapped, and he dug the black gun under Lynn's chin while he pressed her body into the back of the boat. She winced as he grabbed a handful of her hair, having flashbacks to her own father doing the same.
"Yes, yes! I stole your money!" Lynn answered quickly, her eyes falling on JJ groaning in pain, and then back up to Barry. "Leave them alone."
"Hey, yo!" Rafe yelled when his eyes landed on Barry and Lynn pressed closely against each other, not that Lynn was enjoying it. "I told you that Eve was mine!"
Lynn cringed her up face up at Rafe calling her the nickname that only JJ had for her, but she bit on her tongue before she let another insult slide off her tongue that would result in someone possibly getting hurt.
"Eve isn't yours," JJ mumbled, gritting his teeth a bit while he started to pick himself off the ground.
"Oh, yeah, you wanna bet?" Rafe slickly grinned towards JJ, then back at Lynn, and then he launched his foot into JJ's ribs once again, making him ripple with pain. "She will be."
"Leave him the fuck alone!" Lynn shouted, trying to move her body forward but she was interrupted as Barry only seemed to bury the gun deeper into her skin, making it burn.
"We know what you did!"
Lynn was relieved to see that Kie was back on her feet, but worried because she was probably only going to get herself into more trouble.
"What? What did I do?" Rafe smirked, walking a few feet to get closer in Kie's face.
"You murdered Peterkin!"
Barry seemed to be very interested in that topic, and Lynn let out a worried puff of air as a small smirk seemed to crawl onto his lips.
"Don't you ever say those fucking words again," Rafe growled, wrapping his slender fingers around Kie's neck.
Just as Lynn opened her mouth to say something, she was brutally interrupted when a knee collided with her stomach. She fell to the floor in a sudden heap, groaning a bit because she was taken off guard.
"Don't you fucking touch her!"
When Lynn peeked open her eyes, she was shocked to see that JJ had tackled Barry down to the ground. He didn't stay on top for long though, because Barry kicked his knee off to the side, making him fall to the ground.
"JJ!"
Barry stood on top of JJ as he collided his fist a few times into his face, one in the eye, lip, and cheek.
"I said get the fuck off him!" Lynn snapped, throwing her whole body weight into Barry, making him off balance and fall to the ground.
She then took her own turn to land punches, one on his cheek where there was another on his nose, making a cracking noise as she did so.
Lynn's eyes were clouded with that same red that JJ had when he saw her father beating her.
She wanted to kill Barry.
She kicked the man in the ribs on the ground, his upper lip curling with anger while her nose twitched. Another kick was landed, following by another, and yet another one.
But then Lynn was interrupted when she felt a pair of hands on her neck, and her attention was dragged from beating the already beaten man on the ground to whoever the threat was.
None other than Rafe.
"Get your hands off me!" Lynn hissed, pounding her fists on his chest while she tried to break his grip on her, but it was no use.
JJ immediately jumped to his feet, ignoring all the pain that echoed his body as he raced forward towards Rafe, but he was cut off when Barry returned to pointing the black gun into his chest.
"You're psycho," Lynn murmured through gritted teeth, and she felt her back press against the cold feeling of the jeep. "You're a fucking psycho."
"But it's pretty hot, isn't it?" Rafe slickly smiled, his face closing in towards hers.
She let out a small puff of air as she felt the boy move his mouth towards her ear, his breath bouncing off her skin. Usually, she would've curled up from being ticklish with a feeling of being turned on, but now, she was afraid of what Rafe was actually capable of.
She winced, cringing up her face as she felt tears threaten her eyes, as Rafe pressed his lips against her warm cheek. He then went a bit lower, on her jawline now, leaving a small trail of kisses towards her neck.
"I will fucking kill you!" JJ screamed, and Lynn peeled open her eyes to see a behind angered JJ on the ground. "Get the fuck off her or I swear to God I'll kill you!"
"How, boy?" Barry answered, once again colliding his shoe with JJ's stomach, making him grab it in pain.
"Wish we had more privacy," Rafe mumbled into Lynn's skin on her throat, and she almost let out a small breath of relief when Rafe raised his head to make eye contact with her again.
"Don't touch her!"
Lynn gasped as she felt the grasp Rafe had on her loosen, and she was immediately relieved to see Pope aim a small, metal pole into Rafe's back, making him fall to the ground.
He then slammed the metal onto Rafe's shoulder one more time, but then he quickly recovered and knocked the pole out of Pope's hand. The two boys continued wrestling, occasionally landing hits on each other, but Lynn was more preoccupied with JJ and Barry.
"Hey!" Barry shouted, tugging for the gun that was buried in his waistband, but JJ was faster than what he thought.
JJ enveloped his hands over Barry's ankle, pulling him to the ground in a sudden heap. Meanwhile, he had dropped the handgun in the process.
"Eve! Kick it!"
Lynn did exactly what JJ said, kicking the gun just in time as Barry was reaching for it. After it was far enough, she raised his converse shoe and stomped on Barry's hand, making him yell in pain.
JJ jumped up from the ground, and then pulled on Barry's body to throw him against the boat. He landed punch after punch, kick after kick, all while Barry couldn't help but just take the heat.
"Never touch my girl again, got it!?" JJ hissed, grabbing a handful of Barry's shirt while pulling him closer. "Because I'll be back, and I'll fucking kill you."
"Pope? Pope, okay!?"
Lynn and JJ stopped in their movement as Barry fell to the ground, suddenly unconsciously from all of the hits JJ landed on him.
"Pope, hey!" JJ yelled, rushing forward to push Pope off of Rafe, who had blood covering all of his face and he nearly looked like he was about to pass out himself. "I get him."
"J, stop," Lynn whined, already telling that Rafe had had enough already, no matter what he had done to her she would've forgive herself if JJ had gotten himself into even more deep shit by hurting Rafe Cameron beyond repair. "JJ!"
JJ raised his fist to collide with Rafe's nose, and then another one on his lip, and Lynn feared he would go until Rafe was dead.
So, with everything inside Lynn, she launched her arms over JJ's shoulders to pull him off. And when that didn't work, Pope had finally snapped out of it to pull JJ off of Rafe's crippling body.
Lynn immediately pulled JJ into a hug, wrapping her slender arms over his body that was shaking, either from the pain or him being so focused on hurting Barry and Rafe.
Her eyes landed on Pope, who hovered over Rafe's body on the cement for a moment. And she wondered if she was going to have to peel Pope away from him too.
"Stay off the cut."
a/n: third update of today wow! i'm so determined to finish this book either today or tomorrow because for the next two weeks i will be working completely nonstop and will barely have any time to post, and i don't want to have to make you guys wait <3
but don't worry! after this book is finished, i have a surprise for you😉