𝐎𝐃𝐄𝐓𝐓𝐄 ➺ 𝐉𝐉 𝐌𝐀𝐘𝐁𝐀𝐍𝐊

𝟏.𝟓「𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐓𝐇 𝐎𝐑 𝐃𝐀𝐑𝐄」

𝐎𝐝𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞'𝐬 𝐏𝐎𝐕

I lay on the sofa with my head in Kiara's lap as we lounge on the patio. She plays with my hair while JJ flips his lighter on and off, John B leaning against the railing quietly.

"Okay. So, um...we didn't see anything. We don't know anything. We need to have total and complete amnesia" Pope declares, lifting my legs and sitting down before dropping my legs on his lap.

"Actually, Pope's right for once" JJ speaks up.

"See, I agree with you sometimes. Deny, deny, deny" He adds, using a mantra he taught me when we were just kids, a mantra I live by.

"Guys, we can't keep that money" Kiara states.

"Okay. Not all of us can afford data plans, Kiara" JJ snaps at her.

"Ignore him" I mumble to Kiara, feeling his glare burning into my head.

"We have to pass that off to Lana Grubbs. Otherwise, it's bad karma" Kiara declares.

"Bad karma to be implicated in a felony too" Pope retorts.

"Wow, I must be a walking chunk of bad karma. It all makes sense now" I joke but no one laughs.

"Tough crowd" I mutter.

"We gotta go dark" Pope announces.

"If that means we get to keep the money, then I agree" JJ says.

"I don't agree" John B finally speaks.

"What? Why?" JJ asks him in disbelief.

"Just think about it. This is Scooter Grubbs we're talking about. Same dude that's buying individual cigarettes at the Porthole. Shit, one time I saw this dude begging for change in the Save-A-Lot parking lot because he needed gas! We're talking about a dirtbag marina rat who's never had more than forty bucks in his pocket, and all of a sudden, he's got a Grady White? Just sayin!" John B rants.

We shift outside to the dock as John B continues the conversation and I hop up onto the railing, sitting down in between where Kiara is sitting and JJ is fishing.

"All right, so think about it, Pope. How does a marina rat get a Grady White?" John B asks Pope.

"Prostitution" Pope answers and I snort.

"Square groupers, bro" John B corrects him.

"Okay, flying under the radar, no aerial surveillance. They don't do that stuff during a hurricane. What does that mean? JJ?" He explains.

"They were straight smugglin'" JJ answers.

"Smugglin'. And I guarantee there's a serious amount of contraband in that wreck" John B states.

"Hell yeah" JJ agrees.

"Fish on!" He adds as he catches a fish.

"Go, JJ!" I cheer happily as he reels in the fish.

"You're a great cheerleader, princess" JJ comments and I feel my cheeks heat up as the others laugh.