RF

Skylar didn’t understand what was happening at first. One moment JJ was there, and the next he was on the ground. “No.” The word barely escaped her as she stumbled forward. John B and Pope rushed toward him while Kiara screamed his name, but Skylar couldn’t hear anything. JJ—her big brother, the one who annoyed her, protected her, fought with her, and made her laugh when she wanted to cry—was gone. Skylar dropped beside him, hands shaking. “JJ?” Nothing. “JJ, wake up.” Her voice cracked. “Come on. You can’t do this.” She grabbed his hand, squeezing it like she could somehow make him stay. For the first time in her sixteen years, Skylar felt completely alone. Later, the Pogues sat around the fire in silence. JJ was gone. They had buried him in Agapenta, and somehow that made everything feel real. tears clinging to her lashes. Across from them, Rafe spoke. “Groff is going to Dubrovnik. He’s selling the Blue Crown. Hundreds of millions.” But Rafe continued. “If JJ was my friend, I’d hunt that son of a bitch down.” The group fell quiet. “If one of us had been killed, JJ would’ve gone after whoever did it,” John B continued, his voice heavy with grief. “He would’ve never let it go.” No one argued. They all knew it was true. Kiara stared through her tears into the fire. Slowly, they came to the same conclusion. They weren’t going to let Groff get away. The fire reflected in Kiara’s tear-filled eyes. Her voice was quiet. “Revenge.”