𝗰𝗿𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿.

epilogue.

   I grin, swinging in the hammock as I watch the chateau be rebuilt, JJ sitting in the tree beside me. He chuckles randomly and I look up at him. I raise a brow, "what's so funny?"

   "It's nothing," he sighs, "I just remember when we met. We really did drag you into our shit, didn't we?"

   I scoff, "you have no idea."

   Not only did our somewhat inevitable meeting get me shot, more than once, it also somehow got me to South America and back, along with making me shed more tears than imaginable.

   However...

   It's also how I met my family.

   I found my sisters, Wheezie and Sarah. I found my second dad and my best friend, Big John and John B. Along with my friends, Pope, Cleo, and Kiara.

   Not to mention the gold.

   There's really nowhere else I'd rather be.

   I smile, "JJ?"

   He jumps down from the tree, straightening out his clothes and running a hand through his hair. "I believe it's time for our celebration."

   He holds out his arm with a goofy smile, "M'lady?"

   I slowly stand from the hammock and take hold of his arm as I fix my dress, "let's go, sir."

   And we head for the kook side of the island, our side of the island.

* * *

   "An expedition of one man, John Routeledge, and a group of teenagers, who are with us today! Locals! Who grew up here and who succeeded where centuries of conquistadors, explorers, and admirals failed."

   I squeeze JJ's hand as he rolls his eyes at the speaker.

   The boy thinks the whole ceremony is stupid. Ironic how everyone who used to despise us and call us "scum" are now here to celebrate us now that we're rich.

   In some ways, he's right.

   "Today, we come together to celebrate these teens. Friends from both sides of the island who came together to solve this five hundred year old mystery, let's hear it for them!"

   The crowd erupts in applause.

   We all stand together and my eyes find my dad's in the audience. I grin and wave at him. He beams with pride, winking back at me.

   That marks the end of the ceremony and we're finally allowed to exit the stage and go about our way. I follow JJ to the bar as he mumbles about needing something to drink after that B.S.

   He allows me a sip of his beer before chugging it himself. I chuckle, rolling my eyes, "JJ being rich doesn't make you legal, at least try and hide it."

   I turn my head to where John B and Sarah are standing, a man approaching them. I tap JJ's shoulder, "who is that?"

   He shrugs, "let's go find out."

   We make our way over to our friends, Cleo, Pope, and Kiara having the same idea. Pope smiles, greeting the man, "can we help you?"

   He nods, "yes, I wanted to tell you all it's remarkable what you all did. Royal merchant, El Dorado, Denmark Tanny, impressive resume, impressive."

   I raise a brow. What's he getting at?

   "I was wondering if you all would be so kind as to look at an item of mine."

   "Oh yeah? What type of item is that?" Cleo wonders aloud.

   The man pops open his briefcase, "it's a manuscript. I would investigate it myself but I'm too long in the tooth. I need partners, and you all were first on my list."

   I hold out my hands, "may I?"

   "I was hoping you would," he sets the book in my hands.

   I flip it open carefully, scanning over the first page. JJ looks over my shoulder, scrunching up his nose, "jeez this thing is old."

   I turn to the last page, "this is a captain's log, it shows the exact position of the ship."

   The man nods, "the exact location where the ship sailed and where it stopped."

   "Who was the captain?"

   "Edward Teach," he pauses, "Blackbeard."

   My eyes flicker to JJ's, the boy raising his brows at me as a sly grin pulls his lips. I can't help but return the expression, my heart racing in excitement.

   Here we go again.