RIPTIDE | Rafe Cameron

30. 𝘴𝘸𝘪𝘮 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘸𝘯

JJ MAYBANK POV

Family is a weird word. It's a word that I don't associate with blood. If I could choose my own family it would be the Pogues, they're more like family to me than anyone else. I'd do anything for all of them, I'd probably take a bullet for each of them, even Sidney.

So hearing that my brother John B might be given the death penalty for a crime he didn't even commit, I knew that I had to do something. We've spent the last few hours sitting on the porch at the chateau, trying to work out how to get John B out of prison.

Sarah is convinced that she can testify against her Dad and Rafe, but there's no way the cops will believe that. Even if Shoupe does believe us, I'm sure Ward has some sort of hold on him, that means this won't go our way without hard evidence.

And as for Sidney, I thought we were healing. I thought that we'd made a breakthrough when she realised the truth about Rafe's involvement in Peterkin's death, but evidently not. To hear that your best friend could be given the death penalty and then to see your other best friend in the arms of the actual perpetrator, can it get any lower than that?

I'd thought she was one of us again, but as long as Rafe is around, she'll always be his girl. I hate what he's done to her, and I hate that I couldn't stop it. Maybe if I'd been more vocal about the things he did to Pope and I then she wouldn't have fallen in love with him. But who can control the way love works? It's not me, because if it were, then maybe it'd be less painful to see Rafe and Sidney together.

Hope is a cruel thing, but it's all we've got left. I hope with everything in me that John B will be okay, that we'll get him out of there and then the Camerons will receive justice. But somehow I don't think that will ever be the case.

Sarah's sitting in the house trying to contact Wheezie, while Pope, Kiara and I try to come up with a plan to free John B, "We have to do something, our boy is a PO-dub right now, okay?" I exclaim, feeling hopeless while Pope and Kiara make no contributions, "He's being held captive by the enemy, potentially scheduled for execution!"

"So what's the plan?" Kiara exclaims, "We just kidnap Shoupe?"

"Maybe, that's not the worst idea actually." I reply, glancing between my two friends.

"That is actually the worst idea I've ever heard." Pope chips in, frustrating me further as neither of them seem to be providing any useful solutions.

"It's pretty bad." Sarah agrees.

"You know, just stay out of this," I tell her, "Pope, we've tried doing it your way, and how has that been working out?"

"So then what's your great idea? Storm a jail, guns a-blazing?" Pope asks.

"They've got our boy, are we just going to sit here and do nothing?" I ask, "No, we're gonna do something about it!"

"JJ, we're not storming a jail!" Pope warns.

"Sidney would be on my side if she was here," I tell them both, "She'd be doing what she could to make this work."

"But she's not here, is she?" Kiara exclaims, "She's back in that nest of vipers with Rafe."

"You think I don't know that?" I reply harshly, "If you two wanna just sit here and play pretend, you do that, but I'm gonna do something, even if that means doing it myself."

I storm out of the porch, heading straight into the rain and climbing onto my motorbike. I don't know where I'm heading, but I just know that I need to get out of here.

As I put my foot down and rev the engine I speed towards the main road, deciding to head in the direction of Figure Eight. Pope and Kiara would think I'm stupid, but maybe if I head to Tannyhill, then I can use force to intimidate Rafe into confessing to his role in Peterkin's death.