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𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗲: 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗯𝗿𝗲𝘆

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Cassie woke up the next morning to the sound of some light giggling overhead and she groggily opened her eyes, flitting them to the side to see the outline of two heads. She hadn't been able to make out their faces until they spoke because the sun had been beating down in her eyes.

"What are you guys doing?" She grumbled.

"Pope, you woke her up!" Kiara chastised.

"Sorry," Pope apologized through his fit of laughter.

Cassie gave them both a weird look before she realized that someone's arm that had draped around her body with their body pressed up against her back. If Kiara and Pope had been looking at her then that had meant...

"Just give me five more minutes," JJ whined with his eyes still shut before he snuggled closer to Cassie's body.

"Uh...JJ?" Cassie voiced apprehensively.

That's when his eyes had shot open, realizing what he had been doing. "Oh, shit!" He exclaimed before the two of them broke apart, causing Kiara and Pope to burst out in more laughter.

Cassie and JJ stared at one another with a light redness to their cheeks at what they were just doing. Had they been like that the whole time? Cuddled up? Spooning?

I am going to kill Kiara.

Cassie looked over her shoulder, sending the two a dirty look. "Oh, come on, you guys can't be laughing," she began. "You both were probably fighting the urge to fuck each other the whole night." Pope and Kiara immediately stopped laughing, their cheeks burning in embarrassment. "Exactly."

She then turned back to JJ, who had been rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. Her eyes subconsciously softened a bit at his demeanor before he cleared his throat and said, "Let's, uh, let's just get to Charleston."

Not wanting to comment on what Cassie had just said, Pope quickly got in the driver seat of the truck as they all smushed in the seat together. Once again, Cassie had been forced to sit next to JJ and she had her arms crossed the whole time, her elbow practically poking into his rib cage. He knew better than to comment on it though.

As Pope drove on the bridge under the sign signaling they had been entering Charleston, JJ expressed, "Wonder where Sarah and John B are right now."

Little did they know that John B and Sarah were closer to them than they had thought.

"Yeah, they're a bunch of fancy people. They've had, like, three governors in the family," Kiara said once they made it to the city of Charleston, driving past all the large houses in the neighborhood they were in. "They've run Charleston for, like, 300 years."

"These Kooks make our Kooks look like Pogues," JJ commented before Pope pulled up to the address that the letter had written on it. "You sure this is the place, Pope?" He asked suspiciously as he looked out the window towards the large house.

"Pretty sure," Pope answered as he followed JJ's gaze.

"All right," JJ said before he opened the truck door, hopping out. Cassie went out after him, followed by Kiara. "Fat City, for sure."

Cassie peered up at the house, taking it in. JJ was right. These Kooks really did make her feel like more of a Pogue. And honestly, she kind of liked that.

Pope held the letter up in front of him. "'Twenty-seven King Street,'" he read aloud.

"Yup, this is it," Cassie confirmed, looking at the number that was on the mailbox.

"Talk about home security," JJ pointed out, gesturing towards the gates. There had been a large, black gate with spikes at the top of it. There was no hopping it any time soon, that was for sure. "Are those spikes to keep people out?"

Kiara slightly shook her head. "No," she said.

"The slave quarters are over there," Pope said, pointing over to the side of the house. He sighed, "These spikes were to keep people in."

"What the fuck..." Cassie trailed off, sharing a glance with Kiara who had looked utterly disgusted. Cassie grabbed her hand and Kiara nodded at her, sucking in a breath to try to psych herself up for this.

"Damn," JJ whispered, poking the side of his cheek. "Let's get this over with then." He had been the first one to step forward, pushing the gate open. The others followed suit, making their way up the porch to the front door.

JJ went to go knock on the door, but Pope stepped up and said, "Wait. The letter was to me. I should do it."

JJ looked at his friend. "Okay, buddy," he stepped back, patting Pope on the back encouragingly.

Pope looked at the door before he reached toward the knocker on it and banged it three times. "You think that was too much?" Pope questioned as he backed up from the door.

"It echoed the entire house, that's for sure. So they definitely heard it," JJ commented.

"Maybe nobody's home," Kiara guessed with a scared expression plastered on her face.

"Or maybe they're pissed we're late," Cassie added and Kiara slowly raised her shoulders in response.

Pope tried knocking on the door again before someone opened it up, not letting him finish the third knock. Pope stepped back and Cassie felt Kiara's grip tighten around her hand. They were met with a brunette man with a scruffy beard and off-putting brown eyes.

He leaned against the doorframe and narrowed his eyes at the teenagers before his eyes landed on Pope, causing him to grin. "You must be Pope," the man assumed, pointing at the boy.

"Um..." Pope trailed off, glancing over at JJ before he looked back at the man. "Are you Mr. Limbrey?"

"Ms. Limbrey," the man corrected, "was expecting you yesterday."

"Oh. I'm-I'm-I'm sorry. My car broke down on the way up here—"

"Carburetor blew up in the middle of Nowheresville," JJ cut Pope off, getting to the point. The man looked at JJ and the blonde pursed his lips. "Sorry about that."

"Yeah, she was, uh, real upset when you didn't show up," the man told them, looking back at Pope.

"We tried to call, but there's no number on the invitation," Kiara told the man, looking down at the letter.

"We got here as fast as we could," Cassie expressed.

"She also expected you to come alone," the man said to Pope.

"I mean, these are my friends. They helped find the Royal Merchant, too. So, I—"

"And the instructions were explicit," the man interrupted. "Your friends can stay outside." Cassie's lip curled at that. Why did they want Pope alone so badly?

"Well, we're kind of a package deal, man," JJ told the man.

"JJ," Pope said quickly, looking over at the blonde. "It's okay. I got this." JJ gave him a wary look. "I'll be good," he assured them with a nod.

"Yeah. We'll be right here," Kiara told him with a forced smile.

"Keep the car running," he told her.

"Yep." Kiara let go of Cassie's hand and grabbed Pope's, squeezing it reassuringly.

The man's eyes then traveled over to Cassie, making them narrow. "Hold on. You look familiar. What's your name, sweetheart?" He asked, looking her up and down. JJ's jaw clenched at the man's eyes, how they traveled over Cassie's body. He didn't like it. Not one bit.

Cassie narrowed her own eyes at him, tilting her head. "Cassandra."

The man rolled his eyes. "Last name?"

She crossed her arms. "Blake. Cassandra Blake."

The man's eyebrows raised at that. "Interesting. That's very interesting," he voiced, tapping his chin. Cassie shared a confused glance with Kiara. "You know what, I think you should come with Pope here, too."

"Oh, that's not happening," JJ cut in, stepping in front of Cassie protectively. She knitted her brows together at his actions, not expecting him to do something like that after their weird conversation last night that ended in JJ walking away from her.

"JJ," Cassie piped up from behind him, making him look back at her. "This could be important. And besides, I'll be with Pope. We'll have each other."

JJ seemed to think it over for a moment before he sighed, looking back at the man who had a smirk on his face. "Fine."

"Don't worry, your girl will be fine," the man guaranteed slyly and the Maybank boy swallowed hard, the words "your girl" echoing in his mind. Because Cassie wasn't his girl. Clearly after last night.

"I'm not his girl," Cassie quickly corrected the man before she pushed past JJ, practically voicing his thoughts. But hearing her say it out loud had pierced his heart again although it wasn't supposed to. Two nights ago had "meant nothing" after all.

"Good to know," the man replied and Cassie narrowed her eyes as JJ's jaw clenched. The man chuckled a bit before he allowed the two of them to step inside, shutting the door on Kiara and JJ. Cassie and Pope shared a glance with one another as the man walked past them, directing them to a room. "Just wait in here. Ms. Limbrey will be right with y'all." He then walked away, leaving them alone.

"So this is not creepy at all," Cassie voiced sarcastically once they left as Pope started to take a look around, seeing all the religious depictions on the paintings on the walls. "Are we sure about this?"

"Whoever this C. Limbrey is said they could exonerate John B. So we have to give it a chance," Pope reasoned and Cassie nodded apprehensively at that. "Don't worry. If shit goes down, I'll deal with it."

Cassie arched a brow. "Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"Yeah. Did it work?"

Cassie thought about for a moment before a smile tugged at her lips. After seeing Pope take down Rafe, she knew that Pope was capable of a lot more than he let on. "Yeah."

Pope grinned. "Good."

Suddenly, they heard the sound of footsteps along with some sort of cane coming from down the hallway. They turned to see an older woman with blonde hair and crutches stop and look at them. "Mr. Heyward. Ms. Blake," she chuckled. "I'm Carla Limbrey."

"Uh, Pope," he corrected her. "People call me Pope."

"Cassie," she added, swallowing hard. Something about the woman made her feel uneasy, but she couldn't place her finger on it.

Limbrey made her way over to them, practically circling them. "Have a seat," she suggested before they all sat down in the chairs that were facing one another.

"Thank you so much for everything. This really means a lot to me," Pope started off. "To us," he corrected and Cassie nodded in agreement although she wasn't exactly sure why she was suddenly brought in. Something about her looking familiar.

"Can I offer you something?"

"I'm okay. Thank you."

"Likewise."

Limbrey started pouring tea anyway. "Well, you look thirsty. You both do." She handed the both of them the tea cups and they both took it, sharing a glance. "I think a toast is in order. To finding the unfindable." She raised the glass to her lips and took a sip, unlike the two Pogues who just watched. They didn't know what the hell could be in that tea and they didn't want to find out.

"Against all odds, you and your friends managed to beat everyone to the Royal Merchant, including me, and Lord knows I tried," she admitted. "I also know that you've since lost the gold to Ward Cameron."

"How do you know that?" Pope questioned.

"Ward Cameron and I have a long and tortured history. I funded his first development project," she revealed and Cassie's lips parted slightly.

"But he wouldn't tell you then—"

"He didn't need to. Ward and I were partners in the search for the Royal Merchant before he enlisted the help of Kevin Blake," Limbrey revealed and Cassie straightened up, her eyes widening at the confirmation she had been hoping to finally receive. She guessed that's why she had looked familiar to these people. She had her father's eyes after all. "And I'm afraid that Big John Routledge was not the only one that Ward double-crossed."

"Did Ward double-cross my father, too?" Cassie asked.

Limbrey looked at the girl. "Yes. Ward Cameron killed your father and had his pilot cover it up by placing Kevin on a plane and making it seem like he died from the crash," she revealed and Cassie began to blink rapidly at the confirmation.

"How do you...?" She trailed off breathlessly.

Limbrey pulled out a tape recorder and clicked play, the sound of someone's voice coming from it. "One night, Ward and Savannah came to me with Kevin in Ward's car. He was dead. Murdered."

"Gavin," Pope whispered as Cassie felt her throat constrict.

"They told me they would give me money to crash the plane with him in it to make it look like an accident. So I did it." Limbrey clicked the tape off.

Cassie released a choke gasped, holding a hand up to her mouth. All this time, her father's death was never an accident. He had been killed. Killed by people she thought she could trust just before this summer.

Pope placed a hand on the girl's shoulder, trying to comfort her as her eyes started to water. Pope then sucked in a breath, looking back at Limbrey. "What else do you know?" He inquired.

"I know that Rafe Cameron killed Sheriff Peterkin. I have proof of it."

"So you can clear John B's name?" He quickly asked.

"Easily, at any time." Limbrey fast forwarded a bit on the tape recorder, playing it once more.

"...of the gun. He's-he's protecting his son. It was Rafe Cameron who killed Sheriff Peterkin. Gotta be honest—"

Limbrey clicked the tape off. "I know exactly what happened on that tarmac and what happened to your father," she nodded and Cassie wiped at her eyes before the tears could fall, not wanting to cry in front of this woman. Not wanting to show her vulnerability to someone she couldn't trust yet.

"So you have the evidence, and you know he's innocent. Why don't you go clear his name? It's the right thing to do," Pope pointed out.

"My friend, the Limbreys did not maintain their position in the Lowcountry for these past 300 years by giving away something of value for free. Yes, I can exonerate your friend, but first, there is something that I want. It's a little thing, really. I think you know what it is." Pope furrowed his brows a bit. "I want the key."

Cassie's brows knitted together as Pope blinked in confusion. "A key?" He repeated and Limbrey scoffed at him. "Like truck keys? I-I have house keys. I'm-I'm sorry, I don't know — A key?"

"I'm afraid our relationship won't be very productive if we aren't honest with each other," Limbrey voiced.

"He's not lying. We don't know what you're talking about," Cassie spoke up.

Limbrey's jaw clenched. "Denmark's key."

Cassie and Pope shared a quick glance. "As in Denmark Tanny?"

"Yes."

"Ms. Limbrey, I'm sorry, but we have no idea what you're talking about. But for my friend, I'll-I'll go find it. I'll-I'll do what I need to do. I'll go find one if you-if you need it," Pope rambled as Limbrey started to grab her crutches. "But we don't know what you're talking about and we don't have it on us."

Limbrey got up from her chair, using her crutch for help. "Come now." Cassie and Pope slowly stood up as she reached for a paper with a drawing of a key on it, showing it to them. "Do you recognize this?" Pope took the paper from her, looking down at it as Cassie peered at it from over his shoulder. "Ring any bells?"

Cassie and Pope both shook their heads. "No." He handed the paper back to her. "I'm sorry. It doesn't."

Limbrey hummed. "You can keep that," she chuckled lightly before she turned around to walk away. She then stopped and turned back around. "Come with me. I'd like to show you both something. I think...I think you both will find it interesting. Especially you, Pope."

Cassie looked over her shoulder, seeing the man from before right behind her. He sent her a smirk and her lip curled, looking back at Pope. "Pope?"

However, before he could respond, the man placed his hands on both of their shoulders and escorted them to follow Limbrey. "Come on, y'all will like it."

"Don't touch me," Cassie spat as she tried to move away from the man's grip, but it only tightened on her shoulder.

"I don't bite," the man assured her with a conniving grin.

"Yeah? Well, I do," Cassie shot back, giving him a dirty look from over her shoulder.

"Ooh, feisty. I like that," the man drawled.

"Watch it, man," Pope warned as the man kept pushing them outside to follow Limbrey. Cassie sent him a grateful look and Pope nodded back at her.

"Renfield," Limbrey cautioned and the man, Renfield apparently, pursed his lips, easing up on his grip on the two teenagers.

As the two of them were forced outside, they looked toward the truck with Kiara and JJ sitting inside anxiously. They slowed down a bit to give them a wide-eyed look before Renfield pushed them ahead and said, "Keep walking."

"I don't like this, Pope," Cassie whispered to the boy as she tore her gaze away from the truck.

"Me either," Pope replied.

"All of this, all the way down to the Ashley River, was owned by my family," Limbrey began as they walked down a path with shrubbery all around them. "The Limbreys have lived in the house since it was built 280 years ago. That's where the slaves were kept. Thank goodness we've made progress since then."

Cassie and Pope shared a wary glance. "Yeah, thank goodness," Pope piped up.

As they continued walking down the path, Cassie inquired, "How did my father become interested in the gold?"

Limbrey hummed. "Well, he worked for Ward Cameron and the two became fast friends. I'm assuming Ward asked him to join his hunt for gold and how could anyone turn that down? That's when Ward cut me off," Limbrey explained.

"Do you know why Ward would...kill him?" She slowly queried. "Was my mom having an affair with him?"

Limbrey glanced back at her. "Seems like you know the answer to that question more than I do."

Cassie's heart sank in her chest. Holy shit. She was right about everything. She felt bile rise in the back of her throat, but she forced it back down.

Limbrey finally stopped walking, her eyes landing on a gravestone. "Here lies Denmark Tanny, the famous ex-slave. You know the story."

Cassie looked at the gravestone curiously while Pope shoved his hands in his pockets nervously. "What-what story?"

"Denmark Tanny was a freedman, a wealthy planter. He was able to buy the freedom of his three sons, but when he tried to buy his wife and daughter's freedom, my paternal ancestors refused," the blonde woman revealed. "When his wife, Cecilia, tried to run with the baby, they set the hounds on her."

"Jesus..." Cassie breathed out as a bell tolled in the distance.

"Cecilia drowned trying to escape, the baby survived, and Denmark was...hung. Allegedly for abetting a slave revolt but really for gathering the remains of his wife," Limbrey continued and Pope looked at the gravestone, his jaw clenching. "Never heard this story?"

Pope shook his head a bit. "No." His eyes then flitted over to Limbrey. "And I think once is enough. Come on, Cassie."

The two began to turn around before Limbrey stepped up to them, making them flinch backwards. "Hey. You think that I'm stupid?" She questioned.

"No, no, no. We don't," Pope quickly replied.

"Why else would the Routledge boy involve you?" She said only to Pope. "Your family has the key."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Pope swiftly shook his head.

"Hey. Did Ward get to you?" She interrogated.

"No, what? He killed my father and Big John. Are you crazy?" Cassie said to the woman, stepping in front of Pope.

"The key leads to the cross, the Cross of Santo Domingo," she rapidly spoke. "'The real treasure lies at the foot of the angel.' Those were Denmark's last words. Does that ring any bells?"

"No, it doesn't. It doesn't ring any bells, and, um..." Pope grabbed Cassie's hand as the both of them backed away fearfully. "Uh, thank you, but we're-we're gonna go back to the 21st century now."

The both of them walked off, trying to get out of there as fast as possible. "What the hell was she talking about? The Cross of Santo Domingo?" Cassie said to Pope, shaking her head. "What even is that?"

"Crazy people," Pope panted, looking back over his shoulder to check that he could no longer see Limbrey or Renfield. "Come on."

The two of them ran over to the gate at the end of the pathway, but they realized there had been chains around it that locked them in. "Oh, fuck," Cassie cursed before Pope turned around to run in the way they came. "Pope!"

She ran after him only for her to bump into his back since he stopped short. "Pope, wha—" She cut herself off when she realized Renfield had been right in front of them. "Oh."

"What you got?" Pope challenged. The man opened his jacket and took out a taser, clicking it on to make it crackle with electricity. "Cassie, run," the Heyward boy immediately directed before Renfield rushed forward. He tried zapping Pope, but he shoved Renfield's hand away to make him drop the taser onto the ground.

Cassie ran to the wall at the same time Pope did, but Renfield punched Pope in the back and threw him to the ground. Cassie had made it to the top of the wall as she looked back, her eyes widening. "Pope!"

"Go, Cassie!" He yelled in a strained voice.

She watched as Renfield picked the taser up, crackling it once more. "What you got?" Renfield taunted before he went on top of the boy, getting ready to tase him.

Cassie scowled as she jumped back down and went over to Renfield, kneeing him in the side. Renfield groaned and fell to the side, dropping the taser on the ground which had slid a few feet away. "Fuck you!" She spat before she went to go grab the taser. But Renfield had grabbed her foot, making her fall over.

She let out a pained groan once she hit the ground before she tried crawling toward the taser, but Renfield had gotten on top of her. "Get off me!" She screamed right before JJ had come running over, kicking the taser toward Kiara who picked it up.

"Cassie!" JJ bellowed before he grabbed Renfield, harshly pulling him off of her and throwing him down to the ground. He then helped her up from the ground as she panted heavily, making meaningful eye contact with him. "You okay?" He checked and she nodded quickly.

They then looked over to see Pope get on Renfield, punching him in the face. "Pope! Go! Just leave him! Leave him!" JJ told him before they all took off running toward the wall, hopping over it to get to the truck.

authors note!
protective jj is so hot 🥵 i also
wanted to give more of cassie and
pope's friendship bc they r underrated
to me 🥰