"You sure you have to go home?" Rafe leaned through the driver's side window of her car, smiling lazily at her. "We could watch a movie, or something."

Katherine rolled her eyes, smirking. "Emphasis on the something," she hummed sarcastically. "My dad's back in town. I should spend some time with him." She felt a pang of guilt in her stomach, knowing that she was using her dad as an out. She needed an excuse to not stay the night with Rafe and he just so happened to present her with one. She didn't have the best experiences with just telling a guy 'no'.

"Right, yeah," he muttered, his voice laced with frustration. "I'll catch you later then." He patted the frame with his hand and watched with a scowl as she drove off.

She knew she was playing with fire, but what she didn't know was how close she was to getting burned.

Katherine felt an overwhelming sense of relief when she pulled into the driveway and her father's truck was gone. She didn't want to explain why she smelled like alcohol and her mother wouldn't bat an eye. However, when she walked through the door and saw a note on the table in the foyer, she figured that neither of them would know.

Out to dinner, be back later!

Love, Mom & Dad

She set the yellow legal sheet back down on the table, where she threw her purse down next to it. She was tired—and not just physically. For the entire day, she was forced to put up a facade that she was okay and no matter how much she wanted it to be real, it wasn't. She didn't feel like the happy-go-lucky, always laughing girl that she was pretending to be.

Todd left her feeling numb and worthless.

It was unfortunate, because she really felt that Rafe could make her feel something otherwise, but she didn't feel any excitement with him. If she was really going to make herself feel something, she needed adventure.

She supposed she had her mother to thank for that. She was neck deep in the exploration of that stupid sunken ship that supposedly had treasure hidden on it, for years. Her father made her drop it shortly after Big John Routledge went missing. He claimed he was afraid the same fate would become of her if she continued the silly little treasure hunt. Despite trying to fight it, claiming that she was so close, she chose her family over it. Something Big John could never do.

Curiosity pricked at her skin at the thought of it, though. What if it was real? What if her mother was right at the edge of finding the mysterious treasure? It sounded rather stupid, but Katherine couldn't shake the idea of looking through her mother's office.

Quietly, as though the ghosts that Katherine swore roamed the halls would dare to rat out her secret mission, she walked down the corridor before stopping in front of her mother's office.

She was quite literally forbidden from going in there. Her mother claimed that it was because Katherine lacked the proper respect for the arts. It all sounded pretty stupid, but the door always remained locked.

However, when Katherine twisted the knob and it wasn't locked, her heart sank in her chest. Maybe her mother was home. She was in too deep now. She tried to swallow, but her throat was dry. She pushed the door open, fully expecting a lecture from her mother about boundaries, but the room was empty. Her mother had simply forgotten to lock the door back.

A heavy breath fell from her lips that she hadn't been aware she was holding and her eyes scanned the room. Several paintings hung along the walls and by the signature at the bottom, she knew them to be her mother's.

They were unlike any of the work Katherine had seen before. Large ships beyond anything she'd ever actually seen, each with a similar symbol that resembled a bushel of wheat.

Katherine could have stayed there and admired the art all day, but she knew she was limited on time. She walked over to her mother's desk that had papers messily strewn on top of it, but a map was what caught her eye. It had a bunch of lines and swirls that meant absolutely nothing to Katherine as she held it up, but to the person hiding in the closet in the office, it was another clue.

Katherine screamed mercilessly, as she heard the rustling from behind her. Though her fear turned into anger when she saw the source. "JJ what the fuck are you doing in my house?!" Her eyes were blazing, as she saw the Pogue lurking in the shadows. "And what the fuck are you doing in my mom's office?!" She grabbed the letter opener and held it up, as if she actually thought he would hurt her. It felt good to get her point across, though.

He held his hands up in surrender, to show her he meant no harm. "Hey, whoa," he said breathlessly. "I'm here because I-I need to look through your mom's stuff." Katherine narrowed her eyes, scoffing. "That-that sounded bad. B-but look, Big John left that exact map for John B, okay? That's not a coincidence. There's also a recording and he was saying all of this crazy stuff like he found the gold, he knows where it is, a-and he mentioned your mom and her research. That it could help us piece everything together."

Katherine's jaw clenched, as she eyed the frantic boy. "You realize how absolutely nuts you sound, right? Big John is dead. Kaputz. Like, gone from the earth. Do you want to end up like him?" Her voice was raising more than she had intended it too, not afraid of anyone hearing her, anymore.

"For four-hundred mil? That's a chance I'd take!" Katherine's eyes widened at the revelation, but JJ didn't notice, too flustered. "To you that might not seem that important but to me it could be everything."

Katherine folded her arms over her chest and shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly. "Okay."

One of JJ's eyebrows quirked up, clearly not anticipating her response. "O-okay?" His eyes flicked back and forth, feeling as though he was in the eye of the storm and the second wave was nearing.

She nodded. "Okay—you can look through my mom's office." He immediately looked relieved. "But." JJ groaned. Of course there was a but. "I want in."

"W-what?" He laughed humorously, glancing down at the letter opener that was still in her hand. "No. I-I can't—you can't. Kie would literally kill me."

Katherine shrugged again, pulling her phone out of her pocket. "Fine, then I'll just call the cops and let them know you broke into my house." She was bluffing. If she called the cops on JJ she'd be ratting herself out, too, but he didn't know that.

JJ gripped his hair with both hands, clearing weighing out the options. He couldn't believe she was blackmailing him, and even more so, he couldn't believe he actually found it kind of hot. "Okay, fine!" He shook his head, letting his gaze fall to the floor. "Make sure Kie doesn't let me suffer," he muttered.

Wordlessly, he walked back over to the desk that he had previously been pilfering through, until he'd heard the front door open from Katherine, and he hid like a little bitch. "None of this shit makes any sense," he muttered, looking through lists of coordinates, some of which had been marked off.

Katherine picked up a list with names on it, some of which were crossed off, but the one that stood out the most was the one that read

̶m̶̶o̶̶m̶̶ ̶̶?̶̶?̶̶?̶

What could her dementia deteriorated grandmother possibly know about a sunken boat filled with gold?

Katherine continued to look through drawers, while JJ did the same. JJ found another map of something he skimmed to be Tannyhill Plantation, but nothing that he found to hold any weight. Whereas Katherine found a black leather journal with the same wheat-resembling symbol as the one on her mother's paintings. She picked it up and as soon as she did, he swore she could feel her heart stop.

JJ glanced sideways at her when he noticed she'd stilled, before following her gaze. "Oh, shit," he muttered. Laying there, dust collected, was a black handgun.

Panic flooded Katherine, as her mind raced with all of the possibilities what her mother could need a gun for. Had she used it? What kind of double life had her mom been living?

However, her stress had to wait, as she heard two car doors shut just outside of the office window. "Fuck, fuck, fuck," she hissed, quickly closing drawers. "We have to get out of here, like, yesterday." She had no idea how the desk was organized, but she had to hope that JJ did. She watched as he quickly shifted things back around, before she shoved him out of the office and locked the door on her way out.

JJ turned around in circles, unsure of which direction he needed to run. He nearly tripped over himself into Katherine, who gripped his shoulders and turned him to move deeper into the hallway. She gripped his hand and dragged him along with her, barely making it to her bedroom door before the front door creaked open.

She gently closed the door behind her and shoved him into her large bed. "What—?"

"Shut up," she hissed, kicking her heels off. "Get under the blanket!" She quickly joined him, the dozen pillows that littered her bed made their figures under the duvet appear normal.

"If you wanted to get in bed with me, all you had to do was say so," JJ smirked.

"JJ, shut the fuck up!" She tried to ignore the closeness of their faces, but it was only magnified by the way his breath fanned her face. She had to refrain from shrinking into his chest, when she heard footsteps coming up the hall. Though, she was sure her heart was about to thud rhythmically out of her chest.

Her breath hitched in her throat when she heard the doorknob twist open, but she found herself starting to calm slightly when JJ gripped her hand. He'd never admit it, but he was just as worried about being caught, as she was.

"Oh, she's sleeping, Tom," her mother hummed lightly, as to not disturb their daughter. "She must have been exhausted from cleaning up at the beach."

The door clicked back shut, but that didn't stop her father's voice from echoing through the room. "Don called me and said she was there with Rafe. Did she have a breakup with Todd?" Katherine's lips curved downward and JJ's hand slipped from hers, leaving it much colder

"I'm not sure, but I like Rafe..." their voices grew quiet as they journeyed down the rest of the hallway.

JJ threw back the comforter and climbed from underneath, not looking her in the eye immediately. "That was a waste of time," he muttered, running a hand through his disheveled hair.

"Maybe not," Katherine hummed. Her optimistic tone made him turn around curiously. She raised her shirt slightly, before pulling the black journal from between the waistband of her shorts. A slow grin spread across JJ's face. He took a step towards her and reached for the book, but she quickly pulled it out of his reach. "Not so fast," she objected, making his smile fade. "I'm going to read it first. If I find anything worth mentioning, I'll let you know."

He reached for it again, their faces mere inches apart. "Listen, Angel, I'm sure the thought of getting even richer sounds like a ton of fun," he scoffed, sarcastically. And the thought of having you around sounds even better...he left that part out. "But it's not just my call. It's not my treasure to share."

Katherine crossed her arms over her chest, forcing him back a step. "Fine," she retorted. "Good luck figuring out whatever it is my mom knows without me."

His jaw ticked, frustrated at the fact that he couldn't even be pissed because of the way her lips were pulled together in a look of defiance. That was when a lightbulb went off in his head. A smirk crept into his face in a menacingly slow manner and his tongue ran over his bottom lip. He would be lying if he said beat of his heart didn't double in pace when her blue eyes followed the action—even if for just a fraction of a second.

No sooner than she glanced down, she ripped her eyes away from his sultry lips. She swallowed thickly, ignoring the heat that flooded to hear cheeks. JJ noticed though. Under typical circumstances, this would be where he went in for the kill, but he just needed the damn book—not that he minded the closeness. After all, all he had to do was just barely lean forward...

He had to stifle the urge to physically shake the thought from his head. What would it hurt, though? Once he snatched the book from her and ran off, there would never again be a chance for him to just...ever so slightly...

Fuck. He was so stupid. That little black book was the only other lead they had on the treasure and he was considering throwing that away for fear that Katherine Scott would never give him the time of day, again.

"Fine," he shrugged casually, taking a step back. JJ Maybank would charm the book out of her, if it was the last thing he ever did. She couldn't hate him if she gave him the book. "I'm gonna go get high. Wanna come?" He smirked, feeling as if he already knew the answer. "Unless running around with Rafe all day has you exhausted."

The challenging look on his face made her eyes narrow. "Aw, is someone jealous?" She tilted her head and smirked condescendingly.

JJ rolled his eyes and turned away from her to lift open her window wordlessly. JJ was a lot of things and jealous wasn't one of them...usually. He couldn't deny the unfamiliar feeling that he burned his throat when he saw her draped over Rafe Cameron, of all people. "You comin' or not?" He gave her one final look while standing in front of her window.

Authors Note.
       A surprise update, but I was really wanting to get some JJ content out there. Tomorrow will be updated as usual, but ENJOY!