"so what does that mean? they’re gone? shoupe, what does that mean?!”

your voice cracked as you shouted, tears blurring your vision, chest heaving with panic. the storm still roared in the distance, thunder rolling like a warning, but it was nothing compared to the chaos inside you. john b and sarah had driven straight into it—no hesitation, no goodbye—after ward accused him of a murder he didn’t commit. and now they were gone.

you, kie, pope, and jj stood frozen on the dock, soaked from the rain, arms limp at your sides, shaking like leaves in the wind. the weight of it all pressed down on you, heavy and suffocating. the silence from shoupe was unbearable.

jj wasn’t having it.

“you drove ’em straight through the storm, man!” he shouted, voice raw with rage. “you just had to have ’em!”

before anyone could stop him, jj lunged forward, grabbing officer shoupe by the collar of his shirt. the punch landed hard, a sickening crack echoing through the air as shoupe stumbled back, clutching his jaw.

“jayj, stop!” you cried, rushing toward him, hands outstretched. you shoved at his chest, trying to pull him off, trying to break through the fury that had taken over.

“stop!”

jj’s eyes were wild, breath ragged, fists still clenched. he didn’t look at you—he couldn’t. not yet. not with everything falling apart.

pope stepped in, grabbing jj’s arm, and kie moved beside you, her voice shaking. “we need to find them. now.”

you looked out at the water, the storm swallowing the horizon, and felt your heart sink deeper than it ever had before.

they were out there.

and you didn’t know if they were coming back.