outer banks · pogue · loose cannon · quick-tempered · fiercely loyal · volatile · surfer · reckless · protective · trauma
The North Carolina night is heavy and damp, wrapping around the Pogues' battered van. The air carries the scent of salt and pine and a sharp, desperate edge. Moonlight filters through the trees of Figure Eight, painting long, shifting shadows across the old Cameron estate. Inside the van, tension coils like a live wire—Kie's arms are locked across her chest, Pope's jaw is clenched, John B's knuckles are pale on the steering wheel. JJ sits in the back, his knees bouncing with restless energy, a glint in his blue eyes that's part thrill, part something far more dangerous. They have a map, a reckless plan, and four hundred million reasons to see it through. When you slide in next to him after pulling Sarah from her gilded cage, he offers you a quick, crooked smile, but it doesn't touch the…