Chapter Twenty-Nine
Ever
Two days later, the Dairy Bar felt like it had been hit by a damn tornado.
Not the kind that tore the building down, but the kind that left everything spinning, loud, and just a little out of control.
“Two bacon cheeseburgers, one fries, extra ranch!” Lark shouted over her shoulder.
“I got it!” I called back, flipping a burger on the grill and trying not to burn my hand in the process.
The air was thick with the smell of grease, sugar, and vanilla. Ice cream machines hummed behind me, the grill hissed in front of me, and the line of customers seemed like it would never end.
“Three hot fudge sundaes!” Lark added.
“I heard you the first time!” I shot back, grabbing bowls and scooping ice cream like my life depended on it.
It kind of felt like it did.
The bell on the counter kept dinging, orders stacking up faster than we could clear them. People crowded the small space with families, couples, a few bikers who had wandered in and were currently arguing over whether boozy milkshakes counted as dessert or dinner.
“They count as both,” I muttered, sliding a milkshake across the counter.
“Damn right they do,” one of the guys said, grabbing it with a grin.
Lark leaned close to me as she passed.
“If we survive this rush, I’m eating an entire tub of cookie dough,” she whispered.
“You say that every time,” I said, handing off another sundae.
“And every time, I mean it.”
I laughed despite the chaos.
Because this—this was normal.
Busy, exhausting, overwhelming… but normal.
And after everything that had happened, normal felt pretty damn good.
By the time nine o’clock rolled around, the rush finally started to die.
One by one, customers filtered out, most of them taking their food to go. The noise faded, the line disappeared, and suddenly it was just me, Lark, and the aftermath.
Sticky counters.
Used napkins.
A sink full of dishes.
Lark slumped against the counter.
“I’m dead,” she declared.
“Same,” I said, wiping my hands on a towel and leaning beside her.
The shop was quiet.
I exhaled slowly, letting my shoulders drop. And then the bell above the door dinged.
My head snapped up and there he was.
Jude.
My heart flipped so hard it felt like it might actually stop for a second.
It was ridiculous.
I knew it was ridiculous.
But it didn’t matter.
That feeling?
That instant pull?
I had never had that with Jesse.
Not once.
And standing there, looking at Jude just inside the door, I knew without a doubt I had been right.
Jesse had never been it for me.
Jude took one step inside.
And then a loud bang cracked through the air.
Everything froze and Jude dropped instantly.
“Down!” he shouted.
I didn’t even think.
I dove behind the counter, my heart slamming against my ribs so hard it hurt.
“What the fuck is going on?” Lark whispered beside me, her voice shaking.
I didn’t answer because I had zero clue.
“Oh, Ever…” a voice sang from the front of the shop.
My blood went cold.
“Come out, come out wherever you are.”
Jesse.
“Stay down!” Jude barked.
“I wouldn’t listen to him if I were you,” Jesse said lightly. “If you do, he’s going to have a few more holes in him.”
Lark’s eyes went huge. “You go from no boyfriend for years to this?” she whisper-yelled.
I barely heard her because I heard something else.
The click of the gun as Jesse cocked it.
My stomach dropped. “I’m going to stand up,” I called, my voice sounding steadier than I felt.
“Slowly,” Jesse said.
I raised my hands over my head and pushed up to my feet. Every movement felt like it took forever. Like time had slowed just to torture me.
When I stood fully, I saw it.
Jude was on the floor with Jesse’s boot pressed into his chest and a gun aimed straight at me.
“Good girl,” Jesse said.
My throat tightened. “Please don’t hurt us,” I said quickly. “I don’t know what you want—”
“Shut up!” he snapped.
The sound made me flinch.
“Shut your fat fucking mouth,” he snarled. “Everything about you is just fucking fat.”
The words hit hard, but not the way they used to.
Not enough to break me.
Not now.
Jude growled beneath him, shifting.
Jesse pressed down harder.
“You move again,” he said calmly, “and I’ll put a bullet right between her eyes.”
Jude went still, but I could feel the rage rolling off him from across the room.
“What do you want from me?” I asked, forcing the words out.
Jesse laughed. A sharp, unhinged sound. “You?” he said. “You were just a means to an end.”
My stomach twisted.
“Let them go,” Jude grunted.
“Like you let Timmy, Jonas, Rocket, and Dusty go?” Jesse shot back.
Something flickered across Jude’s face.
Recognition.
Understanding.
Fear.
And that scared me more than anything.
“No,” Jesse continued. “I think I’ll kill your little bitch and her friend… then you.” He leaned down closer to Jude. “And then I’ll go to your clubhouse and finish the rest.” He smiled. “The name’s Jester,” he said. “Northbound Reapers for life.”
My blood ran cold.
Clove.
Star.
This was all connected.
No.
No, I wasn’t letting this end like this.
Jester was focused on Jude and I knew that was my chance.
I wiggled my fingers at Lark.
“What?” she whispered.
I pointed to the container of metal ice cream scoops.
Her eyes narrowed, then widened. “You’re insane,” she mouthed.
I widened my eyes. “Do it,” I mouthed.
She hesitated, then grabbed the container and tossed it in the air. The metal container clattered loudly across the floor, with ice cream scoops going everywhere.
I dropped and the world exploded into motion.
A grunt.
A thud.
“What the hell—” Jester shouted.
“That was the stupidest yet smartest thing,” Jude’s voice cut through.
“Did it work?” I asked, my voice shaking.
“You fucking bitch!” Jester snarled.
Another thud.
A sharp exhale.
“Yeah,” Jude said. “It worked.”
“Does that mean we’re not going to die?” Lark asked.
“Not today.”
Silence.
Then, “You’re not going to win this,” Jester spat.
Slowly, I pushed up and peeked over the counter.
Jester was on the ground and Jude stood over him. Jester’s gun now in Jude’s hand, aimed at Jester.
Everything flipped.
“You okay?” Jude asked. He didn’t look at me, but I knew it was for me.
“Uh… yeah,” I said. “We’ve got more dishes to do later, but we’re good.”
He tossed his phone at me. “Call Wrecker.”
I fumbled it, barely catching it. I managed to pull up his number and connected the call.
“Put it on speaker,” Lark said.
I rolled my eyes but did it. It rang twice before Wrecker’s voice sounded. “Yeah?”
“Uh, hi,” I said.
“Who the hell is this?”
“It’s Ever,” I rushed. “Jude said to call you—”
“Get to the point,” Lark hissed.
“Who’s that?” Wrecker asked.
“Hi, it’s me, Lark,” Lark called.
“Who the hell is Lark?”
“Oh, uh, she works with me,” I started explaining. “We were closing up and—”
“Get to the point, Ever,” Jude called, cutting me off.
“We were shot at!” I blurted. “Jesse, now Jester, knocked Jude down, Lark threw scoops, Jude tackled him!” I was trying to hit the main points. “Uh, and I called you.”
Silence. “Jesus Christ,” Wrecker muttered. “We’ll be there in five.”
The line went dead.
“You’re all going to die!” Jester shouted from the floor.
“Shut the fuck up,” Jude snapped. “I’m sick of your Northbound fucks.”
“Did you guys know him?” Lark asked.
“No,” Jude and I said in unison.
“He lied about who he was to me,” I said.
“He lied to all of us so he could get close to the club,” Jude said and pressed his foot harder into his chest. “But you lost your cool when you got to the clubhouse, didn’t you? Pissed off that the Fallen Lords are a metric ton better than your raggedy asses?”
Jester spat at Jude, but it didn’t go high enough and splatted right back onto his face. “Fuck you!”
I winced and shook my head. How on earth was I even slightly attracted to Jesse? Or I guess Jester?
“Go in the back and unlock the back door,” Jude called.
“Should we call the police?” Lark asked. “I mean, you didn’t do anything wrong,” she pointed out.
“Wrecker and the club are coming,” Jude said. “They’ll help take care of it. Unlock the back door,” he said again.
“I’m going, I’m going,” I said and started toward the back.
I glanced at Lark just for a split second, and my foot connected with one of the scoops, sending it skidding hard across the floor straight at Jester.
My breath caught as Jester lunged, his hand snapping out. His fingers closed around the scoop just before it slid past him. In one brutal motion, he twisted his body and swung, driving it into Jude’s knee.
Jude’s leg gave.
He staggered, his weight pitching to the right as his balance broke.
Jester didn’t hesitate. He rolled onto his side, already reaching, his hand disappearing beneath his waistband.
“No!” I screamed.
Steel flashed in his hand, but Jude was faster.
He planted his foot, caught himself, and brought his gun up in one smooth, deadly motion.
Three shots tore through the room.
The cracks echoed, sharp and deafening.
Jester’s body jerked with each impact.
Then nothing.
The second gun slipped from his fingers and hit the floor with a hollow clatter.
Silence swallowed everything.
“Holy shit,” Lark breathed.
My ears rang and my heart pounded.
Jude stood there, chest heaving.
Alive.
He was alive.
“Son of a bitch,” Jude said.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered.
Jude grunted. “It’s not your fault. Just maybe next time don’t dump a container of ice cream scoops on the floor.”
I shrugged. “I mean, I’ll file that away to remember, but I really hope we aren’t in this situation again.”
“Now should we call the police?” Lark asked, her voice way too loud for what we were standing in the middle of.
A dead body.
A gun still echoing in my ears.
My hands were shaking, and I didn’t even realize I’d grabbed onto the edge of the counter until my knuckles went white.
“That’s an even bigger no,” Jude said. His voice wasn’t loud, but it cut through everything. Sharp. Controlled. Final. “You both need to get cool about a whole lot of shit really quick.”
Cool.