Chapter 29
Moe
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Moe stood in the restaurant's kitchen, leaning against the counter while Jillian fussed with the torn sleeve of his shirt. He couldn't focus on his battered body. He was too busy trying to stay one step ahead of the veil to keep Jillian safe.
Copper lingered near the doorway, arms folded, eyes distant, as if he were tracking something only he could sense.
Moe's ribs still ached from the pull through the veil. His legs remained weak and unsteady. But Jillian's hand on his arm strengthened his resolve.
The front door creaked open.
Copper's head snapped toward the sound.
Jillian stiffened.
Moe stepped in front of her.
Vaughn entered the kitchen. His dark hair was pulled back into a ponytail.
His even darker eyes settled on each of them as he assessed the mood.
He always moved with a quiet confidence that made people instinctively pay attention.
Not because he demanded it, but because he carried himself like someone who already knew the ending to every story.
"Morning." Vaughn's gaze slid to Jillian immediately and stayed there.
Moe planted his hand on her stomach, keeping her behind him. His blood boiled as he gauged what was happening. No one was allowed to touch Jillian, and the way Vaughn looked, he couldn't trust him to keep his distance.
Copper shifted subtly, stepping between Vaughn and Jillian. Moe wasn't the only one who sensed trouble.
Vaughn pinched the end of his mustache and straightened the whiskers. "Didn't mean to interrupt."
"Then don't."
Vaughn's eyes flicked to him, amused. "We've always gotten along."
Moe didn't smile. "What do you want?"
Vaughn walked farther into the restaurant, hands in his pockets, gazing over the counters, the walls, the ceiling. But Moe could tell he was watching them more than the room.
"I heard you made it out," Vaughn said casually. "Now you're back."
Unlike Jillian, who claimed no time had passed when she left her world, time continued to move forward after Moe left Everstill.
Moe's jaw tightened. "Who told you that?"
No one talked about the oddities of living in Everstill.
At one time, he used to question Finn about everything, but even his friend changed the subject rather than add his own insights to their living conditions.
It was as if no one cared that they all followed the same routine every day, with nothing upsetting their lives.
At least until Kallie appeared in the road one day and talked to Finn, then, years later, she came back. It was enough to get Moe curious about the veil. But the others were blind to change.
Vaughn shrugged lightly. "People talk."
"Bullshit." Moe stared at him. "No one here ever talked. We had no feelings about—"
"We do now." Vaughn's smile deepened, but his eyes sharpened. "We can remember what happened yesterday."
Moe glanced at Copper to see if that was true, and going by the way the older man wouldn't meet his gaze, he assumed Vaughn was telling the truth.
"The others are questioning why you left. Now you're back," Vaughn said, exhaling heavily.
Jillian's hand tightened around Moe's arm. He turned, shielding her from Vaughn's gaze, and kissed her temple.
"It'll be okay," he whispered.
But he wasn't confident he could keep her safe. He knew the background of every man who lived in Everstill. At one time, they recited their past as if sharing a grocery list. No one batted an eye to hear that Vaughn was a cult leader who took advantage of women.
But now, he worried about what that would mean for Jillian. She was the only woman here. It wasn't safe for her.
Copper stepped forward, voice low. "What are the others saying?"
Vaughn looked at him with a strange, almost respectful tilt of his head.
"Everstill feels different since Finn and Moe left with that chick.
Everyone feels it. They don't know why. They don't know what changed.
But they know something did, and they like the way they're questioning everything.
Their questions are feeding into their curiosity.
Now we have Jillian here. Will there be more women coming? "
Copper ran his hand through his hair and turned his gaze back to Moe. He shrugged. The others being curious happened after he'd left.
"You left. Finn left. That shook something loose," muttered Copper.
Cold rippled down his spine. "Finn's gone. He's not coming back."
"And yet Everstill hasn't settled. People are restless. They're asking questions." Vaughn nodded slowly. "This is the closest we've felt to having our old lives back since coming here."
Moe narrowed his eyes. "What kind of questions are the others asking?"
"Questions about her." Vaughn's gaze drifted past Moe to Jillian. "And the other one that was here before her. Women have been missing from our lives. Men have needs."
Moe moved so fast that Jillian gasped. He stepped directly between Vaughn and Jillian, shoulders squared, voice low and dangerous. "Don't look. Don't touch."
Vaughn's brows lifted, amused but not intimidated. "I'm not touching her."
"You're thinking about it," Moe snapped.
"I've never had to force myself on a woman." A slow smile came over Vaughn. "She's new. People notice new. We haven't seen a woman in a long time." He shook his head. "Haven't touched a woman in a long time."
"She's mine," Moe said, voice rough, protective, absolute.
Vaughn studied Moe for a long moment, his expression unreadable. Then he nodded once, as if acknowledging a boundary he had no intention of crossing but every intention of remembering.
"Relax," Vaughn said quietly. "I'm not here to take anything from you."
Vaughn's gaze flicked to Jillian one last time. Moe fisted his hands.
"Everstill is changing," Vaughn said. "And it looks like your girl is staying. I'm sure we'll all get to know her better... soon."
"The fuck you will," Moe muttered.
"Yes, indeed. Things are changing around here." Vaughn paused at the threshold.
Then he stepped outside and disappeared into the pale light.
Jillian exhaled shakily. "Moe..."
He turned to her, cupping her face gently, his voice still rough from the possessive edge Vaughn had pulled out of him. "I'm not letting anyone touch you."
She leaned into his hands, her breath trembling. "I want to go back."
"Vaughn's right," he said quietly. "Everstill is changing. I'm not sure the veil will open again for us."
"It has to," she whispered. "I need to get back to my mom."
"She'll be okay. Remember, no time will pass when you're here. One day, you'll go back, and it'll be the same day we left. She's okay. The nurses are taking care of her." He kissed her softly. "I'll figure something out so we can go back."
Copper remained near the doorway, unmoving, his expression carved from centuries of silence. Jillian stayed close, her hand curled lightly in the fabric of Moe's shirt, as if she wasn't ready to let go.
But Moe's mind wasn't quiet, not after what Vaughn said.
"What did he mean?" he asked.
Copper met Moe's eyes. "People are changing. You feel it, too."
Moe slid his hand down Jillian's arm and clasped her hand. "People don't change here. Isn't that the whole point of Everstill? Think about it. How else could they have taken some of the most dangerous men and had them settle in a small town without anyone getting killed?"
Copper nodded once. "Exactly."
The single word hit harder than any explanation could have. Moe stepped closer. "Talk."
Copper's gaze drifted toward the front windows.
"You know how it is. This place is built on routines and repetition.
People don't grow here. They don't move up to better jobs or newer houses.
They don't question. They don't want anything.
But now they do. Or they will once they get used to having emotions and being curious about their future. "
"I can't imagine them all understanding the storms that come and the veil opening," muttered Moe.
Copper's eyes flicked to him. "They don't know what they want. They don't know what's wrong. They only know something feels off but intriguing."
Moe's jaw tightened. "Because Finn left."
Copper nodded. "Finn leaving gave them the idea that they can leave too. You leaving only validated their thoughts."
Cold settled in Moe's chest. "Explain."
Copper stepped farther into the room, his voice dropping. "Everstill is built on patterns. On loops. On people who stopped fighting. People who accepted their place. People who forgot how to want anything different."
He knew it was true. Years had passed, and he hadn't once thought of leaving or going back to his old life. But now, he couldn't stay. He wanted to take Jillian home.
Copper crossed his arms. "You forgot and became someone new."
"No." Moe shook his head. "I was lost, but I'm the same person."
Jillian's fingers tightened around Moe's arm. "I don't want to stay here."
"You don't have a choice, my dear," Copper said.
Moe's voice sharpened. "Why her?"
Copper's gaze softened—barely, but enough to show the weight of centuries behind it. "Because she's the first person to enter Everstill who wasn't already broken."
Jillian flinched. "What does that mean?"
Copper exhaled heavily. "You're a catalyst."
"For what?"
Copper exhaled slowly, the sound heavy with resignation. "For change. For unrest. For questions. For desire."
He looked toward the door Vaughn had exited through. "And people like Vaughn feel it first."
Moe's stomach tightened. "He's dangerous."
"He always was." Copper nodded. "Now, everyone is."
Jillian whispered, "I don't like him."
"I know." Moe pulled her closer and wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I won't let him near you again."
Copper studied Moe for a long moment. "Your protectiveness is part of the problem."
Moe huffed. "Explain."
Copper stepped closer, his voice quiet but unyielding.
"Everstill was built to hold unredeemable people who were a threat to society.
Here, we stopped fighting. Everstill became a workable community.
A sustainable town. But with the arrival of Kallie, things began to change.
Then Finn left with her. The shadow should've calmed down.
Then you brought Jillian to Everstill." He looked at Jillian. "And she fought for you."
He ran his hands through his hair. "This makes no fucking sense."
"Everstill doesn't know what to do with you."
Moe reached for Jillian, sliding his fingers through hers and squeezing firmly. "So what happens now?"
"Everstill adapts, again."
Moe's breath stilled. "To what?"
"To her."
Jillian's breath trembled. Moe's grip tightened. Copper's expression remained grave.
Everstill wasn't reacting to Moe. It was reacting to Jillian.