Chapter 33
Moe
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Copper strode up to the house with his fists balled at his sides. Moe let the curtain fall back into place.
He turned to Jillian. "Stay close."
Copper was the least of their threats in Everstill, but Moe wasn't taking any chances.
She nodded, walking toward him. He stepped to the door and yanked it open, finding Copper soaked in sweat and panic. Moe's stomach hardened at the uncertainty in Copper's eyes.
"It's starting," Copper said.
Moe looked past him. A low rumble rolled across the sky, deep and unnatural. His skin prickled. The air was thick and charged with electricity. Soon the darkness would come.
Jillian pressed against his back. He glanced over his shoulder, and his heart twisted. She was the woman he loved, and he could lose her.
"Is this it? Can we go back home?" she asked.
Wind slammed against the house, rattling the windows hard enough to make the glass tremble. The adrenaline surge hit him hard.
"Yeah. It's time to go."
She grabbed his arm, her fingers trembling. "Whatever you do, don't leave me."
He pulled her close, his hands gripping her shoulders. "Never."
Lightning flashed across the sky, bright enough to turn the whole street white. The electricity buzzing through the air was a familiar feeling. The veil thinned with every pulse.
Copper shouted, "Move!"
Moe gazed around the room. There was nothing he wanted to take with him. Jillian had welcomed him into her home after everything he'd put her through. She gave him shelter, clothes, food, and a way to have the freedom he'd craved.
It was more than anyone had ever given him. Even the club couldn't keep him free when he was riding with the Columbia Brotherhood Motorcycle Club patch on his back.
He looked into her eyes, catching her excitement. "Ready?"
"Yes." She nodded, more certain than he was that the outcome would be what they both wanted.
He kissed her hard, linked his fingers with hers, and held onto her tightly. "Let's go."
Jillian stepped outside with him, following Copper. She stumbled as the wind pushed against them, her hair whipping across her face.
"Don't let go!" he yelled over the wind.
They ran into the storm, the wind tearing at their clothes, the air vibrating. There was nothing natural about the weather.
He took her to the middle of the road and kept running. The veil pulled at them, tugging like invisible hands trying to drag them apart. He held onto her tighter, knowing he was hurting her. But if he let go, it would hurt her more.
She clung to him, her fingers digging into his palm. All her fear, hope, and love transferred to him.
She cried, "Are we making the right decision?"
He stopped just long enough to pull her into his arms, the storm roaring around them. Her body shook, fragile and precious. He was asking too much of her. The darkness would rip her apart.
Staring over her head, he could make out the veil coming down. He faced the storm head-on, unwilling to be the one who broke Jillian's heart.
He yelled, "Nothing will happen to you. I swear it!"
She shook her head, tears spilling. Moe's chest ached at the sight of her breaking. There was only one thing he could do.
He kissed her. The world fell away. The storm faded. The veil thinned.
"I love you." He kissed her again, swallowing her gasp.
Pulling back, he cupped her face, forcing her to look at him.
"Took me a lifetime to learn those words ain't something you say unless you're ready to pay for 'em.
I've outrun the law. I've lost part of my life doing the same damn shit to survive.
I always figured Everstill was where I'd die.
Then I found you, and I'll stand against Everstill without a second thought.
Let it come for me. I'll stand in front of you before I let it ever lay a hand on you. "
The sky rumbled. Raindrops fell as if laughing at his confession.
"I don't know what waits for us at the end of this ride, sweetheart.
Maybe peace. Maybe another fight. Maybe this is the end.
Doesn't matter. When my hands finally quit shaking, and my heart finally gives out, there'll be one thing I know for certain.
The best thing I ever stole from this world wasn't a bike, or a fistful of cash, or another sunrise.
It was you. So wherever this road takes us, that's where you'll find me.
Right beside you. Until there ain't no road left. "
Her tears mixed with the rain. "I love you, too."
The storm roared louder, the veil shimmering in the air ahead of them like a curtain made of lightning. The pull was too fierce to ignore.
"We survive together... or we don't survive at all."
She nodded, gripping his hand with everything she had. "Together."
They ran toward the veil, the storm swallowing them whole.
Plunged into darkness so complete it felt like drowning, all he could do was hold onto Jillian's hand. Her fingers slipped for a fraction of a second, and terror ripped through him like fire.
He yelled, "Jillian!"
Cold slammed into him, sharp and violent, like needles piercing every inch of his skin. The world twisted sideways, pulling his body in two directions at once.
"I'm right here!" He groaned. "Don't let go of me!"
The darkness thickened, pressing against his chest until he couldn't breathe. The veil clawed at him, tearing through muscle and bone like it wanted to break him apart.
"Jillian," he screamed.
Her hand slipped from his.
The loss hit like a blade driven clean through his chest. He threw himself forward, frantic, clawing at the darkness where she'd been only moments before. His fingers found nothing but empty air.
"No," he choked. "No!"
Pain exploded through him, white-hot and blinding, ripping through every nerve like fire. His body convulsed. His breath vanished. His mind shattered.
"Jillian!"
The darkness devoured him.
It dragged him backward with impossible force. An invisible hand that cared nothing for his struggle, his fury, or his terror. The veil tore between them, ripping them apart with a violence that seemed inevitable, as if the universe itself had decided they were never meant to touch.
"No!" He reached for her.
His fingers caught nothing but emptiness.
For one impossible heartbeat, he saw her.
Then she slipped away.
"I love you..." he whispered, the words breaking apart as the darkness swallowed them too.
Agony exploded through him.
It consumed every thought, every memory, every piece of who he was.
And then—
Nothing.