Page 54 of Fallen Flame

I stood and grabbed my bowl.

Alice had told me a couple of days ago to leave my dishes in the sink and someone would take care of them, but I couldn’t do that. I was already living in their clubhouse, eating their food, and letting one of their men follow me around all day. The least I could do was wash my own cereal bowl.

I carried it into the kitchen, rinsed it, and scrubbed it quickly before placing it in the drying rack.

“You coming?” Ever hollered from the front door.

I grabbed the towel and dried my hands. “Why are we so eager to get to work?” I called back. I hung the towel over the handle, grabbed my purse from the bar, and headed toward the door where Ever, Jude, and Oliver were waiting.

“We’re coming by for ice cream later,” Karmen called. “I want a boozy shake.”

Ever smiled. “Great. You can say hi to my parents. Today’s the last day they’ll be in town.”

“Thank God,” Jude muttered.

Ever patted him on the cheek. “It hasn’t been that bad having my parents here. At least they aren’t asking questions we can’t answer.”

“Because you told them a damn cow got loose in the ice cream shop,” I laughed.

Of all the fibs Ever could’ve told her parents, that was the one she had landed on.

A cow.

I supposed it was still better than telling them her boyfriend had shot the guy pretending to date her, but not by much.

Ever shrugged. “It worked, okay?”

“Did it?” I asked. “Because I’m pretty sure your dad spent ten minutes yesterday trying to figure out how a cow got through the front door.”

“He worries about logistics.”

“He asked if it came in sideways.”

Ever pointed at me. “And you told him yes.”

“I was trying to help.”

Jude opened the door. “You two done?”

“Never,” Ever and I said at the same time.

We said goodbye to everyone and headed outside.

The moment we stepped into the parking lot, I noticed the difference.

Jude looked toward the road before glancing across the lot. Oliver’s eyes moved over everything around us, checking the parked vehicles, the fence line, and the tree line beyond the clubhouse.

Neither man said anything. They didn’t need to. They were more alert than they had been before church. More careful.

Whatever had been discussed in that room hadn’t been good.

I looked at Ever. She was watching Jude with a small frown. When she caught me looking, her eyebrows lifted slightly.

She noticed it too.

Oliver handed me the helmet, and I put it on before climbing onto the back of his bike. The second I settled behind him, my body relaxed.

My hands went around his waist, and my chest pressed lightly against his back. The engine roared to life beneath us, the vibration traveling through the bike and straight into me.