Page 51 of One Forbidden Moment

They drove another few miles, and she pointed again."That bakery has the best cinnamon rolls.I'll take you there sometime."

He didn't care about cinnamon rolls, but he cared about her wanting to take him somewhere.He grunted an acknowledgment, staring out the window as the landscape shifted again.Stuck inside the vehicle made him anxious.He preferred the wind in his hair.

When she finally slowed and turned into an asphalted lot, Moe leaned forward, squinting at the building ahead.

A motorcycle shop.Open bay doors.A few workers moved back and forth, slipping out of view.

Above it all—a sign he never thought he'd see again.

"What the fuck," he mumbled.

Jillian parked, turned off the engine, and reached for his hand without hesitation, her fingers curling around his."What's wrong?"

His gaze locked on the patch painted on the sign.It was the same colors, the same emblem, the same shape that was burned into his memory.

"I used to ride with the Columbia Brotherhood Motorcycle Club," he said, voice low, rough."That's their patch on the sign.The same patch that's tattooed on the back of my shoulder."

Jillian followed his gaze, her grip tightening."Do you think they'll know you?"

He shook his head slowly, still staring."Twenty-nine years is a long time.The life we led...most of the ones I knew are probably dead or locked up for life."

But even as he said it, his chest tightened.

Because patches didn't change, brotherhoods didn't forget.And the past had a way of finding you, even when you didn't know what year it was anymore.

Jillian squeezed his hand again."We don't have to go in if you don't want to.I can find somewhere else to get your battery."

He finally tore his eyes from the sign and looked at her.Really looked at her.The worry in her eyes.The steadiness.The way she stayed close, ready to shield him from a world he didn't recognize anymore.

He exhaled slowly."No.I need the battery."

Jillian pushed open the car door first, still holding his hand until the last possible second.Moe stepped out more slowly, eyes locked on the sign above the open bay.

He crossed the lot.Jillian stayed close, brushing his arm with hers like she could feel the storm brewing under his skin.

One thing he hadn't counted on was running into his past.

Inside, the shop smelled like oil, rubber, and old memories.Tools clattered somewhere in the back.A compressor kicked on.A radio played low.It was familiar enough to make his chest tighten.

Jillian approached the counter with the confidence of someone who'd already decided she was getting what she came for."Hi, I called earlier about the battery for the '98—"

"Yeah," the guy behind the counter said, wiping his hands on a rag."Got it right here."

Moe stayed a step behind her, scanning the shop.The layout was different, but the energy was the same.Brotherhood shops always had a certain feel, like the real business went on behind the walls where nobody could see.

Jillian nudged him gently."This is the right one, right?"

He checked the battery, nodded once."Yeah."

She smiled."Perfect.We'll take it."

While she pulled out her card, Moe drifted a few steps to the side, eyes catching on a man walking out from the back bay.Tall.Broad shoulders.Dark hair streaked with gray.A familiar heavy, almost deliberate gait.

Moe's breath caught.

No fucking way.

The man turned, wiping grease off his hands, and met Moe's gaze.