Page 7 of One Forbidden Moment

Moe's jaw clenched."Finn had a woman."

"Finn had more than that," Copper said."He had someone who saw him.Someone who wanted him.Someone who loved him."

The girl pulled away from him.Moe tugged her closer.

Copper's voice dropped."You think she's your key?She's not.She's a person.And Everstill doesn't open for just anyone.It opens for love."

Moe's stomach twisted."I don't—"

"I know," Copper said gently."You don't feel it.You don't understand it.That's what this place does to you.You're numb to your emotions, and every day you stay in Everstill makes you more complacent.But one day, youwillexperience feelings again."

The girl took a shaky breath, her eyes darting between the two men like she was trying to make sense of a language she didn't speak.

Copper stepped back, giving them space."You brought her here," he said."That means something.Maybe not what you think.But something."

Moe swallowed hard, his throat tight.He didn't want meaning.He wanted answers.He wanted the ability to leave.Yet the first chance he got after making it through the veil, he was fighting his way back to Everstill.

It was all too much.He needed the numbness back.He needed time to understand what was going on with him and how to survive.

He stared at the girl.She was scared and hugging herself tightly.

He understood what she was going through.Fear left her crippled and clinging to him, but he didn't have a name for what he was feeling.

It wasn't the high he'd received on the other side.Living on the edge, outrunning the police, surviving in a different world had filled him with...with life.

"You're not going back."Copper paused."And she's not your key through the veil."

Moe's voice came out rough."Then what is she?"

Copper's gaze softened."A beginning."

Not willing to give up, Moe grabbed the girl's hand and pulled her through the restaurant and back outside.She stumbled after him, her breath hitching in small, broken sounds.The night air hit him, cool and still, the silence of Everstill settling around him like deadweight.

"I want to go home," she whispered thinly.

He didn't slow.He didn't look at her.He left the Harley at the curb and kept walking, dragging her along the empty street.Copper didn't know what the fuck he was talking about.

Finn had made it out.He'd seen it with his own eyes.

Without the girl, he wouldn't have made it back.He'd found the veil and traveled through with her.

It didn't matter what Copper said.Moe knew the girl was his key through the shadow seam.

Soft sobs broke beside him, slowing his steps.He looked at the girl.Her face was blotchy.Her shoulders shook with each breath.She looked fragile.

She would get used to Everstill.Soon, she wouldn't cry.She wouldn't wish to go home.She'd be content to live here until he needed her to travel through the veil with him again.

"Come on," he muttered, pulling her forward.

He led her down the street to his house.It was a small, plain place with a porch light that never burned out.He pulled her up the three steps and reached for the door.The moment he opened it, she cried out and yanked against his hold, panic flaring bright in her eyes.

Her fight was weak compared to his determination.He circled her waist with one arm and hefted her up like she weighed nothing, carrying her inside as she kicked uselessly against him.The door swung shut behind them with a dull thud.

She broke free the second her feet hit the floor, scrambling back until her spine hit the wall.She pressed herself against it, chest heaving, eyes wild.

He stalked toward her, the floorboards creaking under his boots.When she tried to turn her face away, he grabbed a fistful of her hair and tilted her chin up, forcing her to look at him.

Tears rolled down her cheeks in a steady stream.Her blue eyes were bloodshot, rimmed with fear and exhaustion.She looked like she'd been crying for hours.