❥ EVERETT'S POV
Their gritty surroundings have long faded into the background, nothing and no one is on their radar at the moment except for the two of them.
Mouths and hands continue roaming, gripping, and kissing until Everett's sensitivity reaches the point where he has to literally lean against Knox to stay upright.
"Wanna go home and go to sleep with you and Bear." Everett yawns, feeling relaxed to the bone as Knox takes care of his lower half, fixing and zipping him back up. "Screw it. Let's sneak out the back..."
Knox laughs, one hand resting on Everett's hip and the other cupping his cheek. "If I knew this would be all it'd take to change your fucking mind about coming here, I'd have had your cock in my mouth hours ago."
"Have I mentioned how much I adore your dirty mouth?" Everett giggles, throwing his arms around Knox and kissing him. "How much longer do we have? I want to take care of you, too." He lowers one arm to rest his hand on the waistband of Knox's jeans. "Want to pay you back..."
"Later, kitten. This was for you, so don't worry about me—" Knox is interrupted by someone shouting his name. He and Everett exhale a sigh of annoyance together. "Time to get back out there."
Everett nods, reluctantly stepping back. "Let's go."
By the time they make it back outside, hand in hand, the pressure to perform returns full force. But the one who looks the most stressed out of the bunch is Gavin, his face twisted in sheer frustration.
"Hey! Did you two suddenly forget what the fuck it is that we came here to do?" Gavin marches toward them like they're the cause of his bad day. He stops Knox dead in his tracks by placing a hand on his chest. "I've been calling and texting you nonstop, man. Where the fuck were you?"
"Busy." Knox's voice is as sharp as the wind blowing as he removes Gavin's hand from his chest. Then, an automatic and protective gesture, he tugs Everett to stand behind him. "What's the problem?"
"What's the problem? The better questions is what's not the fucking problem?" Gavin drags a hand over his face, his nostrils flaring. "I had Big Al stay back to watch the road that leads here. He just called to confirm he spotted Ghost on his bike, and about twenty minutes behind him are three service vans."
Everett peeks his head around Knox's body. "You think more Jackals are hiding out in the vans?"
"Possibly," Gavin says. "We've used the same ruse before when doing runs out of the county. My guess is they don't want to draw any unwanted attention, which is why the vans are keeping space between them and Ghost so they aren't associated with one another."
"Makes sense," Knox adds. "Fucking cops have a hard-on when it comes to bikers. Everyone near them who so much as looks suspect is automatically guilty by association."
"Right. At any rate, shit is definitely about to get ugly," Gavin says. The expression that Everett makes in response has him follow up quicky with an apology. "Sorry, kid. Didn't mean to scare you."
"Goddamn it," Knox mutters, his anxiety rising to match Gavin's. "We knew the bastard would bring backup, but not three fucking vans full. You think he knows he's walking into a trap?"
"There's no way he could've found out," Gavin replies, though his voice carries a hint of doubt. "We don't have any rats in our crew, so I know for a fact no one on our side tipped him off. I'm thinking he's just taking extra precautions. Either way, this shit could turn out to be an even bigger mess than the hotel incident, so we need to be ready for whatever."
Knox nods in understanding. "What about the cleanup afterward? We're not prepared to efficiently dispose of three vans full of bodies."
"The deal I recently made with that greedy fucking Chief of Police still stands, so we don't have to worry about anything coming back to bite us in the ass from today. But we'll still need to move fast to burn everything in case someone takes a wrong turn and ends up on this road."
No one wanted to admit that they were outnumbered. But to Everett, it was as clear as day. The Fallen Angels' luck is on the verge of running out, so somebody had to do something—and fast.
"You said the vans are about twenty minutes behind Ghost, right? What if Finn and I help buy us more time?" Everett announces, knowing that wild situations sometimes call for wilder solutions; a memo Knox never received because he spins around so fast to face Everett that the latter barely had time to blink before he got shut down.
"No!" Knox's voice is like a venomous hiss, and a vein Everett has never seen before makes a special appearance on the side of his neck, reflecting his growing fury. "Absolutely fucking not—"
"Stand down, Knox. I want to hear what the kid has to say," Gavin orders. He then shouts, "Get your ass over here, Finn! We need to talk business."
Everett doesn't dare make eye contact with Knox, purposely ignoring the swarm of emotions playing on the man's face.
When Finn eventually joins them, Everett pitches his idea, hoping to find a way to turn the tide in their favor.
"Instead of being inside the car, what if Finn and me are tied up outside the car? We can be positioned on the ground with loose bindings, so this way when Ghost steps in close to verify it's actually us and not a pair of frauds, we can quickly attack and overpower him while his guard is down and before the vans have time to pull in."
Gavin's reply is skeptical. "It'll only take seconds for Ghost to realize the Jackal he came here to meet isn't inside the car, so then what?"
"I might have something," Finn interjects. "How about this—I'll be responsible for disarming and capturing Ghost. Everett will then make a break for the mall so he isn't in harm's way and Knox will be able to focus..." Finn makes the mistake of looking over at the man, immediately regretting it. "Or maybe not. But, uh, by this point we'll have Ghost in our possession, so we can either get the fuck out of here fast as hell, or the brothers can ready-up outside to raise hell before the vans pull in."
"No," Knox repeats for the umpteenth time. "None of this was a part of the original plan, which was to have Finn and Everett inside the car, then we ambush Ghost and whoever the fuck else. To be completely fucking honest, this new plan sounds a thousand times worse because it puts Everett directly in the line of fire! I don't agree with it."
"Brother, listen to me." Gavin places a hand on Knox's shoulder, which he promptly shakes off. Gavin doesn't take offense, only exhales a tired breath. "No matter which plan gets executed, there will undoubtedly be gunfire, and Everett will be in the midst of it. Our top priority is to capture Ghost alive and get him the fuck out of here by any means necessary. So we can either stick with our initial plan, or we can go with Everett and Finn's idea to give us a slight edge."
"Gavin—" Knox starts.
"I'll let you make the call." Gavin's words bring forth an uncomfortable silence that only Finn is brave enough to break.
"I'm, uh..." Finn backs away slowly. "...gonna let you three figure this shit out."
"Can you please give us a minute?" Everett tosses Gavin a nervous grin while grabbing Knox's hand and pulling him off to the side for privacy. "Didn't you guys bring all types of weapons and bombs and shit? I really think we should go with me and Finn's plan."
"Smoke bombs," Knox clarifies, his voice tight. "I don't think you're fully grasping the fact that a fucking lot can happen in sixty seconds. Once Ghost realizes—"
"Just stop, Knox," Everett interrupts. He removes the knife from his back pocket, the same knife Knox had given him weeks prior. "You've trained me, remember? Every trick, every maneuver... I haven't forgotten a thing. And I know I look it, but trust me, I'm not that fucking weak. I can help Finn do this."
Gavin's whistle cuts through their conversation. "What's the decision? We're running low on time."
"Baby, everything will be okay," Everett's voice is soft, almost a whisper as his fingers intertwine with Knox's. His newest plan is definitely not ideal, but right now, they need every advantage they can get. "Tell him we're going with me and Finn's plan."
Knox releases a deep sigh, his mind in shambles but his faith in Everett evident as he turns to Gavin. "We'll go with Everett and Finn's plan."
. . .
a/n: I'm normally a plotter so I low-key pantsed this chapter lol who knows what'll happen next! speaking of which... 👀
❤️ comment here if you think they should've stuck with the original plan
💜 comment here if you're for Everett and Finn's plan
✨ comment here if you just want everyone to make it out alive 😂