“Do you want the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Okay. The truth is someone took you.”
“Did I know this person?”
“No. You’d seen him but you’d never met him.”
“Oh.”
“There’s a lot that went on between then and now. This is the first time I’ve seen you in over two years.”
“Were we close? You and I?”
“We were, in our own way.”
“You’re very cryptic.”
“I’m not going to give you the answers to all of your questions. You’ve heard what the doctor said. Some stuff you really do need to figure out on your own.”
She blew out a breath. “So not making it easy for me.” She smiled.
“This isn’t something you need to rush.”
“But it feels like it.”
“What do you mean?” he asked.
“It’s like … I don’t know how to describe it. I feel like I have to figure everything out as fast as I can otherwise something bad is going to happen, and that scares me. I know I’m not making any sense. Even I don’t understand it.”
“The club, your dad, me, and even Bishop, we will protect you.”
“Right, Bishop.” She sighed.
“What’s he done now?”
“I don’t know. He’s impatient. Sometimes I don’t even know if I would even like him. My head is messed up. I clearly liked him enough at one point to have married him.”
“Things will all become clear one day.”
“And what if they don’t? I heard what the doctor said. All of this stuff takes time and there’s even a risk I’ll never remember. I don’t know if I ever want to live with that feeling.”
Preacher took her hand. “There was a time you would believe everything I said. I’m telling you now that I’m not going to let anything happen to you and I will take care of you.”
“Why do I always believe you?” she asked.
Chapter Five
“I’ve got my guys checking out all the hideouts from the list you gave me,” Dog said.
“Is this going to cause any trouble with your crew?” Preacher couldn’t give a shit about Dog’s crew or his hierarchy, or how he controlled his men. He had a lot of other problems to deal with, but he didn’t want to have to worry about his men watching their backs.
“They’re all good. They all know I’ll take them out if they even dare to speak out against me. This is what I tell them.”
Preacher nodded and Dog grabbed his arm as he was about to walk away.
“You okay?”
“Yeah, fine.”
“Look, I know you and I, we’re supposed to be enemies and shit, but I’m still your friend. I’m still here for you if you need me.”
“I’m good.”
“I heard what happened. If you need any added protection, my boys and I will help.”
Preacher stared at Dog. He’d never really considered the man a friend before but he was offering his services as if they were. “What’s in it for you? I can’t give you the dinner date you wanted,” Preacher said.
“I’ve heard all about what happened to your girl. I’m aware the terms have changed.”
“There are no fucking terms.”
“You can get pissed at me, we can fight it out, or you can accept the hand of friendship I’m offering.”
Preacher didn’t know what to make of this turn of events. “The last time I checked, when someone wanted to change the rules of friendship, they had something to hide.”
“I’ve got nothing to hide. I know our partnerships haven’t always been … agreeable, but we’re friends, in our own way.”
“I appreciate it.” Preacher shook his hand.
“There’s a rumor,” Dog said. “One you’re not going to like.”
“And why should I believe rumors?”
“It got you to find the trail Reaper and his pests have been on, hasn’t it?”
Preacher folded his arms. For the first time in his life of knowing Reaper, he could safely say the other man had the upper hand.
“I’m listening.”
“Good. My boys are hearing whispers of it being an inside job.”
“I know he had help from O’Klaren.”
“No, we’re talking about someone within the club. You cannot deny it was way too much of a coincidence that Reaper could avoid you as much as he did. I heard you and he had a lot of history, but you’ve always been able to best him. If that was true, you should have found your girl long before now.” Dog held out his hands. “I don’t know who it is or who it might be, but you may want to consider who you put as a guard on your girl’s door.”
Preacher took the advice, shook hands again, and left. The latest form of business was complete. Dog had demanded an entire shipment of guns. He didn’t ask for the whys. In business, he didn’t care so long as he got paid and they had an agreement none of his gang war shit would touch his club or the town he was near. A town he very much wanted to protect with Robin now being back.