The Hollow (Preacher Brothers 4)

This place was a fucking dump, but it was perfect for the reason I needed it.

I’d find someone just as fucked up as I was who had no qualms about getting into a back-alley fight.

I stayed for another ten minutes, disappointed that tonight there wasn’t some bastard willing to start shit with me.

And I was so damn tired that I didn’t have the energy to start anything myself. I was so worn-out, and it went well beyond the physical kind.

I paid my tab and headed out, hoping like hell one of these drunk fuckers bumped into me. It would give me an excuse to lash out. But everyone kept a wide berth. Maybe I was letting off aggressive vibes. I certainly felt on-edge, projecting that anger, that threatening menace.

I pushed the door open, and it squeaked on its hinges before slamming shut behind me. I should’ve called a cab, or hell, even one of my brothers, but instead, I found myself taking a right and just walking. The air was cool, the promise of fall in the distance licking over my flesh. But it felt good after the stifling humid heat in the bar.

I walked for about five minutes, nightlife all around me with no intentions of slowing down despite it being the middle of the night. Bars were in full swing, music blasting from the interior.

A few shady-as-fuck restaurants were slinging out pizza slices and flat cola. Even if it was on the outskirts of town, there’s still plenty of iffy businesses willing to take your money and serve you shit in return.

I was getting drunker by the minute, but it felt good to let reality leave me. I’d just keep walking, and when I couldn’t anymore, I’d call a cab. I wouldn’t bother my brothers. They had their own lives now, women to keep them warm in the middle of the night.

I walked for five minutes, letting everything and anything move through me, trying to take away that emptiness I felt. It never helped, yet I still tried, still searched. I was getting to the end of the shit part of town, and although I could easily walk back home, it would be one hell of a fucking hike.

I was about to cross the street, the alley to my right dark and thick, the stench of old garbage permeating through the air. I ran a hand over the back of my head and was almost clear of the alley when I heard a soft, very female whimper come through the air.

I stopped, everything in me tense as I looked to my right. I couldn’t see shit, just a few feet in where the glow from the streetlight spilled into the inky darkness. Then there was still silence, forced, and although I could’ve kept walking, played it off to my drunken imagination, I knew better.

I rolled my head around on my neck, cracked my knuckles, and felt the blood rush to my muscles. It could’ve been just a couple trying to fuck in an alley, but my instincts told me that’s not what it was.

I’d been searching for a fight, and it looked like the perfect opportunity came up. I started making my way into the alley, my eyes slowly adjusting to the darkness but not penetrating it fully.

There was a row of dumpsters to my left, some crates and boxes to my right. The back doors for the two buildings were across from each other, and the farther I walked into the alley, the stronger the stench of decay and trash filled my nose.

And then I heard another soft whimper before a very male grunt.

On the other side of the dumpster was where the noise came from, just five feet from where I stood. I rolled my shoulders, felt the adrenaline rush through my veins, my blood moving through my muscles, making them bigger, preparing me.

“Come out, come out, motherfucker,” I said low, deep, letting all that rage and sinister anger I felt come out in those words.

I didn’t actually think he’d listen, but I was pleasantly surprised when a lanky, very clearly male form stepped out from the other side of the dumpster. He didn’t speak, but I could feel him eyeing me up.

“This doesn’t concern you,” he muttered.

I didn’t break my focus on him as I said clear and loud, “Sweetheart, get out of here.”

A moment later, I saw the female he’d clearly pinned up against the nasty brick wall dart away, moving past us so fast she was almost a blur. I heard her cries, felt them fill the air. It made me angrier that this fucker made her feel that way.

But I didn’t move, and the asshole didn’t try to stop her. This bastard was going to get the shit kicked out of him, and I was going to enjoy every single moment.