Page 164 of Preacher Man

A long fifteen minutes’ drive later he pulled up at the curb, seeing nothing out of the ordinary. “Where is he? Do you see him? I don’t see him, Preacher. Where can he be? Do you think he has Seb? we should have called CPS.” Her panicked questions kept on coming. He could see his boys just a way up the street loitering near the diner, one sharp whistle and they’d come running, for now, they were best where they were if they spooked the addict there was no telling what he could do. “Should we call the cops? I think we should.”

“Not just yet, Ruby, let's see what we're dealing with first, it could all be a ploy for money, not like a junkie can tell the truth.” His eyes tracked up and down the street, the guy picked somewhere perfect, just populated enough he could get lost.

“I’m so fucking scared. What if he hurts him?” Threads of terror in her tone. Reaching across the console he clasped her hand, gave it a squeeze.

“Do you trust me?”

Eyes so dark it looked like she was all pupil looked at him unblinking before she nodded, he suspected if she spoke her voice would crack. “I’ll make it alright, Ruby.”

“Oh, god there he is!” She screeched, her gaze, wild and suffered going behind him and before he could tell her to stay in the truck she had the door flung open, slipping into goddamn oncoming traffic like she didn't even see it, and had taken off at a dead run up onto the sidewalk. ”Ruby!” Fuck! Three steps behind her, heavy boots on the sidewalk he too spotted that jerkoff hidden halfway between a pawn shop and a sandwich joint, gripping the boy's shoulder. Jesus, Ruby was gonna get herself hurt. It was as though she didn’t even acknowledge the man blackmailing her for money, she crashed down on her knees in front of Seb, Dwayne shielding him away from her, keeping hold of his leverage, that fucker. Preacher was there a second later, his eyes were chips of pissed off, just in time to hear the despair in Ruby’s tone as she begged that dickhead “He’s a baby, Dwayne, how can you do this? let me take him, you're frightening him. It's okay, Seb, Ruby is here now, dad is just playing a silly game, isn't he?” The reassurance fell flat. Right away Preacher saw the guy was high as a kite, pupils blown out unfocused, twitching like he was playing an invisible piano.

“Did ya bring my money? I need it.I need it, I gotta have it, take him, he's yours, but need that money, Ruby.”

“Aun’ Ruby…” tears streaking down the kid’s face, no wonder with his so-called father digging fingers into his little bony shoulder as he tried in vain to reach around the man to get to Ruby.

She tried to stretch for Seb again and Dwayne rose his clenched fist, spittle coming out of his mouth as he repeated his chant of wanting his goddamn money.

Ice shards stung his brain. Was he seeing this shit?

The charge in the air caused his spine to turn rigid. Try to lay a hand on his old lady?

Preacher saw red.

CHAPTER FORTY-TWO

“When push comes to taser, I’d do anything for her. Anything. “ – Preacher

Criminals, liars, outlaws and worse, the reputation a motorcycle club had often strayed far from the truth and bikers were usually okay about that since it played into what ruled most people.

Egos were monsters that needed feeding and nothing fed better than being branded a bad boy wherever you go. Only now, in this burning fraught second, when blood boiled within Preacher's veins as he watched a man about to thump his old lady as she shrunk down on her knees desperately trying to protect a crying little boy, at the same time as he heard feet pounding across the street, no doubt about it, it was his boys coming out of hiding, he let his spine go soft, arms hanging at his side like heavy tree trunks, he was about to live up to every last whispered rumor about him and his kind when he killed this motherfucker in broad daylight.

"You don't want to do that." He gritted out in a voice that didn't sound like his own.

Dwayne had such a clawed hold on the boy he was sure to be bruising him, little dark eyes pooled with tears looked up at Preacher for a beat of a second, what was the kid thinking? He was four years old and he knew fear, he knew terror, he knew neglect first hand, this little boy in his dirty scuffed jeans knew to fear adults and that was just not fucking right.

That same anger surged for Seb, to make it okay for him, to get the family he needed. He had to break eye contact, Preacher’s heart was goddamn breaking, the boy was family now, no matter what. "You lay a hand on her and you die right here no ifs, buts, or second chances," he told Dwayne calmer than he felt. It was due to smell mercies the man was not dropped right there. Preacher had bullied and fought on the playground, childhood games, the principal hated him for how often he ended up in his office, he'd played in real wars and lost in the biggest way, this was one battle he refused to lose. Stepping in, one swerve of his body in front of Dwayne, he pinned the guy in, they all looked like some weird as fuck huddle, but there was a purpose to it, not just so he could smell the stink of body odour wafting off this guy. Jesus fuck, why wasn't there flies around him? Because he was fucking ripe as ten-day-old garbage.

Fucking junkie.

The purpose being, he slid his hand to the holster he had under his jacket, he hadn't brought his 9mm, too many risk factors, but he had brought one of Lawless' favorite toys, a homemade device that fit snuggly into his palm, one press to Dwayne's jugular and he discharged 50,000 volts in one easy press.

The guy went down faster than Marietta did on New Year’s Eve. His connection to the boy severed, it gave Ruby the advantage to snatch him up, and that look on her face, fuck him, she was sick with relief. "Boys, get my old lady back to the truck," he issued without taking his eyes off Dwayne slumped on the ground groaning and pissing himself. Couldn't blame him for that, a charge of electricity hard enough to fry his balls from the inside, the fella would be lucky to piss out of his dick again. Preacher couldn't care less. "Baby, go with the boys. And call the cops, tell them what happened here."

Thank god, she did, because he had unfinished business, walking fast back to the SUV flanked by two of his friends, he watched her go all the way there until he knew she was safely back inside the truck with Seb.

He had this.

He'd so fucking handle this piece of shit now.

Grabbing him by the scruff of his neck he yanked the lanky guy to his feet. A man stayed on his feet when he faced the enemy his commanding officer always told him.

“You thought you could wreak havoc today. Wrong move.”

Terrible violence filled every void inside Preacher until he was breathing through hissing clenched teeth, violence he rarely allowed to surface for the simple reason of the last time he did, he woke covered in dried blood in a motel room he’d never seen before seventy miles away from the club compound with no recollection how the hell he got there. He'd called Grinder who came without question, and doing his tracker thing he'd nosed around the town, heard about a fight in a bar, got Preacher's description, discovered four men were in the hospital but not dead. Hoorah, right? He'd cleaned Preacher up, poured coffee down his neck until he sloshed and they got the fuck out of town. A close call, he’d calmed down with the drinking after that. Preacher wasn’t perfect, but he learned from his mistakes if you looked closely, there were lessons to be had with every fuck up and he’d chalked up enough to last a lifetime. Cold hard truths didn’t lie and neither did Preacher.

Starting barroom brawls wasn’t him anymore, he wasn’t that person he once was, but sure as air churned through his burning lungs he was about to come out of retirement to end this prick who thought it was okay to raffle off his kid to the highest bidder and then to lay a hand on a woman.Hiswoman.

That same clouded violence was in Preacher's eyes, riding his spine, he felt it down to his fingertips when he grabbed the shithead by the scruff of the neck, all too aware his old lady was in the SUV clutching her nephew, no doubt scared to fuck because of this guy who had the misfortunate to be the kid's sperm donor.

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