Page 6 of The Preachers' Promise
Zane lifts his hands and signs.
I’m shocked at what he says. It isn’t what I had been expecting at all. I nod and eventually find my words. “Thank you, man, that means a lot.”
He nods briskly, turns and leaves. I watch his departing back, grateful for once that I’ve always treated him with respect because he’s just given it right back.
“What the fuck was that about?” Malachi demands.
“Zane wanted us to know that if we need help, he and the Vipers are there for us. He said that if anyone took Vani, he’d tear the world apart, and he understands how we must feel.”
I give Mal and Rome hard stares, trying to impart the double meaning to my words. We can’t have a war between the three of us right now, but I hope they’re feeling shitty for taking Vani now.
“Yeah, I bet he will help,” Mal sneers.
I whirl on him in frustration. “So far, Mal, I have Dom helping us and have just had Zane offering help. What the fuck haveyoudone?”
“Exactly,” Roman mutters.
“What about you?” Mal demands of Roman. “Where’s your magic now? Why don’t you get a crystal ball out and see if you can find her?”
Roman walks up to Mal, his body language confrontational. “That would be a waste of time, friend. What I will be doing is making sure she’s under the protection of the ancestors.”
“Oh, they’ll stop her father from taking her home, will they?” Mal demands.
“You know it doesn’t work like that. But they will give her strength and some peace in what she has to face.” Roman shakes his head and grabs Mal by the front of his shirt. “Sometimes, your jaded act wears thin.”
Shouldering my way between them, forcing Roman to let go and step back, I place myself in the middle.
“Stop. We’re not doing this. Ophelia must be our focus. We have the offer of help from Zane, and he’s from a huge and powerful family. We have Dom helping, too. Let’s see what he finds out. But we need a plan. We can’t just sit here and do nothing, hoping she’ll magically return to us.”
They peel away from me, and each other.
Roman sits down heavily on the couch. “Does everyone know about us and her?” He looks up at me and Mal.
I shrug. “I guess they do.”
“We did run after her car, shouting her name in front of the entire college,” Malachi points out.
Yeah, there is that.
“Camile knew, too,” I say. “And we have followed Ophelia to classes for the past few days. Don’t forget, you kissed her in the bar, and now I’ve asked the Devils for their help. I guess word spreads fast in this place.”
It takes another hour before Dom arrives. At this point, the other two Preachers and I are crawling the walls with tension and stress.
“Took you long enough,” Malachi says.
“I'm doing you a favor.” Dom shakes his head. “Try to be a little bit grateful, why don't you?”
I intervene quickly. We need this information from Dom, and I don't want Malachi to ruin this. I totally understand his frustration, and share it, but sometimes, as my mom likes to say, you catch more flies with honey than vinegar.
“We really appreciate it,” I say. I hate having to suck up to him, but I'll do anything to make sure that we get our Pet back safe and in one piece.
“I should think so,” he replies. “I hate having to lie to my father.”
I don’t say anything to that, but I know it's not true. He lied to his father for ages when he was first seeing Mackenzie. There's no way his father would have been okay with the setup they had. It was only when Mackenzie’s mom died so tragically that they spoke their truth. And by that point, the dean was a much-changed man. He was a shadow of his former self, really, and still is. I don't think it will be too long before Dom takes over running the college. When that day comes, the place might change.
“What did you find out?” I ask.
He drags his fingers through his thick, brown hair. “It seems your new girlfriend has been taken home by her parents because she got a letter from someone. A person from that place where she was being held as a kid.”
