Page 25 of Preacher

As soon as I ended the call, I went out front to track down Creed. He and Seven were talking to Goose, and as usual, he had them chuckling over something stupid he’d said. Their laughter fell silent, and their attention was all on me as soon as I walked up. “Just got a call from Sergei. He wants to meet.”

“When?”

“Within the next hour.”

“I’ll go with you,” Creed offered.

“No, Seven can go. I need you to stay here and keep an eye on things.”

“You got it.”

Creed sounded concerned as he asked, “You sure going over there with just one cover is a good idea?”

“Sergei might be an asshole, but he isn’t stupid. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay, but we’ll be sitting on go, just in case.”

“Good deal. I’ll call if we run into any trouble.”

Seven and I headed out to the parking lot and got on our bikes. It was a nice day. I saw no reason to let it go to waste, so we took the long route to Sergei’s house. It was a good call. The sun was shining bright, and it gave me some much-needed therapy. I didn’t have to think. I could just enjoy the open road and the steady growl of my engine. The weight of everything started to ease with every mile.

Seven rode right there beside me. He was solid as ever. My brother. My SOA. We’d been through hell and back together, but we were still here and going strong. No matter what lay ahead, we’d handle it. Just like we always did.

When we rolled up to the house, the guard let us through the gate, and we drove down to the house. I parked and was taking off my helmet when my attention was drawn over to the barn where Tabitha was out at the front gate. She was brushing one of the horses, and the wind was blowing through her long hair.

But she didn’t pay it any mind.

Her focus was on the horse and nothing else.

Damn.

This woman was something else. Even in a pair of jeans and a simple gray T-shirt, she was all class, but not the kind that felt like she was trying. This was effortless. This was just who she was, and damned if I wasn’t intrigued by it. Unable to stop myself, I got off my bike and glanced over at Seven. “Give me a minute.”

He gave me a knowing look but didn’t say a word. He just gave me a nod and stayed by the bikes. I made my way toward her, and it wasn’t until I got closer that she finally looked up. Her hazel eyes locked on mine, and just like the night before, I felt something stir in me that I no longer thought existed.

I stepped up to the fence as I told her, “Afternoon.”

“Afternoon.” A small smile slipped across her full lips before she went back to brushing the horse. “How are you?”

“I was just about to ask you the same.”

“I’m good.” Her gaze lingered for a moment. “Thanks again for your help last night. That could’ve turned into a real mess.”

The way she said it, so low and genuine, made my chest tighten. “Just did what needed doing.”

“Appreciated all the same.” She studied me, those sharp eyes of hers seeing more than I was probably comfortable with. “I love my boys. All three of them. They’re good men, and I probably shouldn’t say this, especially to you, but Sergei can be a bit bullheaded at times.”

“Not exactly a secret.” I chuckled. “I knew that the second I met him, but he’s no more bullheaded than I am.”

“I don’t know. I don’t see you as the bullheaded type.” Her eyes quickly skirted over me, and there was no denying that there was something going on between us, something that lingered just beneath the surface. “You seem more like the type who picks his battles.”

“That so?”

“Just my take.” She ran the brush down the horse’s side once again. “You strike me as a man who knows when to push and when to step back. Bullheaded men don’t have that kind of patience.”

She wasn’t wrong.

I didn’t waste time on fights that didn’t matter.

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