Page 24 of Preacher

“Don’t make me laugh. It hurts too much,” he told her.

Riley held up her hands, wanting to somehow stop him from laughing. “Oh, sorry.”

“Riley, can you stay with Preacher for about an hour? I need to check on the family,” Wrench said.

“Sure, I’m off today.” Her eyes remained on Preacher. She had forgotten Wrench was even there for a moment.

“Where do you work?” Wrench knew where she worked. He knew where she lived and what she drove. The night she left the hospital the second time, he had followed her. If he didn’t have the skillset he did, he wouldn’t have been able to keep up with her. She could definitely drive a hot rod. He’d staked her place out and put a GPS locator on her car. That had made his job easier.

“I work at Muther’s,” Riley answered.

Riley watched Wrench and realized he was testing her. He already knew where she worked. She knew because Wrench sucked at stalking her and she’d found the tracking device on her car. Turnabout was fair play in her world. She had bided her time, and when she had the opportunity, she put the tracker on Wrench’s bike. Going along with his ruse, she continued the conversation. “Have you been?”

“To Muther’s?” A voice in Wrench’s head told him to tread lightly.Had she busted him, he wondered. There was no way. Only a trained tracker could catch him. She was a cute girl, not an assassin. Cocking his head, Wrench watched her a little more carefully.

“Yes,” Riley answered Wrench, realizing he was staring at her.

Shoving into a more upright position, Wrench answered her honestly. “No. I’m not sure what it is.”

“It’s a bar and grill that hosts dirt track racing,” she told them.

“Do you race?” Preacher cut into the conversation, knowing Wrench was sizing the girl up.

Her attention went back to Preacher. She liked looking at him. His eyes were mesmerizing when he stared at her. “I do.”

Preacher watched the instant smile spread across her face and smiled at seeing her face light up. “Maybe when I get out of here, I can watch you race sometime.”

“I’d love that.” Her attention was solely on Preacher. She watched how he struggled to stay sitting up and saw how tired he appeared. “The nurses keeping you up at night?”

“What?” Preacher tried keeping up with Riley as she spoke.

“You aren’t getting enough rest.” Riley could see dark circles under his eyes and the signs of fatigue marred his handsome face. Even his speech inflection held telltale signs. “I can tell.”

Narrowing his eyes at her, Preacher wondered how she could tell. “How?”

Riley shrugged. “I was trained as a field medic.”

Preacher kept Riley in his view as she moved around the room. He kept trying to place her, then she turned her ballcap around out of habit and he was sure. A light went off in his head as he recognized her. She saw the moment he did and pleaded with her eyes for him not to say anything. Preacher was good at reading people. Most of the time. Today, he would remain quiet until they were alone. After that, she would answer his questions.

Wrench shoved out of the chair, realizing he wasn’t needed there. Clearing his throat, he let Riley and Preacher know he was leaving. “I’ll be back in a few hours. Thanks for babysitting Preacher. He’s been a baby since waking up in this amazing place.” Wrench nodded to Preacher, giving him a wink. If the look of Riley James didn’t stir his blood, nothing would. Even with him now on edge about her, the girl was a complete package.

When the door closed, Riley remained riveted to the spot, waiting on Preacher to speak. His eyes appeared all-knowing. What did it matter Wrench knew where she worked? If he knew, then Gypsy knew. The big question was when would they show up at Muther’s?

“You were the sniper on the landing at the warehouse,” Preacher said casually, not wanting it to sound like an accusation.

Shrugging off the statement, Riley walked to the window. She saw the mask he kept in place slip. She knew what lived behind his eyes because the same demons lived behind hers. Becoming entangled with someone with the same kind of baggage was insanity. Brushing her hands over the window ledge, she stared at the scene outside. From her perch, it looked peaceful and comfortable, but it wasn’t either. It was humid and noisy in the city. “Yes.”

Watching Riley standing at the window, Preacher couldn’t stop his eyes from wandering over her, from the cute way she wore her ballcap to the way her cutoff denim shorts barely covered her round ass. He hadn’t had an instant attraction to a woman in a long time. Not even with Jack had it been instant. It had been something that built over time. His mouth went dry when Riley went up on her toes, leaning farther into the window so she could look down. Blood rushed to his cock and pain shot up, landing behind his eyes. He let out an uncontrollable groan.

Riley whipped around at the sound of Preacher in pain. Two steps and she was at his bedside. “What’s wrong? Where’s the pain?”

Preacher wanted to take her hand, put it on his cock, and show her where the damn pain was. But it was behind his eyes that was teaching him a damn lesson. “It was a twinge,” he lied. If he would have been standing, he’d be on his knees.

Pressing her hand to his forehead, Riley checked for a temperature. She watched as Preacher closed his eyes and leaned into her touch. She wanted to stay right there, but instead, she eased back. “You don’t have a fever.”

As she went to step away, Preacher grabbed her wrist. “Why were you in the parking lot?”

She saw the furious look in his eyes. Wrenching her wrist from his grip, Riley moved out of his reach. “Hasn’t your brother told you everything?”

---