Page 49 of Preacher

“Do you think I don’t know who you are?”

“I don’t know who you are.” Riley tried sounding freaked out, but she was already surveying the room for a weapon.

“You saved the biker months back.” He saw her eyes go wide and thought maybe he had it wrong as she shook her head.

Riley launched herself at Greg, hitting him in the midsection. He landed an elbow to her back, knocking her to the ground as they struggled. When she hit the ground, she rolled away. Using her feet, she kicked out, catching Greg in the thigh repeatedly until he crumpled onto one knee.

Getting to her feet, she attempted to get to the door, but a hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked her back. Riley ended up losing her footing and slammed into the entertainment center, busting her lip on the edge.

Shoving off the entertainment center, she found herself being struck in the face by Greg’s fist. Her head bounced back, hitting the wall. Sliding down to the floor, she felt like she was losing consciousness. Shaking her head, Riley tried to clear it. She couldn’t see Greg in the room and pushed up from the floor as fast as she could. Grabbing the doorknob, she turned it and pulled the door open.

Her head jerked back as a cord gripped her throat and yanked her back. She watched the door slam shut as she kicked and fought against the pressure around her neck as she was dragged through the room. She gripped onto a cold metal rod. Wrapping her hand around it, she started swinging wildly, managing to hit him hard enough to make the cord loosen.

Riley shoved her fingers between her throat and the cord enough to keep it from choking her out. Using her feet, she dug into the carpet and pushed back into Greg with all her weight. It was enough force to knock him off balance. Unfortunately, when he fell backward, crashing into the glass coffee table, he took Riley with him.

Digging herself out of the broken glass and wood frame, she crawled away from the debris. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Greg was unconscious and bleeding. Grabbing the metal rod from the floor, she realized it was a golf club, and as she held it in one hand, she found her phone and called 9-1-1.

“Miss James.”

Riley’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of her name. She saw a tall, lanky guy standing next to the officer’s desk. He was the guy Mercury made wear her hot pink tank top at Muther’s. “Mr. Davies.”

Riley watched the deputy hand her new attorney some paperwork. “What now?”

“I’m taking you to the hospital to get checked out, then I’ll take you home,” Doc told her.

Riley stood up and spotted Wrench by the door. When he gave her a wink, she tried smiling, but her damn lip was throbbing. Walking to the doorway, Wrench looked her over and pointed to her knee. “That looks painful.” He chuckled.

“Yeah, it tickles like the rest of me.”

“Come on, let’s get you looked at, and while we’re there, you can tell us what the hell happened.”

“Deal.”

ChapterTwenty-Nine

The sound of the door opening caught everyone’s attention. Riley walked into the common area to find Gypsy and the others standing around the room. When she came into view, an audible ‘fuck’ resonated. Yeah, she knew what they saw. One of her eyes was solid red from the blood vessels bursting, and that side of her face was beginning to bruise from being slammed into the wall. Her bottom lip was busted, and her right hand was bandaged. But nothing compared to the angry red welt that ran across her throat. Slamming a folder into Gypsy’s chest, Riley stepped back. “That’s the information you need on the guys who jumped Preacher.”

“Riley, you could’ve just told us,” Gypsy mentioned before she walked away. Doc and Wrench had said she’d been attacked, but the girl looked rough.

“You wanted answers, I got you answers.” Her voice was raspy as the words spilled from her lips. “Thanks for the lawyer.”

Gypsy shook his head at her. “Riley.”

She stepped closer to him, fire in her eyes and her heart in her throat. Did the man know how hard it was for her to be there? “Leave The Muthers alone. They don’t have anything to do with the MCs and they don’t want to.”

Riley saw Preacher standing toward the back with Bones. She could see the fury burning in his blue eyes. Gone was the easy guy she spent time with. Somehow, he looked completely different. Raw and dangerous. The problem was she liked how he looked—either side of him appealed to her.

“Damn it,” Riley muttered. The last thing she wanted was for Preacher to see her, but she should have known he’d be there. She should have known because this group of men came first before anything else.

“We didn’t want anyone hurt,” Gypsy said.

Riley tore her eyes from Preacher and looked at Gypsy. “Someone always gets hurt, one way or another.”

Preacher shoved past, the brother’s hands fisted at his sides, ready to fight anyone in his way. He’d made a mistake once picking the wrong woman to save his sorry soul, but he wasn’t making it again. Not this time. No, this time, he was picking someone he could save. Maybe it would be enough for them both. It didn’t hurt she’d had his heart the moment she made him that damn sandwich.

Gypsy moved to stop him. “Preacher.”

“Don’t say a fucking thing, Gypsy. This has nothing to do with you or the club. This is between me and Riley.”

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