AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Tell them, Preacher, I’m no problem.”
“Not if you do as we tell you, Frank. The time for negotiation is over. Your actions brought us here. Yours and no one else’s.”
“But you can’t just run a church. Are you even sure that insurance policy is valid?”
“Don’t fucking worry about that,” Shades growls at him. “We donated a fuck of a lot of money to that church, and this is a standard way to protect our investment.” He raises his hand in anger and lets it fall in disgust. “None of that is your fucking business, all right?”
I get between Shades and Braden, pushing Shades back for his own sake before I turn to Frank.
“This is your only option, Frank. It’s us, or it’s prison for embezzling, theft, arson and maybe even attempted murder. And the end of your life as a man of the cloth.”
“Preacher,” he begs.
“This way you still get to do what you love. We’ve just removed all the temptation that will allow you to stray from the path you’ve chosen. Mostly,” I tack on thinking of Gia’s mother, who doesn’t know she’s a mistress.
“We can always go with your untimely death,” Shades growls. “That’s always an option, you piece of shit!”
“Fine,” he ultimately agrees, as if he ever had a choice in the matter. “I’ll do whatever you want.”
“Good.” Ace gives him a pat on the shoulder. “Then you can go home to your wife. But, Frank, if you fuck up, step out of line even once. Hell, if I even suspect you pissed in the wrong toilet, you and the Mrs. are dead. Got it?”
Frank nods eagerly as the news that he’s going home sinks in. “Got it. You can count on me.”
Coop kneels down beside the chair and produces a jagged edge blade to cut the zip ties.
“You know, the penalty if we can’t count on you, and I, for one, hope you prove yourself as someone we can’t fucking count on. Give me one good reason,” he whispers before releasing the final zip tie.
Braden stands and immediately topples over. Coop backs up in disgust, and Shades laughs.
Instinctively, I reach out to help.
“Thank you,” he whispers, suddenly appearing more like an old man than the devious scumbag he was.
I nod silently. He’s a flawed man, but he is still a man capable of remorse and change, at least I hope so.
“Lucky, get Braden home to his wife.”
Lucky nods and helps Braden to his feet so we can get him dressed and in the van to drop him off at home.
As we all go back inside and take our seats around the table, Ace turns to me. “Thanks for that, Preacher. It’s just the solution we needed.”
I nod. “No problem.”
“Now we need to talk about Gia. We need to use her.”
I stiffen at his words. “How?”
“Retaliation,” Shades says.
“Cyber warfare,” Wild Man adds. “She can hit back at the Iron Kings for us.”
I don’t like it all, and I’m just about to say so when Ace speaks.
“We’ll pay her. Of course.”
Of course. And with the amount the club will offer, Gia will step up and do it without hesitation because it’s the money that will get her and her best friend out of Angel Harbor. Away from me, which only becomes apparent as the thought crosses my mind.
I don’t want her to go. One fuck, and I’m hooked on this blue-haired woman, but I have to stand by my brothers. No matter what.
