“I’ve been hearing rumors,” Dog said.
This made Preacher stop. He turned to Dog. The man was just as deadly, just as fierce since the first day he met him.
“Is this where you want me to offer up more of my cut? Maybe take the drug money from me? You think I’m going to offer you shit for the chance of some gossip?”
“You know I’m not the one who took her and I’ve been helping you when I can. It’s not about the money. I can’t believe I’m fucking saying this, but maybe after all this time, I see you as something a little more than an ally or my fucking enemy I’m in bed with.”
“You want to be my friend?”
“Stop being a dick. We are friends. The only person who doesn’t see that shit is you.”
“Yeah, because friends shoot each other.”
Last year, he’d been pissed off at a lead from Dog that had gone stale. The man had held on to it too long and rather than think of a strategy, he’d marched into Dog’s territory with the intention of killing the man, only to get shot in the leg for his trouble. Dog had taken his gun.
“You and I both know you deserved that kind of treatment. We’re friends, but I’m not going to let you take the piss. I gave you what you wanted. If it had been anyone else, their head would have been mounted on my wall.”
“After you sat on that information for over a week. I could have gotten her if you’d given it to me.”
“He had his entire club with him. They were armed, and believe me, this battle you’ve got with Reaper, I want you to win but not at the sacrifice of your life.”
“Aw, are you going to tell me you love me, Dog? You want to be my little pet?”
Dog laughed. “I forgot how much of an asshole you can be. You already figured out that any ambush you make on the whole club would kill the woman you want. Her death would be on your conscience, and yeah, I’ve got a pretty sweet deal. I can handle anything thrown my way. I have done it for fucking years, but I don’t want to have to deal with another MC president who thinks he pisses rainbows. I don’t have time for that shit. We work together and we hate each other. It’s how this shit works. Regardless of what you think, we’re in this together. Since the moment you took the clubhouse in the abandoned garage, you’ve been setting down roots. Your club comes and goes, but it’s like life. They’re still bound to the club because once you make a vow, it’s death that takes it from you.”
Preacher sighed. “What do you want?”
“I don’t want anything. Actually, that’s a lie. When you get your girl back, I want to meet her.”
“You’re not going to tell me to stop looking for her?”
“Why the fuck would I tell you to stop?”
“Let’s just say the advice I’ve been getting, they pretty much tell me to give up.”
“Clearly you’ve been getting really shitty advice. I’m not going to tell you to give up. Fuck that. Giving up is for losers and you’re not a loser. You’ll find your girl because she’s still alive.”
“She is?” This was the first piece of good news he’d heard in a couple of weeks.
“Rumor has it the president of a moving MC has attached himself to a woman. She’s got the highest protection but it doesn’t stop her from running.”
“Wait, how the fuck do you know this?” Preacher’s heart started to pound.
“Like I said, these are rumors that come down the club. One of my guys heard it around a campfire three days ago. When he realized you were looking for your girl and I’d been following my own leads, he gave me the information. There’s never a guarantee of where they are. They stay in one place for a couple of days, no longer than five, and move on. It might be worth following the news and getting your cop to check leads on dead women.”
“Why dead women?”
“They take random women either from the street or kidnap the pretty ones, keep them during their stay, rape them, and discard them. There should be a trail of bodies. I don’t know if it will help if there’s some kind of path, pattern, or method, but it could lead you right to your girl.”
Preacher ran a hand down his face. “Thank you.”
“Any time and don’t forget my invitation when you do find her.”
“I won’t. Why do you want to have dinner with others?” Preacher couldn’t think of a single reason as to why Dog would even want to spend any extra time with him. They weren’t close and neither of them shared any part of their lives apart from the fighting.