Page 120 of Preacher Man

Pain splintered his chest apart and broke Preacher in two.

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“I’m telling you, it was this big!” Declared Zara holding out her hands, space at least a foot apart, both laughed until Ruby almost spit cola all over the bar. God, this was nice. Working twelve hours at the bar yesterday and another six at the Renegade Souls doing two tattoos she was mentally wiped out, she’d jumped at the chance for a soft drink and a chat that didn’t involve bikes and or bikes. Bikers were boringly one track minded.

Ruby was grinning down at her text, feeling the pulse of her heart increase, Preacher was so bad, and she was so bad for thinking of flashing him her underwear, he tempted her like the devil. But nothing came of it, when she heard a commotion, she never for a second thought it would be Preacher as she swiveled her butt on the chair around to face the middle of the room. She blinked, unable to process.

Oh, god.

“Preacher!”

“Hey, now. It’s okay.” Zara tried to tell her. Ruby wasn’t listening. Her feet met the floor, ready to go to him as he let out a blood-curdling scream that stopped her in her tracks, fear for him washed through her vision. “SHANE!”

Her heart skipped a beat. This must be what that guy back in Nebraska had been warning her about, this was Preacher’s …. what … PTSD, he’d said, right? This was how it manifested?

With a lump in her throat, she unglued her feet she only had one thought and that was getting to him, only to come up against Rider, blocking her path. She’d caught Preacher’s get her out of here. She was theher.

No. Fricking. Way. Buster.

“Get out of my way, please.” She stepped left, he stepped right, holding out his hands like he was gentling a wild horse, concern in his blue eyes, and she got it, she really did get it, Preacher was their boy, they were protecting their own. She got it, but he wouldn’t stop her, she cared for Asher, too. She fucking cared for that man.

“Oh, fuck.” Someone exclaimed as the man she had feelings for continued to rage and call out.

“Move that table so he doesn’t crack his damn skull.”

“I got it.”

“G, on his left, I’ll go right.”

"He's strong as a fucking bull, grab on."

They were all there for their boy. Ruby got it.

"I understand what you're doing, but you need to know you don't need to protect me from him."

"It's what he wants, Ruby. What he made me promise to do if he had an episode."

"And I get that. But understand this, he needs me right now, and I need to go to him, look at him, he's lost in a nightmare, I'm not in danger from Asher. Please, let me go to him."

Preacher was yelling out, his voice cracking, and it broke her heart hearing the despair turn him into a man she didn't recognize. The titan of a man she was used to, his ego larger than he was, always laughing, flirting, so much flirting he was a walking gland, and he was on the floor fucking broken into a million pieces. “Please, Shane, Please, god.” His voice was anguish and grief.

The biker club was Rider’s kingdom, if he decided to kick her out, she couldn’t do much else, the hierarchy began and ended with the president. “Please, Rider. Look at him! I care for him, too. Please, let me help him. I can't leave him like this. I won't leave him. You’ll have to tackle me to the floor...”

“Biker-man, this is her man.” Offered a softly spoken Zara behind her, Rider’s eyes shifted briefly to his woman.

He seemed to waver, looking her deep in the eyes, then back at his friend going through private hell, her heart broke open to hear his mutterings and to watch Grinder try to calm him down. "Let me go to him."

She’d known Preacher was a big man,huge, and strong of both mind and build, but when it looked like he was about to break away from the men who were holding him, Rider took off on a hard sprint, vaulting over the coffee table to grab onto that big man in his struggle.

She followed fast across the common room, dropping to her knees right in front of a man she didn't recognize for a second, his face contorted in suffering, eyes open but not seeing anything other than what was swelling in his mind.Oh, sweet hell, what is happening to you?

"Ruby, he's not himself right now, it might be better if you go, he didn’t want you to see him this way, he’ll be okay, we got him." Advised Rider, his arm locked around Preacher's neck, not to subdue him for any of their sake's but to keep Preacher safe from harming himself, all his brothers hovered around with a look of concern on their faces like they'd been through it a hundred times with him.

This was her first time and may god help her to help him, her chest was shaking with anxiety. She prayed so hard;please hear me, Preacher needs help.

Without glancing at Rider, her eyes were trained on Preacher’s twisted face, she fortified her voice into something stronger and said. "I'm not leaving him."

"Why did you do it, man, it was fucked up!" Preacher growled hissing through his teeth, looking right at her and yet not seeing her. "You fucking followed me! You should have stayed your ass home, gave Ma all those grandbabies she wanted, now look at you."