“Robin!” She wasn’t in the car with him. The windshield was completely smashed, but he saw something moving outside.

He opened his seatbelt.

A tree had stopped their descent further down the hill.

Another scream captured his attention, and he rushed toward the sound. It was dark, but he knew they’d been forced off the road, and he had to get to her to be quiet. He waited for a whimper and then he was there.

She was rolled over, holding her stomach.

“Robin, I’m here,” he said.

“It hurts. Something’s not right.” She tilted her head to the sky, breathing in deeply like he’d seen her do, copying the birthing videos.

Rain poured all around them, and he looked around only to stop when he heard voices.

“Did you see them?” someone said.

“There’s no way they survived that.”

He moved behind Robin, covering her mouth, and taking hold of her hand. “You are not allowed to make a fucking sound. I know it hurts, but they are still out there and they are going to hurt us if we let them. You can’t let them find us.”

She nodded her head, but tears fell from her eyes, dropping down his hands.

He didn’t let her go, but it broke his heart to see her like this. He held her still, keeping her cries locked in her mouth as he held her tightly, not letting her give into the pain he could only just imagine she was going through.

“No, they didn’t survive this. I can’t see for shit. We’ll come back in the morning. It’s done. Let O’Klaren know it has been taken care of.”

Rage filled every single part of Preacher.

O’Klaren had ordered this, which had to mean he was getting desperate or he was just plain fucking stupid. None of this made any sense. O’Klaren was out of control.

He expected a hit on him but not with Robin in the car. How fucking dare he put her in danger? He figured O’Klaren would be on his best behavior, especially with learning how messed-up the asshole was and this being a small town. No matter what O’Klaren thought about taking the big chief desk, he had to keep it clean. Mistakes were much easier to spot in a small town. Now, O’Klaren had taken this to the next fucking level, and Preacher was pissed he’d underestimated his enemy.

He listened for the unmistakable sound of a car engine, and then he let her go.

Robin’s scream filled the air, echoing around him, breaking his heart.

“I’m … I … I think I’m losing the baby, Preacher,” she said.

He knew she was. She’d hit the front of the car. The impact alone was going to hurt her and the baby, but he’d also seen the glass protruding from her stomach.