Conrad, Kelly - Rogue Preacher (Siren Publishing Ménage and More ManLove) by Kelly Conrad Read Free Book Online

was silent for a moment and then looked up at Chick. “You know, it seems like I’ve seen Vince somewhere before. Every time I question him, he seems to get uncomfortable. It’s like he’s holding something back. Can you tell me anything about him?”
    “The name Vince Michaels doesn’t mean anything to you?”
    “No, but you have to remember that I lived in a different world. My world was my ministry, and that’s pretty much all I thought of, besides my wife, of course.”
    “Your wife,” Chick repeated in a whisper.
    “What was that?”
    “Oh…nothing.”
    “Look at me, Chick,” Sunset said.
    When Chick turned his face toward Sunset, he saw something mysterious in his eyes. They seemed to hold a darkness that lived deep in his soul. “There’s something you’re not telling me. What is it?”
    “If there is, it’s not my place to tell you.”
    Sunset’s eyes naturally fell to his full, seductive lips, and remembered how they felt on his. But now that young, handsome face was full of shadows. Somehow he knew both Chick and Vince had a secret they weren’t telling. “What is it, Chick? What are you holding inside you?”
    “I can’t, Sunset,” he said, and tried to change the subject. “It seems we share a common heritage, me, you, and Vince.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “The outlaw and the gunslinger.”
    “You mean me? Look, Chick, we gotta get one thing straight. I ain’t no gunslinger. Sure, I have a fast draw, but I don’t go around killing people for profit.”
    “Sunset, a man ain’t a gunslinger because he calls himself one. He’s a gunslinger because they call him one.”
    “They?”
    “Yeah. Them out there,” he said, indicating to the rest of the world. “You might deny it every day of your life, but if they say you’re one, baby, you might as well accept that fact and get on with your life.”
    “Hell, Chick, a man can’t be a preacher one day and a gunslinger the next. Now, I don’t give a prairie dog’s ass what they say. I ain’t one!”
    “Sunset, I don’t care how much you deny it. You’re one of us now. Sure, you’ve come a long way since your preachin’ days, but that’s all over. Now you’re livin’ in a different world. It’s called the world of the outlaw. We all live there, and we’re all after the same thing…a quick buck.”
    “We?”
    “Sure. Rustlers, cattle thieves, bank robbers, anyone who makes money at the point of a gun—these people are outlaws. Outlaws have to thrive in lawless territories. They find easy prey in poorly policed prairies, and can hide from the law easily for weeks or even months in remote canyons and hideaways like this one.”
    Sunset felt a chill. “You and Vince…you’re outlaws?”
    “Vince is the outlaw. I’m just along for the ride. I can’t believe you ain’t figured it out yet.”
    “Are you tellin’ me the truth?”
    “Why the hell would I lie?”
    Sunset jumped up, and with a frightened look on his face, he ran toward the well. “Oh, my God,” he said, leaning over it and looking down into the black water that resembled his soul.
    “Hey,” Chick said, getting up and following Sunset. “It’s nothing to get excited about. Vince’ll talk to you about it when he thinks you’re ready.”
    Sunset turned and looked at him as if he were on fire. “You’re both hiding something. I can tell.” He grabbed Chick. “I want to know. I want to know who the hell I’ve got myself mixed up with.”
    “Hey,” Chick said, gingerly removing his hands from his shirt. “It’s Vince’s place to tell you, not mine. If he hasn’t told you yet it’s because he has to be sure you’re one of us. If he decides not to, he’ll tell you to ride on. If he does, then it’ll be because he trusts you.” Chick’s dark eyes glittered like broken shards of glass when he added, “And that’s a trust you sure as hell don’t want to break.”
    Sunset looked closely at Chick, trying to see past his glittering black