Chapter 3

Chapter Three

L etting herself into the quiet church, Molly walked as silently as possible across the carpeted floor to the office. She loved her job working as the church secretary. It was definitely more interesting than she'd expected. Even trying to avoid gossip and sensitive information, she had a front row seat to all the drama and intrigue that any large group of people brought with them.

After unlocking the door, she set down her purse and tote bag on her desk and walked to the refrigerator to put away her lunch. Molly was always the first person to arrive. She liked being there to get prepared before her day started. The last stop was to fill the coffeepot tank for everyone to brew their favorites before heading back to her desk.

Opening her laptop, she pressed the start button and turned to the phone. The red message light already flashed on her phone. Crossing her fingers that it was not bad news, Molly grabbed a pad of paper and a pen before reviewing the calls that had come in.

One made her stop and call the minister. "Steve? It's Molly."

"Hi, Molly. Already hard at work? I should be there in fifteen minutes or so," the kindly older man told her.

"You may wish to go straight over to the nursing home. I have a message that came in ten minutes ago. Adele Kelly is not expected to make it through the next few hours," Molly told him, trying to keep the tears that streamed down her face from affecting her speech.

"Bless Adele. One of my favorites—but don't tell anyone I have a few in the flock I like more than others," the minister requested.

"Never, sir. She is one of my non-favorites, too."

"Everyone's, probably. Thanks for calling. You're right. I want to get there to ease her passage and comfort the family. Hold down the fort for me, Molly."

"Will do, sir," she promised before rushing ahead to ask, "I hate to even ask but I had a flat last night. Do we have anyone who deals with tires?"

"Let me think. I'll send you a message if anyone comes to my mind."

"Thanks, sir. Please tell Adele's family that she is so loved," Molly requested.

"I'll tell them."

When he disconnected, Molly wiped the tears from her cheeks. She tried to think of all the happy memories she had of the sweet woman who'd come to sit in the front row for years. Every time Molly talked to her, Adele had mentioned her late husband. She'd missed him for so many years.

A fresh wave of tears welled to her eyes, and she grabbed for a handful of Kleenex. She hated to lose Adele but knew the sweet woman would soon be reunited with her husband.

The door jangled and she tried to pull herself together. Dabbing at her eyes, she babbled, "So sorry. Bad news on the messages this morning." Looking up, she saw the fiercely handsome biker who'd taken care of her last night. Without thinking, she stood and held up her arms to him, silently asking for a hug.

He didn't say a word, just walked past the long counter and through the swinging gate. He dropped his helmet on her desk before striding around it to scoop her up in his arms. Faust sat down with her cuddled on his lap. Molly loved that he didn't ask any questions but just held her against his powerful body. She heard the rustle of her plastic tote bag then felt the soft fur of the stuffie she hadn't been able to leave at home.

"Thank you," she sobbed and hid her face in the curve of his neck. Molly closed her eyes at the feel of his hand stroking through her hair. He didn't say trite phrases like "there, there" or "it will be okay." Faust just held her and let her cry.

After several minutes, she pulled herself together. "I'm so sorry. You must think I'm a mess."

He reached with one long arm for a tissue and wiped her face. "I think you live with your heart wide open. Very few people are brave enough to do that. And, for the record, you're fucking hot whether your nose is a bit red or not."

"Molly! What are you doing in here?" The assistant minister looked at her like she was the devil incarnate.

"You will not talk to her like that." The statement grated from Faust's lips, sounding harsh and deadly.

Faust didn't move. He continued to hold her in his arms, rocking her office chair from side to side.

"Is that a threat? I'm calling the police," Lester O'Brien stated as he juggled all the stuff in his arms to reach his phone in his pocket.

"Adele is dying," Molly told him before sitting up to whisper to Faust, "Thank you for comforting me."

After helping Molly to her feet, Faust stood as well. He hesitated before awkwardly handing Molly the wad of tissues in his hand for her to finish the job. Molly smiled at him as she accepted his gift. She loved that Faust made no move to leave and absolutely paid no attention to the challenging assistant minister.

"Molly. Who is that man?" Lester demanded before hissing, "And how could you think it would be acceptable to be canoodling in the church's office?"

"Back off," Faust barked.

To Molly's delight, the skinny man took several steps away from her desk. She told herself she shouldn't enjoy seeing him so uncomfortable.

"Mr. O'Brien, this is Faust. He's a Shadowridge Guardian. I had a flat tire last night and Faust and his…"

"Brothers," Faust supplied for her.

"Faust and his brothers stopped in the middle of the dark highway and changed my tire for me. He came by to check on me this morning and found me upset. Minister Steve is on his way to the nursing home now," Molly explained.

"Minister Zigler." Lester corrected her usage of his first name.

"Our head religious leader has asked everyone in the congregation to call him Minister Steve. I will follow his instructions," Molly said, setting her stuffie on her desk next to Faust's helmet.

"Never mind. He needs to leave. I will suggest that Minister Zigler counsel you in the appropriate way a young woman should behave. Because this is not it."

Faust took a few steps forward to stand toe to toe with the judgmental man. "You will not talk to Molly in that tone. I will not ask you again."

"Or what? You're going to punch me?" Lester asked, challenging him.

"Do you need bruises to be nice to someone? That seems to go against biblical law," Faust answered, leaning slightly forward to lurk over him.

"Like you know anything about the bible."

"‘Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' Matthew 7:12."

Faust heard a giggle from behind him as the sanctimonious man's mouth dropped open. "Don't challenge people you know nothing about. It doesn't end well. And never doubt that I am a man of my word. I will hurt you if you don't treat Molly as the amazing person she is."

The man sputtered, obviously struggling to respond to that assurance.

"Lester, I put some paperwork on your desk last night before I went home. Could you look that over and see what the church would like to do with the information?" Molly asked, giving him an out.

Almost walking backward to keep Faust in view, the man scurried down the short hallway and darted into his office. Lester closed his door with a bang. There was no mistaking the click of the lock engaging.

"Is he always like that?" Faust asked sharply.

Shrugging, Molly tried to brush off the question. "Was there a reason you came to see me today?"

"I wanted to check on your tire."

"You tracked me here—because of my tire?" she asked. "How did you find me anyway?"

"There's a sticker in your back window. Give me your keys and I'll take your car to get the tire changed." Faust held out his hand.

This time it was Molly's mouth that dropped open. "I can't ask you to do that. Besides…"

When her voice trailed off, Faust understood. A church secretary couldn't make a lot of money. "Give me your phone."

Without even asking why, Molly grabbed her purse and rummaged in it to find her phone. "Oh, it's almost dead. In all the excitement, I forgot to plug it in."

She handed it to Faust who noted the red indicator at the top. Faust opened her contacts and added his information before calling himself. Returning the device, he asked, "Do you have a charger?"

Molly set her phone back on her desk and started pulling things out of her purse. Faust watched in amazement as a pile grew. He noticed she tucked a tampon under a few other things so he wouldn't see it. Her cheeks turned a rosy pink.

Finally, she admitted defeat. "I don't. It's okay. I have a landline here."

"Keys."

"Really, I'll get it taken care of by the end of the week."

Faust said nothing but stood there with his hand out. Finally, she relented and moved a few things in the jumble on her desk to find her keys. Placing them on his palm, she looked worried.

"Your car is safe with me, Molly."

"I'm not worried about that." She searched his face before adding, "Why are you doing this?"

"Because you're mine, Little girl. What did you name the bear?"

"Yours?" she repeated.

"Mine."

"You can't know that," Molly whispered.

He just raised one eyebrow as he looked at her. Did she really think he didn't recognize his Little? "What's your stuffie's name, Pixie?"

"Angel."

Faust snorted and nodded. "That's perfect. I'm going to leave my motorcycle here. Will you keep the asshole from having it towed?"

She started to laugh and controlled the urge. Her voice held a warble of amusement as she assured him, "I'll make sure it's safe."

"Thank you. I'll have your car back soon."

Molly rushed around her desk to hug him. Faust pulled her tightly against him, holding her close for several long seconds before stepping back. Immediately, he missed the feel of her. Shaking his head in disbelief that she'd already made such an impact on his brain, Faust headed for the door and forced himself to not look back.